Essential Oils, God’s Gifts to Us
By Rose Martinez
Essential Oils were extensively mentioned in Scripture, and were very familiar to the Hebrew people in Bible times. Realizing this should cause us to have a greater appreciation for them as gifts and provisions from God. Essential Oils were even something God referred to often to give us a greater understanding of Himself and His interaction with His people.
EO’s are mentioned directly and indirectly in over 1,000 passages! Here's a quick overview:
*There are 33 species of Essential Oils mentioned in Scripture, but the most familiar ones are: Frankincense, myrrh, spikenard, Aloes (sandalwood), Calamus, Cassia, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Cypress, Galbanum, Hyssop, Onycha, and Rose of Sharon (Cistus).
*When God gave Moses the recipe for Holy Anointing Oil the content was over 80% EO’s in a base of olive oil. (we still use olive and coconut oil to dilute or to make blends)
Exodus 30:22-32 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.
“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred.
*In Scripture, the words Holy anointing oil, sacred oil, costly oil, perfume and often, spices, referred to Essential Oils. The very word “anoint” ALWAYS either refers to Essential oils, or the Holy Spirit! To anoint, means to cover, rub or smear the head or body (or object) with oil and, in some cases, to pour oil over the head or body.
SO, when
*Mark 6:13 and James 5:14 mention anointing with oil for healing, people of that day and culture would have understood that referred to Essential Oils, not plain olive oil!
(I am in no way implying that EO's have to be involved for healing! God heals because of what Jesus accomplished for us with His stripes, He heals because He loves us and is powerful, and He heals because we ask in faith. I'm only trying to point out that anointing oil consisted of essential oils.)
*Anointing with Essential Oils was always done for the Priests and Kings of Israel.
*To anoint something (with EO’s) was to consecrate it, cleansing and separating it unto God. (in exodus, when the Lord told Moses to anoint everything in the tabernacle, we need to remember that not only were animals killed and sacrificed, blood was intentionally splattered. To anoint with EO's certainly had symbolic purposes, but also practical ones. The EO's used were, and are, powerful for disinfecting and cleansing. EO's were the most powerful, effective way of keeping the tabernacle clean.
*To be anointed was an honor, a blessing, a gift, a service, and often a sacrifice.
*Essential Oils, particularly Frankincense, were part of worship in the temple and could be part of a sin offering…except for the poor…because essential oils were highly valued and very expensive.
*Essential oils were referred to as treasures and something the wise would be sure to have in their homes.
Prov. 21:20 There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise...
Matt 2:11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
*In Ps 141, King David implied that he would never refuse to have his head anointed Ps. 141:5
*Essential Oils are mentioned in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and the last, Revelations! The oils, their use, or the plants they come from are mentioned in 70 percent of the books of the Bible.
*Scripture clearly links Essential Oils to the emotions of joy and gladness.
Psalm 45:7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness: Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. (Hebrews 1:9)
Proverbs 27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart.
Isaiah 61:1,3 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me; to preach good tidings to the meek,...to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.
*Essential Oils are mentioned several times in the life of Jesus, from His birth, to His death on the cross! When the wise men gave their treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh, those were incredibly valuable gifts. At that time Myrrh was about 5x as costly as gold, and frankincense 10X. When Mary, the sister of Lazurus anointed Jesus during the week leading up to the crucifixion, we're told that she poured out on Him, very expensive, pure nard (spikenard), worth a year's wages. Why were these oils so valuable? Partly because the people of that day understood how powerful and beneficial the oils were for one's health and well-being.
If essential oils were good enough for Jesus, I would assume that they can bless us greatly!
Some of the symbolism in Essential Oils:
In Scripture the Lord compares Himself to many things….a rock, hiding place, wind, fire, father, mother…… We understand more about who He is and how HE wants to work in our lives because we understand the things that HE is comparing Himself to. As you’ll see in a moment, He also compares Himself and the work of His Spirit, to essential oils What are we missing in our understanding of Him, His ways and His work in our lives, because we haven't understood or experienced essential oils????
Listen to these verses from Song of Solomon (Passion Translation). You probably already know that while this beautiful, short book in the Bible describes marital love, it also portrays the love of Jesus, the Groom and His church, the Bride.
Each of the following verses is referring to Jesus, the Groom:
1:2 Your very name is Flowing Oil- poured out over and over.
1:13 My lover is to me like a tied-up-bundle of myrrh resting over my heart throughout the night.
1:14 I hold my Beloved as a bouquet of cypress, fragrant with redeeming love.
3:6 He is perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, ascending in victory, He is anointed with all the sacred spices of the merchant.
5:5 My spirit arose to open for more of His touch. As I surrendered to Him I began to sense His fragrance, The fragrance of His suffering love! It was the scent of myrrh flowing all through me!
5:13 No one speaks words so anointed as this One- Words that both pierce and heal, words like lilies dripping with myrrh.
