Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 8:14
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.
Moses as the mediator of the covenant of the Law Gal 3:19; Heb 8:6 was called to perform the priestly functions, in consecrating those on whom henceforth those functions were to devolve, and in inaugurating the legal order of sacrifices. See Exo 40:23 note. The sin-offering was now offered for the first time. The succession in which the sacrifices followed each other on this occasion, first the sin-offering, then the burnt-offering, and lastly the peace-offering, has its ground in the meaning of each sacrifice, and became the established custom in later ages. The worshipper passed through a spiritual process. He had transgressed the Law, and he needed the atonement signified by the sin-offering: if his offering had been made in truth and sincerity, he could then offer himself as an accepted person, as a sweet savour, in the burnt-offering; and in consequence, he could enjoy communion with the Lord and with his brethren in the peace-offering.
Lev 8:14-17
See the marginal references. The flesh of the sin-offering could not be eaten by any but a legally consecrated priest (Lev 6:25 note). Moses therefore could not eat of it himself, though he was, for the occasion, performing the duties of a priest. Those whom he was consecrating could not eat it, not only because they were not yet duly installed, but because the sacrifice was offered on their behalf, and the body of the victim stood to them in the same relation as that of the regular sin-offering afterward stood to the high priest.
Lev 8:15
Purified the altar … sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it – The altar had been sanctified by the anointing oil Lev 8:11 like the priests who were to officiate at it; it was now, like them, sanctified by blood, in acknowledgment of the alienation of all nature, in itself, from God, and the need of a reconciliation to Him of all things by blood. Col 1:20; Heb 9:21-22. See Lev 17:11; Exo 28:38.
Lev 8:18-21
Atonement having been made, Aaron and his sons were now permitted, by the laying on of their hands, to make themselves one with the victim, which was to be sent up to Yahweh as a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. All was done strictly according to the ritual Lev 1:3-9, except that Moses performed the duties of the priest.
Lev 8:22
The ram of consecration – The sacrifice of this ram was by far the most unique part of the whole ceremony. The words may be literally rendered the ram of the fillings, and the name has been supposed to have reference to the ceremony in which Moses filled the hands of the priests; see Lev 8:27. The offering was in the highest sense the sacrifice of completion or fulfilling, as being the central point of the consecrating rite. The final perfection of the creature is consecration to the Lord.
Lev 8:23, Lev 8:24
Before casting forth the blood round the altar in the usual manner, Moses took a portion of the blood and put some of it on the right extremities of each of the priests. This, being performed with the blood of the peace-offering, has been supposed to figure the readiness of the priest who is at peace with Yahweh to hear with the ear and obey the divine word, to perform with the hand the sacred duties of his office, and to walk with the feet in the way of holiness.
Lev 8:25-28
In the rite of filling the hands of the priests, Moses took the portions of the victim which usually belonged to the altar, with the right shoulder (or leg); he placed upon them one cake of each of the three kinds of unleavened bread contained in the basket (see Lev 8:2 note), and then put the whole first upon the hands of Aaron and in succession upon the hands of his sons: in each case, according to Jewish tradition, he put his own hands under the hands of the priest, moving them backwards and forwards, so as to wave the mass to and fro.
In this remarkable ceremony the gifts of the people appear to have been made over to the priests, as if in trust, for the service of the altar. The articles were presented to Yahweh and solemnly waved in the hands of the priests, but not by their own act and deed. The mediator of the Law, who was expressly commissioned on this occasion, was the agent in the process.
Lev 8:25
The rump – See Lev 3:9 note.
Lev 8:29
The heave-shoulder was the ordinary perquisite of the officiating priest, but the wave-breast appears to have been awarded to Moses as the servant of Yahweh now especially appointed for the priestly service.
Lev 8:30
The sprinkling was on their garments as well as their persons, because it belonged to them in reference to the office with which they had been formally invested by putting on the garments. (See Exo 28:3 note). The union of the two symbols of the atoning blood and the inspiring unction appears to be a fit conclusion of the entire rite.
Lev 8:33-36
The rites of consecration were to last a whole week, and thus, like the longer of the annual festivals, were connected in an emphatic manner with the sabbatical number of the covenant. During this period the priests were not to leave the holy precinct for the sake of any worldly business; and the whole series of ceremonies, including the sacrifice of the Ram of consecration, was to be gone through on each day. Compare the marginal references.
Lev 8:33
Rather, ye shall not go away from the entrance of the tent. With this agree Cranmer, the Geneva Bible, etc. The meaning is evidently that they were not to go out of the court, as is more clearly expressed in Lev 8:35.
Lev 8:35
That ye die not – See Exo 28:35 note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. The bullock for the sin-offering] This was offered each day during the seven days of consecration. See Ex 29:36.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There were indeed seven bullocks to be offered at his consecration, one every day, Exo 29:35,36; but here he mentions only one, either by a common enallage of number, or because he here describes only the work of the first day, and leaves the rest to be gathered from it; of which see Lev 8:33.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14-17. brought the bullock for thesin offering, &c.a timely expression of their sense ofunworthinessa public and solemn confession of their personal sinsand a transference of their guilt to the typical victim.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he brought the bullock for the sin [offering],…. To the tabernacle, into the court of it, to the altar of burnt offering there; that is, he caused it to be brought thither as he was ordered,
Ex 29:10
and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin [offering]; their right hands, according to the Targum of Jonathan, which is not improbable, thereby as it were transferring their sins to it, and confessing them over it; acknowledging their guilt, and that they deserved to die, as that creature would, which was to be a vicarious sacrifice for sin, and whose blood was to purify and sanctify the altar, at which they, sinful men, were to serve.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The sacrificial ceremony with which the consecration was concluded, consisted of a threefold sacrifice, the materials for which were not supplied by the persons about to be installed, but were no doubt provided by Moses at the expense of the congregation, for which the priesthood was instituted. Moses officiated as the mediator of the covenant, through whose service Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated as priests of Jehovah, and performed every part of the sacrificial rite-the slaughtering, sprinkling of the blood, and burning of the altar gifts, – just as the priests afterwards did at the public daily and festal sacrifices, the persons to be consecrated simply laying their hands upon the sacrificial animals, to set them apart as their representatives.
