Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 8:1
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
The Consecration of Aaron and his sons (Lev 8:1-17)
1. See critical note on these chapters in App. I ( b), pp. 159 ff.
Instructions to consecrate Aaron and his sons have already been given, Exo 29:1-37. The account given in this chapter follows very closely the words of Exodus 29, with which it should be carefully compared.
The ceremonies connected with the consecration were: ( a) washing ( Lev 8:6), ( b) vesting ( Lev 8:7-9 ; Lev 8:13), ( c) anointing ( Lev 8:10-12), ( d) offering sacrifices, which were of three kinds; (1) a Sin-Offering ( Lev 8:14-17), (2) a Burnt-Offering ( Lev 8:18-21), (3) the ram of consecration ( Lev 8:22-32), which was treated as a Peace-Offering, but with additional ritual appropriate to the special occasion.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
CHAPTER VIII
Moses is commanded to consecrate Aaron and his sons, 1-3.
Moses convenes the congregation; washes, clothes, and anoints
Aaron, 4-12.
He also clothes Aaron’s sons, 13.
Offers a bullock for them as a sin-offering, 14-17.
And a ram for a burnt-offering, 18-21.
And another ram for a consecration-offering, 22-24.
The fat, with cakes of unleavened bread, and the right shoulder
of the ram, he offers as a wave-offering, and afterwards burns,
25-28.
The breast, which was the part of Moses, he also waves, 29.
And sprinkles oil and blood upon Aaron and his sons, 30.
The flesh of the consecration ram is to be boiled and eaten at
the door of the tabernacle, 31, 32.
Moses commands Aaron and his sons to abide seven days at the
door of the tabernacle of the congregation, which they do
accordingly, 33-36.
NOTES ON CHAP VIII
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the Lord spake unto Moses,…. The following section or paragraph, relating to the consecration of Aaron and his sons, was delivered, according to Jarchi, seven days before the setting up of the tabernacle; but to me it seems to have been delivered after the setting it up, since it was out of the tabernacle that the Lord said all those things recorded in the preceding chapters; and after he had given out the laws concerning sacrifices, then he renewed the order for the consecration of Aaron and his sons, that they might offer them:
saying; as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Consecration of the Priests and the Sanctuary (cf. Ex 29:1-37). – The consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests was carried out by Moses according to the instructions in Ex 29:1-36; Exo 40:12-15; and the anointing of the tabernacle, with the altar and its furniture, as prescribed in Exo 29:37; Exo 30:26-29, and Exo 40:9-11, was connected with it (Lev 8:10, Lev 8:11).
Lev 8:1-4 Lev 8:1-5 contain an account of the preparations for this holy act, the performance of which was enjoined upon Moses by Jehovah after the publication of the laws of sacrifice (Lev 8:1). Moses brought the persons to be consecrated, the official costume that had been made for them (Ex 28), the anointing oil (Exo 30:23.), and the requisite sacrificial offerings (Exo 29:1-3), to the door of the tabernacle (i.e., into the court, near the altar of burnt-offering), and then gathered “the whole congregation” – that is to say, the nation in the persons of its elders-there also (see my Archeologie ii. p. 221). The definite article before the objects enumerated in Lev 8:2 may be explained on the ground that they had all been previously and more minutely described. The “ basket of the unleavened ” contained, according to Exo 29:2-3, (1) unleavened bread, which is called in Lev 8:26, i.e., round flat bread-cakes, and (loaf of bread) in Exo 29:23, and was baked for the purpose of the consecration (see at Lev 8:31, Lev 8:32); (2) unleavened oil-cakes; and (3) unleavened flat cakes covered with oil (see at Lev 2:4 and Lev 7:12).
Lev 8:5 When the congregation was assembled, Moses said, “ This is the word which Jehovah commanded you to do.” His meaning was, the substance or essential part of the instructions in Exo 28:1 and 29:1-37, which he had published to the assembled congregation before the commencement of the act of consecration, and which are not repeated here as being already known from those chapters. The congregation had been summoned to perform this act, because Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated as priests for them, as standing mediators between them and the Lord.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Consecration of Aaron and His Sons. | B. C. 1490. |
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; 3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 5 And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done. 6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. 7 And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. 8 And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. 9 And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses. 10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. 11 And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. 12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. 13 And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses.
God had given Moses orders to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the priests’ office, when he was with him the first time upon mount Sinai, Exod. xxviii. and xxix., where we have also the particular instructions he had how to do it. Now here we have,
I. The orders repeated. What was there commanded to be done is here commanded to be done now,Lev 8:2; Lev 8:3. The tabernacle was newly set up, which, without the priests, would be as a candlestick without a candle; the law concerning sacrifices was newly given, but could not be observed without priests; for, though Aaron and his sons had been nominated to the office, they could not officiate, till they were consecrated, which yet must not be done till the place of their ministration was prepared, and the ordinances were instituted, that they might apply themselves to work as soon as ever they were consecrated, and might know that they were ordained, not only to the honour and profit, but to the business of the priesthood. Aaron and his sons were near relations to Moses, and therefore he would not consecrate them till he had further orders, lest he should seem too forward to bring honour into his family.
II. The congregation called together, at the door, that is, in the court of the tabernacle, v. 4. The elders and principal men of the congregation, who represented the body of the people, were summoned to attend; for the court would hold but a few of the many thousands of Israel. It was done thus publicly, 1. Because it was a solemn transaction between God and Israel; the priests were to be ordained for men in things pertaining to God, for the maintaining of a settled correspondence, and the negotiating of all affairs between the people and God; and therefore it was fit that both sides should appear, to own the appointment, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 2. The spectators of the solemnity could not but be possessed, by the sight of it, with a great veneration for the priests and their office, which was necessary among a people so wretchedly prone as these were to envy and discontent. It was strange that any of those who were witnesses of what was here done should afterwards say, as some of them did, You take too much upon you, you sons of Levi; but what would they have said if it had been done clandestinely? Note, It is very fit, and of good use, that ministers should be ordained publicly, plebe praesente–in the presence of the common people, according to the usage of the primitive church.
III. The commission read, v. 5. Moses, who was God’s representative in this solemnity, produced his orders before the congregation: This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done. Though God had crowned him king in Jeshurun, when he made his face to shine in the sight of all Israel, yet he did not institute or appoint any thing in God’s worship but what God himself had commanded. The priesthood he delivered to them was that which he had received from the Lord. Note, All that minister about holy things must have an eye to God’s command as their rule and warrant; for it is only in the observance of this that they can expect to be owned and accepted of God. Thus we must be able to say, in all acts of religious worship, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.
IV. The ceremony performed according to the divine ritual. 1. Aaron and his sons were washed with water (v. 6), to signify that they ought now to purify themselves from all sinful dispositions and inclinations, and ever after to keep themselves pure. Christ washes those from their sins in his own blood whom he makes to our God kings and priests (Rev 1:5; Rev 1:6); and those that draw near to God must be washed in pure water, Heb. x. 22. Though they were ever so clean before and no filth was to be seen upon them, yet they must be washed, to signify their purification from sin, with which their souls were polluted, how clean soever their bodies were. 2. They were clothed with the holy garments, Aaron with his (v. 7-9), which typified the dignity of Christ our great high priest, and his sons with theirs (v. 13), which typified the decency of Christians, who are spiritual priests. Christ wears the breast-plate of judgment and the holy crown; for the church’s high priest is her prophet and king. All believers are clothed with the robe of righteousness, and girt with the girdle of truth, resolution, and close application; and their heads are bound, as the word here is, with the bonnet or diadem of beauty, the beauty of holiness. 3. The high priest was anointed, and, it should seem, the holy things were anointed at the same time; some think that they were anointed before, but that the anointing of them is mentioned here because Aaron was anointed with the same oil with which they were anointed; but the manner of relating it here makes it more than probable that it was done at the same time, and that the seven days employed in consecrating the altar were coincident with the seven days of the priests’ consecration. The tabernacle, and all its utensils, had some of the anointing oil put upon them with Moses’s finger (v. 10), so had the altar (v. 11); these were to sanctify the gold and the gift (Matt. xxiii. 17-19), and therefore must themselves be thus sanctified; but he poured it out more plentifully upon the head of Aaron (v. 12), so that it ran down to the skirts of his garments, because his unction was to typify the anointing of Christ with the Spirit, which was not given by measure to him. Yet all believers also have received the anointing, which puts an indelible character upon them, 1 John ii. 27.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
LEVITICUS- CHAPTER EIGHT
Verses 1-5:
Section Two
This marks the beginning of the second section of the Book. The first section concerned the institution of the sacrificial system. This second section deals with the institution of the Levitical priesthood.
In the Patriarchal Age, the family head was the priest of his household, see Job 1:5. In his priestly role, he offered sacrifices and offerings, similar to the peace offerings.
With the institution of the sacrificial rituals came the need to establish a priesthood to administer them. This came about in three stages:
The first stage: to hallow the firstborn of Israel as holy to God, following the deliverance of this firstborn from death in Egypt, Nu 3:13.
The second stage: to substitute the tribe of Levi for the first born in Israel, Nu 3:41-45; Ex 32:26.
The third state: to hallow the family of Aaron, as the hereditary priesthood. Originally this number was five. It was reduced to three with the death of Nadab and Abihu. With the passage of time the priestly family grew, to meet the expanded needs of the nation.
The priesthood was typical of the ministry of Christ. The garments which the high priest wore, the sacrifices he offered, and his ministry on behalf of the people symbolize the Person and sacrifice of Christ, see Heb 9:1-28.
The text sets the stage for the consecration of the priests. Aaron and his sons were to appear before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle, along with those items required for the sacrifice. The sacrificial animals, the basket of bread, and the garments were already provided for in God’s instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. And the Lord spake. It is well known that in conjunction with the sacrifices there was an offering, which they call minha, but we shall elsewhere see that this was also used separately; for it was lawful without a victim to offer either plain meal, or cakes, or wafers seasoned with oil. Therefore, besides the sacrifice of consecration, of which Moses has already treated, this second offering is required from the priest, that he should present at his inauguration a cake fried in a pan, and cut in pieces. The reason of this appears to have been, that he might thence become the legitimate minister of all the people, and might duly offer in the name of others, when he had done what was right for himself. But a distinction is drawn between the demand upon the priest and that, upon the people, viz., that it should be “wholly burnt;” the reason for which, since it will be explained elsewhere, it will be now sufficient to advert to in a single word. The fact was that God was unwilling that the priests should indulge themselves in vain ostentation, which might have been easily the case, if the oblation had been preserved for their use, like the minha of the people which remained in their hands.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
The Priesthood Initiated and Consecrated
SUGGESTIVE READINGS
Lev. 8:2.Take Aaron and his sons and the garments, etc. All that was to be now done by Moses had previously been specifically enjoined (Exodus 28, 29, 30). The office of the priesthood was now to be formally instituted, that office being necessary to the maintenance and performance of the sacrificial system ordained in the preceding chapters. Hitherto, Moses had fulfilled the priestly functions; from this time he ceases such ministries. It is for him a valediction, for Aaron an inauguration. Thus do sacred ministries become transferred, familiar human forms pass away from the services by which Gods people have been aided and blessed; but the work ceases not, for God never fails His Church nor overlooks her needs; while for us in Christ, who has an unchangeable priesthood, and is Himself the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever, an abiding provision is assured. He ever liveth to make intercession for us.
Lev. 8:6-9.Washed them with water, etc. Washing is the first stage in the process of priestly consecration. As cleansing from all unrighteousnes is inevitable ere we can enter spiritual privilege. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart (Psa. 24:3-4). The priestly washing was by bathing, the whole body being thus cleansed; for entire purifying was required and was symbolised. And he that is bathed is clean every whit (Joh. 13:10). Only they who have experienced this cleansing from all sin can stand within Gods sanctuary; but we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb. 10:19; Heb. 10:22).
Lev. 8:7-8.Put upon him the coat, and girded him, etc. The coat was a close-fitting garment of white linen, covering the entire body; this was bound about the body with a linen girdle, or sash, embroidered with figures, and fringed at its ends; over this was placed the robe, called the robe of the ephod (Exo. 28:31-35) which was all blue, and was woven without seam; above the robe was the ephod, which fell one part over the front, and another part over the back of the shoulders; this compound and ornate upper garment was wrought of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, interwoven with threads of gold. The curious girdle of the ephod was of the same costly material as the ephod itself, and fastened the ephod below. The breastplate was a square pocket, suspended by gold chains from the onyx and gold epaulettes on the shoulders; around its four sides were set twelve precious stones, each stone bearing the name of a tribe of Israel. Within this breast-pocketopen on the upper side to receive themwere placed the Urim and the Thummim, the oracular stones by which the priest learned the mind of God on questions of judgment. Then the head-dress or turban of linen, the mitre, was placed on his head, across which was tied the golden plate, the holy crown, bearing the awful inscription, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
This solemn robing suggested
1.The installation of the high priest in his pontifical office, as the supreme minister in the sanctuary, and as Gods representative amid Israel.
2. His personal adornment with righteousness and sanctity, the qualities which alone fitted man to dwell in near communion with the Lord.
3. The mediatorial glory and beauty of the coming Messiah, whose graces all these symbolic adornments typified and prefigured.
Surely if Jehovah attached to such minute symbols so great significance and importance, He must value the realities of which they were but signs: the mediatorial graces of Jesus, with which God was well pleased; the sanctities of a priestly character in us who, in the Gospel, have become priests unto God; and the beauties of the perfect righteousness with which all believers in Christ are adorned.
Lev. 8:10-13.Anointed the tabernacle, etc., including the ark of the covenant, the altar of incense, the candlestick, the table of shewbread, the veil, and sacred utensils. Then the anointing oil was seven times sprinkled upon the altar and its vessels, and the laver and its foot. By their anointing they were sanctified for sanctuary uses, and as symbols of gracious truths to worshippers.
He poured the anointing oil upon Aarons head: not sprinkled it, but in such quantity as that it ran down unto the beard, and went down to the skirts of his garments (Psa. 133:2), suggesting the plenteous grace of the Holy Spirit which covered over the entire manhood of Gods consecrated priest, baptised with the Holy Ghost, endued with power from on high, receiving an unction from the Holy One. The Spirit was given without measure to Christ, and we may also be richly anointed with His energy and grace. But they who are so anointed are consecrated to a holy ministry, sealed for a sacred life on earth.
Lev. 8:14-17.The bullock for the sin offering. For the first time in all history, as a new incident on earth, full of interest to all the hosts of heaven, instinct with significance for all humanity, suggesting new conceptions of mans guilt and Christs atonementthe sin offering was now offered. Jehovah Himself must have viewed with peculiar regard the first sin offering ever presented. Calvary witnessed the last ever to be offered! There remaineth no more offering for sin. The order of the sacrifices is noticeable:
1. The sin offering first: for substitution is the basis of the sinners justfication with God.
2. Next the burnt offering (Lev. 8:18): as declaring complete self-surrender of life, in its highest qualities and complete devotion, unto God.
3. Then the ram of consecration (Lev. 8:22), which was the thank offering and the peace offering: representing the grateful joy of those whom God honoured with the privileges of priesthood, and as initiating a career of festal fellowship with the Lord.
Lev. 8:23.The tip of Aarons right ear, etc. The right member conveys the meaning of entirety, thoroughness, fulness, and strength. Every sense and every member, all avenues of feeling, and all lifes active powers, were to be used for God. See here the standard of lifes dedication for all Christians, who owe to their Lord so great a debt of love as should constrain them to most fervent and absolute devotion.
Lev. 8:30.Anointing oil, and of the blood. The Spirits grace mingles with the Redeemers virtue: both are imperative. Salvation must be sealed with sanctification, and the good work of renewing is in no case complete where there is not the blended application of both the blood and the anointing oil.
Lev. 8:33-36.Seven days shall he consecrate you. Within the sacred enclosure they were to tarry during that period. Consecration must not be hurried. Zeal to be engaged in Christian work may lead to rash and reckless haste; let the young convert pause amid the Divine sanctities, and get his soul filled with reverence, nourished into strength, enriched with grace, such as can only be secured by waiting on the Lord. Ardour is good, alacrity is often needed, for opportunities summon us to activity; but the young life needs first the sacred fostering, and a quiet resting place, or ever it is equipped for the duties of the Christian priesthood. Moreover, God asks for Himself this consecration interlude. Each day of the seven these priests were to fill the hand, i.e., were to repeat the same sacrifices. God must be served first, then man. Dwell much and restfully in the secret places of the Most High, give Him leisurely your homage, wait on Him in meditation and prayer; you will be more endowed for gracious ministries to men by such solemn seclusion with the Lord. Wait on the Lord and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.
SECTIONAL HOMILIES
Topic: PRIESTS versus PRIESTISM (Lev. 8:1-5)
So great have been the abuses of the priestly office, so enormous its pretensions, so offensive its intrusions, that it requires an effort of thought in order to entertain, in these times, pleasant and grateful ideas respecting priests and the functions of priesthood. The modern assumptions of priestism are so painful an outrage on Christianity as to start the intelligent mind into revulsion and move the devont heart to grief. Yet
I. PRIESTS MINISTERED IN ISRAEL WITH THE HIGH SANCTION OF GOD. He
1. Created the office, and defined its solemn functions, which were of the loftiest character.
2. Invested the person of the priest with splendour, majesty, and beauty, to command admiration and awe.
3. Determined the mediatorial intervention of the priest between man and God; set one man in this august and solemn supremacy among his fellows.
4. Refused any other than the priest to come direct to His altar and stand in His most holy presence.
II. THE PRIESTHOOD WAS A PROVISIONAL ARRANGEMENT ANTIOIPATORY OF CHRISTS GLORIOUS OFFICES.
1. In the personal excellence and piety of individual priests, the faultless being always chosen, Christs perfect humanity was foreshadowed.
2. In the splendid attire with which the priests were adorned, Christs majestic attributes and Divine qualities were represented.
3. In the imposing ministries before and within the veil, Christs offices as atoning and mediating Priest were pourtrayed.
4. In the sacred and exclusive privileges the priests enjoyed, Christs entire acceptableness and Gods great delight in Him were impressively and constantly intimated.
III CHRISTIAN MINISTERS INHERIT MANY OF THE MOST AUGUST AND RESPONSIBLE SPIRITUAL FUNCTIONS OF THE PRIESTHOOD.
1. They have no priestly calling, yet are as distinctly commissioned and divinely consecrated to their work.
2. Their solemn trust places them in highest ministries and responsibilites as mediators between God and human souls.
3. The Christian Church is commanded to maintain them in their ministry and esteem them very highly in the discharge of their sacred commission.
4. As bishops and shepherds of Christs flock, they are put in trust with the souls of their people; they watch for souls.
IV. MODERN PRIESTLINESS PERVERTS AND PROSTITUTES THE SACRED OFFICE OF THE MINISTRY IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
1. Its offensive assumption of spiritual supremacy is in defiance of Christs law of equality and brotherhood among believers.
2. Its officious intrusion between God and men is an affront to the unfettered liberty and right of every one to seek God for himself, and is an infringement upon the mediatorship of Jesus which always avails for all.
3. Its daring pretensions of altar ministries is a perversion of New Covenant doctrines; neither altar nor sacrificial rites remaining now within the Church.
4. Its appalling misleading of seduced souls, who rest on such beguiling priestliness for spiritual safety, instead of wholly trusting Christ, is sufficient to fill Christian hearts with indignation and to cover the very name of priest with anathemas. [See Addenda, p. 114, Priestism.]
(a) There is now no priest but Jesus Christ.
(b) His ministers falsify their trust if they thrust the shadow of a human presence between the soul and Jesus.
(c) The Christian Church will rightly value the ministry as it elevates Christs offices before men.
(d) Every believer, though not called to the ministry of the Word, is entrusted with priestly functions, as a pleader with men for God, a pleader with God for men.
Topic: THE CALLING OF THE PRIESTS (Lev. 8:1-13)
Notable in this record is the exclusive agency of God in placing on His people the blessings of redemption. It recounts the consecration of His priests, those whom He was pleased to call into His sanctuary to know and serve Him: a calling now granted to all the family of faith. Former chapters of Leviticus have revealed the arrangements of Gods mercy in providing the satisfaction due to His own holy government, and in securing the pardon and acceptance of His people. But pardon and acceptance are not the only blessings God has provided through redemption.
I. THE PRIESTLY CALLING.
To what does God summon and set them apart?
1. Intimate access with Him; coming into special nearness to His presence, His altar, and His holy place.
2. Fullest knowledge of Him; learning His secret will, enjoying freest communion with Him.
3. Holy service for Him. His servants shall serve Him.
II. A CALLING OF HIGHEST HAPPINESS AND PRIVILEGE.
1. The fact of His being what He is as God, perfect in all goodness and in all blessing, must necessarily make admission into His service, joy; and exclusion from it, woe. [See Addenda, p. 114, Sanctity.]
2. What higher honour than to be employed in carrying out the designs of One who is perfect in wisdom and love, and all powerful likewise, so as surely to accomplish the contemplated end.
II. A CALLING HARMONIOUS WITH A CHRISTIANS SACRED INSTINCTS AND ENERGIES.
1. Gods saints have energies, imperishable energies which, if unoccupied, must cause them unceasing sorrow; and how could they be fitly occupied except in His service!
2. But they are not to be unoccupied. He who gave those energies intends that they should be fully occupied, and that not in distance from Himself, but in His own near presence.
IV. A CALLING INTO A WONDROUS LIFE.
Israel was now in the midst of a waste and howling wilderness; and God might have assigned to their priests that they should serve and commune with Him amid those wild and ungenial scenes.
1. But they were called to enter beneath the shelter of the tabernacle of God. Its golden boards enclosed them, its mystic curtains covered them. They were shut in with God, encompassed within the sacred and hallowing seclusion.
2. Amid what solemn experiences they daily dwelt! There they found incense ascending for them, and shrouding them with its fragrance; light shining for them and encompassing them with its brightness; and bread prepared for them as food, even on the table of God. There, in the presence of Gods own goodness, they learned His lessons, and when they went back into the wilderness, they never again entered it as their home, but as those whose dwelling place was with God in the peace of redemption. They might go in or they might go out; but still they were His priests always. [Comp. B. W. Newtons Thoughts on Leviticus.]
Topic: THE MINISTRY OF THE PRIESTHOOD (Lev. 8:1-2)
I. DEFINITION OF THE PRIESTHOOD. A priest is one who mediates between God and man He presents the gifts and sacrifices which the worshipper may not, or does not, or dare not offer in person; and brings back from God the assurance of acceptance and favour.
II. DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRIESTLY OFFICE. Among the Hebrews, as among kindred nations, priestly functions were discharged by the head of each family till the institution of the covenant at Sinai. This, by consecrating one family as priests for the nation, and requiring all sacrifices to be presented in front of the tabernacle of meeting, put an end to the ancient practice.
The transition from the family priesthood to the Leviticalthe national priesthood was indicated when Moses was entrusted to conduct the sacrifices of Israel, as the mediator of the covenant; and the closing of the old rgime was marked by his choosing young men as his assistants in the offering of national sacrifices. As the mediator of the covenant, divinely authorised to communicate Gods messages to the people, and the peoples messages to God, Moses would be the first person thought of for the priesthood. But his hands being already sufficiently occupied, the office was conferred on his brother, as the person nearest to him in consanguinity and harmony of feeling.
III. THE UNIFYING VALUE OF A NATIONAL PRIESTHOOD. It would help to consolidate the families which had before worshipped at different altars. The union of all Hebrews, of whatever parentage, in the worship of the tabernacle, was an important element of national life. The families were henceforth, at least so far as concerns the rites of religion, united together as a nation; and the family of Aaron were, by the appointment of Jehovah, mediators between the nation and Himself.
IV. SELECTION OF THE AARONIC FAMILY. The nation being constituted especially Jehovahs, by virtue of their election as His covenant people, the family of Aaron were elected to a corresponding eminence above their kindred; not only belonging to Jehovah as all Hebrews did, but being in a peculiar sense His for the service of mediation. As the entire nation was holy, or separate from other nations, so this family was called to be holy, for the office and ministrations of the priesthood. As this separation of the Hebrews from the rest of mankind did not begin with any act of their own, but they were chosen by the Lord to be His; so Aaron and his sons did not take the prerogatives of the priesthood spontaneously, but were called to the office by the election of Jehovah Himself.
V. BENEFICENCE OF THE PRIESTLY OFFICE. The people were not qualified to draw near to God in person; and though, by virtue of their election, they were entitled to dwell in His habitation, their consciousness of sin made them afraid of Him; therefore, in condescension to their inability to understand the greatness of His love, He provided a class of persons who, as representatives of His elect, might in their stead enter the tabernacle. To draw near to God, to be a priest, are equivalent expressions. Aaron drew near in behalf of those who were elected to have spiritual communion with God, but were not yet delivered from the bondage of fear; and his admission within the habitation signified that they were entitled to a corresponding access in spirit, that they were called a kingdom of priests for the reason that they might thus draw near God in spiritual fellowship. By his office he was qualified to do outwardly and symbolically what all might do in spirit and in truth.
VI. EXPIATORY MINISTRY OF THE PRIESTHOOD. Before Aaron could enter the holy habitation in behalf of the people, he must officiate at the altar of sacrifice, and expiate sin; for his constituents were sinful, and the representation of their approach to God as members of His household must be preceded by signs that their sin was taken away; otherwise it might be inferred that Jehovah was indifferent whether His people were holy or unholy. The Hebrew priesthood therefore symbolised in general the expiation of sin, and the admission to filial intercourse with God effected thereby. [Comp. Atwater, Sacred Tabernacle].
Topic: QUALIFICATIONS AND MINISTRIES OF GODS PRIESTS (Lev. 8:6-30)
All now done to the tabernacle priests symbolises the experiences of the sanctified soul.
I. Consecration WHOLLY THE WORK OF ANOTHER.
Moses, acting for and representing God did everything needful to complete their consecration; whilst they, the subjects of consecration, stood as passive recipients of blessings which were placed upon them by anothers hand. Moses washed them, clothed them; anointed them, slew the appointed sacrifices, sprinkled the blood, etc. He ceased not from his ministrations until he left them at the door of the tabernacle fully consecrated as the priests of God.
A lesson this to those who desire to be established in grace. We have not properly learned the typical lesson if we trust to either our power of appreciation, or the applicatory power of faith. The garments brought to us and placed upon us by God become the spring of joy, steadfast and abiding, only as we realise that our possession of them rests not in powers connected with the creature, but in God alone.
II. PERFECT CLEANNESS THE INITIAL REQUIREMENT.
Their cleansing was received as a gift from God. They washed not themselves, the hand of another did it. Even as Jesus says to His disciples, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me (Joh. 13:8).
III. INVESTITURE IN HOLY ATTIRE.
To Moses it had before been said, Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and beauty. Those garments had been made.
1. All the adornments of grace have been prepared for us; wait in readiness for us.
2. A moment of intensest joy to Moses when he brought forth those prepared garments for adornment. Nor less to Christ when He clothes the soul with the garments of salvation.
3. Attire symbolic of sacred qualities. They were of blue, purple, scarlet, fine-twined linen, with connecting chains and ouches or settings of gold, indicating:
(a) Heavenliness of character (typified by the blue).
(b) Purity (typified by the white linen).
(c) Official dignity (typified by the scarlet and purple).
(d) Divine power of sustaining others (typified by the chains and ouches of gold); gold being used in the tabernacle as a symbol of Deity.
IV. ADORNED WITH THE CROWN OF HOLINESS.
On his head was placed the holy crown, the golden plate.
(a) A crown is the symbol of kingship; it declares the royalty of consecrated souls, kings unto God.
(b) Holiness inscribed on the crown: it declares that the highest dignity of man is moral rectitude, spiritual sanctity.
That place bore the inscription HOLINESS TO THE LORD. It implied that
1. The vindication of that holiness was the avowed object of his priestly service.
2. Bearing that inscription on his brow among the people, during his priestly ministries, asserted that Gods holiness had been and was being adequately maintained.
3. Entering into Gods presence with that inscription was evidence that God acknowledged the fact of His holiness being maintained. It was so with the temple priests; so with our glorious High Priest; is so with every soul who fulfils on earth the ministry of Christian devotion.
V. THE BADGE OF MEDIATORSHIP.
1. From the high priests shoulders (the place of endurance and strength), suspended by chains of gold (symbol of Divine sustaining power), hung the breastplate. And that badge of his office, to intercede for others, lay upon his heart.
2. It bore upon it the names of those for whom he was appointed to minister, and whose high priest he was. Every one who had a place within that cluster of names had a claim on his ministry and mediatorship.
3. Besides being suspended from the shoulders, the place of strength, it was firmly bound to the pontifical ephod, the distinguishing garment of the mediatorial office of high priest.
The most glorious function of the high priest was the bearing others names, not his own; and mediating for others, not for himself, before the Lord. It is certainly the crowning glory of the Lord Jesus. And the Christian soul has a priestly mission, supreme above all others, to look not every man on his own things but the things of others; to bring others before the Lord in prayer, and to win souls into blessed reconciliation with God by his gracious interventions and Christly ministries.
VI. SPIRITUAL ANOINTING.
That holy oil is the unction from the Holy One.
(1) The plenitude of the Spirit; and
(2) the graces of the Spirit; and
(3) the efficient power of the Spirit, are essential to a priestly life of sanctity and service.
VII. QUALIFICATION BASED ON SACRIFICE.
1. The scene suddenly changes; and the gloriously attired and anointed priest stands as a sinner by the sin offering. For sin must be expiated even for the most privileged souls.
(1) Its blood sprinkled upon the altar indicated that appeasement was demanded or ever they could approach that altar in ministry.
(2) Its body being consumed without the camp declared what their doom would be did justice exact its due.
(3) But the blood on the altar and accepted, announced complete propitiation and acceptance.
(4) While the choice inward parts consumed on the altar fire, testified that Gods claim of inward perfectness was satisfied.
2. The burnt sacrifice summoned them to absolute self-devotion; for God will receive no less in any who avowedly become His. His zeal must consume us
3. But in the consecration offering they yielded themselves up to God with gratitude and gladness: as those who reach towards the self-devotion of JesusI delight to do Thy will; yea, Thy law is within my heart.
In every sacrifice the merits of Christ and His atonement are primarily set forth: but there is a subsidiary relevancy to the self-denials of a Christian career.
VIII. APPLIED SACRIFICIAL GRACE.
Moses took the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aarons ear, etc.
1. The value of sacrifice, which had before been accepted for them, was now applied to them.
2. The meaning of sacrifice, also, was now urged upon them: all life laid out for God, and in His service.
IX. SYMBOLIC OFFERINGS PRESENTED TO GOD.
This was their first act of personal presentation within Gods sanctuary of consecrated sacrifices. Moses took offerings and put all upon Aarons hands, and upon his sons hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the Lord, etc.
The sacrifices which thus filled their hands were those which signified:
1. Inward perfectness: perfectness in the reins, and in the heart; indicating the bringing, on their part, into Gods employ of their purest affections, and highest virtues, and noblest intelligence.
2. Outward developed perfectness of character; represented in the unleavened anointed bread that constituted the meat offering.
It is only in Christs perfectness, a perfectness to be appropriated by us, that we can present such offerings before God.
X. SIGN OF DIVINE ACCEPTANCE.
1. Being sprinkled, by the blood which first had been sprinkled and accepted upon the altar, conveyed the fact that God received their consecration: that themselves, their office, and all its various functions were placed under the sanction and the acceptableness of the blood.
2. The sprinkling of the holy anointing oil symbolically connected the Holy Spirits grace with those offices into which God was, and is pleased to call His people. Without this, by whatever dignity or beauty they might be clothed, they would remain inefficient and powerless to minister aright before the Lord. But He who calls into holy office bestows the needed grace and power.
3. Their feeding upon the sacrifice signified the communication of strength, for we are nourished by food; and suggested the fellowship now established between them and God. They fed on part of that on which the holy fire of the altar had fed. There was communion, therefore, with God in the sacrifice.
Thus consecrated, they were to abide within the tabernacle, and keep the charge of Jehovah. And blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causeth to approach unto Thee. [See Addenda, p. 114, Sanctity.]
Topic: CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS.A.: THE PUBLICITY OF THE CEREMONY (Lev. 8:1-5)
Among the Hebrews, previous to the promulgation of the law from Sinai, the priesthood was not confined to particular individuals; though, as a rule, the head of the family discharged duties at the altar of the household associated with divine worship. The Levitical priesthood corresponds, in many of its features, with most of the religions of antiquity, in their sacerdotal institutions. In them, we read of priests, altars, and sacrifices; supposed to be mediums of communication between the worshippers and worshipped, and the means of propitiation.
The institution of the priesthood followed the request of the people that Jehovah would not speak to them except through some mediator. The priests became servants of the Lord, and of the people for His sake. The consecration services, by which Aaron and his sons were inducted to their offices, were calculated to humble as well as exalt them. They were to be free from personal blemish, sanctified from all ceremonial defilement, and were to exercise self-denial by abstaining from wine during the performance of their duties. In this chapter we have the performance of ceremonies directed in Exodus 29, and they were not repeated subsequently, except in the succession of the high priest. The ceremony was public
I. TO CONFIRM ITS GREAT IMPORTANCE. Among a people so prone to be rebellious and jealous, it was necessary that conclusive evidence should be furnished to leave no room for the shadow of a reasonable doubt respecting the persons selected for so distinguished a position. The purposes for which the priesthood was instituted were the most solemn and important; upon the rightful discharge of the duties the most momentous issues hung. Aaron and his sons were to stand in the breach which sin had made between man and God, and be dispensers of life and death.
II. TO CONFIRM ITS DIVINE APPOINTMENT. Had they been consecrated in a private way, suspicions that the offices had been assumed from personal ambition, or for selfish ends, might have been suggested; but the ceremony being performed in the presence of the whole congregation, at the door of the tabernacle, the open approval of Jehovah was proclaimed. The congregation would thus be deeply impressed with the sacredness of the priesthood, as selected and anointed of the Lord.
III. TO CONFIRM ITS GENERAL ACCEPTANCE. The people had asked for the intervention of a priest, their request had been granted, and they were now required to show at a public ceremony that they approved and accepted what was done. At the door of the tabernacle they would recognise the divine appointment, and unitedly engage to accord with the arrangements made. They were the subjects of, and witnesses to, the covenant made with Moses and Aaron; and pledged themselves ready to render implicit obedience.
Read in the light of the New Testament, these considerations may be applied to the public consecration of our blessed Lord, when baptised in the Jordan by John. Heaven opened, the divine voice, the descent of the Spirit in the presence of many witnesses, indicated the great importance of the mission He was beginning; showed that He was beloved of God, and possessed His unqualified approval. Such facts place upon all to whom the tidings come binding obligations to accept the Messiah as the Atoning Priest of the world, for all men, for all time.F. W. Brown.
B.: THE SOLEMNITY OF THE CEREMONY (Lev. 8:6-17)
Commanded to draw near to Jehovah at the door of the tabernacle, and to observe the ceremony under direct Divine superintendence, the Israelites would be at once impressed with a sense of deep solemnity in the service; they would feel they were standing on holy ground. The solemnity seen
I. BY THE PREPARATORY ABLUTIONS ENJOINED. Appointed to come nigh to a God spotlessly pure and holy, Aaron and his sons must adopt means fitting to suggest the need of inward holiness and official blamelessness.
II. BY THE SACERDOTAL VESTMENTS REQUIRED. Garments so beautiful and elaborate, rendering the priests (especially the High Priest) imposing in their appearance, would not only adorn the person, but convey the idea that Jehovahs worship required the presentation of things pure and excellent. The priests attire was chosen by the Lord, and each part suggested some solemn lesson. The mind is impressed through the eye, the spirit may be made devout through the senses.
III. BY THE APPROPRIATE SACRIFICES OFFERED. Their sin burnt and peace offerings symbolised death to sin, fulness of consecration, acceptance with God. Every act in connection with sacrifices was calculated to prepare the priests for their holy work, to beget reverence in the people towards them.
IV. BY THE GENERAL ANOINTING OBSERVED. The tabernacle, as well as the priests, was anointed with oil. Israel was to entertain reverence for the place where the priests would officiate, where oblations would be presented; everything associated with divine worship was to be regarded as peculiarly sacred.
When, in the fulness of time, Christ came, He was pointed out as the Lamb of God, denoting the solemn sacrificial character of His work, as well as the exemplary character of His life. Through Him we have access into the holiest of all by a new and living way.F. W. B.
C.: THE COMPLETENESS OF THE CEREMONY (Lev. 8:17-36)
In the consecration observances every place where the priests would officiate, and every faculty of the priest, was impressively dedicated. The head, the seat of intelligence; the shoulders, the repository of strength; the breast, the home of love; all were clothed appropriately to indicate purity, energy, excellence. Beauty in appearance, efficiency in service, comfort for the worshippers, benedictions for the whole congregation, all were arranged for, and guaranteed. As the hands of the priests were lifted towards heaven, and waved to and fro, they were reminded that their ministry would reach to heaven; and at the same time bless the children of men. The completeness of the ceremony is seen in that
I. THERE WAS NO MARGIN LEFT FOR HUMAN INVENTION.
Every thing was done fully and exactly as Jehovah commanded; the pattern of the tabernacle was given to Moses on the mount, and every minute arrangement in the series of sacrifices, and consecration of the priests, finally fixed. Had the people been left to add, or subtract, there would have been room for manifold innovations and absurdities.
II. THERE WOULD BE NO AFTER NEED FOR DIVINE REVISION.
Jehovah never makes mistakes; what He does stands fast, His plans are perfect, His purposes immutable. The priesthood met the moral needs of the Hebrews; was perfectly adapted to requirements of the age. When the prophetical age dawned, and clearer light shone upon divine revelation, the things instituted in connection with the tabernacle service developed into more spiritual significance; what they taught remained unimpaired. These things continued till they were lost in the substance of which they were only shadows. Christ embraced all the divine teaching, and embodied all the excellencies to be found in Moses and the law. Christianity is not so much a new, as a perfected religion, as the first verse of the Epistle to the Hebrews teaches. The whole of revelation, from first to last, is a development; every stage complete in itself, each growing out of its predecessor, and merging into something better. The completion of redemption will be when we are made kings and priests unto God, and reign with Christ for ever and ever.F. W. B.
D.: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CEREMONY (Lev. 8:17-36)
The institution of sacrificial worship, through an ordained priesthood, would deepen in the hearts of the Hebrews impressions of Divine truth already there as the outcome of the patriarchal teaching. They were now very clearly taught
I. That there can be no acceptable service rendered to God without purity in the worshipper.
II. That the imperfection of purity in the worshipper demands an atonement in the sight of God to make up for that defect.
III. That the distance between God and man, produced by sin, can be removed only by a divinely appointed mediator.
The priests were the channels, not the sources, of blessing to the people; they had no power of their own to dispense pardon, nor could they exempt from blame, or furnish indulgences. They existed for the people, not the people for them. They wielded deputed and responsible power. Medieval priestly assumption, papal arrogance, find no sanction in these Levitical rites.
The Epistle to the Hebrews teaches that in the Gospel dispensation we, as priests to God, are, (a) cleansed by the washing of regeneration; (b) clothed with the garments of Christs righteousness; (c) offer sacrifices of praise and prayer; (d) surrender ourselves wholly to the Lord; (e) receive the unction of the Holy One.
To seek position and succession in such a spiritual priesthood is the duty and privilege of all.F. W. B.
