Dedication of the Priests & Temple

Wrapping up

 

 

 

Wednesday 04/25/18 

Message – Dedication of the Priests & Temple

Series: Thru the Bible – Exodus


***Video is HERE***

Arca da Aliança de Deus (3815219934)
[NOTE: This image of the Ark of the Covenant and the altered versions used in our featured image, albumart and below is called Arca da Aliança de Deus and is being used by the contribution and courtesy of Fernando Shoiti Schatzmann from Suzano, Brasil, a user and contributor to Wikimedia Commons. Use of this picture is by permission and DOES NOT imply agreement with this message and/or associated article.]

 

Priestly Garments:

[The video below is on YouTube and should be credited to the author of the Redeemer of Israel website]

 

Exod. 28:1-8,  “Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.  (2)  And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.  (3)  So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.  

(4)  And these are the garments which they shall make:

      • a breastplate
      • an ephod
      • a robe
      • a skillfully woven tunic
      • a turban
      • and a sash.

So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.  (5) “They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen,  (6)  and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked.  (7) It shall have two shoulder straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together.  (8) And the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. (9) “Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel:  (10) six of their names on one stone and six names on the other stone, in order of their birth.  (11)  With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall set them in settings of gold.  (12) And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders as a memorial.

      • These were for Aaron the High Priest and for his sons as priests.
      • For glory – honor, majesty a sign of wealth.
      • For beauty – For honor in terms of recognition or rather the beauty would give recognition.
      • Filled with the spirit of wisdom – means filled to max capacity with the Holy Spirit’s enabling comprehension and dexterity in skill, experience and shrewdness.
      • Consecrate – to show oneself as consecrated – holy – set apart
      • That he may minister to Me – liberties were taken in this translation. Nothing in the original phrase designates WHO was being ministered to…if anyone. So, in keeping with what we know of the priest and the work they did, IF ANYTHING they ministered on behalf of the people. Mediator.
      • Ephod – Made of cloth and was essentially an ornate apron-like garment, made of gold thread, blue thread, purple and scarlet thread with settings on either shoulder to hold two Onyx stones each with 6 of the 12 tribal names engraved into it.

Exod. 28:13-43,  “(13)  You shall also make settings of gold,  (14) and you shall make two chains of pure gold like braided cords, and fasten the braided chains to the settings.  (15) “You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it.  (16) It shall be doubled into a square: a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width.  (17) And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row;  (18) the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; (19) the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;  (20) and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold settings. (21) And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes.  (22) “You shall make chains for the breastplate at the end, like braided cords of pure gold. (23) And you shall make two rings of gold for the breastplate, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. (24) Then you shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate;  (25) and the other two ends of the two braided chains you shall fasten to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front. (26) “You shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which is on the inner side of the ephod. (27) And two other rings of gold you shall make, and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod.  (28) They shall bind the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod, using a blue cord, so that it is above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate does not come loose from the ephod.  (29) “So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the LORD continually.  (30) And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually.

      • Breastplate – This was to be worn upon the chest of the priest as representing his heart. It was with settings made of gold to secure 12 precious and semiprecious stones with a name of one of the tribes on each.actually a pocket woven into the robe – it was for judgment and contained the Urim and Thummim which were used to determine the will and judgment of the Lord.
      • 4 rows of 3 (no order given – no instruction as to what name with what stone).
      • Again – a blue cord to hold things together. As you may remember the color blue was possibly the color associated with remembering God’s commands in that the tassels on men’s clothes were  which was intended to remind them of the commandments to obey them – so blue may be a color for rememberance or specifically remembering the law. – Num. 15:38-40.
      • The HIGH PRIEST bore the judgment for all of God’s people! Read – Isa. 53:6

(31)  “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.  (32)  There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear.  (33) And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around:  (34) a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around. (35) And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD and when he comes out, that he may not die.  (36) “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD.  (37)  And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban.  (38) So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.  (39)  “You shall skillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread, you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work.  

      • The ephod was ALL BLUE
      • Upon the hem was the pomegranates and bells – fruitfulness and being heard. Perhaps had the symbolism of Christ being heard.
      • The crown of gold saying “Holiness to the Lord” meaning consecrated for the Lord’s use only. It is like a statement of jealous ownership – we belong to Him alone!
      • Aaron was bearing the iniquity of the holy things – set apart for God by the rest of Israel – that they may be accepted before God – because they had been handled by the common unclean man in Israel even though dedicated for holy use.

(40)  “For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty.  (41)  So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests.  (42)  And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs.  (43)  They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him.”

  • The priests wore only tunics with sashes and a turban – for the same reason Aaron wore his robes.
    • We as priests unto God are to carry ourselves with distinction – being clearly separated from the world and consecrated unto God even as Christ was and is!
  • Rub oil upon them – this is “said” to typify the Holy Spirit.
  • Consecrate – to fill their hand (with objects for ministering – we will see later)… Good folks or hand with gifts for ministry.
  • Sanctify them – set them apart for sacred service.
  • They wore shorts under their robes.