Lev 8:14-17 The first sacrifice was a sin-offering, for which a young ox was taken (Exo 29:1), as in the case of the sin-offerings for the high priest and the whole congregation (Lev 4:3, Lev 4:14): the highest kind of sacrificial animal, which corresponded to the position to be occupied by the priests in the Israelitish kingdom of God, as the of the covenant nation. Moses put some of the blood with his finger upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and poured the rest at the foot of the altar. The far portions (see Lev 3:3-4) he burned upon the altar; but the flesh of the ox, as well as the hide and dung, he burned outside the camp. According to the general rule of the sin-offerings, whose flesh was burnt outside the camp, the blood was brought into the sanctuary itself (Lev 6:23); but here it was only put upon the altar of burnt-offering to make this sin-offering a consecration-sacrifice. Moses was to take the blood to “ purify ( ) and sanctify the altar, to expiate it.” As the altar had been sanctified immediately before by the anointing with holy oil (Lev 8:11), the object of the cleansing or sanctification of it through the blood of the sacrifice cannot have been to purify it a second time from uncleanness, that still adhered to it, or was inherent in it; but just as the purification or expiation of the vessels or worship generally applied only to the sins of the nation, by which these vessels had been defiled (Lev 16:16, Lev 16:19), so here the purification of the altar with the blood of the sin-offering, upon which the priests had laid their hands, had reference simply to pollutions, with which the priests defiled the altar when officiating at it, through the uncleanness of their sinful nature. As the priests could not be installed in the functions of the priesthood, notwithstanding the holiness communicated to them through the anointing, without a sin-offering to awaken the consciousness in both themselves and the nation that the sinfulness which lay at the root of human nature was not removed by the anointing, but only covered in the presence of the holy God, and that sin still clung to man, and polluted all his doings and designs; so that altar, upon which they were henceforth to offer sacrifices, still required to be purified through the blood of the bullock, that had been slaughtered as a sin-offering for the expiation of their sins, to sanctify it for the service of the priests, i.e., to cover up the sins by which they would defile it when performing their service. For this sanctification the blood of the sin-offering, that had been slaughtered for them, was taken, to indicate the fellowship which was henceforth to exist between them and the altar, and to impress upon them the fact, that the blood, by which they were purified, was also to serve as the means of purifying the altar from the sins attaching to their service. Although none of the blood of this sin-offering was carried into the holy place, because only the anointed priests were to be thereby inducted into the fellowship of the altar, the flesh of the animal could only be burnt outside the camp, because the sacrifice served to purify the priesthood (see Lev 4:11-12). For the rest, the remarks made on Lev 4:4 are also applicable to the symbolical meaning of this sacrifice.
Lev 8:18-21 The sin-offering, through which the priests and the altar had been expiated, and every disturbance of the fellowship existing between the holy God and His servants at the altar, in consequence of the sin of those who were to be consecrated, had been taken away, was followed by a burnt-offering, consisting of a ram, which was offered according to the ordinary ritual of the burnt-offering (Lev 1:3-9), and served to set forth the priests, who had appointed it as their substitute through the laying on of hands, as a living, holy, and well-pleasing sacrifice to the Lord, and to sanctify them to the Lord with all the faculties of both body and soul.
Lev 8:22-30 This was followed by the presentation of a peace-offering, which also consisted of a ram, called “ the ram of the filling, ” or “ of the fill-offering, ” from the peculiar ceremony performed with the flesh, by which this sacrifice became a consecration-offering, inducting the persons consecrated into the possession and enjoyment of the privileges of the priesthood. A ram was offered as a peace-offering, by the nation as a whole (Lev 9:4, Lev 9:18), the tribe-princes (Num 7:17.), and a Nazarite (Num 6:14, Num 6:17), who also occupied a higher position in the congregation (Amo 2:11-12); but it was never brought by a private Israelite for a peace-offering. The offering described here differed from the rest of the peace-offerings, first of all, in the ceremony performed with the blood (Lev 8:23 and Lev 8:24, cf. Exo 29:20-21). Before sprinkling the blood upon the altar, Moses put some of it upon the tip of the right ear, upon the right thumb, and upon the great toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons. Thus 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; whilst through the subsequent sprinkling of the blood upon the altar they were introduced symbolically within the sphere of the divine grace, by virtue of the sacrificial blood, which represented the soul as the principle of life, and covered it in the presence of the holiness of God, to be sanctified by that grace to the rendering of willing and righteous service to the Lord. The sanctification was at length completed by Moses’ taking some of the anointing oil and some of the blood upon the altar, and sprinkling Aaron and his sons, and also their clothes; that is to say, by his sprinkling the persons themselves, as bearers of the priesthood, and their clothes, as the insignia of the priesthood, with a mixture of holy anointing oil and sacrificial blood taken from the altar (Lev 8:30). The blood taken from the altar shadowed forth the soul as united with God through the medium of the atonement, and filled with powers of grace. The holy anointing oil was a symbol of the Spirit of God. Consequently, through this sprinkling the priests were endowed, both soul and spirit, with the higher powers of the divine life. The sprinkling, however, was performed, not upon the persons alone, but also upon their official dress. For it had reference to the priests, not in their personal or individual relation to the Lord, but in their official position, and with regard to their official work in the congregation of the Lord.
