Your Daily Slice

Nisan 28

Oil

“You have anointed my head with oil” (Ps 23:5 ISR)

Most of us associate “anointing” as an ordaining into ministry, such as one of the five-fold ministries (see Eph 4:11), or as an anointing of a sovereign, such as when David was anointed king (see 1Sam 16).  There is also an anointing for healing, as told to us in James 5:14.  However, this anointing mentioned in our opening verse is entirely different.  With these words, we witness the care and concern that a shepherd has for his flock, tenderly watching over them.

In the pastures of the Middle East, summertime is a breeding ground for flies, bugs, and insects that many of us have never heard of.  Insects of different varieties will burrow into the wool around the eyes and ears of a sheep, drinking of the moisture that is found in the eye.  Nose flies (or nasal flies) are also common in this area; the insect travels up the nostrils of the sheep, laying their eggs in the mucous membranes of the nose.  The eggs hatch into a worm shape, which then travel further up the nasal passages into the brain, causing immense pain, and can lead to blindness and death.  The determent to all of these insects is pouring oil over the head of the sheep, and allowing it to run down the face and nose.  And there we have the transformation from a herd that is panic-stricken because of these insects, to a herd of peaceful, grazing sheep, totally at rest.

When our Shepherd anoints our head with oil, He is, in essence, protecting us from all of the irritations – the gnats, if you will – that continually buzz around our heads, those distractions that can cause untold harm if we allow them to land.  However, just as He provides this “oil” for our anointing, so too, our responsibility is to stand still under this flow of oil.  When we become so disturbed by the “fiery darts of the enemy” (see Eph 6:16) that we are no longer aware of the provision our Shepherd has for us, we are in big trouble.

Father, help us to become all that more attached to You, our Shepherd …

“And you have an anointing from the Set-apart One, and you know all.” (1Joh 2:20 ISR)

“But You lift up my horn like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.” (Ps 92:10 ISR)

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