A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Consecrating Aaron and His Sons (Part 3)

For the last two weeks we have been studying the various offerings that Aaron and his sons were to give before they could be consecrated into the priesthood. They had to make atonement for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. These offerings were symbolic; they were meant to paint a picture of the One who would come and not simply cover their sins, but take them completely away. Just to kinda review, they were to bring a bull, two rams and several types of bread. The bull was killed; the fat was burned on the altar. But the flesh, skin and dung were taken outside the camp and burned there, symbolizing Christ being crucified outside the city walls of Jerusalem. This was a “sin offering” or a “purification offering.” Then the first ram was likewise killed, and all of it was burned on the altar. This being the second part of the “purification offering.” Then the second ram, that we saw so much of last week, was also killed, its blood was applied to the ear, thumb and big toe of Aaron and his sons to sanctify their ears, their hands and their feet for service to the Lord. Then they took the fat, along with one loaf of each kind of bread, waved it back and forth as a “Wave Offering,” and burned it. Then the brisket and the right hind quarter were tossed up into the air as a “Heave Offering,” signifying that they would love the LORD with all their heart, soul and strength. These two, together, painted a vivid picture of the cross.

Next, we see what they do with the rest of this second ram. Exodus 29:31-33—“31 And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place. 32 Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 33 They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy.” This same ram whose blood is on their ear, thumb and toe; the same ram whose fat was waved as a wave offering and whose breast and thigh were heaved as a heave offering. Now, they take this ram, boil what was left, and then eat that meat—along with the bread that was offered with the fat—at the door of the tabernacle. Just as the sons of Aaron were consecrated (sanctified, set apart) to the tabernacle priesthood by partaking of “those things by which atonement was made”—the bull, the two rams and the bread—we too are consecrated (sanctified, set apart) to God by partaking of “those things by which atonement was made”—only now, that which makes atonement for us is the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the boiling and eating of this ram was done somewhere between the bronze laver and the door of the sanctuary; it was not done inside the tabernacle. These things were to be done once the tabernacle was constructed and all the furnishings (the lampstand, the altar of incense, the table of showbread and the Ark of the Covenant) were arranged inside it. But if you notice, not one drop of blood from any of these animals has been taken inside the tabernacle. In fact, at this point, the only things inside the tabernacle are the furnishings. There is a reason for this, and we will see that later on.

So once they boiled what was left of this ram, they were to gather around and eat. Together. This was a symbol of unity among those of the OT priesthood. Are we kings and priests to God? Are we a royal priesthood? Jesus repeats this same principle in His prayer the night before His crucifixion. John 17:20-23—“20 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” Jesus’ prayer is that we who are now children of God would dwell together in unity, that we would give place to our fellow Christians and strive, above all else, for Christ to be glorified in us. And when Christ is glorified in us, the Father is glorified in us

We got to talking last week about Christian unity. We, as Christians, are joined together into one body. And what is that body called? 1 Corinthians 12:12-14—12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many. Have you ever seen a foot, by itself, hopping down the street? What about an eyeball? A pancreas? Stomach? You're not going to see one body part going along, by itself, without the other parts of the body. Our body needs certain organs to function. 1st Corinthians 12:20-25—20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. Is a wealthy Christian more important than a poor Christian? And anybody who tells you that you're poor because you don’t have enough faith or you haven’t “sown the right seed” or you're under a generational curse or you have some sin you haven’t repented of—they're just showing their ignorance. Because that poor Christian was important enough to God that He sent His Son to die for them—if they're that important to God, shouldn’t they be important to us?

Let me give you an example from the human body. Without the brain, the whole body will die, true? If the brain isn't getting enough oxygen, the body will divert blood from the arms and legs to the brain. Because the arms and legs give up the blood that they need, the brain can get the blood it needs, and the whole body can survive—even for just a little while longer. Now, let’s apply this to the church. Without saying that one member of the church is more important than any other, what does this illustration mean for the church? That when one of us has a need, then another who can fill that need should supply it. 2nd Corinthians 11:9—And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. Macedonia being the region in Greece containing the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. And this is the point James makes in James 2—not saying that we are saved BY works, but that we are saved in order to do good works. And if one does not do the works that faith demands, he says James 2:14 (NASB)—What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? The KJV, the NKJV—they both leave out the word “that”. The NASB correctly translates it as “can that faith save him?” 1st John 3:17—But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Matthew Henry— 

“It pleases God that some of the Christian brethren should be poor, for the exercise of the charity and love of those that are rich. And it pleases the same God to give to some of the Christian brethren this world's good, that they may exercise their grace in communicating to the poor saints. And those who have this world's good must love a good God more, and their good brethren more, and be ready to distribute it for their sakes.”