(Note: In the instructions in Exo 29:21 this ceremony is connected with the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar; but here, on the contrary, it is mentioned after the burning of the flesh. Whether because it was not performed till after this, or because it is merely recorded here in a supplementary form, it is difficult to decide. The latter is the more probable, because the blood upon the altar would soon run off; so that if Moses wanted to take any of it off, it could not be long delayed.)
In addition to this, the following appointment is contained in Exo 29:29, Exo 29:30: “The holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him,” i.e., pass to his successors in the high-priesthood, “to anoint them therein and fill their hands therein. Seven days shall the priest of his sons in his stead put them on ( with the suffix – as in Gen 19:19), who shall go into the tabernacle to serve in the sanctuary.” Accordingly, at Aaron’s death his successor Eleazar was dressed in his robes (Num 20:26-28). It by no means follows from this, that a formal priestly consecration was repeated solely in the case of the high priest as the head of the priesthood, and that with the common priests the first anointing by Moses sufficed for all time. We have already observed at p. 545 that this is not involved in Exo 40:15; and the fact that it is only the official costume of the high priest which is expressly said to have passed to his successor, may be explained on the simple ground, that as his dress was only worn when he was discharging certain special functions before Jehovah, it would not be worn out so soon as the dress of the ordinary priests, which was worn in the daily service, and therefore would hardly last long enough to be handed down from father to son.
(Note: It no more follows from the omission of express instructions concerning the repetition of the ceremony in the case of every priest who had to be consecrated, that the future priests were not invested, anointed, and in all respects formally consecrated, than the fact that the anointing is not mentioned in Lev 8:13 proves that the priests were not anointed at all.)
The ceremony performed with the flesh of this sacrifice was also peculiarly significant (Lev 8:25-29). Moses took the fat portions, which were separated from the flesh in the case of the ordinary peace-offerings and burned upon the altar, and the right leg, which was usually assigned to the officiating priest, and then laid by the pieces of flesh (or upon them) another cake of each of the three kinds of pastry, which fell to the portion of the priest in other cases, as a heave-offering for Jehovah, and put all this into the hands of Aaron and his sons, and waved it as a wave-offering for Jehovah, after which he took it from their hands and burned it upon the altar, “ as a filling ( ) for a savour of satisfaction, as a firing for Jehovah. ” These last words, which are attached to the preceding without a conjunction, and, as the and show, form independent clauses (lit., “ filling are they…a firing is it for Jehovah ”), contain the reason for this unusual proceeding, so that Luther’s explanation is quite correct, “for it is a fill-offering,” etc. The ceremony of handing the portions mentioned to Aaron and his sons denoted the filling of their hands with the sacrificial gifts, which they were afterwards to offer to the Lord in the case of the peace-offerings, viz., the fat portions as a firing upon the altar, the right leg along with the bread-cake as a wave-offering, which the Lord then relinquished to them as His own servants. The filling of their hands with these sacrificial gifts, from which the offering received the name of fill-offering, signified on the one hand the communication of the right belonging to the priest to offer the fat portions to the Lord upon the altar, and on the other hand the enfeoffment of the priests with gifts, which they were to receive in future for their service. This symbolical signification of the act in question serves to explain the circumstance, that both the fat portions, which were to be burned upon the altar, and also the right leg with the bread-cakes which formed the priests’ share of the peace-offerings, were merely placed in the priests’s hands in this instance, and presented symbolically to the Lord by waving, and then burned by Moses upon the altar. For Aaron and his sons were not only to be enfeoffed with what they were to burn unto the Lord, but also with what they would receive for their service. And as even the latter was a prerogative bestowed upon them by the Lord, it was right that at their consecration they should offer it symbolically to the Lord by waving, and actually by burning upon the altar. But as the right leg was devoted to another purpose in this case, Moses received the breast-piece, which was presented to the Lord by waving (Lev 8:29), and which afterwards fell to the lot of the priests, as his portion for the sacrificial meal, which formed the conclusion of this dedicatory offering, as it did of all the peace-offerings. In Exo 29:27-28, we also find the command, that the wave-breast of the ram of the fill-offering, and the heave-leg which had been lifted off, should afterwards belong to Aaron and his sons on the part of the children of Israel, as a perpetual statute, i.e., as a law for all time; and the following reason is assigned: “ for it is a heave-offering ( terumah , a lifting off), and shall be a heave-offering on the part of the children of Israel of their peace-offerings, their heave-offering for Jehovah, ” i.e., which they were to give to the Lord from their peace-offerings for the good of His servants. The application of the word terumah to both kinds of offering, the wave-breast and the heave-shoulder, may be explained on the simple ground, that the gift to be waved had to be lifted off from the sacrificial animal before the waving could be performed.
