Verses 1-4 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Take 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; 3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
This gathering was an open air church service. “All the congregation” would have been thousands of people. It must have been an amazing sight. One has to wonder if Moses felt the slightest bit intimidated by all those people watching when he fullfilled the requirements of the event at the direction of God.
Verses 5-9 And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done. 6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. 7 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.
Moses’ first words to the people was to tell them that what was going to happen was a “God thing.” As they watched the preparation of Aaron as the High Priest and of his sons as sanctuary priests, one has to wonder what was going through the minds of the people. This was all new to them. They had never had organized worship to the one, true God before. They knew how to sacrifice to the idols of Egypt, but this was nothing they had seen in their lives. One has to wonder how much the people understood and how many people would embrace the real God and turn from the false Gods they had experienced in Egyptian culture.
Verses 10-12 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.
To sanctify means to dedicate or consecrate. To anoint means to spread or smear a liquid as a consecration. To consecrate means to make or declare something or someone sacred, to ordain someone to a sacred office. So Moses, by spreading the anointing oil on both the tabernacle and its furniture and on Aaron, was declaring them to be sacred and set apart for the ministry of the LORD.
Application: Today, some churches still ordain their pastors, bishops and deacons by placing oil upon them and then praying to the LORD for the ministry they are about to embark upon. The New Testament church anointed with oil those who were sick. “And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.” Mark 6:13 The believer today is anointed with the Holy Ghost/Spirit who is the spiritual anointing oil in the Church. “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” This is why true believers can pray and cast out devils, heal the sick, and even raise people from the dead. They are anointed with the Spirit of God. Acts 10:38 “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” 1 John 2:27 This is why true believers really do not need instruction from others as the Spirit of God will open the Scripture to them so that they can understand the words of the LORD. And yes, you the reader, do not really need this web site. But if it helps, this writer is happy. However, believers are encouraged to gather together and discuss the Scripture and share what the LORD has revealed to them from His Word. Believers can learn from each other, but believers need to check out what they are being told to be sure that it is biblical and accurate.
Verses 13-17 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. 14 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 the 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.
Before Aaron’s sons could assume the ministry as priests of the LORD, they had to be clothed appropriately and they had to have a sacrifice for sin. Only then could they assume their duties and service to the LORD.
Application: Before a person can be used in ministry for the LORD, like the priests of old, that person has to be clothed appropriately and has to have received an offering for sin. The blood of the sacrificed animal in Moses’ day foreshadowed the future shed blood the Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God. The burning of the fat and kidneys on the altar foreshadowed the removal of toxic sin from the believer at the time of repentance and true conversion. The burning of the rest of the animal outside the camp foreshadowed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ outside of the city of Jerusalem. The entire ritual in Moses’ day was to point to the need of all people for a Savior and to the provision of God for that need in the person of the LORD Jesus Christ. When a person repents and becomes a believer in Jesus, they are filled with the Holy Spirit/Ghost and therefore spiritually clothed in the righteousness of Christ. They are clean from sin and spiritually dressed appropriately for whatever ministry they will have in the kingdom of Heaven. They are spiritually covered by the blood shed by Jesus and therefore, like Aaron’s sons, they are priests and able to minister to the unbelieving world.
Verses 18-21 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.
Notice that the sacrifice was for a sweet savour unto the LORD. The Hebrew word translated as “savour” is “reyach” and it means a scent, fragrance or aroma.
Verses 22-29 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. 25 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.
Keeping track of the offerings is difficult so let’s try to keep them straight. The first offering and shedding of animal blood and life was to represent the removal of sin from the lives of the men being ordained. The second offering and shedding of animal blood and life was to represent a gift of a sweet savour to God. This third offering and shedding of animal blood and life was to represent the installation of these men as priests unto the LORD. Again, all the animal sacrifices foreshadowed the LORD Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for the sins of mankind. All this ritual was temporary until Jesus. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Hebrews 10:4 After Jesus, the shedding of animal blood and life ceased.
Application: So what should the believer do with people who believe that the Temple in Jerusalem has to be rebuilt and the animal sacrificial system reinstated? Pray that they will learn the truth and distance yourself from fellowship with them if they will not listen to what the Scripture teaches in the New Testament. Jesus was the last and final sacrifice. He was called by John the Baptist “. . . the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29 It is clear that the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of the ministry and work of the Messiah and the New Testament confirms that Jesus fulfilled prophesy and settled the problem of sin once and for all time.
Verse 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.
Application: Just as Aaron and his sons were physically sprinkled with the animal blood, believers today are spiritually sprinkled with the shed blood of Jesus and therefore sanctified and set apart from the world and all that is in it that defiles mankind. Hence the term in the Christian church of being “covered by the blood.”
Verses 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.
Moses instructed Aaron and his sons that they had to remain in the tabernacle for seven days as part of their consecration. This was a commandment by God and to disobey carried a death sentence. Why? Consider that there were seven days for creation in which God made a new thing, the Earth and all that is in it. Here God was creating another new thing, a priesthood to be a holy people to serve Him and to lead this new nation that was to also be holy and serve as an example for and to the rest of the people living on the Earth. Aaron and his sons had no distractions while in the tabernacle for those seven days with God. They had seven days of thinking about God and their responsibility towards Him in this new thing He was creating. Do you, the reader, think that these men were mentally and emotionally the same after being in the presence of a holy God for seven, uninterrupted days?