LEVITICUS CHAPTER 8

THE DEDICATION OF THE PRIEST

Verse 1 - The commandment of God - All things should be done at God's command, and only God's commands should be followed.

Verse 2 - God lists all the needed articles. Later, He'll tell us what to do with them. The outline is as follows:

I.   Verse 6-9 - Aaron and his sons are to be dedicated to the service of God.

II.   Verse 10-13 - The anointing oil that is to be used in dedicating the priesthood and the holy things.

III.   Verse 14-17 - The bullock that is to be used for a sin offering for the priest.

IV.   Verse 18-36 - The two rams.

A.     Verse 18-21 - The first ram will be used for a burnt offering.

B.     Verse 22-36 - The second ram will be used for a ram of consecration.

V.   Verse 26-36 - The basket of unleavened bread.

Verse 3 - All 2,000,000 of the congregation should be gathered together. Attendance in the local church should be like this. [1]All[1] should assemble, so [1]all[1] can understand what God wants.

Verse 4 - Moses did as God commanded. May this be said of all the leaders of God's people. The people responded. May this be said that all God's children follow the man God has chosen to be over them.

Verse 5 - Moses is only doing what God commanded. Nothing after his desire or "logic". May every facet of our lives reveal this kind of dedication.

I.   The preparation of the priesthood.

A.     Verse 6 - A public washing.

1.       This is a ceremonial washing, the priest are not naked before the people.

2.       Those that would give themselves to public service must so allow themselves to be publicly "cleansed". Nobody is perfect, and shouldn't act like they are.

3.       This service reminds me of the public "ordaining a preacher to pastor".

4.       All of these things add nothing to the calling of God. It is a human recognition of God's calling.

B.     Verse 7 - Properly clothed (described in Ex. 28) - Clothing has a symbolic meaning:

1.       Coat - an inner garment, much like our modern day "T" shirt.

2.       Girdle - A band that fit around the waist, made to keep the coat fitting close to the body.

3.       Robe - An outer and upper garment.

4.       Ephod - a "vest" like upper and outer garment which fit over the head and shoulders.

5.       Girdle of the Ephod - Held the ephod close to the body. Attached at the waist.

6.       Breastplate - the 6" square of doubled material with the 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Shows the individuality of each person belonging to God.

7.       Urim and Thummin - The law or the revealed will of God.

8.       Mitre - The head piece - The mind consecrated to God.

9.       Golden plate, the hold crown - A visible sign of giving glory to God. (HOLINESS TO THE LORD is printed on the plate.)

10.   Note: I am well aware that today most preachers and their churches have followed the leadership of the general public in saying that clothes are all on the outside and have nothing to do with the inside. They proclaim that we are not under the law, thus there is nothing wrong with men wearing dresses and women wearing pants. But please notice that the High Priest wore clothing specified by God because he was an earthly representative of a heavenly God. Are we not supposed to be ambassadors for a heavenly God? Are we supposed to submit our bodies to a living God? Do we not examine the fruits (the outward acts) of a persons life to see what is on the inside?  Will God judge the inward condition of our heart by the actions of our bodies?

II.   The anointing - V. 10-13 - This is a symbol of the true anointing of the Holy Spirit in the heart.

A.     Verse 10 - The tabernacle and its furniture.

1.       Public meeting houses should be publicly dedicated to God.

2.       Sanctified them - didn't make them any better, but "set them aside" for God's service.

B.     V. 11 - The articles in the court yard.

1.       Altar, and its vessels; the laver and its foot - set aside for God's services.

2.       Seven times - complete sanctification accomplished only in Christ.

C.     V. 12,13 - The priests.

1.       Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

2.       Laying on of hands in an ordination service does not give the Holy Spirit, but recognizes the Holy Spirit calling.

3.       V. 13 - A recapitulation of verse 6-12.

III.   V. 14-17 - The sin offering for the priest.

A.     A declaration that these men are not the messiah, but symbols of the true priesthood.

1.       Christ comes from the tribe of Judah, not Levi.

2.       Christ comes from the order of Melchizedek.

B.     The order follows the order established already in Lev. 4:3- 12.

C.     Reveals that these men still need a saviour.

IV.   V. 18-21 - The burnt offering (Using the first ram)

A.     The procedure is as given in Lev. 1:1-9 except that the offering is a ram. Verse 21, a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour.

