The LORD said to Moses, "Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. And you shall say to the people of Israel, 'This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.'"
Exodus 30:22-33
The composition of the anointing oil is now described, and its application to every article of furniture in the Tabernacle and on those who took part in its service. This symbolism abounds in obvious spiritual lessons. On the one hand, oil is ever a symbol of the Holy Spirit in Scripture, and we may therefore learn that without His presence and anointing, no worship or service is acceptable to God. The Tabernacle, we may say, was to be saturated and drenched with His presence, and, what is more, with the fragrance of His presence. The ingredients of the holy ointment were myrrh, cinnamon, calamus and cassia and olive oil, and these could not but fill the place with a sweet-smelling savour. This is a needed reminder to us today who tend to think more in terms of power than of sweetness when we think of the Spirit of God. In the New Testament Church, the power of the Spirit was certainly evident in extraordinary measure, but there was also a wondrous attractiveness in its corporate life, and great grace was upon them all. Another important lesson that emerges here is that all the various pieces of furniture, each speaking of some aspect of Christ, needed the anointing oil to make them fulfil their function in so doing. Here is a solemn challenge indeed. Orthodoxy of doctrine, however faithfully it sets forth Christ, will not avail if it lacks the holy unction. Neither propitiation (the brazen altar) nor cleansing (the laver), nor light (the candlestick), nor nurture (the shewbread) will be communicated to men if the Spirit of God is not present. The letter killeth; it is the Spirit alone that giveth life. One final lesson: the genuine anointing oil was not to be simulated or imitated, or used for any other purpose than the worship of the Tabernacle. This bears its own compelling lesson. Nothing can ever be a substitute for the genuine article.