Seven churches

THE SEVEN CHURCHES
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hard ocher-colored resin that was gathered and used in a number of products.
The oil used for anointing the ark and the tabernacle when they were
consecrated (Exod. 30.23-33) contained myrrh. It was used in the purification
rites for women and, because of its fragrant pleasing odor, as a base in
cosmetic oils and perfumes. The magi included myrrh among their gifts to
Jesus.
Myrrh has a powerful narcotic effect and was combined with wine as a
painkiller and soporific. At his crucifixion, Jesus refused a mixture of wine and
myrrh. Later he drank vinegar, or a fermented acidic drink commonly used by
laborers and soldiers to quench their thirst. Myrrh was also used to anoint
corpses. The powerful aroma counteracted the stench of decomposition.
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea used a hundred pounds of myrrh and
aloes when they wrapped the body of Jesus in a linen shroud John 19.38-39).
The women who went to the tomb probably included myrrh among the spices
they brought as an expression of their love for Jesus.
Gum Myrrh Tree
(Commiphora myrrha – Indian Gulgulu)