Anointing Of The Holy Spirit Series

I want to trace back briefly into history of the practise of anointing and then come to its relevance for us today.

The origin of ‘anointing’ was from a practice of shepherds. Lice and other insects would often get into the wool of sheep, and when they got near the sheep's head, they could burrow into the sheep's ears and kill the sheep. So, ancient shepherds poured oil on the sheep's head. This made the wool slippery, making it impossible for insects to get near the sheep's ears because the insects would slide off. From this, anointing became symbolic of protection, blessing and empowerment.

So, anointing was a practise common in the Eastern countries. And if you study the Bible you will find that particularly there were three kinds of anointing:

i. Ordinary anointing: which was after bathing, as a mark of respect (Lk 7:46), for burial (Mark 14:8; 16:1), and for shields used in warfare.

ii. Sacred anointing: for both things and people, such as prophets (1Kings. 19:16), priests (Exodus 28:4) and kings (ISam. 9:16).

iii. Medical anointing: for the sick (Mk 6:13) and the wounded (Isa. 1:6; Lk. 10:34). A cleansed leper was anointed with oil (Lev. 15:17-18).

Irrespective of what the case may be concerning ‘Anointing’ in the Bible, invariably characterizes the sanctification and the power of the Holy Spirit.

(Set apart for a specific task that’s anointing). Another meaning for the word anointed is "chosen one." Anointing has nothing to do with the body shaking and acting crazy. Anointing is a sacred moment and a sanctified phase in one’s life!

In the New Testament there two Greek words for “anoint” one is chrio (verb), which means “to rub with oil” and, by implication, “to consecrate for office or religious

service”; and the other is aleipho, which means “to anoint” of any kind.

In Biblical times, people were anointed with oil (an oil which comprised of Olive, myrrh and other expensive spices) to signify God’s blessing or call on that person’s life (Exodus 29:7; Exodus 40:9; 2 Kings 9:6; Ecclesiastes 9:8; James 5:14).

There is nothing wrong with anointing a person with oil today. We just have to make sure that the purpose of anointing is in agreement with Scripture.

Anointing should not be viewed as a "magic potion." The oil which was used as a symbol for anointing, by itself does not have any power. It is only God who can anoint a person for a specific purpose. Oil is only a symbol of what God is doing. And symbols communicate a meaningful language in the Biblical culture.

The Bible reminds us that today we are anointed with the Holy Spirit and we are also priests to God. A person in the Bible times was anointed for a special purpose—to be a king, to be a prophet, to be a builder, & so on. (so likewise Anointing for the Christian today in the post-modern context means that he/she is set apart and sanctified for a specific task, for a specific call, for a specific service).

And what that specific task/call is going to be in your life and in my life is something that the Holy Spirit will reveal in His time and at different stages of our lives.

I Samuel 10:1 captures it beautifully on the significance of the specifics of being anointed by God. Lets Read…

You see when an Israelite King took office he was not only crowned, he was also anointed.

The coronation of the king was the political act of establishing his as the ruler.

But the anointing was the religious act of making the king as God’s representative to the nation.

And the intension of the anointing ceremony was to remind the king of his responsibility to lead his people by God’s wisdom and not his own!

Today the word ‘anointing' has been infused with new and inferior meanings. Anointing was used to refer to the power of God at work to change lives.

In the Bible we read about vessels that were anointed. But the vessel was never really that important because God used even sticks (Moses’ rod), animals (Prophet Balaam’s donkey), as well as people. And in Isaiah 45: 1-8 we read that a Gentile ruler named Cyrus was anointed to allow the city of Jerusalem to be rebuilt, and later set the exiles free in BC 538. God anoints whom he chooses for his special tasks.

It is his power that is important, not the vessel or the stick or the person.

However, in this modern era of Christianity, the anointed individual has gained more prominence than the anointing of God; and they have begun to manipulate the people of God.

The word anointing for some people stands for the ability to make money, and entertain, or even intimidate their church members to submit to their so-called ‘anointed-leadership’.