1 Samuel 16: 1-14, “And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down until he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.”
Here, David was anointed king over Israel. And the anointing that God placed upon him was not a little anointing either. It was a powerful anointing. It was an anointing that later would prove to be one of the most awesome anointings that the nation of Israel had ever seen. For, David was about ready to be raised up as a man after God’s own heart.
The anointing oil that Samuel used here was symbolic of the Holy Spirit. His anointing David with this oil symbolized the holy anointing of the Spirit upon David’s life. Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it over David’s head until it ran down his body. This was how the Old Testament prophets, priests and kings were anointed. This symbolized the total covering of the Spirit of God upon that man. This was great symbolism, but symbolism was what it really was. Now, we as the Spirit filled believers of God can have that same anointing. But it is not just mere symbolism. It is real! And it is not just for the prophet, priest and king, but it is for everyone!
Now, let’s get down to the real issue at hand here – the transference of the anointing from one person to another, or from one object to another. What was really happening in this story is more than just David becoming the anointed of the Lord, but rather, the real issue here was that God was removing the anointing from King Saul and placing it upon David. In other words, He was transferring it from Saul to David. Don’t think it strange though because this practice of a transference of the anointing from one person to another or from one object to another, goes back to the earliest of Biblical times.
God Himself even sanctioned and ordained the anointing of objects themselves to make them holy. Exodus 29:36 gives us an example of this, when it says, “And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.”
He also gave specific directions for anointing things in Exodus 30:26-29, where it says, “And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.” It is clear from these passages of scripture that not only were things to be anointed, but that once anointed, it was fully possible for these things to transfer some type of an anointing into whatever touched them. What kind of an anointing? An anointing of holiness, for whatever or whosoever touched them was then made holy. That sounds like a transference of an anointing to me!
Probably the single greatest example of a transference of the anointing is found in the book of 2 Kings chapter 2, when it says, “And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground….And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither, and Elisha went over.”
Here is an example of an object that was anointed. But this object was unique in that it was used for the very first time to transfer an anointing from a man to a man. Up to this point, it was always anointing a thing and then whenever someone or something touched it, there was a transference of the anointing. But here we see that the anointing of Elijah got onto that mantle and when Elisha touched it, the anointing went into him. Then, after picking it up and the anointing being transferred into him, Elisha received a double portion of the Holy Ghost and performed twice the number of miracles that Elijah had performed.
When studying scripture, you also find that God has over the ages used a variety of objects to transfer anointings into his people. Listed below are a few of them for your consideration.
Water – 2 Kings 5: 9-14, “So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again unto thee, and thou shalt be clean…..Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
In this instance, water was used as a point of contact for Naaman, and when he came in contact with the water, there was a transference of anointing that went through his body and he was healed.
Bones – 2 Kings 13: 20-21, “And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.”
This time, it was bones that were used as the point of contact for a transference of anointing. The anointing of God was still so heavy upon Elisha’s bones that the anointing came off the bones and went into the dead man and he lived!!
Clay – John 9:6, “When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.”
Once again, we see a transference of the anointing coming through an object. It is amazing this time though in that the anointing came because Jesus' spit. God does strange things at times. So, who are we to question how God anoints an individual?
Oil – James 5: 14-15, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up."
This is the Biblical mandate for anointing with oil and how that there is a transference of the anointing into the body of an individual.
Shadow – Acts 5:15, “Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.”
Now, this is a unique way for there to be a transference of an anointing. Through the shadow of a man walking by. God is awesome in the ways that He chooses to demonstrate His power.
Handkerchiefs and Aprons – Acts 19:12, “So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”
Hands – Acts 28: 8, “And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.”
This final one is the proof from scripture to refute all the doubt-peddlers and naysayers who don’t believe in a transference of the anointing through the laying on of hands. This clearly shows that there can be an anointing transfer when one person lays hands on another! Praise the Lord!