We'll be concluding Chapter 29 today and our look at the consecration ceremony of the priests.
The second ram was offered in yesterday's passage and after a thanks offering was made to the Lord with meat and bread the Lord says they are to do this: "After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron's ordination, wave it before the Lord as a wave offering, and it will be your share. Consecrate these parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. This is always to be the perpetual share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the Lord from their fellowship offerings." (Exodus 29:26-28) Some scholars say that these two portions of the ram were waved before the Lord in a particular motion---that the breast portion of the meat was waved side to side and the thigh portion was waved up and down---making the shape of a cross. We can't say whether this is true or not. But these portions of the offering are portions of rams that the priests will be allowed to keep when people come to the tabernacle to make sacrifices to the Lord. This is one of the methods the Lord will use to provide for the priests and their families. He intends for the priests to make their living at their job as priests.
In his first letter to the church members at Corinth we find the Apostle Paul explaining to the church that the pastors are to be supported financially by their congregations. They shouldn't have to make a living outside of their work in the church, and Paul points back to the priests of the temple (who operated the same way as the priests of the tabernacle) and says, "Don't you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:13-14) From time to time you may have heard someone say, "Shouldn't a man be willing to preach the gospel for free, simply because of his love for the gospel?" A lot of men have preached the gospel for free and a lot of men still do, but the Bible is very clear that they shouldn't have to. Pastoring a church is a full time job. A pastor is on call 24/7. He shouldn't have to work a second full time job outside of the church. This will cause him to become exhausted and burned out and then he'll be unable to properly give all his attention to either his secular work or to his church work.
"Aaron's sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days." (Exodus 29:29-30) After this first consecration ceremony and after consecration ceremonies to come in later years when new priests are ordained, the priests are to have a meal at the tent entrance and eat the meat that was kept from the ram. "Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. At the entrance to the tent of meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred. And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over til morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred." (Exodus 29:31-34)
"Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them. Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy." (Exodus 29:35-37) Why does the altar---an inanimate object---need to be purified? I wasn't able to find an answer for this question but I wonder if it was because this altar was fashioned by human hands. Every human being has sinned and fallen short, and nothing perfect can be made by someone imperfect. I think the altar had to be purified by blood (just as all sins must be purified by blood) before anything placed on the altar could be acceptable in the eyes of God.
Now the Lord establishes the practice of the daily sacrifices: one for morning and one for evening. "This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight. With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning---a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord." (Exodus 29:38-41) These offerings were burned up in the altar fire and the smoke rose up into the air. The smell of these offerings reminded the people to be thankful to the Lord for everything they ate and drank. The twice daily sacrifices reminded them they were sinners who needed a Savior. These sacrificial lambs pointed toward the Lamb of God who was someday coming, the Lamb whose sacrifice purifies forever anyone who puts their trust in Him as Savior and Lord and Redeemer.
"For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by My glory." (Exodus 29:42-43) There is a further consecration for the meeting place that only the Lord can perform. He will consecrate it by His presence---with His glory. There is only so much man can do; God must do the rest. You and I can be sorry for our sins, you and I can repent of our sins, but only God can consecrate us. Only God can extend mercy and forgive sins and impute righteousness upon unrighteous man.
Our passage today concludes with the beautiful and breathtaking promise that Almighty God---holy and perfect and so high above man that we can't even fathom His greatness---wants to dwell with man. "So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God." (Exodus 29:44-46)
Something that struck me this morning is that we never find the Israelites asking the Lord to come and dwell among them. I don't think it ever occurred to them that God could or would do such a thing. We never see any meeting taking place where they say, "We'd like to invite the Lord to come down and live with us and be our God. We must make Him a tabernacle where His glory can rest, a place where He can instruct us in godly living." No, this is the Lord's choice. He is offering to come and live among them and be their God. He chose them first, and aren't we glad He makes the first move? God loved us before we loved Him. God loved us before He ever created us and He continues to love in spite of our faults and failures. It is God who offers to come and dwell with us, not the other way around. He sought us when we weren't seeking Him. He loved us when we didn't love Him. As the Apostle John points out, God loved us first. (1 John 4:19) And because God loved us first, He proved it when "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". (Romans 5:8) He didn't say, "Clean yourselves up and do the best you can to be holy, then I'll think about fellowshipping with you." No, He said, "I'll come and clean you up and make you holy. I'll make the first move. I'll be the first to extend the hand of fellowship. I'll make Myself your friend even though you haven't made yourselves My friend. I want to be your God. I want to walk with you and talk with you every day. I'll do everything possible to make that happen, including making the greatest sacrifice of all."
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