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I. The compound ointment in Exodus 30
II. The significance of the ingredients
А. Olive oil
B. Myrrh
C. Cinnamon
D. Calamus
E. Cassia
III. The significance of the numbers and measurements
А. One hin of oil with four spices
B. Three units of five hundred
C. Five elements
IV. The compounded Spirit
In the last lesson we saw that the divine Spirit was only the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jehovah in the Old Testament. The all-inclusive Spirit was "not yet" because the Triune God had not yet passed through the steps of His process. Yet Exodus 30:22-25 shows a marvelous picture that signifies the all-inclusive Spirit. "Moreover Jehovah spoke unto Moses saying, Take thou also unto thee the chief spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty, and of sweet calamus two hundred fifty, and of cassia five hundred...and of olive oil a hin; and thou shalt make a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded...." (Hin and shekel are ancient units of measure.)
This holy anointing oil was applied to the tabernacle, its contents, and the serving priests. It is a type (symbol) of the "compound Spirit." A compound is something that is the result of the union or mingling of different elements or ingredients. Every ingredient of this compound ointment and its unit of measure shows us something very significant about the Spirit.
[In the Bible olive oil signifies the Spirit of God (Psa. 45:7; Isa. 61:1). Olive oil is produced by the pressing of olives. The olive oil signifies the Spirit of God, through the pressure of Christ's death, flowing out.
The olive oil is the base of the ointment; it is the basic element compounded with the spices. The four spices are compounded into the olive oil to make the ointment. This indicates that the Spirit of God, signified by the olive oil, is no longer merely oil, but now it is oil compounded with certain ingredients.]
[Flowing myrrh, smelling sweet but tasting bitter, signifies the precious death of Christ. In the Bible myrrh is used mostly for burial. Hence, myrrh is related to death. According to John 19, when Nicodemus and others were preparing to bury the body of the Lord Jesus, they used myrrh.
Myrrh comes from an aromatic tree. This tree drops its juice either as a result of being cut or through some kind of natural opening or incision. In ancient times, this juice was used to reduce the suffering of death. When the Lord Jesus was being crucified, He was offered wine mixed with myrrh to reduce His pain. However, He refused to take it. No doubt, the myrrh in Exodus 30 is a symbol of the Lord's death.]
Fragrant cinnamon signifies the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ's death. [The effectiveness of Christ's death is in the Spirit. This Spirit is like an all-inclusive dose of medicine. Some medicines are all-inclusive, containing some elements that nourish us and other elements that kill germs. The all-inclusive Spirit is an all-inclusive dose. If we take in this all-inclusive Spirit, it will heal us, no matter what our illness is. Within this Spirit is the nourishing element and the killing element. The killing power of the death of Christ today is in the all-inclusive Spirit.]
In Colossians 3:5 [Paul says, "Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and unbridled greedy lust, which is idolatry." In our sinful members is the law of sin, which makes us captives of sin and causes our corrupted body to become the body of death (Rom. 7:23-24). Hence, our members, which are sinful, are identified with sinful things, such as fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and unbridled greedy lust.]
Galatians 5:24 says, "They who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts." Christ has accomplished an all-inclusive crucifixion, and we may now apply it to our lustful flesh. Note, however, that this is absolutely different from asceticism.
[This corresponds to Romans 8:13: "For if you live according to flesh, you are about to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live." By ourselves we are not able to put to death the practices of the body. Likewise, we are not able to crucify ourselves.] [Our attempts to put to death the practices of the body are nothing more than asceticism. Although we are not to practice asceticism, we are to put to death the negative things in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. In order to do this, we need to open to the Spirit and allow the Spirit to flow within us. Through the Spirit's flowing, we shall experience the effectiveness of Christ's death. This is not asceticism; it is the operation of the Spirit within us.]
[We can experience this killing work in our daily lives. Suppose a brother does not care for the indwelling Spirit, but instead, rejecting the Spirit, quarrels with his wife and says some very unkind things to her. However, suppose this same brother prays himself into the Spirit, lives in the Spirit, and walks in the Spirit. This will make it extremely difficult for him to argue with his wife. As soon as he opens his mouth to quarrel with her, he will experience the element of Christ's death operating within him. Then he finds it impossible to argue with her. Many married brothers have had this kind of experience.] You may not be married, but you should apply this to your own situation with your family and friends.
[The calamus in Exodus 30 is a reed. The Hebrew root of the word myrrh means flowing, and the root for calamus means standing up. Calamus grows in a marsh or muddy place. But even though it grows in a marsh, it is able to shoot up into the air. According to the sequence of the spices, this calamus signifies the rising up of the Lord Jesus from the place of death. The Lord was put into a marsh, into a death situation, but in resurrection He rose up and stood up. Calamus, therefore, signifies the precious resurrection of Christ.]
