[Music] We're exploring a new theme on the Podcast called the anointed anointing is Taking oil and smearing it on someone And it has a very specific purpose oil Marks a personal place that's a bridge Between Heaven and Earth cool but why Oil why not wine what's going on so what We're gonna Trace down in this Conversation is there's a recipe for Special anointing oil you can find it in The Torah the recipe for anointing oil Is given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai And it's not just oil it's oil infused With pungent aromatic spices and it Makes this incredible perfume how Creations packed with these plants that If you just ate the leaf you would not Enjoy it but you crush it pulverize it Or soak it and then it can Infuse this With the taste that just is like Otherworldly well I think the biblical Authors want us to see in this anointing Oil is the life of Eden condensed into a Little dense liquid the life of Eden Begins with the Water of Life filling The dry ground and forming the human and Then God's Spirits fills the human water And spirit marking Humanity as a place Where Heaven and Earth are one and so to Remember that place or even to designate A place to be like that we anoint it With oil there's moments when through Liquid and spirit a person a place is
Marked as a special portal Between Heaven and Earth to bring about that Reunion of Heaven and Earth in some way And I think that's where all of a sudden All these themes come crashing together Of the liquid life and the spirit are Joined images and that's what anointing Means in the Bible today Tim Mackey and I continue exploring the theme of the Anointed looking at the symbol of oil in The Bible I'm John Collins and you're Listening to Bible project podcast Thanks for joining us here we go It's him hey John hello hi hey we're Just kind of right at the beginning of a New conversation on the theme of Anointing anointing smearing someone With oil yes yes Yeah so we kind of really set the stage Last episode You talked about how this was something That the early church was doing James Actually said to in the letter that he Wrote to early Christians um to do it When you're praying for healing for Someone yeah smear oil on them and just Got a biggest question like where'd this Come from and actually word that brought Us to was a ritual we find in the Old Testament the Hebrew Bible of anointing People with oil and we very specifically Saw that it was not just anyone it Wasn't people who needed prayer actually Yeah I suppose you could pray for these
People but it was specifically to select One human and say you now represent all Of Israel in the case of Old Testament Yeah in a very special way you're Representing God to the people and the People to God you are a bridge now or a Gate Between Heaven and Earth so while You are amongst the people you need to Now be connected to God in a special way So Heaven Earth can be united through You and so this was done with the Priests Aaron was the first one anointed This was done to Kings and one time it Was done to a prophet well it was said To be done supposed to have been done we Don't know for a prophet whatever was Done that's right it also a few times Objects are anointed we didn't talk About it but I think I remember that Tabernacle objects yeah we'll talk about It in just a moment okay yeah but the One we did talk about was the story of Jacob when he was asleep out in the Middle of nowhere and he was on the run From his brother who he had deceived and He's out in the wilderness and he fell Asleep and a gateway to Heaven appears a Ramp to Heaven Gods on the ramp angels Are on the ramp and he's like this is The house of God yeah the Gate of the Skies he found the gate yeah the gate The gate found him as you said yeah Stargate was not a sci-fi movie yeah Yeah and so um the big aha is to anoint
Someone or something is to signify it as A connection point between Heaven and Earth whether a person or a place yep And all of this is the background that Is condensed and summarized in a title The anointed one that is the main title Applied to Jesus throughout the New Testament Jesus Christ when we say Jesus Christ that's Jesus Christos Jesus the Anointed one yep Christos means the Person smeared with oil the person Smeared with oil which now we at least Know on one level the basic level of Meaning For a Jewish man an audience to say that About someone is that this is a person Who is marked out to be a link A bridge between Heaven and Earth that's What it means to call somebody the Christos yeah now a big question for me We started the conversation saying that The early church was doing this for Anyone who was sick and you told the Story of you know when you were a kid This was done to you and you were really Sick and that's different applying oil To someone and praying for healing is Different than a pointing will on Someone to establish them as the Representative bridge between the Divine Yeah and the land yeah and you said well There's something going on with the People of Jesus being called the Anointed ones yeah Christians Christians
