Sons of Fresh Oil

Scripture:

Zech. 4:14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Observation:

Zechariah’s vision is one of restoration for the people of God. Amidst this vision is a view of two men, “two anointed ones” probably representing Zerubbabel and Joshua. Quite literally this means “sons of fresh oil” and the two men are the high priest and the governor, descendants of Aaron and David. Both of these offices, those of Priest and King were the only Old Testament offices for whom officials were anointed. Now the two men represent the future, where they are to be anointed with grace for the people of God. It also represents the future when there will be a union between God and man, an anointing that will bring about the salvation of all people in Christ. But in Zechariah’s day, there were those who needed to stand anointed in God’s grace as intercessors for the people.

Application:

The oil of God’s anointing is poured out today in the power of the Holy Spirit. We thank God for the promises of old which are brought to fruition today. No longer do we need to look for “two oily guys” but we, ourselves must become the olive branches of God’s grace. This means that just as God called Zerubbabel and Joshua to be the faithful leaders of the people, as God’s anointed, so are all of God’s people called to be his faithful and anointed grace givers.

What does that look like on a daily basis? Do we have our eyes and ears open to point people in the direction of Christ?

What would happen if every week we began to pray for divine appointments, moments when God helps us to see that we are to be the anointed oil of grace to someone? Just this week I was with my cousin and her husband, Bob. Bob had gone into a coffee shop in the morning and met a young lady who spoke Russian. He thought that maybe this would be one of those divine appointments and that Chuck and I ought to go back to meet her. We did just that and Bob introduced us to a beautiful young lady who had just arrived in the country about 10 months ago. She was originally from Ukraine and her eyes welled up with tears as we talked to her. Finally I asked if she was okay and she responded that today had been a very difficult day. Her husband still lives in Ukraine and she had just received word this morning that he had been called up to serve in the military. She was terrified at the thought of losing him. I asked her if I could pray for her and there in that coffee shop we prayed for God’s anointing and protection in the midst of a very difficult and complicated situation. We left feeling that just maybe we were to be there that day, to be the anointing oil of grace.

Ours lives are to be anointed by the Holy Spirit and just as Zerubbabel and Joshua were to lead the people to salvation and point in the direction of the coming Messiah. We are to be grace that leads people to Christ. This is our calling, to live in the anointing of the Spirit on a daily basis. 

Why on a daily basis? Because these two were “sons of fresh oil,” not sons of stale oil! They were freshly covered by God’s anointing and so we must stay fresh so that our lives can be the sweet aroma of fresh anointing. Every day we are to soak in his presence and in his anointing so that we will drip with Christ. We are all called to be sons and daughters of fresh oil.

Prayer:

Lord, please help me to be filled with your anointing today.  Amen.