“… a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.” Genesis 37:25 KJV
“… a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt. Genesis 37:25 NASB
Myrrh has a prominent place in Scripture. It was part of the holy anointing oil which Moses was to make (Ex 30:23), it was used in the purification of Esther (Esther 2:12), and it was often referred to for its fragrance and aromatic value.
We have often been reminded in ministry that the word “myrrh” carries with it the thought of suffering. The name for the assembly in Smyrna, an assembly undergoing persecution, actually means “myrrh.” We find these two thoughts linked with myrrh in all its references: suffering and fragrance.
There are, however, three prominent references to myrrh that will occupy our meditation. The first is in connection with Joseph. This is the first mention of myrrh in the Scripture. The scene is well-known to all. The envy and hostility of his brothers resulted in him being sold for twenty pieces of silver and exiled to Egypt. It is interesting to think that he travelled to Egypt amidst the fragrance of the spices of a caravan carrying myrrh as their cargo.
When Jacob sent his sons down to Egypt to buy corn (Gen 43:11), they as well carried myrrh as part of the gifts they brought to that land. You cannot help but wonder if the myrrh they brought with them reminded them of the merchants to whom they had sold their brother and their myrrh.
The second mention for our consideration is at the birth of the Lord Jesus as recorded by Matthew. He tells us of the visit of the Magi and their treasures amongst which was myrrh. It seems almost as if the fragrance of the myrrh portended the delight which His life would be to God. Here was a child Who came into the world whose life would be a continuous “sweet-smelling savor” to His Father in heaven. He grew in “grace,” and He grew in “favour” with God (Luke 2:40, 52).
But the last mention in Scripture of myrrh is in John 19:39. “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred-pound weight.”
The first mention in Scripture of myrrh, and the last mention bear a striking resemblance. Just as Joseph in Genesis 37 was sent away to be “buried” in Egypt, so the Lord Jesus was buried amidst the fragrance which the wealth and devotion of Nicodemus provided.
As well, the first New Testament reference in Matthew 2:11 and the final one in John 19:39 are significant. His coming into the world was marked by a fragrance as was His exit from this world. Some may minimize the gift of Nicodemus on the ground that the body of the Lord could see no corruption. But the Spirit of God has seen fit to record it to Nicodemus’ eternal honour.
In all of this, the Word of God is underlining for us that in whatever way we consider His life, He is altogether lovely to us and a pure delight to His Father.
Consider
There is another reference to myrrh in connection with the life of the Lord Jesus and that is found in Mark 15:23.