THE SPREADING OINTMENT
AND THE DESCENDING DEW
Although in verse 2 the King James Version speaks of ointment, most other versions use the Hebrew word for oil. This oil refers to the anointing oil described in Exodus 30. That anointing oil is a compound ointment formed by blending four spices with olive oil. Aaron, his sons, the tabernacle, and everything related to the tabernacle were anointed with this ointment. According to Psalm 133, this ointment, this compound anointing oil, was upon a person, Aaron. We have pointed out that, by contrast, the refreshing, watering, and saturating dew was on a place, the mountains of Zion.
Neither the anointing oil nor the saturating dew moved quickly. The dew did not fall down like rain; it descended, came down, in a gradual way. In like manner, the ointment did not actually run down upon Aaron’s beard; it spread upon his beard and then went down to the skirts of his garments. The Hebrew root means to strew, as to strew over a surface. It also means to spread, like to spread a cover, a bedspread, over your bed. Hence, the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head spread upon his beard; it did not swiftly run down upon the beard. Gently and slowly, the ointment spread.
In the same principle the dew came down upon the mountains of Zion. In our hymnal there is a hymn about "showers of blessing" (#260). Such spiritual showers are somewhat Pentecostal in nature. I have a greater appreciation for the spreading of the ointment and the descending of the dew than for the showers of blessing. Showers are not related to oneness. The genuine oneness is constituted of the spreading ointment and the descending dew.
ANOINTED WITH THE PROCESSED TRIUNE GOD
We have pointed out emphatically that real oneness is the mingling of the processed God with the believers. Although this is revealed in the New Testament, we do not see in the New Testament the way to practice this oneness. The way to practice this mingling is in Psalm 133. The ointment in verse 2 is a type of the processed Triune God who today is the all-inclusive compound Spirit. According to Exodus 30, the anointing oil is a compound formed by blending four spices with a hin of olive oil. This compound typifies the all-inclusive Spirit who is the processed God for our enjoyment. In this compound Spirit we have not only divinity, but also Christ’s humanity, the effectiveness of His death, and the power of His resurrection. In other words, the compound Spirit is the processed God with the divine attributes, the human virtues, the effectiveness of Christ’s death, and the power of Christ’s resurrection. In the church life this compound Spirit is continually anointing us.
The ointment can be compared to paint, and the anointing to the application of the paint. When you paint a chair, you may put on one coat of paint after another. As the compound Spirit anoints us, He "paints" us and the "paint" is the very Triune God. In this "paint" we have the humanity of Christ, the effectiveness of Christ’s death, and the power of Christ’s resurrection. We also have Christ’s divinity and human living. As all these ingredients of the ointment are applied to us, we are "painted" with the processed Triune God and with all the elements in the compound ointment. The proper church life is a life in the oneness which is the mingling of the processed Triune God with the believers. As we remain in this oneness, we are "painted" with the ointment. The more we are "painted" in this way, the more our natural constitution, temperament, and disposition are eliminated. What remains is the mingling of the processed Triune God with our uplifted humanity. This is the oneness.
(The Genuine Ground of Oneness, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee)
