Consecrate the
priests
Exodus 28:1-29:46
Key
verse 29:44-45
Yesterday, I saw my youngest daughter looking for her
special shoes. She searched the whole house to find them. But while we were
preparing for selling our house, her shoes were put somewhere in a box and we
did not know where it was. She was frustrated. I asked her why she needed the
shoes. She said she was attending a senior banquet in the church. It was a
party to celebrate the seniors in high school who were going to college.
Anyway, to attend the banquet, she tried to wear her best dress and shoes. SY
and DY also wore their best clothes yesterday to attend a wedding. Likewise, to
meet with someone important, we take showers and wear our best dress. That is a
proper way of showing our respect to the person. How do you meet with God then?
Do you wear your best clothes or spray perfume? It is good to wear best clothes
when we worship God. However, there is a more important and critical thing to
come to God. Without this, you will never know God. Without this, you cannot
see or enter his kingdom. But if you have this, you will surely know him truly
and enter his kingdom. What is that? That is what I am going to speak about
today.
After making a covenant, God told Moses to make a sanctuary for
him. Then he showed him the pattern of the tabernacle and its furnishings and
the courtyard. Then God chose the priests who would minister in the tabernacle.
Who were chosen? How were they ordained? And what were they to do? In today’s
passage the word “consecrate” or “consecration” or “sacred” appears many times.
That means holy. Why did God emphasize consecration so much? And what does it mean
to us today? I pray that we all may be people acceptable to Holy God so that he
can be with us always and we can enter his kingdom.
I. Make garments for
them to serve God as priests
28 “Have Aaron your brother brought to you
from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar
and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make
sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and
honor.
God told Moses to choose Aaron and his sons to serve him as
priests. Then he commanded him to make garments for them. The garments included
a breastpeice, an ephod, a robe, a tunic, a turban and a sash, and
undergarment. Let’s take a look at each garment.
The Ephod
It is an apron-like cloth, having two shoulder pieces and
waistband to fasten. What is noticeable about the ephod is that two onyx stones
are mounted on the shoulder pieces. Each stone has the six names of the sons of
Israel engraved on it.
11 Engrave the names of the sons of
Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the
stones in gold filigree settings 12 and
fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons
of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a
memorial before the Lord.
Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial
before the Lord. In this way he represents the whole Israel and presents them
to God. He plays as the bridge between God and man. So the priest is of dignity
and honor.
The Breastpiece
It is a square piece to be attached to the ephod with twelve
precious stones mounted on it. The stones are set in four rows of three stones and
each stone has each of the names of the sons of Israel engraved on it. Like the
onyx stones, these stones are precious and so are the names of the sons of
Israel engraved on them. To God, each tribe is precious like the precious
stones.
29 “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy
Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breast
piece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. 30 Also put the Urim and
the Thummim in the breast piece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart
whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the
means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before
the Lord.
Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he is to bear the
names of the sons of Israel over his heart by wearing the breast piece. The breastpiece
is also called the breastpiece of decision. When the priest inquires of the
LORD, he uses Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece to see God’s decision, between
innocent and guilty or between yes and no (Num 27:21; 1 Sam 14:41). Aaron does
not make a decision by himself. He receives God’s decision for the people and
simply follows it. That is the job of priest.
The robe
It is a blue cloth
with pomegranates made of yarns and with gold bells around the hem. Aaron must
wear it when he ministers so that the sound of the bells can be heard. We don’t
know exactly what the gold bells are for. However, whenever Aaron moves, the
unique sound of the bells is heard and it may has to do with God’s holiness and
for his service in the Holy Place.
The turban
The plate of pure gold is attached to the turban on Aaron’s
forehead. It reads “HOLY TO THE LORD.” Aaron bears the guilt involved in the sacred
gifts the Israelites offer to God and thus the gifts are holy and acceptable to
God.
Other garments
The tunic, sash, ad caps give the priests dignity and honor.
The linen undergarments are to cover for the body such that the priests will
not incur guilt and die. (cf. 20:26)
All these are the garments the priests are to wear when they
minister in the tabernacle. The common thing is that they are all beautifully made
from precious materials (gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine
linen) and decorated with vivid colors. These are the same materials and colors
used for the tabernacle (25:11,24,31; 26:1), which represent the glory of God. The
priests are God’s representatives to the people and also present them to God.
So, they are glorious and thus their garments should be sacred and reflect
dignity and honor.
One time I served the work of God full time for the campus
ministry while my college friends worked at big companies and drove their own
cars. I wondered what I was doing. Nobody recognized me on campus. My parents
were unhappy with me because I did not even try to get a job. So I often felt
ashamed. But God used my dedication and labor to save many young people. One
time when I prepared a message, God gave me Rom 10:15, “How beautiful are the
feet of those who bring good news!” I realized that I was beautiful and
precious before God and that I should be proud in him. The priest garments show
that the priestly job is the most glorious and precious. To God, a mediator
between God and man is the most beautiful and important and glorious person. In
some sense, we are doing the similar job. In the world, we may be ordinary
people. But we are precious because we are God’s servants. In fact, we are all priests
in Jesus and should live as priests.
1 Peter 1:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you
may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light.”
There are many jobs but the most honorable and important job
is to bring people to God and deliver God’s message. It is a job of honor and
dignity and glory. So I pray that our Bible students and my children also may
value this priestly job and serve God and people as priests.
II. Consecration of
the priests
Now God gives Moses instructions on how to ordain Aaron and
his sons as priest. Let’s read 29:1.
“This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may
serve me as priests…”
They must be consecrated. Why? It is because Aaron and his
sons are unholy to serve God. To serve God they should be consecrated holy. Otherwise,
they will die. In Lev 10:1 and 2, when Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered
unauthorized fire before the LORD, fire came out from the presence of the LORD
and consumed them. Then, God said, “Among those who approach me I will be
proved holy.” Man can’t stand unholy before God so Aaron and his sons must be
consecrated. Several things are involved for them to be consecrated.
