07. The Precious Ointment Upon The Head And Running Down
The Precious Ointment Upon The Head And Running Down Psalms 133:1 is an exclamation!
"Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" To explain what this means the psalmist goes on to say in verse 2:
"It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments."
We have seen the Precious Ointment as a holy composition of spices carried in olive oil. The myrrh is associated with the deep feelings arising from heart-wrenching experiences in the difficult things of life. The cinnamon, calamus and cassia are all products from the bark of a tree or from a plant that were ground to a very fine powder. This painful process produces rich fragrances. All speak of the sufferings of our Lord and to a lesser degree of our deep experiences with Him in life’s pathway. The olive oil, a type of the Holy Spirit, is the carrier and energy for the suspension, flow and release of the precious fragrances of Christ. In an attempt to understand how this illustrates brethren dwelling together in unity, we will trace the flow of that Precious Ointment down over Aaron’s head, beard and garments. Since we wish to follow the flow of the Precious Ointment, we must start at the top of Aaron’s head. Exodus 28:1-43 gives the instructions for the garments of the priests.
Topmost on the forehead of the high priest was the holy crown (Exodus 28:36). It was composed of a plate of pure gold engraved like the engravings of a signet with the words: "HOLINESS TO THE LORD." Pure gold is a type of the intrinsic holiness and divinity of God. The high priest who wore that crown was to be acting under the control of the One whom that crown represented. It was to be always on his forehead. He had responsibility for the holy things of God. The words "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" could never be covered or erased. They were permanently on display. Everything offered and done in the presence of the high priest was to be in line with the Lord’s holy requirements and order. The holy crown was put on a blue lace. Blue is the colour of the sky and speaks of heavenly things. Our Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven to bring God’s thoughts and plans to us. He was that lace of blue! The holy crown and the lace of blue were to be set at the forefront of the mitre or bonnet of the high priest. The mitre was to be made of fine linen (v. 39). The fine linen was pure and white with no blemishes in it. Aaron’s head was to be enclosed in this pure white mitre. All that transpired in his thoughts was to be in the pure character of what that mitre represented. When the Precious Ointment was poured on the head as in Psalms 133:2, how did the flow begin? The first point of contact was with the holy crown. The holy anointing oil with all its ingredients representing the fragrances of Christ first came upon this holy crown. All is holy and precious here. There was neither defilement nor inconsistency. It then flowed down over the lace of blue. Thoughts of heaven! Thoughts of the One who came from heaven to reveal God’s thoughts and plans to us! That Precious Ointment flowed over Him as the lace of blue and over the pure white mitre. Our Great High Priest has only pure thoughts. He knew no sin; He did no sin, and there was no sin in Him.
How wonderful was the flow of the Precious Ointment before it ever reached Aaron’s beard! How important this is in brethren dwelling together in unity! From the first sin in the Garden of Eden, there has been blame and seeds of disunity. Our Lord came to make us one in Himself. If we are to enjoy the unity He has provided, we must be in the proper conditions for it to be realized. There is nothing of man’s doing in this unity. Our Lord is the source. The Holy Spirit - carrying all His fragrances - alone can provide the energy for this unity as this Precious Ointment flows over us.
Aaron must have had a full beard. The beard had grown from within Aaron as he served as high priest. That which came from within him and could be seen by others must come under the effect of that Precious Ointment. Exodus 30:32 gave clear and unmistakable instruction that the holy anointing oil was never to be poured on man’s flesh. Even Aaron’s beard as it grew while he served the Lord and His people must be sanctified and consecrated by this Precious Ointment if there was to be proper unity among the people of God. The Precious Ointment kept flowing down. As it flowed, it would fall on the two onyx stones on the shoulders of the ephod. See Exodus 28:6-14. The ephod was made of gold, blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen. Gold is a type of the divine righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blue speaks of heavenly things. Purple stands for royalty. Scarlet points us to the One who said: "But I am a worm and no man." He shed His blood to take away the sin of the world. All the scarlet things were dyed from the pigment from the dead red maggot worm. The fine linen speaks of His righteousness given to His saints for their garments. The white onyx stones each had six of the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel engraved in them. The names were engraved permanently, in the same manner, as was the inscription "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" in the holy crown. They were set in sockets of gold in the shoulders of the ephod. There they were borne before the Lord and maintained in strength as typified by the shoulders of the high priest. A girdle made of the same materials held the ephod in place. The Precious Ointment would then flow down to the breastplate (vv. 15-29). In the breastplate was found the Urim and Thummim which stand for the "lights and perfections" of Christ. These were used to determine the Lord’s will in difficult situations. See Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65. On the front of the breastplate were the twelve precious stones, each bearing the name of one of the tribes of the children of Israel. These were affectionately borne on Aaron’s heart in precise order (of four rows with three stones each) over the Urim and Thummim (lights and perfections) of the Lord. What a display of unity as the Precious Ointment flowed over them!
Over all these vestments was the robe of blue. The hole in the top with its special binding allowed it to be put on over the high priest’s head. At the base on the hem were golden bells alternating with blue, purple and scarlet pomegranates. The pomegranates represent fruitfulness, and the golden bells would make harmonious sounds as the high priest moved about doing his duties. The Precious Ointment contained all the fragrances associated with our Lord’s deep innermost feelings, as well as our deep feelings as we have gone with Him through the most difficult times of our lives. The gathering, cutting, drying and pulverizing times have been so painful, yet they have yielded the sweetest fragrances. These, carried in the olive oil, a type of the Holy Spirit, form the Precious Ointment. This Precious Ointment is such a valuable source of blessing for us as we consider our Lord, our true High Priest, and how all speaks of Him, His person and His work. For us to really be in the good of brethren dwelling in unity, we must be in the good of our position in Christ. We must have appreciated His sufferings and have been willing to suffer with Him. The Precious Ointment poured over His head (with all His holy, heavenly and pure thoughts) running down over His beard (once plucked out, but through which His face now shines) reaches to us. We find ourselves borne upon His shoulders and upon His heart with all His strength and affections. What a place to be with all the rest of His own! What a place to dwell together in unity!
But, sadly, we have often been taken up with other things and the practical enjoyment of the unity has been marred. We have been occupied with things of this world. The politics and social affairs of this world have shaped our thinking and affected our actions. The Word of God has lost its place in our minds and heart-affections. The pleasures and affairs of this world have taken our time and energies. We have become associated with worldly people and things, and when we try to assimilate them into the Christian circles, confusion results. There seems to be a lack of spiritual power to distinguish between the things of our Lord and those of the world. We may try to resolve issues by applying worldly techniques to spiritual matters, but the result is usually frustration. Scriptures may be improperly applied or received because of the cold condition of our hearts. These things tend to divide brethren.
It is comforting to know that there is a way to return. But the way is not in any of the proud ways we may have been following. It is in humbling ourselves before our Lord and each other. We must separate ourselves unto Him and that may well necessitate separation from what we may have considered "nice" people and things. The deep experiences with our Lord and each other, with hearts willing to depend on Him, can lead us to appreciate the Precious Ointment. Then when conditions are right, it will flow down over us as we consciously see our place in our Great High Priest. Here we will find good and precious times of brethren dwelling together in unity.