SCRIPTURE: LEVITICUS 8
IMPORTANT VERSES:
“Then he brought Aaron’s sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put head bands on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.” (Leviticus 8:13)
“Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. (Leviticus 8:23)
THE ORDINATION OF AARON AND HIS SONS (vs. 1-36)
The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket containing bread made without yeast, and gather the entire assembly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.” Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
Moses said to the assembly, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.” Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water. He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also tied the ephod to him by its skillfully woven waistband; so it was fastened on him. He placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece. Then he placed the turban on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the sacred diadem, on the front of it, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated them. He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them. He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. Then he brought Aaron’s sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put headbands on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
He then presented the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar to purify the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make atonement for it. Moses also took all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat,. and burned it on the altar. But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its offal he burned up outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses.
He then presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Then Moses slaughtered the ram and sprinkled the blood against the altar on all sides. He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, the pieces and the fat. He washed the inner parts and the legs with water and burned the whole ram on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire, as the Lord commanded Moses.
He then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Moses also brought Aaron’s sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he sprinkled blood against the altar on all sides. He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh. Then from the basket of bread made without yeast, which was before the Lord, he took a cake of bread, and one made with oil, and a wafer; he put these on the fat portions and on the right thigh. He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before the Lord as a wave offering. Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, and offering made to the Lord by fire. He also took the breast – Moses’ share of the ordination ram – and waved it before the Lord as a wave offering, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Soo he consecrated Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments.
Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, “Cook the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’ Then burn up the rest of the meat and the bread. Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for your ordination will last seven days. What has been done today was commanded by the Lord to make atonement for you. You must stay at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and do what the Lord requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded.” So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
Aaron and his sons were chosen to be priests for the Israelites. They alone had the honor and responsibility of performing the sacrifices. These priests had to cleanse and dedicate themselves before they could help the people do the same.
The ordination ceremony includes:
- Washed with water
- Clothed with special garments
- Anointed with oil
- Placed their hands on a young bull or two rams as they were killed
The ceremony showed that holiness came from God alone, not from the priestly role. Similarly, we are not spiritually cleansed because we have a religious position. Spiritual cleansing comes only from God. No matter how high our position or how long we have held it, we must depend on God for spiritual vitality.
During the Old Testament time, the priests stood in the gap between God and man. They were the full time spiritual leaders and overseers of offerings. The priestly system was a concession to people’s inability because of sin, to confront and relate to God individually. In Christ, this imperfect system was transformed. Jesus Christ himself is our High Priest. Now all believers can approach God through Him.
Urim and Thummin were probably precious stones that God used to give guidance to his people. The high priest kept them in a pocket attached to his chestpiece. Some scholars said that the Urim may have been the no answer and the Thummin the yes answer. After a time of prayer for guidance, the priest would shake the stones and God would cause the proper one to fall out. Another view is that the Urim and Thummin were small flat objects each with a yes side and a no side. The priest spilled both from his pouch. If both landed on the yes sides, God’s answer was positive. Two no sides were negative. A yes and a no meant no reply. God had a specific purpose for using this method of guidance. He was teaching a nation the principles of following him. Our situation is not the same now, so we must not invent ways like this for God to guide us.
Why should there be a high priest? The high priest had special duties that no other priest had. He alone could enter the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle on the yearly Day of Atonement to atone for the sins of the nation. Therefore, he was in charge of all the other priests. The high priest was a picture of Jesus Christ who is our High Priest (Hebrews 7:26-28)
Aaron and his sons “did everything the Lord had commanded.” Considering the many detailed lists of Leviticus, that was a remarkable feat. They knew what God wanted, how he wanted it done and with what attitude it was to be carried out. This can serve as a model for how carefully we ought to obey God. God wants us to be thoroughly holy people, not a rough approximation of the way his followers should be.