Day: February 18, 2025

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

“And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil” (Exodus 30:25 KJV).

Let us learn some lessons from the biblical apothecary….

Read verses 34-36: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.”

As touching the perfume or incense, it too was a recipe the LORD had invented. Of equal quantities the following “sweet spices” were to be mixed. “Stacte” was sap from various unidentified tree or plant species. “Onycha” was a type of mussel or mollusk shell that emitted an aroma when burned. “Galbanum,” also having an extremely strong odor, was rubbery resin extracted from the roots of a flowering plant native to Afghanistan, Syria, and Persia (Iran). “Frankincense” (Boswellia carteri) was tree sap or bark imported from Saudi Arabia or Ethiopia. This mixture was to burned on the altar of incense in the Tabernacle before the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 30:1-9).

See Exodus 30:1,6-9: “And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it…. And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.” Any such “strange [foreign] incense,” which God rejected, was produced when the recipe of Exodus 30:34-36 was not followed!

Let us see other Divinely-ordained specifications associated with the biblical apothecary’s work….