OUTLINES ON VERSES OF CHAPTER 8
Lev. 8:2.Theme: GODS ELECTED PRIESTS.
i. It is not only historically true that Aaron and his descendants were PRIESTS BY THE ELECTION OF JEHOVAH declared through Moses, the mediator of the covenant, and confirmed by the sign of the almond rod, but such a calling of God is essential to the idea of the office; for a priest is one who comes near to God, dwells with Him in His home as a companion in behalf of others, because more acceptable than they. The priest is preferred before those he represents; therefore no man may take this honour to himself, or be exalted to it by his fellows. Blessed is the man whom Thou chooseth, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple (Psa. 65:4). Only those thus chosen by God were priests.
ii. This divine election of the family of Aaron out of Israel signifies that those who had been admitted to filial fellowship with the Holy One of Israel were called thereto by the SOVEREIGN CHOICE OF GOD. As Jehovah chose the family of Aaron out of the tribe of Levi, the Levites out of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the Hebrews out of all the nations, so has He chosen His spiritual seed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. Without such election they would have remained, like the rest of mankind, strangers to the covenant, instead of becoming a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices. The New Testament writers make this Divine election very prominent, declaring that those who, by receiving Christ became sons of God, were born not of the will of man, but of God (Joh. 1:13), were called to be saints (Rom. 1:17), were chosen before the foundation of the world that they should be holy (Eph. 1:4, were predestinated to the adoption of children (Eph. 1:5), were elect unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (1Pe. 1:2).
iii. The priesthood were ELECTED TO HOLINESS. The whole people, as a kingdom of priests, were to be a holy nation; but the family of Aaron were chosen to a still higher ceremonial purity than was required of their brethren. When Korah and his companions claimed the right to officiate as priests, they did so on the ground that all the congregation were holy, and the reply of the mutineers was, To-morrow Jehovah will show who are His, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto Him; even him whom He hath chosen will He cause to come near unto him (Num. 16:5). The budding of Aarons rod decided the question between him and those who claimed the office on the ground that all were holy. It was a sign that Aaron was elected to a superiority of holiness among the Hebrews, as the nation was to a similar eminence among the nations of the earth.
The election of the Hebrews to be a holy nation set forth before the eyes of men the truth that Jehovah is holy, and that the true Israel who in spirit and in truth have access to Him must be holy; the calling of the priests to a greater strictness of life than was required of the common people, and the requirements of a still higher degree of holiness in the head of the sacerdotal order, were concurrent and cumulative testimonies to the same truth.Atwater, Sacred Tabernacle.
Lev. 8:3.Theme: AN ELECT PEOPLE. And gather them, etc.
The circumstances amid which Divine directions were given to the people, as well as the directions themselves, were calculated to impress the fact upon all Israel that they were an elect nation, brought out from Egypt to inaugurate a new era for the world. Every other nation was sunken in idolatry, and Israel had proneness to it, as evinced in the worship of the calf at the foot of the Mount. All idolatry debases and degrades; has never been known to develop into civilisation, much less into pure and undefiled religion. Man could not develop from his innate wisdom or inner consciousness such ideas of God, holiness, duty and worship, as those which were promulgated and established around Sinai. The institution and consecration of the priesthood taught that God is holy, and that holiness becometh His house for ever. Man, without supernatural aid, has always transferred and affixed his own sinful passions to priests and gods; and, has sought to become like them, to avoid their anger, and secure their benediction. In Israel, Jehovah showed who He was; and how His favour might be secured. Consider:
I THE CONGREGATION ASSEMBLED All the people were to meet, they had been prepared for united service. In Egypt they had become bound together by strong and tender tiesthey had no prejudices or predilections in respect to government, were ready to take directions from their Divine king. Had Jehovah revealed Himself equally, and at once, to all men, revelation would have seemed the spontaneous and simultaneous growth of human inquiry; and the plan by which God governs our race would have been thwarted.
Israel was chosen to high honour, but onerous duties were associated with their privileges; they wore called to self-denying service, and to the attainment of holiness, requiring constant self-mortification. The priest could convey knowledge of God through the medium of the senses; thus, the revelation in the wilderness was adapted to the infancy of the Jewish Church.
II. THE PLACE OF ASSEMBLY. The door of the tabernacle. Everything done in order to beget devoutness and solemnity. There was no image of Jehovah before which the people would bow; but they were to remember that God had taken up His abode among them, and revealed His will from the tabernacle. What a contrast the place would be to the heathen temples in Egypt, with which Israel had been familiar. They were places where revolting abominations were practised; here, all would impress the mind with purity. The priests who were to officiate in the holy place must be sanctified, to denote how spotlessly pure the God of Israel was. The gathering of the congregation at the door of the tabernacle, and the consecration of the priesthood would meet the great wants of mans moral nature. He has something in him that compels him to recognise and worship a superior Being; he becomes like the Being he worships; he seeks to commune with and receive communications from, the Being he worships; he desires a mediator between him and his God.
All the light and purity that gathered around the Levitical priesthood was symbolic of the purity of character required in those who draw near to God; and typical of the perfect purity of Him who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.F. W. B.
Lev. 8:8.Theme: ISRAELS GLORY.
And he put the breastplate, etc.
To outward seeming at this time the people, in themselves and their circumstances, did not present a very dignified appearance. With no visible means of subsistence, a horde of emancipated slaves, and before them as their new arena for enterprise a waste, howling wilderness. Yet they were the Lords freemen; He was their Deliverer and King. Through and with their priests, consecrated in their presence, they would draw very near to God. They had not been permitted to engrave their names upon tablets of fame in the land of bondage, but now their names are engraved upon the breastplate of the high priest, and presented before the Lord. This denoted
I. THAT THEY WOULD BE EVER REMEMBERED IN THE DIVINE PRESENCE.
Their names uncovered; plainly immediately seen.
II. THAT THEY HAD A PLACE NEAR THE HEART OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVE.
Not behind his back, or beneath his feet, but on his breast.
III. THAT THEY WERE REGARDED AS VERY PRECIOUS BY THE LORD.
Their names not written in the sands of the desert, which would be soon obliterated, nor on raw and rough material, but on precious stones. The Lord esteems those as His jewels who become His people.
IV. THAT THEY MIGHT RECEIVE LIGHT AND DIRECTION IN ALL THEIR JOURNEYINGS.
The Urim and Thummim in the breastplate would, in some way unknown to us, indicate the Divine will to priests and people. The precious stones of the breastplate may suggest the paradise lost by the fall, where there were gold and precious stones; and paradise regained by the redemption of Christ, where precious stones abound. Our great High Priest carries us, not only on His breast, but in His heart. He remembers, represents us, pleads for us. Through His righteousness we may hereafter be admitted into the holiest of all.F. W. B.
Lev. 8:9.Theme: THE HOLY CROWN.
Upon his forefront did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses.
Man is the only creature whose forehead fronts the temple of the sky. Fitting that the head of High Priest, the human face divine, should be crowned with gold when approaching the King of kings, and representing Him among the people. The gold band upon the mitre shone like a diadem, caught and reflected the glory of heaven. On it in letters patent to all: Holiness to the Lord. Gold denotes preciousness and incorruptibility. Such ever are the nature and character of Jehovah. The holy crown upon the head of the High Priest implied
I. THAT HE HAD REGAL DUTIES TO DISCHARGE. He was in the service of the King, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. Nothing he commanded to be performed could therefore be mean or unimportant.
II. THAT HE HAD REGAL POWER TO EXERCISE. Weak, like other men, in himself, he was a plenipotentiary, full of power, because of the authority by which He was commissioned and sustained. Ambassadors in councils and courts are powerful on account of the Sovereign and Realm they represent: so here.
III. THAT HE HAD REGAL DIGNITY TO SUSTAIN. He, a kingly priest, would need to magnify his office. He was under necessity to keep the glory of the crown unsullied. The people would look up to Aaron as their exemplar, as well as mediator. Every thought, word, deed to be Holiness to the Lord.
Here we have a significant type of Christ our High Priest. He was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. He is King and Priest. Our great Intercessor was seen by John (Rev. 14:14,) having on His head a golden crown. Holiness is the crown and glory of the universe; constitutes the nature and blessedness of God; is the ultimatum of human redemption. Holiness and blessedness are wedded together by indissoluble bonds.F. W. B.
Lev. 8:12.Theme: SANCTIFICATION. To sanctify him.
Aaron was set apart to his grand work, not only by lavations and lustrations, but by annointings. This would show
I. THAT HE WAS ENTIRELY DEDICATED TO GODS SERVICE. As the oil was poured profusely upon his head, it symbolised the fact that so readily and cheerfully would he pour out his lifes best and brightest energies in Jehovahs service.
II. THAT HE WAS COMPLETELY SANCTIFIED IN GODS PRESENCE.
As the oil made the face of Aaron shine, and he submitted to every preliminary in connection with his entry upon his office, he would have the inward witness, and give ocular proof, that the needed preparation was complete.
Christ, as our great High Priest, sanctified Himself, not for His office simply, but for the sake of His disciples; and His will is that we should be sanctified through the truth. We all need the unction of the Holy One, sanctification by the grace of Christ, and the influences of the Holy Ghost to fit us for sacred service and communion with the Lord.F. W. B.
Lev. 8:21.Theme: PERFECT SERVICE. And he washed the inwards, etc.
The minute and strict directions given respecting the offerings presented at the consecration of the priests showed
I. THE NEED OF INWARD PURITY. Man looks only on the outward appearance; the Lord looks upon the inward parts, and in the hidden parts He would have us to know wisdom. The inwards, as well as the legs of offering were to be cleansed before being presented.
II. THE NEED OF UNRESERVED SURRENDER. The whole ram was to be offered. This same truth fully taught in the holocaust. The new dispensation demands that we present our bodies living sacrifices holy and acceptable unto God. Let us seek, then, to please the Lord and to be accepted of Him.F. W. B.
Lev. 8:23.Theme: LIVING SACRIFICES.
And he slew it; and Moses took, etc.
Aaron and his sons laying their hands upon the ram of consecration, identified them with it; denoted their unqualified surrender to Jehovah. The blood of the victim being put upon the priests ears, hands, and feet, must have been intended to teach important lessons. The blood sprinkled upon the right ear, suggests
I. THAT THE PRIESTS WERE TO ATTENTIVELY LISTEN TO THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD. They were not to exercise their own ingenuity in forming precepts, they were not to listen to anything that would border on collusion, or conspiracy. Ear-gate was ever to be open and ready to receive the communications from heaven; was to be kept sacred to the Lord. The sprinkling of blood upon the thumb of the right hand suggests
II. THAT THE PRIESTS WERE TO READILY RECEIVE THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD. The hand is an emblem of receptivity, as well as energy; represents capacity and will. By it, we distribute and receive. The hands of priests would be busy in offering sacrifices, in waving incense, in presenting prayer. They must be therefore clean and consecrated, ever ready to present gifts to God from the people, and to convey blessings to them from God. The sprinkling of blood upon the great toe of the right foot suggests
III. THAT THE PRIESTS WERE TO IMMEDIATELY OBEY THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD. By our feet we move in the direction our hearts prompt and lean. The feet of the priests would stand in the holy place, it was fitting they should be sanctified.
Our great High Priest gave the words to His disciples that He received from His Father; His holy hands were ever busy doing good; His holy feet, trod the sacred fields of Palestine for our advantage. Let us seek that all our powers may be sanctified by and consecrated to the Lord.F. W. B.
Lev. 8:27.Theme: HEARTY SERVICE.
And he put all upon Aarons hands, etc.
Moses had the honour of inducting Aaron to his office, as well as robing him for it. Placing the offering upon the hands of Aaron and his sons
I. CLEARLY INDICATED THEIR WORK. Gave them practical knowledge of the duties to be prepared.
II. FULLY DEDICATED THEM TO THEIR WORK. Not only were they sanctified and attired in sacerdotal vestments, but really began their work.
Waving the offering in their hands, showed
I. THE SUBORDINACY OF THE PRIESTHOOD. They were only servants, with hands full of obligations; they held gifts which already belonged to Jehovah: of His own they would offer at the altar.
II. THE SUPREMACY OF THE LORD. Themselves, as well as the offering, belonged to God; they stood before the Lord acknowledging His sovereign claims.
Let us do the work of the Lord with both hands earnestly. Our work is (a) importantrequires both hands; (b) greatfills both hands; (c) urgentprompts both hands. Thus our Redeemer toiled for us, so let us labour for Him.F. W. B.
Lev. 8:33.Theme: SEVEN DAYS CONSECRATION.
Seven days shall he consecrate you.
The protracted period of consecration within the tabernacle would suggest
I. The deep dyed character of sin.
II. The immaculate purity of God.
III. The need of patient preparation for sacred work.
IV. The conditions of success in sacred work.F. W. B.
V. 36.Theme: EXEMPLARY OBEDIENOR. So Aaron and his sons did all, etc
Though many things commanded to be done seemed strange and unimportant, yet all things were done by Aaron and his sons that the Lord directed. Indicating
I. WILLINGNESS FOR THE SERVICES to which they were called. Thus they enjoyed
II. GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS IN THE WORK to which they were called.
Fulfilling their part of the covenant, the Lord would fulfil His part. Those who honour the Lord He will honour. Through the priesthood priceless blessings would be vouchsafed to Israel; through our Great Prophet, Priest, and King, innumerable and inestimable blessings came to the world.F. W. B.
ILLUSTRATIVE ADDENDA TO CHAPTER 8
PRIESTISM
Go forth and preach impostures to the world,
But give them truth to build upon.
Dante.
The power to bind and loose to Truth is given,
The mouth that speaks it is the mouth of Heaven;
The power which in a sense belongs to none,
Thus understood, belongs to every one.
It owes its high prerogatives to none,
It shines for all, as shines the blessed sun;
It shines in all who do not shut it out
By dungeon doors of unbelief and doubt.
To shine, it does not askO, far from it
For hierarchal privilege and permit!
Rabbi and priest may be chained down to lies
And babes and sucklings winged to mount the skies.
Abraham Coles: The Evangel.
Led so grossly by this meddling priest,
Dreading the curse that money may buy out.
King John, III., i.
Hateful to me, as are the gates of hell,
Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart,
Utters another.Bryants Homers Iliad.
O what a godly outside falsehood hath!
Merchant of Venice, I., 3.
Priest, beware your beard;
I mean to tug it, and to cuff you soundly;
Under my feet I stamp thy cardinals hat;
In spite of pomp, or dignities of Church,
Here by thy cheek I drag thee up and down.Henry VI, i., 3.
SANCTITY
Holinessas I then wrote down some of my contemplations on itappeared to me to be of a sweet, calm, pleasant, charming, serene nature, which brought an inexpressible purity, brightness, peacefulness, ravishment to the soul; in other words, that it made the soul like a field or garden of God, with all manner of pleasant fruits and flowers, all delightful and undisturbed, enjoying a sweet calm and the gentle vivifying beams of the sun. The soul of a true Christianas I then wrote my meditationsappeared like such a little white flower as we see in the spring of the year, low and humble on the ground, opening its bosom to receive the pleasant beams of the suns glory; rejoicing, as it were, in a calm rapture, diffusing around a sweet fragrance, standing peacefully and lovingly in the midst of other flowers round about, all in like manner opening their bosoms to drink in the light of the sun.Jonathan Edwards.
A Christian should let us see his graces walking abroad in his daily conversation; and, if such guests are in the house, they will often look out of the window, and be publicly seen abroad in all duties and holy actions.Gurner.
When courtiers come down into the country, the common home-bred people possibly think their habits strange; but they care not for that. It is the fashion at Court. What need, then, have the godly to be so tender-foreheaded, to be out of countenance because the world looks on holiness as a singularity? It is the only fashion in the highest Court, yea, of the King of kings Himself.Salter.
Inward holiness and eternal glory are the crown with which God dignifies His elect. But they are not the cause of the election. A king is not made a king by the royal robe he wears and the crown that encircles his brow; but he therefore wears his robes and puts on his crown because he is a king.Salter.
True ornaments to know a holy man.
Richard III., iii., 7.
Our holy lives must win a new worlds crown.Richard II., v., 1.
Holiness and happiness are always an indissoluble connection; yea, holiness is felicity itself.Alex. Macworter.
Hes honourable;
And, doubling that, most holy.
Cymbeline, III., 4.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
B. HISTORICAL SECTION 8:110:20
1. THE CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS 8:136
a. INTRODUCTION 8:15
TEXT 8:15
1
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2
Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;
3
and assemble thou all the congregation at the door of the tent of meeting.
4
And Moses did as Jehovah commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the door of the tent of meeting.
5
And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded to be done.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 8:15
149.
How many sons did Aaron have? Name them.
150.
List the garments here involved.
151.
Why two rams? Why the unleavened bread ?
152.
Isnt this an impossible request? i.e. assembling the whole congregation before the tent of meeting? Discuss possible solutions to this problem.
PARAPHRASE 8:15
The Lord said to Moses, Now bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tabernacle, together with their garments, the anointing oil, the young bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of bread made without yeast; and summon all Israel to a meeting there. So all the people assembled, and Moses said to them, What I am now going to do has been commanded by Jehovah.
COMMENT 8:15
Lev. 8:1-3 The command of God is always very clear and distinct. Since the sacrifices have been described we need now to describe the men who will administer them. We are all acquainted with Aaron, the older brother of Moses. Aaron has four sons. Their names are: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Two of them are soon to lose their lives because of sacrilege. The garments were those worn by Aaron, the high priest, and those worn by his sons and all other lesser priests. The six garments of the high priest are pictured and described in this text. The composition of the holy anointing oil is given in Exo. 30:22-33. It was made of myrrh, cinnamon, aromatic cane, cassia and olive oil. A bull was taken to be used in the sin offering, two rams were led by these six men. One ram for the burnt offering and one for the consecration or ordination of the priests. The basket of unleavened bread was the meal offering always given with the burnt offering. It must have been an impressive ceremony to have assembled before the tabernacle such a vast concourse of people. Since the ceremony was to last seven days, perhaps we are to understand that the people came and left as they could find a place during the entire time or that they were represented by their princes or elders.
Lev. 8:4-5 It is more than a little encouraging to realize God wants all the congregation to see and understand the function of the priesthood. It is the same today except that the congregation is the priesthood. Our problem is that of Aarons sons; we do not respect our great high priest and his words to us.
FACT QUESTIONS 8:15
194.
Why would we expect the installation of the priests at this particular place in the text?
195.
Who were the sons of Aaron?
196.
Name the elements used in the holy anointing oil.
197.
What was the purpose of the bull? Two rams? Of the unleavened bread?
198.
How was it possible to have the whole congregation before the tent of meeting?
199.
Why did God want all the congregation before the tabernacle? How do we compare with Aarons sons?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
VIII.
(1) And the Lord spake unto Moses.As the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood which the Lord commanded Moses to effect (Exo. 28:1-43) was to be accompanied by different kinds of sacrifices (Exo. 29:1-37), it was first of all necessary to define the ritual of each sacrifice. This was therefore done in Leviticus 1-7, and the lawgiver now proceeds to record the communication which he received from the Lord respecting the appointment to the sacerdotal office, thus resuming the narrative which was broken off at the end of Exodus.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Beginnings of the Priesthood ( Lev 8:1 to Lev 10:20 ).
In these chapters Aaron and his sons are installed by Moses as priests on earth, with Aaron as ‘the Priest’ (Leviticus 8). This can be compared with how Christ installs all Who come to Him as priests, in order that they may be worshippers of God and His ministers to the world. These new priests then carry out their first duties which God seals in a miraculous way (Leviticus 9), but sadly pride will overcome two of Aaron’s sons and they will be smitten by God which causes Aaron great grief (Leviticus 10). High privilege in the things of God brings great responsibility.
Lev 8:1
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,’
The chapter begins with these words. They probably indicate a new revelation from God to Moses at this point, rather than just a continuation link. However, either way we are being assured that the words that follow are those spoken by God to Moses.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Lev 8:8 And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.
Lev 8:8
Lev 8:8 Comments – The Urim and Thummim were stones kept in a pouch on the high-priest’s breastplate, used in determining God’s decision in certain questions and issues. Adam Clarke cites the Latin poet Ovid, who writes of just such a casting of stones. In the ancient custom of casting lots, two stones of black and white were used in casting a vote. The white stone was a symbol of good fortune or of innocence while the black stone symbolized bad luck or guilt.
“It was the custom in ancient times to use white and black pebbles, the black for condemning prisoners and the white for freeing them from the charge. At this time also the fatal vote was taken in this way; and every pebble that was dropped into the pitiless urn was black! But when the urn was turned and the pebbles poured out for counting, the colour of them all was changed from black to white; and so, by the will of Hercules, the vote was made favourable, and Alemon’s son was freed.” ( Metamorphoses 15.41) [15]
[15] Ovid, Metamorphoses, vol. 2, trans. Frank J. Miller, in The Loeb Classical Library, eds. T. E. Page, E. Capps, and W. H. D. Rouse (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1958), 367-368. See Adam Clarke, Revelation, in Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996), in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), notes on Revelation 2:17.
Listed are all uses of the Urim and Thummim in the Holy Bible:
Exo 28:30, “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim ; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.”
Lev 8:8, “And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the
breastplate the Urim and the Thummim .”
Num 27:21, “And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”
Deu 33:8, “And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;”
1Sa 28:6, “And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim , nor by prophets.”
Ezr 2:63, “And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim .”
Neh 7:65, “And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim .”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Putting On The Garments
v. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, v. 2. take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin-offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; v. 3. and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. v. 4. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
v. 5. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done. v. 6. And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water, v. 7. And he put upon him the coat, v. 8. And he put the breastplate upon him, v. 9. And he put the miter upon his head; also upon the miter, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown, v. 10. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the Tabernacle, v. 11. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar, v. 12. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. v. 13. And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
PART II. THE INSTITUTION OF AN HEREDITARY PRIESTHOOD
EXPOSITION
THE CONSECRATION OF AARON AND HIS SONS is the natural sequel of the foregoing division of the book. The sacrificial system, which had now been instituted in its completeness, required a priesthood to administer it. Originally the head of each Hebrew family was priest to his own household, to offer gifts betokening self-surrender and communion with Godburnt sacrifices and sacrifices similar in character to the peace offerings. The first step from hence to the hereditary priesthood was the hallowing the firstborn of the Israelites to God’s service, after the Israelitish firstborn had been delivered from the destruction which fell upon the firstborn of Egypt (Num 3:13). The second was the substitution of the tribe of Levi for the firstborn (Num 3:41-45), on account of the zeal which the Levites exhibited above the other tribes at the time of the idolatry of the golden calf (Exo 32:26). Now, out of the tribe of Levi is chosen the one family of Aaron, to form an hereditary priesthood, consisting at first of five persons, quickly reduced to three by the death of Nadab and Abihu. This small body would have been sufficient for the needs of the people while they were still in the wilderness, and leading the life of the camp. With the increase of the nation the family of Aaron and his sons increased likewise, until, in the time of David, it was necessary to subdivide it into twenty-four courses for the orderly fulfillment of the functions of the priesthood. As the institution of the priesthood was necessary for carrying out the sacrificial system, so the sacrifices were necessary for the consecration of the priests. By means of the sacrifices the priests are consecrated, Moses performing on the occasion, and for the last time, the priestly functions. Appended to the record of their consecration is an account of the first acts of the newly created priests (Lev 9:1-24), and of the death of two of them (Lev 10:1-20). This is the only historical section in the book; and the death of the blasphemer (Lev 24:1-23.)is the only other historical event recorded in it, if at least we except such passages as, “And he did as the Lord commanded Moses” (Lev 16:34; Lev 21:24; Lev 23:44),
Lev 8:1-5
These verses contain the preliminaries of the ceremony of consecration. Aaron and his sons are to be brought to the door of the tabernacle, together with all that is necessary for the performance of the rite that is about to take place. The words in the second verse, a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread, should be translated, the bullock for the sin offering and the two rants and the basket. The garments, the anointing oil, the bullock, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread and cakes, had all been previously enjoined, when Moses was on the mount (Exo 28:1-43, Exo 29:1-46, Exo 30:1-38). These previous injunctions are referred to in the words, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done (Lev 8:5).
Lev 8:6
Washing, robing, anointing, sacrificing, are the four means by the joint operation of which the consecration is effected. The washing, or bathing, took place in the sight of the people. The whole of the person, except so much as was covered by the linen drawers (Exo 28:42), was washed. The symbolical significance is clear. Cleansing from sin precedes clothing in righteousness and spiritual unction.
Lev 8:7-9
The robing. The various articles of the priestly dress had been appointed and described before (Exo 28:1-43, Exo 29:1-46). In these verses we see the order in which they were put on. After the priests had, no doubt, changed their linen drawers, there came, first, the coat, that is, a close-fitting tunic of white linen, made with sleeves and covering the whole body; next the girdle of the tunic, that is, a linen sash for tying the tunic round the body, with variegated ends hanging on each side to the ankles; thirdly, the robe, that is, a blue vesture, woven of one piece, with holes for the head and arms to pass through, reaching from the neck to below the knee, the bottom being ornamented with blue, purple, and scarlet pomegranates, alternating with golden bells; fourthly, the ephod, which consisted of two shoulder-pieces, or epaulettes, made of variegated linen and gold thread, fastened together in front and at the back by a narrow strap or band, from which hung, before and behind the wearer, two pieces of cloth confined below by the curious girdle of the ephod, that is, by a sash made of the same material as the ephod itself. Into the ephod were sewn two onyxes, one on each shoulder, in gold filigree settings, one of them engraven with the names of half of the tribes, and the other with the remaining half; and from two rosettes or buttons by the side of these stones depended twisted gold chains for the support of the breastplate. Fifth came the breastplate, which was a square pocket, made of embroidered linen, a span long and a span broad, worn upon the breast and hanging from the gold chains above mentioned, the lower ends of the gold chain being tied to two rings at the upper and outer corner of the breastplate, while the upper and inner corner of the same was attached to the ephod by blue thread running through two sets of rings in the breastplate and ephod respectively. The outer side of the breastplate was stiffened and adorned by twelve precious stones, set in four rows of three, each stone having on it the name of one of the tribes of Israel. The breastplate being double and the two sides and the bottom being sewn up, the pocket formed by it had its opening at the top. Into this pocket were placed the Urim and the Thummim, which were probably two balls of different colours, one of which on being drawn out indicated the approval of God, and the other his disapproval, as to any point on which the high priest consulted him. (The Jewish tradition, that the Divine answer by the Urim and the Thummim came by a supernatural light thrown on certain letters in the names of the tribes, has no foundation.) The last part of the dress to be put on was the mitre, or head-dress of linen, probably of the nature of a turban; to which, by a blue string, was attached the golden plate, in such a way that it rested lengthwise on the forehead, and on this plate or holy crown were inscribed the words,” Holiness to the Lord.” The investiture took place as the Lord commanded Moses, that is, in accordance with the instructions given in Exo 28:1-43. Its purpose and its meaning in the eyes of the people would have been twofold: first, after the manner of the king’s crown and the judge’s robe, it served to manifest the fact that the function of priest was committed to the wearer; and next, it symbolized the necessity of being clothed upon with the righteousness of God, in order to be able to act as interpreter and mediator between God and man, thus foreshadowing the Divine Nature of him who should be the Mediator in antitype.
Lev 8:10, Lev 8:11
The anointing is still more specifically the means of consecration than the investing or the washing. (For the anointing oil, which is here referred to as a thing well known, see Exo 30:22-25, where its component parts are designated.) The consecration of things as well as of persons is sanctioned by the action of Moses, who anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. They were thus set apart for holy purposes. By all that was therein would be meant the ark, the vail, the altar of incense, the candlesticks, the table of show-bread. After the tabernacle and its furniture had been anointed, the altarthat is, the brazen altarand all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, were sprinkled; not once only, as the things within the tabernacle, but seven times, to show that it was specially holy, although situated only in the court. The laver, for the priests’ use, was between the door of the tabernacle and the brazen altar of burnt offering. Its foot, or base, is described in Exo 38:8, as made, according to the translation of the Authorized Version, “of brass, of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle.”
Lev 8:12
He poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head. The change of the verb poured for sprinkled, indicates that the amount of “the precious ointment” poured “upon the head, that ran down unto the beard, and went down to the skirts of his garments” (Psa 133:2), was far greater than that with which the furniture of the tabernacle had been anointed. The oil sprinkled on the holy things sanctified them as means of grace. The oil poured upon Aaron represents the grace of the Holy Spirit, coming from without, but diffusing itself over and throughout the whole consecrated man.
Lev 8:13
The investiture of Aaron’s sonsNadab, Abihu, Eleazar, Ithamarfollows the consecration of their father. They are robed, according as the Lord commanded Moses in Exo 28:40, in the white tunic, the sash, and the cap. But there is no statement here of their being anointed, although their anointing is ordered in Exo 28:41, and still more imperatively in Exo 40:15. They are spoken of as “anointed” in Le 7:36, and as having “the anointing oil of the Lord upon them” in Le Exo 10:7. On the other hand, the high priest is specially designated as “the priest that is anointed” (Lev 4:3). It is probable that the personal anointing of the ordinary priests was confined to their being sprinkled with oil, as described below in verse 30; but that they were regarded as virtually anointed in Aaron’s anointing. The Levites had no special dress until they obtained permission from Herod Agrippa I[. to wear the priestly robes (Joseph; ‘Ant.,’ 20.9, 6).
Lev 8:14-32
After the bathing, the robing, and the anointing, follow the sacrifices of consecrationthe sin offering (Lev 8:14-17), the burnt offering (Lev 8:18-21), the peace offering (Lev 8:22-32).
Lev 8:14
The sin offering. This was the first sin offering ever offered. There had been burnt offerings and sacrifices akin to peace offerings before, but no sin offerings. At once the sin offering takes its place as the first of the three sacrifices before the burnt offerings and peace offerings. Justification comes first, then sanctification, and, following upon them, communion with God. The victim offered by and for Aaron and his sons is a bullock, the same animal that is appointed for the offering of the high priest (Lev 4:3).
Lev 8:15-17
And Moses took the blood. Moses continues still to act as priest, and the new sacrifice is once offered by him. He performs the priestly act of presenting the blood; but on this occasion, which is special, the blood is not dealt with in the manner prescribed for the high priest’s offerings (Lev 4:6). The reason of this is that Aaron was not yet high priest, and also that the offering was made not only for Aaron, but also for his sons; and further, the blood as well as the anointing oil was required to purify the altar, and sanctify it (see Heb 9:21). Although the blood was not “brought into the tabernacle,” yet the bullock was burnt with fire without the camp, not eaten according to the rule of Le Lev 7:26, Lev 7:30. This was necessary, as there were as yet no priests to eat it.
Lev 8:18-21
There is no deviation on the present occasion from the ritual appointed for the burnt offering. After the sin offering, righteousness is symbolically imputed to Aaron; after the burnt offering, holiness; then follows the peace offering of the ram, which completes and sacrificially effects the consecration.
Lev 8:22-29
The ram offered as a peace offering is called the ram of consecration, or literally, of filling, because one of the means by which the consecration was effected and exhibited was the filling the hands of those presented for consecration with the portion of the sacrifice destined for the altar, which they waved for a wave offering before the Lord, previous to its consumption by the fire. This portion consisted of the internal fat and tail, which was usually burnt (Lev 7:31), and the heave offering of the right shoulder, or hind leg, which generally went to the officiating priest (Lev 7:32), and one of each of the unleavened cakes. After this special ceremony of waving, peculiar to the rite of consecration, the usual wave offering (the breast) was waved by Moses and consumed by himself. Ordinarily it was for the priests in general (Lev 7:31). The blood was poured on the side of the altar, as was done in all peace offerings, but in addition, on the present occasion, it was put upon the tip of the right ear, and upon the thumb of the right hand, and upon the great toe of the right foot of the priests who were being consecrated, symbolizing that their senses and active powers were being devoted to God’s service. The same ceremony is to be used in the restoration of the leper (see Lev 14:14).
Lev 8:30
The sprinkling with oil and blood completes the ceremony of anointing, and suffices of itself for the sons of Aaron, in addition to their virtual participation in the anointing of their father (Lev 8:12). “In the mingling of the blood and oil for the anointing seems to be taught that not sacrifice for sin alone suffices; but that with this must be joined the unction of the Holy Spirit” (Gardiner).
Lev 8:31, Lev 8:32
The flesh of the peace offering is given to Aaron and his sons to eat, not in the capacity of priests (for the peace offerings were not eaten by the priests), but as the offerers of the sacrifice.
Lev 8:33-36
The sacrificial ceremonies were repeated for seven days, during which Aaron and his sons remained in the court of the tabernacle, but did not enter the holy place, abstaining throughout that time from ministering, as the apostles did during the interval between the Ascension and the day of Pentecost. The words, Ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle, should rather be, Ire shall not go away from the entrance of the tabernacle, and for seven days shall he consecrate you, should rather be, during seven days ye shall be consecrated
HOMILETICS
Lev 8:1-36
Priesthood,
which had existed from the beginning of the world, is now for the first time made the exclusive and hereditary function of one family so far as the Israelitish nation is concerned.
I. AARON AND HIS SONS ARE APPOINTED, NOT BY THE NATION, BUT BY GOD. In Exo 28:1, we read, “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy. brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” In Le Exo 8:2-5, “Take Aaron and his sons with him And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.” In Num 18:7, “I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift.” In 1Sa 2:28, “Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?” These texts and the whole tenor of Holy Scripture clearly declare that the appointment of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood was the act of God. On the other side, there is no statement whatever to prove or to indicate that they were, as has been affirmed, merely the delegates of the people, so far as the priestly capacity of the latter is concerned. The only passage alleged to have a gearing in that direction is the following:”Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites” (Num 8:6-10). It is argued that the laying on of hands upon the Levites by the congregation was a delegation of power already existing in the congregation to them. If this were so, still the Levites were not the priests; the act would have been a delegation of the right and function only which the Levites possessedand these were not priestly functions, but the office of waiting upon the service of the tabernacle. But the laying on of hands, in itself, means no more than setting apart, and, in the case of the Levite, we are told that its special meaning was setting apart as an offering or sacrifice. “And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the Lord. And Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them. And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them” (Num 8:11-22). The consecration of the priests was entirely distinct from the dedication of the Levites, and had taken place previously to it. The priest was the minister of God; the Levite was the minister of the priest. None can make a priest of God but God himself.
II. QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE PRIESTHOOD.
1. Aaronic descent (see Exo 28:1-43; Exo 8:1-32; 2Ch 31:17-19; Ezr 2:62; Neh 7:64).
2. Physical integrity and freedom from blemish. “No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries” (Lev 21:21-23).
3. Respectable marriage (Lev 21:7); in the case of the high priest, marriage with one previously unmarried, “in her virginity” (Lev 21:13). The two last qualifications symbolize the integrity of heart and purity of life and surroundings which are requisite in the minister of God, Further, at the time of his ministrations, the priest must be free from any ceremonial uncleanness (Lev 22:3, Lev 22:4), and must abstain from wine (Lev 10:8, Lev 10:10), the purity and collectedness demanded of God’s minister at all times being specially required while he is officiating.
III. WHEREIN THE PRIEST‘S OFFICE CONSISTED.
1. It consisted in “offering gifts and sacrifices for sins” (Heb 5:1), this expression including all kinds of offerings and sacrifices by which men drew near to God, together with the burning of incense symbolical of prayer. The priest’s action was necessary for the offering of the sacrificial blood and burning the flesh upon the altar, and in some cases for consuming a portion of the victims themselves.
2. It consisted in bestowing benedictions (see Num 6:23-27, “Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel. And they shall put my Name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them”).
3. It consisted in mediating between God and man, as in the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, when “Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed” (Num 16:46-48).
4. It consisted in their being the teachers of the people, “That ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses” (Lev 10:11). “They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy Law” (Deu 33:10). “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the Law at his mouth” (Mal 2:7). Besides being teachers, they Were judges of differences, “By their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried” (Deu 21:5; see Deu 17:8-12; 2Ch 19:8-10). They were also leaders of the people’s devotions: “Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?” (Joe 2:17).
5. In addition, “to the priests belonged the care of the sanctuary and sacred utensils, the preservation of the fire on the brazen altar, the burning of incense on the golden altar, the dressing and lighting of the lamps of the golden candlestick, the charge of the shew-bread and other like duties. They were necessarily concerned in all those multitudinous acts of the Israelites which were connected with sacrifices, such as the accomplishment of the Nazarite vow, the ordeal of jealousy, the expiation of an unknown murder, the determination of the unclean and of the cleansed leprous persons, garments, and houses; the regulation of the calendar, the valuation of devoted property which was to be redeemed;these and a multitude of other duties followed naturally from their priestly office. They were also to blow the silver trumpets on various occasions of their use, and, in connection with this, to exhort the soldiers about to engage in battle to boldness, because they went to fight under the Lord” (Gardiner).
IV. THE EXERCISE OF THE PRIEST‘S ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS WAS CONFINED EXCLUSIVELY TO THEIR ORDER. It has been argued that the office of performing sacrifice was shared by
(1) the Jewish monarchs,
(2) the rulers,
(3) the Levites,
(4) the people in general.
1. The first hypothesis has been supported by an appeal to the following passages:Solomon “came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants” (1Ki 3:15); “And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord” (1Ki 8:62, 1Ki 8:63). They do not, however, mean more than that Solomon presented the offerings for sacrifice, the essential part of which ceremony was no doubt performed, as always, by priests. Saul, indeed, sacrificed at Gilgal, on plea of necessity, but, in spite of even that plea, was reproved by Samuel as having “done foolishly” (1Sa 13:13); and Uzziah “went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense;” but Azariah the priest “withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God And the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord” (2Ch 26:16-20). These cases disprove the priestly power of the monarch.
2. The supposition that the nobles could perform priestly acts rests upon the fact that the name cohen is sometimes applied to them (2Sa 8:18; 1Ki 4:2, 1Ki 4:5); but the word (the derivation of which is doubtful) appears to have a wider usage than that of “priest,” and to mean also “officers” (cf. 1Ch 18:17).
3. The destruction of the company of Korah, because, being Levites, they “sought the priesthood also” (Num 16:10), disposes of the priestly rights of the tribe of Levi.
4. And the swallowing up of Dathan and Abiram, whose sin was that of desiring to equalize themselves with the family of Aaron, on the plea that the latter “took too much upon them, seeing that all the congregation were holy, every one of them” (Num 16:3), disproves the right of all the congregation to exercise priestly function, however much they might be, in a sense, a nation of priests. According to the Mosaic legislation, the spirituality and temporality were kept apart, nor were they united, except when royal powers came, in the later days of the nation’s history, to be attached to the office of high priesta course which a considerable section of the Christian Church attempted, with less excuse, to follow in mediaeval and subsequent times, when the principle, “My kingdom is not of this world” (Joh 19:36) became obscured or forgotten.
V. THE CEREMONIES OF THE CONSECRATION.
1. Bathing, robing, anointing, signifying cleansing, justifying, sanctifying.
2. Sacrifices in their behalfsin offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings, symbolizing their reconciliation with God, the surrender of themselves to him, and their peace with him.
3. Watching for seven days in the tabernacle court, each day renewing the sacrifices; giving opportunity for self-recollection, and for devoting themselves heart and soul to him whose special servants they were to be.
VI. THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD WAS A TYPE OF THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST. The type was accomplished in the Antitype, and the Levitical priesthood is now wholly abolished (see Heb 7:1-28 and Heb 8:1-13).
VII. LIKENESS YET CONTRAST OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. We learn from Eph 4:8, Eph 4:11, Eph 4:12, that on Christ’s ascension into heaven, he received of his Father the gifts of the holy Ghost, which he then bestowed upon his Church, to be administered and dispensed by apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers; the grace of government being ministered by apostles, and, after they had died out, by bishops; the grace of exposition by prophets; the grace of conversion by evangelists; the grace of edification by pastors and teachers, or presbyters. We should note here the superiority of the Christian to the Jewish ministry, the functions of offering sacrifice and of mediating between God and man being far inferior to that of being the dispensers to man of the gifts of the Holy Ghost himself; and the error of any who think to dignify and elevate the character of the Christian ministry by assimilating it to the Jewish.