No longer is it just one person but like Through Jesus now this anointing is Going out so I think we'll get there Yeah but you said even before that we Need to appreciate deeper What it is that the oil represents Represents yeah so far we're just kind Of taking it for granted okay we're Using oil yeah that's right oil marks a Personal place that's a bridge between Heaven and Earth cool but why oil why Not why oil water why not wine why not Yeah wine with stain And a nice linen effort that day yeah Yeah right yeah it doesn't smear as well You know it runs too much Yeah so something's going on with oil Yeah why oil what's going on so yeah What we're gonna Trace down in this Conversation is there's a recipe for Special anointing oil you can find it in The Torah second squirrel the Torah see A business opportunity here I'm sure it's well let's leave that for The moment and what we're gonna see is That recipe and why and how and when it Gets used all points back to the Garden Of Eden So lo and behold we're going to spend Most of this conversation meditating on The Garden of Eden story in Genesis Chapter two which you know all the main Themes begin in the first chapters of The Bible so it's inevitable that well
Pulled back there it's like a gravity Well Keeps pulling us back in the early Chapters of Genesis I suppose I am the One who allows it I let myself get Pulled in yeah yeah It's great it's great I force you to go With me it's awesome Okay so first two an ancient recipe for Making anointing oil [Music] Thank you [Music] So in Exodus chapter 30 which is right Near the end of when Moses has been up On Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights Up in the storm cloud And he's been seeing God's Heavenly Temple and being shown All of these things and then he is being Given a blueprint for how he is to Create a copy or an image of those Things that's called the pattern and That will be the Tabernacle so you get This image the the Tabernacle and all All the curtains and the segmented Boundary areas and what they all mean And the imagery that it's all a pattern Or an image of some Heavenly reality Then what he's told is that after you Make the Tabernacle and all the Furniture all the pieces all the stuff Yeah here's what you are to do You shall make a holy anointing oil so
Holy meaning set apart for a space That's dedicated to the presence of God Okay so it's an oil that marks a heaven On our spot that is sacred and set apart From any other space yeah It's to be a perfume mixture The work of a perfumer it shall be holy Anointing oil Okay we'll look at the recipe in a Moment but here's what gets anointed What gets anointed is the tent of Meeting ooh the word meeting Divine and human meeting of the bridge Place of Heaven and Earth yeah because The Tabernacle is often called The Tint Of meeting or always called Ah no sometimes it's called The Dwelling Place okay referring to the place that Hosts God's glory but when it's called The tent of meeting it's referring to The union union of divine and human cool In meeting in the tent so anoint the Actual just big tent it's a big tent the Structure itself yep then the golden box Called the Ark of the testimony Then the table that is the table for the Bread The sacred breath that's in the Holy Place it's in the Holy place and all the Utensils get wiped down what are the Utensils used for oh Well there's polls that are put in There's little rings on that table and Then there's polls put into them maybe
Plates and stuff like that and it goes On the table the menorah the seven lamp Stand and all of its utensils which is Little snuffers and lamplighters and so On anoint the altar of incense anoint The altar of burnt offering and then all Of its utensils like the knives and the Forks and this is what's out in the Courtyard out in the courtyard also the Basin for water in its stand mark them As holy they will become Most Holy Whoever touches them will become holy Then anoint Aaron and his sons mark them As holy So they can serve me so the whole Yeah pretty comprehensive yeah every Part of the space Is getting anointed yep marked as a Heaven on Earth Space so when an Israelite goes through The door The Gateway into the courtyard You are in heaven on Earth okay that's That's the idea was this done just in Its inauguration or was this done every Time they set it up it at its Inauguration okay that's the whole idea Yep yep okay so what is this oil Exodus 30 verse 22. yeah let's get a perfumer Involved yeah yeah take for yourself This is what God says to Moses take for Yourself the finest of spices Flowing myrrh 500 shekels Fragrant cinnamon half is a shekel is an
Amount a unit of weight it's unit of Weight okay yeah this murder needs to Flow Yeah myrrh this was dictionary work I Had to do oh my it's a resin is a Southern Arabian gum resin oh with a Strong aromatic smell it flows out of Trees unique to South Arabia oh So it's a gummy yeah it's tree sap tree Sap yep you know maybe Well here in Pacific Northwest we've got Pines we've got Pines and this is what Makes there's a very distinct pine tree Sap smell yes yeah Have you ever tried to taste it oh boy Maybe as a kid yeah is it I think maybe I was with my kids and they wanted Because it smells amazing yeah when You're hiking in the summer right like In the Cascade Mountains you know where We live and a warm afternoon Up in the evergreen forest and it's just It's just the warm smell of Pine and you Walk by a tree and it just smells Amazing and it has slap it smells extra Amazing and so oh this was some years Ago Because the logic for my boys was if it Smells amazing like in our kitchen then It probably is going to taste amazing Yeah it's horrible it's the most bitter So bitter but it smells so sweet isn't That interesting anyway Honey doesn't