So, since we are one body, it is obvious that we should care for others in this body. Some NT verses to finish up. 1st Corinthians 12:26—And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Romans 12:15-16—15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Philippians 2:2-4—2 Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. If one member hurts, we should all hurt with them. If that member receives honor or blessing, we celebrate with them. Christian unity. Read Acts 2 for more on that. And it is this Christian unity that was to bind Aaron and his sons together in that Old Covenant priesthood. It was eating of this one sacrifice that bound them in unity. We—spiritually—eat of the one sacrifice of Christ, although we do not eat His literal flesh and drink His literal blood as they claim to do in the abominable Roman Catholic Mass.

Exodus 29:34—“And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.” Once this ram was cooked and eaten, if there was anything left over it was to be burned. How much of it was to be given to anyone who was not at this table? None. Matthew 7:6—“Do not give what is holy to the dogs.” This was a special table, an exclusive supper that only Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to take part in. No one else had any right to partake of this. Now, last week we read a verse from Hebrews that I think is probably rooted, at least in part, in this occasion. Hebrews 13:10—We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. Are we kings and priests to God? Are we a chosen generation, a royal priesthood? BUT—we have been ordained, not by human hands, not by the laying on of hands by any human authority. We have been chosen, set apart by God Himself. Not because we somehow “deserved” it. But Titus 3:4-5 takes away any hope of earning God’s forgiveness. And being set apart by God as a royal priesthood, we have an altar that no one who is trying to establish their own righteousness can eat from. While they are trying to make themselves righteous—which they can never do—we have been made righteous by God, by Him taking our sins and laying them on the head of the Lamb that He provided, and giving us the righteousness of God in Christ. No one can ever earn that. You can “heave” all your sins up in the air all you want—but if you do not know Christ they will always come back to you. But we have a great High Priest who has taken away our sins forever, and they will never return to us.

Now, to finish up, Exodus 29:35-37—“35 Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Seven days you shall consecrate them. 36 And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.” A lesson here about persevering to the end. How many days did Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons have to bring bulls and rams and bread, kill, cut up, burn, wave, heave, boil and eat? Seven days. How many days in a week? How many days did Joshua and the army of Israel march around the city of Jericho? How many days did Noah leave the door open on the ark before the rains came? How many days in the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Suppose Eleazar said, “You know, I've been eating boiled ram and oily bread for five days straight. I'm taking today off.” How well do you think that would fly with God? This was seven days they had to do this. If you do not complete the seven days, you do not pass “GO” you do not enter into the priesthood. There is a lesson in there for us.

Many people think of Christianity as a “religion.” That’s all they think of it. They think that if they go to church on Sunday, they're somehow saved. But being saved, sanctified, set apart to God is not a one day a week thing. It’s not something you dabble in for a little while, leave it behind and say, “Well, I had some experience in the church, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to Heaven when I die.” But twice in the gospels, we find these words of Christ, Matthew 10:22 (and Matthew 24:13)—“He who endures to the end will be saved.” Not, “He who goes a little way, does a few good things, then returns to his old ways will be saved.” Too many times what some call “discipleship” is this: “Pray this prayer, ask Jesus into your heart and you'll be saved.” This produces more false converts and more spiritually dead “church people” than anything. You ask that same person, years down the road, and they’ll say “Yep, I got that straight a long time ago. Prayed the prayer, I'm saved. Now if you'll excuse me I'm late for happy hour.” Listen to 1st Corinthians 9:24-27—24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Paul is telling us what God commanded of the OT priests—that when you belong to God, you don’t just go to church for a little while, read your Bible for a little while, sing some hymns for a little while, etc. Paul is saying that every day, when he wakes up, he has to train his body, train his mind, train his spirit to persevere through trials and accusations and beatings and even against the more subtle devices of the enemy.

