THE CONSECRATION OF AARON
AND HIS SONS, AND OF THE TABERNACLE
Lev 8:1-36
THE second section of the book of Leviticus {Lev 8:1 - Lev 10:20}
is historical, and describes (chapter 8) the consecration of the
tabernacle and of Aaron and his sons, (chapter 9) their induction
into the duties of their office, and, finally (chapter 10), the
terrible judgment by which the high sanctity of the priestly office
and of the tabernacle service was very solemnly impressed upon them
and all the people.
First in order (chapter 8) is described the ceremonial of
consecration. We read (Lev 8:1-4): "And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the
anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin offering, and the two
rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; and assemble thou all the
congregation at the door of the tent of meeting. And Moses did as
the Lord commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the
door of the tent of meeting."
These words refer us back to Exodus 28 and 29 in which are recorded
the full directions previously given for the making of the garments
and the oil of anointing, and for the ceremonial of the consecration
of the priests. The law of offerings having been delivered, Moses
now proceeds to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the priestly
office, according to the commandment given; and to this end, by
Divine direction, he orders "all the congregation" to be assembled
"at the door of the tent of meeting." In this last statement some
have seen a sufficient reason for rejecting the whole account as
fabulous, insisting that it is palpably absurd to suppose that a
congregation numbering some millions could be assembled at the door
of a single tent! But, surely, if the words are to he taken in the
ultra-literal sense required in order to make out this difficulty,
the impossibility must have been equally evident to the supposed
fabricator of the fiction; and it is yet more absurd to suppose that
he should ever have intended his words to be pressed to such a rigid
literality. Two explanations lie before us, either of which meets
the supposed difficulty; the one, that endorsed by Dillmann, that
the congregation was gathered in their appointed representatives;
the other, that which refuses to see in the words a statement that
every individual in the nation was literally "at the door," and
further reminds us that, inasmuch as the ceremonies of the
consecration are said to have continued seven days, we are not, by
the terms of the narrative, required to believe that all, in any
sense, were present, either at the very beginning or at any one time
during that week. It is not too much to say that by a captious
criticism of this kind; any narrative, however sober, might be shown
to be absurd.
The consecration ceremonial was introduced by a solemn declaration
made by Moses to assembled Israel, that the impressive rites which
they were now about to witness, were of Divine appointment. We read
(Lev 8:5), "Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing
which the Lord hath commanded to be done."
Just here we may pause to note the great emphasis which the
narrative lays upon this fact of the Divine appointment of all
pertaining to these consecration rites. Not only is this Divine
ordination of all thus declared at the beginning, but in connection
with each of the chief parts of the ceremonial the formula is
repeated, "as the Lord commanded Moses." Also, at the close of the
first day’s rites, Moses twice reminds Aaron and his sons that this
whole ritual, in all its parts, is for them an ordinance of God, and
is to be regarded accordingly, upon pain of death (Lev 8:34-35). And
the narrative of the chapter closes (Lev 8:36) with the words,
"Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord commanded by
the hand of Moses." Twelve times in this one chapter is reference
thus made to the Divine appointment of these consecration rites.
This is full of significance and instruction. It is of the highest
importance in an apologetic way. For it is self-evident that this
twelvefold affirmation, twelve times directly contradicts the modern
theory of the late origin and human invention of the Levitical
priesthood. There is no evading of the issue which is thus placed
squarely before us. To talk of the inspiration from God, in any
sense possible to that word, of a writing containing such
affirmations, so numerous, formal, and emphatic, if the critics
referred to are right, and these affirmations are all false, is
absurd. There is no such thing as inspired falsehood.
Again, a great spiritual truth is herein brought before us, which
concerns believers in all ages. It is set forth in so many words in
Heb 5:4, where the writer, laying down the essential conditions of
priesthood, specially mentions Divine appointment as one of these;
which he affirms as satisfied in the high priesthood of Christ: "No
man taketh the honour unto himself, but when he is called of God,
even as was Aaron. So Christ also glorified not Himself to be made a
high priest." Fundamental to Christian faith and life is this
thought: priesthood is not of man, but of God. In particular, in all
that Christ has done and is still doing as the High Priest, in the
true holiest, He is acting under Divine appointment.
And we are hereby pointed to the truth of which some may need to be
reminded, that the work of our Lord in our behalf, and that of the
whole universe into which sin has entered, has its cause and origin
in the mind and gracious will of the Father. It was in His
incomprehensible love, who appointed the priestly office, that the
whole work of atonement, and therewith purification and full
redemption, had its mysterious origin. The thoughtful reader of the
Gospels will hardly need to be reminded how constantly our blessed
Lord, in the days of His high priestly service upon earth, acted in
all that He did under the consciousness, often expressed, of His
appointment by the Father to this work. Thus, Aaron in the solemn
ceremonial of those days of consecration, as ever afterward, doing
"all the things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses," in
so doing fitly represented Him who should come afterward, who said
of Himself, {Joh 6:38} "I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own
will, but the will of Him that sent Me."
THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD
AND TABERNACLE AS TYPES
In order to any profitable study of the following ceremonial, it
is indispensable to have distinctly before us the New Testament
teaching as to the typical significance of the priesthood and the
tabernacle. A few words on this subject, therefore, seem to be
needful as preliminary to more detailed exposition. As to the
typical character of Aaron, as high priest, the New Testament leaves
us no room for doubt. Throughout the Epistle to the Hebrews, Christ
is held forth as the true and heavenly High Priest, of whom Aaron,
with his successors, was an eminent type.
As regards the other priests, while it is true that, considered in
themselves, and without reference to the high priest, each of them
also, in the performance of his daily functions in the tabernacle,
was a lesser type of Christ, as is intimated in Hebrews 10 and 11,
yet, as contrasted with the high priest, who was ever one, while
they were many, it is plain that another typical reference must be
sought for the ordinary priesthood. What that may be is suggested to
us in several New Testament passages; as, especially, in Rev 5:10,
where the whole body of believers, bought by the blood of the slain
Lamb, is said to have been made "unto our God a kingdom and
priests"; with which may be compared Heb 13:10, where it is said,
"We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the
tabernacle"; words which plainly assume the priesthood of all
believers in Christ, as the antitype of the priesthood of the
Levitical tabernacle.
