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In Esther 2:12 the Bible describes Esther’s preparations for becoming queen which involved six months with the oil of Myrrh, a spice commonly used for preparing bodies for burial.

 

A similar custom is described in the Song of Solomon revealing another bridal tradition concerning the use of Myrrh.  In the Song of Solomon 1:13, the bride responds to the king and says, “A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.”  This reflects a popular custom of laying a bundle of Myrrh on one’s chest while sleeping as a beauty treatment in preparation for a wedding.  Both of these examples from the Word teach believers that the first step to becoming the Bride of Messiah is to spiritually put the flesh to death.

 

Most believers know from experience the works of the flesh are the first issues God deals with when they come to know Yeshua as their Savior.  The Scriptures list these works in Galatians 5:19-21:

 

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

 

Esther didn’t do it alone, as Scripture shows.  She had the king’s eunuch Hegai to guide her in how to prepare.  Believers also have a guide—the Holy Spirit—showing them all things in how to ready themselves for His return.

 

In the same way Esther prepared, the Spirit provides His betrothed ones with oil of Myrrh, which represents the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.

 

Philippians 3:10-11 reads, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

 

Because of what Yeshua did, the Lord’s Bride can share in His victory over sin, the world, and the flesh!

 

Tears of Myrrh

During the Messiah’s final agonizing hours in the Garden of Gethsemane, the weight of the world’s sins crushed the Savior like a wine press, causing Him to sweat great tears of blood.

 

His bitter sufferings can be compared to Myrrh, a highly-prized spice used for perfumes and incense, extracted by piercing the tree’s heartwood and allowing the gum to trickle out and harden into bitter, aromatic red droplets called “tears.”

 

The Hebrew word for Myrrh is mowr, which means “distilled” and comes from the root word marar, which means “bitterness.”

 

After the Savior’s crucifixion, His body was prepared with Myrrh.  As a member of Yeshua’s body, believers are to be made ready with the burial of their sins at the cross.  They must die to the old life, as death is the first step in preparation for those who will become the Bride of the Messiah.

 

Yeshua told His disciples in Matthew 16:24b-25, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

 

As joint heirs with the Messiah, His Bride is to share in His affliction according to 2 Corinthians 1:5, so that she can be triumphant through the bitterness of suffering.  Believers are told to rejoice in this.  Colossians 1:24 says, “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake.”

 

Myrrh is a fixing or servant oil which is used by apothecaries to enhance the fragrance of the other oils and make them last longer.  Isn’t that just like the Messiah?   He is a servant and desires to lift up His Bride and enhance her with beautiful things.

The First and the Last

Rich with symbolism, Myrrh is mentioned 156 times in the Bible.  It is the first oil mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 37:25, when Joseph’s jealous brothers sold him into slavery to a caravan of Ishmaelites (incense traders) who were on their way to Egypt, carrying “balm and myrrh.”   Years later during the famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food, encountering Joseph as an Egyptian prince.

 

Interestingly, Jacob their father (now called Israel) told his sons to take gifts for the prince.  The Scripture says they brought Joseph balm and Myrrh (Genesis 43:11)—the same two oils that accompanied Joseph into slavery.

 

Not only is Myrrh the first oil mentioned in the Bible, it is the last one mentioned in Revelation 18:13: “And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments (“myrrh” in the Greek), and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.”

 

Myrrh was one of the first gum resins/oils given as a gift to Yeshua as a young child by the Magi in Matthew 2:11.  It was also the last oil offered to Yeshua at Golgotha when He was crucified.  In Mark 15:23, it says, “And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.”

 

Therapeutic/Medicinal Uses

Myrrh was known to act as a pain-reliever, which is why the Romans mixed it to the sour wine and offered it to Yeshua on the cross.^[1]

 

Recent studies and medicinal research has discovered that Myrrh is anti-infectious, antiviral, anti-parasitic, hormone-like, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hyperthyroid.  It soothes skin conditions and supports the immunity system.^[2],[3]

 

Dr. Mohamed Rafi at Rutgers University discovered Myrrh to be anti-cancer and effective for prevention and treatment of breast and prostrate cancer, according to the Journal of Natural Products.^[4]

 

Other uses include treating bronchitis, diarrhea, dysentery, hyperthyroidism, stretch marks and skin conditions, eczema, gingivitis, gum infections, asthma, athlete’s foot, thrush and vaginal thrush, ulcers, and viral hepatitis.^[5],[6]

“Nature” magazine reported in an article entitled “Analgesic Effects of Myrrh,” that Myrrh promotes a feeling of security.^[7] Many find just inhaling the fragrance lifts the spirit.

 

For more information please visit: http://HealWithEssentialOil.com.  Rebecca Park Totilo is a bestselling author of 37 books including, “Heal With Essential Oil: Nature’s Medicine Chest” and “Heal With Oil: How to Use the Essential Oils of Ancient Scripture.”