·
Offer sacrifice offerings
·
Wash them with water
·
Wear the priest garments
·
Anoint with oil
Particularly, sacrifice offerings are very important for the
consecration. There are three kinds of offering for the consecration.
First, sin offering:
·
The priests shall lay their hands on the head of
the young bull, which transfers their sins to the bull, and then slaughter it.
·
Put the blood on the altar and pour the rest of
it at the base of the altar.
·
Burn all the fat on the internal organs, the
long lobe of the liver and kidneys on the altar.
·
Burn the flesh and its hide and its intestines
outside the camp.
·
The sin offering is for the atonement of
specific sins. This shows how terrible sin is and that it must be paid in a
horrible way.
Second, burnt offering:
·
Take a ram and lay their hands on its head.
·
Slaughter it and splash the blood against the
sides of the altar.
·
Cut the ram into pieces and burn the entire ram
on the altar.
·
The burnt offering is to please God so it is
called a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the LORD (29:18) The
sacrifice is totally burnt and nothing is left. Everything goes up to God. The
burnt offering is for general purposes, including forgiveness of unintentional
sins, purification, devotion, and thanksgiving.
Lastly, fellowship (wave) offering:
·
The second ram is slaughtered like the first.
·
The blood is put on the lobes of the right ears
of the priests, the thumb of their right hands, the big toes of their right
feet, and the sides of the altar.
·
Sprinkle some blood and anointing oil to their
garments.
·
Wave before the LORD the fat, the long lobe of
the liver, the right thigh, the bread without yeast and olive oil as a wave
offering.
·
Burn them on the altar along with the burnt
offering for a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
·
Wave the breast and give it along with the thigh
to the priests as the perpetual share. They will eat the meat.
·
This offering is dedicated to God and then given
to the priest. This shows the reconciliation between God and man. So it is
called fellowship (or peace) offering.
35 “Do for Aaron and his sons
everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them.36 Sacrifice
a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by
making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. 37 For
seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will
be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
The ordination takes seven days and they have to sacrifice a
bull each day to make atonement for the priest and to purify the altar.
The three offerings here are to consecrate the priests.
However, these are also the regular service they will perform as priests on
behalf of the people. (Lev 1:1-7:38) The burnt offering in particular is to be
offered regularly.
38 “This is what you are to offer on
the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. 39 Offer
one in the morning and the other at twilight. 42 “For the
generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at
the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. There I will
meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with
the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory. 44 “So
I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron
and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will
dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They
will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of
Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
God wants to be meet with the Israelites and to be their God
forever. That was his ultimate purpose from the beginning. In Gen 17:7, God
said to Abraham that he would be the God of his descendants. Before he rescued
the Israelites from Egypt, he said In 6:7 that he would take them as his people
and he would be their God. And in 25:8, he said, “Then have them make a
sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”
To be with them, however, they
must be consecrated. That was why God consecrated the tent of meeting, the
altar and the priests so that God can come down there to meet with them.
This teaches a very important
truth about how to come to God, which is still applied to us today. Many people
think that God is always open-armed and they can come to him freely regardless
of their sins. Yes, that is true. But we should also know that we cannot stay
unholy with him and enter his kingdom with sins. God today is the same as the
God who required consecration and consumed Aaron’s two sons with fire. God is
holy so we must be consecrated to be with him and enter his kingdom. The
kingdom of God belongs to those who are holy and so we need to be consecrated.
To be consecrated, as we have
studied, animal sacrifice was required. But this was not easy. Imagine that you
must sacrifice animals whenever you need to come to God. You must buy or take
one of the best animals to consecrate you and slaughter it every week and
whenever you need. It is bloody, expensive, and cumbersome. And it cannot erase
our sins forever. This sacrifice system was not perfect. Actually, God gave
this sacrifice system as a shadow of what was yet to come. Heb 8:5 says, “They
serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.”
Heb 10:11 also says, “ Day after day every priest stands
and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”
But here is the perfect priest and
the perfect sacrifice for our sins that God has offered in a new way, and it is
Jesus Christ.
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away
the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
”He did not enter by means of the
blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once
for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” (Heb
9:12)
“And by that will, we have been
made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all.” (Heb 10:10)
Jesus came as the Lamb of God to
be a sacrifice for sinners. Jesus’ blood can consecrate us completely and
perfectly. His blood can erase all our sins forever no matter how serious it
is, no matter how often it is repeated, and even if we can forgive ourselves.
His blood can make us consecrated. He is the only priest who can come to God
with us and defend us for our sins. How amazing and gracious it is that we can
come to Holy God by faith in Jesus’ blood alone! When we pray in Jesus’ name,
we mean that we ask and come to God with the consecration that is given through
Jesus’ blood.
Jesus’ blood has opened the way to
God so that we can come to him freely and he can meet with us whenever we need.
Finally, God’s desire to be with his people has been accomplished through
Jesus. When the kingdom of God comes down onto earth, he will be with us
forever.
Rev 21:3 says, “Look! God’s
dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will
be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
Therefore, we must
recognize our sins and repent and believe in Jesus. Then God will consecrate
you and meet with you and will be your God. Again God is holy. Those who come
and worship him must be consecrated by Jesus’ blood and presented by him. That
is why we pray in Jesus’ name. Thank God for consecrating us with the blood of
his Son Jesus Christ the High Priest so that we can come to him and become his
holy people.
Let’s read the key
verses.
44 “So I will consecrate the tent of meeting
and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as
priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites
and be their God.”
by David Yun
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