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The Consecration of Aaron's Sons
Chapter 7 Leviticus 8
There are TWO Orders of the Priesthood . . . The High Priest . . . Inferior priests, the sons of the High-Priest . . . Specifics connected with their Consecration . . . The Consecration itself . . . Baptism . . . The Robe of Righteousness . . . The LORD'S Supper . . . The Days of Waiting.
I have commented so far on Chapter 8, just about the High-Priest . . . with Aaron, and the LORD Jesus Christ as is represented in Aaron. The High-Priesthood really includes the entire priesthood, and everything that relates to the work and office of intercession. But it has some lesser and inferior honors and services, which were distributed among a number of accompanying, lower priests. Aaron was not alone; his sons were consecrated with him; not to the same high office, not in all things in the same way, but to a lower grade of priesthood, in connection with, and depending on, the one and only High-Priest.
There were two orders. There was the High-Priesthood of Aaron, and there was the lower, connected priesthood of Aaron's sons. We have considered Aaron's induction into the one; now it remains for us to consider the induction of his sons into the lesser priesthood.
Aaron had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, who were chosen as priests to minister in the tabernacle. Nadab and Abihu had been with Moses at the foot of Mount Sinai, and they had seen the Presence and the glory of God.
Lev. 8:6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. (KJV)
Lev. 8:13-16 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. 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. (KJV)
Lev .8:22-25 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: (KJV)
Lev. 8:30-36 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. 31 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. 32 And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. 33 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. 34 As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. 35 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. 36 So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. (KJV)
As you see, in these consecration services, many things Aaron and his sons are dealt with were alike . . . they all are made partakers alike of the same rites, apart from Aaron’s special investments, Aaron occupied a position in common with the inferior priests. This was not by chance. It pointed to a great fact in the history of our Great High-Priest that has passed into the Heavens. In many things, Jesus was a Man, the same as other good men. Whatever there was superhuman and divine in Him, He lacked nothing that was human. He is "the Son of Man" . . . the child of Mary. "Both he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified, are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren (Heb.2:11). As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, Jesus also Himself likewise took part of the same. In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren" (Heb.2:17). It is a moving thought, that in many ways, and in all the common conditions of human life, we occupy a place just as high, and exactly the same as our Blessed Saviour. If we feel the pressure of this world's woes, so did He. If we are tried with stinging temptations, He too was "in all points tempted like as we are" (Heb.4:15). If we have the duties of devotion, so did our glorious Redeemer. Although He is "the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14), "yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered " (Heb.5:8). Aaron, in a great part, was consecrated by the same services with his sons.
We must understand that these ancient priesthoods had nothing in common with the pretended priesthoods of our world today. The Levitical Priesthood embraced two orders . . . andonly two . . . the High-Priesthood of Aaron and the common priesthood of Aaron's sons. The High Priesthood could never have more than one person at a time, who, in that position, represented the LORD Jesus Christ. There NEVER was more than ONE High Priest at a time in ancient times!
The inferior priests, according to divine arrangement, were all of equal dignity, and represented all the people of Christ . . . His sons by regeneration through His Spirit (John 3:3-8, being born again into the family of God). Christ having come, and entered Himself in the High-Priesthood, there can now be NO High-Priest except Christ Jesus, Himself; for there could not be more than one High-Priest at the same time. And since all the people of Christ are alike priests of God and of Christ (Rev.20:6), we have the two orders complete, and there is NO other priesthood but these two, and even these two are one.