The Ceremony of Consecration

Exod. 29:1-18,  “(1) And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish,  (2) and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). (3) You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.  (4) “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water. (5) Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod.  (6) You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. (7) And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. (8) Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. (9) And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.  (10) “You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull.  (11) Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. (12) You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the base of the altar.  (13) And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. (14) But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.  (15) “You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram; (16) and you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it all around on the altar. (17) Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head.  (18) And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.”

The Materials for sacrifice: vs. 1-3

  • One young bull and two rams without blemish: The ceremony for consecration required animals intended for sacrifice. Consecration couldn’t happen without shedding sacrificial blood.
  • Unleavened bread, unleavened cakes: The ceremony for consecration required bread for fellowship with God. Consecration couldn’t and cannot happen without true fellowship with God.
  • Unleavened wafers anointed with oil – brought in one basket.

Aaron & sons: vs. 4-9

  • Wash them with water at the door of the tabernacle.
  • Put on the priestly clothes
  • Anoint High Priest with oil

The Sacrifices: Sin offering, burnt offering, heave offering & wave offering

Sin offering: vs. 10-14

  • One Bull
    • Aaron & sons lay hands on bull and press down upon him hard confessing their sins. It was symbolic of laying the burden of their sin upon this beast.
    • Kill the bull (Moses)
    • Take blood with your finger and put it on the:
      • Horns of the altar
      • Pour rest beside the base of the altar
    • The fat that covers the entrails & the fatty lobe attached to the liver and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them were to be burned on the altar.
    • The flesh of the bull, with its skin and its poop you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
  • Offered to atone for non-malicious sins.
  • The size depended on the type of sin and the ability of the one offering it.
  • Sometimes if the whole community sinned this was done as a community.
  • Only in a few special cases could the offering not be eaten by the priests.

Burnt Offering: vs. 15-18

  • One ram
    • Place hands on ram like before
    • Kill the ram
    • Sprinkle blood around base of the altar
    • CUt the ram into pieces
    • Wash the organs & legs and put them all together with the head to be burned.
  • The most common
  • It is an acknowledgement of guilt of sin before Him.
  • Represents complete submission to God’s will.
  • It expresses a desire for communion with God.
  • Burnt offerings could be of cattle, sheep, goats or even birds dependent upon the offerer’s ability.

Consecration (ordination) ram: vs. 19-

  • The other ram
    • Press hands on the head of the ram like before
    • Kill ram
    • Place blood on the tip of their right ear, right thumb and right big toe.
    • Sprinkle the rest on and around the altar
    • Then take blood from the altar, together with the anointing oil and sprinkle it upon them and their garments beginning with Aaron

Heave, Wave & Peace offerings:

    • Take the ram fat, the fat of the tail, the fat that covers the organs, the fatty lobes of the liver with the two kidneys and their fat, the right shoulder.
    • All of these were placed in their hands and waved before the Lord in consecration to Him.
    • All of this was burned together on the altar representing complete devotion to God.
    • The leg of the heave offering which had been lifted up before the Lord together with the breast of the the consecration ram which was waved before the Lord were both given to the priests for food.
    • In the future when the Israelites would bring a peace offering to the Lord and heave up the offering to the priest for sacrifice the heaving itself was offering it to the Lord through the priest and the consuming of it on the altar was a peace offering to the Lord.

Peace Offering

  • This is a “category” of offerings to the Lord which include the thanksgiving offerings, free will offerings and offerings made after a vow has been fulfilled. (Num. 6:13-14; Acts 21:26)
  • This has NOTHING to do with sin.
  • It expresses thanks and gratitude to God.
  • A representative portion is burnt on the altar, a portion is given to the priest and the rest is eaten by the Israelite offering it so everyone enters into the communion of this offering.

7 days of consecration for the priesthood. vs. 29-37

  • Two 1 year old lambs every day.
  • One in the morning and one in the evening
  • With the 1st is 2.2 liters of flour mixed with 4 cups of pressed oil and four cups of wine as a drink offering. (Phil. 2:17)
  • The 2nd lamb with the grain offering and the drink offering as in the morning.
  • These were offered continually at the door of the tabernacle where God would meet them and speak with them.
  • God would sanctify the tabernacle with His glory.
  • GOd would also consecrate Aaron, his sons to minister as priests.
  • They will know that He is the Lord their God so that He can dwell among them.

“And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them. That son who becomes priest in his place shall put them on for seven days, when he enters the tabernacle of meeting to minister in the holy place. And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place. Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy. And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy. Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Seven days you shall consecrate them. And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.”

[The video above is on YouTube and should is linked to the Redeemer of Israel website]

[The video above is on YouTube on Andrew Ferrier’s channel]

[The video above is on YouTube and should be credited to The Bible Project.]

Next week we will do a physical walkthrough of the tabernacle!

There is more information in the audio/video of the actual message. I hope you listen, learn and enjoy!

Blessings! 

 

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

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Blessings!

 

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!