Thursday Night Bible Study

Leviticus 8-Leviticus 9 (Click title for audio access)

"Ordination"  •  8.25.11  •  Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary Christian Fellowship

Intro.

- Leviticus 8 and 9 deal with the ordination of the priests, who would facilitate the worship of God through the vehicle of sacrifice.

- The details are of importance to us as we consider the priestly life because God has told us that we are a Kingdom of priests.

- Therefore, what happened to these men physically and in time, provides a portrait for our life and the exercise of our priestly duty in the world that we live in today.

- To this point, God has shown us the what of worship, namely the sacrifices and offerings. In the two chapters before us, I believe that we'll get a better picture of the why of worship.

Text

•  Leviticus 8:1-3  :  "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^'Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.'"  :  The ordination of the priests would be a public meeting, before the people, who would witness this.

- Why would they need to be consecrated? After all, they were members of the right family, having been born in the line of the priests! They were born for it, but they also needed to submit to it!

- God's ministers must be ordained and clothed before the eyes of the people, so that they see that it is God who called and appointed them.

•  Leviticus 8:4-12  :  "So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And Moses said to the congregation, 'This is what the Lord commanded to be done.' Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him. Then he put the breastplate on him, and he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate. And he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to consecrate them. And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him."  :  The priest's vestments all speak prophetically of Christ, a subject we covered in Exodus 28-30.

- Before anything was put on the priest, he was washed, cleansed. The Priest is not a dirty man that is clothed with beauty. He's a clean man clothed with beauty!

- These Priests were physically washed in the water of the bronze laver. We are washed in the water of the word of God, cleansed by what the Spirit reveals to us.

- This section deals with the ordination of Aaron, the Annointed or High Priest.

- The tunic, the undergarments were placed on him first, then the sash or belt. These are simple garments that speak to a holiness that goes where only God can see.

- Nobody saw the linen tunic, except for this first exhibition, but when the priest wore it, it symbolized a submission that was not simply outward adornement.

- A Christian is not simply one who is outwardly presentable, but one who is clothed through and through. One who is not is simply hiding their hypocrisy. Jesus was without guile or hypocrisy.

- After that he was clothed with the robe, representing righteousness, a righteousness that speaks of that which is granted to us in Christ.

 - The Ephod represents the responsibility that the priest had for the nation before God.

- Above the Ephod was the breastplate which also had stones which represented each of the tribes of Israel. The Priest carried the nation of Israel on his shoulders through these implements.

- He would come bearing physical reminders of the nation before God, in the same way that Jesus would take the nation upon His shoulders and the way that we are to carry others to Christ!

- The Urim and the Thummin were black and white deciding stones, light and perfections, meant to reveal direction from God.

- Moses used the anointing oil, that perfumed mixture and used it to consecrate the altar, the utensils, the laver and it's base, all of which were in the outer court.

- The implements, were sufficiently set apart and dedicated to the use for worship exclusively, all as the Lord commanded.

•  Leviticus 8:13-21  :  "Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put hats on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses. And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering, and Moses killed it. Then he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses."  :  Moses performed the first sacrifice which was tied to the priests, who were being set apart for the ministry. That blood of the bull was to make atonement for the altar, as well as the priest.

- The priestly life and ministry comes from having been atoned for. One cannot minister for Christ, unless he or she has first received the gift of Christ!

- One cannot minister the gift of reconciliation, unless they have put their hands on the sacrifice! You must never forget that while you are a priest, you are first a sinner, saved by grace!

- The burnt sacrifice for the priest, that admission of faith, was a satisfying aroma to the Lord.

•  Leviticus 8:22-30  :  "And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its 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 brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. Then he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh; and he put all these in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord. Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the Lord. And Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ part of the ram of consecration, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him."  : This second ram, the animal of consecration, had been prescribed by God.

- It's blood was to be put upon the tip of the right ear, thumb and big toe of Aaron and his sons.

- This was to speak of the blood covering what they would hear or listen to, where they would extend their hands and where they would walk.

- What a visual illustration! I'm sure this would never leave their minds, whenever it came time to listen to something. "Oh wait, my ears are consecrated to the Lord!"

- When a hand went out to do something, there was a reminder of what the true use of those hands would be for. "Is this redeeming?" one might ask themselves.

