The Anointing Oil
Hebrews 1: 8, 9, 10,
Part III
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. (Hebrews 1:8)
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (Hebrews 1:9)
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: (Hebrews 1:10)
  The anointing oil is first mentioned in Genesis 28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. Jacob had a dream, and in this dream, he saw a vision of a ladder set up on earth and reaching up to heaven; with the angels of God ascending and descending from heaven.
¶ And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. (Genesis 28:10)
And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. (Genesis 28:11)
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:12)
And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; (Genesis 28:13)
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 28:14)
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. (Genesis 28:15)
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. (Genesis 28:16)
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. (Genesis 28:17)
And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. (Genesis 28:18)
And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. {Bethel: that is, The house of God} (Genesis 28:19)
  In the Gospel of John 1:51 the Lord Jesus declared to Nathaniel in reference to Jacob’s dream, And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. By referring to Jacob’s dream, the Lord Jesus leaves out both the ladder, and the stone. Why? Because He, the Lord of glory is both the ladder and the stone; the tried stone, and the polished stone which the builder’s rejected. He declared of Himself in John 14: 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me, thus making Him the ladder to heaven. From these 2 verses in John’s gospel, we can look forward to the cross where grace was confirmed, in both His suffering, and in His blood. Concerning Jacob’s dream, when Jacob awoke, he declared ‘God is in this place, and called it Bethel,’ which interpreted means ‘the house of God.’ Now turn with me to Hebrews 3:1-6.
¶ Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (Hebrews 3:1)
Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. (Hebrews 3:2)
For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. (Hebrews 3:3)
For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. (Hebrews 3:4)
And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; (Hebrews 3:5)
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.  (Hebrews 3:6)
  In verse 6 we, the redeemed, are called His house. Can you comprehend this? The redeemed of the Lord are his house. He that built this house is Christ. We, as the redeemed, are the ‘Bethel of God,’ the house of God. Why does this tie us to Hebrews 1:9, and the oil of gladness? Because the stone of Jacob’s pillar is a type, or symbol of Christ, as used in the New Testament. 1 Peter 2: 3-9
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1 Peter 2:3)
¶ To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, (1 Peter 2:4)
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. (1 Peter 2:6)
Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, (1 Peter 2:7)
And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. (1 Peter 2:8)
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (1 Peter 2:9)
  The Lord Jesus Christ is typified by Jacob’s stone, and in 1st Peter that type is fulfilled; as in Hebrews 1:9, that He is anointed with the oil of gladness. He dwells in the redeemed as the house of God; yet the world or professing Christendom has a difficult time with this ‘bethel of God.’ I always say, Israel was given a house made by hands, the temple of God; yet Israel could not be faithful to this house made by hands — so God destroyed it! Now the Church, the body of Christ, has no building. As the woman at the well in Samaria interacted with the Lord regarding the place of worship, we read:
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. (John 4:20)
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. (John 4:21)
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. (John 4:22)
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (John 4:23)
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
  Christ is the center of all worship, He is the center of all fellowship, He indwells the Christian as the temple of God, and therefore, professing Christendom cannot be faithful to Him. They want to be faithful to a building. On every corner of every road there is a building made by hands, and these buildings are empty of Christ, because Christ lives in the heart of the redeemed. We, as the redeemed, are the ‘bethel of God,’ that is, His house. What I have spoken, I have spoken. That is why the outward church, that which is seen by man and glorified by man is in ruin, because Christ does not have the pre-eminence.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; (Ephesians 2:19)
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (Ephesians 2:20)
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: (Ephesians 2:21)
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)
 Let me just go back to the line in the previous article, part II. Sin cannot be compatible with God’s righteousness, the professing Church has brought sin in by its love for material buildings, plus the pride of their surroundings, and the vanities that they display. This is the way of the flesh, and the way of their lives. John would summarize this by ‘the world, the flesh, and the devil,’ and all three of these have an active part in business meetings, in work meetings, and in the elections and selections of pastors and deacons — void of Christ in their midst without the Spirit of God. Christ is not glorified, and His righteousness is not upheld. Two times a year, outward evil is brought into the professing church: in the celebration of His birth with an idolatrous Christmas tree from the pages of Babylonian idolatry, (Jeremiah 10:3,4) then in the pseudo celebration of His resurrection by indoctrinating children in pagan rituals and rites by gathering idolatrous eggs right from the ancient lores of Babylon, and calling them easter eggs, or may I say, easter bunnies.
  Does anyone remember the word ‘blaspheme’? See what the Lord Jesus has to say about it. I find it strange that all these things have come in through a building that we should not have. I have yet to see a man physically put a Christmas tree in his heart; yet through the building, this pagan symbol has come into the heart of man. Now, you say, ‘I don’t worship the Christmas tree.’ Then why, have it at all? What is its purpose — if it’s not worship? If it is immaterial to your gathering in the name of Jesus Christ, then why have these pagan symbols in your presence? You need to answer these questions for yourself. And although, I have made many unhappy, and even many angry, it is only because these symbols have more of a place in your heart than the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Many will fight for a Christmas tree than they will fight to maintain true doctrine and truth.  Make any statement in opposition to the Christmas tree, then ‘them is fightn’ words.’Â
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? (Galatians 4:9)
Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. (Galatians 4:10)
I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. (Galatians 4:11)
  Israel was faced with the same dilemma. In the book of Ezekiel, the elders of Jerusalem were bowing to the sun. They were worshiping the sun-god, and not the Creator of the sun. Ezekiel was faced with the same reaction, he was mistreated, and abused by those who professed to know God. We are given as the children of God, the house of God, and the Church of God, one and only one celebration and ordinance — that is the breaking of bread. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19) The Lord Jesus never taught that we should celebrate His birthday, or for that matter, His resurrection. It was His death we are to celebrate — and He said, “do this in remembrance of me,” and for how long? — ‘till I come.’ If we had as much loyalty to the breaking of bread as the Church has for the Christmas tree, and to the sun-god, we would be a happier and more obedient people of God. In the light of all this, we are reminded that it was against the traditions of men that the Lord Jesus spoke out against. The Lord Jesus has been cast off for the same worldly evils as the nation of Israel cast off Jehovah.
  He is the King of glory and has been anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. To those of us who love Him, He is precious. And we rejoice in not having a building. For our house is Christ.Â
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:6)
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7)
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:8)
¶ As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. (John 15:9)
  These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. It is He who stands atop of Jacob’s ladder, and says, ‘come unto me, all ye who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest unto your souls.’ The throne of righteousness is sealed with His blood. It is upheld with the Word of His power, and His throne of eternity is dedicated with the oil of gladness. The anointing oil is also a symbol of His Priesthood, this will come later on in our study when we study His Priesthood after the order of Melchisedec.
  In the book of Hebrews, we have the Son of God purging our sin, sitting upon His throne as a Priest after the order of Melchisedec, as the divine ark of the covenant, and as the holy sacrifice of God. In Revelation 19:10 we see the Lord Jesus as the Spirit of Prophecy, and the fulfillment of all prophecy is in Him. So, we see in the fulfillment of Hebrews 1:9 that the oil of gladness has been applied to both the tried stone, and the precious stone; yea, the stone the builders refused. He now sits upon His throne with His righteous scepter as the King eternal, invisible, only wise God, to God be the glory, great things He hath done. Amen.
©Copyright 2015, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJB)