Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil . . .
Exodus 29:21
There is always a danger to read into the Bible what is not there, instead of taking out of the Bible what is there. We are to be faithful to God’s word, which includes keeping the context in mind. In today’s verse, I may be in danger of reading too much into it.
However, I believe there’s a concept that points to a reality that’s clearly seen throughout the Scriptures. Furthermore, since the Old Testament has many shadows of New Testament realities, I believe this is one of them.
We’ve seen that nothing leavened should be mixed with “the blood of my sacrifice.” We are not to add anything, lest we desecrate it. Here, however, we do see an addition: “The Anointing oil.” Throughout the Bible, that’s a type of the Holy Spirit.
Within the Godhead, there’s perfect harmony. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all perfectly united in offering Jesus as a sacrifice for sinners. Throughout His life, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit: “For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure” (John 3:34). There was an infinite fullness of the Holy Spirit in His life and ministry.
When Jesus was about to pour out His life for us, He did so “through the eternal Spirit.” We read this in Hebrews: “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb. 9:14).
In light of this, we can say that Jesus poured out His blood and the Holy Spirit for us. He gave his entire life, which included the Holy Spirit “without measure.” For not only are we in need of forgiveness, we are also in need of “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he [the Father] poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5-6).
While in the context of today’s verse we read that the blood and the anointing oil was in relation to Aaron and his sons—the priests—we know there’s a corresponding reality to Christians: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Pet. 2:9). How were Aaron and his sons set apart as holy? It was through the blood and the anointing oil. The same is true for us.
Jan Blonk
The Devotional Writer
www.amazon.com/author/janblonk
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