|
The Third Book of Moses, Called Leviticus,
Chapter Eight
2. Instructions for the priests
<>< <>< ><> ><>
The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons
<>< <>< ><> ><>
1. What did the LORD
tell Moses to bring at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and who did the LORD
tell Moses he was to gather at the Tent of Meeting?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Why did Aaron and his sons need to be cleansed and set apart?
Although all the men from the tribe of Levi were dedicated for service to God,
only Aaron's descendants could be priests. They alone had the honor and
responsibility of performing the sacrifices. These priests had to cleanse and
dedicate themselves before they could help the people do the same.
The ceremony described in Leviticus 8 and 9 was their ordination
ceremony. Aaron and his sons were washed with water (8:6), clothed with special
garments (8:7-9), and anointed with oil (8:12). They placed their hands on a
young bull as it was killed (8:14), and on two rams as they were killed (8:18,
19, 22). This showed that holiness came from God alone, not from the priestly
role. Similarly, we are not spiritually cleansed because we have a religious
position. Spiritual cleansing comes only from God. No matter how high our
position or how long we have held it, we must depend on God for spiritual
vitality.
Why were priests needed in Israel? In Exodus 19:6, the Israelites
were instructed to be a kingdom of priests; ideally they would all be holy and
relate to God. But from the time of Adam's fall, sin has separated man and God,
and people have needed mediators to help them find forgiveness. At first, the
patriarchs - heads of households like Abraham and Job - were priests of the
house or clan and made sacrifices for the family. When the Israelites left
Egypt, the descendants of Aaron were chosen to serve as priests for the nation.
The priests stood in the gap between God and man. They were the full-time
spiritual leaders and overseers of offerings. The priestly system was a
concession to people's inability, because of sin, to confront and relate to God
individually and corporately. In Christ, this imperfect system was transformed.
Jesus Christ himself is our High Priest. Now all believers can approach God
through him.
2. What did Moses say to the assembly, what
did Moses do to Aaron and his sons when he brought them forward, what did Moses
put on Aaron, what did Moses put in the breastpiece, what did Moses place on
Aaron's head, and what did Moses set on the front of it, as the LORD commanded?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What were the Urim and Thummim? Little is known about them, but
they were probably precious stones or flat objects that God used to give
guidance to his people. The high priest kept them in a pouch attached to his
breastpiece. Some scholars think the Urim may have been the no answer and
the Thummim the yes answer. After a time of prayer for guidance, the
priest would shake one of the stones out of the pouch, and God would cause the
proper one to fall out. Another view is that the Urim and Thummim were small
flat objects, each with a yes side and a no side. The priest
spilled both from his pouch. If both landed on their yes sides, God's
answer was positive. Two no sides were negative. A yes and a no
meant no reply. God had a specific purpose for using this method of guidance
- he was teaching a nation the principles of following him. Our situation is not
the same, however, so we must not invent ways like this for God to guide us.
3. What did Moses do with the anointing oil,
how many times did Moses sprinkle some of the oil on the altar, what did he
anoint on the altar, why did he do this, on whose head did Moses pour some of
the oil and anointed him to consecrate him, and what did Moses do when he
brought Aaron's sons forward?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
What was the significance of
anointing Aaron as high priest? The high priest had special duties that no other
priest had. He alone could enter the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle on the
yearly Day of Atonement to atone for the sins of the nation. Therefore he was in
charge of all the other priests. The high priest was a picture of Jesus Christ,
who is our High Priest (Hebrews 7:26-28).
It is generally agreed that the anointing oil typifies the Holy
Spirit. When kings were anointed, the Holy Spirit came on them (1st Samuel
10:1-6; 16:13). The word "messiah" comes from the Hebrew word for "anoint," and
the work of Christ began with such an anointing of the Holy Spirit. There is no
statement in the Old Testament as to why oil typified the Holy Spirit. Oil was
widely used in lamps. As the lamp burned, the oil seemed to vanish into the air.