And one of the devices of the enemy is to make people think that Christianity is simply praying a prayer and showing up to church when you feel like it. And if you don’t like it, well, don’t worry, you'll be OK. But listen to this warning from Christ, Matthew 12:43-45—“43 When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." The person who has heard the truth, understood the truth, then turned away from the truth is in danger of a far worse punishment than the one who never heard the truth. Now, keep in mind, those who never hear the name of Christ, who never call upon Him for forgiveness, who die in their sins—these will not escape eternal punishment. But they won’t be punished because they never “believed the right way” as some like to accuse us of saying. They die because of their own sins. That said, the one who does hear the gospel, who hears that the Law of God declares them sinners who need to be saved, and they either ignore it, or they “believe” for a little while and then go back to their old ways—these will receive a much harsher punishment than those who never hear. Listen to what the apostle Peter says about false teachers, in 1st Peter 2:18-22—18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." Salvation is not something that happens at a point in time and has no lasting effect on a person’s life afterward. The life Christ calls us to is for life. When the apostle Paul was nearing the end of his life; when he was, by some accounts, hours (if not minutes) away from his death at the hands of the Romans emperor Nero, he didn’t say “I struggled a little bit, I ran half the way, I had faith for a while.” He said Second Timothy 4:7—I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Exodus 29:36-37—“36 And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.” They had to make atonement for the altar. The altar of burnt offering was an inanimate object. What sins had the altar committed? But, in order for the sacrifices to be acceptable to God, the priest offering that sacrifice had to be set apart to God, and the altar it was offered on had to be consecrated to God. Because, let’s think about this. This altar was made of materials that were just as much under the curse of sin as we humans are. In much the same way that not just any man could be a priest, one could not simply slap some wood together, break out their Bedazzler^® and stamp rhinestones into it, decorate it any way they wanted, and call it an altar to God. Everything involved in making atonement for people’s sins had to be holy. When the sinner brought their offering, everything from animal without spot or blemish, to the one preparing the sacrifice, to the altar it was sacrificed upon, to the fire on the altar that was started by God (see Leviticus 9:22-24), to the smoke that rose into the air as a “sweet aroma to the LORD,” everything in between the tips of the sinner’s fingers to God Himself had to be holy.

Likewise, in order for us to be forgiven of our sins, our Mediator must be holy, sinless, and separate from sin. Guess what? Hebrews 7:26-27—26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 1st Peter 2:21-22—21 Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “22 Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.” Christ was not only the One who offered the sacrifice—He was the sacrifice. Just as the altar was anointed with oil to sanctify it for accepting offerings for sins, so Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit to sanctify His offering Himself for the sins of all who will believe. So that leaves us with two more weeks in chapter 29, next week the daily morning and evening sacrifices, then the following week we will get to verses 8-9 that we skipped, and talking about Christ being our High Priest even though He was not descended from Aaron or even Levi.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Consecrating Aaron and His Sons (Part 2)

Last week we started looking at the various offerings and rituals that Aaron and his sons had to go through to be consecrated—set apart—to the Old Covenant priesthood. God was very specific about how these animals that were offered up for the purification offerings were to be cut up and what was to be done with the various parts. And at the time these things were being done, these fellows may not have had any idea why these things were done the way they were being done. But now that Christ has come we can see the symbolism involved in these rituals either pointed to Christ or were fulfilled in Christ. Because we also are priests, 1^st Peter 2:9—But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. Being sinful, fallen humans, we need someone to plead with God on our behalf. Since Christ has come, He intercedes with the Father on our behalf, and has in fact given us the privilege of being counted as priests to God. So now, we don’t need to find a descendant of Aaron to mediate for us. I can come before God on Richard’s behalf. Dave can go before God on Eddie’s behalf. We can all go before God on behalf of others because we are a “royal priesthood."

But, under the old covenant, that role was fulfilled by the priest. And if you recall, not just anybody could be priest, you had to be a male descendant of Aaron. And before Aaron and his sons could be set apart as priest they had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. This sacrifice included one young bull and two rams without blemish, unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (Exodus 29:1-2). Last week we saw what they did with the bull, today we get to what they did with the rest of these things. Exodus 29:15-18—“15 You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram; 16 and you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it all around on the altar. 17 Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head. 18 And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.” The bull was the sin offering; the ram was the burnt offering. They laid their sins on the head of the bull, then they were to offer this ram to sanctify themselves to the most important office any man could ever hold. By killing, cutting up and burning this ram, they were making a covenant with God that they would serve Him all their days and be worthy of the office of priest. And we see this principle as we read Exodus 29:19-21—“19 You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. 20 Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. 21 And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.” This was the ram of consecration—the offering that set Aaron and his sons apart from the rest of the nation of Israel and sanctified them for the priesthood. This offering was different from the other offerings for the priesthood or even the common person that we will see in later chapters.