I mean honey has a smell it's like the Opposite but it doesn't smell nearly as Strong as it tastes yeah and saps like The opposite it's also interesting that The default smell that we want for our Cars right Like when we add an air freshener like The main scent is pine pine yeah yeah in The shape of a tree yeah hang from your Yeah when did that start and why it's Like you know what I need in this car I Need the smell of the forest I love it Okay so all right this holy anointing Oil had a southern Arabian tree smell to It that's myrrh I want to smell that now Like right now we should have a little Sample of all these yeah we should we Should so you have a base amount of Myrrh okay I'm just gonna imagine Pine Just okay ghost pot Then you get half as much of cinnamon Cinnamon smells so amazing cinnamon is Amazing and a Wikipedia search taught me That the cinnamon tree is indigenous to Modern Sri Lanka didn't know that And spread all throughout the ancient World obviously It's a tree is it from the bark of the Tree where do you get the cinnamon That's my favorite just cinnamon sugar And butter like on bread It doesn't really get much better than That honestly it's true yeah bark the Inner bark of the tree oh yeah bark
Strips yeah yeah have you seen those Yeah okay the cinnamon stick when you See a cinnamon stick yeah and it's Curled it's a bark strip it's taking the Inner layer of the bark but then it kind Of folds up because Trees are round yeah It used to be known oh yeah as Ceylon cinnamon because the island Sri Lanka was formerly known as the ceylon I Think in the British Columbia I think Spices are just marvelous in general oh You think about it it's incredible okay All right actually so let us Marvel more Yeah because this is a part of the Meaning of the oil yeah yeah why are They so amazing well I mean just think About how bland food would be how bland Food is yeah without spices yeah and all The spices yeah is like you find some Sort of plant yes and you wouldn't eat This plant normally like it wouldn't Make a meal yeah but you take the flavor Of that and then you spread that into a Dish in combination with other flavors And all of a sudden yeah you have what Was a meal is now a Cuisine you know And how rare and special it was I mean There was whole trades global trade Economies set up on like we need some of That spice yeah yeah let's get some of That over there no the spice route from Southeast Asia through India All the way over to North Africa yeah
This was a money route huge huge amount As well forming our food experience yeah And this is all long before I mean the wheel had been vented but uh It was long for Planes Trains and Automobiles yeah yeah no really really Big deal I've been really into paprika lately Than exploring paprika it's it's Sensitive you can overdo it yeah and if It's not done right it can go wrong but The right amount of Paprika in a certain Savory kind of dish you can really do You cook well I'm more of the sous chef Okay at our house but there's certain Things on Friday nights we do like a Shabbat celebration it's taco night and I usually make the guacamole nice so I've been exploring all different kinds Of ways to make guacamole I'm the Guacamole guy at home too are you really And that's really simple I mean really It's it's garlic And onions and lime Onions oh yeah you chop up onions really Fine you do garlic yeah yeah and it's Hard to do too much garlic but it's Possible yes yeah and it's not like this Isn't enjoyable it's kind of more like Yeah we smell horrible now yeah that's What it's yeah totally right yeah no the Lime's super important salt of course Yeah yeah and then but a little paprika Okay I'll let me try the paprika yeah or
Sometimes oregano okay but that's a good Example of oregano it's just like Crushed leaves yeah of some tree the Oregano tree I have no idea I think it's A plant so what what were meditating on Is about how creation's packed with These plants That if you just ate the leaf you would Not enjoy it right But you crush it or pulverize it Or soak it and then it can Infuse this With a taste that just is like Otherworldly just transforms yeah okay So that experience of taking what is Mundane uh and filling it with some Transformative power through this dust Or the smell or from Plants yeah Cultivated plants from Plants plants Well I mean wild plants but or cinnamon It's a tree but yeah yeah trees and Plants okay so we're not done yet Um there's also some oh yeah we only got To only got through two so two Ingredients got some myrrh we got some We got some tree sap a little bit of Cinnamon here we go yeah okay fragrant Cane Okay so Oh yeah So Hebrew lexicographers which is what You call people who study the meaning of Ancient words in ancient languages Are not sure what exact plant is being Referred to here it's only the word is Only used here and in Jeremiah chapter