Lev 8:31-32 For the sacrificial meal, the priests were to boil the flesh in front of the door of the tabernacle, or, according to Exo 29:31, “at the holy place,” i.e., in the court, and eat it with the bread in the fill-offering basket; and no stranger (i.e., layman or non-priest) was to take part in the meal, because the flesh and bread were holy (Exo 29:33), that is to say, had served to make atonement for the priests, to fill their hands and sanctify them. Atoning virtue is attributed to this sacrifice in the same sense as to the burnt-offering in Lev 1:4. Whatever was left of the flesh and bread until the following day, that is to say, was not eaten on the day of sacrifice, was to be burned with fire, for the reason explained at Lev 7:17. The exclusion of laymen from participating in this sacrificial meal is to be accounted for in the same way as the prohibition of unleavened bread, which was offered and eaten in the case of the ordinary peace-offerings along with the unleavened sacrificial cakes (see at Lev 7:13). The meal brought the consecration of the priests to a close, as Aaron and his sons were thereby received into that special, priestly covenant with the Lord, the blessings and privileges of which were to be enjoyed by the consecrated priests alone. At this meal the priests were not allowed to eat leavened bread, any more than the nation generally at the feast of Passover (Exo 12:8.).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
14 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. 15 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. 16 And 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 burned it upon the altar. 17 But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses. 18 And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. 19 And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. 20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. 21 And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. 22 And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. 23 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. 24 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. 25 And he took the fat, and the rump, 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: 26 And out of the basket of unleavened bread, 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: 27 And he put all upon Aaron’s hands, and upon his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD. 28 And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 29 And 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. 30 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.
The covenant of priesthood must be made by sacrifice, as well as other covenants, Ps. l. 5. And thus Christ was consecrated by the sacrifice of himself, once for all. Sacrifices of each kind must be offered for the priests, that they might with the more tenderness and concern offer the gifts and sacrifices of the people, with compassion on the ignorant, and on those that were out of the way, not insulting over those for whom sacrifices were offered, remembering that they themselves had had sacrifices offered for them, being compassed with infirmity. 1. A bullock, the largest sacrifice, was offered for a sin-offering (v. 14), that hereby atonement might be made, and they might not bring any of the guilt of the sins of their former state into the new character they were now to put on. When Isaiah was sent to be a prophet, he was told to his comfort, Thy iniquity is taken away, Isa. vi. 7. Ministers, that are to declare the remission of sins to others, should give diligence to get it made sure to themselves in the first place that their own sins are pardoned. Those to whom is committed the ministry of reconciliation must first be reconciled to God themselves, that they may deal for the souls of others as for their own. 2. A ram was offered for a burnt-offering, v. 18-21. By this they gave to God the glory of this great honour which was now put upon them, and returned him praise for it, as Paul thanked Christ Jesus for putting him into the ministry, 1 Tim. i. 12. They also signified the devoting of themselves and all their services to the honour of God. 3. Another ram, called the ram of consecration, was offered for a peace-offering, v. 22, c. The blood of it was part put on the priests, on their ears, thumbs, and toes, and part sprinkled upon the altar and thus he did (as it were) marry them to the altar, upon which they must all their days give attendance. All the ceremonies about this offering, as those before, were appointed by the express command of God; and, if we compare this chapter with Exod. xxix, we shall find that the performance of the solemnity exactly agrees with the precept there, and in nothing varies. Here, therefore, as in the account we had of the tabernacle and its vessels, it is again and again repeated, As the Lord commanded Moses. And thus Christ, when he sanctified himself with his own blood, had an eye to his Father’s will in it. As the Father gave me commandment so I do,Joh 14:31; Joh 10:18; Joh 6:38.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(14) And he brought the bullock for the sin offeringThough duly consecrated, Aaron and his sons had first to be purged of their sins before they could commence their priestly functions in the sanctuary. Hence, Moses, as the mediator of the covenant delegated by God to perform the act of consecration, also performed the sacrificial rites, whilst the installed priests stood as penitent sinners by the side of the sin offering which was now offered for the first time. For the laying on of the hands by the offerer on the victim, see Lev. 1:4.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Sin offering See Lev 4:3, note, and concluding notes of chap. 4. Note the order of the sacrifices in this service of consecration; first, sin must be expiated, and, secondly, the surrender of self unto Jehovah must be set forth by the whole burnt offering; then the bread offering is presented, symbolizing joyful communion with the Lord through the fruits of holiness. See Introduction, (5.)
Hands upon the head See Lev 1:4, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Offering of the Purification For Sin Offering ( Lev 8:14-17 ).
Lev 8:14
‘And he brought the bull ox of the purification for sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull ox of purification for sin offering.’
Having sanctified the tabernacle and it contents, and having put the priestly garments on Aaron and his son’s, and having anointed Aaron with oil to inaugurate the priesthood, Moses now commenced the offerings and sacrifices to seal the occasion.
The first stage was the purification for sin offering. In order to be initiated all must first be purified from their sins. This is the first stage for all of us. And it was so for Aaron. If we would be become God’s priests, anointed to serve Him, we must commence with being purified, in our case through the blood of Jesus (Heb 9:14; Heb 10:10).
The bull ox was brought forward, and Aaron and all of his sons laid their hands on it. By this they united themselves with the bull ox and it became their representative. It may be that they confessed their sins over it, but in fact confession of sin is only specifically linked to guilt offerings and to the live goat on the Day of Atonement, never to the purification for sin offerings, although the latter were certainly in recognition of having sinned.
Lev 8:15
‘And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it.’
Aaron then slew the bull ox, and Moses would catch the blood in a basin. We may also assume that they skinned the bull ox and cut it in pieces. Moses then took the blood and with his finger applied it to the horns of the altar, thus purifying the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar, sanctifying it and making atonement for it. It would seem clear from the fact that the altar which has just been sanctified (Lev 8:11) needs to be sanctified again, that the bringing of the bull ox and the slaying of it has in some way affected the altar. It is becoming as one with the sacrifice and the offerers, and needs to be purified and atoned for so that it can offer the offerings. Thus the purifying of the altar and the making of atonement for it includes the purifying of those involved at this stage, and the making of atonement for them. Their sin is seen as being in some way transferred to the altar, which was then purified so that the sin was neutralised.