We know that Christ is a Priest; that He is a Priest now; and that He always will be a Priest; for he is "a priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedek" (Heb.5:6; 7:17;21). So, it is in Him and Him alone, that we have the High-Priesthood in today’s world. It is also certain, that all Christ's people, without distinction of laity or clergy, male or female, are also priests; that they are priests now; and that they will forever continue to be priests. Of old, God did already say to all who should obey him . . . "Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests" (Ex.19:6). Isaiah, at God’s command, repeated this announcement: "Ye shall be named the priests of the LORD" (Isa.61:6). Peter, by the same Spirit, says to all the scattered household of faith, "Ye are a royal priesthood" (1 Pet.2:9). John, in the name of all the saints, attributes dominion and glory to Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood (Rev.1:5), for having "made us kings and priests unto God" (Rev.1:6; 5:10). And of all who have part in the first resurrection, it is written, "They shall be priests of God and of Christ" (Rev.20:6). So then dear one, all TRUE Christians are priests. This is the rank or position which God Himself has placed upon us. Here then, are the common priests. We thus identify the present occupants of both orders. The High-Priesthood is filled by Christ; the common priesthood is filled alike by all the people or children of Christ. This is the entire priesthood, so far as God has constituted it. Any other priesthood is therefore foreign to the divine structure. God has NOT appointed any other, neither sanctioned any other, in His Holy Word. Whatever claim may be set up for another priesthood, is merely a trick of man, and an earthly fabrication, without permission or authority. If it is really a priesthood, it is anti-Christian, and an invasion of the rights and honors of Christ and His people; and IF it is not really a priesthood, it is WRONG to call it so. Aaron and his sons of old, represented Jesus and His children of today, and as such, are the ONLY divinely appointed priests; and to embrace any other priests, is to speak against the actual foundations of God, and a sin against Almighty God’s Holy order. Our High-Priest is CHRIST Jesus, and as Christians, we ALL are common priests alike, like Aaron’s sons.
It is also to be noticed, that common (lesser) priests were the sons of the High Priest. Their achieving this high honor depended on, and was the result of their family connection with Aaron. They became common priests, because their father was the High-Priest. Their priesthood grew out of the High-Priesthood of Aaron, and was based upon it. This fact was also the shadow of a great Gospel Truth. We can only become priests, by our connection with Jesus the High-Priest. Our priesthood can proceed ONLY out of His, and can ONLY become ours by virtue of a family relationship on our part to Him.
If Aaron is NOT our father, we CANNOT be God's priests. We must be "born again" or "born of the Spirit." John 3:3-8 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (KJV)
First, Christ must become our life; we must become members of Him, of His Flesh and Bones and Blood; we must be grafted onto Him, united to Him, just as a branch is connected to the vine, just as a child is to the father, and as the wife to her husband . . . we must become one with Him in the bonds of a spiritual sonship (Gal.3:26-29; 4:5-7); or we can in NO way partake of His glory.
Next, we must present as offering OURSELF gratefully, as a living sacrifice (Rom.12:1), to Him who hath redeemed us with the price of Blood. Only then can we feast upon the fat things of hope and joy that come to us through our offerings. Since we shall struggle with our remaining weaknesses of nature, we must cling ever so closely to our Great Advocate in Heaven (1 John 2:1).
The benefit of all this is, we shall see Him as He was intended, and we are actually being brought into the high honors of a glorious and eternal Priesthood. It is this sacred inauguration that we now consider.
(1). These sons of Aaron, as well as Aaron himself, had been previously and divinely called to be priests. They had NOT been elected by men, they were chosen by God. The Voice of God the Father had said to Moses, "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, even Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons" (Ex.28:1). Even so, our calling and election to be priests of God and of Christ has NOT come from any workings of nature, but from the supernatural intercession of God’s Divine grace. God, by His Word and Spirit, has nominated every one of us to the high service of ministering at His Altar. He has sent forth His ministers and commissioned them to set apart all men whom they can reach, to be His priests. There is not one among you, however thoughtless, however wicked, that God has said of him, set him apart that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office. Whether old or young, poor or rich, high or low, male or female, young man or maiden, there is no difference; every individual, of all nations and times, has been divinely singled out and nominated for this holy consecration. The command is, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Mat.28:19). Not one is left out. All are named, and all that hear the Gospel are called, elected, and appointed, to enter this awe-inspiring and holy office. And not more really were Aaron and his sons called of God to the ancient priesthood, than you and I, and all the people among whom we live, have been called of God to the "royal priesthood" of believers in Christ Jesus.
(2). Aaron and his sons obediently agreed to their Divine appointment. I wish that I could say as much for all who are called to be priests under the new and better covenant (Heb.12:24). But it is not true. Although God calls, many refuse and even though all are chosen, most will NOT agree to serve Him. The vast majority prefer to be priests of sin and self, following the devil on his broad road (Mat.7:13-14), rather than to be priests of God and Christ. They choose instead to minister for iniquity and Satan, rather than minister at the pure altar of Him who made them. It is a sad and wicked disobedience, to resist Heaven's high election to Heaven's highest honors; but sad to say, it is a stubborn defiance that multitudes cherish and glory in. God has commanded that we be set apart to be His priests, but the majority will not agree; and without their obedient harmony they never can be welcomed into the offices for which they have been named. Like Aaron and his sons, we must agree to be made priests, or we cannot become priests.
