10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.

11 And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.

12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.

13 And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the Lord commanded Moses.

Yesterday I mentioned how the priestly clothes are part of the clothes-as-a-symbol category, something that we have everyday experience with whenever we get dressed. We also heard previously about the priests being washed, which is also something we are quite familiar with, given our practice of showering and bathing. Being anointed with oil is not so familiar, though. We don’t typically put oil on our bodies as part of our regular everyday lives. It can still be found in some religious and royal ceremonies, and in some herbal/natural remedies, but seeing someone applying oil to the body does not feel immediately familiar today.

But it would have been immediately familiar to the ancient Israelite. In the time of Moses, oil was used on the body for a great many things. It was used in the care and treatment of hair, in the moisturizing of the skin, and in the soothing of wounds. Seeing the priests being anointed with special oil would be like us seeing someone christened with sacred shampoo, or lotion, or Neosporin. Just like the Israelite, we would be reminded of our own everyday experiences of healing, revitalizing, and nourishing. We would see that it was not replacing our bodies but adding God’s gifts to them to make them richer, softer, and healthier.

I believe the connection to everyday practices was intentional and it provided a two-way remembrance. On the one hand, the ancient Israelite would be reminded of God’s tabernacle whenever they did their every-day bathing, dressing, and hair treatment, and they would therefore have a more sober mind as they went about their business. And when they saw the priests washed, clothed, and anointed at the tabernacle it would remind them of their everyday lives, and they would know that they needed to carry the spirit of this sacred place back to their home.