As to the typical meaning of the tabernacle, which also is anointed
in the consecration ceremonial, there has been much difference of
opinion. That it was typical is declared, in so many words, in the
Epistle to the Hebrews, {Heb 8:5} where the Levitical priests are
said to have served "that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly
things"; as also Heb 9:24, where we read, "Christ entered not into a
holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into
heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us." But
when we ask what then were "the heavenly things" of which the
tabernacle was "the copy and shadow," we have different answers.
Many have replied that the antitype of the tabernacle, as of the
temple, was the Church of believers; and, at first thought, with
some apparent scriptural reason. For it is certain that Christians
are declared {1Co 3:16} to be the temple of the living God; where,
however, it is to be noted that the original word denotes, not the
temple or tabernacle in general, but the "sanctuary" or inner
shrine-the "holy of holies." More to the point is 1Pe 2:5, where it
is said to Christians, "Ye also, as living stones, are built up a
spiritual house." Such passages as these do certainly warrant us in
saying that the tabernacle, and especially the inner sanctuary, as
the special place of the Divine habitation and manifestation, did in
so far typify the Church.
But when we consider the tabernacle, not in itself, but in relation
to its priesthood and ministry, the explanation fails, and we fall
into confusion. As when the priests are considered, not in
themselves, but in their relation to the high priest, we are
compelled to seek an antitype different from the Antitype of the
high priest, so in this case. To identify the typical meaning of the
tabernacle, considered as a part of a whole system and order, with
that of the priesthood who serve in it, is to throw that whole
typical system into confusion. Furthermore, this cannot be
harmonised with a number of New Testament expressions with regard to
the tabernacle and temple, as related to the high priesthood of our
Lord. It is hard to see, for example, how the Church of believers
could be properly descried as "things in the heavens." Moreover, we
are expressly taught, {Heb 9:24} that the Antitype of the Holy Place
into which the high priest entered every year, with blood, was
"heaven itself," "the presence of God"; and again, His ascension to
the right hand of God is described, {Heb 4:14, R.V} with evident
allusion to the passing of the high priest through the Holy Place
into the Holiest, as a passing "through the heavens; and also {Heb
9:11} as an entering into the Holy Place, through the greater and
more perfect tabernacle." These expressions exclude reference to the
Church of Christ as the antitype of the earthly tabernacle.
Others, again, have regarded the tabernacle as a type of the human
nature of Christ, referring in proof to Joh 2:19-21, where our Lord
speaks of "the temple of His body"; and also to Heb 10:19-20, where
it is said that believers have access to the Holiest "by a new and
living way, which He dedicated for us through the veil, that is to
say, His flesh."
As regards the first of these passages, we should note that the
original word is, again, not the word for the temple in general, but
that which is invariably used to denote the inner sanctuary, as the
special shrine of Jehovah’s presence: so that it really gives us no
warrant for affirming that the tabernacle, as a whole, was a type of
our Lord’s humanity; nor, on that supposition, does it seem possible
to explain the meaning of the three parts into which the tabernacle
was divided. And the second passage referred to is no more to the
point. For the writer had only a little before described the
tabernacle as a "pattern of things in the heavens"; words which,
surely, could not be applied to the humanity in which our Lord
appeared in His incarnation and humiliation, -a humanity which was
not a thing "of the heavens," but of the earth. The reference to the
"flesh" of Christ, as being the veil through which He passed into
the Holiest {Heb 10:19-20} is merely by way of illustration, and not
of typical interpretation. The thought of the inspired writer
appears to be this. Just as, in the Levitical tabernacle, the veil
must be parted before the high priest could go into the Holiest
Place even so was it necessary that the flesh of our Lord should be
rent in order that thus, through death, it might be possible for Him
to enter into the true holiest. The thought has been happily
expressed by Delitzsch, thus: "While He was with us here below, the
weak, limit bound, and mortal flesh which He had assumed for our
sakes hung like a curtain between Him and the Divine sanctuary into
which He would enter; and in order to such entrance, this curtain
had to be withdrawn by death, even as the high priest had to draw
aside the temple veil in order to make his entry to the Holy of
Holies."
Not to review other opinions on this matter, the various expressions
used constrain us to regard the tabernacle as typifying the universe
itself, measured and appointed in all its parts by infinite wisdom,
as the abode of Him who "filleth immensity with His presence," the
place of the Divine manifestation, and the abode of His holiness. In
the outer court, where the victims were offered, we have this world
of sense in which we live, in which our Lord was offered in the
sight of all; in the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies, the unseen
and heavenly worlds, through the former of which our Lord is
represented as having passed {Heb 4:14; Heb 9:11} that He might
appear with His blood in the true Holiest, where God in the
innermost shrine of His glory "covereth Himself with light as with a
garment." For this cosmical dwelling place of the Most High God has
been defiled by sin, which, as it were, has profaned the whole
sanctuary; for we, {Col 1:20} that not only "things upon the earth,"
but also "things in the heavens," are to be "reconciled" through
Christ, even "through the blood of His cross"; and, still more
explicitly, to the same effect, {Heb 9:23} that as the typical
"copies of the things in the heavens" needed to be cleansed with the
blood of bullocks and of goats, so "it was necessary that the
heavenly things themselves should be cleansed with better sacrifices
than these." And so, at this present time, Christ, as the High
Priest of this cosmical tabernacle, "not made with hands," having
offered His great sacrifice for sins forever, is now engaged in
carrying out His work of cleansing the people of God, and the
earthly and the heavenly sanctuary, to the uttermost completion.
With these preliminary words, which have seemed essential to the
exposition of these chapters, we are now prepared to consider the
ceremonial of the consecration of the priesthood and tabernacle, and
the spiritual meaning which it was intended to convey.
THE WASHING WITH WATER
Lev 8:6
"And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with
water."
The consecration ceremonies consisted of four parts, namely, the
Washing, the Investiture, the Anointing, and the Sacrifices. Of
these, first in order was the Washing. We read that "Moses"-acting
throughout, we must remember, as Mediator, representing God-"brought
Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water." The meaning of this
act is so evident as not to have been called in question. Washing
ever signifies cleansing; the ceremonial cleansing of the body,
therefore, in symbol ever represents the inward purification of the
spirit.