VIII. THE NEED OF AN OUTWARD CALL IN BOTH CASES. “NO man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron” (Heb 5:4); so that even Christ waited to be “called of God” before commencing his ministry. The outward sign of Aaron’s having been called of God was his anointing, and the other ceremonies of initiation; and every subsequent high priest had to be anointed and initiated in the same manner as Aaron, and by the same forms, before he was regarded, and before he could become, high priest. The outward sign of the call in the Christian ministry is the laying on of hands. So it was in the case of the seven deacons (Act 6:6), and in St. Paul’s case (Act 13:3), and in that of Timothy (1Ti 4:14). And all subsequent ministers of Christ have to be appointed in like manner by those “who have publick authority given unto them in the Congregation, to call and send Ministers into the Lord’s vineyard” (Art. 33).
IX. ALL CHRISTIANS ARE A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD (1Pe 2:9). As the Israelites were a kingdom of priests (Exo 19:5), so too are Christians consecrated to God in baptism, channels of grace to each other, and therefore each in a special manner his brother’s keeper. Practical duties thence flowingbrotherly affection, loving-kindness, care for the souls of others, tenderness to the weak.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR
Lev 8:1-36
Priestly consecration.
cf. Luk 3:21, Luk 3:22; Heb 4:14-16; Heb 5:1-14; Heb 7:1-28; Heb 8:1-13; Heb 9:1-28; 1Pe 2:4, 1Pe 2:5, 1Pe 2:9. In this chapter we have the history of the consecration of the Aaronic priesthood. The stages were briefly these:Lustration, or, as we would now say, baptism; investiture; anointing; atonement; dedication; consecration; and, finally, communion. The mediation and ministry of this priesthood were essentially dramatic in character, hence it took a long time to present, in the dramatic form, the various ideas which have been just set down as the stages of consecration. Not only so, but they were emphasized by a sevenfold repetition; for seven days the process was to be repeated, at the end of which time Aaron and his sons were regarded as duly set apart for their work. Let us, then, compare the consecration of the high priests with the consecration of the immortal High Priest, Jesus Christ; and, secondly, the consecration of the minor priests with the consecration of believers, who are, as the passage cited from 1 Peter shows, “priests unto God.”
I. THE CONSECRATION OF AARON COMPARED WITH THE CONSECRATION OF CHRIST,
Now we have in this comparison, first a contrast, and then a parallel. It will be useful to take these up in this order
1. The elements of contrast in the consecrations. And here we notice:
(1) That Aaron’s consecration implies his infirmity and sinfulness, whereas Christ never assumed the penitential position. The baptism of Jesus Christ (Luk 3:21, Luk 3:22) is the historical counterpart of Aaron’s consecration. And although John’s baptism was unto repentance, we know our Lord took up the sinless position even unto the end, challenging all comers to convince him of sin (Joh 8:46). We shall see presently what his acceptance of John’s baptism signified. One thing meanwhile is clear, that he professed to be “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” Now, in this respect he was a complete contrast to Aaron. Aaron, in the consecration, takes up the penitential position. He has to be typically washed and sprinkled with blood.
(2) Aaron’s consecration implied a temporary high priesthood, while Jesus is set apart to an everlasting priesthood. The association of Aaron’s sons with him in the priesthood indicated plainly that death would sooner or later necessitate a successor. Moreover, there are sundry indications in the regulations about the successors. It was, therefore, only a temporary office. “They were not suffered to continue by reason of death.” But Jesus was set apart to an everlasting office. “This man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood” (Heb 7:24-28). So much briefly about the contrast.
2. The parallel in the consecrations. And here we have to notice:
(1) Both Aaron and Christ are formally set apart. What Moses did for Aaron, John the Baptist did for Christ. Not, of course, that our Lord’s priesthood had an existence only after his baptism; we merely mean that the baptism in the Jordan was the formality with which his ministry began, and corresponded to the consecration of Aaron by Moses. The crowd at the tabernacle door to witness Aaron’s consecration corresponded to the crowd of candidates at the Jordan who witnessed the baptism of Jesus, though its significance and singularity they did not appreciate.
(2) Both Aaron and Christ willingly dedicated themselves to their work. We have already noticed how Aaron needed a cleansing by water and blood, which Jesus did not. The sin offering is what Jesus provided for others, not what he requires for himself. But when we enter this caveat about the different relations of the two persons towards atonement, we are in a position to appreciate the parallel between them in personal dedication. This was what Aaron’s burnt offering implied, lie offered himself willingly for the priestly work. And the same dedication of self we find in the baptism of Jesus. He claimed baptism after all the people ( ) were baptized (Luk 3:21), in other words, after the movement inaugurated by John had become national. John did not at first understand why a sinless One like Jesus should demand baptism from one who was sinful. But Jesus quieted his fears by the assurance, “Thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mat 3:15). The meaning of the act on Christ’s part can only have been that he dedicated himself to the fulfillment of all that was needed to realize the national hope. Now, the national repentance was in hope of pardon, and so Jesus’ dedication at the Jordan was to death and to all that his priesthood implies, that the people may have their place as pardoned and accepted ones in the kingdom of God. This dedication of Jesus at the Jordan was the spirit of his ministry, and above all of his death. It is this he refers to in the momentous words, “For their sakes I sanctify () myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth” (Joh 17:19).
(3) Both Aaron and Jesus received certain blessings from God in response to their self-dedication, the gracious gifts of God to his high priests may for brevity’s sake be summed up into three.
(a) The gift of REVELATION, to enable them to understand their office, and faithfully to fulfill it, This is presented in the investiture of Aaron, especially in the arrangement about the Urim and Thummim. The beautiful garments and this mysterious portion which lay upon the high priest’s bosom were to convey certain ideas about the office, and to secure in him the oracular man, Now, in the baptism of Christ, as he was praying with uplifted eye, he saw “heaven opened;” that is, the source of light, the fountain of all knowledge, was opened to him, In other words, he obtained and had continued to him a full revelation of all which he needed for his work.
(b) The gift of UNCTION OR INSPIRATION, to enable them to interpret the revelation already guaranteed. This was indicated by the anointing of Aaron, not only on the head, but on the ear, hand, and foot. In this way the needful inspiration was symbolized, and the ritual of the ram of consecration coincided therewith. In Christ’s case the perfect inspiration was symbolized by the descent of the dove. The dove being an organic whole, a totality, indicates that to Jesus there was communicated the entirety of the Holy Spirit, for the purposes of his priesthood. “The Holy Spirit was not given by measure unto him,” and “out of his fullness do all we receive, and grace for grace” (Joh 3:34; Joh 1:16).
(c) The gift of COMMUNION AND ABIDING. Aaron, after the ritual of the sin offering, burnt offering, and consecration offering was over, and the best portions had been laid upon God’s altar, was called to communion in the feast at the door of the tabernacle. There he was to abide in the enjoyment of fellowship with God, and in this spirit was to do all his work. And the assurance of sonship which Christ received in baptism corresponded to this. The words of the Father, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;” and “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Mat 3:17; Luk 3:22), spoken respectively to John and to Jesus, convey the state of sweet assurance of sonship in which our Lord lived all his life. It was this supported him when he foresaw the dispersion of the disciples, “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (Joh 16:32). The Great, High Priest performed his mediatorial work in an assurance of sonship and in the enjoyment of fellowship. It was only in the climax of his sufferings on the cross, when the desolation came upon him, that for a season he seemed to lose sight of his sonship, and was constrained to cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
II. THE CONSECRATION OF THE MINOR PRIESTS COMPARED WITH THE CONSECRATION or RELIEVERS. NOW here we have to notice
1. That the sons of Aaron were consecrated along with Aaron. It was one consecration. Although the high priest received special anointing, and was chief of the group, the others shared his consecration. The one oil and the one consecrating blood went upon all. The one burnt offering was presented on behalf of all, and they all partook of the one feast and fellowship at last. And is this not to indicate that all believers share in the consecration of Jesus, their Great High Priest? It is the Spirit of Christ and the mind of Christ which is made over to them. He is the reservoir, and out of his fullness all the minor receptacles receive.
2. This fellowship in consecration was with a view to fellowship in service. The priestly service was so arranged that all had a share in it. There were, of course, services in connection with atonement which only the high priest could perform, but there was ample work about the tabernacle for all the minor priests. In the same way the life of believers is to be a consecrated fellowship with Christ in work. “Fellow-workers with God” is the great honour of the religious life. A Divine partnership is what we are asked to enter upon, And this is the greatest honour within the reach of man.R.M.E.
HOMILIES BY S.R. ALDRIDGE
Lev 8:4, Lev 8:5
The installation of Aaron.
The origin of any order of men is traced with .interest, and the account given of the appointment of a special class to wait upon the Lord in the service of his sanctuary cannot be read without profit.
I. THE ASSEMBLING OF THE PEOPLE TO WITNESS THE INSTALLATION.
1. It deeply concerned them; the office was created for their benefit. We may witness the investiture of a knight of the Garter, and deem it a gorgeous scene, but one bearing no practical relationship to us. Not so with the coronation of our prince or the ordination of our pastor. By the mediation of the priests the Israelites were to find acceptance with God. And Jesus Christ has been inducted into his lofty position for the advantage of his people. Why, then, turn away and refuse to enjoy this best of privileges? He waits to intercede on our behalf. It is no idle ceremony that the Word of God records, but one having to do with our daily sins, fears, trials, troubles, joys, and blessings. The titles and qualifications of Jesus Christ are of vital moment to our welfare.
2. It was designed to impress them with a sense of the dignity and authority of the priesthood, and of the need of holiness in order to have access unto God. How important the functions to be fulfilled by men who are thus solemnly prepared for their efficient discharge? And how august the Being who could demand such qualifications in those devoted to his service! No careful student of the Gospel narratives but must be struck with the manner in which Jesus Christ was fitted for his office, “perfected” by his obedience, made a “a merciful and faithful High Priest” by his humiliation, and with “the blood of his cross” making reconciliation with God.
3. The presence and tacit concurrence of the people signified a willingness to obey the priests, to honour and support them. They were made parties to the transaction, and acquiesced in its significance. It were well that the meaning of our presence at various meetings were better realized, and that we did more fully redeem the pledges thus implicitly given. God would have all his people enter into contracts with a clear understanding. To secure a compact by concealment of the obligations imposed is no part of his plan of procedure.
II. THE DECLARATION OF MOSES: “This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done:”
1. Reminds us of the caution to be exercised lest human devices should be thrust forward in religious notions or practices. Men are ready to formulate their own ideas, and to make them ordinances of God’s house or kingdom, Ready, too, to renounce what has been instituted, to abolish observances as unnecessary, or to relegate certain attitudes of the Spirit to heathenism and infancy, to make light of sin and of the need of a high priest or a sacrifice.
2. A Divine call is requisite to the undertaking of religious functions, Moses acted as the representative of Jehovah, empowered to consecrate Aaron and his sons. “So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he that said unto him,” etc.
3. Contained an intimation that he who appointed could also dismiss the Aaronic priesthood. The legislator has power to revoke his edicts. It was God who caused the order of Aaron to be succeeded by the order of Melchizedek.
4. Indicates the intrinsic superiority of the prophetic to the priestly office. Moses institutes Aaron, the prophet consecrates the priest. Priesthood is remedial, adapted to a peculiar constitution of things. It is a sort of interregnum that is finally to pass away when “the Son shall have delivered up the kingdom to God the Father.” It is connected with sin, and sin is being destroyed. Before Adam fell, he received communications from God; the prophetic revelation preceded the priestly sacrifices. The subordination of the priests is often evinced in the Hebrew records, where the denunciations of the prophets show that the priestly ceremonies were intended to be subservient to, not exclusive of, moral sentiments and duties.S.R.A.
Lev 8:6-12
The High Priesthood of Christ.
To direct the thoughts of a congregation to Jesus Christ is never unseasonable. The Epistle to the Hebrews warrants the assumption that in the rites here described are symbolized the characteristics of our Great High Priest. The consecration consists of two partsthe anointing and clothing of the person of Aaron, and his offering of sacrifices; and it is on the former we are now to dwell, reminding us of that Person in whom “all beauties shine, all wonders meet, all glories dwell.”
I. See typified THE PURITY OF CHRIST in the washing of the priest from head to foot. As an Eastern climate demands thorough ablution for cleanliness, so was this a lesson man needed to learn, that only purity is tit to come into contact with God. Priesthood bridged the gulf between sinful man and a Being unsullied by admixture of evil. Like all God’s dealings, it humbled and exalted man. Taught plainly that he was too polluted to approach his Maker, with equal distinctness he was shown a way in which he might draw near with clean hands and a pure heart. The material and ceremonial purity of Aaron was eclipsed by the total freedom from taint of Christ. He bathed, indeed, in the crystal waters of Jordan at his entrance upon his public ministry, but those waters were stained compared with the purity of his soul.
II. Observe THE SPLENDOUR OF HIS ENDOWMENTS. For every post a certain character is requisite. The putting on of garments represented the bestowment upon Aaron of the qualities essential to the proper discharge of his duties. This was the apparel respecting which the Lord said unto Moses, “Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty.” Looking at the high priest thus arrayed, we see symbols of the ornaments and graces of Jesus Christ. Note the choice quality of the attire. Everything of the best, fine linen, gold unalloyed, stones precious and rare. The oil is “costly ointment.” Search out all that is best in human nature, all that challenges admiration and excites esteem, and an example of all is found in Jesus Christ. Possessed of every gift, power, and skill, loveliness and majesty, perfect in intellect, emotion, and will, he was victorious over every temptation, and unscathed by every trial. This dress of Aaron emblematized positive virtue; so Christ was upright, not only like Adam as he left the hands of God, but as acquiring and exhibiting every grace that can adorn humanity. There was virtue in exercise, virtue visible and potent. The tree put forth its leaves, its blossoms, and its fruit.
III. The high priest maintained A CONSTANT REMEMBRANCE OF THE PEOPLE. Hence the breast-plate bearing the names of the twelve tribes, which were also inscribed upon the onyx stones of the shoulder. The people were borne in the positions that indicated power and sympathy. What the bosom desires the arms accomplish. Let others write their names upon lofty pillars or granite rocks; let statesmen, warriors, nobles, inscribe themselves upon the roll of fame; “Give me,” says the Christian, “a place upon the Saviour’s breast; for there on the heart of Christ, under the glance of infinite mercy, where the love of God delights to rest, are the names of all his followers graven for ever.”
IV. In the breast-plate were put the Urim and Thummim, by means of which was ascertained and made known the will of God. REVELATION OF GOD was thus part of the high priest’s functions. The priestly and prophetic offices were intertwined. Though we may single out an office of Christ for distinct consideration, as we may distinguish one of the hues of the rainbow, yet let us not forget that it is the combination which is of such surpassing excellence and glory. It has been well said that Christ is called the Wisdom of God in the Old Testament, and the Word in the New. Full vocal expression was reserved for the time when he could joy to say, “I have declared unto them thy Name, and will declare it.” It is by the priesthood of Christ that we learn in particular the grace of God. It is written on all creation, but to our blurred vision the letters are oft obscure. On the cross of Christ, where he becomes at once the Offerer and Victim; these words glisten with heavenly radiance, luminous not only in noontide prosperity, but in the dark midnight of affliction, “God is love.”
V. The high priesthood is AN OFFICE OF AUTHORITY, and this authority is THE SUPREMACY OF HOLINESS. Upon the head is placed the mitre, a cap or turban, and upon the mitre is fastened a golden plate or diadem, inscribed “Holiness unto the Lord.” Christ’s is a royal priesthood, and his sway is the result of his consecration to God. He rules by right of character, by right of rank, by right of work. The “holy crown” is the guarantee for the acknowledgment of his claims to hearty, unreserved obedience. If today men demand authority as priests, at least let the holiness of their lives support their pretensions.
VI. By the pouring of the oil upon Aaron’s head we see intimated ENTIRE DEDICATION TO GOD‘S SERVICE. This holy unction set apart the high priest for hallowed toil, and became an emblem of the fortifying, sustaining, vitalizing presence of the Spirit of God. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me.” It is the oil of gladness, the dew of the blessing of the Lord. It is a token of perpetuity. The brightest pageant fades, the show of today is forgotten ere the morrow dawns, but the priesthood of Christ knows neither ebb nor flow.S.R.A.
Lev 8:14-30
The triple offering.
Under the Christian dispensation only two classes of priests remainthe real High Priest, Jesus Christ, and his people who are figurative priests offering up spiritual sacrifices. The ceremonies described in this chapter may throw light upon our position and duties as the followers of Christ, and remind us of the superiority of Christ to Aaron.
I. OUR RESEMBLANCE TO AARON IN THE TRIPLE OFFERING WE ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE.
1. The sin offering. Priesthood commences by self-abnegation, the confession of sin and renunciation of personal merit. By this offering the altar is sanctified (Lev 8:15), on which afterwards all other gifts will in due course be laid. Until the Saviour has been recognized as made a curse for us, there is no foundation for the life that will please God. The house must be cleansed ere its worthiest inhabitant will condescend to enter.
2. The burnt offering. Here the positive side begins, of devotion to God. The parts of the ram are placed upon the purified altar, and the flames emit an odour fragrant to God. The man who has confessed his unworthiness and pleaded the merits of Jesus Christ, dedicates himself to him who died for him. He is not his own, and must henceforth glorify God. “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” is his cry.
3. The consecration offering, This results from the others, and is their natural completion by bringing full hands (consecration equals “foulnesses” in original) to God. Entire dedication and consequent communion with God its signification. The blood of the ram is sprinkled upon the ear, that it may hearken to the commands of God, and, whilst attentive unto him, disregard the whispers of evil. Also upon the right hand, that all its acts may be in conformity with righteousness, the might of the man going forth in holy deeds. And upon the right foot, that its steps may be ordered by the Lord and its owner may ever tread the ways of obedience and sanctification. Every faculty is enlisted in the service of God. By the wave and heave offerings and the presentation of cakes we learn the necessity of looking upon all our property and all that supports life as belonging to God, who must have his special share and be glorified thereby as well as by our joyful use of the remainder. To fill the hands for God is to complete our consecration, and to live upon heavenly food in the enjoyment of his blessing. By giving to him we get for ourselves.
II. THE SUPERIORITY OF CHRIST TO AARON.
1. His consecration was total, whilst Aaron’s was but partial. There were many periods when the high priest was seeing to his own peculiar wants and offering for his own especial infirmities. The whole career of Jesus Christ was an offering for others, originated and executed for the good of man and the glory of his Father. He “came not to do his own will.” Aaron might lay aside his robes of office and take his repose, but the Son of man was ever clothed with his official character. And this is still clearer when we remember the present position of our High Priest and his unceasing, unintermitted intercession.
2. The holiness of Aaron was ceremonial and symbolical, that of Christ is literal and real. Jesus was on earth holy, harmless, undefiled. The searching eye of God can discern in his righteousness no stain nor flaw. So far was Aaron from reaching perfection that, because of rebellion at Meribah (Num 20:24), he was not permitted to enter the land of promise.
3. The atonement of Jesus Christ is actual, that of Aaron was only typical. After these rites of consecration were observed, the priests were qualified to present the offerings and sacrifices of the people unto God, and to make reconciliation for them. But there was no inherent virtue in those sacrifices to remove the guilt of sin; it is the blood of Christ that has power to cleanse the conscience from dead works. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree, and brought in everlasting righteousness.
4. The priesthood of Christ is perpetual, that of Aaron only survived by successors. The high priests died and passed away, their places occupied by others. Jesus abides for ever; he hath an unchangeable priesthood, after the order of Melchizedek. If, then, the Israelites found satisfaction in contemplating the functions of dying men, with what profound delight should we avail ourselves of the intercession of him who ever lives to save!S.R.A.
HOMILIES BY J.A. MACDONALD
Lev 8:1-6
The baptism of Aaron and his sons.
Hitherto this book consists of precepts and directions concerning the sacrifices and services of the tabernacle; but here a new section commences, in which the directions are described as carried into effect. This section appropriately commences with the history of the consecration of Aaron and his sons, with whom principally was to rest the carrying out of the laws. The verses before us describe
I. THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE CEREMONY.
1. These were directed by the Lord.
(1) He had formerly given very particular directions from the summit of Mount Sinai (Exo 28:1-43, Exo 29:1-46). In pursuance of these instructions, the holy garments were made and other preparations completed. Note: The leadings of providence should be closely followed.
(2) Now the time has come for carrying the directions of Deity into fuller accomplishment. The tabernacle has been finished and occupied by the presence of God; the laws have been published; and the next thing in order is the consecration of the priests to serve the tabernacle. The Lord is a God of order. In his service “all things” should be done “decently and in order.”
2. His directions were given by the hand of Moses.
(1) Moses was instructed to “take Aaron and his sons,” etc. (Lev 8:2, Lev 8:3). These instructions he punctually obeyed (Lev 8:4). In this fidelity Moses was a type of Christ, with these differences:
(a) Moses was faithful “as a servant,” Christ “as a Son.”
(b) The house of Moses was ceremonial and typical, that of Christ spiritual and living (see Heb 3:1-6).
(2) Moses, who was instructed to consecrate Aaron and his sons, had himself no human consecration. He was an extraordinary servant of God. We do not read of the apostles of Christ receiving any baptism of water or ordination by imposition of hands. God can send by whom he pleases and when he pleases, without any human sanction (see Gal 1:15-19).
3. The congregation was assembled to witness the ceremony.
(1) This was a wise arrangement, to inspire them with proper respect for the servants of God. They were prone enough to say, “Ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.” Ministers were publicly ordained in the primitive Church.
(2) The address of Moses to the congregation was brief and to the point: “This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done” (Lev 8:5). The command, which was given from Sinai, the congregation were acquainted with. The time to carry it out was now given from the sanctuary (Lev 1:1). We should look to God for guidance in reference to times and seasons, as well as to the services to be rendered for him.
II. THE BAPTISM OF AARON AND HIS SONS.
1. This was the initiatory rite of the consecration.
(1) It was the first act (Lev 8:6). And as Moses washed Aaron at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, so was Jesus washed by John at his entrance upon his public ministry (see Mat 3:16; Mat 4:1, Mat 4:17). Like Moses, John also was a Levite.
(2) The sons of Aaron were baptized with him. To them also it was the rite of initiation. So are the sons of Jesus initiated into his discipleship by baptism. The initiatory office of baptism is also expressed in the phrase “born of water” (Joh 3:5).
2. It set forth the necessity of purity in the servants of God.
(1) Water, being one of the great purifiers in the kingdom of nature, is used in Scripture as an emblem of the Holy Spirit, the Great Purifier in the kingdom of grace (Isa 44:3; Joh 7:38, Joh 7:39). Hence a dispute about “baptism” is called a “question about purifying” (Joh 3:25, Joh 3:26).
(2) The requisition of baptism declared the necessity of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This is the source of the spiritual birth in which commences the spiritual life which is the life of heaven.
3. As to the form of this baptism.
(1) The record here is simply that “Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water” (verse 6). But by reference to Exo 30:1-38, we learn that this washing was done at the laver. In allusion to the ceremonial baptisms of the Law, the baptism of the Spirit under the gospel is described as the “laver of regeneration” (Tit 3:5, Tit 3:6).
(2) From the same reference in Exodus we learn, further, that the washing of Aaron and his sons extended to their “hands and feet.” There is no proof that they were bodily plunged in the laver. We are reminded how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet (see Joh 13:8-10). The Jews have a tradition that a tap was turned on, from which, by the flowing of the water over their hands and feet, the washing was accomplished. In baptism, the element should be active and the subject passive, for the thing signified, the Holy Ghost, certainly is not passive (see Act 2:16-18, Act 2:33; Act 10:44-48).J.A.M.
Lev 8:7-9
The holy garments of Aaron.
The high priest of the Levitical dispensation is allowed to be an eminent type of the “Great High Priest of our profession.” His attire was intended to foreshow the qualities by which the Redeemer is distinguished. Else it would be difficult to account for the minute care with which they were designed, and the manner in which the workmen were inspired to make them (see Exo 28:2-4; Exo 31:3-6). Let us attend to
I. THE COAT WITH ITS GIRDLE.
1. The coat.
(1) According to Josephus, “it was a tunic circumscribing the body, with light sleeves for the arms, and reaching to the heels” (‘Ant.,’ Lev 3:7). It was white, to denote purity.
(2) It was bound with the girdle about the loins. This also was white, and denoted truth, which is another expression for purity (see Eph 6:14).
(3) The coat was an inner garment, and bound close to the body with the girdle, to suggest that purity and truth should be found “in the inner parts” (Psa 51:6; Jer 31:33; Rom 2:29).
2. There were also breeches.
(1) These are not mentioned here, but they are described in Exo 28:42, “And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness” (Hebrew, “the flesh,” etc.); “from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach.”
(2) These also were white, expressive of purity, and without these the priest may not appear in the presence of God. They imported that “flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven” until “clothed upon” (see Eze 44:17, Eze 44:18; 2Co 5:2, 2Co 5:3; Pro 3:18).
II. THE EPHOD WITH ITS ROBE.
1. The ephod.
(1) It was a short tunic, according to Josephus, reaching to the loins. It consisted of a rich cloth composed of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, interwoven with threads of gold, and wrought, some think, into figures of cherubim and palm trees. It was without sleeves, but resting upon the shoulders.
(2) It was an emblem of redemption. Ephod () comes from the verb ( or ), to redeem. This is the derivation given by Alexander Pirie, the author of a learned ‘Dissertation on Hebrew Roots.’
2. The robe of the ephod.
(1) This, and the holy garments in general which were associated with the ephod, from it derive the name of the “robe of righteousness” and “garments of salvation”. They were the garments in which the typical high priest carried out the business of redemption.
(2) The colour of the robe was bluethe dye of heaven, which was with the ancients the symbol of divinity. This over the coat, the emblem of purity, would mark the purity of Messiah to be Divine; so, not derived, but essential and absolute.
(3) Upon the hem of the robe round about were “golden bells,” which, when they sounded, indicated the sound of salvation. And they were on the “hem” of the robe when the high priest went up into the holy place, that the sound might be heard below. The sound of the gospel accordingly was heard below, as a “sound from heaven,” when Jesus went up into the heavens.
(4) The pomegranates alternating with the bells suggested the fruit which follows the preaching of the gospel.
III. THE BREASTPLATE WITH THE URIM AND THUMMIM.
1. The Urim and Thummim were the stones set in the breastplate.
(1) In the text we read of the Urim and Thummim, but here is no mention of the stones. In the parallel place (Exo 29:8-12) the stones are mentioned, but we read there nothing of the Urim and Thummim. This is intelligible if they be the same; but if not, the double omission in things so important is inexplicable.
(2) An attentive consideration of Exo 28:29, Exo 28:30 will show that the Urim and Thummim are the substance upon which the names of the tribes were engraven. The use ascribed to the stones in one verse is in the next ascribed to the Urim and Thummim.
2. They represented the saints as cherished in the heart of Christ.
(1) The names of the tribes of Israel were there; and the spiritual Israel are upon the heart of Jesus. These names were engraven to show how deeply and permanently our interests have entered into his sympathies. They are engraven in gems to show how precious to him are his saints (Mal 3:17). The gems were various, and yet all were united in the breastplate of the high priest, to show how individuality can be preserved in those who are united in the love of Jesus.
(2) These were called the Urim and Thummim, lights and perfections, or lights and perfect ones. So are Christians called the lights of the world, because they reflect the splendours of the Light of the world. They are perfect ones also, viz. in the loveliness of Jesus (Mat 5:15, Mat 5:16; Jud 1:24).
(3) The breastplate was fastened to the ephod with golden chains, which were also connected with rings in the curious girdle of the ephod, from which it was forbidden to separate it (Exo 28:28). So are we with precious bonds girded to the Redeemer, from which blessed union it would be sinful and disastrous to become dislinked.
(4) There were also connected with this robe of redemption on the shoulders of the high priest onyx stones, set in sockets of gold, upon which the names of the tribes of Israel were again engraven. So does Jesus bear his saints upon his shoulder as well as upon his heart. They have his sustaining power as well as the animation of his love.
IV. THE MITRE WITH ITS GOLDEN PLATE.
1. The mitre.
(1) This was like a turban bound round the head.
(2) It was an ornament of honourable distinction. The term here used is rendered “diadem” in Job 29:14.
2. The golden plate.
(1) This was upon the front of the mitre. It appears to have been ornamented with flowers and leaves. Possibly there is an allusion to this when the Psalmist, speaking of Messiah, says, “but upon himself shall his crown flourish.” This plate is called the “holy crown” in the text.
(2) The inscription upon it characterized Christ. The words were “Holiness unto the Lord,” or “The Holy One of Jehovah.” If these holy garments were intended to create respect for the priesthood among the people of Israel, how we should reverence the glorious Antitype!J.A.M.
Lev 8:10-12
Levitical anointings.
The subjects of these anointings, as brought under our notice in the text, are, generally, “the tabernacle and all that was therein.” From amongst these included things we have afterwards particularly specified, “the altar and all his vessels,” and “the laver and his foot.” The anointing of Aaron also is distinctly mentioned. We shall review these in order.
I. THE TABERNACLE.
1. This was an emblem of the moral universe. The holy places represented the heavens (Heb 8:1, Heb 8:2). Thus
(1) the most holy place, where the shechinah was, represented the “heaven of heavens,” the “third heaven,” or that which, by way of distinction and excellence, is called “heaven itself” (Heb 9:24).
(2) The holy place, which must be passed through in order to reach the most holy, represented those regions of the moral universe through which Jesus passed on his way from his cross to the throne of his majesty (Heb 4:14; Heb 7:26). In that passage he was “in paradise,” and sometimes manifesting himself to his disciples (see Psa 16:10; Act 2:23-32; Luk 23:43; Luk 24:15, Luk 24:16, Luk 24:31, Luk 24:36, Luk 24:51). The spiritual world is not far from us.
(3) If the most holy place represented the “third heaven,” and the holy place leading to it the second, then the court of the priests will stand for the first. It describes the “kingdom of heaven” on earth, in other words, the spiritual Church of God. In this we are already “come,” in faith and hope and joy, “unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,” etc; and hear the very voice of Jesus from the heavens above us (see Heb 12:22-25).
(4) The courts outside represented the Church in its visible part, viz. the court of Israel, the court of the women, and the court of the Gentiles. The distinctions which formerly existed here are now done away, so that instead of three, the courts are one (see Gal 3:25-28; Eph 2:11-19). It is well to be found in these courts, for all outside are in alienation. But we should not rest satisfied with the profession of the outer court. Without the spiritual experience of the court of the priests we can never pass into the heavens “whither the Forerunner is for us entered” (Heb 6:19, Heb 6:20).
2. It was sanctified with the holy anointing oil (Lev 8:10).
(1) This oil represented the Holy Spirit in his gifts and graces (comp. Act 1:5 with Act 10:38; see also 2Co 1:21; 1Jn 2:20, 1Jn 2:27). It was of peculiar composition. The formula is given in Exo 30:23-25; but on pain of excommunication it must not be put to common use (Exo 30:31-33). The person and offices of the Holy Ghost must be held in the greatest reverence; to profane these is fatal wickedness (Mat 12:31, Mat 12:32).
(2) With this oil the tabernacle was “sanctified,” that is, separated to God. It was so separated to him for services of worship. Also to be a shadow of heavenly things. So the moral universe is claimed by God. The gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit arc the principles of universal sanctification.
II. THE ALTAR AND THE LAVER.
1. The altar and all his vessels.
(1) This is obviously the altar of burnt offerings which stood in the court of the priests. The “vessels” were those for receiving the blood of the sacrifices, and all the implements used in connection with the service of the altar.
(2) It typified Calvary, the altar upon which the Great Sacrifice of the gospel was offered. And taken in a grander sense, in consistency with the magnificence of the figure in which the tabernacle represents the great universe of God, this earth was the altar upon which our Lord was offered.
(3) The altar was sprinkled with the oil “to sanctify it.” The earth is thereby marked out as destined to be sanctified to God, and sanctified too by the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. It was sprinkled “seven times,” to show the perfectness of that sanctification. And is not this the burden of prophetic hope (Psa 37:10, Psa 37:11, Psa 37:34; Isa 11:6-9)?
2. The laver and his foot.
(1) This also was located in the court of the priests. In it they washed their hands and feet, and also the parts of the sacrifices requiring washing according to the Law.
(2) The anointing of this was “to sanctity it,” or separate it to God. It was separated to him for the purposes of the ceremonial service. It was also separated, to represent the “laver of regeneration” under the gospel, or the “renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Tit 3:5). Those who are spiritually baptized into Christ are anointed with the gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit.
III. AARON.
1. The oil was poured upon Aaron’s head.
(1) This anointing was profuse. “Poured” (see Psa 133:2).
(2) It was “to sanctify him.” He was thus separated to accomplish the service of God in the tabernacle. He was also separated to typify the Great High Priest of the gospel.
2. But when was the true oil poured upon Jesus?
(1) We have seen that, as Aaron was washed with water, so was Jesus, viz. at the Jordan (notes on Exo 30:1-6). But the baptism of Jesus there was not so truly that conferred by John as that which came upon him from heaven (Mat 3:16).
(2) The second act in the consecration of Christ appears to have been in the mount of transfiguration. There he had the “oil that maketh the face to shine,” and was “anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows” (Psa 45:7). This dazzling luster of the Holy Spirit was so profuse as to stream not only out of the pores of his skin, but to brighten all his raiment (comp. Psa 133:2; Mat 17:2).
(3) .As at the Jordan the voice of the Father was heard from the excellent glory approving, so on Tabor the same voice is heard again (comp. Mat 3:17; Mat 17:5). He that received the Spirit “not by measure” is emphatically THE Messiah, THE Anointed One.J.A.M.
Lev 8:13-21
The vesting of the priests and the offerings for them.
In the order of the ceremonies at the consecration of the priests, after the anointing of Aaron, we have
I. THE CLOTHING OF AARON‘S SONS. (Lev 8:13.)
1. They were types of Christians.
(1) The high priest, as we have seen, was a type of Christ. So were the priests in general types also of him, viz. in everything in which they acted as representatives of the high priest.
(2) But under usual conditions they should be viewed as emblems of Christians. This is evidently taught in such references as Exo 19:6; Heb 10:9-22; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10.
2. Their holy garments resembled some of Aaron’s.
(1) Aaron had some by which he was distinguished from his sons, and so has Christ unique qualities. In everything pertaining to his Divinity he stands alone. He claims the deepest reverence.
(2) The coats and girdles which Moses put upon the sons of Aaron were similar to those articles bearing the same name in which Aaron was clothed. In Aaron’s case, as we have seen, they denoted purity and truth; and so do they denote these qualities in relation to his sons (see Eph 6:14; Rev 19:8).
(3) This identity suggests that Christians have their righteousness in virtue of their association with Christ (see Jer 23:6; Rom 3:22; 1Co 1:30; Php 3:9). This is otherwise shown in the fact that the claim of the Levitical priests to those holy garments was in virtue of their being sons of Aaron. Only the “seed” of Messiah (Isa 53:10, Isa 53:11), are clothed in the “white linen which is the righteousness of the saints.”
3. Moses also “put bonnets upon them.”
(1) These, like the coats, were made of white linen, and so, likewise, expressed purity. They were similar to the turban of Aaron, minus the “plate of the holy crown of pure gold,” and its fastenings of lacework of blue (Exo 39:30, Exo 39:31).
(2) These bonnets were “for glory and for beauty” (Exo 28:40). For “glory,” i.e; honour, viz. as they served to distinguish the priests as the ministers of God. If a messenger be despised, his message may be brought into contempt. And for “beauty,” viz. as they represented the “beauty of holiness.” True Christian honour is evermore the associate of holiness.
II. THE OFFERINGS FOR THE PRIESTS. In respect to these we observe:
1. The priests laid their hands upon the heads of the animals (Rev 5:14, 18).
(1) This was the sign of the confession of sin. It was also the sign of the transfer of sin, so constituting the animal (in type) vicariously a sinner or sin-bearer, liable to suffer its penalty
(2) The next thing in order, therefore, was the bleeding of the animal, in consideration of which the offerer stands justified or released from the obligation to suffer.
(3) The reference in all this to the vicarious sacrifice of Christ and our justification through faith in him cannot be mistaken.
(4) But why did Aaron, the type of Christ, act thus? Christ had no sin of his own to confess, and needed no sacrifice for himself. The answer is that Aaron, in this, acted not as a type of Christ, but for himself as a sinful man, and representatively for the people (see Heb 5:1-3). In this Aaron is contrasted with Jesus (see Heb 7:26-28).
2. The altar was purified with the blood (verses 15, 19).
(1) The earth, as the altar upon which the great Antitype was offered, is purified by his blood.
(a) As respects its inhabitants.
(b) As respects itself. The inheritance of man is also redeemed by Christ from the curse of sin.
(c) The full effects of this will be seen “in the regeneration” or renewed state of the earth indicated in prophecy.
(2) The altar was purified with the typical blood “to make reconciliation upon it.” So is this earth for the same purpose sanctified by the blood of Jesus. There is no other planet, at least so far as we are concerned, thus sanctified. Therefore if we be not here “reconciled to God through the death of his Son,” there is no hope for reconciliation hereafter or elsewhere (see Heb 10:26, Heb 10:27).
3. The offerings were presented upon the altar.
(1) In the case of the sin offering, the fat was burnt upon the altar, while the body of the beast was burnt without the camp (verses 16, 17). Not only was Christ offered up as a sacrifice for sin generally upon this earth, but more particularly “without the gate,” viz. of Jerusalem (comp. Heb 13:11, Heb 13:12).
(2) In the case of the burnt offering, the whole ram was burnt upon the altar. This holocaust showed how absolutely God claims us, and therefore how completely we should be devoted, and, so to speak, consumed, in his worship and service (Psa 69:9; Joh 2:13-17).J.A.M.
Lev 8:22-36
The ram of consecration.
This and the ceremonies connected form the principal subject of the verses now recited. We notice
I. THAT IT WAS A PEACE OFFERING.
1. The first ram was a burnt offering.
(1) It was wholly consumed upon the altar. It was regarded wholly as the “food of God” (Lev 3:11; Lev 21:6; Eze 44:7; Mal 1:7, Mal 1:12).
(2) In this sacrifice God is contemplated as a righteous Judge, whose justice claims everything we are and have, and who, until that justice is satisfied, can have no fellowship with man.
2. Burnt offerings were usually accompanied by peace offerings.
(1) Of these a portion was eaten by the worshipper. This was the expression of peace, reconciliation, fellowship. Constantly associated with the holocaust, the opportunity of ceremonially feasting with God was never wanting. In the peace offering faith discerns the sacrifice of Christ to have so completely met the claims of infinite justice, that we are now accepted into favour.
(2) As in the other sacrifices, the hands of Aaron and his sons were laid upon it to confess their sinfulness, their need of a Saviour, and their faith in the Redeemer of promise. It was slain accordingly, to foreshadow the death of Messiah. The fat and gall were burnt, to show how our evil passions, the old man, must be crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed.
II. THAT ITS BLOOD WAS USED IN A REMARKABLE WAY.
1. It was sprinkled upon Aaron.
(1) Upon his person.
(a) On the tip of his right ear, to express obedience (Exo 21:6). And our Lord’s obedience was unto death (Php 2:8).
(b) On the thumb of the right hand, to express the service of doing. Christ fulfilled all righteousness, and finished the work that was given him to do (Joh 4:34; Joh 5:17; Joh 9:4; Joh 17:4; Heb 10:5-7).
(c) On the great toe of the right foot, to express the ways. All the ways of Jesus were infinitely pleasing to God (Psa 1:6; Psa 18:20, Psa 18:21; Act 10:38).
