Title: Priest's Commissioning Ceremony (2)
Contents
Priest's Commissioning Ceremony (2)
Leviticus 8:14-36
Many people receive God's grace, but Aaron is the one who especially received God's great grace. Because of his great evil deeds, he had no choice but to be abandoned, because not only was he forgiven by God, but he also assumed the office of high priest. He was the older brother of the leader Moses, and he was the one to lead the crowd in Moses' place in the absence of Moses. He was in a position to persuade, restrain, and discipline the people even if they act foolishly. However, he could not keep his position and instead committed the evil deed of participating in idolatry. The person who should stop idolatry made the image of a golden calf.
James 3:1 says, “My brethren, do not become many teachers, knowing that we who are teachers will receive a greater judgment.” It means that those in positions of responsibility will be judged harsher. Even if it is not necessary to quote this verse, Aaron is a person who deserves a great judgment. But God, who is long-suffering and full of mercy, did not repay Aaron according to his sins. He forgave him and called him to the office of high priest. In a way, he gave God an opportunity to make amends for his sins. The same grace is with you and me. We will have to remember that grace and give our best devotion.
Where does it say that God forgave Aaron? There is no word for forgiveness. But the fact that God commissioned him as high priest means that God forgave Aaron.
Through this text, we will examine the process through which God established him as a high priest.
■ First, God made the public commissioning ceremony held.
Why did God do this? It is because Aaron must be appointed high priest in the name of God in the presence of all the people to establish his authority. God had appointed Aaron so that all the people would obey the high priest.
Yet another purpose of the public commission was for the sinful Aaron himself. Others may have already forgotten about the golden calf, but Aaron would never have. Perhaps even then, he was haunted by the thought that he had caused the deaths of many of his brothers.
This is the fear of sin, and it is the result of sin. But God did not want Aaron to be freed from the burden of sin and held captive by the guilt.
God, who knew Aaron's situation better than anyone else, now established him through a formal commissioning ceremony and wanted to work through him. Who will point a finger at Aaron when God appoints him as a high priest? Who would ask about Aaron's past? He himself could have been freed from the past
Are you also caught up in similar anguish? Of course, ignoring the consequences of sin is also a problem, but if you do not receive forgiveness through faith and are not free, that is also a big problem. If you have confessed your sins and repented before Jesus, please believe in the Lord's forgiveness and be free.
■ Second, Moses offered the ordination ceremony as God had said.
After Moses prepared Aaron and his sons for the ordination ceremony, he offered sin offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings as God commanded in Exodus 29.
Verses 14 to 17 of the text are about offering the sin offering. Moses brought the bullock for the sin offering and had Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slaughtered the calf, took the blood, put his finger on the horns of the altar, and poured out all the blood under the altar, and made the altar holy. And all the fat, including the kidneys, was burned on the altar, and the skins of the bulls, the meat, and the dung were burned outside the camp. All these actions were as the Lord commanded Moses.
Verses 18 to 21 are about the dedication of the burnt offering. Moses had Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the ram for the burnt offering, slaughtered it, and sprinkled its blood around the altar. Then he cut the ram's head, and burned the head, the fines, and the oil. The intestines and shins were washed with water and burned all over the altar. Through the burnt offering, they pledged their thorough devotion to God.