Of this usage the Biblical illustrations are very numerous. Thus,
the spiritual purification of Israel in the latter day is described
{Isa 4:4} by the same word as is used here, as a washing away of a
the "filth of the daughters of Zion" by the Lord. So, again, in the
New Testament, we read that Christ declared unto Nicodemus that in
order to see the kingdom of God a man must be born again, "of water
and the Spirit," and in the Epistle to Titus {Tit 3:5} we read of a
cleansing of the Church "with the washing (marg., laver) of water,
by the Word," even the "washing of regeneration." The symbolism in
this case, therefore, points to cleansing from the defilement of sin
as a fundamental condition of priesthood. As regards our Lord
indeed, such cleansing was no more needed for His high priesthood
than was the sin offering for Himself; for in His holy incarnation,
though He took our nature indeed with all the consequences and
infirmities consequent on sin, He was yet "without sin." But all the
more it was necessary in the symbolism that if Aaron was to typify
the sinless Christ of God he must be cleansed with water, in type of
the cleansing of human nature, without which no man can approach to
God. And in that not only Aaron, but also his sons, the ordinary
priests, were thus cleansed, we are in the ordinance significantly
pointed to the deep spiritual truth that they who are called to be
priests to God must be qualified for this office, first of all, by
the cleansing of their human nature through the washing of
regeneration, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
THE INVESTITURE
Lev 8:7-9
"And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle,
and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he
girded him with the cunningly woven band of the ephod, and bound it
unto him therewith. And he placed the breastplate upon him: and in
the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim. And he set the
mitre upon his head: and upon the mitre, in front, did he set the
golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses."
The next ceremony of the consecration was the Investiture of Aaron
with his official high priestly robes, as they had been appointed of
God to be made. {Exodus 28} The investiture of the sons of Aaron
significantly takes place only after the anointing of the
tabernacle, and of Aaron as high priest. Of the investiture of Aaron
we read in Lev 8:7-9, above.
As these garments were official, we must needs regard them as
symbolical; a thought which is the more emphasised by the very
minute and special directions given by the Lord for making them.
Nothing was left to the fancy of man; all was prescribed by the
Lord. The official robes of the high priest consisted of eight
pieces, four of which, the coat, the girdle, the turban (or "mitre"),
and the breeches, were, with the exception of the turban, of white
linen, and identical in every respect with the official dress of the
ordinary priests.
Four pieces more were peculiar to himself, the special insignia of
his office, and unlike the dress of the ordinary priest, were richly
made in gold and various colours, "garments for glory and for
beauty." These were: the robe of the ephod, made all of blue, with a
border of pendant pomegranates and golden bells in alternation; the
ephod itself consisting of two pieces, broidered in gold and blue,
purple, scarlet, and fine white linen, the one hanging in front, the
other behind, over the robe of the ephod, and joined on the
shoulders with two onyx stones, on which were graven the names of
the twelve tribes, six on the one shoulder and six on the other; it
was girt about him with a girdle of the same material and colours.
The third was the breastplate, which was a double square of the same
material and colours as the ephod, within the fold of which, as it
hung from his shoulders by golden chains, was placed the Urim and
the Thummim, whatever these may have been, and upon the front of
which were set twelve precious stones, on which, severally, were
engraved the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.
And the fourth and last article of his attire was "the golden plate,
the holy crown"; a band of gold bound about his forehead over the
turban, with blue lace, on which were engraven the words, "Holiness
to Jehovah."
This dress of the high priest represented him, in the first place,
as the appointed minister of the tabernacle. The number of pieces,
twice four, like the four of the common priests’ attire, answered to
the four which was represented in the ground plan of the tabernacle,
quadrangular both in its form as a whole and in its several parts,
the Holy of Holies being a perfect cube; four being in Scripture
constantly the number which symbolises the universe, as created by
God and bearing witness to Him. So also the garments of the high
priest marked him as the minister of the tabernacle by their colours,
also four in number, and the same as those of the latter, namely,
blue, purple, scarlet, and white.
But the official robes of the high priest marked him, in the second
place, as the servant of the God of the tabernacle, whose livery he
wore. For these colours, various modifications of light, all thus
had a symbolic reference to the God of light, who made the universe
of which the Mosaic tabernacle was a type. Of these, the blue, the
colour of the overarching heaven, has been in many lands and
religions naturally regarded as the colour symbolising God, as the
God of the heaven, bowing to the earth in condescending love and
self-revelation. In like manner, we find it repeatedly recurring in
the symbolic manifestations of Jehovah in the Holy Scriptures, where
it always brings God before us with special reference to His
condescending love as entering into covenant with man, and revealing
for their good His holy law. The purple, as will occur to everyone,
is everywhere recognised as the colour of royalty, and therefore
symbolised the kingly exaltation and majesty of God, as the Ruler of
heaven and earth. The scarlet reminds us at once of the colour of
blood, which stands in the very foreground of the Mosaic symbolism
as the symbol of life, and thus points us to the conception of God,
as the essentially Living One, who is Himself the sole primal source
of all life, whether physical or spiritual, in the creature. No one
can mistake, again, the symbolic meaning of the white, which, not
only in the Scripture, but among all nations, has ever been the
symbol of purity and holiness, and thus represented the high priest
as the minister of God, as the Most Holy One. By this investiture,
therefore, Aaron was symbolically constituted the minister of the
tabernacle, on the one hand, and of God, on the other; and, in
particular, of God as the God of revelation, in covenant with
Israel; of God as the Most High, the King of Israel; of God as the
God of life, the Giver of life in the redemption of Israel; and,
finally, of God as the Most Holy, the God "who is light," and "with
whom is no darkness at all."
The "robe of the ephod" was woven in one piece, and all of blue. In
that it was thus without seam, was symbolised the wholeness and
absolute integrity necessary to him who should bear the high
priestly office. In that it was made all of blue, the colour which
symbolised the God of heaven as manifesting Himself to Israel in
condescending love, in the holy law and covenant, this robe of the
ephod specially marked the high priest as the minister of Jehovah
and of His revealed law.
The ephod, which depended from the shoulders before and behind,
according to the usage of Scripture, was the garment specially
significant of rule and authority; a thought which reached full
expression in the breastplate which was fastened to it, which
contained the Urim and Thummim, by which God’s will was made known
to Israel in times of perplexity, and was called "the breastplate of
judgment."
The ornamentation of these garments had also a symbolic meaning,
though it may not be in each instance equally clear. In that the
high priest, as thus robed, bore upon the ephod and the breastplate
of judgment, graven on precious stones, the names of the twelve
tribes of Israel, he was marked as one who in all his high priestly
work before and with God, presented and represented Israel. In that
the names were engraven upon precious stones was signified the
exceeding preciousness of Israel in God’s sight, as His "peculiar
treasure." In that, again, they were worn upon his shoulders, Aaron
was represented to Israel as upholding and bearing them before God
in the strength of his office; in that he wore their names upon his
breast, he was represented as also bearing them upon. his heart in
love and affection.
