FRANKINCENSE & MYRRH

According to Christian belief, nearly 2000 years ago the Magi – wise men from the East – traveled to Bethlehem to worship the Christ Child. “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh”. (Matthew 2:11) According to Biblical scholars, these wise men may have traveled from regions as far away as the Arabian Sea. From this area, as well as from the coastline of the Red Sea, the resins of frankincense & myrrh were and still today are extracted. This region is one of the few places on earth where these valuable trees can be found. The gummy elixirs, once a highly prized commodity from Rome to India, were deemed essential for a host of uses ranging from religious to cosmetic to medicinal. At the time of Messiah’s birth, frankincense was not only more costly than gold – it may have been the most precious substance on earth.

Historians note that “the incense trade began in the Neolithic Age. Before they domesticated camels, the ancients carried incense by foot, then by donkey.” Then around 2000 BC, thanks to the domestication of the camel, a complex trade network evolved to transport the priceless resins from the remote valleys where the trees grew to the markets where kings and emperors vied for the finest grades. From the beginning of the first millennium BC to the fourth century AD, the incense trade was as vital to the civilization of the West as the silk trade was to that of the East. Today, the Silk Road, which links such legendary cities as Kashgar and Samarkand, is well traveled. But the Incense Road has been lost to History. However, through the use of very sophisticated infrared satellite imaging it is possible to identify some of these early trails.

There is no dearth of ancient references to the incense trade. Indeed, the rumors set down by the Roman geographers and Christian prophets incline towards the supernatural and fantastic. For Herodotus, in the fifth century BC, frankincense and myrrh trees were only known to grow in Arabia. But the secret groves where nameless workers gathered the priceless sap were guarded. Five centuries later, Pliny the Elder identified the tribes who collected incense as the Scenitae, or “tent dwellers.” “They are the richest race in the world,” he boldly claimed. By Pliny’s time, in fact, the incense region was commonly known as Arabia Felix – “Arabia the Blessed.” Yet the place remained a geographical enigma. No Greek or Roman had ever seen a frankincense or myrrh tree. Despite their importance to human history, frankincense & myrrh groves are so elusive that even today no one knows their full range. The most Pliney could say about the location was “octo mansionibus distat,” that it lay eight oases, each a day apart, to the east and south of Shabwa, a city that stands today about 100 air miles east of Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.

Frankincense, in its raw form is a gum resin extracted crudely from a small wiry tree found in the valleys and steep cliffs of Arabia. Workers risk their lives on steep rocky cliffs to cultivate the once priceless resins by using a knife to score the bark of the tree in numerous spots. The tree, in response to the scoring bleeds an amber colored resin from its very heart; the resin (lifeblood of the tree) comes out to form a tear drop shape. The sticky resins, collected during the fall season of the year, appearing in various sizes, are then dried, sorted to grade, then crushed into pebble like pieces, making them ready for transport to market. It was from these bits of resins that two commodities came; one was the pebble like pieces which were used to burn as incense on the altar of incense in the Tabernacle of the Wilderness, also in the First, Second and Third Temple. The other commodity appeared later when Yahweh gave Moses another oil to be used for anointing kings such as David and Saul. Frankincense is reported to have the following qualities: immune system stimulation, antidepressant, an aid in pituitary and pineal imbalances. Studies have shown it to be anti-tumoral. It has been used to treat ulcers, fevers, bronchitis, asthma, digestive disorders, lymph congestion, scars, heavy menstrual flow, postnatal depression. Applied daily to the skin it gives skin a younger appearance.

Whether these precious oils were given to baby Yeshua to prevent sickness or strictly spiritual reasons, we do not know. We know that Yahweh in His plant kingdom has given us a myriad of useful items He has created for our good. Even the pharmaceutical companies are searching the world for plants they can turn into patentable drugs. (Might this be Yahweh’s plan?)

Aside from the passage in Matthew about the Magi, the gospels recount that before his crucifixion, Yeshua (Jesus) was offered myrrh mixed with wine, which He refused, and that after His death His body was treated with “a mixture of myrrh and aloes.” Frankincense has come to be associated with Messiah’s role as our intercessor, myrrh with his suffering and death. On the night of Messiah’s crucifixion Nicodemus came “and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Yeshua (Jesus), and wound it in linen clothes with spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. (John 19:39-40) In Song of Songs the writer refers to the bridegroom as “who is He coming in a pillar of smoke smelling of frankincense & myrrh.” This is a reference to Yeshua, our bridegroom.

The cultivation and production of myrrh, Hebrew: Mor, (botanical name, Commiphora myrrah) is identical to that of frankincense. The large trunk of the myrrh tree carries numerous knotted branches with small green flowers and has a thin, papery outer bark. Myrrh has been used since the time of the patriarchs (Genesis 37:25) and was a key ingredient in the holy anointing oil used to anoint the tabernacle, ark, altar and sacred vessels. (Exodus 30:25) In Esther 2:12, we find myrrh being used to help “beautify” the women who were to go in to King Ahasuerus. Myrrh has many useful properties. It stimulates the blood cell activity, lowers blood fat and blood cholesterol levels, activates the thyroid, and increases the production of adrenal hormones. It is also antiseptic, a disinfectant, anti-viral and fungicidal. It has been used to treat aged skin and wrinkles (as a cosmetic night cream), as a mouthwash to treat inflammation of the mouth and tongue, toothache, gum disease, bad breath and sore throat. It was a salve of purification for the dead. When the resin seeps out of the myrrh tree it is milky white in color, but after a short time exposed to air it takes on a deep reddish cast mixed with small touches of white. Top quality myrrh costs about $90.00 per ounce.

Many have suggested that the gold, frankincense, and myrrh represent the 3 roles of Yeshua: King, Priest and Prophet.

The priests of the temple also took the raw resins and compounded them into oil-like substance. Then they mixed this substance with pure native virgin olive oil plus other ingredients to form the “Holy Anointing Oil” which was used to anoint the temple and its instruments as mentioned in the Torah (Exodus 30:34, Leviticus 2 and Numbers 5:15.