Six but some sort of cane or Reed plant That has a really strong smell okay have You ever had sweet cane before you're Talking about sugar sugar cane yeah yeah It's like full of the sugar water inside Yeah you just take a bite out of it oh You just eat the whole thing I've never Well you take a bite you peel off the oh You chew it and then spit it peel off And just you take a bite and it's just Soaked goodness but it's pulp yeah and Then you spit out the pulp but uh I Haven't done it no it's a pretty Remarkable experience but my hunch this Is some kind of smelly because the whole Thing is about the smell right of this Oil okay okay then after that we're Gonna have a hard time making this if we Don't even know what it is that's true The last one is cassia 500 shekels of That oh That's a lot yeah cassia uh Hebrew word Kida some sort of aromatic bark from East Asian evergreen tree hmm you mix These four things together you would Have either boiled or dried them crushed Them into a powder and then the last Thing is you mix it with a bunch of Olive oil so this myrrh cinnamon Fragrant cane cassia One partner half a part cinnamon yep Half part cane half part cane one part Cassia yep Mix it with some olive oil and you've
Got some holy anointing oil you've got The holy everything yeah yeah so you Could go find these things in the wild But odds are you know if you're gonna Get them through the spice trade that They're being cultivated yeah but you Know by this point so you have these Cultivated plants that smell and taste Amazing and then you mix it with the oil Now what's oil So oil like olive oil is that was so Funny I was just looking at pictures That Jessica and I took when we went to Go Harvest olives on the Mount of Olives When we lived Jerusalem yeah it was a Cool yeah we had some friends Who lived on The west side of the Mount of Olives and They live next to an olive field and got To know the people around it and so when They harvested they said invite some of Your friends to come it was a remarkable Experience we spent all afternoon On just Fork trees yeah thousands of Olives so you get this Olive and then You put them in burlap bags and then you Take them and the next thing is they go Get crushed because you can eat Olive Ooh and they're actually really bad They're terribly bitter if you eat them Off right off the tree yeah yeah they Gotta be and they're probably pretty Like tough yeah yeah that's right so you Have to be soaked and brined and pickled
And all that and that's all as we Typically eat have been soaked in Various ways but if you take them in Their fresh State and crush them with Stones well ooze out is this oil and There's different ways to make it right Virgin extra virgin I've actually I Don't know what this means technically I Think has to do with the age of the Olives okay but olive oil is this Compressed form of the life juice yeah Of this fruit of this tree yeah what are What are you technically getting you're Getting because there's water water in There and then you're just like the Water is soaked with Fat oh here here thank you Wikipedia It's a liquid fat Obtained from olives Produced by pressing whole olives and Extracting the oil there you go the Liquid liquid fat the composition of Olive oil varies With lots of different things mainly oh Consists of oleic acid Maybe why it's click on that one so Bitter and other fatty acids linoleic Acid and palmitic acid Oleic acid wait oh you just have it it's Fine it's a fatty acid that occurs Naturally in various animals and plants Vegetable fats and oils colorless Odorless when I think of acid I think of Like something that's um
I am not a chemist obviously I don't Know what acid really is it's a man no One saturated omega-9 fatty acid great Can you oil like any plant well if you Like Crush any plant are you going to Get some sort of oil well you'll get Some kind of liquid you'll get some sort Of liquid yeah right so then it's just I Guess about the composition of it Whether it's the sticky smooth or more Of the what's the substance of the oil How useful it is because yeah I mean We're in the oil Renaissance of sorts We've got avocado oil yeah we've got Sunflower seed oil sunflower seed oil Stuff's awesome yeah but probably the Richer fattier the the plant is than the Yeah the oil yeah okay but so that's Thinking in terms of maybe our Categories so try and imagine an ancient Imagination you've got these plants that You cultivate in Orchards yeah Smell and taste like heaven Oh you're talking about the um Fragrances yeah yeah totally I mean You're just like wow yeah like myrrh Cassie yeah okay and then olive oil is This compressed dense liquid The life of the yeah it comes from the Very fruit of the Olive and when you add It to dishes I mean olive oil was one of The main Staples of cooking and life Yeah in the Mediterranean green bread And oil and yeah you can yep dip it you
Can use it as a skin lotion Multi-purpose multi-purpose and then use For all kinds of cooking use it for your Oil lamps okay right yeah so olive oil Was just like a staple of daily life in You know on the East Mediterranean where The Israelites were so and all of it Comes from the life of the fruit of this Tree yeah so there's something about the Connection of gardens cultivated Gardens Producing these smells and tastes and Substances That bring life and richness and Lusciousness and taste and smell so These are all of the feelings associated With Gardens and Orchards And so isn't it interesting that this is The substance that's used to get smeared All over the Tabernacle and what is the Tabernacle the Tabernacle is a sacred Space that's set apart as a portal Between Heaven and Earth Divine and Human and it's decorated right the tent And the Fabrics are all decorated with Palm trees And pomegranates and cherubim yeah Heaven and Earth creatures So the Heavenly Garden that is the Tabernacle is smeared with this Compressed liquid symbol of life it's Like this it's liquid life yeah plant Life plant life yeah but condensed into This thick Rich smelly liquid That I think becomes an image of the