The symbolic meaning of the pomegranates and golden bells, which
formed the border of the robe of the ephod, is not quite so clear.
But we may probably find a hint as to their significance in the
Divine direction as to the border of blue which every Israelite was
to wear upon the bottom of his garment. {Num 15:39} The purpose of
this is said to be that it might be for a continual reminder of the
law: "It shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it,
and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them." If then
this border in the garment of each individual member of the priestly
nation was designed symbolically to mark them as the keepers of the
law of the God of heaven, we may safely infer an analogous meaning
in the similar border to the official garment of the high priest.
And if so, then we shall perhaps not be far out of the way if in
this case we follow Jewish tradition in regarding the pomegranate, a
fruit distinguished by being filled to the full with seeds, as the
symbol, par excellence, of the law of commandments, the words of the
living God, as "incorruptible seed," endowed by Him with vital
energy and power.
As for the bells, we naturally think at once of the common use of
the bell to give a signal, and announce what one may be concerned to
know. So we read of these golden bells, {Exo 28:35} "the sound
thereof shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before
the Lord that he die not."
These golden bells in the border of his garment, between each pair
of pomegranates, thus announced him as officially appearing before
God as the fulfiller of the law of commandments, and as, for this
reason, acceptable to God in the execution of his high priestly
functions.
As to the Urim and Thummim, "Light and Perfection," which were
apparently placed within the fold of the breastplate of judgment, as
the tables of the law within the ark of the covenant, there has been
in all ages much debate; but what they were cannot be said to have
been certainly determined. Most probable appears the opinion that
they were two sacred lots which on solemn occasions were used by the
high priest for determining the will of God. So much, in any case,
is clear from the Scripture, that in some way through them the will
of God as the King of Israel was made known to the high priest, for
the direction of the nation in doubtful matters. Most fitly,
therefore, they were placed within the breastplate of judgment,
which, indeed, may have received this name from this circumstance.
The high priest, therefore, as the bearer of the Urim and Thummim,
was set forth, in accordance with the meaning of these words, as one
who in virtue of his office received perfect enlightenment from God
as to His will, in all that concerned Israel’s action.
The plate of graven gold, called the "holy crown" was bound by Moses
with a lace of blue upon the mitre of Aaron in front. The precious
metal here, as elsewhere in the official garments of the high
priest, and in the tabernacle, was symbolic of the boundless riches
of the glory of the God of Israel, whose minister the high priest
was. The special significance, however, of this holy crown, is found
in the words which appeared upon it, "Holiness to Jehovah." This was
a continual visible mark and reminder of the fact that the high
priest, in all that he was, and in all that he did, was a person in
the highest possible sense consecrated to Jehovah, the heavenly King
of Israel, whose livery he wore. And in that this golden plate with
this inscription is called his "crown," it is further suggested that
in this last-named fact is found the crowning glory and dignity of
the high priest’s office. He is the minister of the God of Israel,
Jehovah, whose own supreme glory is just this, that He is holy. In
the directions given for this crown in Exo 28:36-38 it is said that
in virtue of his wearing this, or, rather in virtue of the fact thus
set forth, "Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things which
the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it
shall always be upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before
the Lord." That is, even Israel’s consecrated things, their holiest
gifts, are yet defiled by the ever abiding sinfulness of those who
offer them; but they are nevertheless graciously accepted, as being
offered by Aaron, himself "holy to the Lord."
Such then appears to have been the symbolic meaning of these
"garments for glory and for beauty," with which Moses now robed
Aaron, in token of his investiture with the manifold dignities of
the exalted office to which God had called him. But we must not
forget that we are not, in all this, dealing merely with matters of
antiquarian or archaeological interest. Nothing is plainer than the
teaching of the New Testament, that Aaron, as the high priest, not
by accident, but by Divine intention, prefigured Christ. In all the
directions given concerning his investiture with his office, and the
work which, as high priest, he had to do, the Holy Ghost intended to
prefigure, directly or indirectly, something concerning the person,
office, and work of Jesus Christ, as our heavenly High Priest, the
Fulfiller of all these types. As Aaron appears in his fourfold high
priestly garments of four colours, which represented him as the
minister, on the one hand, of the tabernacle, and, on the other, of
the God of Israel, the Inhabitant of the tabernacle, so are we
reminded how Christ is appointed as the "Minister of the greater and
more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands," {Heb 9:11} the earth,
the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, to reconcile, by the offering
of His blood, "both the things which are on earth and those which
are in the heavens". {Col 1:20} We look upon the blue robe of the
ephod, and remember how Christ is made a minister of "a better
covenant, enacted upon better promises," {Heb 8:6} representing, as
that old covenant did not, the fulness of the revelation of God’s
condescending love and saving mercy. So also the inwoven scarlet
reminds us how Christ, again, as the great High Priest, is the
minister of the God of life, and is also Himself life and the Giver
of life to all His people. We look upon the high priest’s purple and
gold, and are reminded again that Christ, the High Priest, is also
invested with regal power and dominion, all authority being given
unto Him in heaven and on earth. {Mat 28:18}
Again, we look on the ephod of fine linen, inwoven with blue, and
scarlet, and purple, and gold, with its girdle, symbolising service,
and its pendant breastplate of judgment, and are reminded how Christ
in all the relations thus pertaining to Him as High Priest, is the
Ruler and the Judge of His people, who, as the bearer of the true
Urim and Thummim, is not only Priest, and King, and Judge, but also,
and in order to the salvation of His people, their Prophet,
continually revealing unto those who seek Him, the will of God for
their direction and guidance in every emergency of life. The girdle,
the symbol of service, brings to mind, again, how in all this He is
the Servant of the Lord, serving the Father in Saving us.