And the one act that sets this apart is found in Exodus 29:20—“Take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar.” Did I tell ya this was going to get kinda messy? Did I lie? Before you ask, yes, the blood of this animal was indeed to be put on the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe of Aaron and his sons. I'll throw this question out to you—what do you think was the significance of this act? Why the ear, thumb, and toe? Adam Clarke—

“That they should dedicate all their faculties and powers to the service of God; their ears to the hearing and study of his law, their hands to diligence in the sacred ministry, and their feet to walking in the way of God’s precepts.”

Here are two questions I will be asking today, so you should know the answers by the time we’re done. Are we kings and priests to God? Are we a royal priesthood? These are not insignificant statements. We are priests to God, and what this means for us is that we are to be careful how we conduct ourselves. Take the ears for example. Consider a person who claims to be saved. Let’s say they listen to a certain type of music. Whether it’s Led Zeppelin or Metallica or Lady Gag. Does the kind of music we listen to determine whether we are saved or not? No, and you will never hear me say that.

But what I will say is this: the person who listens to those kinds of music—why would they want to listen to music that glorifies those things that God hates? We can't necessarily say that person is not saved, but we do have many warnings in the NT about how we are to be careful about those things that we find acceptable. Galatians 5:13—For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. We are no longer under Law but under grace—but that does not mean we should go out and live like the lost. In 1^st Corinthians 8:1-13 and Romans 14:1-23, Paul lays out his concerns about those who were eating meat that had been offered to idols. And he warns the Corinthians and the Romans that when a mature Christian—a “stronger brother”—eats meat offered to idols in the presence of a younger Christian—a “weaker brother”—there is a danger that the “weaker brother” may start to wander into those things that can jeopardize his soul. And in both places he tells the “stronger brother” to put aside his own desires for the sake of the “weaker brother.”

Romans 14:14-15—14 To him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 1^st Corinthians 8:9-12—9 Beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. That’s quite a stinging indictment. That when we put our own personal preferences over the safety of another’s soul that we sin against God. So what was Paul’s solution to such a dilemma? 1^st Corinthians 8:13—Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat. If his eating of meat would cause others to think it was OK to offer meat to idols, he would never eat meat again for the rest of his life. That was the care that the OT priests were to take in conducting their office. Their conduct was essential to their office. They could not offer sacrifices for the sins of the people if they still had sins of their own that had not been taken care of. So this blood that was applied to their ear, thumb, and big toe was meant to not only purify those organs for use in the sanctuary, they were a covenant these men made to use these organs in a manner worthy of their office.

Exodus 29:22-25—“22 Also you shall take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration), 23 one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD; 24 and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. 25 You shall receive them back from their hands and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before the LORD. It is an offering made by fire to the LORD.” We have seen the sin offering and the burnt offering, and now we see the wave offering. The same ram whose blood was applied to their ear, thumb and toe, they were to take all the fat from the tail, intestines and kidneys. Then take the right thigh (right hind quarter) and the bread we find in Exodus 29:2. Take it all, put it all together in a separate pile.

Then Aaron and his sons (Eleazar, Ithamar, Nadab, Abihu) would all be gathered in a circle. They would put out their hands, and all the things you find in Exodus 29:22-23 would be heaped into their hands. Did I say this was gonna get kinda messy? It was one big, doughy, gooey mess. That is why this “wave offering,” in Hebrew, literally means “the fill-offering.” Because, as you could well imagine, all their hands would be full of stuff. Then Moses would put his hands underneath the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they would “wave them as a wave offering” (Exodus 29:24). They would simply “wave” them from side to side. What does all this signify? I'm glad you asked. Well, they’ve already taken the blood and smeared it and sprinkled it on Aaron and his sons, as a promise that they will walk, listen and act in a manner worthy of their office. They’ve had the blood of this ram sprinkled on them, as a way of saying that this innocent animal died because of their sins. That is to say, that innocent blood was on them. Matthew 27:25—And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children." Now, they take the fat, with a pile of bread, wave it from one side to the other and finally set it on the altar and burn it all. And God declares that this would be “a sweet aroma” to Him. A “sweet aroma.” Have you ever smelled burning fat and bread? Romans 12:1—I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. In order to be consecrated as priests, all these guys had to do was burn some fat and bread on a man-made altar. Was it the smoke from the burning fat and bread that pleased God? No. It was the obedience they displayed in performing these rites.