Life of Eden in other words what I think The biblical authors want us to see in This anointing oil Is the life of Eden condensed into the Little dense liquid which will lead a Person to ask well what's going on in The Garden of Eden what does the Garden Of Eden mean that this liquid would Become a symbol of that hmm There's a kind of the steps at least of My journey of trying to understand this Has taken me so that leads me to ask What if we were to go meditate on the Garden of Eden for a moment and ask Ourselves do the themes of liquid and Life Appear together anywhere in the Garden Of Eden story and lo and behold the Opening sentences give us a profound Meditation on just that very thing Oh [Music] Okay Returning our attention to the second Narrative unit in the story of Genesis So you have the seven day creation story Yeah that goes from Genesis chapter 1 Verse 1 to chapter 2 verse 3. maybe just Quick honorary mention is that the Opening sentences of the seven day Creation story combine It begins with the land being dark and Wild in waste and darkness over the face Of the deep Waters but there hovering
Over the face of the waters is the Spirit of God and then what happens is The spirit of God Connected with the word of God that God Speaks ten times over the course of the Seven days God calls into existence a Sprouting flourishing Garden on the dry Land with fruit plants and vegetation Up out of the waters So the seven day creation narrative has God calling A garden into existence out of the Waters by means of his word and spirit Not explicitly a garden but but you're Saying that God creates the dry land Comes out of the waters but then the dry Land sprouts with essentially a garden Yeah trees and plants and totally yeah The description of what's growing on day Three Pretty great stuff vegetation plants With seed fruit trees with fruit after Their kind full of seeds Yeah you know yeah so I guess if we Think Garden in terms of cultivated by a Person right but this is sort of like Imagining all of the flourishing life And fruit trees that reproduce through Fruit and Seed as being God's Garden as They were Well this feels like yeah like an Uncultivated Garden where when we get Into Genesis chapter 2 verse 4 and on Yep
Um we get it feels more cultivated it Does it does so let's look at that story I just wanted to call out because the Images of out of the waters yeah out of The waters the dry land bursting with Plant life By means of God's spirit okay are all Connected so the Genesis 2 verse 4 a new Narrative unit begins that complements The seven day creation narrative but it Begins in a different way So it says Genesis 2 verse 4. These are The Genealogies this is my translation these Are the birthings of the skies and the Land when they were created In the day of Yahweh Elohim making the Land in the skies And they're going to get a whole Description of the pre-created land as It were And no shrub of the field was yet in the Land No plant of the field had yet sprouted For Yahweh Elohim had not sent rain upon The land So it's the opposite of how the seven Day narrative begins which is of too Much water and dark here we have a dry Land no plants no plants no water And there was no human To work the ground But a stream Would go up out from the land and it
Would water the face of the ground So in the You begin with kind of like a problem Sequence there's no plants there's no Water there's no humans and then what God is going to do is just tick off each Of those boxes Beginning with the no water problem soap A stream pops up out of the land and Water is the face of the ground so now We've solved the water problem now we Got a bunch of mud yeah yeah so God Provides water in the wilderness Which is a primary first step in God Created foundational to life yeah like None of the life that's going to happen Will come without this water that's Right yeah Water of Life The Water of Life and the water is instrumental in Both the creation of humans and in the Sprouting of plants as we'll see but First humans right yeah exactly yeah so Now you've got saturated dirt that is Mud and so Yahweh can form the human of Dust from the ground And he breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life and the human became a Living being So notice you have the similar elements Here of water here not dark chaos Waters But rather water that's been channeled Pop up out of the ground and Life water Life water yeah but the Water by itself Can't bring about the kind of life that