(d) The comprehensive teaching here is the complete consecration of all faculties and energies (see 1Pe 1:15).
(2) Upon his garments. In this baptism oil also was used (Lev 8:30). While in detail these garments represented moral qualities, collectively taken they expressed office. Hence from the earliest times a person introduced into office is said to be invested in it, from in, used intensitively, and vestio, I clothe. The office of the high priest was to minister in the very presence of God (see Heb 8:1, Heb 8:2).
(3) Jesus, who was washed with water at the Jordan, and anointed with oil on the mount of transfiguration, received the final baptism of his consecration, that of his own blood, in Gethsemane and Calvary. As the voice of God accredited him in each of the earlier baptisms, so it accredited him again as he was about to enter into this (comp. Mat 3:17; Mat 17:5; Joh 12:27-33).
2. It was sprinkled upon Aaron’s sons.
(1) Upon their persons (Lev 8:24). The sons of Aaron were here treated in like manner as Aaron was, to show how in all these things Christians are called to be like Christ (see Mat 20:22, Mat 20:23). This remark will be especially applicable to ministers, who should be “examples to the flock” (see Isa 66:21; 1Co 9:13).
(2) Upon their garments (Lev 8:30). The office of the priesthood was to minister in the presence of God in his tabernacle. So the spiritual priesthood have access to God in heaven. We must be anointed with the unction of the Holy One, and sprinkled with the blood of Christ, that we may enter into that most holy place (Heb 10:19-22; 1Jn 2:20, 1Jn 2:27).
III. THAT IT FILLED THE HANDS OF AARON AND HIS SONS.
1. It was treated as a wave offering.
(1) The breast had the fat laid upon it. A bread offering also was laid upon it. The whole was then waved before the Lord. The shoulder also was heaved (see Exo 29:27). Thus God was praised as the Creator and Dispenser of every good and perfect gift.
(2) Moses acted as priest in all this ceremony. He put these things upon the hands of Aaron and his sons, and waved and heaved them. From this action the ram of consecration took its name ( , eil milluim), the ram of filling up. Thus the essence of the consecration was the filling the hand with the oblation, or conferring the right to offer sacrifices to God.
(3) The wave breast then came to the lot of Moses, and Aaron and his sons appear to have shared it with him as the feast upon the sacred food (see Lev 8:31).
2. The ceremonies of the consecration lasted seven days.
(1) Seven is the numeral of perfection, so at the close of the seven days this was a perfect consecration, intimating that all the powers of the consecrated ones should be wholly given to God.
(2) They “kept the charge of the Lord,” during these seven days, “at the door of the tabernacle.” They were not as yet qualified to enter the holy place, and they must not leave the court of the priests on pain of death (see 1Ki 19:19-21; Mat 8:21, Mat 8:22; Luk 9:61, Luk 9:62).
(3) “Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.” Had Jesus failed in any point, his consecration would be imperfect; he could not have become our Saviour.J.A.M.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Lev 8:3-5
A time for publicity.
The solemn inauguration of Aaron and his sons into their sacred office was to have the utmost possible publicity. This was
I. A DIVINE INSTRUCTION. The Lord said, “Take Aaron and gather thou all the congregation together,” etc. (Lev 8:1-3). “This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done” (Lev 8:5).
II. A PROVISION AGAINST POPULAR JEALOUSY. The scene described in Num 16:1-50 shows only too well how necessary it was to convey to “all the congregation” the truth that Aaron and his sons were divinely appointed to their office. This the more because of the near relationship between Moses and Aaron.
III. A PROVISION FOR POPULAR ESTEEM. It was in the last degree desirable that the people should have an exalted idea of the priesthood, and, more especially, of the high priesthood. Everything which would contribute to this would be of real religious service. It was, therefore, fitting that “all the congregation” should be spectators of the impressive solemnities of the inaugural scene.
IV. A HELPFUL INFLUENCE ON THEIR OWN MINDS. It was of equal importance to the Hebrew commonwealth that the priests themselves should cherish a profound sense of the sacred and elevated character of their work. For any irreverence or neglect of theirs was calculated to involve the community in sin and in disaster (see 1Sa 1:17; Mal 2:8). So solemn and impressive a ceremony as this, in the sight of all the people, would exert a salutary influence on the mind both of father and sons.
In ordinary life, piety and publicity are strangers. Devotion shuts itself in the inner chamber (Mat 6:6), or climbs up into the fold of the mountain (Mat 14:23). We nourish our holiest thoughts, and form our best resolves, not in the glare of the public gathering, but in the secret place, when alone with God. Nevertheless, there are occasions when we should not shun publicity; when it is not modesty but weakness to do so. When we avow our attachment to our Saviour, and thus “confess him before men” (Mat 10:32); still more, when we enter upon any responsible office in connection with his Church (e.g; the Christian ministry); and yet more, if we are summoned, as Aaron was, to any post of unusual eminence and responsibility, we do well to take the vows of God upon us before “all the congregation.” If not “a thing which the Lord commanded to be done,” it is
(1) a Divine suggestion (Act 6:7; Act 13:3; 1Ti 6:12);
(2) instructive to the people;
(3) helpful to ourselves.
We need all the influences we can gain from every source to incite us to zealous labour, and to strengthen us against temptation. It is right and wise to avail ourselves of all the help we gain from the remembrance that we have confessed Christ our Lord, and pledged ourselves to do his work before “all the congregation,” “before many witnesses.”C.
Lev 8:6-9, Lev 8:14
The human and Divine priesthood-contrast.
The setting apart of Aaron for his life-work, the high priesthood of Israel, naturally suggests to us the entrance of our Great High Priest on the work which his Father gave him to do. Between Aaron and Christ there are many points of resemblance (see below); there are also significant contrasts. Respecting “the High Priest of our profession” (Heb 3:2), it is not the case that there was
I. APPOINTMENT TO OFFICE IN VIRTUE OF HUMAN BIRTH. Aaron was chosen to the office of high priest, partly in virtue of his descent from Levi (perhaps partly in virtue of his brotherhood to Moses). His personal qualities were not such as to make him the most suitable man for the office, independently of considerations of lineal descent and human relationship. Jesus Christ did not owe his position as our High Priest to his human birth. He was not, indeed, of the tribe of Levi, but of Judah, “after the flesh.” And though, through his mother, he was a son of David, in the matter of human descent, this was not in any way material to his ascent to royal power. His right of office came not thence.
II. IMPOSING INAUGURAL CEREMONY. The scene described in this chapter was striking, imposing, memorable; it would long be borne in mind, never, indeed, forgotten by those who witnessed it. It formed part of the national history. Imagination on our part readily places before us the solemn and suggestive ceremonies which riveted the eyes of the congregation of Israel. Through no such solemnities did One greater than Aaron think well to pass as he entered on his work. It is said that his contemporaries expected the Messiah to descend amongst them from the heavens while they were worshipping in the temple. This he distinctly refused to do (Mat 4:5-7). The ceremony of the baptism by John was simple in the extreme. Long chapters of Old Testament Scripture (Exodus and Leviticus) are occupied in narrating the inaugural ceremonies of the human priesthood; five verses suffice to chronicle those of the Divine (Mat 3:13-17). The profounder work of the Lord from heaven was more fittingly commenced by that quiet scene on the banks of Jordan.
III. OUTWARD AND VISIBLE DISTINCTION. (Verses 7-9.) The appearance of Aaron and of his successors in their pontifical attire, as described in this chapter, with rich and coloured garments about them, and the mitre on their head glittering with golden diadem, must have been impressive and imposing enough in the eyes of the people. How striking the contrast with him who was the carpenter’s Son of Nazareth, who shunned all ostentation and parade (Mat 12:19), who had “no beauty” (of outward appearance) “that we should desire him” (Isa 53:2), who attracted disciples to his feet, and sinners to his side, only by the wisdom of his words, and the grace of his spirit and the beauty of his life!
IV. NEED OF PURIFICATION. “Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water” (verse 6). It was needful that they should go through a ceremony which signified the putting away of “all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (2Co 7:1). [No need of this in the case of the holy Saviour. Whatever his baptism signified, it did not mean this. He was “a High Priest, holy, harmless, undefiled,” requiring no cleansing streams whatever (Heb 7:26; see Joh 14:30).
V. NEED OF PARDON. “And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron,” etc. (verse 14). Before the human high priest could be admitted to the altar, his own sin must be forgiven. Christ entered on his work, not needing to present any oblation. With him, as he was, the Divine Father was “well pleased” (Mat 3:17).
In entering on any work to which we may be called of God, we must remember that
(1) we have need to purify ourselves of the sin-stains that are left on the soul;
(2) we have need to seek for pardon for a faulty past before we go forth to a new future;
(3) we may be careless of outward distinctions, considering the lowliness of our Lord.C.
Lev 8:7-9
The human and Divine priesthood-comparison.
Between the priesthood of Aaron and that of the Lord Jesus Christ there are not only points of contrast (see above) but also of resemblance. The “holy garments” in which the human priest was attired supplied marked and intentional suggestions of the attributes and the work of the Divine. Thus we are reminded by Aaron’s appearance of
I. HIS PERSONAL HOLINESS. “The stuff of all of them was linen, and must be understood to have been white.” This was associated with the idea of bodily cleanness, and hence with righteousness of soul (see Rev 19:8). The High Priest of our profession was he “that loved righteousness,” of whom it was true that “the scepter of righteousness was the scepter of his kingdom” (Heb 1:8, Heb 1:9).
II. HIS ALL–SUFFICIENT STRENGTH. The girdle with which Aaron was girded (Lev 8:7) was suggestive of strength, activity, readiness for the appointed work. To “gird up the loins” was to be prepared for immediate and effective action. Christ is he who always stands ready and mighty to save; prepared at the moment of our readiness to put forth his arm of power, and to redeem us with the “saving strength of his right hand.”
III. HIS REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTER. On the breastplate of the ephod (Lev 8:8) were the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. With these on his person he appeared before God in the holy place; evidently representing them and appearing on their behalf. Our Divine Redeemer, assuming our human nature, suffered and died in our stead, and now “appears in the presence of God for us” (Heb 9:24).
IV. HIS SPIRITUAL FITNESS FOR HIS GREAT WORK. The “Urim and Thummim” (Lev 8:8) signified “lights” and “perfections;” they were the means by which Aaron received inspiration from Jehovah. Our Lord was one “in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily” (Col 1:9), particularly (see context) Divine wisdom. He isnot merely has, but is“the truth” (Joh 14:6), and He is “the wisdom of God” (1Co 1:24, 1Co 1:30; Col 2:8). He who, in the exercise of absolute wisdom, knows the mind of the Father, and “knows what is in man” also, is that omniscient One who is perfectly equipped for the wondrous problem he has undertaken to work out.
V. THE FINAL TRIUMPH OF HIS CAUSE. “He put the mitre upon his head” (Lev 8:9). The high priest of Israel had a touch of royaltyhe wore a crown upon his head. The High Priest of man is royal also. “Upon his head are many crowns.” He is “exalted to be a prince” as well as a Saviour. And he is “able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Php 3:21; see Php 2:9, Php 2:10).
VI. HIS ULTIMATE DESIGN. “Upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate” (Lev 8:9), and on this golden diadem were inscribed the sacred, significant words, “Holiness to the Lord” (Exo 28:36). Did not this sentence, placed in the forefront of the high priest’s mitre, signify that the great end of his ministrations was the establishment among all the tribes of Israel of” Holiness to the Lord”? The purpose for which he was appointed would not be attained until that great and noble aim was reached. For that he lived and wrought. That, too, is the end of the Divine priesthood. Christ came to “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb 9:26), to establish on the earth that kingdom of God which is “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
Let us learn
1. The exceeding greatness of our privilege. In Jesus Christ himself (and in his salvation) are these great excellencies; they were only upon and outside the Hebrew priest.
2. The corresponding guilt of
(1) defiant rejection,
(2) frivolous disregard,
(3) continued indecision (Heb 2:3).C.
Lev 8:2
Spiritual apparel.
“Take Aaron and his sons with him and the garments.” Aaron and his sons were about to be invested. Their formal investiture of the priestly office was to be signified and symbolized by their putting on the sacerdotal garments. The robes of office are fully described (Lev 8:7-9). These “holy garments” (Exo 28:2) not only gave an imposing and inspiring appearance to the officiating priests, but they severally and separately suggested certain spiritual qualities. The white linen spoke of righteousness, the girdle of activity or strength, etc. (see above).
We who are servants of Jesus Christ are also priests (1Pe 2:5; Rev 1:6). There are certain things in which we are to be robed. We are, speaking generally, to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 13:14); to put on the new man,” etc. (Eph 4:24).
But there are certain graces which we are more particularly to wear.
I. THE ROBE OF HUMILITY. This is the beginning and the end, the first and the last grace, the foundation and the topstone of Christian character: we may call it an undergarment and an overcoat of the Christian wardrobe. “Be clothed with humility” (1Pe 5:5).
II. THE GARMENT OF FAITH. This is that clothing without which we cannot be justified before God now, nor permitted to sit down to the heavenly banquet hereafter (Mat 22:11, Mat 22:12).
III. THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH. (Eph 6:14.) It is truth, heavenly wisdom, which knits all other things together, and gives play and power to the spiritual faculties.
IV. THE SANDALS OF PEACE. (Rom 10:15; Eph 6:15.)
V. THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. (2Ti 4:8.) Righteousness is the regal thing; when that is gone the crown is fallen from our head (Lam 5:16).
To those who “overcome” (Rev 3:5), who are “faithful unto death” (Rev 2:10), who “keep the faith” (2Ti 4:7), it shall be given to:
1. Be clothed in white raiment” (spotless purity).
2. To receive “the crown of life” (life in all its celestial fullness and blessedness).
3. To wear “the crown of righteousness””a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1Pe 5:4).C.
Lev 8:6, Lev 8:8, Lev 8:23, Lev 8:24, Lev 8:30
Equipment for special work.
There was a sense in which the whole congregation of Israel constituted a priesthood. It was an early promise that they should be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exo 19:6). And such, indeed, they were, so far as they entered into and fulfilled the purposes of God. They were:
1. Separate from surrounding people (holy unto the Lord).
2. Permitted to draw near to God.
3. Allowed to bring the sacrificial victim to the holy place and slay it; indeed, in the case of the paschal lamb, they acted as priests without aid from any other hand.
But there were those who were:
1. Separated from them, and were thus holier than they.
2. Allowed to draw nearer to the Divine presence.
3. Designated to be continually offering up sacrifices to Jehovah. These were the priests and the high priests of the Lord in an especial sense, and they needed special equipment for their special work.
From this chapter we select four principal points
I. SPECIAL CLEANSING OF SOUL. (Lev 8:6.)
II. SPECIAL CONSECRATION OF SPIRIT. (Lev 8:23, Lev 8:24.) One of the most significant rites in the entire ceremony of consecration was the taking by Moses of the blood of the “ram of consecration” (Lev 8:22), and putting it “upon the tip of Aaron’s right car, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.” The interpretation of this symbolism hardly admits of error. What other truth could it import but that Aaron was thus set apart, not only generally for the service of the Lord, but specially in every member of his frame, in every faculty of his mind? He was to have:
1. An open ear, to welcome every word of the Lord.
2. A ready hand, to discharge diligently and conscientiously his daily duties.
3. A quick foot, to run in the way of God’s commandments.
III. SPECIAL SYMPATHY WITH MEN. (Lev 8:8.) The plate on which were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes was, as the word indicates, a breast-plate: so that the high priest symbolically bore the children of Israel on his heart. He carried their burden into the presence of God.
IV. SPECIAL ENDOWMENT. (Lev 8:30.) The precious ointment, the anointing oil, upon the head that ran down upon Aaron’s beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments (Psa 133:2), probably symbolized the grace of the Spirit of God outpoured upon the heart, affecting the whole nature, diffusing the delightful fragrance of piety and virtue.
We learn from these particulars
1. That we must not covet posts of special difficulty except we are equipped with peculiar qualifications. Not every good or every earnest Christian man is fitted to take high office in the kingdom of God.
2. That if we feel ourselves summoned to special work, we must seek all possible spiritual equipment. The conditions of successful service are those indicated above:
(1) The full cleansing of our souls and lives from impurity (Psa 51:7, Psa 51:10, Psa 51:11, Psa 51:13; Isa 52:11; 1Jn 3:3).
(2) The dedication of our whole selves to the service of Christ; heart and life; soul and body; having every faculty of the mind, every organ of our frame (ear, hand, foot), ready for sacred work.
(3) Tender sympathy with men; “a heart at leisure from itself to soothe and sympathize.” We shall do but little for men except we acquire the blessed art of sympathizing with them. A sympathetic spirit is a helpful, influential, winning spirit.
(4) Endowment of all needful grace from on high. This must be gained from God, who, in answer to believing prayer, “giveth liberally.” Purity, consecration, sympathy, grace,these are the qualifications for high office, the sources of power, the assurance of success.C.
Lev 8:33-36
The burden of the Lord.
It is in our nature to love distinction, office, power. The instincts and impulses of our humanity enter with us into the service of the Lord; they belong to us as subjects of the kingdom of Christ. But here, as elsewhere, distinctions and duties, prizes and perils, honours and anxieties go together. We are reminded
I. THAT PROTRACTED PREPARATION MAY BE NECESSARY for high office in the Church (Lev 8:33). Aaron and his sons were required to go through consecration services fur seven days. It seems to us as if they must have become wearisome by exceeding length. But for such services as he and they were to render, such preparation was none too long. Consider how Moses was long in Midian, and Paul in Arabia, preparing for after-work. Our Lord himself went “into the wilderness” and into “desert places,” preparing himself for his Divine ministry. In proportion to the seriousness, the greatness of the work we have to do, we may expect to find the extent and severity of the preparatory work.
II. THAT UNPALATABLE COMMUNICATIONS MAY HAVE TO BE MADE, in conformity with God’s will. Moses might have shrunk (probably would have done so) from voluntarily imposing such protracted services on Aaron; but he had no option. God’s will was clear, and he had no course but to obey; “so I am commanded,” said he (Lev 8:35). Again and again the minister of Christ has to say or do things he would gladly leave unsaid or undone. But in such cases he must “not confer with flesh and blood” (Gal 1:16), but do the will of the Master he serves (see 1Sa 3:1-21).
III. THAT DISOBEDIENCE TO THE CLEAR WILL OF GOD INVOLVES great danger: “Keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not” (Lev 8:35). We cannot undertake great duties without incurring the most serious responsibilities and running grave risks. If we take the post of “watchman unto the house of Israel,” we must speak the true and faithful word, or the blood of souls will be required at our hand (Eze 33:7, Eze 33:8). They who stand in God’s house and speak in his Name, but who depart from his Word, grievously mislead their brethren, and must be answerable to the Lord their Judge at the day of account.
IV. THAT AN OBEDIENT HEART NEED NOT, AND WILL NOT, SHRINK FROM THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD. (Lev 8:36.) Aaron and his sons did not question or hesitate; they obeyed. Doubtless they found, as we shall find, that:
1. What seems formidable in prospect becomes simple and manageable in actual engagement.
2. God helps with his inspiring Spirit those who go with alacrity to their work.
3. There are unsuspected pleasures in sacred service. “His commandments are not grievous;” his “yoke is easy, his burden light ;” his statutes are not our complaints but our songs in the house of our pilgrimage (Psa 119:54).C.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD
Lev 8:1-5
Public inauguration of Divine service.
I. ALL THE PEOPLE GATHERED TOGETHER.
1. Religion is universal, as human necessity and sin. God and man reconciled and united in fellowship. No human condition dispenses with worship. We should labour to get all the people to the tabernacle, God invites them. His ministers should summon them. No excuse can be suffered either for their absence or for the lack of success in gathering them together, We shall succeed best when we speak to them in the Name of God and with his own Word. Lower means and motives, if employed at all, must be kept in subordinate places.
2. There are no secrets in religion; no esoteric doctrine; no rites or privileges which are not for the people. If the priests are set apart, the people witness their consecration, and sanction it and take part in it. The priests are for the people. A Church which withholds a part of the Lord’s Supper from the congregation cannot be a true Church. In the commandment to gather the people was the implicit doctrine of universal priesthood, afterwards (as in 1 Peter) more expressed when the great High Priest had come.
II. THE FOUNDATION ON WHICH ALL RELIGION STANDS IS THE REVEALED WORD AND WILL OF GOD. The Lord spake to Moses. Moses did as the Lord commanded him. Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.” Mere will-worship is unacceptable to God. We must beware of two errors.
1. Dependence on mere tradition in contrast with the Word. No need of a supplementary revelation, for it implies that the Word was not sufficientno authority in it, for the fathers and those who handed on the tradition were liable to err and falsify.
2. Expediency may mislead us into disobedience; fashion in worship; convenience consulted; pure truth hidden; man usurping God’s place.
III. PUBLIC CONSECRATION OF PRIESTHOOD. The people saw the men, their garments, the consecrating oil, the atoning sacrifices, the basket of unleavened bread.
1. Spiritual leaders should be distinguishable, both personally and officially.
2. We should remember they are men, and liable to sin, and needing the same sacrifices as all others.
3. The unleavened bread of sincerity and truth is their main qualification.
4. They are nothing unless anointed, i.e. they are wholly dependent on the Spirit of Godnot a line of succession, but a personal inspiration.
5. Their ministry being for the people, among the people, and with the help of the people, let the people by their assembly sanction their election and approve their consecration. A God-given ministry is not imposed upon congregations, but welcomed by their free choice.R.
Lev 8:6
And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
Not hands and feet only, as in daily ministrations, but the whole body, symbolizing entire spiritual cleansing.
I. Take this cleansing as MAN‘S OBEDIENCE. It set forth:
1. Confession of sin and dependence on Divine grace.
2. Personal consecrationentire devotion to the service of God.
3. As performed by priests, the acceptance of a place in the priestly office and before the altar demanded conspicuous holiness and purity.
II. Thus was typified THE DIVINE PROMISE.
1. That man should be cleansed really by the Spirit.
2. That a perfect high priesthood should be provided.
3. That the necessary imperfection and impurity of an earthly service should be swallowed up hereafter in the holy perfection of the heavenly service, when all that approach God shall be like him.R.
Lev 8:7-9
Aaron’s dress.
Coat, girdle, robe, ephod, breastplate, Urim and Thummim, mitre, golden plate, and crown,all significant, and fulfilled in Christ. The two main ideas are mediation and government.
I. The high priest is clothed as MEDIATOR.
1. To offer sacrifice for sins.
2. To enter into the presence of Jehovah as intercessor.
3. To obtain and pronounce, as representative, the Divine benediction.
II. The high priest is clothed as KING.
1. With power to guide, counsel, command as an oracle.
2. With exalted personality to receive homage as the king of righteousness, the glory of God revealed.
3. As crowned, to establish and maintain his kingdom among menruling their hearts and lives, not by the power of this world, but by the priestly power of fellowship with God, for man is himself made kingly as he is admitted into the innermost chamber of God’s presence.R.
Lev 8:10-12
Anointing.
The tabernacle, the altar, the vessels, the laver and its foot, Aaron the high priest. The main intention to lift up the thoughts of all, both priests and people, to Jehovah as the Source of all good gifts. The sprinkling was seven times, to denote the covenant relation between God and Israel.
I. The service of God requires SPECIAL CONSECRATIONboth of persons and places and instrumentalities.
1. To keep the world’s corruption away.
2. To exalt the faculties and feelings.
3. To help us to maintain the remembrance of the Divine covenant, and therefore to lay hold by special intercourse with God of his gifts.
4. To enable us, by concentration of efforts, to make the influence of religion more powerful in the world. Great mistake to suppose that, by breaking down distinctions between the believing and the unbelieving, the multitudes are brought nearer to God; on the contrary, the effect is to lessen the spiritual efficacy of religious ordinances, and to postpone the triumph of God’s people.
II. The TRUE ANOINTING OF THE SPIRIT, THE TRUE DISTINCTION OF THE MINISTRY AND OF THE MEANS EMPLOYED.
1. Distinguish between the rite itself and its fulfillment. Man anoints with oil, God with the Spirit. The two baptisms with water and with the Holy Ghost.
2. Special responsibility of those in office for the possession of spiritual power. We must not worship our own nets. They are nothing if not successful. By their fruits the living trees will be known.
3. God will be inquired of to bestow his grace; the anointing by his commandment was a renewal of his promise to bestow his gifts when they are asked. It was a covenant ceremony, and represented a covenant life.
4. Spiritual men engaged in the fulfillment of spiritual duties will, as much as possible, separate themselves from all earthly entanglements and incumbrances. The oil was poured on the head of the priest, and flowed downwards to the skirts of his garments, to signify that he must be totally possessed by the claims of his office, and endowed in every energy and act by the bestowment of the Spirit. What an encouragement to holiness, and at the same time what an incentive to prayer! We are kings and priests. If we forget our anointing, we not only lose our priestly purity, but our princely power over the world. A degraded priesthood the curse of the Church and the plague of mankind. A revived ministry the hope of the future. “Brethren, pray for us.” “Ye have an unction from the Holy One.”R.
Lev 8:13-36
The sacrifices of consecration.
Aaron and his sons. Holy week of separation. “So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.” Moses, the mediator of the covenant, consecrated those who should afterwards fulfill the functions of the sanctuary. The order of the sacrifices was:
1. The sin offering.
2. The burnt offering.
3. The peace offering. Or
(1) expiation,
(2) obedience,
(3) acceptance
The three great facts of the covenant life of God’s people. That all these should be included in the consecration of the priesthood betokened the entire subordination of that mere temporary mediation to the fundamental relation between God and man. The priest was between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of men in any other sense than as a servant of that covenant which came out of the free grace of God. Here there is
I. THE TRUE BASIS OF RELIGION set forth. It rests on
(1) the universal necessity of man, and
(2) the universality of Divine grace.
Illustrate from history of man’s religions how this basis has been ignored. Priesthood raised above people as though holy in themselves. Favouritism in heaven the exciting motive to sacrifices. Merit in man the measure of peace.
II. The typical significance of the Mosaic economy pointing to the PERFECTION OF THE DIVINE PROVISION FOE HUMAN SALVATION. All the priests, Aaron and his sons, are sinful, and require sacrifices of atonement. Their confession of imperfection was itself an appeal to God to supply the sinless priest, the perfect service, the everlasting mediation. Jesus Christ the High Priest.
1. His official perfection, arising out of his personal dignity as Son of God, and yet able to sympathize with those for whom he intercedes as Son of man. Spotless purity and perfect obedience could alone satisfy the requirements of a perfect Law.
2. Our faith in Christ sees in him not only a priestly Person, but a Sacrifice actually offered. The true sacrificial work of Christ was not merely his humiliation in living a human life, but his death on the cross, which was supremely the offering up of his blood, his life, as a true substitution for man. The death of the victim was a necessary part of the ceremony. Thus our High Priest must enter the holiest with blood, and no blood but his own could represent the whole humanity of man offered up-no sufferings but his could express perfect fulfillment of the Father’s will.
3. The priesthood of Christ secures our acceptance, and makes our religious life liberty, not bondage.R.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Lev 8:1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying All necessary directions being now given concerning the sacrifices, Moses proceeds, by the command of God, to consecrate Aaron and his sons, according to the method enjoined heretofore in the book of Exodus. As we have there spoken fully of these ceremonies, it would be superfluous here to add much more concerning them.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
PART SECOND. HISTORICAL
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Leviticus 8-10
The Sacrificing Priesthood: Its Consecration and its Typical Discipline shown by the Death of Nadab and Abihu.Lange.
The law of sacrifices having now been given, and the duties of the priests in regard to them appointed, all necessary preparation has been made for carrying out the consecration of the priests as commanded in Exodus 19. This historical section follows, therefore, in its natural order, and takes up the thread of events at the close of the book of Exodus, where it was broken off that the necessary laws might be announced. There is, first, the consecration of the priests (Leviticus 8), occupying seven days; then the record of the actual entrance of Aaron and his sons upon the discharge of their functions (Leviticus 9); closing with the account of the transgression of two of those sons in their first official act, and their consequent punishment, together with certain instructions for the priests occasioned by this event (Leviticus 10). To enter understandingly upon the consideration of these chapters, it is necessary to have in mind the origin, nature, and functions of the priesthood. These will be briefly discussed in the following
PRELIMINARY NOTE ON THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD.
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In the early days of the human race such priestly functions as were exercised at all were naturally undertaken by the head of the family, and hence arose what is called the patriarchal priesthood, of which the Scripture patriarchs are standing illustrations. When, however, families were multiplied and formed into communities or nations, the former provision was manifestly insufficient, and we meet with instances of priests for a larger number, as Jethro, the priest of Midian (for priest seems here to be the proper rendering of ). The chief priestly office was sometimes, and perhaps generally, associated with the chief civil authority, as in the case of Melchisedec, king of Salem the priest of the Most High God (Gen 14:18), and among the heathen, Balak, who offered his sacrifices himself (Numbers 23); a trace of this custom may perhaps be preserved in the occasional use of for prince (Job 12:19; 2Sa 8:18; 2Sa 20:26?). But in large nations the actual functions of the priestly office must necessarily have devolved chiefly upon inferior priests. In Egypt the Israelites had been accustomed to a numerous, wealthy, and powerful body of priests, at the head of which stood the monarch. It is unnecessary to speak of these further than to note a few points in which they were strongly contrasted with the priests of Israel. In the first place, although the monarch was at the head of the whole priestly caste, yet as the popular religion of Egypt was polytheistic, each principal Divinity had his especial body of priests with a high-priest at their head. In contrast with this, monotheism was distinctly set forth in the Levitical legislation, by the one body of priests, with its single high-priest at its head. The Egyptian priests maintained an esoteric theology, not communicated to the people, in which it would appear that the unity of the Self-existent God and many other important truths were taught; in Israel the priests were indeed the keepers and guardians of the law (Deu 31:9, etc.), but they were diligently to teach it all to the people (Lev 10:11), to read the whole of it every seventh year to all the assembled people (Deu 31:10-13), to supply the king with a copy for himself to write out in full (Deu 17:18-19), and in general to teach Gods judgments to Jacob and His law to Israel (Deu 33:10). While, therefore, from the nature of their occupation, they might be expected to have a more perfect knowledge of the law than the generality of the people, this knowledge was only more perfect as the result of more continued study, and might be equalled by any one who chose, and was actually shared by every one as far as he chose. The Egyptian priests were, moreover, great landed proprietors (besides being fed from the royal revenues, Gen 47:22), and actually possessed one-third of the whole territory of Egypt; the priests of Israel, on the contrary, were expressly excluded from the common inheritance of the tribes, and had assigned to them only the cities with their immediate suburbs actually required for their residence. The priesthood of Egypt culminated in the absolute monarch who was at their head, and in whose authority they in some degree shared; in Israel, on the other hand, the line between the civil and the priestly authority and functions was most sharply drawn, primarily in the case of Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Eleazar, generally in the time of the judges (although in that troubled period this, like all other parts of the Mosaic system, was sometimes confused), and finally under the monarchy. It is indeed sometimes asserted that the kings, by virtue of their prerogative, were entitled to exercise priestly functions; but for this there is no real ground. The instances relied on are either manifest cases of sacrifice offered at the command of the monarch (1Ki 3:15; 1Ki 8:62-64); or of the simple wearing of an ephod (2Sa 6:14), which by no means carried with it the priestly office; or else are misinterpretations of a particular word (1Ki 4:2; 1Ki 4:5see the Textual notes there; 2Sa 8:18the only case of real difficultycomp. 1Ch 18:17). There are but two definite instances of the assumption of priestly functions by kings, and both of them were most sternly punished (1Sa 13:10-14; 2Ch 26:16-21). There was also the intrusion of Korah and his companions on the priestly office and their exemplary punishment (Numbers 16). In the later abnormal state under the Maccabees, it was not the kings who assumed priestly functions, but the priests who absorbed the royal prerogative. With these contrasts, it is plain that there was little in common between the Egyptian and Levitical priesthood, except what is necessarily implied in the idea of a priesthood at all, and is found in that of the nations of antiquity generally. They were, however, both hereditary (as was also the Brahminical priesthood); both were under a law of the strictest personal cleanliness, and there was a resemblance between them in several matters of detail, as linen dress, and other non-essential matters.
When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were a people chosenon condition of faithfulness and obedienceto be a kingdom of priests and an holy nation (Exo 19:6), and in accordance with this the paschal lamb was sacrificed by each head of a household, and eaten by himself and his family (Exo 12:6), and the same idea was retained in this sacrifice always. Nevertheless, the people were unprepared for so high a vocation, and soon after we find the existence of certain persons among the people recognized as priests which come near to the Lord (Exo 19:22; Exo 19:24), although they did not receive the Divine sanction necessary to the continuance of their office. We have no knowledge of the nature of their functions, nor of their appointment. However this may have been, the people certainly shrank from that nearness of approach to God implied in the office of priest (Exo 20:19; Exo 20:21; Deu 5:23-27), and sacrifices were offered by young men appointed by Moses, he reserving to himself the strictly priestly function of sprinkling the blood (Exo 24:5-8). Such was the state of things at the time of the appointment of the Aaronic order; there was no divinely authorized priesthood, and the need of one was felt.
Meantime, in the solitude of Sinai, God directed Moses to take Aaron and his sons for an hereditary priesthood (Exo 28:1), and gave minute directions for their official dress, for their consecration and their duties (Exodus 28, 29). Emphasis is everywhere placed upon the fact that they were appointed of God (comp. Heb 5:4). They were in no sense appointed by the people; had they been so, they could not have been mediators. It has been seen that the Levitical system makes prominent the fact that the sacrifices had no efficacy in themselves, but derived their whole value from the Divine appointment; so also in regard to the priesthood. The priests appear as themselves needing atonement, and obliged to offer for their own sins; yet by the commanded unction and dress they are constituted acceptable intercessors and mediators for the people. All was from God; and while this gave assurance to the people in their daily worship, at the same time the priests own imperfection showed that the true reconciliation with God by the restoration of holiness to man had not yet been manifested. The Levitical priest could be but a type of that Seed of the woman who should bruise the serpents head.
Before the directions concerning the priesthood, given to Moses alone in the Mount, could be announced, occurred the terrible apostasy of the golden calf, when, at the summons of Moses, who is on the Lords side? the whole tribe of Levi consecrated themselves by their zeal on Gods behalf (Exo 32:25-29). Subsequently (Num 3:5-10; Num 3:40-51). the Levites were taken as a substitute for all the first-born Israelites (who, under the patriarchal system, would have been their priests, and who had been spared in the slaughter of the Egyptian first-born) to minister to the chosen priestly family. Of these nothing is said in this book, except the modification in their favor of the law concerning the sale of houses in Lev 25:32-34) (see Com.). They may therefore be here wholly passed by with the simple mention that they never had sacerdotal functions, and were not therefore a part of the sacerdotal class. It is, perhaps, for the purpose of making this distinction emphatically that no mention is made of them in this book where it might otherwise have been expected. As, however, they constituted the tribe from which the priests were taken, the latter are often called by their name, and thus we frequently meet with the expression in the later books, the priests, the Levites, or even with Levites alone, meaning Levites, , or priests.
But while there was an evident necessity that a much smaller body than the whole tribe of Levi should be taken for priests; and while Aaron, the elder brother, and appointed as the prophet of Moses (Exo 4:14-17), and associated with him in the whole deliverance of the people from Egypt, was evidently a most suitable person for the office, the law that the office should be hereditary must rest on other grounds. If we seek for these in any thing beyond the simple Divine good-pleasure, we should readily find them in the general fact of the whole Mosaic system being founded upon the principle of heir-ship leading on to the fulfilment of the Messianic promise: and in the more special one that it was by this means the priesthood was in the main kept true to God during long periods of Israels apostasy and sin.
It is to be carefully observed that this hereditary office did not make of the priests a caste; in all things not immediately connected with the discharge of their functions, they were fellow-citizens with the other Israelites, subject to the same laws, bound by the same duties, and amenable to the same penalties. When not engaged in official duty, they wore the same dress, and might follow the same vocations as their fellow-citizens. They were only exempt from the payment of tithes because themselves supported by them. In all this is manifest a striking contrast, not only with heathen priesthoods of antiquity, but also with the hierarchy of the Medival Christian Church.
The especial function of the priesthood was to come near to God (Lev 7:35; Lev 10:3; Lev 21:17; Num 16:5, etc.). They were to stand in the vast gap between a sinful people and a holy God, themselves of the former, yet especially sanctified to approach the latter. Hence their chief characteristic must be holiness, since they were elected to be perpetually near the Holy One and to serve Him (Num 16:5); they were singled out from the rest of their brethren to be sanctified as most holy. To hallow and to install as priests are used as correlative terms (Exo 29:33; comp. Lev 8:1, 44; Exo 28:41; Exo 40:13). By neglecting what contributes to their sanctity they profane the holiness of God (Lev 21:6-8); and the high-priest is himself the Holy One of the Lord (Psa 106:16). Kalisch. They sustained a distinct mediatorial character between God and His people. This appears in every part of the law concerning them. The golden plate inscribed holiness to the Lord, which the high-priest wore upon his brow, expressly meant that he should bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow (Exo 28:38); and the flesh of the sin offerings was given to the priests to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord (Lev 10:17). Of course this could be done by human priests only symbolically, as they were types of the great High Priest to come; and His all-sufficient sacrifice having once been offered, there could be thereafter no other priesthood in this relation to the people, or discharging this mediatorial function. The Christian ministry finds its analogy, not in the priests, but in the prophets of the old dispensation, although even here the likeness is very imperfect. Still, while the priests were required to preserve and teach the written law, it was left to the prophets to unfold its spiritual meaning, and to urge regard to it by argument and exhortation. It is a striking fact that the Greek word for priest, , and its derivatives in the New Testament, while frequently applied to the priests of the old covenant and to Christ Himself, their Antitype, are never used for any office in the Christian Church, except for the general priesthood of the whole body of believers; =prophet, however, and its cognates are thus used with great frequency. It is to be borne in mind that priest, in the Levitical sense of the word, and sacrifice are correlative terms; sacrifice pre-supposes a priest to offer it, and a priest must needs have somewhat also to offer (Heb 8:3). From these points flow all the duties of the priests, and in view of these their qualifications, and the other laws concerning them are fixed.
The first and chiefest of all their duties was the offering of sacrifice, as this was the especial instrumentality by which men sought to draw near to God. No sacrifice could be offered without the intervention of the appointed priest; for the sacrifices having no virtue in themselves, and deriving their value from the Divine appointment, must necessarily be presented in the way and by the persons whom God had authorized. Hence it is that in the ritual of the sacrifices an emphasis is always placed upon the declaration that the priests shall make atonement. The apparent exceptions to this, in the case of Samuel and Elijah, are really but illustrations of the principle, they being prophets directly charged from on high to do this very thing. In this, including the burning of incense, the priests were undoubtedly typical of the one true High Priest and Mediator. They stood, as far as was possible for man, between God and the people, and by their acts were the people madeat least symbolicallyholy, and brought near to God. The acts of sacrifice which were essential and which therefore could only be performed by the priests, were the sprinkling or other treatment of the blood, and the burning of such parts as were to be consumed upon the altar. In the sin and trespass offerings, as well as in the oblations, which must be wholly consecrated to God, they were to consume the parts which were not burned.