Such a connection of oil and air possibly may have made the typology natural in
the Hebrew culture. The Hebrew word ruah means either "spirit" or "wind,
air, breath." The seven-branched lampstand, perpetually fed with oil, is called
a symbol of the Spirit in the Old Testament (Zechariah 4:2-6). (NIV Commentary - Zondervan)
4. What did Moses then present for the sin
offering, where did Aaron and his sons place their hands, after Moses
slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood and with his finger, what did he
put it on, why did Moses do this, where did Moses pour out the rest of the
blood, why did Moses consecrate the blood, what did Moses burn on the altar, and
what did Moses do with the bull and with its hide and its flesh and its offal?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
After being
anointed, Aaron and his sons offered first for themselves (Hebrews 7:27) and
then for the consecration of the altar. Then came a burnt offering of worship
and consecration. (NIV Commentary - Zondervan)
5. What did Moses present next for the burnt
offering, where did Aaron and his sons lay their hands, what did Moses do after
he slaughtered the ram, what did Moses burn after the ram was cut into pieces,
what did Moses wash before burning the whole ram on the altar as a burnt
offering, what was the aroma, how was this offering made to the LORD,
then, what did Moses present, what was it for, where did Aaron and his sons lay
their hands, what did Moses do after he slaughtered the other ram, what did
Moses then do to Aaron's sons, and where did Moses sprinkle blood?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Next they offered a ram of "ordination." This is an unusual
term, used idiomatically in the sense of "filling the hand" of a priest, i.e.,
installing him in his office or ordaining him (cross-reference verse 33). (NIV
Commentary - Zondervan)
The ram was sacrificed as a fellowship offering with special
application of the blood to the priests' right ears, right thumbs, and right
great toes. This doubtless symbolized their new total obedience and service.
(NIV Commentary - Zondervan)
6. What did Moses do then, what did Moses do
with all of this, why did Moses wave them before the LORD,
what did Moses do with them after he took them from Aaron and his sons hands,
what did Moses do when he took the breast - Moses' share of the ordination, what
did Moses do with some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the
altar, where did Moses tell Aaron to cook the meat, what were Aaron and his sons
to eat with the meat, what were Aaron and his sons to do with the rest of the
meat and the bread, what did Moses tell them not to do, how long were they to
stay there, what did Moses say was done that day, why were Aaron and his sons to
stay at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days, and
what did Aaron and his sons do?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
The
ram of ordination was then eaten at the door of the tabernacle in a new
communion with God. So for seven days Aaron and his sons stayed at the
tabernacle in contrition, worship, consecration, and fellowship. The whole Old
Testament ritual is given without any prescribed prayers except the Aaronic
benediction of Numbers 6:24-26. (NIV Commentary - Zondervan)
Aaron and his sons did "everything the Lord commanded." Considering
the many detailed lists of Leviticus, that was a remarkable feat. They knew what
God wanted, how he wanted it done, and with what attitude it was to be carried
out. This can serve as a model for how carefully we ought to obey God. God wants
us to be thoroughly holy people, not a rough approximation of the way his
followers should be.
<>< <>< ><> ><>
Answers to Leviticus eight
<>< <>< ><> ><>
1. Aaron and his sons,
their garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams
and the basket containing bread made without yeast...the entire assembly
2. "This is what the LORD
has commanded to be done."...washed them with water...the tunic, tied the sash
around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also tied the
ephod to him by its skillfully woven waistband; so it was fastened on him...the
Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece...the turban...the gold plate, the sacred
diadem
3. He Anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated
them...seven...all its utensils and the basin with its stand...to consecrate
them...Aaron...put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put headbands on
them, as the LORD
commanded him
4. The bull...on its head...the horns of the altar...to purify the altar...at
the base of the altar...to make atonement for it...all the fat around the inner
parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat...he burned
them up outside the camp, as the LORD
commanded him
5. The ram...on its head...he sprinkled the blood against the altar on all
sides...the head, the pieces and the fat...the inner parts and the
legs...pleasing...by fire, as the LORD
commanded Moses...the other ram...the ordination...on its head...took some of
its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right
hand and on the big toe of his right foot...he put some of the blood on the
lobes of their right ears, on the thumb of their right hands and on the big toes
of their right feet...against the altar on all sides
6. He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat around the inner parts, the
covering of the liver, both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh. Then from
the basket of bread made with out yeast, which was before the LORD,
he took a cake of bread, and one made with oil, and a wafer; he put these on the
fat portions and on the right thigh...he put them in the hands of Aaron and his
sons...as a wave offering...burning them on the altar on top of the burnt
offering as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD
by fire...waved it before the LORD
as a wave offering as the LORD
commanded him...sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and
their garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments and his son and their
garments...at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting...the bread from the basket of
ordination offerings...burn it up...leave the entrance to the Tent of
Meeting...seven days, until the days of their ordination were completed...it was
a commanded by the LORD
to make atonement for Aaron and his sons...to do what the LORD
requires so they would not die...everything the LORD
commanded through Moses
<>< <>< ><> ><>
The Life Application Study Bible - Zondervan
|