God purposes for the world you need Another ingredient and that is yahweh's Spirit So here with the word breath yeah we're Breathing the breath of life so you get This combination of water and spirit Then you get living being so that's a Little meditation there you have liquid Life in the form of water Then you have Spirit life in the form of Breath of breath And then you get the human becomes the Living being Okay So the human is The land yeah soaked with water yeah Given God's breath yeah that's right so Humans are a combination of Heaven and Earth as it were yeah thereof the dust Of the ground Formed from the dust of the ground but Breathed into them is God's breath God's Breath Heavenly breath yeah so but There's also the ingredient of water Yeah because yeah to form The ground and you did watery after the Dust to become mud so that it can be Formed that word form is the word used To describe of working with clay To mold it okay you can't mold dust but You can mold mud or clay So for humans so now we've addressed the Human problem okay verse 8 Yahweh Elohim Planted a garden in Eden toward the East
And he placed there the human he had Formed In Yahweh Elohim caused to sprout from The ground and then a list of things Here every tree That's desirable to see and good for Eating and the tree of life also in the Middle of the garden and the tree of Knowing good and bad So now we've solved the plant problem And tree doesn't just refer to trees Right this is eight oh yeah that's right It can refer to a whole variety Vines And shrubs and anything wooden yeah with A wooden stock yeah yeah so the problem Was no plants No human no water And God solved the problem in the order Of provide water Solve the human and solve the plant Problem but notice how the order goes He Forms the human they plant the garden Then he puts the human in the garden and Then we're told what is sprouting in the Garden namely every tree that's Desirable so there's this combination of The water it's like the precondition It's what makes possible both the making Of the human and the sprouting of the Garden hmm the base yeah So the Water of Life is foundationally Necessary for this sprouting of life Here on the land and that if you have Water you can get plants but if you have
Just the water you don't get image of God human you need some other element The Heavenly element breath water and Spirit yes yeah and well okay here it's Called breath but you're saying that's Connected to God's spirit yes yeah and Yeah it's interesting so like I'm not Like a chemist but like I think there's Language around you've got some sort of Base liquid but there's then when you Add some sort of active ingredient and Then something new happens But in this situation what you need as a Base is water yeah yeah and land Together And then the active ingredient to make a Living being oh yeah it's breath it's Breath yeah so I think the thing to note Here in the way this is designed is that What water does for the land To bring about plants is set on analogy For what the spirit does with the Watered ground to bring about the human And even the Three lines versus seven through nine Here is this about the Hebrew literary Design of these verses but there's three Little units here each of them beginning With three things that Yahweh Elohim Does and the opening word of each of These three statements all sound the Same in Hebrew So Yahweh Elohim formed the human the First word is to form
Yahweh Elohim planted a garden Is planted Yahweh Elohim caused to Sprout from the ground And then there's other things in here That repeated words that kind of match It together so the human life that Emerges from the ground is set on Analogy to the plants that come up out Of the ground And the humans are the result of water And spirit The plants are the result of water so The way that Water Works and brings life Is set on analogy to the way that water And spirit bring life does that make any Sense yeah we've talked about before how In the biblical imagination ancient Imagination animals and humans we're Just talking about humans here but Animals and humans yes yes are Fundamentally different than plants yeah In terms of their types of life that's Right the word living creature living Being is not applied to plants plants Yeah plants have they are alive and they Have seed Which makes them like part of this like Generative multiplying life that God Creates yeah And they need water but then there's This category of living creatures yeah Animate yeah animate creatures yeah and We're here we're just talking about Humans but yeah it's also the case
That all animals have the Breath of God Right yes that's exactly we are all Animated humans and any creature yeah Through the life-giving Ruach energy that's right of God Yeah and a great place to go is go Meditate on Psalm 104 and take a long Walk and think about the role of God's Spirit In that poem and the spirit that's Blowing around in creation blowing the Trees is the spirit that animates humans Is the spirit that animates animals and It's God's spirit [Music] Laughs [Music] [Music] So there's also a theme of talking about People like trees yes that's right yeah It's great lakes talking about that so Just kind of enter this mindset is to go Like as as a whatever I am This thing that I am I'm like a tree I I Come from the land and I'm watered yeah And I could be like a healthy tree Planted by a stream or I could be kind Of a withered tree and so in some way I'm kind of like a tree but I'm not Merely a tree trees just have the Water Of Life from the land yeah I'm something Even more yeah there's another Ingredient that has caused me to be a Living being a creature