From this essential duty naturally were derived a variety of others. To the priests belonged the care of the sanctuary and its sacred utensils, the preservation of the fire on the brazen altar, the burning of incense on the golden altar, the dressing and lighting of the lamps of the golden candlestick, the charge of the shew-bread, and other like duties. They were necessarily concerned in all those multitudinous acts of the Israelites which were connected with sacrifices, such as the accomplishment of the Nazarite vow, the ordeal of jealousy, the expiation of an unknown murder, the determination of the unclean and of the cleansed leprous persons, garments and houses; the regulation of the calendar; the valuation of devoted property which was to be redeemed; these and a multitude of other duties followed naturally from their priestly office. They were also to blow the silver trumpets on the various occasions of their use, and in connection with this to exhort the soldiers about to engage in battle to boldness, because they-went to fight under the Lord. They were also, from their own familiarity with the law, appropriately appointed as the religious teachers of the people. From their priestly office they were charged to bless the people in the name of God; and from their privilege of consulting God especially through the Urim and Thummim, they were made arbiters in disputes of importance: by their word shall every controversy and every violence be tried (Deu 21:5). All these secondary duties flowed from their primary one in connection with the sacrifices. Hence the influence and importance of the priests in the Hebrew commonwealth varied greatly with the religious earnestness and activity of the nation. Negatively, it is important to note that the priests did not, in any considerable degree, discharge towards the people the office of the Christian pastor, the spiritual guide, comforter and assistant of his flock. It is possible that if the people and the priests themselves had been prepared for it, something more of this relation might have resulted from the provisions of the law. Still, they were not individually the priests of particular communities; but rather, as a body, the priests of the whole nation. From this it resulted that their connection with the people was little more than simply official and ministerial. In so far as the need of the pastor was met at all under the old dispensation, as already said, it was by the prophet rather than by the priests.
The same thing is also true of their revenue. This was chiefly derived from the second tithe, or the tenth paid to them by the Levites from the tithes received by them from the people. Tithes were stringently commanded; but no power was lodged with any one for their compulsory collection. Their payment was left absolutely to the conscientious obedience of the people. The priests support was supplemented by their share of the sacrifices, first-fruits, and other offerings of the people. Very ample provision appears to be made for them in the law; the Levites, who were much less than a tenth of the people, were to receive the tenth of all their increase; and the priests, who appear to have numbered still much less than the tenth of the Levites, were to receive the tenth of the income paid to them. Practically, during the far greater part of the Hebrew history, their support appears to have been precarious and insufficient, and we know that large numbers of them declined to return from the captivity of Babylon, and many of the descendants of those who did return did not exercise their priestly office or claim their priestly privileges.
The qualifications for the priesthood were first, Aaronic descent; to secure this genealogical registers were kept with great care (2Ch 31:16-17, etc.), and any one who could not find his descent upon them was not allowed to minister in the priests office or to receive its emoluments (Ezr 2:62; Neh 7:64). Secondly, they must be perfect physically, free from any bodily defect or injury; otherwise, they might eat of the priests portion, and receive his tithe, but they were forbidden to approach the altar, or enter the sanctuary (Lev 21:17-23). Further, during the time of their ministrations, they must be entirely free from any form of legal uncleanness (Lev 22:1-7), and must practice frequent ablutions, especially on entering the sacred precincts (Lev 8:6; Exo 40:30-32), and they must carefully abstain from wine and strong drink (Lev 10:8-10); at all times they must maintain an especial symbolic purity, and particularly must never be defiled by the contact of a dead body, except in the case of the very nearest relatives (Lev 21:2-4), even this exception being denied to the high-priest (ib. 1012). No limit of age either for the beginning or the end of their service is fixed in the law; but in the absence of such limitation, the age appointed for the Levites would probably have been generally regarded as fitting. In later times there was great laxity in this respect, and Aristobulus was appointed high-priest by Herod the Great when only seventeen. In addition to these outward qualifications, exemplary holiness of life is everywhere required of the priests, and even in their families, violations of virtue were visited with more severity than among others (Lev 21:9).
In marriage the priests generally were only restricted in their choice to virgins or widows of any of the tribes of their nation (Lev 21:7); later, marriage within the Aaronic family seems to have been preferred, and by the prophet Ezekiel (Eze 44:22) the marriage with widows (except of priests) was forbidden them.
They were originally inducted into their office by a solemn consecration, and were sprinkled with the sacrificial blood and the holy anointing oil (Leviticus 9); but, except for the high-priest, this one consecration sufficed for all their descendants, and was not repeated.
While on duty in the sanctuary they were arrayed in robes of linen which might never pass beyond the sacred precincts; and they must minister at the altar unshod.
In the small number of priests at first, it was probably necessary that all of them should be constantly on duty; but when in later times they had greatly multiplied, they were divided by David into twenty-four courses, each with a chief at its head, who should minister in turn (1Ch 24:3-4). This arrangement was maintained ever after, although on the return from the captivity, some of the courses were wanting from the returning exiles (Neh 12:1-7; Neh 12:12-21).
The whole order of the priests was concentrated, so to speak, in the high-priest. His office was also hereditary, but not with the same strictness. We find in the time of Eli that the high priesthood had passed to the house of Ithamar (Aarons younger son), and from his descendants it was again by divine direction transferred back to the elder branch. The duties and responsibilities of the high-priest were far more solemn than that of the ordinary priests. Pity and sympathy also, according to the Ep. to the Hebr., enter into the idea of the high-priest. Lange. There could be only one high-priest at a time, although a second, in some degree at least, seems to have been permitted during that abnormal period during the reign of David when the ark and the tabernacle were separated. The high-priest was restricted in marriage to a Hebrew virgin; his official robes were of the utmost splendor, and on his breast he wore the precious stones on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, while on the golden plate on his forehead was inscribed holiness unto the Lord; he was originally consecrated by a more ample anointing than his brethren, and this was repeated for each of his successors, so that he is described as having the crown of the anointing oil of his God upon him (Lev 21:12), and, as we have seen, is often designated simply as the anointed priest; he must have succeeded to his office at whatever age his predecessor died or became incapacitated, and continued in it to the end of his own life, which formed a civil epoch (Num 35:28; Num 35:32); no especial provision is made in the law for his support, and history shows that it was unnecessary to do so, as he was always amply provided for; the high-priest was forbidden the contact with the dead and the customary marks of sorrow even in those few cases which were permitted to other priests (Lev 21:10-12), and that on the express ground of the peculiar completeness of his consecration. But his chief distinction lay in his being the embodiment, as it were, of the whole theocracy, and the mediator between God and the whole people. This was signified by manifold symbols on his robes; it was shown by his duty of offering the sin offering for himself and for the whole people (the same victim being required for each); and especially by his most solemn duties on the great day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). From his position and religious duties necessarily flowed many others, as in the case of the ordinary priests, only that in the one case as in the other those of the high-priest were far higher and more important. In the Epistle to the Hebrews he is singled out not only as the representative of the whole priestly system, but as peculiarly the type of Christ, the one great High-Priest, Who alone could make effectual atonement, once for all, for the sins of all people. A second priest, or vice high-priest, is mentioned Jer 52:24, and such an office is recognized by the later Jews. Literature: Kalisch, Preliminary Essay on Lev. VIII., and many of the works already mentioned under Sacrifices. Kueper, Das Priesterthum des Alten Bundes, Berlin, 1865.
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FIRST SECTION
The Consecration of the Priests
Lev 8:1-36
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a [the1] bullock for the sin-offering, 3and [the1] two rams, and a [the1] basket of unleavened bread: and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation. 4And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly [congregation2] was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation. 5And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.
6And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed [bathed3] them with water. 7And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious 8[curious4] girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. 9And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put [and upon the mitre upon his forehead did he put5] the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses. 10And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle [dwelling-place6] and all that was therein, and sanctified them.7 11And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. 12And he poured of8 the anointing oil upon Aarons head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. 13And Moses brought Aarons sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles [a girdle9], and put [bound] bonnets upon them; as the Lord commanded Moses.
14And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid10their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. 15And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it [to atone for it11]. 16And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burnt it12 upon the altar. 17But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the Lordcommanded Moses. 18And he brought13 the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. 19And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. 20And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. 21And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it14 was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and [omit and] an offering made by fire unto the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses. 22And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. 23And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aarons right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the 24great toe of his right foot. And he15 brought Aarons sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs [thumb16] of their right hands, and upon the great toes [toe16] of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. 25And he took the fat, and the rump [the fat tail17] and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder [leg18]: 26and out of the basket of unleavened bread,19 that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder [leg19]: 27and he put all upon Aarons hands, and upon his sons hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the Lord. 28And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them20 on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it21is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.29And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the Lord: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses part; as the Lord commanded Moses. 30And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons garments with him.
31And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation22 : and there eat with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I [am23] commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. 32And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. 33And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you. 34As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. 35Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the [omit the] congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not: for so I am commanded. 36So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Lev 8:2. The Heb. has the article in all these cases, and it should be retained as referring to the commands given in Exodus 29.
Lev 8:4. . The word being precisely the same as in Lev 8:3, should certainly have the same translation. The Vulg. and Syr. prefix all, as in Lev 8:3.
Lev 8:6. . See Textual Note 29 on Lev 14:8.
Lev 8:7. means simply girdle, and there is nothing in the Heb. answering to curious, yet as this word is used only of the girdle of the Ephod, while there are several other words for the ordinary girdle, and as the A. V. has uniformly rendered it curious girdle, it may be well to retain the adjective as the readiest way of marking in English the peculiarity of the girdle. It should, however, be in italics.
Lev 8:9. The A. V. is unnecessarily complicated. For the second the Sam. reads .
Lev 8:10. . See Textual Note 8on Lev 15:31.
Lev 8:10. Three MSS., followed by the LXX., read it in the singular.
Lev 8:12. One MS., followed by the Vulg., omits the partitive .
Lev 8:13. in the sing. (The ancient versions, however, have the plural). An entirely different word from of Lev 8:7.
Lev 8:14. The Heb. verb is in the sing. In the corresponding clause in Lev 8:18 it is plural, and so it is made here also by the Sam. and Syr.
Lev 8:15. . It is better here, as in Lev 6:30 (23), and Lev 16:20, to retain the almost universal rendering of in the A. V. These three places are the only exceptions in Ex., Lev., or Num. The sense is clearly for it, rather than upon it, and it is so rendered in the corresponding passage. Exo 29:36, comp. 37.
Lev 8:16. The missing pronoun is supplied in one MS. and the Arab.
Lev 8:18. For the Sam. reads .
Lev 8:21. Five MSS., the Syr. and Vulg., omit the pronoun.
Lev 8:24. The LXX. says, Moses brought.
Lev 8:24. The singular, which is the Heb. form, is quite as accurate and expressive.
Lev 8:25. See Text. Note 7 on Lev 3:9.
Lev 8:25. See Text. Note 30 on Lev 7:32.
Lev 8:26. The LXX. here reads .
Lev 8:28. The pronoun is supplied by one MS., the LXX., and the Syr.
Lev 8:28. This pronoun is wanting in two MSS., the Vulg. and Arab.
Lev 8:31. The Sam. and LXX. add .
Lev 8:31. The A. V. follows the Masoretic punctuation ; but the LXX., Vulg. and Syr., that of Lev 8:35 .
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
In the chapters of this section we have the only prolonged narrative in Leviticus, in fact the only historical matter at all except the punishment of the blasphemer in Lev 24:10-23.
Lev 8:1. The LORD spake.A special command to carry out now the command already given minutely in Exodus 28, 29, , 40.
Lev 8:2-5 contain the preliminary arrangements. Moses takes Aaron and his sons, and the various things previously provided for their consecration, and brings them into the court of the tabernacle. The four, sons of Aaron were brought, and the language would also include his grandsons, if there were any at this time of suitable age. The fact, however, that Eleazar entered the promised land, would make him less than twenty-one at this time, and therefore too young to have sons of sufficient age, and no sons of Nadab and Abihu are ever anywhere mentioned. The people were also gathered about the wide opening of the court, probably represented by their elders in the nearest places, and the mass of the men generally standing upon the surrounding heights which overlooked the tabernacle. Lange: This is the ordinance: first, the persons; then the garments as symbols of the office; the anointing oil, the symbol of the Spirit; the bullock for the sin offering, the symbol of the priest favored with the entrusted atonement, and yet needing favor; the ram for the burnt offering, the symbol of the sacrificial employment; the ram for the sacrifice of consecration, the symbol of the priestly emoluments in true sacrifices of consecration; and the basket of unleavened bread, the symbol of lifes enjoyments of the priests, sanctified in every form by the oil of the Spirit.
Lev 8:2. The basket, according to Exo 29:2-3; Exo 29:23, contained three kinds of bread all unleavened, the loaf, the oil bread, and the wafer anointed with oil.
Lev 8:3-4. The consecration was thus public, not only that Aaron might not seem to take this honor unto himself; but also that by their presence, the people might be assenting to the consecration of him who was to minister among them and for them.
Lev 8:6-13. The washing, anointing, and investiture.
Lev 8:6. And bathed them with water.Not merely their hands and their feet, which Moses must have already done for himself, and which was always done by every priest who entered the tabernacle, or who approached the altar (Exo 40:31-32); but doubtless an ablution of the whole body as seems to be intended in Exo 29:4, and as was practised on the great day of atonement (Lev 16:4). This washing was obviously symbolical of the purity required in those who draw near to God, and is applied spiritually to the whole body of Christians, made priests unto God in Heb 10:22. With this comp. Christs receiving of baptism (Mat 3:13-15) before entering upon His public ministry.
Lev 8:7-9. The robing of Aaron comes first, then the sanctification of the tabernacle and all it contained, especially of the altar, then the anointing of Aaron, and finally the robing of his sons. Neither here nor in Exo 29:5 is there any mention of the linen breeches of Exo 28:42; Exo 39:28 probably because these were simply to cover their nakedness, and were not considered a part of the official costume. As Kalisch suggests, Aaron and his sons probably put them on themselves immediately after their ablution. On the remaining articles of apparel see Exodus 28. Briefly, the coat was the long tunic of fine linen worn next the skin. According to Josephus (Ant. III. 7, 2), it reached to the feet, and was fastened closely to the arms. It was to be embroidered (Exo 28:39), i.e., woven, all of the same material and color, in diaper work. From Exo 28:40-41; Exo 39:27, this garment appears to have been the same for the high-priest and the common priests. The girdle next mentioned is not the curious girdle of the Ephod (), but the described by Josephus (loc. cit.) as a long sash of very loosely woven linen, embroidered with flowers of scarlet, and purple, and blue, which was wound several times around the body and tied, the ends hanging down to the ankles ordinarily, but thrown over the shoulder when the priest was engaged in active duty.The robe (Exo 28:31-35), wholly of blue, was woven without seam, apparently without sleeves, with a hole whereby it was put over the head. It is supposed to have reached a little below the knees, and to have been visible below, and also a little above, the Ephod. The hem at the bottom was ornamented with pomegranates, blue, and purple, and scarlet, with golden bells between them, which should sound as the high-priest went in and out of the holy place. Over this was the Ephod (Exo 28:6-7; Exo 39:2-4), a vestment whose construction is imperfectly understood. The word etymologically, means simply a vestment, and a simple linen Ephod was worn by the common priests (1Sa 22:18), as well as by others engaged in religious services (1Sa 2:18; 2Sa 6:14; 1Ch 15:27). The vestment or Ephod of the high-priest here spoken of, however, was a very different and much more gorgeous affair. Its material was =fine linen (of which also the tunic mentioned above was made), while that of the other Ephods was or common linen of which the linen breeches were made. (The latter word, however, as the more general, is sometimes used for both, Lev 6:10 (3); Lev 16:4; Lev 16:23; Lev 16:32). The Ephod of the high-priest appears to have been made in two parts, one for the back and one for the breast, joined at the shoulders by two onyx stones set in gold, upon which were engraved the names of the tribes of Israel. To these stones were attached chains of pure wreathen gold for the support of the breastplate. According to Josephus (loc. cit., 5), it had sleeves and a place left open upon the breast to be covered by the breast-plate. It was woven with gold thread and colors with cunning work, and with its attachments was one of the chief parts of the high-priests attire. Upon it, wrought of the same costly and gorgeous materials, was the curious girdle of the Ephod, woven on to one of the parts, and passing round the body, holding them both together. On this was put the breast-plate (Exo 28:15-30), a separate piece of cloth woven of the same materials, so that when folded it was a span square. By gold rings it was attached to the chains from the onyx stones on the shoulder, and by other gold rings it was tied with bands of blue lace to corresponding rings on the Ephod. To this breast-plate were attached by settings of gold, twelve precious stones, on each of which was engraved the name of one of the tribes of Israel.Also he put in the breast-plate the Urim and the Thummim.On these words many volumes have been written, and we can only here refer to the note on Exo 28:30. From the way in which they are spoken of both there (comp. Lev 8:15-21) and here, they appear to have been something different from the precious stones before spoken of, and to have been placed, not on, but in the breast-plate, i.e., in the receptacle formed by its fold, although a great variety of authorities might be cited for the opposite view. There is nowhere any direction given for their preparation, and from the use of the definite article with each of them, it is likely that they were things already known. They were used as a means of ascertaining the will of God (Num 27:21; 1Sa 28:6, etc.); but by precisely what process is not known, and there are now no means of ascertaining. The many conjectures concerning them are conveniently arranged by Clark (Speakers Com.) under three heads: (1) that the Divine will was manifested by some physical effect addressed to the eye or ear; (2) that they were a means of calling into action a prophetic gift in the high-priest; (3) that they were some contrivance for casting lots. The Urim and Thummim were here formally delivered to Aaron, and passed on to his successors; but the last recorded instance of their use is in the time of David, and they seem to have passed into disuse as revelations and teachings by prophets became more frequent. It is certain that they had disappeared, or their use had been lost, after the return from the captivity (Ezr 2:63; Neh 7:65).
And he put the mitre upon his head.(Exo 28:37-39). The word mitre is here used in its etymological sense, of a twisted band of fine linen around the head, which might now be described as a turban.The golden plate, the holy crown,a plate of pure gold having engraved on it holiness to the Lord. This was attached to a blue lace, whereby it was fastened to the mitre. It was the crowning glory of the high-priests official dress, and its symbolism is fully expressed in the command for its preparation (Exo 28:38), that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. This completed the investiture of Aaron, and it is added as the LORD commanded Moses, both to show that the command had been fulfilled, and also that only that which was commanded had been done. In this matter nothing was left to human device; every particular was expressly arranged by minute Divine directions; for everything was symbolic and intended gradually to teach Israel spiritual truths, which as yet they were only prepared to learn by these sensible images.
Lev 8:10-12. The anointing of the sacred things and of Aaron.
The composition of the anointing oil, and the careful restriction of its use had been minutely commanded (Exo 30:22-33). The Rabbis say that the art of compounding it was lost after the captivity, and hence from that time its use was necessarily discontinued. The things to be anointed had all been made after the pattern shown in the Mount (Exo 25:40; Heb 9:23) and expressly for their sacred uses; yet there was a fitness, such as has always been recognized by the sense of mankind, that they should first be especially set apart by a solemn ceremonial for their holy purpose. The tabernacle and all that was therein.In Exo 30:26-28, many of the things are specially mentioned, showing that Moses with the anointing oil must have passed not only into the holy place but into the holy of holies itself.
Lev 8:11. He sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times.This refers to the brazen altar in the court, as is shown by the things enumerated with it. On the seven-fold sprinkling see on Lev 4:6. And anointed the altar.As this is a different act from the sprinkling, so does this special sanctifying of the altar seem appropriate to its use in the sacrifices.
Lev 8:12. He poured of the anointing oil upon Aarons head.Comp. Psa 133:2. The anointing with oil was a symbol of endowment with the Spirit of God (1Sa 10:1; 1Sa 10:6; 1Sa 16:13-14; Isa 61:1) for the duties of the office to which a person was consecrated, Keil. The A. V. is quite accurate in marking the more abundant anointing of Aaron by the word poured. The symbolism of anointing is abundantly recognized in the New Test. as applied to Christ (Luk 4:18; Act 10:38, etc.). There has been much question whether the sons of Aaron were also here anointed. On the one hand, it had been commanded that they should be anointed (Exo 28:41; Exo 40:15) thou shalt anoint them as thou didst anoint their father, and they are always recognized as having been anointed (Lev 7:36; Lev 10:7); and on the other hand, there is no mention here of this having been done (which could hardly have been omitted had it taken place); and as Aaron was first robed, and then anointed, while his sons were not yet robed, it seems necessary to consider their unction as having been confined to the sprinkling with mingled oil and blood of Lev 8:30. This would be quite in accordance with the recognition of the high-priest alone as the anointed priest and with all those passages in which his anointing is spoken of as something peculiar. (The word as in Exo 40:15 cannot, of course, be pressedas Kalisch insiststo mean an exactly similar form of anointing).
Lev 8:13. Next comes the robing of Aarons sons, all in accordance with the commands so often referred to. The bonnets were also a sort of turban, but it may be inferred from the difference in the Heb. word that they were probably differently fashioned from that of the high-priest.
Lev 8:14-30. The sacrifices and accompanying ceremonies.
In the order of the sacrifices the sin offering comes first, then the burnt offering, lastly the peace offering; this, the normal order, is always observed (unless in certain exceptional cases) where the several kinds of sacrifice come together, as was evidently fitting in view of the special object of each.
The victim and the ritual of the sin offering are the same as that appointed for the sin offering of the high-priest in Lev 4:3-12, except that the blood was not brought into the sanctuary nor sprinkled before the vail. The reason commonly assigned for this is that the offering was not for any particular sin, but only for a general state of sinfulness. So Lange. But it is to be borne in mind that this sacrifice was not for Aaron alone, but for him and his sons together; also it was not for an already consecrated high-priest, but for one who was in the very act of being consecrated and not yet entitled to discharge the functions of the high-priest. In view of what he was to be, the victim might well be the same as that appointed for the ordinary sin offering of the high-priest; in view of what he actually was, it was fitting that there should be a difference in the ritual as regards the blood. Moses took the blood and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, as was done in all sin offerings, only here the object of the act seems to have been, in part at least, the altar itself. This had been already sprinkled and anointed; now by the blood it is still further purified, and also sanctified, and atonement made for it. On the necessity of the blood in addition to the oil, see Heb 9:21-22. The application of this to the altar was for the same general reasons as in case of the tabernacle and its contents, only that there was especial emphasis in regard to the altar on account of its peculiar use. As all things in heaven and earth are reconciled unto God by the blood of the cross (Col 1:20), so must these typical things be reconciled by the blood of the typical sacrifice.
In all this service Moses, by a special Divine commission, acts as the priest. Hence he is spoken of in Psa 99:6 as among His priests, and Philo calls him a high-priest. He did not, however, wear the priestly garments, and strictly he was not a priest at all. He had hitherto acted as priest (Exo 40:23), although he had not before offered a sin offering; but now he was both less and more than a priest. Less, in that with this consecration his priestly functions absolutely ceased; more, in that he now acts on Gods behalf as the Mediator of the Old Covenant (Gal 3:19). The Aaronic priesthood was continued with its powers by hereditary succession; but all chains must have a beginning, and all authority must have a giver. Here the first link of the chain, the beginning of all priestly authority, is given by Moses acting under an express commission for this purpose, from the Almighty. It is to be remembered that all these sacrifices were consumed by fire kindled in the ordinary way, the fire from before the Lord (Lev 9:24) not having yet come forth.
Lev 8:18-21. The burnt offering differed in nothing from the ordinary burnt offering, although the victim was of a kind less commonly selected.
Lev 8:22-30. The peace offering, or ram of consecration. Any sacrificial animal might be offered in the ordinary peace offerings; but a ram, as here, was required along with a bullock for the priestly peace offering immediately after their consecration (Lev 9:4-8), and a ram alone at the fulfilment of the Nazarite vow (Num 6:14; Num 6:17), and this also formed a part of the varied peace offerings of the princes after the dedication of the altar and tabernacle (Num 7:17; Num 7:23, etc.).
Lev 8:22. The ram of consecration, lit, the ram of the fillings, i.e. with which the hands of Aaron and his sons were to be filled for the wave-offering, Lev 8:27, and by this phraseology is the idea of consecration usually expressed according to the Hebrew idiom (comp. the verb in Jdg 17:5; Jdg 17:12; 1Ki 13:33; Eze 43:26, etc.). The LXX. renders it =the ram of perfecting, inasmuch as this was the completion of the consecration, and signified that the priest was now enabled henceforth to offer sacrifice to God. Wordsworth aptly compares it to the delivery of the Bible to one being ordained to the ministry in the early Christian Church to signify that he was now entitled to exercise his office of dispensing Gods word to the people. Lange gives another view of the sense: The fact that Aaron too, and his sons, belonged to the congregation, and with it must bring offerings of their fulness towards the support that they received from it, is expressed in the command that they shall offer a second ram as a sacrifice of Fulnesses. And further: Knobel gives Ordination offering; Keil, Peace offering. The peace or thank offering, however, was not brought until the eighth day, and all the particulars in this chapter belong to ordination offerings. It is then the offering of the fulness of his emoluments, which indeed belongs to the true priestly character.
Lev 8:24. Upon the tip of their right ear.Whether the upper or the lower extremity of the ear is meant is disputed, and is immaterial. He touched the extreme points, which represented the whole, of the ear, hand, and foot on the right, or more important and principal side: the ear because the priest was always to hearken to the word and commandment of God; the hand, because he was to discharge the priestly functions properly; and the foot, because he was to walk correctly in the sanctuary. Through this manipulation the three organs employed in the priestly service were placed, by means of their tips, en rapport with the sacrificial blood. Keil (quoted in part by Lange). By the subsequent sprinkling of the same blood upon the altar all was associated especially with sacrifice, the pre-eminent priestly function. It is noticeable that the same parts of the cleansed leper were in the same way to be touched with the blood of his trespass offering (Lev 14:14). In regard to the choice of the members on the right side, Theodoret (Qu. 8 in Lev.) significantly notes that there are also left-handed actions and obedience of condemnation.
Lev 8:25-28. The ritual of the wave offering is the same as in case of the ordinary peace offerings; only Aaron and his sons are here the offerers, and hence the portions waved were burned upon the altar, instead of being eaten by the priests. Lange says: The command is to be particularly noticed, that the prophet should take this offering of the priests from their hands, and burn it upon the altar. The prophetical spirit must support the priesthood in the swinging and upheaving from the earth without which it is lost.
Lev 8:29. Moses took the breast.This also he waved for a wave offering, but not on Aarons hands. This was done by special command, and was not the part belonging ordinarily to the officiating priest himself, but to the priestly order generally. The parts belonging to the officiating priest were burned upon the altar: as if to show that Moses, by thus officiating for the moment under a peculiar authorization, did not become actually a priest, although he might be in some sense connected with the priestly order.
Lev 8:30. The sprinkling of Aaron and his sons and their garments once more, and now with the oil mingled with the blood of the sacrifice, completes the consecration service of this and each succeeding day. Lange: The combination of the anointing oil and the blood of the sacrifice, of the life of the Spirit and the joyfulness of death, poured out over everything that was priestly, is here the typical ground-idea. This is the only unction of the sons of Aaron that is recorded; but it seems quite enough to constitute them anointed priests.
Lev 8:31. Of the flesh of this sacrifice Aaron and his sons must eat; but no one else might share with them (Exo 29:33), not even Moses. In this it was sharply distinguished from the ordinary peace offering; and this distinction was further marked by the command that it should be eaten within the court of the tabernacle, and that only on the same day, and in its accompanying oblation there was no leavened bread. It was a priestly peace offering, and was to be eaten by Aaron and his sons as inchoate priests.
Lev 8:34. Rosenmller notes that the verb is here to be taken passively, as often and . See 1Sa 23:22; Gen 16:14.
Lev 8:32-35. Lange: Seven days they were to pass in holy seclusion in the court, seven days they were to bring the appointed sacrifices and to live on their sacrifice of consecration; what remained of it might not be devoted to common uses, but must be burned. So for seven days they were to keep holy watch, the watch of Jehovah in the court of the tabernacle, under the penalty of death. Moses makes particularly prominent the symbolic force of this divine watch; it is Jehovahs express commandment. Keil makes plain, however, that they might still go out in certain emergencies.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
I. The whole matter of atonement, both in the sacrifices and in the priesthood, depended upon the Divine appointment; neither of them had any virtue or power to do away with human sin in themselves. Hence they could have been but types (since the Divine government is ever a reality), and looked forward to a Sacrifice which should have value, and a Priest who should have power, to accomplish in reality that which is here foreshadowed, and restore man to communion with God by giving him that holiness which is an essential prerequisite, and yet which of himself he can never attain.
II. By the fact that none could be a priest except by Divine appointment was taught under the old dispensation the truth so much emphasized in the new, that salvation is wholly of Gods free grace. No sacrifice for sin could bleed, no priest could sprinkle the blood, except as God Himself allowed and commanded.
III. Moses, who was not a priest, who had never been anointed, consecrated Aaron, and by Divine command communicated to another that which he did not himself have. This illustrates the fact that God is not Himself limited by the limitations He has placed upon man. He can use for a priest one to whom the priesthood, except for this use, has not been communicated.
IV. Although God appointed, and Moses ministered, yet must all the people be summoned to witness the consecration of the priests, and by their presence give their assent. This as all other parts of the Levitical system was of the nature of a covenant. God alone could proclaim the laws; but it is of the people to promise obedience: God alone could constitute men priests; but it is for the people to accept and avail themselves of their mediation.
V. Lange on Lev 8:13 : And now first are the assistants spoken of. The whole priesthood is concentrated in the anointed priest, the head priest, the high-priest: a symbol which has been fulfilled in Christ, but not a second time in an inferior symbol.
VI. In this chapter of Leviticus and the corresponding one of Exodus the consecration of Aaron is frequently expressed in the LXX. by the verb and its derivative ; and correspondingly, with express reference to this law, the same word is applied to the consecration of Christ in Heb 2:10; Heb 7:28. He was consecrated in the sufferings of the cross, and thenceforward continues our high-priest and intercessor for evermore.
VII. The washing of Aaron and his sons, the linen drawers, and the linen tunic express as clearly and emphatically as is possible to symbolism the absolute necessity of inward purity in those who would draw near to God.
VIII. The culmination of the high-priests vestments was in the golden plate on his forehead, and on this was inscribed holiness to the Lord. This then was the culmination of the Levitical, as of every other dispensation; the one point towards which all lines of precept and of ceremony, of plain Divine command and of symbolical teaching converge is Holiness to the Lord.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
As Moses by Divine appointment was able to consecrate Aaron, so may any one, in the power of God, become to another the channel of grace which he himself may not possess; ones own deficiencies are then no sufficient bar to work for others. Moses summoned all the people: there are none without interest in the means provided for the atonement for sin. The Sept. here (Lev 8:3-4) used the word (var. lect. ), and this is the first place where that word or occurs; Cyril of Jerusalem hence notes that the Church is thus presented to us first when Aaron, the type of Christ, is invested with the high-priesthood. Aaron was first washed, then vested; Origen thereupon remarks (Hom. 6 in Lev. 2) that except the Christian be washed from his sins, he cannot put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Comp. Rev 1:5-6. So our great High Priest was publicly inaugurated in the presence of a large multitude by His baptism….. So all Christians, who are made priests to God in Christ, are initiated into their priesthood in baptism. Wordsw. With the symbolical setting apart for holy uses of the sacred vessels compare the expressions in the N. Test. chosen vessel (Act 9:15), vessels to honor and to dishonor, and vessels of wrath (Rom 9:21-23), etc. The ephod bearing the onyx stones on the shoulder straps, with the breast-plate containing the Urim and the Thummim, is symbolic of the priestly function….. The holy crown, with its legible and intelligible motto, indicates the holiness and authority which appertain to the royal Priest. And in their correlation, the stones on the shoulder especially denote the priestly, those on the breast-plate the prophetic, and the golden plate on the forehead the kingly, function of the Mediator. Murphy. As Aaron and his sons must be anointed to become priests, so, says St. John, has Christ communicated an unction to the Christian which abideth in him (1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27). The three sacrifices of the consecration, the sin, the burnt, and the peace offering, as they together represent the three-fold fulness of the one sacrifice of Christ, so do they point out the three-fold duty by which Christians may obtain the benefits of that sacrifice, and thereby become priests unto God, viz. death unto sin, fulness of obedience, and communion with God. Aaron was consecrated by these sacrifices to be a priest offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but Christ, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, hath perfected (, hath consecrated as priests) forever them that are sanctified (Heb 10:14). Wordsworth. When Moses had gathered the people, he explained to them what he was about to do (Lev 8:5), that they might be intelligent witnesses; so is the service of God ever a reasonable service. Aarons ear, hand and foot were touched with the anointing oil as well as himself sprinkled; so must each single faculty of those who have the unction from the Holy One be especially sanctified and consecrated to Gods service, as well as the whole body soul and spirit be generally devoted to Him, for the general only becomes concretely real in the particulars. In the mingling of the blood and oil (Lev 8:30) for the anointing seems to be taught that not sacrifice for sin alone suffices; but that with this must be joined the unction of the Holy Spirit. If only sin is put out without anything being taken in, the house is but swept and garnished for its old occupant. With the watch of the now partially consecrated priests seven days in the court of the tabernacle, compare the waiting of the Apostles in Jerusalem after our Lords ascension until endued at Pentecost with power from on high. And with this, too, compare the life-long watch of every Christian; he has already received an unction from on high, but waits in this earthly tabernacle until he shall be called at last to enter into the Holy of holies.
Footnotes:
[1]Lev 8:2. The Heb. has the article in all these cases, and it should be retained as referring to the commands given in Exodus 29.
[2]Lev 8:4. . The word being precisely the same as in Lev 8:3, should certainly have the same translation. The Vulg. and Syr. prefix all, as in Lev 8:3.
[3]Lev 8:6. . See Textual Note 29 on Lev 14:8.
[4]Lev 8:7. means simply girdle, and there is nothing in the Heb. answering to curious, yet as this word is used only of the girdle of the Ephod, while there are several other words for the ordinary girdle, and as the A. V. has uniformly rendered it curious girdle, it may be well to retain the adjective as the readiest way of marking in English the peculiarity of the girdle. It should, however, be in italics.
[5]Lev 8:9. The A. V. is unnecessarily complicated. For the second the Sam. reads .
[6]Lev 8:10. . See Textual Note 8on Lev 15:31.
[7]Lev 8:10. Three MSS., followed by the LXX., read it in the singular.
[8]Lev 8:12. One MS., followed by the Vulg., omits the partitive .
[9]Lev 8:13. in the sing. (The ancient versions, however, have the plural). An entirely different word from of Lev 8:7.
[10]Lev 8:14. The Heb. verb is in the sing. In the corresponding clause in Lev 8:18 it is plural, and so it is made here also by the Sam. and Syr.
[11]Lev 8:15. . It is better here, as in Lev 6:30 (23), and Lev 16:20, to retain the almost universal rendering of in the A. V. These three places are the only exceptions in Ex., Lev., or Num. The sense is clearly for it, rather than upon it, and it is so rendered in the corresponding passage. Exo 29:36, comp. 37.
[12]Lev 8:16. The missing pronoun is supplied in one MS. and the Arab.
[13]Lev 8:18. For the Sam. reads .
[14]Lev 8:21. Five MSS., the Syr. and Vulg., omit the pronoun.
[15]Lev 8:24. The LXX. says, Moses brought.
[16]Lev 8:24. The singular, which is the Heb. form, is quite as accurate and expressive.
[17]Lev 8:25. See Text. Note 7 on Lev 3:9.
[18]Lev 8:25. See Text. Note 30 on Lev 7:32.
[19]Lev 8:26. The LXX. here reads .
[20]Lev 8:28. The pronoun is supplied by one MS., the LXX., and the Syr.
[21]Lev 8:28. This pronoun is wanting in two MSS., the Vulg. and Arab.
[22]Lev 8:31. The Sam. and LXX. add .
[23]Lev 8:31. The A. V. follows the Masoretic punctuation ; but the LXX., Vulg. and Syr., that of Lev 8:35 .
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
This is an interesting chapter, in that it relates to its the solemn consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood; the congregation of Israel are present; an account of the ceremony; the washing and anointing observed upon the occasion; their sin-offering; their burnt-offerings; and a ram of consecration; the holy solemnity continues seven days.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
So very important a part of the tabernacle service, was the setting apart the priesthood, as typical of the person of the LORD JESUS, that Moses had received early directions concerning it, when in the holy mount. See Exo 28 and Exo 29 chapters throughout. Then turn to the gospel, Joh 17:19 ; Heb 5:4-5 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
IV
CONSECRATION OF AARON AND HIS SONS
Leviticus 8-10
The present chapter is on Leviticus 8-10 of the book of Leviticus. You will remember that in the latter part of the book of Exodus we have an account of the setting up of the tabernacle, its altar and much of its furniture, as the place where the sinner was to meet God. In the preceding chapters of Leviticus, that is, 1-7 inclusive, we have considered with what the sinner appears before God, that is, the offerings of the various kinds, the sacrifices. Now in Leviticus 8-9 of Leviticus we have the intermediaries, or those through whom the sinner appears before God, Aaron and his sons as priests, and these two chapters tell us about the consecration of Aaron and his two sons to this important office and all the ritual in connection with the ceremonies of the day, and Lev 10 , which is the last of the lesson, tells us about the violation of the law by two of Aaron’s sons and their consequent death by the hand of God, and thence follows a law, very important, relating to wine in connection with the priesthood. Now, I wish to call your attention to some preliminary observations.
Neither Aaron nor his sons in the priesthood, nor Moses in the leadership, nor Joshua in the captainship, nor any one of them took the honor of the position upon himself, but God appointed these men to this particular service, and they all apply to the New Testament as well as to the Old Testament. A man cannot decide for himself alone that he is to be a minister of Jesus Christ. He has to be, first, spiritually impressed that he is called to preach, but there is a judge that must pass upon that call and ordain men. Some of the saddest things in the history of religion have been the mistakes on the part of a particular people about taking the honor of the office of Christ’s ministry unto themselves. They have said, “I have been called to preach. If I preach I will baptize people,” and they go out as free lances and they bring great confusion in the camps of God.
I know one noted case where a man decided he had all the right to decide these things for himself and ignored all church authority in the matter. He is now the worst “played out” man I ever saw. Just three years ago I received an exceedingly sad letter from an old man, sixty-seven years old. He said, “In my early days I felt called of God to preach. I didn’t believe that churches or anybody else had any ‘say-so’ about it. I went out and preached and they heard me, but after awhile they became tired of me and dropped me. I am too old now to preach, but I need to be taken care of.” I wrote back to him that the plea had come too late; that we were not justified in taking care of a man now that had never before called upon the church or God’s people to help him. There was no remedy for his condition.
My next general observation is that the method of this service was also appointed of God. In chapter 10 we are to consider the awful tragedy that came upon Aaron’s two sons because they disregarded God’s law relating to the way of coming before him for the people. The next thing to determine is, what was the place of the consecration of Aaron and his sons? It was at the door of the tent of meeting. It was a very solemn occasion and a matter that did not concern Aaron and his sons alone, because they were in their offices to act as representatives, and so the entire congregation of Israel was brought together not only to witness but to participate in the setting apart of these men for their office. That was the place and the method.
Now, what was brought to be used in this consecration? There were brought the offerings, or sacrifices, that were to be employed in the consecration service, and all the holy vestments that these men were to wear as representing God.
The next question is, What were the steps or preparation in the consecration of Aaron and his sons? First, they were bathed; second, they were arrayed in the vestments which symbolized the spiritual nature of the service. They were clothed in the uniform peculiar to their work. The next step in the consecration was the anointing. I request every reader to get a copy of the first volume of my published sermons and read my sermon on “The Anointed One,” and that sermon will tell you about the anointing oil and how prepared. It was a particular recipe and there is none like it in the world, and it was a capital offense to use that holy anointing oil for anything except what God had prescribed, or to even compound it, and the purposes for which that holy anointing oil was to be used were as follows: The tabernacle itself, the altar and all its furniture were to be anointed; then the high priest was to be anointed with it; the prophet was to be anointed with it; the sacrifice and the king were to be anointed with it.
