Title: The Three Rituals Necessary for the Saints
Exodus (85) The three ordinances necessary for the saints
(Exodus 29:29-37)
1. Ceremony of heirs of the covenant
The priesthood was hereditary exclusively to the house of Aaron (v. 29). It challenges the saints as royal priests to have a clear sense of heir to the covenant. The Bible promises, “If you keep all the words of God and do them, your way will be smooth and prosperous!” However, if there is no heir to receive the promise, even if it succeeds, it is not real success. After all, heir consciousness is paramount to a successful life.
Why is heir consciousness important? First, because biblical success relates to life's long journey beyond the moment of success. 'Inheritance of success' is far more important than 'success with short-term gains'. Second, because biblical success is to leave something good for future generations. True success is opening the door to others' success. Third, because biblical success is not to make a name for yourself, but to exalt the name of God while preparing the way for the future.
2. Consciousness of the monism of the holiness
At the ordination ceremony, the ram was taken and boiled in the courtyard of the tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons ate the ram's meat and the bread from the basket at the door of the tent of meeting (verses 31-32). Originally, the peace offering culminates when the offerer and the priests eat the offering together. However, only Aaron and his sons were allowed to partake of the peace offering for the priestly commissioning ceremony (verse 33). If you look at these ordinances, you can see that God is very concerned about the eating of the priests.
3. The Ordinance of Holiness to God
How was the meat left over from the commissioning ceremony? They ate only that day and burned the rest (verse 34). This is partly because meat spoils if left on for too long, but a more fundamental reason was that the sacred food used in sacred ceremonies was not to be taken lightly (Exodus 23:18). Ultimately, this ordinance emphasizes a sanctified life.
Also, atonement was performed for the altar by anointing the altar with oil and sanctifying it while offering a sin offering every day at the ordination ceremony for 7 days (verse 36). If you perform the sanctification ceremony for the altar for 7 days like that, the altar will become holy, and everything that comes into contact with the altar will become holy (verse 37). This scene also shows how much God values holiness.
< Pursue Holiness >
What is a 'holy life'? First, it means ‘separated life’. Holiness is not the complete annihilation of evil, but separation from it and distance from it. Second, it means ‘full life’. In other words, God must fill the empty heart separated from sin with actually good things. So, when you surrender your body to God, then God builds a house of blessings in that body, and the building of a holy life is accomplished.
There was a shack in a place with a good view. Imagine a wealthy man trying to buy the place, and the shack owner repairs the house to sell for more money. So I put new straw on the crumbling roof and white paint the messy walls. How embarrassed would a rich man be when he saw that? Even with all his might, the house is still a shack, and the rich will never live in it.
What the rich want is a house, not a shack. So, if you buy the site of that house, you will destroy the shack and build a new house the rich man wants. Just as a rich man wants a house site instead of a shack, God wants a house site called ‘us’, not ‘something we built ourselves. It is not helpful to God to tear down and repair the shack that you call yourself. Holiness is not the work of man through struggle, but the work of God entirely.