Leviticus
chapter 8 describes the consummation of the consecration of the
priests and the offerings described in earlier chapters. It is
important to remember WE are also called priest if we are believers.
Now that the tabernacle is completed, the utensils and the clothes
are produced; everything is ready to be dedicated back to God. Up
until this moment, the altar was just a fire pit and the sons of
Aaron were ordinary men. Each of us too must have that point of
decision, a moment in time that we can point to and say “that is
the moment when I accepted God’s Holy Spirit into my life and
received forgiveness from all my sins”. The chapter begins, The
Lord told Moses, “Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the
anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams… the
bread… and bring them before the entire assembly at the entrance to
the Tent of Meeting“.
These men are consecrated publicly before God and before man. One
of the reasons it is important to make a public statement of faith is
so that others can help us stay accountable. Interesting to note
that the first command is for Moses to wash them with water, then
dress them. What a humbling experience that must be! We all must
first be humbled before we can accept our need for forgiveness.
Aaron
and his sons are then dressed in their garments (notice they do not
dress themselves), then Moses “anointed
the Tabernacle and everything in it and so consecrated them”
by sprinkling the oil. But when Moses anoints Aaron, “he
poured out the oil… to consecrate him“.
God does not hold back His abundant blessings from His people. He
loves His people, not His people’s stuff! Next Moses presented the
bull for the sin offering, its blood is poured out at the base of the
altar. Remember this sacrifice is burned outside the camp because
our sin is removed from us the moment we accept Christ as our Savior.
Next, Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering and “the
whole ram”
is burned up as a reminder that there is no profit that comes from
our sin. Moses took some of the blood from this sacrifice and put it
on the right ear, right thumb and right toe of Aaron and his sons.
As believers, what we listen to, our work, and even our daily walk
should be different because of the sacrifice of our Savior. Finally
they take the bread that is mixed with oil and “wave
it before the Lord in a wave offering“.
Some speculate this “waving” is side-to-side and forward
and back in the shape of the cross. Since bread symbolizes life,
once again we acknowledge all that we have belongs to God.
After
anointing Aaron and his garments with the oil mixed with blood we
read, “So
Moses consecrated Aaron… and his sons and their garments“.
The chapter ends with a command for the newly dedicated priests, “Do
not leave the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days… So
Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses“.
These new priests were to stay close to the tabernacle and yet they
were in the midst of the blood and the sacrifice. A constant
reminder that righteousness comes at a heavy cost. When we first
accepted Christ many of us wanted to change everything immediately,
but 1 Corinthians 7:20 cautions us, “Let
each man remain in that condition in which he was called“.
God knows our tendency to “overcorrect”, but He also
desires for others to see the change unfold before them as a witness
of His righteousness in us.