[The fourth spice, cassia, signifies the power of Christ's resurrection. Cassia and cinnamon belong to the same family. Cinnamon is from the inner part of the bark, and cassia, from the outer part of the bark. Both cinnamon and cassia are sweet and fragrant. Furthermore, the plants from which they are derived often live and grow in places where other plants cannot grow.
In ancient times cassia was used as a repellent to drive away insects and snakes. Cassia thus signifies the power, the effectiveness, of Christ's resurrection. Christ's resurrection can withstand any kind of environment, and His resurrection certainly is a repellent. It repels all evil "insects" and especially the old serpent, the Devil.]
[Day by day we must put on the life-giving Spirit as the repellent to Satan. When you call on the name of the Lord Jesus, you not only drink of Him; you also put on the life-giving Spirit as a repellent. If the first thing in the morning you do not put on this repellent, the snake will attack you, and you may lose your temper during the day. But if you call on the Lord's name a few times, you will not only drink of the living water, but also apply the repellent. Whenever you do this, the snake will be frightened.]
[In typology numbers are significant. Here in Exodus 30 we have one plus four. In typology the number one signifies the unique God. God, signified by the complete unit of a hin of olive oil, is unique and complete. The number four signifies the creatures. In both Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4 we read of the four living creatures. Hence, in the Bible the number four always signifies the creatures. Therefore, in this compound ointment we have God signified by the number one and God's creatures signified by the number four. This indicates that the compound ointment is a matter of God plus His creature, man. This reveals that the ointment is compounded with both God and man. God, the basic element, is signified by the olive oil, and man is represented by the four spices.]
[In the compound Spirit we also have the Triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Perhaps you are wondering how it is possible to see the Triune God typified by the compounded ointment. In this ointment the Triune God is typified by the three units of the measure of the four spices (Exo. 30:23-24). In the compounded ointment there were five hundred shekels of myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels each of cinnamon and calamus, and five hundred shekels of cassia. Although there were four spices, there was a total of three units of five hundred shekels in measure. But how can we apply this to the Triune God? The first unit is five hundred shekels of myrrh. However, the second unit of five hundred shekels is split in half: two hundred fifty shekels of cinnamon and two hundred fifty shekels of calamus. The third unit is five hundred shekels of cassia. Notice that it is the second unit, the middle one, that is split into two parts. Surely this points to the Second of the Triune God, the Son, and to His crucifixion.]
Lastly we see the significance of the number five. [The ointment is composed of five basic elements: olive oil, myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. The quantity of the spices compounded with the olive oil is one hundred times five. In the Bible the number five, composed of four plus one, is the number of responsibility. Both the ten commandments and the ten virgins are divided into two groups of five (Exo. 34:28-29; Matt. 25:1-2). Look at your hand: You have four fingers and one thumb for the bearing of responsibility. If you had four fingers but no thumb, it would be very difficult to pick up things. Are you the number four or the number five? If God has been added to you, you are number five. I know that I am number five, because God has been added to me. The significance of the number five is that the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is for the bearing of responsibility. The more you enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit of Christ, the more ability you will have to bear responsibility.]
Praise the Lord! The Bible is truly a wonderful book. Those who say that the Bible is not the Word of God have surely never seen the wonderful picture of the compound ointment. By this picture we can more clearly understand why in John 7:39 the Spirit was not yet. Before the Lord's incarnation, human living, crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit of God was not a compound; He had merely divinity, nothing else. But now, the Spirit is no longer merely the Spirit of God.
[Today the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. In this all-inclusive Spirit we enjoy God, the uplifted humanity of Jesus, the sweetness of the death of Christ, the effectiveness of the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the power of the resurrection of Christ. All these elements are included in this one compound ointment. Remember that the Spirit of Christ is no longer simply the olive oil; it is the compound ointment. This is the processed Spirit. Certainly compounding is a process. Whenever something is compounded, it passes through a process. Hallelujah, today we do not have a Spirit simply composed of divinity alone, but the all-inclusive Spirit compounded with divinity, the humanity of Jesus, the death of Christ, and His resurrection. By our experience we can testify that God, the humanity of Jesus, the effective death of Christ, and the powerful resurrection of Christ are all in the all-inclusive Spirit. This is the Spirit of God compounded with Christ`s humanity, death, and resurrection.]
We have covered many points in this lesson. You should take some time to memorize the different ingredients, their measures, and what they symbolize. Making a chart or diagram might help you. This will help you to experience the wonderful compound Spirit in your daily life. Few Christians have realized the matter of the compound Spirit. Thank the Lord that He has opened this great truth to us in these days!
The compound ointment in Exodus 30 is a type of the "compound Spirit." The olive oil represents the Spirit of God. The four spices symbolize four elements that have been added to the Spirit: myrrh (Christ's death), cinnamon (effectiveness of Christ's death), calamus (Christ's resurrection), and cassia (the power of Christ's resurrection). In the numbers and measurements of the ingredients we also see: 1) the mingling of God and man; 2) the Triune God; and 3) the ability to bear responsibility. All these items are now included in the processed, compound Spirit.
