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EXODUS: FUNCTIONING WELL IN A HOPELESS GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Part II: God's Sustainment Of Israel In The Wilderness Wanderings Amid Humanly Hopeless Trials
M. God's Establishment Of The Tabernacle Of Meeting
14. The Anointing Oil: Wholehearted Dedication To God's Service
(Exodus 30:22-33)
  1. Introduction
    1. One of the requirements God has of one who serves Him is wholehearted commitment to his divinely appointed task. Paul illustrated this truth in 2 Timothy 2:4 NIV where he likened Timothy to a soldier who was drafted by his Commanding Officer, Jesus Christ, to serve as a pastor, and Paul had written: "No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs -- he wants to please his commanding officer."
    2. Likewise, the Exodus 30:22-33 anointing oil teaches wholehearted dedication to God's assignments of us:
  2. The Anointing Oil: Wholehearted Dedication To God's Service, Exodus 30:22-33.
    1. As we have noted, Exodus 30 is a "great worship chapter", a passage typifying various aspects of a believer's worship of God, cf. J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible With J. Vernon McGee, vol. I, p. 294.
    2. Thus, Exodus 30:22-33 reveals by way of the typology of the anointing oil the need for believers in Christ to be wholeheartedly dedicated to the tasks assigned them by God as an act of worship unto the Lord:
      1. The Exodus 30:22-33 anointing oil was to be applied to all of the furnishings of the tabernacle listed between Exodus 25:10 and Exodus 30:21: it was applied to the tabernacle structure, the ark of the testimony (Exodus 30:26), the table of shewbread, the candlestick, the altar of incense (Exodus 30:27), the altar of burnt offering and the laver and its foot (Exodus 30:28) with all their respective utensils.
      2. The anointing oil would set them apart from all uncleanness and consecrate them unto God, Ex. 30:29.
      3. In addition to the tabernacle and all its furnishings of worship and service to God, the Aaronic priests were themselves to be anointed and so consecrated unto the Lord in their priestly office, Exodus 30:30.
      4. Composed of a special formula of fragrant compounds, the anointing oil could be used only for the consecrations of the tabernacle, its furniture and the priests for the Lord's service, Ex. 30:22-25, 31-32 with Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Exodus 30:22-33.
      5. So distinct was this oil, and so important was its consecrating effects in God's view that anyone who even mixed the same mixture of the oil for any other use, or who applied any of it to a foreigner was to be excommunicated from Israel, Exodus 30:33.
      6. What this oil typified was the believer's need for full dedication to God's service as an act of worship:
        1. All of the tabernacle furnishings together with the priests were to be anointed with this oil to signify consecration to the Lord, cf. Exodus 30:29-30. As we have learned that all these furnishings typified Christ's work and the ensuing ministry of God's people, and since the believer in Christ is to dedicate his body as a sacrifice to God for His service as an act of worship (Romans 12:1-2 NIV), the anointing oil illustrates God's desire that we be wholeheartedly dedicated to fulfilling those service assignments He gives us as an act of worship unto Him, cf. Colossians 4:17.
        2. This dedication involves putting all other matters below God's assignment: anything that touched the anointed articles would be separated unto the Lord (Ex. 30:29), and the anointing of the priests left them obliged to serve God versus serving some other party, Ex. 30:30. Similarly, Paul taught Timothy to focus on God's assignment to pastor the Church at Ephesus over becoming involved in other distracting issues that he might fulfill his divine assignment there, 2 Tim. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1:3-4.
        3. This anointing oil would be distinct throughout Israel's history, Exodus 30:31, meaning God wanted His people to serve Him wholeheartedly throughout their history and throughout their earthly lives!
Lesson: If GOD has ASSIGNED us a task, He wants us WHOLEHEARTEDLY to FULFILL that call, not letting even other wholesome "civilian affairs" detract us from that task, and for us to STAY at that ministry until the task is COMPLETED even if it takes ALL of our EARTHLY LIVES!

Application: (1) May we believers be WHOLEHEARTEDLY committed to the task God assigns us. (2) May we NOT get DISTRACTED from it by OTHER interests, and (3) may we STAY thus committed until the task is FINISHED though this may take investing the rest of our LIVES to that end!