Are we kings and priests to God and a royal priesthood? Now, we are to give not just bread and the fat of rams, but our whole body and our life to serving the true altar in the Holiest of All in the Heavens. What Paul is telling us in Romans 12:1 is to give our whole body as an offering to God, telling God that all of us is His, and that our lives are but a puff of smoke (James 4:14). And that if He wants to bring our lives to a sudden end that is certainly His right. I like what John Gill says about Romans 12:1—

“By their bodies are meant…all the powers and faculties of their souls, and members of their bodies; and the presenting of them…with all readiness and willingness, to the service of God for his honour and glory, without putting any confidence in themselves…Under the Gospel dispensation all believers are priests; and the sacrifices they bring are not the bodies of slain beasts, but their own bodies, their whole selves.”

Next, we see the “heave offering.” Exodus 29:26-30—“26 Then you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration and wave it as a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be your portion. 27 And from the ram of the consecration you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering which is waved, and the thigh of the heave offering which is raised, of that which is for Aaron and of that which is for his sons. 28 It shall be from the children of Israel for Aaron and his sons by a statute forever. For it is a heave offering; it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, that is, their heave offering to the LORD. 29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them. 30 That son who becomes priest in his place shall put them on for seven days, when he enters the tabernacle of meeting to minister in the holy place.” The same ram whose blood was put on their ear, thumb and toe; the same ram whose fat was waved as a wave offering—Moses was then to take the breast (brisket) and wave it as a wave offering—and he gets to keep it after they're all done. But before he keeps that brisket, he takes it, along with the thigh (right hind quarter) and they would heave these things into the air. At least one significance to this action—maybe two. The clearest significance is the parts that were used. The breast and the thigh. How are we to love the LORD our God? “With all your heart, with all your soul, all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). The breast, as you can now gather, signifies loving God with all your heart and soul. With the thigh you confess that you love God with all your strength. Another meaning may be this: that as hard as we may try to get rid of our sins—as far as we may try to toss them with our own effort—we can never get rid of them. And the harder we try and work and do “good deeds” to throw our sins away from us, if we are depending on our own efforts our sins are going to keep coming back to us. BUT—if we lift up Christ, our sins will be taken away. John 12:32—“If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all peoples to Myself.” If we look to Christ as being our “heave offering,” He will take our sins from us forever. And they will never come back to us.

Now, what do these two offerings, when seen together, point to? Watch this. The wave offering was waved back and forth and to and fro. The heave offering was tossed up into the air. The wave offering (back and forth) and the heave offering (up and down). Hmmmm, I wonder if there’s some symbolism there. Charles Francois Houbigant was a Frenchman who lived in the 1600’s. He was a scholar in the field of Old Testament study as well as biblical Hebrew. Listen to what he says about these two offerings:

“The heave-offering and wave-offering, as two ceremonies in the same offering, are distinguished here. The wave-offering implies that the victim was moved hither and thither, to the right hand and to the left; the heave-offering was lifted up and down, and this was done several times. In this way the Jews explain these things, and teach the Christians, that by these acts the cross was foreshadowed, upon which that Peace-offering of the human race was lifted up which was prefigured by all the ancient sacrifices.”

So much of Scripture becomes so much clearer in light of the Law. To separate the New Testament from the Old Testament is like separating your heart from your lungs. They need each other to function properly. The lungs need the heart to pump blood; the heart needs the lungs to provide oxygen so it can continue pumping. You can't have one without the other.

Exodus 29:31-34—“31 And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place. 32 Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 33 They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy. 34 And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.” This same ram whose blood is on their ear, thumb and toe; the same ram that they have taken the fat off the tail, intestines and kidneys and waved these as a wave offering; the same ram that they have taken the breast and thigh and heaved as a heave offering. Now, they take this ram, boil its flesh in the sanctuary, and then eat that meat—along with the bread that was offered with the fat—at the door of the tabernacle. And if there was anything left over it was to be burned. How much of it was to be given to anyone who was not at this table? None. Exodus 29:34—“And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.” Matthew 7:6—“Do not give what is holy to the dogs.”