So when Jesus came to be a prophet, high priest, king, and sacrifice, he received his anointing, not in the symbolical oil but in what the symbolical oil represented, to wit, the Holy Spirit. When he was baptized, he prayed that God would qualify him for the great work into which he was about to step, and in answer to that prayer the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the gospel tells us that he was anointed in the Holy Spirit. John said: “I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending,” etc., “he baptizeth in the “Holy Spirit.” Then he says, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” And in Luk 4 we have an account in our Lord’s own words where he says that he was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Now, what were the steps? Bathed, clothed, anointed. These were the preliminaries.
Now, what follows? The sacrifices appointed for the occasion. These, a bullock as a sin offering, for Aaron’s sins must be atoned for before he can exercise his functions in the kingdom of God; and second, the ram for the burnt offering, that is, the offering to God, if God accepts it by sending down fire to burn it up; and third, another ram as a consecration offering. If Aaron says, “I want to be consecrated to the divine service,” and the Lord accepts it, then fire comes down and burns up the offering. He accepts it. Then comes the consecration offering, and the second ram. The important thing here to notice is the distinction in making these three offerings. A sin offering is to be burned outside the camp. Jesus, as the sin offering, was taken without the camp and nailed to the cross.
An offering to God, that is, the burnt offering, was placed on the brazen altar of sacrifice and the fire of God came down and burnt it up to show that God accepted it. Now, the other offering of consecration went up as a sweet savour unto God, that is, God seeing Aaron and his sons duly bathed, clothed and anointed, duly clad in the vestments of holiness, accepted by the first ram the burnt offering; now the sweet smelling savour goes up to God to indicate that the ceremony was finished, that is, the consecration part of it, the second ram. It is very important that you notice what is done with the blood of that ram. Moses took the blood of the consecration offering, put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, upon the thumb of his right hand and upon the great toe of his right foot, and he did that for the sons of Aaron. Now, what does this symbolism teach? That if I do consecrate my life to the service of God, my ear must hear for him, my hand must work for him, my foot must walk for him in his appointed way. I think you can very easily see the full force of that.
What next follows this? Aaron and his sons, having been consecrated, must pass a week in isolation. When that week is done and the eighth day comes, a formal, representative service is held, the first in the tabernacle. Now, what have you here? A place to meet God, then offerings with which to approach God and mediators through whom one may approach God. All this complete, now the services of the sanctuary are ready to be opened. So let there be a representative service held, everything being now ready. As this ninth chapter tells about the services held in that tabernacle, everything being ready for that service, I shall not go into the details.
They are easy to understand as you read them, but there is one feature of it that I want to call your attention to, viz.: When Aaron and his sons thus instructed, thus qualified, had completed the service, all the people participated in it, then Aaron came out of the tabernacle and lifted up his hands and blessed the people, pronounced the benediction. You know “benediction” means “speaking well for you.” Now, what was that benediction? You find it in the sixth chapter of the next book. (You can use that form if you want to. I have known a great many preachers who used it.) Num 6:24-27 : “Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee; Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Now, when we come to dismiss the congregation, we want to put God’s name on the congregation and we sometimes use the doxology in this form: “In the name of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” That puts the name of God on the people. “The blessings of the Father, the blessings of the Son, and the blessings of the Holy Spirit be upon you.” What is the basis of the benediction? What does it root in? Aaron could not say, “The Lord bless thee, and the Lord keep thee, and be gracious unto thee and give thee peace,” if something hadn’t preceded. What was it? The atonement that bad been made for the sins of the people. The benediction is based upon atonement, not a mere flutter of hands and “the Lord be with you, the Lord keep you, the Lord bless you, and be gracious unto you.” Remember that we can’t invoke the blessings of the Lord upon the people except in the name of Jesus Christ, who died for all men.
Lev 9 , gives an account of how God’s answer came. It came visibly; it came in a startling manner that impressed the people. God ratified the service in two particulars. The Lord had said to Moses, “If you will establish my worship just as I have prescribed, the people shall see the glory of the Lord.” So at the end of that public service they saw the visible representation of God. The cloud of fire came down and rested upon the tabernacle and all the people knew that God was approving everything that had been done, and in the second place, fire came down and burnt the offering that had been put upon the altar in the sight of the people. The sacrifice that was left upon that fire was consumed to ashes and the people felt that it was God. This house was now dedicated to God for worship. So it is when we say to the Lord, “The money which thou didst give to us we used to build this house, and we wish this building to be set apart for thy glory,” and thus invoke divine blessings upon its service.
I have only two other things to discuss in this chapter. First, Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron. God had called them to this office; they had been consecrated to this office and now they presumed on it. God says, “When you go to kindle incense which represents the prayers of the people, don’t kindle it with common fire. Take a live coal from the brazen pan that holds the fire that never goes out, the altar-fire, and you kindle the incense with that.” The thought is this, that you can’t pray if the prayer is based upon a selfish motive. The prayer amounts to nothing. “If you ask anything in my name and not disregarding my plan then I will hear you.”
Now, Nadab and Abihu thought it not at all necessary to obey God’s plan; without any regard to the pattern which is shown in the Old Testament these two men presumed, when they were appointed, to wave the incense kindled with the common fire which they picked up from the camp, and as soon as they waved it before God they were struck dead as by lightning and the fire burned them to ashes in the flames. It was an awful lesson, that we cannot change what God prescribes. We have no right to deviate to the left hand or to the right hand. But the man in the Arctic regions will say, “It is cold here; we will sprinkle a little water; we hope this baby is going to be a Christian, so we will baptize it,” utterly disregarding the Saviour of men. That lesson of Nadab and Abihu should lay upon your hearts very solemnly.
Now we come to the last thought, and this is quite important. It is the law about the officers approaching God. The law is this: “Thou shalt not take wine nor any strong drink as thou goest up to the service before God and the people.” How often a preacher is tempted; his work has been hard and his nerves are all unstrung; he wants to preach a good sermon and feels that if he had a stimulant of some kind he could preach a good sermon. He asks, “Why not take a goblet of wine or a toddy?” Woe to the preacher that ever does it I It is literally a slap in the face of God.
I never felt such horror as when I was visiting in a certain city and the pastor asked me to preach for him, and when he went to introduce me to the audience, his breath nearly knocked me down. People tell me that he never preached except he keyed up that way, and I know an evangelist who did the same thing. He, just before preaching, because of a physical breakdown, got in the habit of stimulating with opiates, and before I was a preacher there was a man in Texas, said to be the most eloquent preacher in those days of Texas, who could sway men at his will. He also got to doing that very thing.
Now I will tell you a scene as witnessed by Dr. Burleson, the man who told it to me. He says he received a message to visit a great revivalist. (Shall I call his name? Let it rest in peace.) When he got into the house, he found him a physical and mental wreck. He looked like one who had delirium tremens. He was calling out, “Lost, lost, lost!” and kicking the footboard clear off the bed, he said, “Dr. Burleson, I have ruined my life by stimulating myself just before I went to preach, and now I am a drunkard covered with shame and I loathe myself and am tempted every hour of my life to commit suicide.”
When you get further on in this law, you will find that the law says that the king and the judges shall take no strong drink lest their minds be swayed and they pervert judgment. Now, you young preachers, just remember never to commence taking stimulants, no matter how tired and “frazzled out” you are. If you have to have medicine, let the doctor prescribe for you and be treated as a sick man, but do not “be drunken with wine wherein is riot, but be intoxicated with the Holy Spirit.” There is the stimulant for you, the Spirit of God.
Now, the next chapter is on a matter of such delicacy that I shall have to trust to your reading more than to my discussion. This chapter embraces Section 4 of the outline (see Lev 18:1-30 ) and includes Leviticus 11-15, on the various clean and unclean animals. Part of it can easily be discussed, and part of it your own delicacy will tell you how to study. The unclean are the lepers and the unclean animals. Certain are clean and certain are unclean. There are unclean birds, beasts and fishes, and some creeping things which are clean. Things which may be eaten; as, certain offerings. Now, very carefully study Lev 16 . It is the heart of everything in the book, both Old Testament and New Testament. The subject is “The Day of Atonement.”
QUESTIONS
1. Of what do the first seven chapters of Leviticus treat?
2. Of what do Leviticus 8-9 treat?
3. Of what does Lev 10 treat?
4. What three general observations relative to Aaron and his sons and their office?
5. What New Testament parallels to these observations?
6. What was the place of the consecration of Aaron and his sons?
7. What was the method of this consecration?
8. What was brought to be used in this consecration service?
9. What were the preliminary steps in the consecration?
10. What were the vestments of the priests? Of the high priests?
11. Discuss fully the anointing oil and its antitype.
12. What were the sacrifices appointed for the occasion?
13. What was the signification of each?
14. What distinction in making these three offerings?
15. What was done with the blood of the ram of consecration?
16. What of the signification of this?
17. What next follows this?
18. What was then done on the eighth day?
19. Where do we find a description of it? Give it.
20. What was the closing part of this service?
21. What does the word “benediction” mean etymologically?
22. What was the form of this benediction and where do you find it?
23. What is the basis of a benediction and the New Testament application?
24. How did God’s answer come?
25. In what two ways did God ratify what was done?
26. What awful tragedy in this connection?
27. What had they done?
28. What does this incense symbolize and what is the lesson to us?
29. What law is given in this connection? Give examples.
30. What should be the preacher’s stimulant? Give Scripture.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Lev 8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Ver. 1. And the Lord spake. ] See Trapp on “ Lev 7:22 “ And for the rest of the chapter, read the notes on Exo 28:1-43 ; Exo 29:1-46 ; Exo 30:1-38 . See Trapp on “ Exo 28:1 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Leviticus Chapter 8
THE PRIESTHOOD.
CHAPTER 1.
THE PRIESTHOOD CONSECRATED .
Lev 8 .
Having had the offerings and sacrifices with their laws fully laid down in the preceding chapters, it was meet that the priesthood should be shown us and duly established. We shall see that in these shadows, as in those, the Lord Jesus was contemplated by the inspiring Spirit of God. There is divine order and nothing desultory, save in that judging according to sight, which in scripture especially is not righteous judgment. Jehovah regulates all things here also; and it is blessed for us if we learn of Him.
“1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened [bread]; 3 and gather thou all the assembly together at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4 And Moses did as Jehovah had commanded him; and the assembly was gathered at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 5 And Moses said to the assembly, This [is] the thing which Jehovah hath commanded to be done. 6 And Moses brought Aaron near, and his sons, and bathed them with water. 7 And he put on him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him, and girded him with the curiously wrought girdle of the ephod, and fastened the ephod on him. 8 And he placed the breast-plate on him; and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9 And he set the mitre on his head, and on the mitre in front did he set the golden plate, the holy diadem; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. 11 And he sprinkled thereof on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the laver and its base, to sanctify them. 12 And he poured of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him” (vers. 1-12).
The immense and personal importance of the priesthood was marked by the gathering of all Israel to witness their inauguration. For they effected the intercourse of the Israelite with Jehovah in the sanctuary, as the high priest its most solemn part in the holiest. When Moses was enjoined to take Aaron and his sons with him, the garments, the oil, the victims, and the unleavened bread, all the assembly must gather together at the entrance of the tent of meeting to behold the great sight (1-5). It concerned deeply both Jehovah and His people, every one.
The first thing done was to bathe Aaron and his sons (6). For mortal and sinful man purifying is indispensable, what the apostle calls “the washing of water by the word,” not by a rite however impressive and requisite in its place; but as the Lord said of the eleven, “Already are ye clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you.” They were begotten by the word of truth. It was the gift of life eternal; and thus no type of Aaron or any other could express the truth of Christ, Who was that life eternally. But seeing that His own receive it in receiving Him, even here we see that Aaron and his sons were alike bathed with water; Christ only is the life which we have in having Him. Hence says the Lord in Joh 13:10 , “He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet.” There is no repetition of that first and absolute cleansing of the person. If the feet get defiled in walking through a miry world, this defilement must be removed; for it hinders our communion with Him. And this He sees to, being Advocate with the Father (1Jn 2:1 ), if one sin. He is the propitiation, as He is the Righteous One. The firm foundation of God stands, and our standing abides; but He deals with us, if we defile our feet, by His word and Spirit, and thus restores the communion that had been interrupted. For if He wash me not when defiled, I have no part with Him: to this need is His advocacy applied now that He is on high.
The garments, whether coat and its girdle, or robe and ephod with its skilfully woven girdle to fasten both firmly, the breast-plate with the Urim and the Thummim, and the turban or mitre with the golden plate, were not those of the atonement-day – of linen only, but “for glory and beauty.” They express what Christ is and does for us as the great High Priest before God. Thus does He represent His own. The ephod was pre-eminently sacerdotal; and on its shoulder-pieces were the two onyx or beryl stones on which were graven the names of the children of Israel, six on each: all borne up before Jehovah for a memorial, as we are told in Exo 28 . The breast-plate of judgment was on his heart for a memorial continually, with the still more precious token of twelve stones of rare value, upon each a name of Israel’s sons; and therein Moses put the Urim and the Thummim, the lights and the perfections, for Aaron’s approach to Jehovah, that he might bear their judgment on his heart before Jehovah continually.
Very striking is the testimony to Christ in this preliminary scene in the twofold fact, that thus far we have no shedding or sprinkling of blood, as we see where the type of sinfulness comes before us in the leper’s cleansing (Lev 14 ); and in this further, that we have the anointing oil freely used in verses 10-12. When Aaron’s sons are brought near, as they are next, the Sin-offering is brought near too, and the hands of all were laid on the bullock’s head; and when slaughtered, its blood is brought into a conspicuous use. But the absence of this in the verses before us is the witness to Christ’s excellency. The tabernacle and all that was in it are anointed with the unction that bespeaks the Holy One. The altar was sprinkled seven times to anoint it and all its utensils, with the laver and its base; and, what confirms this exceptional aim, the anointing was poured on Aaron’s head. It was not the purifying action of the Holy Spirit, but His energy, in witness of Christ’s title to have and fill all with the power of God. But again this was not all. If He was the sinless One, and this could not be forgotten, He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself; and this also must be attested in its place.
It was here that we sinned; and here was sent Christ to die as propitiation for our sins; though the value of it immediately penetrated the heavens, as it was witnessed by the veil rent, the earth quaking and the graves opened. Here too was the efficacy of the sacrifice made know by those that evangelized by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven. Based on His sacrifice, which makes perfect those that are set apart to God, “the sanctified,” Christ exercises His priesthood for us on high. We are His house, partakers of a heavenly calling in contrast with Israel whose calling was earthly, who needed a carnal priesthood, and who had ordinances unable to perfect the worshipper’s conscience, with the sanctuary, a worldly one. God was hidden; and His people were excluded from His presence. It was a provisional system, imposed until a season of setting things right. Christ, coming in grace and by righteousness on His redemption, brought in eternal things; an everlasting salvation, an unchangeable priesthood, an everlasting redemption, an everlasting inheritance, an everlasting covenant; and no wonder, seeing that He who has done God’s will whereby we have been sanctified is constituted Priest according to power of indissoluble life, and the Spirit who wrought in Him and in us is eternal.
Therefore it is written, that it became Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make perfect the Leader of their salvation through sufferings. For in that Himself hath suffered, being tempted, He is able to help those that are being tempted. But this is not all. For such a High-priest became us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens, a Son perfected for ever.
Our exercise of priesthood, as Christians, consists of praises and thanksgivings, supplications, prayers, and intercessions. 1Ti 2:1 , Heb 13:15 , 1Pe 2:5-9 .
CHAPTER 2.
CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS.
Lev 8 .
We read in ver. 6 that Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. The true High Priest was the Holy One of God. The Holy thing born of the Virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit knew no sin; for in Him was none. The sinner needs to be born anew, the Saviour did not, being thus born holy as was none other. He therefore is as pure in His humanity as of course in His Deity; we require to be purified by grace. Hence to mark the result, however distinct the way of it, all were washed in the type together, He the sanctifier, and they the sanctified. But He was the life, and gave them His life to be theirs.
Now we are to see the sons of Aaron clothed as their father had been, according to Jehovah’s command. Not only was man not left in his nakedness, but grace invests, as it pleased Jehovah, for His presence in the sanctuary.
” 13 And Moses brought near Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with the coats, and girded them with the girdles, and bound the bonnets (or, high gaps) on them; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 14 And he brought near the bullock of the sin-offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bullock for the sin-offering; 15 and one slaughtered [it]; and Moses took the blood and put [it] on the horns of the altar, round about with his finger and cleansed the altar from sin, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar and sanctified it, making atonement for it. 16 And he took all the fat that was on the inwards, and the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat; and Moses burned [them] on the altar. 17 And the bullock and its skin and its flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp as Jehovah commanded Moses. 18 And he brought near the ram of the burnt-offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19 And one slaughtered [it]; and Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar round about. 20 And he cut up the ram into its pieces; and Moses burned the head, and the pieces, and the fat; 21 and the inwards and the legs he washed with water; and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar: it [was] a burnt-offering for a sweet odour, a fire-offering to Jehovah; as Jehovah commanded Moses” (vers. 13-21).
What a blessed privilege to have Christ as life and righteousness and propitiation! But God makes Him much more to us even now, as well as in the glory to come. As the night is far spent and the day is at hand, we are exhorted to cast away the works of darkness, and to put on the armour of light. But in drawing near to God, it is not armour we want, as in conflict with the enemy. Still it is Christ we have to put on; and Christ we put on, as many as were baptised to Him. What have we any more to do, if we have Him, with what we were in the flesh or in the world? Is not Christ incomparably better than all? His is the one display that we all have in Him. Here it is shown in the priests clothed according as Jehovah commanded Moses. They received their appropriate vests, and their girdles, and their sacerdotal headgear. Without doubt the greatest stress was laid on the dress of the high priest. His were holy garments, for glory and for beauty; his sons had theirs.
This accordingly is intimated here when Aaron’s sons were brought near and clothed with their priestly attire (13). Immediately follows the bullock of the Sin-offering also brought near, on which Aaron and they laid their hands (14). Christ, though He needed nothing of the sort for Himself (Heb. 6: 27), was made sin for them, and once for all. For every notion of either continuous or repeated offering Himself up is rigidly excluded by God’s word, as indeed it would disparage and annul the revealed efficacy of His death. The blood here however was put, not within the holiest (as on Atonement-day), but on the altar’s horns, and the rest poured out at its base, to sanctify that which had to do with sin and reconciliation thereby (15). But all the inward fat was burned on the altar, the unfailing and eloquent witness of the intrinsic excellence of the offering for sin, as Christ alone and fully made evident (16), For Him, Who did not even know sin, God made sin for us; and this was the more manifested here in the burning of the bullock and its skin, etc., outside the camp, as Jehovah commanded Moses (17).
But Christ secures personal acceptance with God, no less than the doing away with sin and its consequences; and so we have in ver. 18 the ram for a Burnt-offering. For in consecrating the priests no alternative was permitted as in ordinary holocausts. The ram for that or other special cases was required, as we have already remarked in its place; and so on its head also Aaron and his sons laid their hands, not for the removal of human evil but for the transfer of Christ’s sweet savour. So here the blood of the slain ram was sprinkled all about on the altar (19); and its body was cut into its pieces and burnt, fat and all, with its washed inwards; for every animal thus offered needed washing to figure His purity (20, 21).
But the priest and his sons were clothed suitably to the sanctuary by no less a command of Jehovah. Essential purity was in Christ; in us who believe all is conferred through His grace. Not only are we in Him, but He was made to us from God all that we want for His holy presence. Of His fulness we all received, and grace for grace.
Yet type as he was, Aaron needed offering for sin and sacrifice no less than his sons: no sinful man could stand on other ground before Jehovah. So in ver. 14 we have Aaron and his sons laying their hands on the head of the bullock for the Sin-offering, which was slaughtered and its blood applied by Moses, who here represents Christ. The priests indeed more than any ordinary Israelite must be atoned for: how else could they approach Jehovah without defiling His sanctuary?
But this righteous necessity only the more brings into relief the anointing disclosed in ver. 12. Not only was the anointing oil applied to the tabernacle and all that was in it, and the altar sprinkled with it seven times, the altar with all its utensils anointed, and the laver and its base, to hallow them, but Moses poured of it on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to hallow him. Thus Christ is here unmistakably before us, as far as a type could intimate, in the anointing of Aaron alone, apart from his sons, but with the tabernacle, altar, and laver. Jehovah could not, we may say with reverence, withhold this the highest witness of His satisfaction and delight; for is it not in the energy of the Holy Ghost thus given? It was accomplished literally in our Lord without His blood-shedding, indispensable for every other. For on Him did the Holy Spirit descend in a bodily form as a dove, while the Father’s voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son: in Thee I found my delight. This was at the precise moment of His life here below, when men might have been tempted to conceive unhallowed thoughts. For it was when He was baptised as others were, and was praying. It expressed really perfect moral beauty.
As the tabernacle, altar, and laver too typified offices that He fills as to creation, and had nothing in themselves of moral evil like Israel or mankind, we see that they were in the type associated with Him in the power of the Holy Ghost. All belonged to Him on every ground; and He was personally entitled to fill all with the power of divine blessing. When the priests are in question, blood must be shed, as they were sinful men like others. Indeed the Epistle to the Hebrews is careful to impress on the reader that so was Aaron in fact, as we are told in Heb 5:1-3 and Heb 7:27 , Heb 7:28 . But typically of Christ there was no less care in Exo 29 and Lev 8 to represent the high priest as alone anointed with the holy oil before the Sin-offering and the other sacrifices which followed. As to this wondrously unique fact it is of the deepest moment, both for His personal glory and immaculate excellence as well as for our faith and the honour and reverence due to the Son, that we take diligent and constant heed. It is the confession of His true Deity and His holy humanity in one Person, the rock on which He was to build His church, and the greatest of safeguards against the deadly enmity of Satan, ever working on the unbelief of fallen man.
CHAPTER 3.
THE PRIESTS CONSECRATED.
Lev 8
The Saviour then is of such positive and overflowing excellence in His person and ways that He is entitled to fill creation with the power of the Spirit, as well as to enjoy its fulness Himself. And to this we have seen a striking testimony even in the type, as there was in fact when He walked here below in the days of His flesh.
Yet was it too true that man, its head, was utterly fallen, and that Israel, priesthood and all, were no exception. And this is clearly intimated when the priestly family were distinctly treated, as seen in vers. 13-21. But there is more to follow.
” 22 And he presented the other ram, the ram of consecration; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram; and one slaughtered [it]: 23 And Moses took of its blood, and put [it] on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot. 24 And he brought near Aaron’s sons, and he put of the blood on the tip of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar round about. 25 And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that [was] on the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right shoulder (or, thigh). 26 And out of the basket of unleavened bread that [was] before Jehovah he took one unleavened cake and one cake of oiled bread and one wafer, and put them on the fat and upon the right shoulder; 27 and he gave them all into Aaron’s hands and into his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave-offering before Jehovah. 28 And Moses took them from off their hands, and burned [them] on the altar over the burnt-offering: they [were] a consecration (or, filling of hand) of sweet odour; it [is] a fire-offering to Jehovah. 29 And Moses took the breast, and waved it as a wave-offering before Jehovah: of the ram of consecration it was Moses’ part, as Jehovah commanded Moses. 30 And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood that [was] upon the altar and sprinkled [it] on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him” (vers. 22-30).
We have had Aaron alone anointed with oil in witness of Christ the true Priest and of His personal perfection; now we see the blood of the ram of consecration, on the head of which Aaron and his sons laid their hands, applied first to Aaron’s right ear, right thumb, and right great toe, then to the same parts of his sons, as well as sprinkled upon the altar round about. For indeed Christ by His own blood entered once for all into the holies, having found an eternal redemption. Otherwise He had abode alone; now the grain that died bears much fruit, Christ as Son over His own house, Whose house are we, if we hold fast the boldness and the boast of hope firm unto the end. It is not only that He loves us and washed us from our sins in His blood, but He made us kings and priests to His God and Father: to Him the glory and the might unto the ages of ages. Amen. So in this type Aaron’s sons were consecrated by the ram’s blood which undoubtedly took account of their sins, but went much farther, even to the glorifying God in His own nature, as Joh 13:31 tells us. So glorified was He in the Son of man’s death for sin, that it became righteous for Him to set Christ at His own right hand in heavenly glory, and to associate us who believe in the same blessedness and eventually in the same glory. “As He is, so are we in this world;” and soon will He come to fetch us that, where He is, there we may be also (Joh 14:2 , Joh 14:3 ).
The blood put upon the priestly company means the virtue of Christ’s sacrifice consecrating them for all they heard, for all they did, and for all their walk. The whole of their practical being was thenceforth to be in the virtue of His death to God It is not that Christ needed aught for Himself, or had the least flaw to purge; but all turned for us in His obeying unto death, yea, death of the cross, for God’s glory. His obedience was unreserved and at all cost from first to last. The preparation of the body for Him, as the Sept. puts it and so quoted in Heb 10:5 , is in the Hebrew of Psa 40 “Mine ears didst thou dig.” In every other they were heavy and closed through sin. The words too which the Father gave Him He has given to us, that our service and walk should be formed by divine communications, and these of the highest intimacy (Joh 17:8 ).
Next came the Wave-offering of all the ram’s fat, and one unleavened cake and one cake of oiled bread and one wafer, representing the internal energy of Christ’s sacrifice, and His unblemished living excellence in the Spirit’s power, which had been put upon the hands of all and waved before Jehovah; then taken off their hands which they “filled” as the essential idea of consecration, they were burnt upon the altar over the Burnt-offering. How blessed the qualification for drawing near to God, and offering the praise sacrifice continually to God, that is, fruit of lips confessing His name!
For as they had not only the Sin-offering in its largest form but also the Burnt-offering too in the special way of a ram, so that of consecration gave fulness and precision, as was due to the priestly office and so graciously directed by Jehovah, with its accompanying Meal-offering, that the completeness of Christ’s offering and sacrifice might be their inauguration. And all this and more form the Christians’ portion, even now a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, which are certainly not less but more acceptable to God through Jesus Christ than any material ones ever were in the past. Nay, answering to Rev 1:5 , we are a royal priesthood … that we may show forth the excellencies of Him that called us out of darkness into His marvellous light, as we read in 1Pe 2:9 .
The breast too as Moses’ part (ver. 29) of the consecration ram was no unmeaning sign, as representing Christ’s deep interest and satisfaction in their consecration, as well as His own.
No doubt it is a position of the utmost nearness to God by faith, not by appearance like the typical priesthood. But that only enhances the blessing in God’s eyes, and to our hearts if we have communion with Him. Anything of a visible nature attaching to a Christian is the least precious of his possessions. Every spiritual blessing with which we are blessed in heavenly places in Christ rises far above what man can see or estimate.
But we must not overlook the remarkable action of the mediator that follows in ver. 30. “Moses took of the anointing oil and of the blood which was upon the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.” It is the unction of the Spirit, as well as the death of Christ in power. And what a striking answer to it is Rom 8:2-4 ! “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and [as offering] for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.” Thus as the life of the Spirit is one of deliverance, so is Christ made sin our release from all its evil; and this to the display of the Spirit’s power in our ways, which would seem to be portrayed in the garments.
There is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. The first reason alleged is that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus set us free from the law of sin and of death. God therefore will not condemn us who are animated by that life which is most acceptable in His eyes, a life which the Christian has in the power of resurrection and of the Spirit. But there is another and no less cogent reason why condemnation is not for us: if we have an old nature far different from Christ our life, God, having sent His Son in likeness of flesh of sin and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (that is, on the cross of Christ); in order that what law righteously required should be fulfilled in us who walk not according to flesh but according to Spirit. How this corresponds with Moses taking of the oil and of the blood, to sprinkle on Aaron and his sons, as well as on their garments “
CHAPTER 4.
THE HOLY ATTIRE.
Lev 8 .
It may be well here to say a little on the dress of the priests, especially of the high priest, even beyond the general terms of our chapter.
The ephod was the garment properly sacerdotal but merely of linen for a priest. For Aaron it was made of gold, of blue, and purple, scarlet, and twisted byss, as we are told in Exo 28 ; and its girdle, or woven band was of the same. To the ephod was attached the breastplate of judgment, into which were put the Urim and the Thummim (or, Lights and Perfections). It had also two shoulder-pieces joined to the two ends of the ephod; two onyx stones being the clasp, graven each with six names of the children of Israel, and set in enclosures of gold. The breastplate was made like the ephod, but square and doubled, with four rows of precious stones set in it and enclosed in gold, each stone of the twelve having one name of Israel’s tribes so that all were engraved on it distinctively. Besides two rings and two wreathen chains of gold which connected all, there was a lace of blue which bound the rings of the ephod on the band or girdle, so that the breastplate should not be loosed from the ephod. Then the robe or cloak, as distinct from the inner vest or shirt of chequered work, was blue and on its skirts pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and bells of gold between each pomegranate, round about. On a plate of gold was graven HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH, and put on a lace of blue on the mitre or turban, upon Aaron’s forehead bearing the iniquity of Israel’s holy things, the turban like the vest being of byss.*
*This was fine cotton, as in Rev 19:8 and 14, not really “linen” (as for the vial-angels in Rev 15:6 ).
Observe that the ephod consisted of the same materials as the veil (Exo 25:31 ). There is however a notable difference on either side: the ephod had no cherubim made on it; the veil had no gold, which has the first place in the ephod. As gold represents divine righteousness, so does the veil (as we are authoritatively told) the flesh of Christ. The cherubim symbolised God’s judicial authority which was given to Him, because He is the Son of Man. If the veil indicated Him as the executor of judgment, the ephod marked the absence of this as unsuited to His priestly character while He sits on the Father’s throne. Here divine righteousness in grace is predominant, yet in man, and with the blue which is heavenly. There were also the kingly and imperial glories and titles, with every form of practical righteousness. He was born “king”; and the still larger authority was the answer to His sufferings, though He did not nor will exercise these powers, till He shall sit on His own throne. Compare Psa 110 .
The people of God were represented by the high priest, not only in general, but expressly and in a minute and striking way. For the clasp of the ephod had six names of Israel’s sons graven on each onyx for each shoulder. Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders, bearing them up before Jehovah. Yet more impressively the breastplate presented them. For there they all twelve shone, each with a distinctive splendour. “And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he goeth in unto the holy place for a memorial before Jehovah continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart when he goeth in before Jehovah; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually.” If it be granted that all for Israel failed through sin (in priests as well as people), what blessedness is typified for us who believe on Him to Whom all pointed unfailingly! How immense the favour that as He died in expiation of our guilt, He lives for us before God on high, bearing our judgment on His heart, not as if ashamed of us, but gloriously and continually!
Under it was the long robe of the ephod, “all of blue.” It was the colour here most characteristic of Christ. If faith could say of Him even here, “the Son of man which is in heaven” (Joh 3:13 ), how incontestably so now that He has passed through the heavens, and entered in once for all into the holies, having found an eternal redemption! Hence the prevalence of “blue” throughout those types, if other glories appear. But the purple and the scarlet did not fade, because the blue prevailed. He is the fling and King of kings, though acting in other relationships as yet.
By the way, it is not perhaps wonderful that Josephus could not conceive other interpretation for the bells and pomegranates on the skirts than “thunder and lightning”! He was ignorant of the True Light Who makes it plain that the testimony and the fruit of the Spirit are in the train of His priestly grace. For it is to be observed that the bells gave their sound when He went into the sanctuary, as they will when He comes out; so the Holy Spirit was poured out, and will yet be when He comes again. And abundant was, is, and will be the acceptable fruit by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God.
But if these significant tokens followed duly as it were in the hem of His garment for those that were His, how precious the pledge in the innermost vest that He is Jesus Christ the Righteous, the Advocate that we have, as unchanging as His propitiation! and that on His head, typically, is the golden plate graven Holiness to Jehovah, with its lace of blue, bearing the iniquity of our holy things! Truly Christ is all for us evermore when saints and priests, as once for all for us when lost sinners. Yet we must not forget that all types are but shadows, and fail to convey the fulness of grace as of glory in Him. The Second man is of heaven in contrast with the first of dust. Thence He came, though truly on earth woman-born; thither when risen is He gone, and exercises His priestly office for us in heaven, minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man.
It may be noticed that in the garments of the high priest linen drawers are not included. Being expressly to cover “the flesh of nakedness,” we can appreciate the omission by Him Who had Christ in view. Still, as Aaron was a sinful man no less than his sons, we can equally understand that, when the garments for Aaron’s sons are afterwards described, these necessary coverings are carefully prescribed. There and then it is added, that “they shall be upon Aaron and his sons when they enter into the tent of meeting, or when they come near to the altar to serve in the sanctuary; that they may not bear iniquity and die: an everlasting statute for him and his seed after him” (Exo 28 ).
The general truth that the Christian has even now clothing given of God and suited to his new relationship is clearly stated in scripture. Thus the prodigal (when he turns to God and finds in Him the Father and in a truer and fuller way than before he turned aside) is clothed for the first time with “the best robe,” yea adorned throughout with honour. We are exhorted in practice, not only to cast off the works of darkness but to put on the armour of light, and, yet more generally, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 13:12 , Rom 13:14 ); as in principle all the baptised are said (in Gal 3:27 ) to have put on Christ. So in Eph 4 we are viewed as having put off the old man, and put on the new man; while Col 3 exhorts us to put off the vile ways of both violence and corruption, as we have put off the old man and put on the new. The N.T. truth no doubt goes more deeply into our need and our blessing. Still the O.T. figure of attire is kept up.
So it is for the day of glory. We shall put on our house which is from heaven (2Co 5 ), and shall not be found naked then, or yet later when all that have not Christ must be to everlasting shame. Mortality shall be swallowed up of life. Individually we shall walk with Christ in white; and as the Bride we shall be clothed with bright pure byss; for this byss is the righteousnesses of saints (Rev 19:8 ).
CHAPTER 5.
THE CONSECRATION.
Lev 8 .
The close of this chapter has its importance like every other part. We have seen the washing of all and the robing of Aaron, and the anointing of the tabernacle and all therein, of the altar and all its vessels, and especially of the high priest’s head before the sons had their official clothing (1-13). We had next the bullock for the Sin-offering on which Aaron and his sons laid their hands before it was slain; then the ram for the Burnt-offering; then the other ram of consecration, blood of which was put on the right ear, right thumb, and right toe; the right shoulder, and its accompaniments, with the breast, Moses’ part, being waved before Jehovah (14-30). But there remains the eating of the flesh as an essential observance.
” 31 And Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh [at] the entrance of the tent of meeting; and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of the consecration-offering, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. 32 And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. 33 And ye shall not go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting seven days, until the day when the days of your consecration are at an end: for seven days shall ye be consecrated. 34 As he hath done this day, Jehovah hath commanded to do, to make atonement for you. 35 And ye shall abide at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night seven days, end keep the charge of Jehovah, that ye die not; for so I am commanded. 36 And Aaron and his sons did all things that Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses” (31-36).
Communion with Christ Who gave Himself for us is the precious privilege set forth by eating the flesh. It was boiled at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and it was eaten with the bread in the basket of the Consecration-offering. All was to be separate from the common nourishment of man. Yet was the bread of the offering made by fire to Jehovah no less really for the priests to share, as well as the flesh. It was the expression of fellowship, remote from all the associations of nature, but peaceful and intimate as well as holy. It is appropriately the last thing presented before the eighth day. How foreign to the divine mind to have begun with such a feast!
Jehovah had expressed His sovereign will in separating one family to draw near to Him. They were washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God; for so we may rightly interpret and apply the typical form of the chapter. A new and holy nature is the prime necessity. Christ had this in His person, displayed it perfectly in a world of evil, and gave it to all that believe. But they needed His death also in all its atoning efficacy, and this not only to blot out their sins but to invest with His positive acceptance. This is marked with fulness and precision in the chapter. The Sin-offering and Burnt-offering were duly slain and burnt. God was thus glorified in every way as to sin; beautiful shadows of what was found perfectly and only in the death of the Son of man, God’s Son.
But the second ram of consecration distinctly severed to God by its blood the entire priestly family: as has been shown already, their service in the inner and the outer man was henceforward to be according to Christ’s blood. No less a standard could God allow in those that enjoy access to Him in the sanctuary. Consecration means the hands filled. It is not man’s desire, purpose, or effort, but that which the inward energy of Christ in His offering up to Jehovah, and of His active life in the power of the Spirit, put on the hands of Aaron and his sons (Christ and His own house), and waved before Him.
The flesh of the ram (besides what had been excepted) was also to be eaten where it was boiled, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and along with the bread of consecration also. It is Christ in death as in life, not as our deliverance from judgment, or as the means and measure of our acceptance, but as the object for our souls to enjoy and feed on together. It is Christ and His own sharing this joy in common, as indeed God does. For our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And His will is not withheld or dubious. These things He has had written in the inspired word, that our joy might be fulfilled.
Further, the priestly family were not to go out during the seven days of their consecration. It is the circle of man’s walk here below; and it applies no less to the priests. Night and day they were to abide at the entrance, and keep the charge of Jehovah that they die not; “for so I am commanded,” as Moses adds, lest any should impute a charge so solemn, all-engrossing, and peremptory to himself. And so was it done.
To appropriate the priestly place to ministers in the word, denying this nearness to the church as a whole or to every Christian, is an error that makes the gospel void. It is the ruin in particular of those who set up a claim so baseless, arrogant, and anti-scriptural. Ministry is the exercise of a divine gift, in some, for the good of all; priesthood is of all saints to draw near into the holies. There is no other priesthood, save of Christ alone the Great Priest for all His house. Here the Puritan Matthew Henry confounds things that differ essentially, only a little less grossly than the Puseyites, as any one may find in his Commentary on this passage. Still more daring are the modern Ritualists, who are guilty of the gainsaying of Korah. The truth is that all the faithful even now are both a holy and a royal priesthood (1Pe 2:5 , 1Pe 2:9 ).
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
spake. Indicating a new subject. See note on Lev 5:14. The ritual is prescribed in Exo 28:1-43 and Lev 29:1-37. Now the appointment to the priestly office resumes the instructions broken off in Exodus.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 8
We get into chapter eight and now that God has laid out for them the various offerings and the ordinances regarding these offerings. How they were to be offered, who was to offer them, what part the people were able to eat, what part was to be burnt, where it was to be burnt, what part was the priests and all. God has laid out the whole thing for them in these offerings.
And now the Lord said unto Moses, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for a sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; And gather all the congregation together at the doors of the tabernacle of the congregation. And so Moses did as the Lord commanded; and gathered all the people there together at the door of the tabernacle. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done. And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water ( Lev 8:1-6 ).
This great big brass laver, a bath that was there in front of the tabernacle and Moses washed Aaron and his sons. And he put on them the coat, and all of the garments of the high priest and put upon the sons of Aaron the garments of the priest. And so here is Aaron now for the first time being decked out in this magnificent robe of the high priest; the breastplate, the Urim and the Thummim, the whole thing; the mitre on his head with the little plate, the gold plate that said “holiness to the Lord”. And Aaron is being dressed for the first time in the garments of the high priest.
And then Moses took the anointing oil, and he anointed the tabernacle that was therein, and sanctified them ( Lev 8:10 ).
The tabernacle is now set up. Now is the time to dedicate the thing, more or less, and to sanctify it unto God. The word “sanctify” means to set apart for exclusive use. This was to be a single-use building. It was there only for the purpose of man having a place to come and meet God. And it wasn’t to be used for den mothers’ meetings or anything like that. It was just strictly a place where people met the Lord.
And so he sprinkled the altar seven times, he anointed the altar and all the vessels, and the laver, to sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him to sanctify him ( Lev 8:11-12 ).
So they took this anointing oil, went by, and anointed all of the things within the tabernacle, anointed the tabernacle. Everything was anointed. It was set apart and this is for God. It is to be used only for God and all. And then Aaron, who was actually also to be used only for God. He was to be God’s instrument; thus, Aaron was anointed with the oil.