The altar was in a way seen as the gateway to God. In Ezekiel’s heavenly temple the only thing actually commanded to be built is the altar (Eze 43:18). It was through that earthly altar (in the relatively diminutive second temple) that the heavenly temple could be accessed. The heavenly temple was God’s own dwellingplace, never intended to be built on earth. It descended from God and finally returned to God, and is depicted in Revelation as the place from where He dispenses His blessings and judgments, and from which will flow the rivers of living water (Eze 47:1-12; compare Rev 22:1-5; Joh 7:38).
Lev 8:16
‘And he took all the fat that was on the innards, and the covering of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it on the altar.’
All the fat and the innards, including the vital parts, were now burned on the altar. The procedure follows that of the purification for sin offering for the priest described in Lev 4:3-12. The fat is the choice part of the offering, and the vital parts represent the soul of the animal, its vital life. All are offered to God in homage and worship. They are not to be partaken of even by the priests.
Lev 8:17
‘But the bull ox, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he burnt with fire outside the camp, as Yahweh commanded Moses.’
Then all that remains of the bull ox is taken outside the camp and burned in a clean place, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. All that Moses did was precisely as commanded by Yahweh. This was because these remains were so holy that they could not be burned on the altar, and could not be allowed to remain in the camp. They were passed on to God in His own place in the wilderness, in ‘a clean place’, a place not contaminated by any aspect of His living and dying creation.
Thus was Aaron, along with his sons, purified with the type and shadow that pointed forwards to the coming of Jesus Christ Who, as the holiest of the holy, came as God’s purification for sin offering, an offering made once-for-all for them and for the whole world, an offering so holy that He had to be offered outside Jerusalem. Without His first offering for sin, and our response to it by spiritually laying our hands on Him, we could not even begin to approach God.
Purification is thus foundational and central to the whole ceremony. It is ever so. If we would serve God we too must be purified, and be kept continually pure, and this purification is only possible through His blood. He offered Himself up as a sacrifice for our sins so that He might make purification for sins (Heb 1:3), and when we are open to Him and come to Him the blood of Christ through the eternal Spirit will purge our consciences from dead works to serve the living God (Heb 9:14), and from then on as we continue walking in His light, the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, will go on cleansing us from all sin (1Jn 1:7). But if we refuse His light there is nothing left but darkness.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Sacrifices
v. 14. And he brought the bullock for the sin-offering, v. 15. 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. v. 16. And 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 burned it upon the altar.
v. 17. But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung he burned with fire without the camp, v. 18. And he brought the ram for the burnt offering, v. 19. And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
v. 20. And he cut the ram in to pieces; and Moses burned the head and the pieces and the fat.
v. 21. And he washed the inwards, the intestines, and the legs in water; and Moses burned the whole ram upon the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savor, and an offering made by fire unto the Lord, v. 22. And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration, v. 23. 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, v. 24. 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. v. 25. And he took the fat, and the rump, v. 26. and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, v. 27. and he put all upon Aaron’s hands and upon his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave-offering before the Lord. v. 28. And Moses took them from off their hands, and burned them on the altar upon the burnt offering; they were consecrations for a sweet savor, v. 29. And 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, v. 30. 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.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Lev 8:14-30. He brought the bullock for the sin-offering, &c. They who were to offer sacrifice for the sins of others, first needed to make atonement for their own. Nothing fits a minister to deal with wounded consciences, or engages him to have compassion on the tempted, so much as an humbling sense of his own sins.
A bullock was offered as a sin-offering, a ram as a burnt-offering, and another for consecration; the blood of which was partly sprinkled upon the altar, and partly put upon their right ears, thumbs, and great toes, and on their garments; and a cake of the bread-offering was put into their hands with the wave-shoulder, and burnt upon the altar. Hence learn, 1. That they who are called to the office of the ministry ought to be deeply thankful to God for the honour he puts upon them. 2. Every priest is married to the altar, and engages to give up himself wholly to the work of the ministry. 3. We shall always minister with comfort to others when we have the blood of sprinkling speaking peace to our own souls.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Observe the sin-offering is first made for the priests. Yes! it is highly proper that they who minister in holy things should have peace with GOD in CHRIST for their own sins, before they propose reconciliation through the blood of CHRIST to others. Rom 2:21 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sin offering. Hebrew. chata. App-43.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
he brought: Lev 8:2, Lev 4:3-12, Lev 16:6, Exo 29:10-14, Isa 53:10, Eze 43:19, Rom 8:3, 2Co 5:21, Heb 7:26-28, 1Pe 3:18
laid: Lev 1:4, Lev 4:4, Lev 16:21
Reciprocal: Lev 4:11 – General Lev 9:2 – a young Lev 16:3 – a young Lev 16:5 – General Num 8:12 – Levites 2Ch 29:22 – sprinkled Eze 44:27 – he shall offer Heb 5:3 – as
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 8:14. The bullock There were, indeed, seven bullocks to be offered at his consecration, one every day; but here he mentions only one, because he here describes only the work of the first day.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The ordination offerings 8:14-30
Moses as the mediator of the covenant performed the sacrificial ceremony recorded in these verses. He presented three offerings.
1. He offered a young ox as a sin (purification) offering (Lev 8:14-17).
2. He offered a ram as a burnt offering (Lev 8:18-21).
3. Then he offered another ram as a peace (fellowship) offering (Lev 8:22-30).
Moses applied blood from the peace offering to Aaron’s ear, hand, and foot (Lev 8:23).
". . . 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." [Note: Ibid., 2:340.]
