By Dare Oduwole
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”(Matthew 2:11).
There is a lovely Northern lady in my church who I secretly admired, secret because I’d never discussed my sentiments towards her with anyone in the church. She dresses natively and attractively for every Sunday worship service like she were there to meet the President. More importantly, she seems to have her acts together steadily balancing a demanding career with a great marriage and raising adorable children while equally active in church.
It was, therefore, with some reservation I learnt from a member of the church that this lady was the enfant terrible of the congregation who possessed some strange powers with which she could harm others to the point of death. I took this information with a pinch of salt assured that there must be some sort of mistake of identity.
Well, yours truly arranged a rendezvous with this lady and engaged her in a conversation about her prayer life, and the course of the discussion, she mentioned her regular use of incense in her home and went ahead to display before me the various types she uses.
Voila! This I was certain is an explanation for her supposed strange powers being an avid user of incense myself, I’m aware that an incense user is often blessed with an enviable and well-protected life that tends to elicit negative sentiments from those
given to jealousy.
Considering how much the Bible encourages the use of incense by making recurrent allusions to its use throughout the scriptures, it is unfortunate that many Pentecostal Christians have abandoned the use of this godly item to the white garment and Roman Catholic churches to their disadvantage.
Notably, a specially compounded incense was used for worship in the Old Testament, to be offered daily alongside prayers in the temple twice daily (i.e. morning and evening). This compound with various ingredients included Frankincense (Exodus 30:34), an aromatic resin derived from special fragrant trees.
These trees from which Frankincense is exuded are native to Africa, Arabia, and India; and since there are ample Biblical indications that Frankincense was imported to Palestine from Arabia for Jewish use (Jeremiah 6:20), it is most interesting to observe that Frankincense is graciously available in the Nigerian forests and moors; especially in the southern parts of the country where rare attention is being accorded it by the population, largely because of the lack of adaptation of incense in the processes of worship of our native religions, Hoodoo and Voodoo.
The commercially available frankincense in the Western world being Norwegian is taken from spruce-fir trees and is often of a lower quality compared to our native frankincense while the scarcity and high prices of frankincense abroad have necessitated the production of synthetic frankincense for general use.
Nevertheless, it must be noted that Frankincense or incense was not only used for worship in the temple Biblically but also used privately in homes for various purposes and this explains the significant gifting of frankincense to the babe Christ. While we all sing, ‘Lord give us Christian homes’ at our weddings, this dream is hardly realisable without the regular use of incense and indeed a Christian home is incomplete without frankincense, incense, and censers.
Notably, northern brides are culturally advised to include items for incense-making in their wedding paraphernalia for they are well instructed about maintaining peace, sanity, and harmony in a marriage; the incense being an indispensable material in this quest.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of southern brides who though have the frankincense growing in their territory are not instructed on its use.
Firstly, frankincense is a fumigant and is mosquito repellent, it is also an effective anti-bacterial clearing the air of up to 90 per cent of airborne micro-organisms.
Secondly, frankincense is an anti-depressant and its use in a home where bereavement has occurred and grief is overwhelming cannot be overemphasised.
Thirdly, frankincense aids coordination and its use in a home where children are being raised and among persons working with machineries including drivers is crucial.
Fourthly, frankincense aids the creative process by enhancing the mental capacity of persons working jobs involving creativity such as artists, fashion designers, writers, painters, etc.
Fifthly, frankincense aids prayer and this attribute underscores its use by various religions and for Christians, ensures quick answers to prayers, and sixthly, frankincense is an indispensable item for warding off evil spirits and negative energies (a process popularly referred to as smudging or smoke-cleansing) and since Christianity is a religion that abhors evil spirits, its use in Christian homes is essential.
It is highly advisable to smudge or smoke-cleanse a Christian home weekly, leaving the windows and doors open, and if using frankincense, this should be lighted for three mornings consecutively, conveniently lighting the coal by using cooking gas or stove.
If on the other hand, other incense types are desirable, such as those compounded by apothecaries, twice a week may suffice for equally available in popular northern markets are incense types compounded as in the Bible times by apothecaries.
These apothecaries make use of bark, chipping, and shavings of wood; sugar, spices, herbs, twigs, and resins, while creating an aromatic incense melange with the addition of fragrant and essential oils of the customer’s choice. On no account should a Christian make use of manufactured incense cones, cubes, and sticks as these products are often formulated for the use of other incense using religions of the world with processes incompatible with the Christian faith.
Christians must strictly adhere to aromatic incense types compounded from natural products only by apothecaries.
Moreover, censers are needful for bearing the incense and while golden and brazen censers were used in the Biblical temple; censers made of Tin, Stainless Steel, and Iron are common in our popular markets and sacramental shops today, while native apothecaries offer earthen censers for sale.
Earthen censers are particularly common in homes because they are cheap, can be handled more safely, and can be trusted to preserve the energy of incense. Nevertheless, it is crucial to note that incense and frankincense are God’s blessing to homes created by him among other benefits, to bring peace, harmony, and progress to a marriage, restoration of peace to a troubled marriage, and also to create marital opportunities for singles.
Although there are apothecaries who would use the knowledge of apothecary and witchcraft to create an incense of darkness; hypnotising the innocent, breaking homes, and creating chaos, be advised that open market apothecaries are often trustworthy and only serve customers as requested, making them fit for Christian patronage.
Finally, special acknowledgment must be accorded to the Roman Catholic Mission in Nigeria for its regular use of our native frankincense rather than import, motivating traders to source and offer it for sale (in sacramental and apothecary mercenaries) to the general public.
Dare Oduwole is a Nouthetic Christian Counsellor and founder of Godly Counsel Christian Foundation, Abuja. She can be contacted via 08027291632.
