Friday, April 28, 2023
Why Kings Are Annointed With Oil in The Bible
Nadene Goldfoot
When the Temple is rebuilt, the oil will be revealed from its hiding place – together with the Ark – and the future King of Israel (aka the Messiah, Mashiach in Hebrew, which means "the anointed one") will be anointed with it.
The anointing oil is referred to in the Torah (Exodus 30:22-33)
"You shall anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them to
minister to Me, "You shall speak to the Children of Israel,
saying: "This shall remain for Me oil of sacred anointment for
your generations....."
when God instructs Moses to produce it to consecrate kings
and High Priests, as well as the Tabernacle and its utensils
(such as the ark, altars and menorah). That’s a lot of
anointing! But the Talmud states that the original oil Moses
produced in the desert, though only 12 logs (around 1
gallon), miraculously lasted for all of Israel’s history and exists in its full quantity today (Horiyot 11b).
Nathan wrote a chronicle about his father, David and his
reign (chronicle 29:29) most likely one of the main sources for the Book of Samuel).
Why were Jewish kings anointed with oil specifically? And what’s the significance of the miracle of Moses’s oil lasting forever? (Seems like a far bigger miracle than the flask of oil burning for eight days!)
The oil was hidden away by King Josiah towards the end of the First Temple era – when he hid the Ark of the Covenant and some other sacred items, knowing that the Temple was soon to be destroyed.
Why were Jewish kings anointed with oil specifically? And what’s the significance of the miracle of Moses’s oil lasting forever? (Seems like a far bigger miracle than the flask of oil burning for eight days!)
In Judaism, anointing with oil signifies the endowment of divine power, authority, and blessings upon the new king. Oil, which was also used to light the menorah in the Temple, represents the light of Jewish wisdom that illuminates the world. Accessing the pure oil requires squeezing the olive, symbolizing the necessity to put in maximum effort to attain wisdom.
Talmud: We have two of them, the Palestinian and the Babylonian Talmuds. Books of the records of the academic discussions and judicial administration of Jewish Law. This was compiled all before 400 CE for the Palestinian Talmud; 500 CE for the Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud is 3 times as long as Palestinian one, making Babylonian one far more important.
Torah: The Written Law of Moses-the 1st 5 books -Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy or (Bereishis), Shemos, Veyikra, Bamidbar, Devarim)
The Talmud (Megillah 6b) states that God makes a rare promise: no matter what your IQ is, if your yearning for Jewish wisdom is so strong that in translates into blood, sweat and tears, God will open up the gates of wisdom and coronate you with the Crown of Torah. Accessing the wealth of Jewish wisdom is totally available for anyone who wants it badly enough.
Perhaps that is why Moses’ oil will never be depleted. The oil represents the infinite Torah that is available always, to everyone, for all time.
But there’s one more catch. You can only attain it through humility. In the verse, "Where shall wisdom be found" (Job 28:12), the Hebrew word for "where" is "me’ayin" which also means "from nothingness".
The Talmud (Sotah, 21b) says that Torah wisdom can only be found in one who "makes nothing" of himself. That is why a king was commanded to write his own Torah scroll and carry it at all times next to his heart, reminding himself that he is not above God. 
The oil that will be used to anoint Charles, son of Queen Elizabeth as king was consecrated in Jerusalem’s Old City, two minutes away from his office, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 
Olive trees in Mount of Olives, Jerusalem
The new "sacred oil" – that’s how it’s being referred to in mainstream press – was created from olives harvested and grown on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, under the order of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who will officiate the coronation.
He said, "This demonstrates the deep historic link between the Coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land. From ancient kings through to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place. As we prepare to anoint The King and The Queen Consort, I pray that they would be guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit."
Labels: Archbishop of Canterbury, Bible linked to Holy Land, Jerusalem, King Charles of England, kings, Messiah, Mount of Olives, sacred olive oil