The symbolism of the pomegranates and the golden bells reminds us,
for the strengthening of our faith, how our exalted High Priest, who
appears before God in our behalf in the Holiest, appears there as
the great Preserver and Fulfiller of the Divine law, supremely
qualified, no less by His supreme merit than by Divine appointment,
to urge our needs with prevalence before God, His very presence in
the heavenly sanctuary vocal with sweet music. Did Aaron bear the
names of the twelve tribes of Israel on his shoulders and on his
breast before God continually? Even so, does his great Antitype bear
continually all His people before God, as He executes His high
priestly office; and this, too, not merely in a vague and general
way, but tribe by tribe, community by community, each with its
peculiar case and special need; nay, we may say even more; each
individual, as such, is thus borne continually on the shoulders and
the breast of the heavenly Priest; on His shoulders He bears them,
to support them by His power; on His heart, in tenderest love and
sympathy. And so often as we are distressed and discouraged by the
consciousness of defilement still pertaining even to the holiest of
our holy things, consecration ever imperfect at the best, we may
bethink ourselves of the golden crown which Aaron wore, and its
inscription, and remember how the Lord Jesus is in fullest reality
"holy to the Lord"; so that we may take heart of grace as, with full
reason and right, we apply to Him what is said of this crown of
holiness on Aaron’s brow: "The crown of holiness is ever on His
forehead, and He shall bear the iniquity of the holy things which we
shall hallow in all our holy gifts; it is always on His forehead,
that our works may be accepted before the Lord." And so we are
taught by this symbolism ever to look away from all conscious
defilement and sin to the infinite holiness of the person of the
Lord Jesus, as He continually appears before God as High Priest in
our behalf, the all-sufficient Surety for the acceptance of our
persons and of our imperfect works, for His own sake.
The investiture, as also the anointing, of the sons of Aaron,
followed the robing and anointing of Aaron. We read (Lev 8:13):
"Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with coats, and girded
them with girdles, and bound head-tires upon them; as the Lord
commanded Moses."
To the three articles of their attire here mentioned, must he added
the "linen breeches"; {Exo 28:42} so that they also, in the several
parts of their official vestments, bore the number four, the
signature of the creaturely, as represented in the tabernacle. All
was of pure white linen, signifying the holiness and righteousness
of those who should act as priests before God. So once and again in
the Apocalypse, the same symbol is used to denote the spotless
holiness and righteousness of the blood-bought saints, who are made
"a kingdom and priests" unto God: as, for instance, it is said of
that same holy body, symbolised as the bride of the Lamb, that "it
was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen,
bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the
saints". {Rev 19:8}
THE ANOINTING
Lev 8:10-12
"And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle
and all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled
thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and aft
its vessels, and the laver and its base, to sanctify them. And he
poured of the anointed oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to
sanctify him."
Next in order came the anointing, first of the tabernacle and all
that pertained to its service, and then the anointing of Aaron.
The anointing oil was made {Exo 30:22-23} with a perfume of choice
spices, their number, four, the sacred number so constantly
recurring in the tabernacle. To make or use this oil, except for the
sacred purposes of the sanctuary, was forbidden under penalty of
being cut off from the holy people. The purpose of the anointing of
the tabernacle and all within it, is declared to be its consecration
thereby to the service of Jehovah. The altar, as a place of special
sanctity, the place where God had covenanted to meet with Israel,
was anointed seven times. For the number seven, compounded of three,
the signet number of the Godhead, and four, the constant symbol of
the creaturely, is thus by eminence the sacred number, the number,
in particular, which is the sign and reminder of the covenant of
redemption; and so here it is with special meaning that the altar,
as being the place where God had specially covenanted to meet with
Israel as reconciled through the blood of atonement, should receive
a sevenfold anointing.
After this, the anointing oil was poured on the head of Aaron, to
sanctify him.
As to the meaning of this part of the symbolic service, there is
little room for doubt. The "anointing" is said to have been "to
sanctify" or set apart to the service of Jehovah him that was
anointed. And, inasmuch as oil, in the Holy Scriptures, is the
constant symbol of the Holy Spirit, it is taught hereby that
consecration is secured only through the anointing with the Holy
Ghost.
The direct typical reference of this part of the ceremonial to
Christ, will not be denied by anyone for whom the Scripture any
longer has authority. For Christ Himself quoted the words we find in
Isa 61:1, as fulfilled inHimself: "The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon Me, because the Lord God hath anointed Me." And the Apostle
Peter afterward taught {Act 10:38} that God had "anointed Jesus with
the Holy Ghost and with power"; while the most common title of our
Lord, as "the Messiah" or "Christ," as we all know, though often
forgetful of its meaning, simply means "the Anointed One." So every
time we use the word, we unconsciously testify to the fulfilment of
this type of the anointing of Aaron as priest, as, afterward, of the
anointing of David as king, in Him. And as the anointing of Aaron
took place in the sight of all Israel, assembled at the door of the
tent of meeting, so in the fulness of time was Jesus, in the sight
of all the multitude that waited on the baptism of John, after
having been washed with water, "to fulfil all righteousness,"
anointed from heaven, as "the Holy Ghost descended in bodily form,
as a dove," and abode upon him. {Luk 3:22} And while, according to
Jewish tradition, the anointing oil was applied to the ordinary
priests only in small quantity and by the finger, on the head of
Aaron it was "poured"; in which word, as suggested in Psa 133:2, we
are to understand a reference to the great copiousness with which it
was used. In which, again, the type exactly corresponds to the
Antitype. For while it is true of all believers that they "have an
anointing from the Holy One," {1Jn 2:20} even as their Lord, yet of
Him alone is it true that unto Him the Spirit "was not given by
measure." {Joh 3:34} And by this Divine anointing with the Holy
Spirit without limit, was Jesus sanctified and qualified for the
office of High Priest for all His people.
The anointing of the tabernacle with the same holy oil was according
to a custom long before prevalent, and however it may seem strange
to any of us now, will not have seemed strange to Israel. We read,
for instance, {Gen 28:18} of the anointing of the stone at Bethel by
Jacob, by which he thus consecrated it to be a stone of remembrance
of the revelation of God to him in that place. So, by this
anointing, the tabernacle, with all that it contained, was
"sanctified"; that is, consecrated that so the use of these might be
made, through the power of the Holy Ghost, a means of grace and
blessing to Israel. And it was thus anointed, and for this purpose,
as being a "copy and pattern of the heavenly things." By the
ceremony is signified to us, that by the power of the Holy Ghost,
through the high priesthood of our Lord, the whole universe and all
that is in it has been consecrated and endowed by God with virtue,
to become a means of grace and blessing to all believers, by His
grace and might who works "in all things and through all things" to
this end.