The sprinkling of the priests and their garments with blood and oil (Lev 8:30) represented endowment with the benefits of atoning blood and the Spirit of God’s power.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
THE CONSECRATION SACRIFICES
Lev 8:14-32
“And he brought the bullock of the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock of 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 out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it. And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burnt it upon the altar. But the bullock, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he presented the ram of 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. And he cut the ram into its pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. And he washed the inwards and the legs with water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar; it was a burnt offering for a sweet savour: it was an offering made by fire unto the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he presented 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 thereof, and put it upon the tip of Aarons right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aarons sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; and out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat, and upon the right thigh; and he put the whole upon the hands of Aaron, and upon the hands of his sons, and waved them for a wave offering before the Lord. And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were a consecration for a sweet savour: it was an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the Lord: it was Moses portion of the ram of consecration; as the Lord commanded Moses. And Moses took at the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons garments with him. And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tent of meeting; and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration, 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.”
The last part of the consecration ceremonial was the sacrifices. Each of the chief sacrifices of the law were offered in order; first, a sin offering; then, a burnt offering; then, a peace offering, with some significant variations from the ordinary ritual, adapting it to this occasion; with which was conjoined, after the usual manner, a meal offering. A sin offering was offered, first of all; there had been a symbolical cleansing with water, but still a sin offering is requited.
It signified, what so many in these days seem to forget, that in order to our acceptableness before God, not only is needed a cleansing of the defilement of nature by the regeneration of the Holy Ghost, but also expiation for the guilt of our sins. The sin offering was first, for the guilt of Aaron and his sons must be thus typically removed, before their burnt offerings and their meal and peace offerings can be accepted.
The peculiarities of the offerings as rendered on this occasion are easily explained from the circumstances of their presentation. Moses officiates, for this time only, as specially delegated for this occasion, inasmuch as Aaron and his sons are not yet fully inducted into their office. The victim for the sin offering is the costliest ever employed: a bullock, as ordered for the sin of the anointed priest. But the blood is not brought into the Holy Place, as in the ritual for the offering for the high priest, because Aaron is not yet fully inducted into his office. Nor do Aaron and his sons eat of the flesh of the sin offering, as ordered in the case of other sin offerings whose blood is not brought within the Holy Place; obviously, because of the principle which rules throughout the law, that he for whose sin the sin offering is offered, must not himself eat of the flesh; it is therefore burnt with fire, without the camp, that it may not see corruption.
By this sin offering, not only Aaron and his son were cleansed, but we read that hereby atonement was also made “for the altar”; a mysterious type, reminding us that, in some way which we cannot as yet fully understand, sin has affected the whole universe: in such a sense, that not only for man himself who has sinned, is propitiation required, but, in some sense, even for the earth itself, with the heavens. That in expounding the meaning of this part of the ritual we do not go beyond the Scripture is plain from such passages as Heb 9:23, where it is expressly said that even as the tabernacle and the things in it were cleansed with the blood of the bullock, so was necessary that, not merely man, but “the heavenly things themselves,” of which the tabernacle and its belongings were the “copies,” should be cleansed with better sacrifices than these, even the offering of Christs own blood. So also we read in Col 1:20, before cited, that through Christ, even through the blood of His cross, not merely persons, “but all things, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens,” should be reconciled unto God. Mysterious words these, no doubts but words which teach us at least so much as this, how profound and far reaching is the mischief which sin has wrought, even our sin. Not merely the sinning man must be cleansed with blood before he can be made a priest unto God, but even nature, “made subject to vanity,” {Rom 8:20} for mans sin, needs the reconciling blood before redeemed man can exercise his priesthood unto God in the heavenly places. Evidently we have here an estimate of the evil of sin which is incomparably higher than that which is commonly current among men; and we shall do well to conform our estimate to that of God, who required atonement to be made even for the earthen altar, to sanctify it.
Reconciliation being made by the sin offering, next in order came the burnt offering, symbolic, as we have seen, of the full consecration of the person of the offerer to God; in this case of the full consecration of Aaron and his sons to the service of God in the priesthood. The ritual was according to the usual law, and requires no further exposition.
The ceremonial culminated and was completed in the offering of “the ram of consecration.” The expression is, literally, “the ram of fillings”; in which phrase there is a reference to the peculiar ceremony described in Lev 8:27-28, in which certain portions of the victim and of the meal offering were placed by Moses on the hands of Aaron and his sons, and waved by them for a wave offering; and afterwards burnt wholly on the altar upon the burnt offering, in token of their full devotement to the Lord. Of these it is then added, “they were a consecration” (lit. “fillings,” sc. of hands, “were these”). The meaning of the phrase and the action it denoted is determined by its use in 1Ch 29:5 and 2Ch 29:31, where it is used of the bringing of the freewill offerings by the people for Jehovah. The ceremonial in this case therefore signified the formal making over of the sacrifices into the charge of Aaron and his sons, which henceforth they were to offer; that they received them to offer them to and for Jehovah, was symbolised by their presentation to be waved before Jehovah, and further by their being burnt upon the altar, as a sacrifice of sweet savour.
Another thing peculiar to this special consecration sacrifice, was the use which was made of the blood, which (Lev 8:23) was put upon the tip of Aarons right ear, upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. Although the solution is not without difficulty, we shall probably not err in regarding this as distinctively an act of consecration, signifying that in virtue of the sacrificial blood, Aaron and his sons were set apart to sacrificial service. It is applied to the ear, to the hand, and the foot, and to the most representative member in each case, to signify the consecration of the whole body to the Lords service in the tabernacle; the ear is consecrated by the blood to be ever attentive to the word of Jehovah, to receive the intimations of His will; the hand, to be ever ready to do the Lords work; and the foot, to run on His service.