8:14 (last verse in book) We will dance in the high place of the sky. Yes, on the mountains of fragrant spice!
There are 4 separate, beautiful accounts of women anointing him with their perfume. We also know that from the time of the wise men's visit, Mary had frankincense and myrrh and certainly anointed him with those.
The literal meaning of the words Christ and Messiah is “Anointed One”. Jesus is the Anointed One, primarily because He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. Isn't it interesting that the word used to describe Jesus and the word used to describe the pouring out of the Holy Spirit points back to an understanding of essential oils?
Here are two simple partial explanations for this.
ONE: Essential Oils are very different from fatty oils that also come from plants. Olive, almond, coconut oils, that are healthy, do not function the same as EO’s. Fatty oils nourish the plant of origin, and they can nourish our bodies as well. Fatty oils have large molecules and that’s why they sit on the surface of our skin and feel greasy. In contrast, EO’s have extremely small molecules and they are absorbed through our skin very quickly. In fact, some travel so quickly through layers of tissue that they cause a burning, hot, or spicy sensation. Essential oils are so small molecularly that they penetrate the cell and affect us at a cellular level.
So one observation is that the anointing of the Holy Spirit, like anointing with EO's, doesn't just do an external, or surface work in us, but a deep, fundamental work at the most fundamental part of our being.
TWO: Essential oils contain unique compounds called phenylpropanoids, Sesquiterpenes and Monoterpenes. Phenylpropanoids clean cell receptor sites on the surfaces of cells. Sesquiterpenes can “erase or deprogram miswritten codes in cellular memory.” Monoterpenes “can reprogram or correct information in the cellular memory (DNA).”
So, another thing we can understand through the comparison to EO's to the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Lord in our lives is that the Lord, not only works on us at the deepest, most fundamental level, but heals us spiritually, re-creating us and restoring us to wholeness. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
When God created the earth He gave mankind everything we would need for physical life: clean water, fruits, vegetables, clean air. I believe that His creation of EO’s was meant to be as much a blessing to mankind as the rest of creation….only modern culture lost that understanding. When God made man, He didn’t put him in a building of any kind….but in a garden. Even though there was obviously no issue with sickness at the time, the EO’s that Adam and Eve breathed in and brushed up against daily were meant to bless their bodies, mind’s and spirit’s. Now that we’re in a broken world where sickness and disease do exist, EO’s are even more of a blessing!
Our hope is that you have a greater appreciation for the oils because of what God's word says about them.
By Rose Martinez
Essential Oils were extensively mentioned in Scripture, and were very familiar to the Hebrew people in Bible times. Realizing this should cause us to have a greater appreciation for them as gifts and provisions from God. Essential Oils were even something God referred to often to give us a greater understanding of Himself and His interaction with His people.
EO’s are mentioned directly and indirectly in over 1,000 passages! Here's a quick overview:
*There are 33 species of Essential Oils mentioned in Scripture, but the most familiar ones are: Frankincense, myrrh, spikenard, Aloes (sandalwood), Calamus, Cassia, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Cypress, Galbanum, Hyssop, Onycha, and Rose of Sharon (Cistus).
*When God gave Moses the recipe for Holy Anointing Oil the content was over 80% EO’s in a base of olive oil. (we still use olive and coconut oil to dilute or to make blends)
Exodus 30:22-32 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.
“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred.
*In Scripture, the words Holy anointing oil, sacred oil, costly oil, perfume and often, spices, referred to Essential Oils. The very word “anoint” ALWAYS either refers to Essential oils, or the Holy Spirit! To anoint, means to cover, rub or smear the head or body (or object) with oil and, in some cases, to pour oil over the head or body.
SO, when
*Mark 6:13 and James 5:14 mention anointing with oil for healing, people of that day and culture would have understood that referred to Essential Oils, not plain olive oil!
(I am in no way implying that EO's have to be involved for healing! God heals because of what Jesus accomplished for us with His stripes, He heals because He loves us and is powerful, and He heals because we ask in faith. I'm only trying to point out that anointing oil consisted of essential oils.)
*Anointing with Essential Oils was always done for the Priests and Kings of Israel.
*To anoint something (with EO’s) was to consecrate it, cleansing and separating it unto God. (in exodus, when the Lord told Moses to anoint everything in the tabernacle, we need to remember that not only were animals killed and sacrificed, blood was intentionally splattered. To anoint with EO's certainly had symbolic purposes, but also practical ones. The EO's used were, and are, powerful for disinfecting and cleansing. EO's were the most powerful, effective way of keeping the tabernacle clean.
*To be anointed was an honor, a blessing, a gift, a service, and often a sacrifice.
*Essential Oils, particularly Frankincense, were part of worship in the temple and could be part of a sin offering…except for the poor…because essential oils were highly valued and very expensive.
*Essential oils were referred to as treasures and something the wise would be sure to have in their homes.
