Oil and incense

A “through the bible” devotion from Exodus 29.

It’s possible to find a copycat recipe for just about anything. I’ve made a lemon loaf just like the ones at Starbucks, Italian salad dressing just like Good Seasons, and Olive Garden’s chicken marsala.

However, you didn’t want to mix up a batch of anointing oil or incense like the blends used for the tabernacle. If you got caught, you’d be in big trouble.

“This shall be a holy anointing oil to me throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same proportions; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. Whoever mixes any like it or whoever puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people” (Exodus 29:31,32).

“And the incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord. Whoever makes any like it, to use as perfume, shall be cut off from his people” (Exodus 29:37,38).

Worship wasn’t a do-it-yourself endeavor. It was set up to be done a specific way at a specific time in a specific place. Unlike pagan rituals done on any and every high place to any number of different gods, there’s only one true God. We relate to him on his terms, not ours.

God is holy. Nothing about him is ordinary. So it is fitting to have oil and incense only used for worship. The fragrance of each would remind you of the uniqueness of God. Is anyone or any thing like him? Nope. Nothing even comes close.