Moses and the cinnamon broom (a meditation for sunday)

I bought a cinnamon broom today at Publix, my favorite local supermarket. Not just any cinnamon broom, mind you, but "The One and Only Original Cinnamon Broom." Every fall Publix sells 36" brooms in big boxes near the entrance, so the constant flow of traffic wafts the spicy fragrance over the entire area. This year I succombed to purchasing one. At $3.99, it seems a bargain.

The label on the plastic encasing the broom proved to be most interesting. "INGREDIENTS: Raw Pine Broom pressed with Pure Cinnamon Oil from the Cinnamon Tree." "Handcrafted in America, All Natural Materials." Patriotic, environmentally correct. Then "Visit us at our Factory Store located in the Beautiful North Georgia Mountains", below which was a cryptic "Please Read Exodus 30". Hmmm, okay . . . so I go online to BibleGateway.com and read Chapter 30, in which God is instructing Moses on how to build the altar of incense. At verse 22, I discover why I was supposed to read this chapter:

"Then the Lord said to Moses, " Take the finest spices: twelve pounds of liquid myrrh, half that amount (that is, six pounds) of sweet smelling cinnamon, six pounds of sweet smelling cane, and twelve pounds of cassia. Weigh all of these by the Holy Place measure. Also take four quarts of Olive oil, and mix all of these things like a perfume to make a holy olive oil. This special oil must be put on people and things to make them ready for service to God." Exodus 30:22-25a

Exploring further, I pulled out my Nelson Study Bible to read the notes on this passage:

"The priests used the holy oil in rites of anointing. This costly and treasured mixture must have had an unforgettable, wonderful aroma. The holy anointing oil was declared holy because it was set aside for use only in religious rites specified by the law. The perfumer, like his counterparts who worked with wood, fabric, and metal, was a highly skilled craftsman."

I never thought buying a cinnamon broom would embark me on a Biblical quest. And smelling the cinnamon may become a spiritual reminder. God moves in mysterious ways!

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