B.     Shows these men are trusting Christ for their salvation.

V.   The Ram of Consecration (verse 22-36) shows there must be a dedication of the life through the blood of Christ after salvation (as revealed in the sin offering [verse 14-17] and the burnt offering [verse 18-21]).

A.     V. 22 - hands on head of ram - identifying with the ram - Christ had to die in order for us to be consecrated to Him.

B.     V. 23 - He slew it - Moses killed the animal (v. 22 - He bought the ram, the "he" is also Moses.)

1.       Moses is symbolic of God, who not only causes us to be consecrated to Him, but also makes the way for our consecration.

2.       Blood on Aaron (by himself) - the leader must be consecrated before he'll have any followers consecrated.

a.      Tip of right ear - that our hearing might be keen to hear God's commandments and shun Satan calls to us.

b.      Thumb of right hand - that our work might be given to God's cause.  The thumb is the main part of the hand.  We can do without it, but it's difficult.  The main part of our work is done by God.  (Phil. 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.)

c.      Great toe of right foot - that our walk would be consecrated to God.  Our great toe gives us balance, so we'll have a balanced ministry before God (forget men).

d.      Right - Not that being left-handed is bad, (the whole tribe of Benjamin was left-handed), but it shows God's approval - Christ sitting at His father's right hand.

3.       Blood on Aaron's sons - identical to Aaron - all are consecrated alike though at different times.

C.     The procedure followed: (verse 25-36)

1.       Verse 25-28 - Evidently Aaron and his sons join hands and wave before the Lord the:

a.      fat.

b.      rump.

c.      caul.

d.      two kidneys.

e.      right shoulder.

f.       one unleavened cake.

g.      cake of oiled bread.

h.      and one wafer.

2.       These are burnt on the altar on top of the burnt offering. (verse 28).  This shows that the only accepted consecration is through the blood of Christ.  Consecration comes after salvation, consecration is not a means of salvation.

3.       V. 29 - The breast belongs to Moses. The lesson is:

a.      Those people that help others become consecrated to Christ receive a blessing - III John 4 - "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

b.      I Peter 5:5 - Let the younger elders (pastors)  submit themselves to the older elders, and let the older elders remember that God is over them.

4.       V. 30 - The anointing completed.

a.      V. 12 - Aaron only is anointed, only on his head (mind given to the Lord.)

b.      Now both Aaron and his sons receive anointing of the Holy Spirit and blood.

c.      The anointing is on the persons and their garments.  We should reflect Christ living within us.  Phil. 2:12 - "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

5.       V. 31-32 - The left shoulder and ribs belong to the priests.

a.      Boil - Cooked in water.

1)      Commanded not to eat raw meat.

2)      Takes care of the blood remaining in the flesh.

3)      The water represents the Word of God.

b.      This is the only sacrifice that the priest get to eat.  Whenever we totally consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we enjoy heavenly blessings on this earth.

c.      Burn the remainder in fire.

1)      People not consecrated to God are not fit to eat it.  (Don't cast your pearls before the swine.)

2)      It returns to God who gave it.

3)      God always gives enough to fill us up with some left over.  (Remember the feeding of the 5,000? There were 12 baskets left over! And when the miracle started, the disciples didn't even have a basket!)

6.       V. 33-36 - Stay until your job is complete.

a.      Seven days - complete service of consecration.

b.      Consecration is not instant, but a process (like progressive sanctification).

c.      To keep from dying - If we fail to be completely consecrated, we'll never have a full Christian life.

d.      The end of our Christian life is not consecration.  It's only the beginning - See chapter 9.

1)      We can't help anybody else until we first get right ourselves.  Matt. 7:3-5 - Take the beam out of our own eyes before we try to get the mote out of our brothers eye.

2)      Eph. 5:15-17 - Before we can understand what the specific will of God is for our lives, we must first do the general will of God for our lives.

3)      Consecration is the general will, the specific will will follow.  Many people are trying to discover God's specific will when they haven't been consecrated to the general will of God.