This was a special table, an exclusive supper that only Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to take part in. No one else had any right to partake of this. Now, last week we read a verse from Hebrews that I think is probably rooted, at least in part, in this occasion. Hebrews 13:10—We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. Are we kings and priests to God? Are we a chosen generation, a royal priesthood? BUT—we have been ordained, not by human hands, not by the laying on of hands by any human authority. We have been chosen, set apart by God Himself. Not because we somehow “deserved” it. But Titus 3:4-5 takes away any hope of earning God’s forgiveness. And being set apart by God as a royal priesthood, we have an altar that no one who is trying to establish their own righteousness can eat from. While they are trying to make themselves righteous—which they can never do—we have been made righteous by God, by Him taking our sins and laying them on the head of the Lamb that He provided, and giving us the righteousness of God in Christ. No one can ever earn that. You can “heave” all your sins up in the air all you want—but if you do not know Christ they will always come back to you. But we have a great High Priest who has taken away our sins forever, and they will never return to us.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old testament Law--Consecrating Aaron and his sons (part 1)

We’ve seen what the tabernacle and all its furnishings probably looked like. We have seen what the garments of the high priest probably looked like. And today we are going to see Aaron and his sons set apart—consecrated—for the priestly service. And before we read our text, I think it would behoove us to understand the reason for the priesthood. And that reason is quite simple. We are vile, wicked, sinful, prideful people who have sinned against a perfectly righteous God. We have broken His law, despised His commandments, and rebelled against His authority. And because we have done these things, we are spiritually separated from God, and cannot approach Him directly. We need someone to plead with Him on our behalf, to ask Him to have mercy on us because of our sins. And that is where the office of priest comes in. Now most people, when they think of the word ‘priest’ they think of a guy in a black robe with a funny-looking collar. And the Roman Catholic church has indeed misappropriated the term ‘priest’ and has convinced those who have been deceived into following her that only the ‘priest’ can forgive you of your sins. The Roman Catholic priest can do nothing for you.

Now here’s the good news—we have a High Priest who has already entered God’s courtroom and who continually intervenes on our behalf. Hebrews 7:24-25—24 He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. And He has made us priests as well. Revelation 1:5-6—5 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. And because we are kings and priests we can call upon this holy and righteous God at any time. Hebrews 4:16—Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. However, until that Great High Priest came, the only way for a person to come to God was—well, first you had to become Jewish, and then you had to go to the Jewish priest, and you had to have an acceptable offering to give. The priest would then kill it, cut it up and burn it, thus making intercession for you. Now, as we've seen in the videos we've watched over the last couple weeks, God was very particular about how things were to be done. Very detailed in His descriptions of the building of the tabernacle and its furnishings and the garments of the high priest. Very intricate details.

And not only was God very specific about the tent and the furnishings and the garments, He was also very specific about who could serve as priest. And it was God’s will that only the “sons of Aaron” could become priests. If we go way back to Genesis, we know that God made a covenant with Abraham that all nations would be blessed through faithful Abraham. Genesis 22:18—"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Then Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. But the promise was only to come through Isaac. Genesis 21:12—“In Isaac shall your seed be called.” Then, Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was eventually given the name “Israel.” And Jacob—Israel—had 12 sons, who became the heads of what we call the “Twelve tribes of Israel.” These 12 sons were Simeon, Reuben, Gad, Naphtali, Dan, Issachar, Benjamin, Zebulon, Joseph, Judah, Asher and Levi. Levi had sons who had sons who had sons and eventually the line of Levi produced two sons named Moses and Aaron. The duty of serving in the tabernacle was given, in general, to the male descendants of Levi. And only the descendants of Levi. If you belonged to the tribe of Benjamin—forget it. If you belong to the tribe of Simeon—sorry. If you belong to the tribe of Reuben—not a chance. Gad, Dan, Naphtali? Step aside. To serve in the tabernacle you had to be a descendant of Levi. Not only that, but in order to enter the priesthood, not only did you have to be a descendant of Levi, more specifically you had to be a descendant of Aaron.

