第三週 • 週一

w03d01-ch

晨興餧養

出三十23~25  你要取上好的香料，就是流質的沒藥五百舍客勒，香肉桂一半，就是二百五十舍客勒，香菖蒲二百五十舍客勒，桂皮五百舍客勒，…又取橄欖油一欣；你要把這些香料，…複合成香品，作成聖膏油。

聖膏油的材料分為兩類，共有五項。第一類包含四種香料：沒藥、肉桂、菖蒲和桂皮。第二類只含一個項目—橄欖油。

流質的沒藥聞起來是香的，嘗起來卻是苦的，表徵基督寶貴的死。在聖經裏，沒藥多半是埋葬時所用的香料。因此，沒藥與死有關。按照約翰十九章，尼哥底母和其他的人豫備埋葬主耶穌的身體時，就用了沒藥。

沒藥來自一種芳香的樹；這種樹因着受到切割，或有某種天然的裂口或開口，就流出汁液。古時候，這種汁液用來減輕死亡的痛苦。主耶穌被釘十字架時，有人拿沒藥調和的酒給祂，要減輕祂的痛苦。然而，祂不肯接受。毫無疑問，出埃及三十章裏的沒藥表徵主的死。

沒藥芳香的液體不僅能減輕痛苦，也能用來治好身體不當的分泌。…在我們的人生中，有許多不當的分泌物，但主在十字架上的死治好了這個難處（出埃及記生命讀經，一九三三至一九三四頁）。

信息選讀

香肉桂表徵基督之死的甜美與功效。肉桂不僅有特殊的香味，也能用來強心。肉桂可以用為增強衰弱心臟的處方。

沒藥表徵基督寶貴的死，而肉桂表徵基督之死的功效。我們若應用主的死到我們的情況裏，就會減輕我們的痛苦，治好不當的分泌，最終激勵我們，使我們快樂歡喜。…當我一應用主的死，我就得着改正、調整、鼓舞並激勵。

菖蒲生長在沼澤或泥濘之處。但即使它長在沼澤之處，仍能向空中矗立。按照香料的次序，菖蒲表徵主耶穌從死地復活。主被擺在沼澤之處，就是死亡之境，卻在復活裏起來且站立。所以，菖蒲表徵基督寶貴的復活。

第四種香料—桂皮—表徵基督復活的大能。…肉桂和桂皮都是甜美芳香的。不僅如此，出產肉桂和桂皮的植物，常是生長在其他植物無法生長的地方。…古時桂皮是用來當作驅蟲劑，以驅逐蟲蛇；因此桂皮表徵基督復活的大能，功效。基督的復活經得起任何一種環境，祂的復活確實是驅蟲劑，驅逐一切邪惡的『昆蟲』，特別是那古蛇，就是魔鬼。

橄欖油是橄欖被壓榨所產生的。橄欖油表徵神的靈藉着基督受死的壓榨而流出。…橄欖油所表徵神的靈不再僅僅是油，如今它乃是複合着一些成分的油。關於這點，約翰七章三十九節說，『耶穌這話是指着信入祂的人將要受的那靈說的；那時還沒有那靈，因為耶穌尚未得着榮耀。』這意思是，主得着榮耀以前，還沒有複合的靈；乃是基督復活以後，這靈的複合或調和，纔得以完成（出埃及記生命讀經，一九三四至一九三六頁）。

參讀：出埃及記生命讀經，第一百五十七篇。

WEEK 3—DAY 1

Morning Nourishment

Exo. 30:23-25 You also take the finest spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred fifty shekels, and of fragrant calamus two hundred fifty shekels, and of cassia five hundred shekels…, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make it a holy anointing oil, a fragrant ointment compounded…

The materials of the holy anointing oil are of two categories and are five in number. The first category includes the four spices: myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. The second category consists of one item—olive oil.

Flowing myrrh, smelling sweet but tasting bitter, signifies the precious death of Christ. In the Bible myrrh is used mostly for burial. Hence, myrrh is related to death. According to John 19, when Nicodemus and others were preparing to bury the body of the Lord Jesus, they used myrrh.

Myrrh comes from an aromatic tree. This tree drops its juice either as a result of being cut or through some kind of natural opening or incision. In ancient times, this juice was used to reduce the suffering of death. When the Lord Jesus was being crucified, He was offered wine mixed with myrrh to reduce His pain. However, He refused to take it. No doubt, the myrrh in Exodus 30 is a symbol of the Lord’s death.

The aromatic liquid of myrrh not only reduces pain but also can be used for healing the body when it gives off the wrong kind of secretion…In our human life there are many wrong secretions, but the Lord’s death on the cross corrects this problem. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1687-1688)

Today’s Reading

Fragrant cinnamon signifies the sweetness and effectiveness of Christ’s death. Cinnamon not only has a distinctive flavor, but it can also be used to stimulate the heart.

Myrrh signifies the precious death of Christ, and cinnamon signifies the effectiveness of His death. If we apply the Lord’s death to our situation, it will reduce our pain, correct the wrong secretions, and eventually stimulate us and make us happy and joyful…When I apply the Lord’s death, I am corrected, adjusted, stimulated, and stirred up.

Calamus grows in a marsh or muddy place. But even though it grows in a marsh, it is able to shoot up into the air. According to the sequence of the spices, this calamus signifies the rising up of the Lord Jesus from the place of death. The Lord was put into a marsh, into a death situation, but in resurrection He rose up and stood up. Calamus, therefore, signifies the precious resurrection of Christ.

The fourth spice, cassia, signifies the power of Christ’s resurrection… Both cinnamon and cassia are sweet and fragrant. Furthermore, the plants from which they are derived often live and grow in places where other plants cannot grow. In ancient times cassia was used as a repellent to drive away insects and snakes. Cassia thus signifies the power, the effectiveness, of Christ’s resurrection. Christ’s resurrection can withstand any kind of environment, and His resurrection certainly is a repellent. It repels all evil “insects” and especially the old serpent, the devil.

Olive oil is produced by the pressing of olives. The olive oil signifies the Spirit of God, through the pressure of Christ’s death, flowing out. The Spirit of God, signified by the olive oil, is no longer merely oil, but now it is oil compounded with certain ingredients. Regarding this, John 7:39 says, “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” This means that before the Lord’s glorification, the compound Spirit was not yet. It was after Christ’s resurrection that the compounding, or the blending, of such a Spirit was completed. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1688-1689)

Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msg. 157