Exodus 30: The Direction of Holiness

Exodus 30: The Direction of Holiness

"Whatever touches them will become holy." (Exodus 30:29)

God is not impoverished. He has no need for fragrant incense, costly oil, or even the half-shekel of silver that ransoms our lives. Yet, Exodus 30 commands that all these materials be brought to the Tent of Meeting, bearing the heavy tag of "Holy." Why does God covet these necessities of human survival?

Holiness (Kadosh) is not a chemical property of matter. It is a direction of flow. When spices and oil are used to adorn and flaunt oneself, they are mere luxuries. But when they flow toward the place God has designated—the "Tent of Meeting"—they finally become holy sanctums. Where is the Tent of Meeting today? Jesus Christ pointed to the locus with clarity: "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." (Matt 25:40)

Therefore, the elaborate recipes of Exodus are not formulas for cultic alchemy, but formulas for the distribution of love. To become a ransom for one whose life is threatened for lack of half a shekel; to clothe a stinking life-setting with the fragrance of dignity; to pour healing oil upon a wounded soul. This is precisely the "washing" and "anointing" that God demanded of His priests.

A sanctuary where this sharing has ceased is a perilous place. Just as a priest who enters the tent without washing his hands and feet incurs death, a church where concrete provision for the neighbor is cut off may appear alive, but in reality, it is a space where death cohabits. When the offering we present becomes a pretext called "Corban" to ignore the neighbor's need, we witness death masquerading as holiness. Water, oil, and fragrance must flow. The promise that "whatever touches them will become holy" (v. 29) is valid only when they flow in love.