THE CONSECRATION
SACRIFICES
Lev 8:14-32
"And he brought the bullock of the sin offering: and Aaron and
his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock of the sin
offering. 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 out the blood at the base of the altar, and
sanctified it, to make atonement for it. And he took all the fat
that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two
kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burnt it upon the altar. But the
bullock, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he burnt with
fire without the camp; as the Lord commanded Moses. And he presented
the ram of the burnt offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their
hands upon the head of the ram. And he killed it; and Moses
sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he cut the ram
into its pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the
fat. And he washed the inwards and the legs with water; and Moses
burnt the whole ram upon the altar; it was a burnt offering for a
sweet savour: it was an offering made by fire unto the Lord; as the
Lord commanded Moses. And he presented the other ram, the ram of
consecration; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head
of the ram. And he slew it, and Moses took of the blood thereof, 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. And he brought
Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right
ear, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe
of their right foot: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar
round about. And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat
that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two
kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; and out of the basket of
unleavened bread, that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened
cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on
the fat, and upon the right thigh; and he put the whole upon the
hands of Aaron, and upon the hands of his sons, and waved them for a
wave offering before the Lord. And Moses took them from off their
hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they
were a consecration for a sweet savour: it was an offering made by
fire unto the Lord. And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a
wave offering before the Lord: it was Moses’ portion of the ram of
consecration; as the Lord commanded Moses. And Moses took at the
anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and
sprinkled it upon Aaron upon his garments, and upon his sons, and
upon his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, his
garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. And Moses
said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the
tent of meeting; and there eat it and the bread that is in the
basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons
shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread
shall ye burn with fire."
The last part of the consecration ceremonial was the sacrifices.
Each of the chief sacrifices of the law were offered in order;
first, a sin offering; then, a burnt offering; then, a peace
offering, with some significant variations from the ordinary ritual,
adapting it to this occasion; with which was conjoined, after the
usual manner, a meal offering. A sin offering was offered, first of
all; there had been a symbolical cleansing with water, but still a
sin offering is requited.
It signified, what so many in these days seem to forget, that in
order to our acceptableness before God, not only is needed a
cleansing of the defilement of nature by the regeneration of the
Holy Ghost, but also expiation for the guilt of our sins. The sin
offering was first, for the guilt of Aaron and his sons must be thus
typically removed, before their burnt offerings and their meal and
peace offerings can be accepted.
The peculiarities of the offerings as rendered on this occasion are
easily explained from the circumstances of their presentation. Moses
officiates, for this time only, as specially delegated for this
occasion, inasmuch as Aaron and his sons are not yet fully inducted
into their office. The victim for the sin offering is the costliest
ever employed: a bullock, as ordered for the sin of the anointed
priest. But the blood is not brought into the Holy Place, as in the
ritual for the offering for the high priest, because Aaron is not
yet fully inducted into his office. Nor do Aaron and his sons eat of
the flesh of the sin offering, as ordered in the case of other sin
offerings whose blood is not brought within the Holy Place;
obviously, because of the principle which rules throughout the law,
that he for whose sin the sin offering is offered, must not himself
eat of the flesh; it is therefore burnt with fire, without the camp,
that it may not see corruption.
By this sin offering, not only Aaron and his son were cleansed, but
we read that hereby atonement was also made "for the altar"; a
mysterious type, reminding us that, in some way which we cannot as
yet fully understand, sin has affected the whole universe: in such a
sense, that not only for man himself who has sinned, is propitiation
required, but, in some sense, even for the earth itself, with the
heavens. That in expounding the meaning of this part of the ritual
we do not go beyond the Scripture is plain from such passages as Heb
9:23, where it is expressly said that even as the tabernacle and the
things in it were cleansed with the blood of the bullock, so was
necessary that, not merely man, but "the heavenly things
themselves," of which the tabernacle and its belongings were the
"copies," should be cleansed with better sacrifices than these, even
the offering of Christ’s own blood. So also we read in Col 1:20,
before cited, that through Christ, even through the blood of His
cross, not merely persons, "but all things, whether things on the
earth, or things in the heavens," should be reconciled unto God.
Mysterious words these, no doubts but words which teach us at least
so much as this, how profound and far reaching is the mischief which
sin has wrought, even our sin. Not merely the sinning man must be
cleansed with blood before he can be made a priest unto God, but
even nature, "made subject to vanity," {Rom 8:20} for man’s sin,
needs the reconciling blood before redeemed man can exercise his
priesthood unto God in the heavenly places. Evidently we have here
an estimate of the evil of sin which is incomparably higher than
that which is commonly current among men; and we shall do well to
conform our estimate to that of God, who required atonement to be
made even for the earthen altar, to sanctify it.
Reconciliation being made by the sin offering, next in order came
the burnt offering, symbolic, as we have seen, of the full
consecration of the person of the offerer to God; in this case of
the full consecration of Aaron and his sons to the service of God in
the priesthood. The ritual was according to the usual law, and
requires no further exposition.
The ceremonial culminated and was completed in the offering of "the
ram of consecration." The expression is, literally, "the ram of
fillings"; in which phrase there is a reference to the peculiar
ceremony described in Lev 8:27-28, in which certain portions of the
victim and of the meal offering were placed by Moses on the hands of
Aaron and his sons, and waved by them for a wave offering; and
afterwards burnt wholly on the altar upon the burnt offering, in
token of their full devotement to the Lord. Of these it is then
added, "they were a consecration" (lit. "fillings," sc. of hands,
"were these"). The meaning of the phrase and the action it denoted
is determined by its use in 1Ch 29:5 and 2Ch 29:31, where it is used
of the bringing of the freewill offerings by the people for Jehovah.
The ceremonial in this case therefore signified the formal making
over of the sacrifices into the charge of Aaron and his sons, which
henceforth they were to offer; that they received them to offer them
to and for Jehovah, was symbolised by their presentation to be waved
before Jehovah, and further by their being burnt upon the altar, as
a sacrifice of sweet savour.
Another thing peculiar to this special consecration sacrifice, was
the use which was made of the blood, which (Lev 8:23) was put upon
the tip of Aaron’s right ear, upon the thumb of his right hand, and
upon the great toe of his right foot. Although the solution is not
without difficulty, we shall probably not err in regarding this as
distinctively an act of consecration, signifying that in virtue of
the sacrificial blood, Aaron and his sons were set apart to
sacrificial service. It is applied to the ear, to the hand, and the
foot, and to the most representative member in each case, to signify
the consecration of the whole body to the Lord’s service in the
tabernacle; the ear is consecrated by the blood to be ever attentive
to the word of Jehovah, to receive the intimations of His will; the
hand, to be ever ready to do the Lord’s work; and the foot, to run
on His service.
