We’re on a series talking about the “oil of gladness” — a phrase used only twice in the whole Bible. So what is this oil of gladness, and where does it come from?
In the first chapter of the book of Hebrews, the author quotes the following passage from Psalm 45:6-7 as a Messianic prophecy concerning the Son of God:
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.
As is made plain here, the oil of gladness is an anointing that flows from the very throne room of God onto…whom? Christ! What is contained within this anointing? The Hebrew word used here, sasown, refers to a welcoming state of cheerfulness, mirth, rejoicing. I could imagine waking up in the morning full of excitement and happy anticipation to go spend a wonderful day of merrymaking with close friends — sasown!
But what about Jesus being a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, stricken, afflicted? That was the essence of Jesus’ sacrificial mission to bear our sins and suffering on the cross, but that was not the final purpose of his ministry. It’s helpful to consider Paul’s reference to the “ministry of reconciliation” in II Corinthians 5:18 that God gave to us through Christ. Reconciliation is where two parties come together and set aside past differences to come to a common accord, an agreement, harmony. The parable of the prodigal son that Jesus so beautifully illustrates is a great example of this reconciliation ministry. And what do we find happening when the father is reconciled to his wayward son? A celebration of joy! Gladness! Mirth! Rejoicing!
The ministry of Jesus is the ministry of reconciliation — between us as former sinners now saved and sanctified by Jesus’ blood and God the Father. We are no longer separated by a gulf of iniquity, chaos, and death. The chasm has been crossed, by the power of the cross, and that is truly something to be glad about!
The other passage in the Bible that talks about the oil of gladness is in the book of Isaiah, and interestingly enough, it’s also within the context of a Messianic prophesy. We’ll delve more into that on the next post in this series. Until then, may God fill you with sasown!
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8 Comments
I am not a joyful person, and I desire to be a happy person. I am too serious sometimes about the little things in life that I should not spend too much time focusing on. I pray daily, I love my GOD, and most gratfull for His Son Jesus. I am thankful for my salvation and redemption through the Cross. The blood of JESUS has much power, His Holy Name has much power. There is power in prayer. I have some oils, but want to order the Oil of Gladness, I want gladness in my spirit.
Great stuff! let me know if you ever need a partner!
Jeannette,
I can relate to that sense of “overly serious”, and I can ‘justify it’ by using passages like 2 Peter 2:7-8,
“and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)
You know, my ‘righteous soul’ is being oppressed by the wickedness about me too. And though I should have a sense of measured frustration and seriousness about the moral decay all around me, it should not sap my JOY! Honest, solid joy – in both the present time and the forward look into the future.
Not to take anything away from Jared’s discussion on the Oil of Gladness, but there is an awesome discussion of this by the famous preacher and scholar Charles Spurgeon. The website is:
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/1273
Read the section about Jesus’ supremely joyful spirit being balanced by His sorrows, and it will speak powerfully to your spirit. Awesome stuff – I mean, totally brought me in focus on the joyful nature of our Lord.
May God continue to bless your searchings.
V/r,
Justin
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who has been conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me dinner simply because I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending time to discuss this issue here on your web site.
Legal encontrar esse post. Acho que é por ai
mesmo, temos que espalhar e informar esse povo com coisas
boas.
I was watching a Global Awakening webcast last night and received an amazing healing and deliverance which conintued throughout the night. I heard the words ‘oil of gladness’ and got the urge to look it up and found this, which fits right in with the rest of what God is speaking to me right now.
Halleluiah!
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