Leviticus 8:7

The Bible says in Leviticus 8:7-13, “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 curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.[8] And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.[9] And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.[10] And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.[11] And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.[12] And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.[13] And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses.” The law defined exactly how the priests would be dressed. There was no freedom to dress how they wanted. We have freedom in the age in which we live. You can dress formally or casually. Either one is acceptable. The only requirement in the New Testament is to dress modestly, and you get to define what “modestly” means. For example, it says in First Timothy 2:9-15, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;[10] But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.[11] Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.[12] But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.[13] For Adam was first formed, then Eve.[14] And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.[15] Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.”

Of course, there is symbolism in the clothing that the priests were required to wear. Notice the Urim and the Thummim. The word “Urim” means “lights,” and the Word “Thummim” means “completeness.” The priests should become complete through the light of God’s truth as they carry out their duties. That is true for every believer. The light comes from the Word of God that is enlightened by the Holy Spirit. But notice also that the Urim and the Thummim are on the breastplate which is over the heart. That is an emphasis on the importance of love. All service to God must be done with love.

A crown was put upon the priest’s head to show the authority that God had given to the priest. The anointing oil was used both to show that this man was chosen by God, and to symbolize the importance of having the power of the Holy Spirit in all that was done.

The Bible says in Leviticus 8:14-24, “And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.[15] 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 the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.[16] And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar.[17] But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses.[18] And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.[19] And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.[20] And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.[21] And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; 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.[22] And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.[23] And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, 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.[24] And he brought Aaron's 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 priests had the same requirements as the people: they needed sacrifices for sins because they were also sinners. The message is that the religious leaders were not any better than others. They were not more holy. They had to rely upon God’s mercy and forgiveness just like everyone else. Do not ever think that any human being is a holy person. Jesus said, “There is none good but God.” It says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

But preachers can have great confidence that the Lord accepts them and their work to teach the Bible and spread the Gospel of Christ because God has forgiven them of their sins and failures. They put the blood on the ear, on the thumbs, and on the toes to symbolize that they are completely purged of all their sins. Whether they sinned by what they listened to, or what they did with their hands, or where they went with their feet, all of their sins were forgiven. And they are therefore qualified to deliver the truth of the Word of God. They are not qualified by how good they are. They are qualified because of the mercy of Jesus and the goodness of Christ that is credited to their account.

Of course, one more time we see the great amount of blood in all these animal sacrifices. Every drop of blood that was shed daily over a period of centuries was a reminder of the precious blood of Christ that would be shed on the cross of Calvary. All the blood of all the animals could never do what the blood of Christ did: provide for the salvation of the soul and pay the real price for sin.

The Bible says in Leviticus 8:25-30, “And 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:[26] And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:[27] And he put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD.[28] And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.[29] And 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.[30] And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, 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.” As we have said before, all of the same requirements for the common people were in effect for the priests too. Preachers live by the same spiritual realities that every other Christian faces: the same challenges, the same sorrows, the same needs, and the same sins. Preachers rely upon the grace of God and the forgiveness of Jesus just like every other Christian. Notice once again the “unleavened bread” in verse 26. Leaven symbolizes sin, and so God is saying keep sin away. If you are going to serve God, one of your goals must be to keep sin out of your life. God hates sin. Verse 26 also mentions “oiled bread.” Oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. No one can serve God without the leading and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Confess your sins, be surrendered to God’s will, and yield to the Spirit and His moving in your life. Be aware that in your service to Christ, you are totally dependent upon the power of the Spirit. You have no power in and of yourselves. That is why you must not grieve the Holy Spirit by having unconfessed sin in your life, and you must not quench the Holy Spirit by going your own way instead of His way.

The Bible says in Leviticus 8:31-36, “And 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.[32] And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.[33] And ye 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.[34] As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.[35] Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.[36] So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.” Let’s look at the word “congregation” in verse 31. It means “assembly.” It is a word that describes believers as they gather together. The idea is that there is a gathering place for believers on this earth. In the Old Testament the gathering place was the tabernacle or the temple. In the New Testament the gathering place is wherever a church gathers: in a home or in a church building. The word “church” refers to people, not a building. A building is simply the gathering place. Some day we will all be gathered together at the throne of God. But for now we gather together at church services where we have: prayer, preaching and teaching of the Word of God, singing, and Christian fellowship where the Holy Spirit uses the gifts of each Christian to minister to other Christians.

Another thing to notice about this passage at the end of Leviticus chapter eight is that God required Aaron and his sons to remain in the sanctuary of seven days as a part of them being consecrated for the work as priests. Why did God choose seven days? I think God used seven days in order to relate this consecration to the seven days of creation. What was God creating by calling and commissioning Aaron and his sons? God was creating those who would work in the tabernacle for the benefit of the rest of the people. God’s call to a man to preach the Gospel of Christ involves the creative work of God. First God has to save the soul of someone who God would eventually call to be a preacher. That alone takes many creative works from the hands of God. Think of a lost soul and of all the circumstances that God arranges maybe over the period of years and maybe using many other lives to bring a person to see their need of salvation and to bring them in contact with Christians who give them the Gospel of Christ. Yes, it definitely is the creative work of God to save a soul. And once saved, look at all the work that God does to prepare a person to preach the Gospel. God creates in them one or more gifts to preach and teach, and to be able to do other things in service to God. And then God teaches them over a period of many years, probably decades, using other teachers and Christians to give them knowledge of the Word. And finally the preacher wakes up to the fact of what God has been doing in his life and starts teaching others what he has learned from God. And so yes, it is the creative work of God when God consecrates one person to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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