Title: Priest's Commission
Contents
Priest's Commissioning Ceremony (1)
Leviticus 8:1 - 13
The Hebrew Bible customarily refers to the first word of the book as the title, and the third Bible book, Leviticus, is called 'wykra'. The literal translation of the word 'wykra' is 'and he calls'. Leviticus is what God called Moses and spoke to him. The conjunction ‘and’ suggests that Leviticus is a sequel to Exodus 40:33. If we take a look at the meanings of 'wykra', we can see that Leviticus contains the content God wants to tell the Israelites after the Exodus.
Then, what was God trying to say in Exodus? God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and made them God's possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy people. And he spoke about the way of life that suits him and proved that God is their God through the construction of the tabernacle.
After all, the most important thing in Exodus is that from now on, the children of Israel will become God's people and worship God who is present in the tabernacle.
If offering to God in the tabernacle is the core of Exodus, what will be the core of Leviticus, the sequel to Exodus?
Of course, this is a word about how to offer sacrifices to God. That is why Leviticus is called “the book of sacrifices. With this background, various sacrifices are introduced in Leviticus 1 to 7, and the specific methods are recorded. Now, the important question is who will preside over such sacrifices. Who is it? Aaron and his sons.
Starting with the text we read today, up to chapter 10 contains the words to commission them as priests, as well as the ordination ceremony, their first ministry, and the failure of their ministry. Let's take a look at what the text is saying.
■ First, in the text, there is a word from God to entrust Aaron and his sons.
God had already said in Exodus 28 that Aaron should be made high priest and his four sons should be appointed as priests. And in chapter 29, he also gave detailed regulations on how to perform the priestly commissioning ceremony. However, while God was speaking to Moses, Aaron made a golden calf and the children of Israel bowed down to it.
Whatever the reason, it was a great sin to engrave a golden calf and lie to Moses according to the demands of the people. Of course, it must be a fatal event for the commissioning of the high priest. Also, Aaron did not play any role in the construction of the tabernacle.
Therefore, it was only natural that a certain amount of tension was created in Aaron's commission as high priest. Of course, after the Golden Calf incident, God told Moses to sanctify Aaron and his sons to serve as priests (Exodus 40:12-15). And in 40:30-32, Moses and Aaron and their sons washed their hands and feet in the laver. However, there is no mention in Exodus that they held a ordination ceremony or that they directly offered sacrifices. The tension that occurred during the Golden Calf incident is still there. But God, who spoke of the five great sacrifices and their ordinances at the beginning of Leviticus, has now pointed to them. And he told them to gather the whole congregation at the door of the tent of meeting. This is the command to perform the commissioning ceremony mentioned in Exodus.
This is truly a great grace that forgives sinners and gives them the opportunity to work for God. They thought they would never have another chance, but God called them and entrusted them with the Lord's work.
Look at Peter. He was the one who denied Jesus three times. Even after witnessing the resurrection of Jesus, he was the one who said, “I am going fishing” (John 21:3). But Jesus did not forsake him and repeated this question three times. He said, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more?” and “Feed my lambs.”
Is there anyone here who thinks, 'How can a sinner like me do the Lord's work?' The Lord who called Aaron and Peter and assigned them to work will call you and assign them to you.
When you are entrusted with a task, please do it well with gratitude, emotion, and joy.
■ Second, in the text, there is an image of Moses obeying the Word.
Just as Aaron's actions were evil before God, Aaron's actions also hurt the leader Moses. He must have been very angry because he was the older brother who understood and followed him more than anyone else and had received great favor from God to make a golden calf. But Moses left his feelings and thoughts behind. He only obeyed the will of God.
Verse 4 says, “Moses did just as the LORD commanded him.” Verse 9 says, “As the LORD commanded Moses.” Verse 14 also says, “As the LORD commanded Moses.” The same meaning is recorded three times in the text alone. These words show how much Moses obeyed God's word.
They washed them, clothed them, and put a crown on their heads. And he anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, the altar, and all its utensils with anointing oil to sanctify them. In fact, he did everything according to the word and made Aaron completely stand before God. Moses, a man of obedience, was the first high priest to commission Aaron as high priest. He was truly a servant who refreshed the heart of God. I hope you are like him. - Amen -