Prov. 21:20 There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise...
Matt 2:11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
*In Ps 141, King David implied that he would never refuse to have his head anointed Ps. 141:5
*Essential Oils are mentioned in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and the last, Revelations! The oils, their use, or the plants they come from are mentioned in 70 percent of the books of the Bible.
*Scripture clearly links Essential Oils to the emotions of joy and gladness.
Psalm 45:7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness: Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows. All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. (Hebrews 1:9)
Proverbs 27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart.
Isaiah 61:1,3 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me; to preach good tidings to the meek,...to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.
*Essential Oils are mentioned several times in the life of Jesus, from His birth, to His death on the cross! When the wise men gave their treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh, those were incredibly valuable gifts. At that time Myrrh was about 5x as costly as gold, and frankincense 10X. When Mary, the sister of Lazurus anointed Jesus during the week leading up to the crucifixion, we're told that she poured out on Him, very expensive, pure nard (spikenard), worth a year's wages. Why were these oils so valuable? Partly because the people of that day understood how powerful and beneficial the oils were for one's health and well-being.
If essential oils were good enough for Jesus, I would assume that they can bless us greatly!
Some of the symbolism in Essential Oils:
In Scripture the Lord compares Himself to many things….a rock, hiding place, wind, fire, father, mother…… We understand more about who He is and how HE wants to work in our lives because we understand the things that HE is comparing Himself to. As you’ll see in a moment, He also compares Himself and the work of His Spirit, to essential oils What are we missing in our understanding of Him, His ways and His work in our lives, because we haven't understood or experienced essential oils????
Listen to these verses from Song of Solomon (Passion Translation). You probably already know that while this beautiful, short book in the Bible describes marital love, it also portrays the love of Jesus, the Groom and His church, the Bride.
Each of the following verses is referring to Jesus, the Groom:
1:2 Your very name is Flowing Oil- poured out over and over.
1:13 My lover is to me like a tied-up-bundle of myrrh resting over my heart throughout the night.
1:14 I hold my Beloved as a bouquet of cypress, fragrant with redeeming love.
3:6 He is perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, ascending in victory, He is anointed with all the sacred spices of the merchant.
5:5 My spirit arose to open for more of His touch. As I surrendered to Him I began to sense His fragrance, The fragrance of His suffering love! It was the scent of myrrh flowing all through me!
5:13 No one speaks words so anointed as this One- Words that both pierce and heal, words like lilies dripping with myrrh.
8:14 (last verse in book) We will dance in the high place of the sky. Yes, on the mountains of fragrant spice!
There are 4 separate, beautiful accounts of women anointing him with their perfume. We also know that from the time of the wise men's visit, Mary had frankincense and myrrh and certainly anointed him with those.
The literal meaning of the words Christ and Messiah is “Anointed One”. Jesus is the Anointed One, primarily because He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. Isn't it interesting that the word used to describe Jesus and the word used to describe the pouring out of the Holy Spirit points back to an understanding of essential oils?
Here are two simple partial explanations for this.
ONE: Essential Oils are very different from fatty oils that also come from plants. Olive, almond, coconut oils, that are healthy, do not function the same as EO’s. Fatty oils nourish the plant of origin, and they can nourish our bodies as well. Fatty oils have large molecules and that’s why they sit on the surface of our skin and feel greasy. In contrast, EO’s have extremely small molecules and they are absorbed through our skin very quickly. In fact, some travel so quickly through layers of tissue that they cause a burning, hot, or spicy sensation. Essential oils are so small molecularly that they penetrate the cell and affect us at a cellular level.
So one observation is that the anointing of the Holy Spirit, like anointing with EO's, doesn't just do an external, or surface work in us, but a deep, fundamental work at the most fundamental part of our being.
TWO: Essential oils contain unique compounds called phenylpropanoids, Sesquiterpenes and Monoterpenes. Phenylpropanoids clean cell receptor sites on the surfaces of cells. Sesquiterpenes can “erase or deprogram miswritten codes in cellular memory.” Monoterpenes “can reprogram or correct information in the cellular memory (DNA).”
So, another thing we can understand through the comparison to EO's to the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Lord in our lives is that the Lord, not only works on us at the deepest, most fundamental level, but heals us spiritually, re-creating us and restoring us to wholeness. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
When God created the earth He gave mankind everything we would need for physical life: clean water, fruits, vegetables, clean air. I believe that His creation of EO’s was meant to be as much a blessing to mankind as the rest of creation….only modern culture lost that understanding. When God made man, He didn’t put him in a building of any kind….but in a garden. Even though there was obviously no issue with sickness at the time, the EO’s that Adam and Eve breathed in and brushed up against daily were meant to bless their bodies, mind’s and spirit’s. Now that we’re in a broken world where sickness and disease do exist, EO’s are even more of a blessing!
Our hope is that you have a greater appreciation for the oils because of what God's word says about them.