You Anoint My Head with Oil!

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23: 1-6)

Scripture is rich in imagery of sheep and shepherd, there are so many parallels between the lives of Jesus and David. Psalm 23 is a love poem from David to God. It's a sum total of His walk with God in every season of his life, from the cradle to the life hereafter. It is assuring, encouraging, comforting, and stoically founded and grounded on the faith, hope and love of God. I am particularly drawn to the verse, "You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows" Let's look at sheep - during summer time, sheep are especially troubled by the nose fly or nasal fly - this fly attempts to burrow itself into the sheep's nose to deposit their eggs on the damp mucous membranes of the sheep's nose. If successful these eggs hatch to form worm-like larvae which when they work up the sheep's head through its nose, causes untold torment for the sheep. The sheep are driven to such despair that they knock their heads violently against any surface to free themselves of this irritant. An astute Shepherd usually predicts and preempts this outbreak by applying an antidote, oil, to the sheep's head. Once the oil was placed on the sheep's head there was an immediate change in behaviour. How amazing!

I think of the torment we all face in our daily lives - Scripture says the mind is the battle-field and when the enemy makes his way into our heads" then his 'larvae of worms' can drive us ballistic to the point that we self-destruct and forfeit the promises and benefits of the Good Shepherd. David knew this torment, out in the war-zones, when pursued and wanted - when he suffered the consequences of his adulterous act. But he knew all too well the workings of the 'Balm of Gilead', whose soothing oil His Good Shepherd would apply to keep his mind in perfect peace even in imperfect conditions.

You see when David was subpoenaed from his father's fields to be anointed King of Israel - He was set apart, anointed for service and preordained for purpose. Once he was earmarked, singled out and reserved - no matter how the enemy tried to inhibit him from his crown, God stepped in and reminded him of his calling - When God anointed His head with oil, it barred, it prohibited, it prevented and disallowed any force of evil and darkness that tried to penetrate David's mind. For surely God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, of power and a sound mind. I think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, a place where olives were crushed to produce oil. I think of the mental anguish He endured as He faced the prospect of the Cross, but of how He graciously and willingly accepted the cup of His Father as the oil of gladness, a cup that overflowed with Gods benevolence and Grace in seeing Him to the Cross.

And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie-just as it has taught you, abide in him. 1 John 2:27. What a wonderful reminder of the call of God on our lives. When He places His seal over you, you are protected from the schemes of the enemy, you are guaranteed the victory and the victor's crown. Like David, like Jesus, we must forge ahead in the knowledge that our Good Shepherd walks with us and directs us in every season of our lives, in green pastures, quiet waters even in the presence of our enemies, His rod and staff comfort us - the seal of His anointing, His spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!