(3). Aaron and his sons were consecrated according to precise Divine directions. As Moses proceeded to attend to it, he said, "This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done" (Lev.8:5). NO wisdom or cleverness of man can set apart priests for God. NO rites that we can devise, NO observances which this world's advisors may invent, can ever induct a man into Christian offices. Not even Moses had any right to proceed a single step, or to do one thing, except what God directed him to do. And EVERYTHING which God commanded had to be done. There was to be no adding to, and no taking from(Rev.22:18-19) the services as God had arranged them. The investment of Aaron and his sons with the dignities of priesthood, was God's work. And God did, in the ceremonies which He selected, put forth His Hand, and lay it, as it were, upon the heads of these men, and He Himself established them His ministers in the priest's office.
Nor is it different now. We can only be set apart as priests of God and of Christ by the ceremonies which God Himself, by His Son, has arranged. NO rites any human makes, NO decrees of councils, NO commands of earthly sovereigns in Church or State; NO rituals; NO manual impositions; NO services, NO matter how solemn or exalted; NOTHING or NO one can make anyone a priest of God. God’s own clear and specific appointments alone can do this. It must be done by means of God's own unmutilated prescriptions, or it cannot be done at all.
(4). The consecration of Aaron and his sons was a public and open transaction. The command of God was, "Gather thou all the congregation together" (Lev.8:3); and so it was that "the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation" (Lev.8:4), around the spot where the solemn deed was done.
We cannot SECRETLY be inducted into the holy priesthood to which the Gospel calls us. If there is any such a thing as secret discipleship, it is an imperfect discipleship. People sometimes think they will be good, prayerful, holy and gain for their souls the full portion of the blessed, and do it all without letting the thing be known. They will come to Jesus, but only like Nicodemus (John 3:1-2), in the secrecy of the night. They wish to be the priests of God and of Christ, but they are not willing to be brought before the congregation of Israel (Gal.3:26-29) . . . they are not willing to submit to a public and daylight consecration. They seem shamed to give themselves up to all God's appointments. But whatever people may think, God's prescriptions for the consecration of His priests include PUBLICITY. Christ Jesus requires us to confess Him before men. He demands of us an open and unreserved following of Him. He demands submission to all His Holy ordinances, some of which are really, very public. Jesus has made ONE way to enter into the sheepfold, and states anyone a thief and a robber who tries to climb in another way. People . . . BEWARE . . . how you undertake to curtail the appointments of God. If GOD has established the sacraments, it is OUR business to attend to them. If He has commanded a PUBLIC acknowledgment of the faith and identification with His people, we have NO right to decline it. And IF we are not willing to be openly known as God's consecrated priests, your secret religion will NOT benefit you on Judgment Day!
Let us now consider the facts of the consecration itself.
(1). "And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water" (Lev.8:6). This was the first thing in the service. This typifies that "washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior?" (Tit.3:5). "Verily, verily, except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Dear one, for this very purpose hath Christ given Himself for the Church, "that he might sanctify and cleanse it, with the washing of water by the word" (Eph.5:26).
God has sent forth and commissioned His ministers to set apart all men to be His priests. And that same commission suggests how it is to be done; by "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Mat.28:19). Not just by the outward application of water to them in solemn religious service; but also "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Mat.28:20). Our washing is not just a simple external rite, but an inward grace, and "the answer of a good conscience toward God" (1 Pet.3:21). It is not just water; but water joined together with the Word of God, where we by faith receive the cleansing and renewing effectiveness of the Holy Ghost. A person can be outwardly baptized, and still be impure, for he cannot spiritually apprehend and enter into his baptism without becoming a renewed and sanctified person. Our whole spiritual renovation is included in this washing; so that this baptism is virtually no baptism at all, unless followed by the death and burial of the old man of sin, and the planting in the soul of a new, pure and vital righteousness. There is NO transforming or renewing power in just the outward ceremony of baptism.