And Moses brought in Aaron’s sons, and put the priests’ coats upon them, and the priests’ girdles, and he put on the bonnets as the Lord had commanded. And he brought the bullock for the sin offering ( Lev 8:13-14 ):
Now that these guys are being set up as priests the first thing that was necessary was that the sin offering be offered for them. They were sinners just like everybody else. And so before they could really serve the Lord and act as God’s representatives to the people, there had to first of all be a sin offering offered for them. And this, of course, yearly when the high priest would on Yom Kippur go into the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the whole congregation. The first sacrifice that he would make on Yom Kippur was his own sin offering. He had to take care of himself first, and his own sin offering would be first. He would have to offer for himself before he could ever offer for the people. And so the first offering in this whole tabernacle, new tabernacle set up, was the sin offering for Aaron and his sons that they might then be sanctified for the ministry unto the Lord.
And having offered the sin offering,
then he brought a ram for a burnt offering ( Lev 8:18 ),
Verse eighteen, because now that the sin is taken care of, now I can consecrate my life completely to God. And so the idea was first the atoning of the sins for the priests and then the consecration of their lives, a total consecration of themselves to God.
And so they brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head. And they slew it; and Moses took the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot ( Lev 8:22-23 ),
Symbolic actually, of consecration. “May your ears be consecrated that they might hear the voice of God. May your hands be consecrated that they might do only the work of God. May your feet be consecrated that they will walk only in the path of God.” So it was the idea of the consecration of a man’s ears, of his hands, and of his feet. A complete kind of a consecration of himself unto the Lord.
Then there was the anointing oil in verse thirty,
Moses took the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled upon Aaron, upon his garments, upon his sons, upon the sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him ( Lev 8:30 );
Imagine taking all these beautiful new clothes and sprinkling oil on them and blood on them. But it was the idea of the consecration of these men and of their lives to God.
And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and eat it [before the congregation.] ( Lev 8:31 ).
And so the priests were then to be separated before God.
Verse thirty-three,
And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation for seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you ( Lev 8:33 ).
So they were to go through this period of consecration. Seven days they weren’t to leave that holy place there in the presence of the Lord, there in the tabernacle.
Ye shall abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night for seven days, and keep charge of the Lord, that ye die not: for so I am commanded. And Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord commanded Moses ( Lev 8:35-36 ). “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
At this point the second section of the book commences dealing with the laws of mediation. It opens with a brief historical account of the actual ceremony of the consecration of the priests and Tabernacle and the commencement of worship.
In the sacred rites of consecration it is noticeable that Moses acted. It is an arresting thing to see him thus exercising all the functions of the priestly office, although he was not permanently appointed thereto. The explanation is that he was acting as in the very place of God. God, through His servant, anointed Tabernacle and priests. Thus at the initiation of the order the intermediary between God and the people was a man who, sharing no priestly appointment, was in direct communication with God. The final movements in the sacred rite of the consecration of the priests describes the offering to God, their acceptance through fire, and a fresh anointing of those called to the office of mediation and intercession.
In the fullness of time, the one great Priest did not approach on the basis of sacrifice for Himself, but He did appear as Mediator through sacrifice for the people in the fullness of spiritual power.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Aaron and His Sons Consecrated
Lev 8:1-17
Here we have our Lords eternal Priesthood presented in miniature. The whole congregation had to be present, because each had a claim on Aarons services, as each believer has a claim on Christs. Each portion of Aarons dress told of some trait or feature in Jesus fitness to stand for us-the girdle of His zeal; the robe and ephod of His beauty and glory; the breastplate that our names are written on His heart; the Urim and Thummim of His wisdom to direct; the miter of His holiness.
The garments of the priests, the sons of Aaron, remind us of the spotless dress in which we should be habited, ever remembering that in the lowliest act we may minister to God. We, too, must be anointed, as Jesus was, with the fresh oil of Pentecost. The identification of our Lord with His people is typically set forth in the joint laying of hands on the victims. Jesus had no sins of His own, but He bore our sins, and stood with us in the sinners place that He might raise us to His throne.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Lev 8:1-2
I. The priesthood of the sons of Aaron belongs only to the past. In its place there is the one great High-priest of mankind, pleading for all and sacrificing for all, Himself the Sacrifice, holy, undefiled, and separate from sinners, entering within the veil, ever living to make intercession for us. In its place also there is the universal priesthood. What Israel refused to be, what kings and prophets desired to see and saw not, has been fulfilled in the Church of Christ. We are a kingdom of priests. Each of us may offer the living sacrifice of body, soul, and spirit, and the incense of prayer and adoration.
II. Yet not the less does that first ordination in the Church of the wilderness remain the type and pattern of all subsequent ordinations. Ordination is nothing less than the solemn dedication of men to be servants of the Most High, ministers of the Church of Christ, stewards of the mysteries of God, not priests themselves, as the sons of Aaron were priests, with the old functions and the old prerogatives, but appointed witnesses of the priesthood of Christ, appointed witnesses also of the universal priesthood, called to be living representatives of all that belongs to the essence of the priestly character.
E. H. Plumptre, Theology and Life, p. 19.
References: 8:33-9:8.-Parker, vol. iii., p. 81. Lev 8-10.-J. Monro Gibson, The Mosaic Era, p. 179. Lev 9:22.-J. Irons, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. viii., p. 179. 9:22-10:7.-Parker, vol. iii., p. 89. Lev 9:23, Lev 9:24.-G. Matheson, Moments on the Mount, p. 37. Lev 10:1-20.-W. M. Taylor, Moses the Lawgiver, p. 274. Lev 10:3.-J. Van Oosterzee, The Year of Salvation, vol. ii., p. 397. Lev 10:12-20.-Parker, vol. iii., p. 97. Lev 10.-Expositor, 1st series, vol. viii., p. 346. Lev 11:2, Lev 11:3.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ix., No. 499. Lev 11.-H. Macmillan, Sunday Magazine, 1872, p. 187; Parker, vol. iii., p. 104. Lev 11-15.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. v., p. 23. Lev 11-22.-J. Monro Gibson, The Mosaic Era, p. 201. Lev 13:12, Lev 13:13.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii., No. 353. Lev 13:13.-Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 273; Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 57. Lev 13:44.-Parker, vol. iii., p. 131. Lev 13:47-59 and Lev 14:33-57.-H. Macmillan, Sunday Magazine, 1867, p. 674. Lev 13-14.-Parker, vol. iii., p. 111. Lev 14:4-7.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 547. Lev 14:7.-J. Fleming, The Gospel in Leviticus, p. 37. Lev 14:11.-J. Irons, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 37. Lev 14:30.-Parker, vol. iii., p. 131. Lev 14:34.-Parker, vol. iii., p. 132. Lev 14:35.-G. Martin, Penny Pulpit, Nos. 277, 278; J. Reid Howatt, The Churchette, p. 200. Lev 14:53.-J. Vaughan, Sermons to Children, 4th series, p. 305. Lev 16:10.-Parker, vol. iii., p. 133.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
II. THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE RESULTS OF HOLINESS
1. Aaron and His Sons and Their Consecration
CHAPTER 8
1. Aaron (Lev 8:1-12)
2. Aaron and his sons (Lev 8:13-21)
3. The consecration (Lev 8:22-30)
4. The sacrificial feast (Lev 8:31-36)
The second part of Leviticus is historical and gives the account of how Aaron and his sons were consecrated as priests and how they exercised their priesthood. The judgment, which fell upon the two sons of Aaron ends this interesting section.
The voice of Jehovah spoke again, commanding that Aaron and his sons should now be taken and be consecrated. The ceremony took place at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. The entire congregation of Israel was gathered together to witness the event. This statement has been severely attacked by the critics, who reject this report as untrustworthy inasmuch as a congregation of several millions could hardly have gathered at the door of the tabernacle. For this reason the critics have branded the account as legendary. But, surely, if the words are to be taken in the ultra-literal sense required in order to make out this difficulty, the impossibility must have been equally evident to the supposed fabricator of the fiction; and it is yet more absurd to suppose that he should ever have intended his words to be pressed to such a rigid literality (S.H. Kellogg, Leviticus). But the words do not necessarily mean that every individual was present at the door of the tabernacle and all remained there for the entire seven days of ceremonial observance. Perhaps only the representatives of the tribes were called to witness all that was done; these appointed leaders represented the whole assembly of Israel. All was carried out according to the divine command. Not less than twelve times is reference made to this fact in the eighth chapter. It was all according to divine appointment. Aaron was called of God to this office, and in this he was a type of Christ in His office-work as priest. And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest, but He that said unto Him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee (Heb 5:4-5). As Aaron and his work was appointed by God, so the work of our Lord in connection with sin. Aaron did all the things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, and Christ completely did the will of Him that sent Him. That blessed will is foreshadowed in the priestly office and the priestly work.
Without following the historical account in every detail we point out some of the leading types in this great chapter. The principal actors are Aaron and his sons. Aaron occupies the leading and prominent place; his sons are associated with him. He is, as stated above, a type of Christ. His sons typify those who are called into the priesthood in their Christian profession. The priesthood of the sons of Aaron depended upon their relationship to him. Without Aaron they could not be priests at all. Our relationship to Christ constitutes us priests. The Priesthood of Christ rests upon His Sonship, and believing on Him we become children of God and also priests with Him. The sons of Aaron typify the Christian profession; two of his sons were taken in a judgment. They foreshadow the true and the false in Christendom. But there is still another application. Israels national priesthood is also foreshadowed. Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests (Exo 19:6) is Gods calling for the nation. They will yet possess that priesthood. But ye shall be named the priests of the LORD, men shall call you the ministers of our God (Isa 61:6). This will be accomplished with the second coming of Christ. A part of the nation will then be swept away in judgment, while the believing remnant will exercise the functions of the priesthood in the kingdom. These two classes are typified by the sons of Aaron.
The first thing mentioned is the washing with water. This washing of water is the type of the new birth. This is beautifully illustrated by the symbolical action of our Lord in the washing of the disciples feet (Joh 13:2-12). The feet washing corresponds to the washing the priests had to do when they went into the tabernacle, and typifies the daily cleansing by the Word the believer needs to continue in fellowship with God. When Peter demanded to have his hands and head washed the Lord told him He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit; and ye are clean, but not all. By these words the Lord told Peter that inasmuch as they all had believed on Him, with the exception of Judas Iscariot, they were washed and clean every whit. And in other Scriptures the same symbol is used: Born of the water and the Spirit (Joh 3:5); the washing of regeneration (Tit 3:5); our bodies washed with pure water (Heb 10:22). But this could never apply to the Lord Jesus Christ. He needed no washing, no regeneration, for He is holy and undefiled.
Aaron was then clothed with the holy garments, invested with his official robes. These are described in detail in Exodus 28. (The annotations on Exodus give the typical meaning of the garments. This description of the official dress and what is typified by it should be carefully studied.) The investiture of the sons of Aaron took place after the anointing of the tabernacle and Aaron as high priest. Christ and His work is put into the foreground. He is anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows (Psa 45:7; Heb 1:9). But linked with Him are His fellows, His seed, the many sons He brings to glory. Their garments, including the breeches (Exo 28:42) (not mentioned here), were of pure white linen, the type of the holiness and righteousness into which the grace of God has brought us in Christ. We are a holy priesthood. See also Rev 4:4. And round about the throne were four and twenty thrones, and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints (Rev 19:8).
The tabernacle, the altar, the laver and finally Aaron were anointed with the holy oil. The oil was sprinkled upon the altar seven times. No blood was shed for atonement. All this has its blessed significance. While by this ceremony the tabernacle with all that was in it was sanctified and consecrated, it also typifies the consecration of all through Christ. The anointing of Aaron is the type of the anointing of our Lord. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power (Act 10:38).
After the investiture of the sons of Aaron came the sacrifice of the bullock for a sin offering. This was followed by the ram of the burnt offering. Then the sacrifice of a second ram, the ram of consecration. Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock and also upon the heads of the rams before they were killed. The sin offering had to come first for Aarons sin and those of his sons. Aaron was a sinful man, Christ was not. But His gracious identification with us is here foreshadowed. The burnt offering, speaking of the perfection of Christ, was alone a sweet savour unto the Lord. For Aaron and his sons it had the meaning of their full consecration to the service of God. The second ram was for consecration; the literal rendering from the Hebrew is the ram of fillings, because of verse 27, where we read that their hands were filled to wave it all as a wave offering before the Lord. The blood of this second ram was put upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, upon the thumb of the right hand and upon the great toe of his right foot. The same was done to Aarons sons. Their whole bodies were thus set apart for the service of God in virtue of the blood which had been shed. It is the most blessed type of sanctification by that better blood, the blood of Christ. The ear is for hearing; we are set apart to hear the Word of God and yield obedience to it. The hand is set apart to serve and to do His will, and the feet to walk in His ways. No such sanctification was possible till the blood had been shed. All this foreshadows our sanctification by blood, and the results of this sanctification. The anointing oil was also sprinkled with the blood (of the peace offering) upon Aaron and his sons and their garments. The sacrificial feast, which followed is interesting and full of meaning. They fed upon the ram and the unleavened bread.
This sacrificial feast most fitly marked the conclusion of the rites of consecration. Hereby it was signified, first, that by this solemn service they were now brought into a relation of peculiarly intimate fellowship with Jehovah, as the ministers of His house, to offer His offerings, and to be fed at His table. It was further signified, that strength for the duties of this office should be supplied to them by Him whom they were to serve, in that they were to be fed of His altar. And, finally, in that the ritual took the specific form of a thank offering, was thereby expressed, as was fitting, their gratitude to God for the grace which had chosen them and set them apart to so holy and exalted service.
These consecration services were to be repeated for seven consecutive days, during which time they were not to leave the tent of meeting; obviously, that by no chance they might contract any ceremonial defilement, so jealously must the sanctity of everything pertaining to the service be guarded (S.H. Kellogg).
How necessary for us who are constituted a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices to feed thus on Himself, who is ever before us in these ceremonies. It is at the Lords table, when we eat and drink in remembrance of Him, we feed on Him and then exercise our holy priesthood of praise and worship. The seven days mean typically our life down here during which our consecration continues. The seven days stand for this age when a heavenly priesthood is feasting (the Church), and when the seven days end something new begins. The eighth day which follows marks this new beginning.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Reciprocal: Exo 28:41 – and consecrate them Exo 39:32 – all the Exo 40:12 – General Num 3:3 – whom he consecrated 1Ch 6:49 – Aaron
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Subdivision 1. (Lev 8:1-36; Lev 9:1-24; Lev 10:1-20.)
Positional association.
1. In the first subdivision there are also two sections, the first of which gives us the setting up of the priesthood; the second, a breach once more through sin, but which (God’s forbearance having been proclaimed) does not again break up what has been established under the second covenant.
In the first section we have on the other hand a septenary series which naturally points to the fullness and perpetuity of what is contained in it, seven steps by which we rise into full blessedness. The type here manifestly has to do with those who are now God’s “holy priesthood” (1Pe 2:5), and in following it out there should be a most lively interest on our part. We find in it the application of the sacrifice of Christ to the bringing us into settled relation with God, a place eternal, heavenly, and of communion in the fullest sense, for all this is implied in priesthood as here detailed to us.
(1) Priesthood was what God proposed to Israel as what was in His mind connected with redemption. “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself: now, therefore, if ye will obey My voice . . . ye shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” To this which is His original thought for them He had all through adhered, although it could not then be carried out; and in Christianity the redeemed are in fact priests, as the apostle of the circumcision shows. “I brought you to Myself,” fully realized, is priesthood in one at least of its essential characters, ability to draw near to God: the priests which come near to the Lord” (Exo 19:22), is one of the earliest titles descriptive of them.
For this holiness was an absolute prerequisite: a “kingdom of priests” implies a “holy nation;” and thus in Israel the official nearness was only external, because the holiness was so largely external. God was, as we know, teaching spiritual truths by means of outward representation. In Christianity we have the substance of these shadows.
In the type here “Aaron and his sons” appear together: the high-priest is head of the priestly family, who derive all their title to the priesthood from their relationship to him. How much this is insisted on all through these books is apparent at a glance: “the sons of Aaron, the priests,” is constantly their description. In Christ’s own case His High-Priesthood is founded on His Sonship: “so also Christ glorified not Himself to be made High-Priest, but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son: today have I begotten Thee.” (Heb 5:5.) This Sonship, begun in time (or what could be called “today”) must be carefully distinguished from His eternal Sonship. It is as Man, as in the announcement to Mary (Luk 1:35), that He is thus addressed. The priest is the representative of men, “ordained for men,” and must for this be man; but the human race being defiled with sin, and no natural product of an unclean thing being clean (Job 14:4), there must be a new fountain opened, and Christ must be the “Second Man” by a new birth of humanity in the power of God. Thus a new race of men find in Him their new Adam Head, -a priestly race in accordance with their origin, children of God and priests, as He is Son of God and Priest. “Aaron and his sons” have here their antitype.
This birth involves for us a new and a divine nature, essentially holy therefore, that which is born of the Spirit being Spirit (Joh 3:6.) There is a foundation of priesthood, the ability to draw nigh: in the type this is emphasized by that washing of water which, as the first necessity, Aaron and his sons first receive. It was not as afterward, when they went into the tabernacle, a washing simply of hands and feet, but of the whole body. To this the apostle refers as a necessary prerequisite to entering the sanctuary -“our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb 10:22): “the washing of regeneration” (Tit 3:5). This of course could not be applied to Christ, except as humanity might be said in Him (by the very fact of what He was) to be regenerate: within as without this child of a human mother was yet “that holy thing.”
For a moment, then, we see “Him that sanctifieth and those who are sanctified” linked together here; but then the sons fall behind and Aaron himself is alone before us, and now we see in him that in Christ which is unique. He is indeed with the high-priestly dress which marks out the special service for others he has undertaken: “this was equivalent,” says Kurtz, “to an investiture with the office itself, the official dress being a visible expression of the official character.” The word “investiture,” is indeed a key to the meaning.
After this comes the anointing, first of the tabernacle, the altar, and the laver, and then of Aaron alone, no blood yet sprinkled or shed, atonement, therefore, not the basis of anointing, none as yet needed, Christ being thus borne witness to in His own personal perfect acceptability to God. The anointing of the tabernacle in connection with Aaron has been taken as showing Christ’s personal claim to the universe, but for this the order must be reversed, and the reason for the anointing of the altar and laver does not appear. These last are certainly connected with the work of human recovery, while the tabernacle itself, though an undoubted pattern of heavenly things, was in fact the dwelling-place of God in the midst of the people. May this anointing not rather show that those delights with the sons of men which the tabernacle expresses, (even though fallen, as altar and laver show,) find their justification in this wondrous Person who has become Man, and upon whom for the first time the Spirit of God can rest? This seems at least in perfect harmony with what is before us in this place.
(2) But now the sons of Aaron are invested, and then immediately we find Aaron along with them, and their hands together upon the head of the sin-offering. That our High-Priest has for Himself no need we have been fully told; but now He is “bringing many sons unto glory,” and we may in these hands of Aaron put along with his sons’ hands see (together with Aaron’s personal need) that confession of the guilt of men and their need of redemption which, for the Lord, involved so much. Then follows the actual sacrifice, and the blood is put upon the horns of the altar, where the “power” of it is seen in its appeal as an offering to God. That the altar itself is thus also purified seems to carry on the thought of its anointing before. Looked at as typifying Christ personally -which we have seen it does -there could be no meaning in such purification; but taken as the expression simply of means needed for the restoration of fallen men, the blood of atonement justifies the employment of such on their behalf. The righteousness of God is thus in accordance with the love of God in their salvation.
The altar in its true typical character we have seen not to be placed in the highest grade of the sin-offering, where as in this case, the victim is burned without the camp, except, indeed, for the burning of the fat upon it, which is never omitted, save in the case of the red heifer, -and which of course is not omitted here.
The burnt-offering follows, a ram, the witness not merely of sin removed but of positive acceptance: atonement is thus emphasized now on both sides, and the link between Christ and His people is sustained.
(3) We have now the consecration of the priesthood, or, as the Hebrew expresses it, the filling of their hands. Another ram is taken, and after hands have been laid upon it as before, is slain, and the blood put on the ear, the hand, and the foot of Aaron and His sons. The meaning of this can scarcely be mistaken: sanctification by the blood of Christ is here taught, of the ear to listen to the word of God, of the hand to do service, of the foot to walk in His ways; we can do no acceptable work, we can live no acceptable life, until the blood of atonement has set us apart for this as saved and purified. Thus saved, the apprehension of what has been done for us makes us His who has done the work: we joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the reconciliation.” (Rom 5:11.) This joy in God is necessary devotedness to Him.
Kurtz objects to this meaning of the application of the blood, that it inverts the order of the ritual, for the blood that anoints the ear and hand and foot of the priests has not yet been put upon the altar, and has thus not yet gained the power to atone. He refers, of course, to the passage in the seventeenth chapter, which we have already partially examined, “I have given it to you
upon the altar to make atonement for your souls;” but we have already seen that this cannot be intended to show that the blood of Christ had a value distinct from that of His death, or is indeed any thing else than the symbol of it. Nor can it mean that the blood itself receives power from any thing outside itself. The connection of the altar with the blood is this that it testifies to the blood as the blood of sacrifice, the symbol of a death which was not a martyr’s merely, but a vicarious offering to God. This is the simple and necessary truth, and will be seen as such as soon as we get the eye on Christ. Thus it is already atoning blood that is applied to the priests, although it is only atoning blood as connected with the altar: truth in Scripture is not seldom paradox.
If Aaron still represent Christ here, as it would seem, we must take the application of the blood to him as speaking of His devotedness to all that His atoning work accomplishes and secures. It may thus have an easy and unstrained interpretation, which prepares the way for what we next find, the fat of the ram and the right shoulder, with some of the unleavened bread of the meal-offering, put upon the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved for a wave-offering before they are burned upon the altar. This is the “filling of the hands,” or practical consecration -that occupation with Christ, in which we have necessary communion with the Father and the Son. The oil and blood together are now sprinkled upon Aaron and his sons and their association with him is complete.
(4) We have next the feeding upon the ram and the unleavened bread. The flesh of the ram is boiled, a thing forbidden as to the passover-lamb, which was to be roasted with fire. There evidently the endurance of wrath, and so removal of it, is that which is before the soul. Here this is not in the same way prominent; as we have seen in the case of the meal-offering, the sufferings here indicated seem to be those into which the word led Him, for the fulfillment of which He came. This would not, of course, exclude the bearing of wrath upon the cross, the special “cup” which He dreaded, but took obediently from the Father’s hand: it would only enlarge the scope of what here the priests of God have presented before them, not merely to behold, however, but to appropriate, which the “eating” in a striking manner expresses. It is the laying hold, not by mental apprehension simply, but in heart and conscience, prompted by the need and hunger of the soul. And it is expressly the “ram of consecration” that we thus feed upon as priests. Consecration without it would be but outward. For it the toil of the way, if it be the road with God we travel, gives but needed appetite; and thus we are reminded here that our consecration goes on for the whole seven days of our human life, while we abide but as it were at the tabernacle door, and keep Jehovah’s charge.
With this, four of the seven sections of this series end, and we find that as usual, there is a distinct break here, and that the last three are connected together as occurrences of the eighth day, a number of which we have abundant proof that it indicates a new beginning.
(5) We come now then to the eighth day and the appearance of the glory of Jehovah, and this as the fruit of the offering of the sacrifice for the people. Thus the time of the consecration of the heavenly priesthood being finished, the eighth day shows us the new covenant coming into effect for Israel, -the people being as in many other places, their own type -and then it is that the glory of the Lord will appear on the earth. We have first of all, however, a new offering for the priests, their seven days being complete, -a sin-offering and burnt-offering as before. Typically it is the completion of the earth watch -at the door of the tabernacle -of the heavenly people, and at the close of this they are found once more, as still needing it, under the shelter of the blood of atonement. Christ, first and last, is our only acceptance. The offerings show that this alone is what is in question here, there being no peace-offering any longer; and this the numerical stamp would impress upon us as the moral lesson -the summing up -the end as the beginning.
(6) Then come the offerings for the people. Israel also find acceptance with God in the value of that which they had so long rejected. The meaning of the sacrifice is already clear to us, and need not be dwelt upon. The number attached may speak of the victory of divine grace at last.
(7) Finally comes the blessing of the people, Aaron first giving it, for the priest must do His work before the king, but then Moses and Aaron together appear out of the tabernacle, the double type of Christ as King and Priest -Melchisedek: and then the glory of the Lord is manifested. In Christ, when He appears, all this will be found united together. The King, the Priest, and He in whom the divine glory shines, will be found one.
2. After this blessed picture, which carries us on to a time yet future, we are brought back sorrowfully to the reality in that day. In the first day of the establishment of the priesthood, it fails: Nadab and Abihu offer strange fire before God, and are cut off.
(1) The sin is will-worship -“strange fire which He commanded them not” -the will of man dictating in spiritual things, a sin which is now thought little of. Nay, with some the exact prescriptions of the Levitical service would be considered only as a contrast with the liberty of Christianity. Liberty, however, is never found in following our own wills, but in obedience to that which as given us by God is in thorough conformity to a new nature which, having been begotten in us by the word of truth, cannot find submission to that word servitude. True, the Spirit of God is come: and that glorious fact alters the whole character of worship from what it was in Judaism. We have a living Guide, but this does not affect the need of complete surrender to the control of that which He has written for us, and which is able to furnish us thoroughly to every good work. To take from that Word under whatever pretext is disobedience, and to add to it (as if it were not enough) is, in fact, to take from it. Alas! nowadays who can bear this? Yet in Nadab and Abihu the sin is not said to have been in doing what God had forbidden, but simply in doing what He had not commanded.
(2) The prohibition of wine and strong drink when going into the tent of meeting connects itself, of course, with the sin of Aaron’s sons: and for us plainly covers all fleshly stimulus, which prevents clear discernment of what is or is not according to the mind and nature of God. For us also who are called to walk in the light of God’s presence continually, this is not a casual, but a constant rule. The impulse of nature needs the restraint of Christ’s yoke; even where, as the apostle says, things are lawful to us, we must still not be brought under the power of any (1Co 6:12). And how easily do they acquire power!
(3) The injunction to eat the meal- and peace-offerings follows here because the entering into and enjoyment of our own portion is necessary to deliverance from what in nature would gain power over us. This is a lesson often given, but which cannot be too often or too emphatically enforced. What is the world to a heart that enjoys Christ? But on the other hand, no knowledge of the world will suffice to keep us out of it, if this enjoyment is not a present reality. Most fitly, therefore, does this come in here.
(4) Lastly, the sin of the priest is seen as entailing feebleness upon others who have not sinned. It is not meant that this must necessarily be. There is surely power with God to avert whatever consequences of even general failure: and yet so it is that at such a time there are few perhaps who do not exhibit some of the consequences of it. Aaron acknowledges a lack of power which we easily excuse in him under the circumstances. May we never excuse ourselves, however; for to throw the blame of what we are upon our circumstances is really only a covert way of laying it upon God. How good on the other hand, is it to realize our accountability in every thing of this kind, when for all realized feebleness there is so sure a remedy in that strength which is perfect in weakness!
Inability to eat the sin-offering is how common a case! It was for others that it was to be eaten: and to enter into the sin of others before God, while realizing the grace that has provided for it, a grace needed by ourselves as fully as by any, tests our spirituality. Only the males of Aaron’s house could eat the sin-offering, and that as a most holy thing in the holy place. May we know better how to do it!
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
STRANGE FIRE AND CONSEQUENCES
In an earlier lesson the present chapters were outlined as The Law of the Priests, though we might better have said, The Law of the Consecration of the Priests. And yet in either case the phrase must be used in an accommodated sense, since we are not here dealing with the law itself but with the initial execution of the law in the consecration of Aaron and his sons. The law itself was considered in the Book of Exodus, so we may pass over chapters 8 and 9 of the present lesson since their contents were sufficiently dealt with previously.
THE AARONIC LINE
Before taking up chapter 10, however, let us consider the history of the priesthood which begins here.
The priesthood was originally appointed to remain in Aarons family through all generations, and no other could intrude into that office. Aaron was succeeded by Eleazar, his elder surviving son after the death of Nadab and Abihu, and the priesthood continued in this family through seven generations, until the time of Eli, named in the earlier chapters of First Samuel.
Because of the wickedness of Elis sons the priesthood was removed from that branch of the family and given to the descendants of Ithamar, Aarons other son; but in the time of Solomon it returned again to the line of Eleazar (1Ki 2:27), in whose line it continued until the Babylonian captivity.
After the return of the Jews from captivity Joshua, the first high priest, was of the same family, but subsequent to this time the appointment became uncertain and irregular, and after Israel became a Roman province no regard was paid to this part of the original institution. As a matter of fact, the office became so desecrated in the corruption of later times, that it was often sold to the highest bidder, whether of the family of Aaron or not.
This was the case a long while before the coming of Christ.
What part the Aaronic line will play on the future return of the Jews to their land and their form of worship we cannot say, but there is reason to believe that in the millennial age God may restore it for the execution of His purposes through Israel in that dispensation.
THE EVIL CONDUCT OF AARONS SONS (10:1-7)
Resuming here the text of the lesson, what was it that Nadab and Abihu did (Lev 10:1)? What was the immediate consequence (Lev 10:2)? How did Moses explain this awful circumstance (Lev 10:3)? And what was its effect on Aaron? What prohibition of mourning was laid on him and his remaining sons (Lev 10:6)? And what further command, and why (Lev 10:7)?
To understand the death of Aarons sons, notice the last verse of chapter 9, which speaks of the sacrifice on the brazen altar in the outer court and holy fire from the Lord consuming it. It was this fire that consumed the sacrifice, which should have been employed in the censers to burn the incense before the Lord. Nadab and Abihu neglected this, offered strange fire, and were instantly slain.
This looks like a terrible punishment for a slight offense. But the offense was not slight. It was a flagrant disobedience of a plain command; several commands. Not only did they disobey in the matter of the fire (Lev 16:12), but also in performing an office which belonged only to the high priest, for, as some think, they went into the Holy of Holies. Two went in where only one was permitted. Furthermore, the offense was committed at a critical moment in the history of the people, at the beginning of their covenant relationship with God. It suggests a somewhat similar occurrence in the opening era of the Church, Act 5:1; Act 5:3. In both cases a signal manifestation of the divine displeasure was necessary for the sake of impressing the lesson upon the whole nation in the one case and the whole Church in the other.
It need not be supposed that this punishment involved the eternal loss of the souls of these men. It was a case of Gods judging in the midst of His people, not a case of His actings among them that are without. It affords a solemn warning, however, to any within the visible church who would depart in worship from the plain revelation of God, and to any without who would seek to approach Him in some other way than the prescribed one (Joh 14:6; Act 4:12).
THE PROHIBITION OF STRONG DRINK (Lev 10:8-11)
From what are the priests to be prohibited, and when (Lev 10:10-11)? It is natural to infer from this that the offense of Aarons sons was occasioned by strong drink such as made it possible for impulse to get the better of judgment, from which we learn that it is not enough for the Christian to abstain from what is in its own nature sinful, but also from that which may heedlessly become an occasion of sin.
THE RENEWED WARNING (Lev 10:12-20)
The substance of these verses has been considered in a previous lesson, but in view of the occurrence of this day Moses is moved to renew the charge to Aaron and his sons upon the matter.
The explanation of the closing verses seems to be like this: On this day of special privilege when they had performed their priestly duties for the first time, Gods name had been profaned by the will-worship of Nadab and Abihu, and the wrath of God had broken out against them and their fathers house. Could it then be the will of God that a house in which such guilt was found should yet partake of the holy things in the sanctuary? In other words, Aaron and his remaining sons had been so awakened in their consciences as to the holiness of God and their own inborn evil that they associated themselves with Nadab and Abihu as under the displeasure of God. Thus, although they had disobeyed the law in the letter (v. 16-18) yet their offense grew out of a misunderstanding and showed how deeply they had been moved by the judgment that had fallen upon them. What was the result of their explanation upon the spirit of Moses (Lev 10:20)?
QUESTIONS
1. can you rehearse the history of the priesthood to the time of the captivity?
2. What do you know about it subsequent thereto?
3. What do you understand by the strange fire?
4. What was the real nature of the offense of Aarons sons?
5. What may have been the extent of their punishment?
6. What lessons does it teach us?
7. How do Aaron and his remaining family express a sense of their own responsibility for the offense of Nadab and Abihu?
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
Lev 8:1-2. The Lord spake unto Moses This is here premised to show that Moses did not confer the priesthood upon his brother Aaron because of his relation or affection to him, but by Gods appointment. Take Aaron, and his sons with him All directions which were needful being given respecting sacrifices, and the rites belonging to them, Moses is now ordered to consecrate the priests according to the injunctions given before, Exodus 28., 29., and 30.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Lev 8:2. The garments. See Exodus 28. where these are described. In after times the ten tribes substituted a teraphim for the ephod.
Lev 8:6. Moses washed them with water. Moses acts in this instance in the double capacity of priest and king. He consecrates Aaron and his four sons to the Lord, by a continual purification for seven days. He first washes them with water, then sprinkles them with the blood of the sin-offering, and afterwards anoints them with the holy oil. This action is celebrated in Psa 99:6, where Moses and Aaron are said to be among the Lords priests.
Lev 8:31. Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle. The Septuagint reads, Boil the flesh in the court of the tabernacle. This appears the true reading, as Aaron and his sons could not go out of the court for seven days. The caldron probably stood near the door.
REFLECTIONS.
The Lord having provided a gradation of burnt-offerings for sin, and peace-offerings for plenty, next sanctified the men he had chosen for the service of the sanctuary; and in this priesthood we see the mediatorial glory of the Son of God. His humanity was without spot or blemish; his church and people he washes, and makes them whiter than snow; and being called to the marriage supper of the Lamb, he betroths them in righteousness. See him crowned with glory and honour. See his ephod, or girdle of strength and beauty. See him arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. See his breastplate, with the Urim and Thummim of judgment, joined with the brightness of his countenance, filling all heaven with ineffable glory, and transporting its blessed inhabitants with unutterable delight. May I fall, with all my sins and unworthiness, at the feet of this merciful and faithful Highpriest.
Christian ministers especially may learn instruction from the priesthood of Aaron. They must be divinely called of God to their work, and washed from every spot of sin. The head, the hand, the foot must be touched with the atoning blood, which takes away our sins. The ear, that they may listen to the law; their right hand, that they may maintain it; their right foot, that they may walk according to it. If they are maimed in conduct and character, all the people will look at their defects, instead of admiring the beauty of the Lord.
They must be arrayed in fine linen, must make their garments white in the blood of the Lamb. The breastplate of righteousness, the Urim of wisdom must characterize their functions. They must also be anointed with oil, as well as washed in the regeneration, and sprinkled with blood. This anointing is no other than the Holy Ghost enlightening their minds, sanctifying their affections, and crowning their private studies and public labours with the unction and odour of God. No man can act for God without this unction. When this is enjoyed, the word reaches the hearts of his hearers; the anointing descends to the skirts of his garments, till the whole assembly is perfumed with cassia and myrrh. But the gospel freezes on the lips of an unregenerate man.
The consecration was to be in the presence of the whole congregation; the elders, heads of houses, and others. The priests were to be their ministers; and the consent and prayers of the people were a great addition of glory to the work. The ordaining of men in secret, without the approbation and good wishes of the people, has never been found a safe way for the church.
Their consecration was preseded by seven days of retirement and recollection. And it really requires some time for a young man to reflect, whether sincerely believing in God and the world to come, as promised by Christ, he can devote his whole life to the glory and service of the sanctuary.
The whole of these particulars the priests were to observe, lest they should be struck dead; as was presently the case with Nadab and Abihu. Christ has died for sinners; and all sin worketh death; consequently no men are in more danger of losing their souls, than those who do the work of the Lord deceitfully. And all believers being called in some sort to be a nation of kings and priests unto God, what manner of persons should they be in all holy conversation and godliness!
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Leviticus 8 – 9
Having considered the doctrine of sacrifice, as unfolded in the first seven chapters of this book, we now approach the subject of priesthood. The two subjects are intimately connected. The Sinner needs a sacrifice; the believer needs a priest. We have both the one and the other in Christ, who, having offered Himself, without spot, to God, entered upon the sphere of His priestly ministry, in the sanctuary above. We need no other sacrifice, no other priest. Jesus is divinely sufficient. He imparts the dignity and worth of His own Person to every office He sustains, and to every work He performs. When we see Him as a sacrifice, we know that we have in Him all that a perfect sacrifice could be; and, when we see Him as a priest, we know that every function of the priesthood is perfectly discharged by Him. As a sacrifice, He introduces His people into a settled relationship with God; and, as a priest, He maintains them therein, according to the perfectness of what He is. Priesthood is designed for those who already stand in a certain relationship with God. As sinners, by nature and by practice, we are all brought nigh to God by the blood of the cross.” We are brought into an established relationship with Him. We stand before Him as the fruit of His own work. He has put away our sins, in such a manner as suits Himself, so that we might be before Him, to the praise of His name, as the exhibition of what He can accomplish through the power of death and resurrection.
But, though so fully delivered from every thing that could be against us; though so perfectly accepted in the Beloved; though so complete in Christ; though so highly exalted, yet are we, in ourselves, while down here, poor feeble creatures, ever prone to wander, ready to stumble, exposed to manifold temptations, trials, and snares. As such, we need the ceaseless ministry of our “Great High Priest,” whose very presence, in the sanctuary above, maintains us, in the full integrity of that place and relationship in which, through grace, we stand, “He ever liveth to make intercession for us.” (Heb. 7: 25) We could not stand, for a moment, down here, If He were not living for us, up there. “Because I live, ye shall live also.” (John 14: 19) “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Rom. 5: 10) The “death” and the “life “are inseparably connected, in the economy of grace. But, be it observed, the life comes after the death. It is Christ’s life as risen from the dead, and not His life down here, that the apostle refers to, in the last-quoted passage. This distinction is eminently worthy of my reader’s attention. The life of our blessed Lord Jesus, while down here, was, I need hardly remark, infinitely precious; but He did not enter upon His sphere of priestly service until He had accomplished the work of redemption. Nor could He have done so, inasmuch as “it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.” (Heb. 7: 14) “For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law.” (Heb. 8: 3, 4) “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption . . . . . For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” (Heb. 9: 11, 12, 24)
Heaven, not earth, is the sphere of Christ’s Priestly ministry; and on that sphere He entered when He had offered Himself without spot to God. He never appeared as a priest in the temple below. He ofttimes went up to the temple to teach, but never to sacrifice or burn incense. There never was any one ordained of God to discharge the functions of the priestly office on earth, save Aaron and his sons. “If he were on earth, he should not be a priest.” This is a point of much interest and value, in connection with the doctrine of priesthood. Heaven is the sphere, and accomplished redemption the basis, of Christ’s priesthood. Save in the sense that all Believers are priests, (1 Peter 2: 5) there is no such thing as a priest upon earth. Unless a man can show his descent from Aaron, unless he can trace his pedigree up to that ancient source, he has no right to exercise the priestly office. Apostolic succession itself, could it be proved, would be of no possible value here, inasmuch as the Apostles themselves were not priests, save in the sense above referred to. The feeblest member of the household of faith is as much a priest as the Apostle Peter himself. He is a spiritual priest; he worships in a spiritual temple; he stands at a spiritual altar; he offers a spiritual sacrifice; he is clad in spiritual vestments. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2: 5) “By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Heb. 13: 15, 16)
If one of the direct descendants of the house of Aaron were converted to Christ, he would enter upon an entirely new character and ground of priestly service. And be it observed, that the passages just quoted present the two great classes of spiritual sacrifice which the spiritual priest is privileged to offer. There is the sacrifice of praise to God, and the sacrifice of benevolence to man. There is a double stream continually going forth from the believer who is living in the realisation of his priestly place – a stream of grateful praise ascending to the throne of God, and a stream of active benevolence flowing forth to a needy world. The spiritual priest stands with one hand lifted up to God, in the presentation of the incense of grateful praise; and the other opened wide to minister, in genuine beneficence, to every form of human need. Were these things more distinctly apprehended, what hallowed elevation, and what moral grace, would they not impart to the Christian character! Elevation, inasmuch as the heart would ever be lifted up to the infinite Source of all that is capable of elevating – moral grace, inasmuch as the heart would ever be kept open to all demands upon its sympathies. The two things are inseparable. Immediate occupation of heart with God must, of necessity, elevate and enlarge. But, on the other hand, if one walks at a distance from God, the heart will become grovelling and contracted. Intimacy of communion with God – the habitual realisation of our priestly dignity, is the only effectual remedy for the downward and selfish tendencies of the old nature.