Another peculiarity of this offering was in the wave offering of Aaron and his sons. Not the breast, but the thigh, and that together with the fat (Lev 8:27) was waved before the Lord; and, afterward, not only the fat was burnt upon the altar, according to the law, but also the thigh, which in other cases was the portion of the priest, was burnt with the fat and the memorial of the meal offering. The breast was afterward waved, as the law commanded in the case of the peace offerings, but was given to Moses as his portion. The last particular is easy to understand; Moses in this ceremonial stands in the place of the officiating priest, and it is natural that he should thus receive from the Lord his reward for his service. As for the thigh, which, when the peace offering was offered by one of the people, was presented to the Lord, and then given to the officiating priest to be eaten, obviously the law could not be applied here, as the priests themselves were the bringers of the offering; hence the only alternative was, as in the case of sin offerings of the holy place, to burn the flesh with fire upon the altar, as “the food of Jehovah.” The remainder of the flesh was to be eaten by the priests alone as the offerers, under the regulation for the thank offering, except that whatever remained until the next day was to be burnt; a direction which is explained by the fact that the sacrifice was to be repeated for seven days, so that there could be no reason for keeping the flesh until the third day. Last of all, it is to be noted that whereas in the thank offerings of the people, the offerer was allowed to bring leavened bread for the sacrificial feast, in the feast of the consecration of priests this was not permitted; no doubt to emphasise the peculiar sanctity of the office to which they were inducted.
With these modifications, it is plain that the sacrifice of consecration was essentially, not a guilt offering, as some have supposed, but a peace offering. It is true that a ram was enjoined as the victim instead of a lamb, but the correspondence here with the law of the guilt offering is of no significance when we observe that rams were also enjoined or used for peace offerings on other occasions of exceptional dignity and sanctity, as in the peace offerings for the nation, mentioned in the following chapter, and the peace offerings for the princes of the tribes. {Num 7:1-89} Unlike the guilt offering, but after the manner of the other, the sacrifice was followed by a sacrificial feast. That participation in this was restricted to the priests is sufficiently explained by the special relation of this sacrifice to their own consecration.
Before the sacrificial feast, however, one peculiar ceremony still remained. We read (Lev 8:30): “Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood (of the peace offering) which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons garments with him.”
This sprinkling signified that now, through the atoning blood which had been accepted before God upon the altar, and through the sanctifying Spirit of grace, which was symbolised by the anointing, thus inseparably associated each with the other, they had been brought into covenant relation with God regarding the office of the priesthood. That this their covenant relation to God concerned them, not merely as private persons, but in their official character, was intimated by the sprinkling, not only of their persons, but of the garments which were the insignia of their priestly office.
All this completed, now followed the sacrificial feast. We read that Moses now ordered Aaron and his sons (Lev 8:31): “Boil the flesh at the door of the tent of meeting: and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration, 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.”
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.
The commandment was (Lev 8:33-35): “Ye shall not go out from the door of the tent of meeting seven days, until the days of your consecration be fulfilled: for he shall consecrate you seven days. As hath been done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make atonement for you. And at the door of the tent of meeting shall ye abide day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.”
By the sevenfold repetition of the consecration ceremonies was expressed, in the most emphatic manner known to the Mosaic symbolism, the completeness of the consecration and qualification of Aaron and his sons for their office, and the fact also that, in virtue of this consecration, they had come into a special covenant relation with Jehovah concerning the priestly office.
That these consecration sacrifices by which Aaron and his sons were set apart to the priesthood, no less than the preceding part of the ceremonial, pointed forward to Christ and His priestly people as the Antitype, it will be easy to see. As regards our Lord, in Heb 7:28, the sacred writer applies to the consecration of our Lord as high priest the very term which the Seventy had used long before in this chapter of Leviticus to denote this formal consecration, and represents the consecration of the Son as the antitype of the consecration of Aaron by the law: “the law appointeth men high priests, having infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was after the law, appointeth a Son, perfected for evermore.”
An exception, indeed, must be made, as regards our Lord, in the case of the sin offering; of whom it is said, {Heb 7:27} that He “needeth not, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins.” But as regards the other two sacrifices, we can see that in their distinctive symbolical import they each bring before us essential elements in the consecration of our Lord Jesus Christ as High Priest. In the burnt offering, we see Him consecrating Himself by the complete self-surrender of Himself to the Father. In the offering of consecrations, we see Him in the meal offering of unleavened bread, offering in like manner His most holy works unto the Father; and in the sacrifice of the peace offering, wherein Aaron ate of the food of Gods house in His presence, we see Jesus in like manner as qualified for His high priestly work by His admission into terms of the most intimate fellowship with the Father, and sustained for His work by the strength given from Him, according to His own word, “The living Father hath sent Me, and I live because of the Father.” In the formal “filling of the hands” of Aaron with the sacrificial material, in token of his endowment with the right to offer sacrifices for sin for the sake of sinful men, we are reminded how our Lord refers to the fact that He had received in like manner authority from the Father to lay down His life for His sheep, emphatically adding the words, {Joh 10:18} “This commandment have I received of My Father.”
So also was the meaning of the collateral ceremonies fully realised in Him. If Aaron was anointed with the blood on ear, hand, and foot, by way of signifying that the members of his body should be wholly devoted unto God in priestly service, even so we are reminded, {Heb 10:5; Heb 10:7} that “when He cometh into the world He saith Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body didst thou prepare for Me; Lo, I am come to do Thy will, O God.”
