CHAPTER 8

(1490 B.C.)

CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS

¹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

²Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the Sin Offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; (As we study this Book of Leviticus, we will find that its major subject is a Sacrifice, a Priest, and a Place of Worship. Chapters 8 through 10 pertain to Priesthood, but Sacrifice is the foundation of it all. This speaks of the Cross of Christ. The sinner needs a Sacrifice, the worshipper needs a Priest. Christ is both. All of these things mentioned in the Second Verse point to Christ and Christ alone.)

³And you gather all the congregation together unto the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation (even though only the representatives of the people could actually observe the ritual, considering there were approximately 3 million, still, the answer for all then was Christ and the Cross, and the answer now for all is Christ and the Cross).

⁴And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation.

⁵And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done. (Concerning this, Mackintosh says: Had the Word been disregarded, the glory would not have appeared [9:23-24]. The two things were intimately connected. The slightest deviation from Thus says Jehovah would have prevented beams of the Divine Glory from appearing to the congregation of Israel. Had there been the introduction of a single rite or ceremony not enjoined by the Word, or had there been the omission of ought which that Word commanded, the Lord would not have manifested His Glory. He could not sanction, by the Glory of His Presence, the neglect or rejection of His Word. He can bear with ignorance and infirmity [spiritual weakness], but He cannot sanction neglect or disobedience.)

⁶And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water (as these Priests were Types of Christ, this washing was meant to portray the sublime purity of Jesus, Who was Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners [Heb. 7:26]).

THE CLOTHING

⁷And he put upon him the coat (speaks of the Deity of Christ), and girded him with the girdle (speaks of the service of Christ to humanity), and clothed him with the robe (speaks of the Righteousness of Christ), and put the Ephod upon him (presents the strength of Christ), and he girded him with the Curious Girdle of the Ephod, and bound it unto him therewith (typifies the Work of the Spirit within the Life of Christ [Lk. 4:18-19]).

⁸And he put the breastplate upon him (inasmuch as this was worn over the heart of the Priest, it pertained to the Love of Christ, in that He would give Himself for humanity): also he put in the Breastplate the Urim and the Thummim (the two words mean lights and perfection; they concern the leading of the Holy Spirit).

⁹And he put the Mitre upon his head (speaks of authority; Jesus is the Head of the Church [Col. 1:18-19]); also upon the Mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the Golden Plate, the Holy Crown (on this appeared the solemn inscription, Holiness to the Lord; this, of course, represented the absolute Holiness of Christ); as the LORD commanded Moses.

ANOINTING

¹⁰And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the Tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them (the oil was a Type of the Holy Spirit, Who can now function literally, and not merely in a symbolic sense, all because of the Cross of Christ [Rom. 8:2]).

¹¹And he sprinkled thereof upon the Altar seven times (the number seven speaks of the total dominion over sin which the Holy Spirit can give us, all made possible by the Cross [Rom. 6:14; Rev. 5:6]), and anointed the Altar (Type of the Cross) and all his vessels, both the Laver and his foot (Type of the Word of God), to sanctify them (this Passage tells us that Sanctification can only be brought about by the Holy Spirit; no man, by his own strength, no matter how sincere, can sanctify himself [Rom. 8:1-2, 11]).

¹²And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aarons head, and anointed him, to sanctify him (the anointing oil was poured upon Aaron, who typified Christ, Who was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows [Ps. 45:7; Heb. 1:9]).

¹³And Moses brought Aarons sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses. (Aaron and his sons together represent Christ and His Priestly house [Rev. 1:6]; Aaron alone represents Christ in His Sacrificial and Intercessory function; Moses and Aaron together represent Christ as King and Priest.)

THE OFFERINGS

¹⁴And he brought the bullock for the Sin Offering (in fact, Aaron and his sons stood as penitent sinners by the side of the Sin Offering, which was now offered for the first time; the Sin Offering was called most holy, because it cleansed the sinner from all sin; in the Whole Burnt Offering, Christ took His Perfection and gave it to the sinner; in the Sin Offering, Christ took the sinners sin and made it His Own, thereby justifying the sinner, because Christ has paid the price for that sin and, in fact, all sin [I Jn. 2:2]): and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the Sin Offering (this represented their sins being transferred to the innocent victim, typifying Christ taking our sins upon Himself [Heb. 7:27]).

¹⁵And he killed it (the guilty party had to personally kill the innocent animal, symbolizing the fact that it was our sins which put Christ on the Cross); and Moses took the blood (signified Christ shedding His Lifes Blood on the Cross of Calvary), and put it upon the horns of the Altar roundabout with his finger (signified that Gods Plan of Redemption was for the entirety of the universe), and purified the Altar (Christ sanctified the Cross, the Cross didnt sanctify Christ; this puts to rest the erroneous idea that Jesus died spiritually on the Cross), and poured the blood at the bottom of the Altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it (this signified the purpose of the Altar, and its purpose alone! The Altar is the place of death, and, more specifically, the place of the Death of Christ, which alone atoned for the sin of the world [Jn. 1:29]).