Another peculiarity of this offering was in the wave offering of
Aaron and his sons. Not the breast, but the thigh, and that together
with the fat (Lev 8:27) was waved before the Lord; and, afterward,
not only the fat was burnt upon the altar, according to the law, but
also the thigh, which in other cases was the portion of the priest,
was burnt with the fat and the memorial of the meal offering. The
breast was afterward waved, as the law commanded in the case of the
peace offerings, but was given to Moses as his portion. The last
particular is easy to understand; Moses in this ceremonial stands in
the place of the officiating priest, and it is natural that he
should thus receive from the Lord his reward for his service. As for
the thigh, which, when the peace offering was offered by one of the
people, was presented to the Lord, and then given to the officiating
priest to be eaten, obviously the law could not be applied here, as
the priests themselves were the bringers of the offering; hence the
only alternative was, as in the case of sin offerings of the holy
place, to burn the flesh with fire upon the altar, as "the food of
Jehovah." The remainder of the flesh was to be eaten by the priests
alone as the offerers, under the regulation for the thank offering,
except that whatever remained until the next day was to be burnt; a
direction which is explained by the fact that the sacrifice was to
be repeated for seven days, so that there could be no reason for
keeping the flesh until the third day. Last of all, it is to be
noted that whereas in the thank offerings of the people, the offerer
was allowed to bring leavened bread for the sacrificial feast, in
the feast of the consecration of priests this was not permitted; no
doubt to emphasise the peculiar sanctity of the office to which they
were inducted.
With these modifications, it is plain that the sacrifice of
consecration was essentially, not a guilt offering, as some have
supposed, but a peace offering. It is true that a ram was enjoined
as the victim instead of a lamb, but the correspondence here with
the law of the guilt offering is of no significance when we observe
that rams were also enjoined or used for peace offerings on other
occasions of exceptional dignity and sanctity, as in the peace
offerings for the nation, mentioned in the following chapter, and
the peace offerings for the princes of the tribes. {Numbers 7}
Unlike the guilt offering, but after the manner of the other, the
sacrifice was followed by a sacrificial feast. That participation in
this was restricted to the priests is sufficiently explained by the
special relation of this sacrifice to their own consecration.
Before the sacrificial feast, however, one peculiar ceremony still
remained. We read (Lev 8:30): "Moses took of the anointing oil, and
of the blood (of the peace offering) which was upon the altar, and
sprinkled it upon Aaron, upon his garments, and upon his sons, and
upon his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, his
garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him."
This sprinkling signified that now, through the atoning blood which
had been accepted before God upon the altar, and through the
sanctifying Spirit of grace, which was symbolised by the anointing,
thus inseparably associated each with the other, they had been
brought into covenant relation with God regarding the office of the
priesthood. That this their covenant relation to God concerned them,
not merely as private persons, but in their official character, was
intimated by the sprinkling, not only of their persons, but of the
garments which were the insignia of their priestly office.
All this completed, now followed the sacrificial feast. We read that
Moses now ordered Aaron and his sons (Lev 8:31): "Boil the flesh at
the door of the tent of meeting: and there eat it and the bread that
is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and
his sons shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of
the bread shall ye burn with fire."
This sacrificial feast most fitly marked the conclusion of the rites
of consecration. Hereby it was signified, first, that by this solemn
service they were now brought into a relation of peculiarly intimate
fellowship with Jehovah, as the ministers of His house, to offer His
offerings, and to be fed at His table. It was further signified,
that strength for the duties of this office should be supplied to
them by Him whom they were to serve, in that they were to be fed of
His altar. And, finally, in that the ritual took the specific form
of a thank offering, was thereby expressed, as was fitting, their
gratitude to God for the grace which had chosen them and set them
apart to so holy and exalted service.
These consecration services were to be repeated for seven
consecutive days, during which time they were not to leave the tent
of meeting, -obviously, that by no chance they might contract any
ceremonial defilement; so jealously must the sanctity of everything
pertaining to the service be guarded.
The commandment was (Lev 8:33-35): "Ye shall not go out from the
door of the tent of meeting seven days, until the days of your
consecration be fulfilled: for he shall consecrate you seven days.
As hath been done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to
make atonement for you. And at the door of the tent of meeting shall
ye abide day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord,
that ye die not: for so I am commanded."
By the sevenfold repetition of the consecration ceremonies was
expressed, in the most emphatic manner known to the Mosaic
symbolism, the completeness of the consecration and qualification of
Aaron and his sons for their office, and the fact also that, in
virtue of this consecration, they had come into a special covenant
relation with Jehovah concerning the priestly office.
That these consecration sacrifices by which Aaron and his sons were
set apart to the priesthood, no less than the preceding part of the
ceremonial, pointed forward to Christ and His priestly people as the
Antitype, it will be easy to see. As regards our Lord, in Heb 7:28,
the sacred writer applies to the consecration of our Lord as high
priest the very term which the Seventy had used long before in this
chapter of Leviticus to denote this formal consecration, and
represents the consecration of the Son as the antitype of the
consecration of Aaron by the law: "the law appointeth men high
priests, having infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was after
the law, appointeth a Son, perfected for evermore."
An exception, indeed, must be made, as regards our Lord, in the case
of the sin offering; of whom it is said, {Heb 7:27} that He "needeth
not, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His
own sins." But as regards the other two sacrifices, we can see that
in their distinctive symbolical import they each bring before us
essential elements in the consecration of our Lord Jesus Christ as
High Priest. In the burnt offering, we see Him consecrating Himself
by the complete self-surrender of Himself to the Father. In the
offering of consecrations, we see Him in the meal offering of
unleavened bread, offering in like manner His most holy works unto
the Father; and in the sacrifice of the peace offering, wherein
Aaron ate of the food of God’s house in His presence, we see Jesus
in like manner as qualified for His high priestly work by His
admission into terms of the most intimate fellowship with the
Father, and sustained for His work by the strength given from Him,
according to His own word, "The living Father hath sent Me, and I
live because of the Father." In the formal "filling of the hands" of
Aaron with the sacrificial material, in token of his endowment with
the right to offer sacrifices for sin for the sake of sinful men, we
are reminded how our Lord refers to the fact that He had received in
like manner authority from the Father to lay down His life for His
sheep, emphatically adding the words, {Joh 10:18} "This commandment
have I received of My Father."
So also was the meaning of the collateral ceremonies fully realised
in Him. If Aaron was anointed with the blood on ear, hand, and foot,
by way of signifying that the members of his body should be wholly
devoted unto God in priestly service, even so we are reminded, {Heb
10:5; Heb 10:7} that "when He cometh into the world He saith
Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body didst thou
prepare for Me; Lo, I am come to do Thy will, O God."