Which is God's spirit and so when I Think about life what it means to be Alive I think about the Water of Life That makes me kind of like the trees but Then I think I've also then the spirit Of God yeah which makes me into a living Nephesh yeah nephesh a living creature Living creature yeah and maybe to say Where you're taking us in this is to say Hmm if I'm going to be marveling in that I'm also marveling and like man I've got The substance called oil and it's this Pretty amazing stuff it makes food Amazing it brings life to me when I eat It yeah it restores my skin it restores My skin from flaky to shiny and smooth Yeah yeah and um there's so much life And and what is oil it's like water Comes from fruit it comes from the fruit Of trees yeah the seed of trees yeah and It's like it's liquid like water but It's infused with so much more life than Merely water yeah and so then my Imagination is thinking like okay what Is the life that's infused in this oil And it just makes me just meditate and Think of like what's the life infused in Me that makes me alive and those two Ideas are now like So good connected him I'm so compelled By what you're saying Have I convinced you to have I made the Point Yeah that's totally right so what water
Does to the ground bringing about life Is like what Spirit does To the lifeless ground to make it human And so water and spirit liquid and Spirit become joined here in terms of They both play analogous roles in Bringing about life to different types Of creatures so going from here there's Two paths you can track down that I Think help us understand anointing oil One is that throughout the rest of the Story of the Bible When God wants to talk about a new era Or a new time when he will bring about The restoration of creation and bring New life to the land what you often get Are images of Yahweh providing water in The wilderness and what you'll start to See especially in the prophets is they Talk about a new era of God's spirit Coming And they always describe the spirit as a Liquid so for example Isaiah chapter 44 verse 2. This is what the Lord says the one who Made you and formed you Hmm this is God speaking to exiled Israel through the prophet so this is What God says who made you informed you It's the same word as Genesis 2. okay Formed you from the womb who will help You don't be afraid Jacob my servant For I will pour out water on the Thirsty Land and streams on the dry ground
You're like oh yeah Genesis 2 yeah Yahweh does that kind of thing that's How like this all started yeah that's How humans were formed so I pour out Water on the Thirsty land streams on the Dry ground I will pour out my spirit On your seed your Offspring and pour out My blessing On your descendants they will spring up Among the grass like poplars by streams Of water yeah So okay it's cool like this idea of Blessing now being thrown in the mix is Something we haven't really talked Specifically about which is the life of The Garden of Eden it's the life of Abundance that's right yes and where Life can multiply yeah and so oil as a Symbol makes sense to represent Abundance abundance it's compressed life Yes yeah exactly right and here none of This oil isn't mentioned here oh yeah Yeah yeah just liquid so I'll pour out Water on the desert ground I'll pour out My spirit on your Descendants the Assumption is you all and your Descendants are like a dry lifeless Ground he says to the people in exiled In Babylon but there's an era coming Just like when God looked upon that Barren desert Wasteland in the beginning Of the Eden story when he will bring About a new creation and a new Humanity And it will begin with the pouring of
Water and the pouring out of the spirit And those are joined images so at a Basic Point you're saying isn't it cool To see how receiving God's spirit is Turned into a liquid metaphor yeah There's a connection yeah between what's Going on with the living water but God's Spirit coming down and with the Living Water creating living nefesh yeah and This idea of now we can think of God's Spirit like a liquid that's right yeah Can I pause and ask there's kind of Fundamentally different types of getting God's spirit it feels like we're talking About because God breathing in the nostrils and every Creature being full of the Breath of God Feels like this kind of universal like We all are animated by yeah God in him We move and that's the Garden of Eden Sense yeah yeah but it's also the sense Now right yeah outside of the garden Would say I still am animated by Godzilla yes we takes it my life is gone Yeah I go down to the yeah and that is How God's spirit is talked about all Over the Hebrew Bible and job Ecclesiastes in the Psalms God's breath Is in my nostrils job says there's Another way The spirit is talked about like when it Descends on David when he's anointed yes Exactly right when he's anointed because He Dave is alive he has the spirit of
God and his nostrils yeah but then the Spirit of God comes down again we're Talking about Spirit Descending on you in two different ways Now yeah it's like there is life 1.0 Which is just pretty good great yeah Amazing yeah totally but having God's Breath in you there is an another level Life 2.0 Um that is described by Isaiah he's Talking to a group of people who have The Breath of God in their nostrils Didn't Isaiah 44. they're alive But they're also dead as it were because They're cut off from the land of promise And blessing they're they believe They're cut off from God's presence Because they violated the Covenant and They're living in the land of dust and Death So they're alive but dead in other words You can be alive In one sense But if you're outside of Eden you're Yeah on the day you eat of this fruit You will die you will die and then the Day they eat of the forbidden fruit they Are still alive they are exiled but They're exiled they're alive but in the Land of dust and death And so If God is going to restore Humanity to The Abundant Life Of Eden and to eternal