¹⁶And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the Altar (signified that sin is more than merely surface; it goes to the very vitals of man, which the Cross alone addresses; it took the best, symbolized by the fat, that God had, His only Son, to redeem mankind [Jn. 3:16]).

¹⁷But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses. (The bullock was a Sin Offering; consequently, it could not be burned on the Altar. Of the four bloody Offerings, it was only the Whole Burnt Offering which could be burned totally upon the Altar, because it represented the Perfection of Christ, and not sin. All of these things being taken outside the camp and burned typified our sins being taken away, and all because of the Cross.)

BURNT OFFERING

¹⁸And he brought the ram for the Burnt Offering (this represented the Perfection of Christ, so it could be wholly burned on the Altar): and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram (transferring their sins to this innocent victim, typifying Christ).

¹⁹And he killed it: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the Altar round about.

²⁰And he cut the ram into pieces (signifying that Christ gave His all); and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat (signifying Christ taking our judgment).

²¹And he washed the inwards and the legs in water (portrayed the purity of Christ); and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the Altar: it was a Burnt Sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an Offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

CONSECRATION RAM

²²And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration (we find from the sacrifice of the ram that true consecration can only come about through the Cross, and our Faith in that Finished Work [Rom. 6:3-14]): and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram (even though Aaron had been chosen by the Lord as the Great High Priest, he and his sons, who were Priests as well, had to undergo the same Sacrificial Offerings as the worst sinner in Israel).

²³And he killed it; and Moses took of the blood of it (whether we contemplate the Doctrine of Sacrifice, or the Doctrine of Consecration, we find the shedding of blood gets the same important place; this portrays the fact that the Cross is not only for Salvation but, as well, is for Sanctification [Rom. 8:1-2, 11]), and put it upon the tip of Aarons right ear (a blood-stained ear was needed to hearken to the Divine communications), and upon the thumb of his right hand (a blood-stained hand was needed to execute the services of the Sanctuary), and upon the great toe of his right foot (a blood-stained foot was needed to tread the courts of the Lords House).

²⁴And he brought Aarons sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the Altar round about. (The shedding of blood was the foundation of all sacrifice for sin, and it stood connected with all the vessels of the Ministry, and with all the functions of the Priesthood. The reason for so much false doctrine in the modern Church is because most presently little understand the typology of the Old Testament, as it presents Christ in the entirety of His Work.)

²⁵And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:

²⁶And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake (there was only One Who was Perfect, and that was Christ), and a cake of oiled bread (the Holy Spirit upon Christ [Lk. 4:18-19]), and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder (all signifies Christ, Who Alone could satisfy the righteous demands of a thrice-Holy God):

WAVE OFFERING

²⁷And he put all upon Aarons hands, and upon his sons hands, and waved them for a Wave Offering before the LORD (the Wave Offering signified thanksgiving unto the Lord, and that He Alone was the Author of Salvation).

²⁸And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the Altar upon the Burnt Offering (once again, we are taken back to the Cross, typified by the Burnt Offering): they were consecrations for a sweet savour (all of this tells us that the Lord is pleased only with Christ and the Cross, which means that if we are to please God, our Faith must rest entirely in the Cross of Christ; that alone is a sweet savour to the Lord): it is an Offering made by fire unto the LORD.

²⁹And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a Wave Offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses part; as the LORD commanded Moses (this signified that even Moses had to partake of Christ, as do all).

THE ANOINTING

³⁰And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the Altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron (Aaron and his sons had already been anointed with oil and had the blood applied; it is now done again, which were fitting conclusions to their consecration; it was meant to show that the Sanctification process is an ongoing process, thereby the necessity of continued trust in the Blood and need of continued anointing with the Holy Spirit), and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons garments with him. (Beautiful and costly as was the raiment of Aaron, yet the oil and the blood were applied. This simply means that the beauty and glory of Salvation, typified by the garments of Aaron, are all made possible by what Jesus did at the Cross.)

THE FOOD

³¹And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it (this furnishes a fine Type of Christ and His people feeding together upon the results of the accomplished Atonement).

³²And that which remains of the flesh and of the bread shall you burn with fire (this signifies that all of Christ must be consumed; in other words, it is all of Christ, or its none of Christ! He cannot be accepted in part).

CONSECRATION

³³And you shall not go out of the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you (the number seven typifies perfection; only by Faith in Christ and the Cross can a perfect consecration be entertained, all brought about by the Holy Spirit [Rom. 8:1-2, 11]).

³⁴As he has done this day, so the LORD has commanded to do, to make an Atonement for you (by the Sacrificial Offerings).

³⁵Therefore shall you abide at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that you die not: for so I am commanded (it has not changed! If we fail to abide by the Word of God, we will spiritually die).

³⁶So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses (they were not to deviate at all from the ritual, because it all represented Christ).