Having said thus much on the subject of priesthood in general, both as to its primary and secondary aspects, we shall proceed to examine the contents of the eighth and ninth chapters of the Book of Leviticus.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” There is special grace unfolded here. The whole assembly is convened at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, in order that all might have the privilege of beholding the one who was about to be entrusted with the charge of their most important interests. In Ex 28 and 29 we are taught the same general truth with respect to the vestments and sacrifices connected with the priestly office; but, in Leviticus, the congregation is introduced, and allowed to look on at every movement in the solemn and impressive Service of consecration. The humblest member of the assembly had his own place. Each one, the lowest as well as the highest, was permitted to gaze upon the person of the high priest, upon the sacrifice which he offered, and upon the robes which he wore. Each one had his own peculiar need, and the God of Israel would have each to see and know that his need was fully provided for by the varied qualifications of the high priest who stood before him. Of these qualifications the priestly robes were the apt typical expression. Each portion of the dress was designed and adapted to put forth some special qualification in which the assembly as a whole, and each individual member, would, of necessity, be deeply interested. The coat, the girdle, the robe, the ephod, the breastplate, the Urim and the Thummim, the mitre, the holy crown – all told out the varied virtues, qualifications, and functions of the one who was to represent the congregation and maintain the interests thereof in the divine presence.
Thus it is the believer can, with the eye of faith, behold his great High Priest, in the heavens, and see in Him the divine realities of which the Aaronic vestments were but the shadows. The Lord Jesus Christ is the holy One, the anointed One, the mitred One, the girded One. He is all these, not in virtue of outward garments to be put on or off, but in virtue of the divine and eternal graces of His Person, the changeless efficacy of His work, and the imperishable virtue of His sacred offices. This is the special value of studying the types of the Mosaic economy. The enlightened eye sees Christ in all. The blood of the sacrifice and the robe of the high priest both point to Him – both were designed of God to set Him forth. If it be a question of conscience, the blood of the sacrifice meets it, according to the just claims of the sanctuary. Grace has met the demand of holiness. And, then, if it be a question of the need connected with the believer’s position down here, he can see it all divinely answered in the official robes of the high priest.
And, here, let me say, there are two ways in which to contemplate the believer’s position – two ways in which that position is presented in the word, which must be taken into account ere the true idea of priesthood can be intelligently laid hold of. The believer is represented as being part of a body of which Christ is the Head. This body, with Christ its Head, is spoken of as forming one man, complete, in every respect. It was quickened with Christ, raised with Christ, and seated with Christ, in the heavens. It is one with Him, complete in Him, accepted in Him, possessing His life, and standing in His favour, before God. All trespasses are blotted out. There is no spot. All is fair and lovely beneath the eye of God. (See 1 Cor. 12: 12, 13; Eph. 2: 5-10; Col. 2: 6-15; 1 John 4: 17)
Then, again, the believer is contemplated as in the place of need, meekness, and dependence, down here, in this world. He is ever exposed to temptation; prone to wander, liable to stumble and fall. As such, he, continually, stands in need of the perfect sympathy and powerful ministrations of the High Priest, who ever appears in the presence of God, in the full value of His Person and work, and who represents the believer and maintains His cause before the throne.
Now my reader should ponder both these aspects of the believer, in order that he may see, not only what a highly exalted and privileged place he occupies with Christ on high, but also what ample provision there is for him, in reference to his every need and weakness, here below. This distinction might, further, be developed, in this way. The believer is represented as being of the church, and in the kingdom. As the former, heaven is his place, his home, his portion, the seat of his affections. As the latter, he is on earth, in the place of trial, responsibility, and conflict. Hence, therefore, priesthood is a divine provision for those who though being of the Church, and belonging to heaven, are, nevertheless, in the kingdom, and walking on the earth. This distinction is a very simple one, and, when apprehended, explains a vast number of passages of Scripture in which many minds encounter considerable difficulty.*
{*A comparison of the Epistle to the Ephesians with the First Epistle of Peter will furnish the reader with much valuable instruction in reference to the double aspect of the believer’s position, The former shows him as seated in heaven; the latter, as a pilgrim and a sufferer, on earth.}
In looking into the contents of the chapters which lie open before us, we may remark three things put prominently forward, namely, the authority of the word, the value of the blood, the power of the Spirit. These are weighty matters – matters of unspeakable importance – matters which must be regarded, by every Christian, as, unquestionably, vital and fundamental.
And, first, as to the authority of the word, it is of the deepest interest to see that, in the consecration of the priests, as well as in the entire range of the sacrifices, we are brought immediately under the authority of the word of God. “And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.” (Lev. 8: 5) And, again, “Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.” (Lev. 9: 6) Let these words sink down into our ears. Let them be carefully and prayerfully pondered. They are priceless words. “This is the thing which the Lord commanded.” He did not say, “This is the thing which is expedient, agreeable, or suitable.” Neither did He say, “This is the thing which has been arranged by the voice of the fathers, the decree of the elders, or the opinion of the doctors.” Moses knew nothing of such sources of authority. To him there was one holy, elevated, paramount source of authority, and that was, the word of Jehovah, and he would bring every member of the assembly into direct contact with that blessed source. This gave assurance to the heart, and fixedness to all the thoughts. There was no room left for tradition, with its uncertain sound, or for man, with his doubtful disputations. All was clear, conclusive, and authoritative. Jehovah had spoken; and all that was needed was to hear what He had said, and obey. Neither tradition nor expediency has any place in the heart that has learnt to prize, to reverence, and to obey the word of God.
And what was to be the result of this strict adherence to the word of God? A truly blessed result, indeed. “The glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.” Had the word been disregarded, the glory would not have appeared. The two things were intimately connected. The slightest deviation from “thus saith Jehovah” would have prevented the beams of the divine glory from appearing to the congregation of Israel. Had there been the introduction of a single rite or ceremony not enjoined by the word, or had there been the omission of ought which that word commanded, Jehovah would not have manifested His glory. He could not sanction by the glory of His presence the neglect or rejection of His word. He can bear with ignorance and infirmity, but He cannot sanction neglect or disobedience.
Oh! that all this were more solemnly considered, in this day of tradition and expediency. I would, in earnest affection, and in the deep sense of personal responsibility to my reader, exhort him to give diligent heed to the importance of close – I had almost said severe – adherence and reverent subjection to the word of God. Let him try everything by that standard, and reject all that comes not up to it; let him weigh everything in that balance, and cast aside all that is not full weight; let him measure everything by that rule, and refuse all deviation. If I could only be the means of awakening one soul to a proper sense of the place which belongs to the word of God, I should feel I had not written my book for nought or in vain.
Reader, pause, and, in the presence of the Searcher of hearts, ask yourself this plain, pointed question, “Am I sanctioning by my presence, or adopting in my practice, any departure from, or neglect of, the word of God?” Make this a solemn, personal matter before the Lord. Be assured of it, it is of the very deepest moment, the very last importance. If you find that you have been, in any wise, connected with, or involved in, ought that wears not the distinct stamp of divine sanction, reject it at once and for ever. Yes, reject it, though arrayed in the imposing vestments of antiquity, accredited by the voice of tradition, and putting forward the almost irresistible plea of expediency. If you cannot say, in reference to everything with which you stand connected, “this is the thing which the Lord hath commanded,” then away with it unhesitatingly, away with it for ever. Remember these words,” as he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do.” Yes, remember the “as” and the “so;” see that you are connecting them in your ways and associations, and let them never be separated.
“So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.” (Lev. 8: 36) “And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle, of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which, when all the people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces.” (Lev. 9: 23, 24) Here we have an “eighth day” scene – a scene of resurrection-glory. Aaron, having offered the sacrifice, lifted up his hands in priestly benediction upon the people; and then Moses and Aaron retire into the tabernacle, and disappear, while the whole assembly is seen in waiting outside. Finally, Moses and Aaron, representing Christ in His double character as Priest and King, come forth, and bless the people; the glory appears in all its splendour, the fire consumes the sacrifice, and the entire congregation falls prostrate in worship before the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
Now, all this was literally enacted at the consecration of Aaron and his sons. And, moreover, all this was the result of strict adherence to the word of Jehovah. But, ere I turn from this branch of the subject, let me remind the reader, that all that these chapters contain is but the shadow of good things to come.” This, indeed, holds good in reference to the entire Mosaic economy. (Heb 10: 1) Aaron and his sons, together, represent Christ and His priestly house. Aaron alone represents Christ in His sacrificial and intercessory functions. Moses and Aaron, together, represent Christ as King and Priest. “The eighth day” represents the day of resurrection-glory, when the congregation of Israel shall see the Messiah, seated as Royal Priest upon His throne, and when the glory of Jehovah shall fill the whole earth, as the waters cover the sea. these sublime truths are largely unfolded in the word, they glitter like gems of celestial brilliancy, all along the inspired page; but, lest they should, to any reader, wear the suspicious aspect of novelty, I shall refer him to the following direct scripture proofs; viz., Num. 14: 21; Isa. 9: 6, 7; Isa. 11; Isa. 25: 6-12; Isa. 32: 1, 2; Isa. 35; Isa. 37: 31, 32; Isa. 40: 1-5; Isa. 54; Isa. 59: 16-21; Isa. 60 – 66; passim. Jer. 23: 5-8; Jer. 30: 10-24; Jer. 33: 6-22; Ezra 48: 35; Dan. 7: 13, 14; Hosea 14: 4-9; Zeph. 3: 14-20; Zech. 3: 8-10; Zech. 6: 12, 13; Zech. 14.
Let us, now, consider the second point presented in our section, namely, the efficacy of the blood. This is unfolded with great fullness, and put forward in great prominence. Whether we contemplate the doctrine of sacrifice or the doctrine of priesthood, we find the shedding of blood gets the same important place. “And he brought the bullock for the sin offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it” (Lev. 8: 14, 15) “And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.” (Ver. 18, 19) “and he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.” (Ver. 22-24)
The import of the various sacrifices has been, in some degree, developed in the opening chapters of this volume; but the passages just quoted serve to show the prominent place which the blood occupies in the consecration of the priests. A blood-stained ear was needed to hearken to the divine communications; a blood-stained hand was needed to execute the services of the sanctuary; and a blood-stained foot was needed to tread the courts of the Lord’s house. All this is perfect in its way. The shedding of blood was the grand foundation of all sacrifice for sin; and it stood connected with all the vessels of the ministry, and with all the functions of the priesthood. Throughout the entire range of Levitical service, we observe the value, the efficacy, the power, and the wide application of the blood. “Almost all things are by the law purged with blood.” (Heb. 9: 22) Christ has entered, by His own blood, into heaven itself. He appears on the throne of the majesty in the heavens, in the value of all that He has accomplished on the cross. His presence on the throne attests the worth and acceptableness of His atoning blood. He is there for us. Blessed assurance! He ever liveth. He never changeth; and we are in Him, and as He is. He presents us to the Father, in His own eternal perfectness; and the Father delights in us, as thus presented, even as He delights in the One who presents us. This identification is typically set forth in “Aaron and his sons” laying their hands upon the head of each of the sacrifices. They all stood before God, in the value of the same sacrifice. Whether it were the “bullock for the sin offering,” “the ram for the burnt offering,” or “the ram of consecration,” they jointly laid their hands on all. True, Aaron alone was anointed before the blood was shed. He was clad in his robes of office, and anointed with the holy oil, before ever his sons were clothed or anointed. The reason of this is obvious. Aaron, when spoken of by himself, typifies Christ in His own peerless excellency and dignity; And, as we know, Christ appeared in all His own personal worth and was anointed by the Holy Ghost, previous to the accomplishment of His atoning work. In all things He has the pre-eminence. (Col. 1) Still, there is the fullest identification, afterwards, between Aaron and his sons, as there is the fullest identification between Christ and His people. “The sanctifier and the sanctified are all of one.” (Heb 2) The personal distinctness enhances the value of the mystic oneness.
This truth of the distinctness and yet oneness of the Head and members leads us, naturally, to our third and last point, namely, the power of the Spirit. We may remark how much takes place between the anointing of Aaron and the anointing of his sons with him. The blood is shed, the fat consumed on the altar, and the breast waved before the Lord. In other words, the sacrifice is perfected, the sweet odour thereof ascends to God, and the One who offered it ascends in the power of resurrection, and takes His place on high. All this comes in between the anointing of the Head and the anointing of the members. Let us quote and compare the passages. First, as to Aaron alone, we read, “And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. And he put the mitre upon his head: and upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.” (Lev. 8: 7-12)
Here we have Aaron presented alone. The anointing oil is poured upon his head, and that, too, in immediate connection with the anointing of all the vessels of the tabernacle. The whole assembly was permitted to behold the high priest clothed in his official robes, mitred and anointed; and not only so, but as each garment was put on, as each act was performed, as each ceremony was enacted, it was seen to be immediately founded upon the authority of the word. There was nothing vague, nothing arbitrary, nothing imaginative. All was divinely stable. The need of the congregation was fully met, and met in such a way as that it could be said, “This is the thing which Jehovah commended to be done.”
Now, in Aaron anointed, alone, previous to the shedding of the blood, we have a type of Christ who, until He offered Himself upon the cross, stood entirely alone. There could be no union between Him and His people, save on the ground of death and resurrection. This all-important truth has already been referred to, and, in some measure, developed in connection with the subject of sacrifice; but it adds force and interest to it to see it so distinctly presented in connection with the question of priesthood. Without shedding of blood there was no remission – the sacrifice was not completed. So, also, without shedding of blood Aaron and his sons could not be anointed together. Let the reader note this fact. Let him be assured of it, it is worthy of his deepest attention. We must ever beware of passing lightly over any circumstance in the Levitical economy. Everything has its own specific voice and meaning; and the One who designed and developed the order can expound to the heart and understanding what that order means.
“And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him”; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with Him.’ (Lev. 8: 30) Why were not Aaron’s sons anointed with him at verse 12? Simply because the blood had not been shed. When “the blood” and “the oil” could be connected together, then Aaron and his sons could be “anointed” and “sanctified” together; but not until then. “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” (John 17: 19) The reader who could lightly pass over so marked a circumstance, or say it meant nothing, has yet to learn to value aright the types of the Old Testament Scriptures – “the shadows of good things to come.” And, on the other hand, the one who admits that it does mean something, but yet refuses to enquire and understand what that something is, is doing serious damage to his own soul, and manifesting but little interest in the precious oracles of God.
“And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you. As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.” (Ver. 31-35) These verses furnish a fine type of Christ and His people feeding together upon the results of accomplished atonement. Aaron and his sons, having been anointed together, on the ground of the shed blood, are here presented to our view as shut in within the precincts of the tabernacle during “seven days.” A striking figure of the present position of Christ and His members, during the entire of this dispensation, shut in with God, and waiting for the manifestation of the glory. Blessed position! Blessed portion! Blessed hope! To be associated with Christ, shut in with God, waiting for the day of glory, and, while waiting for the glory, feeding upon the riches of divine grace, in the power of holiness, are blessings of the most precious nature, privileges of the very highest order. Oh! for a capacity to take them in, a heart to enjoy them, a deeper sense of their magnitude. May our hearts be withdrawn from all that pertains to this present evil world, so that we may feed upon the contents of “the basket of consecrations,” which is our proper food as priests in the sanctuary of God.
“And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron, and his sons, and the elders of Israel. And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering; also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord; and a meat offering mingled with oil; for TODAY THE LORD WILL APPEAR UNTO YOU.” (Lev. 9: 1-4)
The “seven days” being over, during which Aaron and his sons were shut in in the retirement of the tabernacle, the whole congregation is now introduced, and the glory of Jehovah unfolds itself. This gives great completeness to the whole scene. The shadows of good things to come are here passing before us, in their divine order. “The eighth day” is a shadow of that bright millennial morning which is about to dawn upon this earth, when the congregation of Israel shall behold the True Priest coming forth from the sanctuary-, where He is now, hidden from the eyes of men, and with Him a company of priests, the companions of His retirement, and the happy participators of His manifested glory. In short, nothing, as a type or shadow, could be more complete. In the first place, Aaron and his sons washed with water – a type of Christ and His people, as viewed in God’s eternal decree, sanctified together, in purpose. (Lev. 8: 6) Then we have the mode and order in which this purpose was to be carried out. Aaron, in solitude, is robed and anointed – a type of Christ as sanctified and sent into the world, and anointed by the Holy Ghost. (Ver. 7-12; comp. Luke 3: 21, 22; John 10: 36; John 12: 24) Then, we have the presentation and acceptance of the sacrifice, in virtue of which Aaron and his sons were anointed and sanctified together, (ver. 14 – 29) a type of the cross, in its application to those who now constitute Christ’s priestly household, who are united to Him, anointed with Him, hidden with Him, and expecting with Him “the eighth day,” when He with them shall be manifested in all the brightness of that glory which belongs to Him in the eternal purpose of God. (John 14: 19; Acts; 2: 33; 19: 1-7; Col. 3: 1-4.) Finally, we have Israel brought into the full enjoyment of the results of accomplished atonement. They are gathered before the Lord:” And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and Peace offerings.” (See Lev. 9: 1-22.)
What, now, we may legitimately enquire, remains to be done? Simply that the topstone should be brought forth with shoutings of victory and hymns of praise. “And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, THEY SHOUTED, AND FELL ON THEIR FACES.” (ver. 23, 24) This was the shout of victory – the prostration of worship. All was complete. The sacrifice – the robed and mitred priest – the Priestly family associated with their Head in priestly benediction – the appearance of the King and Priest – in short, nothing was lacking, and therefore the divine glory appeared, and the whole assembly fell prostrate, in adoring worship. It is, altogether, a truly magnificent scene – a marvellously beautiful shadow of good things to come. And, be it remembered, that all which is here shadowed forth will, ere long, be fully actualised. Our great High Priest has passed into the heavens, in the full value and power of accomplished atonement. He is hidden there, now and, with Him, all the members of His priestly family but when the “seven days” have run their course, and “the eighth day” casts its beams upon the earth, then shall the remnant of Israel – a repentant and an expectant people – hail, with a shout of victory, the manifested presence of the Royal Priest; and, in immediate association with Him, shall be seen a company of worshippers occupying the most exalted position. These are “the good things to come” things, surely, well worth waiting for – things worthy of God to give – things in which He shall be eternally glorified, and His people eternally blessed.
Fuente: Mackintosh’s Notes on the Pentateuch
Leviticus 8-9. The Consecration and Induction of Priests, to which Leviticus 10 is an appendix. Leviticus 8 properly follows Exodus 40. Exodus 29 gives the law of consecrations. Exodus 30-40 the building of the Tabernacle, and Leviticus 8 describes the actual performance of the rite ordained in Exodus 29.
Leviticus 8. Consecration of Aaron and his Sons.The actual stages in the process are as follows Lev 8:1-5, assemblage of the persons and materials; Lev 8:6-13, washing, anointing, and clothing of the priests; Lev 8:14-17, sacrifice of the bullock (here Aaron acts as the offerer, Moses as the priest); Lev 8:18-21, sacrifice of the first ram; Lev 8:22-32, sacrifice of the second ram, of consecration, which constitutes the differentia of the whole ceremony; Lev 8:33-36, the continuance of the ceremony for a week. For notes on the details, see on Exodus 29. The definite articles refer back to Ex. 292f., Exo 29:5, etc. Neither the congregation nor the Urim and Thummim (Exo 28:30, pp. 100f.) are mentioned in Exodus 29.The insignia and the anointing suggest actual royalty. The anointing of the tabernacle and the altar is not in Exodus 29, nor the sanctification of the altar and the atoning for it by means of the bullocks blood (cf. the more detailed ritual in Lev 4:6), nor the anointing of Aarons garments (Lev 8:30). The special reference to the touching of the extremities (Lev 8:23 f.) is symbolical of the whole body. In Exo 29:27, both the wave-breast and the heave-thigh are mentioned, as in Lev 7:34; Moses (Lev 8:29) receives these as being the officiating priest; but it is curious that neither here nor in Exodus 29 does Moses actually receive the thigh; in view of Lev 8:34, this would have been more naturally mentioned than the breast: perhaps the latter, as Moses special portion, is a later insertion. Exo 29:36 states that a bullock is to be sacrificed on each of the eight days. Consecrate (Lev 8:33), lit. (mg.) fill the hands (Exo 29:9*, Num 3:3*, 1Ch 29:5*). So in Lev 8:28, consecration is lit. filling (cf. Lev 8:27); in Eze 43:26, the consecration of the aitar is spoken of as a filling the hands thereof (mg.). A similar phrase in Babylonian means to confer office upon. (The words are also used in Ass. inscriptions about nations whom God entrusts to the victorious king. Asshur fills the kings hands with them ; meaning little more than he delivers them into the victors hands.) It is noteworthy that here the action which gives its name to the whole proceeding is not the sprinkling of blood, but the holding of the offerings which are to be presented to Yahweh. Originally, it would seem, the main duty of the priest was to present the offering of the worshipper to the god. He is thus formally inducted into office by the placing of the offerings in his hands (cf. Heb 8:3). Noteworthy also is the reference to atonement (Lev 8:34). It was necessary to remove all trace of uncleanness, i.e. of whatever was not suitable to such special purposes, previous to the ceremony. For similar reasons the priests must not leave the special precincts of the shrine throughout the week. The whole intention is to emphasize the special dedication of both priest and altar, and it may be said to imply the thought of a covenant between Yahweh and the priests.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
THE CONSECRATION OF AARON AND HIS SONS (vv. 1-36)
The consecration of Aaron and his sons is typical of what is involved in the establishing of all believers as priests in this present day of grace. The garments, the anointing oil, a bull, two rams and a basket of unleavened bread all have an important part in this (v. 2). All the congregation of Israel was to be gathered for this event (vv. 3-4) at the entrance of the tabernacle, and Moses announced that they were acting on the commandment of God.
First Aaron and his sons were washed with water. This is typical of the washing of regeneration (Tit 3:5). Compare also Joh 13:10. It is not cleansing by blood, which has to do with God’s justice being satisfied by the death of Christ for us. The washing or bathing in water is rather typical of God’s cleansing work within us, that is, new birth, which makes a difference in our character and actions. Therefore a priest must be born again by God. Of course this is not true of the Lord Jesus, in whom there is no sin, and who always had the nature of God. But the washing of Aaron would remind us that Christ, being Himself separate from sinners, has identified Himself in grace with all those who partake of the divine nature.
The tunic then was put on Aaron, an under garment of fine linen (Exo 28:39). This speaks of the inward purity of the Lord Jesus. The sash for the tunic was added in order to bind the tunic in place. This speaks of the Lord’s inner thoughts and motives being kept in perfect control.
Then the robe of the ephod was put on Aaron. It was blue in color, reminding us that Christ is God’s High Priest, made higher than the heavens (Heb 7:26). Then the intricately woven band was added to tie the ephod in place. The breastplate was put on the ephod with the urim and thummim (the 12 precious stones) set in the breastplate. Urim and thummim means (lights and perfections, for the stones reflect the light and symbolize the varied beauties and perfections of the Lord Jesus, as are reflected in the twelve tribes of Israel, or at least will be reflected when the nation is brought to God and blessed in the millennial age.
The turban was next placed on Aaron’s head, a covering that reminds us that every thought of the Lord Jesus was always perfectly kept in subjection to His God and Father. The golden plate was put in the forepart of the turban, with its inscription, Holiness to the Lord. Thus, the Lord’s thoughts were always consistent with the absolute holiness of God.
After this, Moses anointed with oil the tabernacle and all its inner furniture, and sprinkled some of the oil on the altar of burnt offering seven times, with all its utensils, and also the laver and its base. Thus the tabernacle and all the furniture connected with it were consecrated.
Then Aaron alone (not his sons) was anointed with oil (v. 12). This is typical of the Lord Jesus being anointed with the Spirit of God when He was baptized by John (Mat 3:13-16)
Only after this do we find Aaron’s sons associated with him. Their tunics, sashes and headgear were put on them (v. 13). But they were not yet anointed. First, the bull of the sin offering had to be offered, with Aaron and his sons laying their hands on its head. Then Moses killed the bull. Thus the priestly family is identified with the high priest in appropriating the value of the sacrifice. So believers today are identified with Christ in sharing the value of His great sacrifice. The blood was put on the horns of the altar, with the remainder poured out at the base of the altar. The fat and the kidneys were burned on the altar, but the rest of the animal was burned totally outside the camp. This appears to be one exception as to the blood of the sin offering brought inside the tabernacle, but it was specially commanded by God (v. 17).
The application of these things is emphasized now in the offering of the second ram, the ram of consecration (v. 22). The basis of the truth of God concerning sacrifice was laid first, for this is objective, so that the subjective appropriation of this is seen in the ram of consecration. Again Aaron and his sons lay their hands on its head. Moses killed it, and instead of first putting the blood on the altar, he took some of the blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Then he did the same on Aaron’s sons, and afterward sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.
Thus Aaron alone was first anointed with blood following his previous anointing with oil (v. 12). So Christ was anointed with the Spirit when baptized by John, then with blood when He shed His blood at Calvary. After this Aaron’s sons were anointed with blood before they were anointed with oil, just as believers were first cleansed by the shedding of the blood of Christ before receiving the Spirit of God at Pentecost (Act 2:1-47).
In verses 23 and 24 the blood put on the right ear speaks of the hearing of the priests being consecrated to God. They are to have an ear above all for God’s Word. Blood on the thumb indicates their works are to be consecrated to God; and blood on the big toe speaks of their walk also consecrated to Him. As it was absolutely true of the Lord Jesus, so it is properly true of believers.
Still, the consecration was not yet complete. The fat and the two kidneys of the ram and the right thigh were taken by Moses. Then one unleavened cake from the basket of unleavened bread, a cake anointed with oil and one wafer, were placed on the fat and on the right thigh. These were then given to Aaron and his sons to wave as a wave offering before the Lord. Thus the significance of the present exultation of the Lord Jesus is emphasized, for He not only died for us, but lives for us in the power of an endless life. Afterward this was all burned on the altar of burnt offering for a sweet aroma to the Lord.
Then Moses waved the breast of the ram as a wave offering before the Lord, and kept it for himself. The two wave offerings (of the priests and of Moses) insist on the heavenly character of the priesthood of Christ and of believers also. The actual consecration of the priests is accomplished when Moses sprinkled the anointing oil on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Thus Aaron was anointed twice, first alone (v. 12), then together with his sons. His first anointing is typical of Christ’s being anointed by the Spirit when John baptized him (Mat 3:16). His second anointing is typical of what Peter speaks of in Act 2:33. When Christ was exalted to the right hand of God He received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, whom He immediately shared with His saints by sending Him at Pentecost.
Personally Christ received the Spirit before His sacrifice, but the saints of God could only receive Him after Christ had shed His blood for them. Our sins must first be cleansed away by His blood before the Spirit could possibly come to us. Christ Himself, being without sin, received the Spirit apart from the shedding of His blood; yet afterward, in order to identify Himself with His saints in grace, He shares the value of His blood-shedding with them, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Following this, Moses tells Aaron to boil the remaining flesh of the offering at the door of the tabernacle, and together with his sons eat this with the bread from the basket of consecration offerings (v. 31). Whatever remained over was to be burned. Thus they were to assimilate that which speaks of Christ and His offering, just as we who are made priests today are to first feed upon Christ before we can function as priests. Yet none of us will appropriate all that is involved in the person and work of Christ, but God can, as the extra is offered to Him in fire.
With all of this being done, the priests were not yet allowed to do any service for the people: they were commanded to remain inside the door of the tabernacle for seven days, the number of completeness (v. 33). They must first learn what it means to be in the place of communion with God before being entrusted with service for others. How true this is for us too. Only by being in calm, sustained communion with God can we be fitted to rightly represent Him before others. This was so important that if they disobeyed they would expose themselves to the death penalty (v. 35). However, we are told in verse 36 that Aaron and his sons obeyed the word of God.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
The assembling of the congregation 8:1-5
Evidently a representative group of the Israelite congregation, likely the elders, responded to Moses’ summons to witness Aaron’s ordination in the tabernacle courtyard. [Note: See my comments on the "congregation" at 4:13.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
THE CONSECRATION OF AARON AND HIS SONS, AND OF THE TABERNACLE
Lev 8:1-36
THE second section of the book of Leviticus {Lev 8:1 – Lev 10:20} is historical, and describes (chapter 8) the consecration of the tabernacle and of Aaron and his sons, (chapter 9) their induction into the duties of their office, and, finally (chapter 10), the terrible judgment by which the high sanctity of the priestly office and of the tabernacle service was very solemnly impressed upon them and all the people.
First in order (chapter 8) is described the ceremonial of consecration. We read (Lev 8:1-4): “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; and assemble thou all the congregation at the door of the tent of meeting. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the door of the tent of meeting.”
These words refer us back to Exo 28:1-43; Exo 29:1-46 in which are recorded the full directions previously given for the making of the garments and the oil of anointing, and for the ceremonial of the consecration of the priests. The law of offerings having been delivered, Moses now proceeds to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the priestly office, according to the commandment given; and to this end, by Divine direction, he orders “all the congregation” to be assembled “at the door of the tent of meeting.” In this last statement some have seen a sufficient reason for rejecting the whole account as fabulous, insisting that it is palpably absurd to suppose that a congregation numbering some millions could be assembled at the door of a single tent! But, surely, if the words are to he taken in the ultra-literal sense required in order to make out this difficulty, the impossibility must have been equally evident to the supposed fabricator of the fiction; and it is yet more absurd to suppose that he should ever have intended his words to be pressed to such a rigid literality. Two explanations lie before us, either of which meets the supposed difficulty; the one, that endorsed by Dillmann, that the congregation was gathered in their appointed representatives; the other, that which refuses to see in the words a statement that every individual in the nation was literally “at the door,” and further reminds us that, inasmuch as the ceremonies of the consecration are said to have continued seven days, we are not, by the terms of the narrative, required to believe that all, in any sense, were present, either at the very beginning or at any one time during that week. It is not too much to say that by a captious criticism of this kind; any narrative, however sober, might be shown to be absurd.
The consecration ceremonial was introduced by a solemn declaration made by Moses to assembled Israel, that the impressive rites which they were now about to witness, were of Divine appointment. We read (Lev 8:5), “Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded to be done.”
Just here we may pause to note the great emphasis which the narrative lays upon this fact of the Divine appointment of all pertaining to these consecration rites. Not only is this Divine ordination of all thus declared at the beginning, but in connection with each of the chief parts of the ceremonial the formula is repeated, “as the Lord commanded Moses.” Also, at the close of the first days rites, Moses twice reminds Aaron and his sons that this whole ritual, in all its parts, is for them an ordinance of God, and is to be regarded accordingly, upon pain of death (Lev 8:34-35). And the narrative of the chapter closes (Lev 8:36) with the words, “Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.” Twelve times in this one chapter is reference thus made to the Divine appointment of these consecration rites.
This is full of significance and instruction. It is of the highest importance in an apologetic way. For it is self-evident that this twelvefold affirmation, twelve times directly contradicts the modern theory of the late origin and human invention of the Levitical priesthood. There is no evading of the issue which is thus placed squarely before us. To talk of the inspiration from God, in any sense possible to that word, of a writing containing such affirmations, so numerous, formal, and emphatic, if the critics referred to are right, and these affirmations are all false, is absurd. There is no such thing as inspired falsehood.
Again, a great spiritual truth is herein brought before us, which concerns believers in all ages. It is set forth in so many words in Heb 5:4, where the writer, laying down the essential conditions of priesthood, specially mentions Divine appointment as one of these; which he affirms as satisfied in the high priesthood of Christ: “No man taketh the honour unto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron. So Christ also glorified not Himself to be made a high priest.” Fundamental to Christian faith and life is this thought: priesthood is not of man, but of God. In particular, in all that Christ has done and is still doing as the High Priest, in the true holiest, He is acting under Divine appointment.
And we are hereby pointed to the truth of which some may need to be reminded, that the work of our Lord in our behalf, and that of the whole universe into which sin has entered, has its cause and origin in the mind and gracious will of the Father. It was in His incomprehensible love, who appointed the priestly office, that the whole work of atonement, and therewith purification and full redemption, had its mysterious origin. The thoughtful reader of the Gospels will hardly need to be reminded how constantly our blessed Lord, in the days of His high priestly service upon earth, acted in all that He did under the consciousness, often expressed, of His appointment by the Father to this work. Thus, Aaron in the solemn ceremonial of those days of consecration, as ever afterward, doing “all the things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses,” in so doing fitly represented Him who should come afterward, who said of Himself, {Joh 6:38} “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.”
THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD AND TABERNACLE AS TYPES
In order to any profitable study of the following ceremonial, it is indispensable to have distinctly before us the New Testament teaching as to the typical significance of the priesthood and the tabernacle. A few words on this subject, therefore, seem to be needful as preliminary to more detailed exposition. As to the typical character of Aaron, as high priest, the New Testament leaves us no room for doubt. Throughout the Epistle to the Hebrews, Christ is held forth as the true and heavenly High Priest, of whom Aaron, with his successors, was an eminent type.
As regards the other priests, while it is true that, considered in themselves, and without reference to the high priest, each of them also, in the performance of his daily functions in the tabernacle, was a lesser type of Christ, as is intimated in Heb 10:1-39; Heb 11:1-40, yet, as contrasted with the high priest, who was ever one, while they were many, it is plain that another typical reference must be sought for the ordinary priesthood. What that may be is suggested to us in several New Testament passages; as, especially, in Rev 5:10, where the whole body of believers, bought by the blood of the slain Lamb, is said to have been made “unto our God a kingdom and priests”; with which may be compared Heb 13:10, where it is said, “We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle”; words which plainly assume the priesthood of all believers in Christ, as the antitype of the priesthood of the Levitical tabernacle.
As to the typical meaning of the tabernacle, which also is anointed in the consecration ceremonial, there has been much difference of opinion. That it was typical is declared, in so many words, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, {Heb 8:5} where the Levitical priests are said to have served “that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things”; as also Heb 9:24, where we read, “Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us.” But when we ask what then were “the heavenly things” of which the tabernacle was “the copy and shadow,” we have different answers.
Many have replied that the antitype of the tabernacle, as of the temple, was the Church of believers; and, at first thought, with some apparent scriptural reason. For it is certain that Christians are declared {1Co 3:16} to be the temple of the living God; where, however, it is to be noted that the original word denotes, not the temple or tabernacle in general, but the “sanctuary” or inner shrine-the “holy of holies.” More to the point is 1Pe 2:5, where it is said to Christians, “Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house.” Such passages as these do certainly warrant us in saying that the tabernacle, and especially the inner sanctuary, as the special place of the Divine habitation and manifestation, did in so far typify the Church.
But when we consider the tabernacle, not in itself, but in relation to its priesthood and ministry, the explanation fails, and we fall into confusion. As when the priests are considered, not in themselves, but in their relation to the high priest, we are compelled to seek an antitype different from the Antitype of the high priest, so in this case. To identify the typical meaning of the tabernacle, considered as a part of a whole system and order, with that of the priesthood who serve in it, is to throw that whole typical system into confusion. Furthermore, this cannot be harmonised with a number of New Testament expressions with regard to the tabernacle and temple, as related to the high priesthood of our Lord. It is hard to see, for example, how the Church of believers could be properly descried as “things in the heavens.” Moreover, we are expressly taught, {Heb 9:24} that the Antitype of the Holy Place into which the high priest entered every year, with blood, was “heaven itself,” “the presence of God”; and again, His ascension to the right hand of God is described, {Heb 4:14, R.V} with evident allusion to the passing of the high priest through the Holy Place into the Holiest, as a passing “through the heavens; and also {Heb 9:11} as an entering into the Holy Place, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle.” These expressions exclude reference to the Church of Christ as the antitype of the earthly tabernacle.
Others, again, have regarded the tabernacle as a type of the human nature of Christ, referring in proof to Joh 2:19-21, where our Lord speaks of “the temple of His body”; and also to Heb 10:19-20, where it is said that believers have access to the Holiest “by a new and living way, which He dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.”
As regards the first of these passages, we should note that the original word is, again, not the word for the temple in general, but that which is invariably used to denote the inner sanctuary, as the special shrine of Jehovahs presence: so that it really gives us no warrant for affirming that the tabernacle, as a whole, was a type of our Lords humanity; nor, on that supposition, does it seem possible to explain the meaning of the three parts into which the tabernacle was divided. And the second passage referred to is no more to the point. For the writer had only a little before described the tabernacle as a “pattern of things in the heavens”; words which, surely, could not be applied to the humanity in which our Lord appeared in His incarnation and humiliation, -a humanity which was not a thing “of the heavens,” but of the earth. The reference to the “flesh” of Christ, as being the veil through which He passed into the Holiest {Heb 10:19-20} is merely by way of illustration, and not of typical interpretation. The thought of the inspired writer appears to be this. Just as, in the Levitical tabernacle, the veil must be parted before the high priest could go into the Holiest Place even so was it necessary that the flesh of our Lord should be rent in order that thus, through death, it might be possible for Him to enter into the true holiest. The thought has been happily expressed by Delitzsch, thus: “While He was with us here below, the weak, limit bound, and mortal flesh which He had assumed for our sakes hung like a curtain between Him and the Divine sanctuary into which He would enter; and in order to such entrance, this curtain had to be withdrawn by death, even as the high priest had to draw aside the temple veil in order to make his entry to the Holy of Holies.”
Not to review other opinions on this matter, the various expressions used constrain us to regard the tabernacle as typifying the universe itself, measured and appointed in all its parts by infinite wisdom, as the abode of Him who “filleth immensity with His presence,” the place of the Divine manifestation, and the abode of His holiness. In the outer court, where the victims were offered, we have this world of sense in which we live, in which our Lord was offered in the sight of all; in the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies, the unseen and heavenly worlds, through the former of which our Lord is represented as having passed {Heb 4:14; Heb 9:11} that He might appear with His blood in the true Holiest, where God in the innermost shrine of His glory “covereth Himself with light as with a garment.” For this cosmical dwelling place of the Most High God has been defiled by sin, which, as it were, has profaned the whole sanctuary; for we, {Col 1:20} that not only “things upon the earth,” but also “things in the heavens,” are to be “reconciled” through Christ, even “through the blood of His cross”; and, still more explicitly, to the same effect, {Heb 9:23} that as the typical “copies of the things in the heavens” needed to be cleansed with the blood of bullocks and of goats, so “it was necessary that the heavenly things themselves should be cleansed with better sacrifices than these.” And so, at this present time, Christ, as the High Priest of this cosmical tabernacle, “not made with hands,” having offered His great sacrifice for sins forever, is now engaged in carrying out His work of cleansing the people of God, and the earthly and the heavenly sanctuary, to the uttermost completion.
With these preliminary words, which have seemed essential to the exposition of these chapters, we are now prepared to consider the ceremonial of the consecration of the priesthood and tabernacle, and the spiritual meaning which it was intended to convey.