It is the moral purging, the inward renovation, the spiritual experience of the purifying grace of the Holy Ghost, that completes the scriptural start of Christian baptism. Without this spiritual cleansing, the baptismal washing is simply an empty ritual, and that baptism is no baptism at all. But . . . if we have the faith to lay hold of the grace offered and proposed to us in our baptism, it becomes to us the "laver of regeneration" (Tit.3:5) . . . the burial of the old man, and the quickening of the new man (Col.3:5-17). "That as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom.6:4). This is the true meaning of the washing of the Christian priest . . . the first item of his consecration to the holy ministry of eternal priesthood. "Except we be born of water and of the Spirit, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
(2). "And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them" (Lev.8:13). This was the second thing mentioned in the service. After their cleansing they had to be clothed with ornaments "for glory and for beauty." The long flowing robe of linen, clean and white, covering the whole body from the neck to the hands and feet, the unusual girdle, sewn with blue, purple and scarlet, surrounding the loins, and the pyramidal crown upon the head, constituted the beautiful and imposing emblems in which each was arrayed. This was the clothing for that time. It was a type of the glory of grace, and the beauty of holiness (1 Chron.16:29), in which we must be enclosed in order to become priests of God and of Christ; "for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints" (Rev.19:8). We must be pure and we must be holy. Our native deformities, all must be covered. We must "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom.13:14), and be arrayed in His loveliness. His own glorious clothing should be reflected in ours. Because of our weakness, this never could be. No one is able to work out a satisfactory righteousness on his own. But, back in those days, it was not left to the priests to find their own dress. God had provided it for them. The wedding guest need not bring a wedding garment with him (Mat.22:11-12); that garment is furnished by the maker of the feast. Dear one, our moral equipment in Christ Jesus is given to us by Him who hath called us to be His priests. Our Saviour is our Righteousness. What we lack, is supplied by Him as our security. "As by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life" And "as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." (Rom.5:18-19). If we are in Christ Jesus, united to Him as His sons by faith, He is "made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor.1:30), that he that glorieth may glory in the LORD (2 Cor.10:17). The law anticipates the saints in Christ, and sees them arrayed in Jesus’ Holiness, and therefore pronounces them acceptable and just. Our faith in Christ secures to us the righteousness of Christ. Under the complex workings of God’s grace, this imputed righteousness takes root in the believer's heart, and works itself into our experiences, so it also becomes a personal righteousness as well as an imputed righteousness. "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Rom.6:5-11). Every Christian must be holy; holy by virtue of our relationship to Christ, and holy in the aims, purposes, desires and efforts of life. This is the robe of glory and beauty that we must put on to be established priests of God. Without the wedding garment we cannot partake of God's Supper, and without holiness we cannot come into the Presence of our LORD to minister in the priest's office. Almighty God has strict rules on entering the gates of the everlasting city, "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, or worketh abomination, or maketh a lie" (Rev.21:27). Dear one, unless we have fully surrendered to be holy and good, we are not yet God's priests.
(3). A third item in this consecration service, was the laying of hands upon the head of the sin-offering. Sin . . . sin . . . sin! In everything we do, there is a memory of sin . . . sin is man's great, never ending, crushing burden, and the once for all (Heb.10:10) Blood Sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross is the only remedy. Everywhere, even in our most loving moods and most revered activities, we hear the crushing indictment . . . "O man, thou art a sinner” (Rom.3:23; 5:12). Even our best goodness is an abomination apart from Christ! Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O LORD my salvation. (Ps.38:21-22).
Our only hope is in Him whose Body was broken and whose Blood was shed for the remission of OUR sins! There must be a repetition to our minds about this fact. Our hand must always be on the brow of the Atoning Lamb. We must never cease to rest upon Jesus and His Offering of Himself for us. Here we must forever see God’s Mercy streaming in Jesus’ precious Blood. This is the bottom line . . . there is NO heavenly blessing which does not agree with this. Jesus’ Blood is the beginning, the middle and the end of all human sanctification. If we do not rest upon Christ as our Sin-Offering, we can never come to the high honors of the priesthood of saints.