And it is in chapter 29 of Exodus that we see these sons of Aaron set apart for the priesthood. Exodus 29:1-4—“1 And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). 3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams. 4 And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water.” Now, I want to stop right here for a moment. What we have here is this: These commands were to be carried out once the tabernacle and the furnishings were finished. So, chronologically, this would have taken place some time after about Exodus 39 or 40 (And in fact we read about this ceremony taking place in Leviticus chapters 8 and 9). At any rate, Moses is to bring the sons of Aaron—Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar—to the door of the tent, and to bring a bull and two rams and all these unleavened breads and wafers. And the first thing that Moses was to do was to wash them with water. Head to toe, not just a little dab under the pits and behind the ears. This was to be a full-body bath. And here we have one of those places where the Law pointed to Christ. Once Aaron and his sons were washed at the door of the tabernacle—and of course they had to go through all the other rituals we’ll be looking at—they were then admitted into the priesthood. After that, the only time they needed to undergo a washing was when they would offer a sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering. One of their priestly duties was, of course, to kill, cut up and burn the sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering. After they burned the offering, before they could go into the tent they had to go to the bronze laver and wash their hands and feet. But they did not have to wash the whole body. That had already been done. How does this act as a prefiguring of Christ? I'm glad you asked. Hold your place here, and turn with me to the gospel according to John.

John chapter 13. This is the night before the crucifixion, Christ and His apostles are in the upper room celebrating Passover Seder. And Jesus does something interesting. John 13:5-10—5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my feet?" 7 Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." 8 Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." 9 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" 10 Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean." Once a person has been cleansed by Christ, they need only go back to “have their feet washed” so to speak, because their whole body is clean.


Listen to Jesus’ words again, John 13:10—"He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean." Notice He uses several different words here—bathed and washed ans clean. And these are two different words in the Greek.The first is λούω (louo), which means to bathe—that is, to bathe the whole body. The second word, νίπτω (nipto), means to wash various parts of the body. Then "clean" is translated from καθαρός (katharos). And this is the point that we see Jesus making here. The priest washed his hands and feet, but only because he was handling offerings for sin. Christ is our offering for sin, so we no longer need to handle dead animals. But what Christ is saying is that as we walk through this world, we build up dirt and grime on our feet—spiritually speaking. But we have already been bathed—spiritually speaking. Titus 3:4-5—4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing—literally, the λούω (louo), the bathing—of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. We have been washed, regenerated, renewed, consecrated, set apart to God by being bathed by the Holy Spirit. First John 1:9—If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse (καθαρίζω (katharizō)) us from all unrighteousness. The word ‘cleanse’ is from the same Greek word (καθαρός (katharos)) that Jesus uses in John 13:10 that is translated ‘clean.’ “He who is bathed…is completely clean (καθαρός (katharos)).” If we have been bathed λούω (louo) in the Holy Spirit, we wash νίπτω (nipto) our feet by asking for forgiveness, and God will cleanse (καθαρίζω (katharizō)) us from the dirt and grime that we have built up on our feet from our daily walk in this world. Because we are never going to be perfect. In these bodies, we will get messy from time to time. But if we have been bathed by the Holy Spirit, we only need to go back to have our feet washed. 

Exodus 29:5-7—“5 Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod. 6 You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him.” And again we stop here. Once Aaron put on the garments that signified his office, they took the anointing oil that we will look at in Exodus 30, and they poured it over him—they were to pour the oil over his head, and it was to run down to his beard. Thus he was set apart as belonging to God and ministering for the people. This of course was a picture of Christ, specifically our fellowship in Christ, the Holy Spirit having been poured out upon all Christians. Psalm 133:1-3—1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing—Life forevermore. This was not a neat and tidy ritual. It’s a good thing this was done in the desert, in the sand, than on a marble floor because that could have gotten very messy and slippery.

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus reads from Isaiah 61:1-2—“1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” And it is this section of the scroll of Isaiah that Jesus read from in one of the earliest parts of His ministry (see Luke 4:16-21). The pouring of oil—many times you will run across the phrase “poured out”—it is a picture of the Holy Spirit being “poured out” upon either Jesus as the Christ or on the individual believer. The Greek word “Christ” is a synonym for the Hebrew word “Messiah” and both of these words mean “anointed.” And in the OT, we see the act of anointing being performed in order to set apart certain men to certain important positions. We of course have Aaron anointed to set him apart as high priest:

• We see Elisha anointed as prophet in 1^st Kings 19:16—And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
• We see David anointed as the future king of Israel in 1^st Samuel 16:13—Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.

Aaron was anointed as high priest; David was anointed as king; Elisha was anointed as prophet. What’s the connection I'm making here? This anointing of priest, prophet and king with oil was symbolic of God anointing Christ—King, Prophet and Priest—with the Holy Spirit. But I also think there was another event in Christ’s life that this pointed to. And it’s not one that we like to think about.

