Bible Readings
Reading 62: Yahweh set Aaron and his sons apart for Himself as priests
Read Leviticus 8:1–36.
In Exodus 19:6, Yahweh had announced His job for Israel.
Exodus 19:6
And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”
Israel was to be a nation of priests to the rest of the world. They would mediate between Yahweh and mankind. What did that look like?
Israel learnt by observing the tribe of Levi. God had selected them to be priests for Israel. (In Exodus 32:27–29, the Levites remained loyal to Yahweh and executed the golden calf worshippers. God made them His priests as a reward.)
The Levitical priests mediated between Yahweh and Israel. They demonstrated Yahweh’s holiness by ensuring that all who entered Yahweh’s presence at the Tabernacle were holy (that is, appropriately set apart from everything else).
Yahweh called for a seven-day installation ceremony at the Tabernacle. The people watched as Yahweh officially installed Aaron his sons (Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar; see Exodus 6:23) as priests.
Before donning their robes, they underwent a ceremonial washing. This was a visual reminder that though they were already in a right relationship with God, they still had to be cleaned from the daily dirt and grime of life. The literal washing was symbolic of cleansing oneself from the influence of sin and evil.
The impressive robes of the priests reminded everyone of Yahweh’s glory. In their robes, the priests represented God’s presence among the people. And when the high priest wore the breastpiece with the twelve semi-precious stones (each one representing one of the tribes), the people knew the high priest also represented them before God. The people could appreciate how the priest was indeed the mediator between God and the people.
Then there was the animal sacrifices. The priests placed their hands on the sacrificial animals. It was a means of identification, symbolising that the animals took on their sins. Then the animals were killed, dying in place of the priests. The sacrifices pictured the priests’ sins being paid for and allowed Yahweh to establish a relationship with them.
Blood from the ram sacrifice was applied to the priests’ right ear lobe, right thumb and right big toe. It symbolised the purification of every part of the body, from head to toe. These body parts were involved in hearing (ear), doing (hand) and walking (toe). In other words, the priest was to yield all areas of life for God’s use.
These men were set apart—the biblical word is anointed and also consecrated—for their special roles. Setting them apart from ordinary life was a picture of sanctification. They were removed from the sinful influences of daily life and cleaned for service to God.
Then finally, the priests ate a meal at the Tabernacle, symbolising the fellowship they now enjoyed with Yahweh!
What a detailed ceremony! Yahweh was demonstrating that to have a close, personal relationship with Him, sinful, fallen mankind needed a perfect, sinless and obedient mediator. He had to provide a suitable sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Who would this ultimately be?
The answer of course, is Jesus, God the Son. He became human but remained sinless and perfect. He offered Himself as the suitable sacrifice, paying for mankind’s sin, and made it possible for any person through faith in Jesus to have a close, intimate relationship with God.
The author of Hebrews uses this picture of the Levitical high priest to explain Jesus’ work.
Hebrews 10:8–12
8 First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). 9 Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. 10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
What a loving and gracious God we have! He took the initiative to solve our sin problem that separated us from Him. He provided Himself as the perfect, sinless, substitute sacrifice, dying on the cross to pay the eternal death penalty for us. Let’s thank God again for His great salvation!
Now as believers in a relationship with Jesus, let’s consider how sanctified our daily lives are. The priests were symbolically cleansed by the washing of water and the application of the blood on their ear, hand and foot. We should also strive to keep ourselves from the damaging influence of sin and evil in our lives.
When God calls us for a task, will we be ready because we have been diligently setting ourselves apart from worldly influences? Or will Jesus find us in need of cleansing, that is, the washing away of worldly influence before we are ready for His work?
Pray and ask God today how He sees us. And ask Him to help us be clean and ready for whatever He calls us to.