- Are my feet taking me to a place that is consistent with the blood that has been applied?

- The blood of Christ, His cleansing blood, covers all that we hear, all that we do and every direction that we take. Consecration isn't unless that standard is applied!

- One other application that I might make about consecration. We often think of this in negative terms, ie. things that I shouldn't do that are negative things. I belong to God so I don't cuss.

- The same is true in the opposite way. There are things that you will want to get involved in that are good, but the blood demands that you prioritize properly.

- I want to hear that great speaker on Friday night, but if I do so, I neglect my family. The blood demands that I put that priority first.

- I would love to go and put my hands to use on that project, but doing so neglects my primary ministry. The same with out feet. Consecration is all about avoiding what is bad and prioritizing good!

•  Leviticus 8:31-36  :  "And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, 'Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire. And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you. As he has done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to make atonement for you. Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.' So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses."  :  This was a week long ceremony that God was to have with the priests prior to beginning their public work.

- Their first priority was to eat of the offering and the bread of the basket. Their first priority as priests was to eat with the Lord, for seven days, speaking of fresh, continual relationship.

- It's been truly said that one cannot minister for the Lord until they have been minister to by the Lord! You cannot give out what you have not put in!

- During this retreat time, they were to keep charge of the Lord. Literally, they were to keep guard over the things of the sanctuary, meaning that they were to be concerned with God's place.

- Why? So that they may not die. Their concern for their attitudes, actions and life in God was a matter of life and death! I wish we saw our relationships with God in that light!

- It may not be physical death to us, but there can be some serious decay when we take our relationship to God and the ministry that He has given us with only a light esteem!

•  Leviticus 9:1-7  :  "It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. And he said to Aaron, 'Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering, also a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the Lord will appear to you.’ So they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting. And all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. Then Moses said, 'This is the thing which the Lord commanded you to do, and the glory of the Lord will appear to you.' And Moses said to Aaron, 'Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the Lord commanded.'"  :  On the 8th day, the number of new beginnings, God would reveal himself to the priests and begin an era of the priesthood.

- Aaron needed to be sacrificed for. Before he could minister, he had to be covered again! This is the weakness of this system, as animals were needed on a frequent basis to cover sin.

- All was to be done as the Lord commanded. That is stated in one way or another 6 times!

- Priestly ordination is God's idea, not Moses' idea. It's God's will to ordain His Priests where they are, where they minister and to whom they minister!

•  Leviticus 9:8-17  :  "Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar. But the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses. The flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp. And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar. Then they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar. And he washed the entrails and the legs, and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar. Then he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one. And he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner. Then he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning."  :  These are the first offerings made unto the Lord, first for the priests, then for the people, all offered in the prescribed manner.

•  Leviticus 9:18-24  :  "He also killed the bull and the ram as sacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar, and the fat from the bull and the ram—the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver; and they put the fat on the breasts. Then he burned the fat on the altar; but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before the Lord, as Moses had commanded. Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces."  :  in this section, we get to the heart of why there have been so many details. All of the offerings have been offered before the Lord.

- All has been done specifically to God's design, according to what He has commanded. Aaron lifted his hand to bless the people and came down from the pace of offering.

- The priest's first duty was to bring sacrifices to the Lord. That is our desire on Thursday nights and Sunday mornings. We come to bring sacrifices to our God, that speak of His worth.

- Then, we turn to bless one another. Aaron lifted his hand toward the people to bless them. The Hebrew word means to salute, asking for another's welfare.

- To bless someone is to seek from God, the very best that He has for that person or group of people. Worship is incomplete without ministering to God and turning to bless His people!

- When Aaron did this and Moses joined him for that purpose, God's glory, His supernatural, physical presence was revealed to all the people and in a second, the fire He promised came!

- The people saw this and shouted, the word implicit of a shout for joy! It was true! Their God had come to dwell, tabernacle with them! He was there! What a comfort and a great joy!

- And yet, almost as quickly, reverence put them on their face before God! I would venture to say that this is what happens when a person effectively ministers: There is joy and fear, mingled!

 Conclusion

- God gave us these chapters to remind us of our Priesthood and the priority that it carries because of the power that it bestows! God wants to meet with His people through His people!