Many times when we read about what Pilate and Herod and the Roman soldiers did to Christ during His crucifixion, we often point out how the crown of thorns and the purple robe were meant to mock the claim that Christ made to being king of the Jews. And during His ordeal we read about the servants of the high priest spitting in the face of our Lord in Matthew 26:67—Then they spat in His face and beat Him. The Roman soldiers also did the same, in Matthew 27:30—Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And remember this: these men that we’re talking about here, both the servants of the wicked priests as well as the Roman soldiers. They were driven in their disgraceful actions by Satan. These were men that would eventually drive metal spikes through the flesh of His wrists. Do you think they were going to stop with a few drops of spittle? They, for all intents and purposes, “anointed” Him with their spit. The servants of the high priest “anointed” Him as prophet and priest, the Romans soldiers “anointed” Him as king. We see this foreshadowed in another place, Isaiah 50:6—I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. Job 30:10 (NET)—They detest me and maintain their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. I wonder what they will say when they stand before the Great White Throne of Christ? The very same Christ that these wicked men treated with such contempt—will be the one who passes ultimate judgment on them. But here is the grace of God—if one of those servants or one of those soldiers had followed Christ up Golgotha, and watched as He was lifted up, and if that man had fallen down and begged forgiveness—he would be forgiven.

So, coming back to Exodus, Aaron was to be bathed head to toe. He was to be clothed in the high priestly garments and anointed. Verses 8-9 we will take next week. For now we’ll look at Exodus 29:10-14—“10 You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the base of the altar. 13 And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.” Going all the way back to the book of Genesis, even to that point immediately after Adam sinned, we see that the cost of sin is what? Death. Whenever and wherever there is sin, there must necessarily be death. And blood. By placing their hands on the heads of this bull, they were acknowledging their sins, and are confessing that this animal was being killed to cover over their sins. And until these men confessed their sins and made restitution for their sins, they could not be set apart as priests to God.

Oh, and you see those beautiful, hand-made garments up at the top of the page? The ones that God gave the instructions concerning their intricate detail and to make these garments that would glorify God? Well, after killing and cutting up these animals, guess what happened to these lovely works of man's hands? They were covered with blood. Almost symbolizing the fact that no matter how much work you did, unless your works were covered by blood, they were useless. Just like our "good works" today. Many people do "good things." But unless those things are done in the name of the Lord Jesus, and for the glory of God, and unless one is covered by the blood of Christ--all those "good works" will not do the person a bit of good. And unless the garments of these priests were covered in blood, they were useless as well.

Now, getting back to the sacrifice. What functions do the kidneys, intestines and liver perform? They get rid of stuff. What these men were doing was acknowledging the despicableness of sin. These were—and are—some of the most disgusting parts of an animal. I don’t care if you like chitterlings, they're disgusting. They were to burn them on the altar, right then and there. Now, let me finish up with what they were to do with some other parts of that bull. Exodus 29:14—“But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.” I like how the NET renders it, it says “It is a purification offering.” Now, the word “offal” literally means, how can I say this nicely, ‘dung’. The flesh, the skin, the dung—these were the only things that were to be taken outside the camp. Once they had gotten the tabernacle finished, and had gotten all the tents of the various tribes in their proper places, they perform these rituals, everything that was to be killed, cut up and burned to consecrate Aaron and his sons and the tabernacles and all its furniture was to be burned on the altar of burnt offering—except the flesh, skin and dung of this purification offering. This purification offering was meant to bear the sins of the men who were set apart as priests.

And wouldn’t you know it; we have a picture of Christ. Where was Christ crucified? Golgotha. Was Golgotha inside the city walls of Jerusalem? No, it was outside the city. Christ is not only our High Priest; He is also our offering for sin, true? He is the Offering that purifies us—our Purification Offering, since we too are priests to God. Listen to Hebrews 13:10-13—10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. Only the sin offering—that we will see in Leviticus 4—and this purification offering for Aaron and his sons were to be burned outside the camp. Christ, our sin offering, bore our reproach when He was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem, and what I think the writer is saying here is, “Let us no longer serve the weak and beggarly elements of the Law that could not make us righteous. Let us instead look to Christ as being the author and finisher of faith and righteousness, since we have been crucified with Him.” By fulfilling these things that were symbolized in these rituals, He has fulfilled all righteousness.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.