I heard this mentioned in a sermon:
One of the banes in the life of a sheep is the flies. They get up into the nostrils and lay their eggs. The maggots crawl up into the sheep's brain, causing suffering and death.
To spare the sheep from the flies, the shepherd spreads oil all over the sheep's face, eyes, ears, nose.
I'll just say that the times I made anointing with oil a part of my daily routine, it was very beneficial in all respects. Now that I understand it, I'd say we especially should really consider it essential.
I used olive oil, cured by warming on the stove. Add 2-3 Tbs. water to about a cup to cup + 1/2 of oil. As the water just begins to be agitated, the oil is ready.
Watch it carefully as oil will ignite. And it's hot at first of course.
I don't try to reproduce any ancient formula (on instruction from Above).
I want to know the thoughts of God. Everything else is just details.
A Miracle is when God makes His Reality our Experience