Life that becomes what this language of A new pouring of water and a new pouring Of spirit to be connected to the life of Heaven And so Here Isaiah is hoping that Israel will Once again be recreated as it were into A new Humanity through water and spirit And that's what he's hoping for here So that's for a whole group of people But then you start to see that all of These anointed figures like an Aaron or Like that spot that Jacob anointed or Like King David King David is the first Person who had said when he got the oil Poured on his head the spirit of the Lord came on him water and spirit now He's already alive he's already got the Breath of God in his nostrils yeah so All of a sudden there's moments When through liquid and spirit A person a place is marked as a special Portal Between Heaven and Earth to bring About that reunion of Heaven and Earth In some way and I think that's where All of a sudden all these themes come Crashing together Of the liquid life And the spirit are joined images and That's what anointing means in the Bible Which In my mind it's just a bundle of Associated images now right so when you Were explaining it earlier it
Actually made more sense to me than it Made in my head Oh cool great so What's significant I guess you can go From here is a question that you've Asked well first of all are the pieces Does this tie together into coherent Idea liquid And Spirit In the Garden of Eden story Or how God brings about life But what is a way to represent that Liquid and spirit together yeah oil oil Water fragrant but it's infused with More life than just merely being water Compressed life compressed life so it Represents the idea of God's spirit yeah Infused in water yeah and so When we anoint someone with oil It's a symbol saying we want God's Divine breath in a new way And it's needed Particularly for people who are going to Stand in the Gap yeah be the bridge Between Heaven Earth they need that yeah And so but then We are looking at Isaiah 44 And there's this image of God's spirit Being poured on in a new way it's all of The people yeah not just the anointed One but all of the seed yeah exactly and In fact when Joel The Prophet Joel picks Up this promise famously in Joel chapter 2. he talks about a future day when Chapter 2 verse 28 God says I will pour
Out my spirit on all humanity and all Your sons and daughters will prophesy They'll become bridges for God's Heavenly word to be spoken here on Earth And your old man will dream dreams like Jacob and Steve visions and dreams and Visions are about being on Earth but be Connected to the Divine your imagination Becomes open to the life and love and The message of heaven and even on male And female slaves I'll pour out my Spirit so the whole Human family yeah is On the docket for getting Life 2.0 That's described as liquid life and by Life 2.0 you just mean life restored in A way because reunified with Heaven Because what happened is is we had life Outside the garden is death but we still Have the Breath of God but we still have Some life yeah so how do we get back to Full life yeah it's almost like we went From 1.0 to like a beta version Oh That's true actually that's a better way And we need to get back yeah yeah since We're using programming yeah language Metaphor yeah yeah yeah So this is why the images of the Anointing oil as a liquid that's Connected with the coming of God's Spirit on people and places that are Portals Between Heaven and Earth this is All one United set of ideas so with all Those things tied together hopefully in Our minds we can go forward and explore
A couple other moments in the biblical Story where anointing comes up one will Be to talk about the role of the Kings Because the anointed Kings becomes Especially significant with the story of David And then in the Isaiah scroll we just Looked at one but the idea of an Anointed one and an anointed people Plays a huge role In the future pointing hope of the Storyline of the Bible and then all that Gets drawn upon by Jesus and the Apostles as we go on from there but for Now we should just meditate on liquid Life And uh Go make some guacamole [Music] Ready no We're recording okay hey everyone hi hi Because I got a bunch of kids here how Old are you guys I'm 11 11. and you're All in the same school yes what's the School called Marathon Academy and do you guys use Bible projects yeah yeah Every day everything Season in class both whenever cool maybe One or two of you what's your favorite Video my favorite is probably the Tree Of Life video yeah I really like this [Music] I like that
Agape that's a good one well we're gonna Read the outro so you guys just repeat After me we believe the Bible is a Unified story that leads to Jesus We're a crowdfunded project by people Like me Find free videos find free videos study Notes Podcasts Classes classes and more At bibleproject.com [Music]