(4). "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" (Lev.8:24). This means that the entire person is visibly dedicated to the LORD. Every ability and power we possess is sanctified with the precious Blood of the Lamb (1 Pet.1:18-19). Our God touches that Blood to our right ear, right hand and right foot; as to say, "As my priests, all the faculties and powers represented in these parts, from ear to toe, are to be used only for Me." The ear is sanctified, that it may be always open to the most gentle whispers of the God’s Holy Word, and listen to NOTHING except that it be of God. The hand is sanctified, that it may never be stretched out to sin, but is always lifted up in devotion to God, to whose service it is set apart. The foot is sanctified, that it may never again be set down in the paths of sin, but always made to move and carry us in the narrow paths of righteousness. This should be our solemn dedication of the whole man as God's priests. We are no longer our own; we are bought with a price . . . "with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Pet.1:19), and forever set apart to glorify God in our bodies and our spirits which are His. This is the sanctification of priests; and unless we have surrendered to be thus devoted to God, we are not partakers of the glorious priesthood to which we have been called.
(5). "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 " (Lev.8:30). Even after they were set apart to be priests, they still needed to be farther sanctified as priests. And not only themselves, but also their garments, were to be marked as holy. The sacred oil was an emblem of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. So it is that the Holy Ghost, in union with the Blood of the Lamb, sanctifies and sets us apart for holy services. Sprinkled with these sacred elements . . . touched with moral unction (oil) of the Spirit and constrained by the dying love of Jesus, we become equipped for duty, and qualified "to show forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Pet.2:9). It is not enough that we are installed in the priesthood. It is not the challenge of our calling merely to attain the honor and place of priests. Even this honor and place are to be made obedient to something more. Our very priesthood must be sanctified, as well as we to the priesthood. Not for our beauty and glory only does God invest us with our Christian offices and gifts, but for His own praise. We must not aim just at getting to Heaven, but aim at being saved for a further purpose, that as saved people, we may better honor and glorify God, and set forth the praise of His glorious grace. There is danger that we think too much of the blessings of the Gospel and our portion as believers, as the end. Our end should be to continuously glorify God in all we think and do and say!
We are called to be priests, not just for the sake of being priests; but that we may "minister unto God in the priest's office" (Ex.40:13). We are ordained for a purpose other than our ordination. Our actual priesthood must be set apart for God. All the gifts and effectiveness of the Spirit are to be for the endless praise of our Redeemer. And as we look forward to the coming day when our sanctification shall be complete, we must not consider it as a mere act of resting upon our being called, but as a scene of inspiring, noble and continuous services, rendered unto God and the Lamb.
(6). Lev. 8:31 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. (KJV) . . . Still another item in the consecration of God's ancient priests was, that they had to eat the boiled flesh of the offered lamb with unleavened bread, at the door of the tabernacle. This boiled lamb symbolizes the Saviour as offered for OUR sins. It brings to mind the horrible sufferings that He endured as OUR Substitute and Sacrifice of consecration. All His bones were out of joint. He was "poured out like water" (Ps.22:14). They pierced my hands and my feet. . . . I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. (Ps. 22:16-17). They beat Jesus so badly that His Bones were exposed! We cannot anticipate the scenes of His passion without feeling that "his countenance was more marred than the face of any man" (Isa.52:14). But it was a necessary part of the process by which we are constituted priests of God. Christ Jesus had to die, and have all the tender parts of His nature brought under the fires of wrath, and His Body given to be food for our souls, to qualify us to come acceptably before our Maker. Now that He is thus made an Offering for our sanctification, it is up to us to put forth our hands, and eat of that Offering, as the life and feast of our souls. He is the bread of life, and upon that bread we must feed to be God's priests. For "Except we eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, we have no life in us" (John 6:35,51). Just as our washing is connected with our baptism, so is this eating is connected with the sacramental supper. The one points to the birth of the new man; the other points to the nurture and nourishment of that new creature. Just being baptized is NOT regeneration; and neither is just eating and drinking in Holy Communion partaking of the Flesh and Blood of Christ.
It is only true renewal when the Holy Ghost that takes up and fills out our baptism, so too, it is only a believing and true assumption of Christ's Body and Blood that establishes a complete and effective participation of the Holy Supper.