And so, as Aaron was at the end of the sacrifice sprinkled with blood and oil, in token that God had now, through the blood and the oil, entered into a covenant of priesthood with him, so we find repeated reference to the fact of such a solemn covenant and compact between God and the High Priest of our profession summed up in the words of prophecy, “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
So did this whole consecration ceremony, with the exception only of such parts of it as had reference to the sin of Aaron, point forward to the future investiture of the Son of God with the high priestly office, by God the Father, that He might act therein for our salvation in all matters between us and God. How can any who have eyes to see all this, as opened out for us in the New Testament, fail with fullest joy and thankfulness to accept Christ, the Son of God, now passed into the Holiest, as the High Priest of our profession? How naturally to all such come the words of exhortation with which is concluded the great argument upon Christs high priesthood in the Epistle to the Hebrews: {Heb 10:19-23} “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus; and having a great priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart, in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body washed with pure water: let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for He is faithful that promised.”
But not only was Aaron thus consecrated to be high priest of the tabernacle, but his sons also, to be priests under him in the same service. In this also the type holds good. For when in Heb 2:1-18 Christ is brought before us as “the High Priest of our confession,” He is represented as saying (Heb 2:13), “Behold, I and the children which God hath given me!” As Aaron had his sons appointed to perform priestly functions under him in the earthly tabernacle, so also his great Antitype has “sons,” called to priestly office under Him in the heavenly tabernacle. Accordingly we find that in the New Testament, not any caste or class in the Christian Church, but all believers, are represented as “a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. {1Pe 2:5} To the testimony of Peter corresponds that of John in the Apocalypse, where in like manner believers are declared to be priests unto God, and represented as also acting as priests of God and of Christ in the age which is to come after “the first resurrection” {Rev 20:6} Hence it is plain that according to the New Testament we shall rightly regard the consecration of the sons of Aaron as no less typical than that of Aaron himself. It is typical of the consecration of all believers to priesthood under Christ. It thus sets forth in symbol the fact and the manner of our own consecration to ministrations between lost men and God, in the age which now is and that which is to come, in things pertaining to sin and salvation, according to the measure to each one of the gift of Christ.
As the consecration of Aarons sons began with the washing with pure water, so ours with “the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost”. {Tit 3:5} As Aarons sons, thus washed, were then invested in white linen, clean and pure, so for the believer must the word be fulfilled: {Isa 61:10} “He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself” (marg. “decketh as a priest”). That is, the reality of our appointment of God unto this high dignity must be visibly attested unto men by the righteousness of our lives. But whereas the sons of Aaron were not clothed until first Aaron himself had been clothed and anointed, it is signified that the robing and anointing of Christs people follows and depends upon the previous robing and anointing of their Head. Again, as Aarons sons were also anointed with the same holy oil as was Aaron, only in lesser measure, so are believers consecrated to the priestly office, like their Lord, by the anointing with the Holy Ghost. The anointing of Pentecost follows and corresponds to the anointing of the High Priest at the Jordan with one and the same Spirit. This is an other necessary consecration mark, on which the New Testament Scriptures constantly insist. As Jesus was “anointed with the Holy Ghost and (thereby) with power,” so He Himself said to His disciples, {Act 1:8} “Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you”; which promise being fulfilled, Paul could say, {2Co 1:21} “He that anointed us is God”; and John, {1Jn 2:20} to all believers, “Ye have an anointing from the Holy One.” And the sacrificial symbols are also all fulfilled in the case of the Lords priestly people. For them, no less essential to their consecration than the washing of the Holy Ghost, is the removal of guilt by the great Sin offering of Calvary; which same offering, and true Lamb of God, has also become their burnt offering, their meal offering, and their sacrifice of consecrations, as it is written, {Heb 10:10} that, by the will of God, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”; and that He also is become “our peace,” in that He has expiated our sins, and also given Himself to us as our spiritual food; that so we may derive daily strength for the daily service of the priests office, by feeding on the Lamb of God, the true food of the altar, given by God for our support. Also, as the sons of Aaron, like Aaron himself, were anointed with the blood of the peace offering of consecration, on the ear, the hand, and the foot, so has the blood of the Lamb, in that it has brought us into peace with God, set apart every true believer unto full surrender of all the members of his body unto Him; ears, that they may be quick to hear Gods word; hands, that they may be quick to do it; feet, that they may only run in the way of His commandments. And finally, whereas the solemn covenant of priesthood into which Aaron and his sons had entered with God, was sealed and ratified by the sprinkling with the oil and the blood, so by the unction of the Holy Spirit given to believers, and the cleansing of the conscience by the blood, is it witnessed and certified that they are a people called out to enter into covenant of priestly service with the God of all the earth and the heavens.
What searching questions as to personal experience all this raises! What solemn thoughts throng into the mind of every thoughtful reader! All this essential, if we are to be indeed members of that royal priesthood, who shall reign as priests of God and of Christ? Have we then the marks, all of them? Let us not shrink from the questions, but probe with them the innermost depths of our hearts. Have we had the washing of regeneration? If we think that we have had this, then let us also remember that after the washing came the investiture in white linen. Let us ask, Have we then put on these white garments of righteousness? All that were washed, were also clad in white; these were their official robes, without which they could not act as priests unto God. And there was also an anointing. Have we, in like manner, received the anointing with the Holy Ghost, endowing us with power and wisdom for service? Then, the sin offering, the burnt offering, the peace offering of consecration, -has the Lamb of God been used by us in all these various ways, as our expiation, our consecration, our peace, and our life? And has the blood which consecrates also been applied to ear, hand, and foot? Are we consecrated in all the members of our bodies?
What questions these are! Truly, it is no light thing to be a Christian; to be called and consecrated to be, with and under the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, a “priest unto God” in this life and in that of “the first resurrection”; to deal between God and men in matters of salvation. Have we well understood what is our “high calling,” and what the conditions on which alone we may exercise our ministry? To this may God give us grace, for Jesus sake. Amen.