And so, as Aaron was at the end of the sacrifice sprinkled with
blood and oil, in token that God had now, through the blood and the
oil, entered into a covenant of priesthood with him, so we find
repeated reference to the fact of such a solemn covenant and compact
between God and the High Priest of our profession summed up in the
words of prophecy, "The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou
art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
So did this whole consecration ceremony, with the exception only of
such parts of it as had reference to the sin of Aaron, point forward
to the future investiture of the Son of God with the high priestly
office, by God the Father, that He might act therein for our
salvation in all matters between us and God. How can any who have
eyes to see all this, as opened out for us in the New Testament,
fail with fullest joy and thankfulness to accept Christ, the Son of
God, now passed into the Holiest, as the High Priest of our
profession? How naturally to all such come the words of exhortation
with which is concluded the great argument upon Christ’s high
priesthood in the Epistle to the Hebrews: {Heb 10:19-23} "Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the
blood of Jesus; and having a great priest over the house of God; let
us draw near with a true heart, in fulness of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body washed with
pure water: let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it
waver not; for He is faithful that promised."
But not only was Aaron thus consecrated to be high priest of the
tabernacle, but his sons also, to be priests under him in the same
service. In this also the type holds good. For when in Hebrews 2
Christ is brought before us as "the High Priest of our confession,"
He is represented as saying (Heb 2:13), "Behold, I and the children
which God hath given me!" As Aaron had his sons appointed to perform
priestly functions under him in the earthly tabernacle, so also his
great Antitype has "sons," called to priestly office under Him in
the heavenly tabernacle. Accordingly we find that in the New
Testament, not any caste or class in the Christian Church, but all
believers, are represented as "a holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ". {1Pe
2:5} To the testimony of Peter corresponds that of John in the
Apocalypse, where in like manner believers are declared to be
priests unto God, and represented as also acting as priests of God
and of Christ in the age which is to come after "the first
resurrection" {Rev 20:6} Hence it is plain that according to the New
Testament we shall rightly regard the consecration of the sons of
Aaron as no less typical than that of Aaron himself. It is typical
of the consecration of all believers to priesthood under Christ. It
thus sets forth in symbol the fact and the manner of our own
consecration to ministrations between lost men and God, in the age
which now is and that which is to come, in things pertaining to sin
and salvation, according to the measure to each one of the gift of
Christ.
As the consecration of Aaron’s sons began with the washing with pure
water, so ours with "the washing of regeneration and the renewing of
the Holy Ghost". {Tit 3:5} As Aaron’s sons, thus washed, were then
invested in white linen, clean and pure, so for the believer must
the word be fulfilled: {Isa 61:10} "He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself" (marg. "decketh
as a priest"). That is, the reality of our appointment of God unto
this high dignity must be visibly attested unto men by the
righteousness of our lives. But whereas the sons of Aaron were not
clothed until first Aaron himself had been clothed and anointed, it
is signified that the robing and anointing of Christ’s people
follows and depends upon the previous robing and anointing of their
Head. Again, as Aaron’s sons were also anointed with the same holy
oil as was Aaron, only in lesser measure, so are believers
consecrated to the priestly office, like their Lord, by the
anointing with the Holy Ghost. The anointing of Pentecost follows
and corresponds to the anointing of the High Priest at the Jor dan
with one and the same Spirit. This is an other necessary
consecration mark, on which the New Testament Scriptures constantly
insist. As Jesus was "anointed with the Holy Ghost and (thereby)
with power," so He Himself said to His disciples, {Act 1:8} "Ye
shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you"; which
promise being fulfilled, Paul could say, {2Co 1:21} "He that
anointed us is God"; and John, {1Jn 2:20} to all believers, "Ye have
an anointing from the Holy One." And the sacrificial symbols are
also all fulfilled in the case of the Lord’s priestly people. For
them, no less essential to their consecration than the washing of
the Holy Ghost, is the removal of guilt by the great Sin offering of
Calvary; which same offering, and true Lamb of God, has also become
their burnt offering, their mealoffering, and their sacrifice of
consecrations, as it is written, {Heb 10:10} that, by the will of
God, "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all"; and that He also is become "our peace,"
in that He has expiated our sins, and also given Himself to us as
our spiritual food; that so we may derive daily strength for the
daily service of the priest’s office, by feeding on the Lamb of God,
the true food of the altar, given by God for our support. Also, as
the sons of Aaron, like Aaron himself, were anointed with the blood
of the peace offering of consecration, on the ear, the hand, and the
foot, so has the blood of the Lamb, in that it has brought us into
peace with God, set apart every true believer unto full surrender of
all the members of his body unto Him; ears, that they may be quick
to hear God’s word; hands, that they may be quick to do it; feet,
that they may only run in the way of His commandments. And finally,
whereas the solemn covenant of priesthood into which Aaron and his
sons had entered with God, was sealed and ratified by the sprinkling
with the oil and the blood, so by the unction of the Holy Spirit
given to believers, and the cleansing of the conscience by the
blood, is it witnessed and certified that they are a people called
out to enter into covenant of priestly service with the God of all
the earth and the heavens.
What searching questions as to personal experience all this raises!
What solemn thoughts throng into the mind of every thoughtful
reader! All this essential, if we are to be indeed members of that
royal priesthood, who shall reign as priests of God and of Christ?
Have we then the marks, all of them? Let us not shrink from the
questions, but probe with them the innermost depths of our hearts.
Have we had the washing of regeneration? If we think that we have
had this, then let us also remember that after the washing came the
investiture in white linen. Let us ask, Have we then put on these
white garments of righteousness? All that were washed, were also
clad in white; these were their official robes, without which they
could not act as priests unto God. And there was also an anointing.
Have we, in like manner, received the anointing with the Holy Ghost,
endowing us with power and wisdom for service? Then, the sin
offering, the burnt offering, the peace offering of consecration,
-has the Lamb of God been used by us in all these various ways, as
our expiation, our consecration, our peace, and our life? And has
the blood which consecrates also been applied to ear, hand, and
foot? Are we consecrated in all the members of our bodies?
What questions these are! Truly, it is no light thing to be a
Christian; to be called and consecrated to be, with and under the
great High Priest, Jesus Christ, a "priest unto God" in this life
and in that of "the first resurrection"; to deal between God and men
in matters of salvation. Have we well understood what is our "high
calling," and what the conditions on which alone we may exercise our
ministry? To this may God give us grace, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
|