John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. (KJV)
Except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you . . . "the son of man" is Christ Himself. Over 80 times in the New Testament, Jesus calls Himself the "Son of man." Except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood . . . the words mean a SPIRITUAL eating of Christ by faith. To eat the flesh, and drink the blood of Christ, is to believe that Christ Jesus is come in the flesh, and that He is truly and really Man; that His flesh is given for the life of His people, and that His Blood was shed for their sins. It is to partake of Jesus, and enjoy the numerous blessings of grace that we obtain by Him, such as redemption, pardon, peace, justification and when we feed upon Him . . . we grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Him. This "feeding" is to be done daily, repeated just as our physical food is, otherwise persons have NO spiritual life in them. Without this feeding on Him, there is only our feeding on earth's sinful pleasures, for only those that believe in Christ are healthy living souls. Without Christ there is nothing to support life; everything else that a man feeds on ends with eternal death. Only when we spiritually eat Christ, and spiritually drink His Blood, can we ever maintain and preserve our spiritual life. Without Christ Jesus, NO one can ever expect or hope for eternal life in Heaven with Him!
Eating the flesh of the Son of man and drinking His Blood is essentially a spiritual eating, only assisted by means of outward elements and bodily taking of food. Faith does the work, and the eating only represents that which faith can more easily lean. Faith takes hold of Christ crucified. Faith reaches out to take Christ as our salvation, and faith is the mouth by which we receive Him . . . the physical hand is extended to grasp the consecrated elements, and the mouth receives them, to give faith greater strength. We must feed continuously upon our slain and boiled Lamb, for we are nourished and strengthened for our spiritual priesthood, and consecrated to serve in it for ever.
(7). Lev. 8:35-36 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.
36 So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. (KJV) This is one more point in these consecration services that I would like to bring to your attention. Aaron and his sons, having attended to several specifics, were further required to "abide at the door of the tabernacle day and night seven days," before they could enter fully upon the high offices to which they had been consecrated.
The number seven is often used in the Scriptures as a symbol of perfection and completeness. The "seven Spirits of God" (Rev.3:1; 4:5; 5:6), represent the fulness and perfection of the one Holy Spirit. "The seven stars" (Rev.1:16,20; 2:1) are "the seven angels" that represent the entire ministry of the Christian Church. Seven angels (Rev.8:26; 14:1; 15:1,6-8; 16:1; 17:1; 21:8), also represent the angels of doom in the tribulation period.
The number seven is identified with completeness, especially when referring to time. We read of the "seven days" of the week in which creation was finished; "seven years" as completing a reckoning; and seven times seven years (Lev.25:8) bringing around the grand Sabbatical year of jubilee, when things went back and started afresh. It was a completion of the period. So, the priesthood of Aaron and his sons was made perfect; it took in the completing number seven—"seven days." The consecration period was a complete period . . . a full measure of time. It was not only the fact of completeness, but a duration through which this fact was brought out. We are not only to be completely consecrated to a complete spiritual priesthood; but it is to take a complete period of time in which this completeness is to be affected. We are called and consecrated now. We are real priests as soon as we have attended to the sanctifying services of which I have spoken. But we must yet abide "seven days" at the door of the tabernacle before we can go into it. We must wait a complete period before we can come into the Holy of Holies. Could it be that this completed period may be our entire life here on Earth? If so, these present days are the days of abiding at the door of the tabernacle. Although we are set apart as priests, we have to abide here at the door of the Holy Sanctuary until the days of our consecration comes to an end. We cannot yet go in to see God in His glory, and to bend before Him as His holy angels adore Him. We must wait until the seven days and nights are fulfilled. It may often make us feel impatient. It may tie down and shackle our desires. But it is only to make us perfect. It is necessary to complete our glorious installation, as priests of God and of Christ. And it will soon be over. It is only "seven days" . . . the shortest of all the complete periods of human reckoning. Before we think of it, it will have passed. For some of us, much of it has already gone by. Two, three, four, five, six, and to some even a part of the seventh, of these days of waiting, are even now counted with the past. It will not be long until we find all the period is completed. What a scene that awaits the elected and consecrated priests of the LORD, found abiding at the door of the tabernacle when the clock strikes the finishing hour. Then begins our everlasting services. Then shall we walk in the light of the glory of God, for the Lamb is the light thereof(Rev. 21:23). Then shall we eat holy bread in the Presence of our Awesome and Almighty God. Then shall we hear God speaking to us personally from His eternal Throne, and look with the adoring angels into the mysteries of His Being, and rejoice as we continually honor, glorify and praise Him and His Son for eternity.
Moses clearly brings the Gospel in the Book of Leviticus!
He brings us a crystal-clear picture of Jesus!
The Gospel most certainly is in Leviticus.
Is the Gospel in the Book of Leviticus? YES, it is!!!
Leviticus
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