King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, February 08, 2025
Chapters: Exodus 28-29
Message: Exodus: Consecrating The Priests
Hello My Friend,
As we continue in the reading of Exodus we learn that God chooses our calling but we must be saved and have on the right clothes before we can be used. We can think about a parable that Jesus spoke about the person not having on a wedding garment, [Matthew 22:11-14 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.]
There is a cult of said Christians who believe that since God knows everything and what we are going to do even before we are born that He is the one who chooses who gets saved. Well, there is some truth to that because God does choose who gets saved and those would be the ones who choose Christ. Does He know who will get saved? Yes, but that does not mean that He does not give everyone the opportunity, [Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.]
Jesus proves this right here, [many are called, but few are chosen.] So while every soul that God creates is called to be saved freewill gives them the choice to choose, [Romans 8:29-30 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.]
Justified and glorified, now those are two words that no honest and humble Christian ever see themselves as being even though they know there souls are justified and glorified through their faith in Christ. Those who are stuck on themselves and boast about all they are doing in the name of Christ will have a huge awakening when they discover they’re boasting did absolutely no good, [1 Corinthians 5:6-7 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:]
Speaking of our Passover, yesterday we read about God giving Moses the instructions on how to build the Tabernacle, today God, gives him instructions on the duties of the priesthood, these would be those who would minister or serve Him in the Tabernacle. First they had to get dressed for the part and God gives specific instructions for the clothes they would wear to be able to minister to Him, first Aaron who would be the high priest.
[Exodus 28:1-3 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. 3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.]
[Holy; Hallowed; consecrated or set apart to a sacred use, or to the service or worship of God;] These were not your average clothes, these were layers and layers of clothes, almost like a suit, and used specifically for their duties in the Tabernacle. The holy garments not only distinguished the priests from the rest of the people, they were emblems of the glory and beauty of God. True saved born again Christians are given a new set of garments by Christ Himself, a clean slate so to speak to begin their ministry, [Colossians 3:9-11 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.]
[Consecrate; To make or declare to be sacred, by certain ceremonies or rites; to set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service and worship of God.] The priest’s were not without sin so in order to serve God, they had to be redeemed and atoned for their sin even before they could enter the Tabernacle every time. This is why Jesus said that those who are saved need to wash their feet every now and then, and I would actually say every day as sin will always make us dirty, but confession will always clean us back up, [John 13:10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.]
Serving God is not always in a church, He will use many laymen to serve Him as well. Before Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell every person who received Him until they are brought home to Him, God, would fill those whom He had chosen with His Spirit as He needed them. God, appoints some skilled men whom He anointed with His Spirit to make all of these items. God, gives Moses a list of items that would be needed.
[Exodus 28:4-7,9 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. 7 It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. 9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:]
The colors and material used has a specific purpose and reasoning behind it, Gold; represents the Deity of God; Blue; Heaven, Purple; Royalty, Scarlet; Sacrifice, and Fine linen; personal righteousness. Those two stones were a reminder of the covenant God made to save and protect them. To get a better picture of this we can think of it as Jesus finding His lost sheep and putting them upon His shoulders, [Luke 15:5-6 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.]
God is not a respecter of persons, there are two things that He appoints everyone and that is life and death, there are also other things appointed to us that we cannot escape but it is how we deal with them that will determine what happens in between life and death and where we will end up. Those who choose Christ can rejoice in knowing that they will end up wherever Jesus is. Now. in addition to the ephod was a special breastplate that the high priest would wear specifically called the breastplate of judgment, which had twelve stones and also had their names written upon them.
[Exodus 28:16–21 Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. 17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. 18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. 21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.]
[Signet; A seal; To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality.] The name of each tribe was graven in a precious stone to signify just how precious they were in God’s sight and as lively stones, [1 Peter 2:4-5 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.]
God’s chosen are also sealed with the blood of Christ so of course they are going to feel more alive, even when faced with trials of life. Now, the names written in the stones served as another purpose as well, which God goes on to explain, [Exodus 28:29-30 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. 30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.]
Whenever we come to God, it is Jesus who stands before us, signifying to the Father that we are covered and sealed in His blood, [2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.]
[Urim; Light, Thummim; Perfection.] The breastplate of judgment was to be put Aaron to remind him that he would perform righteous justice and judgment in the execution of God’s office. Now, in addition to the ephod and breast plate of judgment, a robe would be worn.
[Exodus 28:32-35 And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. 33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. 35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.]
So, as the high priest walked into the Holy Place with this robe on it would make a sound, sort of like church bells ringing, in wearing this it allowed God to hear him approaching. Did God not know if someone was approaching the veil? Of course He did but if they were not consecrated then it would be a death sentence to them. It does not matter how long we serve God or how faithful we are if we are not saved none of it is recognized by Him. Jesus said it this way, [Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.]
Can you get an idea of how all this ties in with Jesus? God, goes on to instruct Moses on what Aaron’s sons would be wearing and how they were to be anointed with oil and consecrated, [Exodus 28:41-43 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 42 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: 43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.]
It was not enough to have on the proper clothes, they had to be cleansed of their sin, and this was not something that water could cleanse. God, gives Moses the instructions on what the priests were to do in order to be hollowed, [Exodus 29:1-5,7 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, 2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. 7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.]
So, a total of three animals, all unblemished, unleavened bread, which is crackers, cake and wafers that had been dunked in oil would be the sacrifices necessary for them to be hallowed and able to serve God. The first offering was a bullock also known as an ox or bull.
[Exodus 29:10-14 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. 11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. 13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.]
Aaron and his sons were to place both hands on the head of the animal then Moses would kill it, the blood would shed would immediately be applied to the horns of the altar while the rest of the blood was poured into a basin that was beside the altar. The animal would then be butchered and while all the innards would be placed on top of the altar the rest of the animal would be taken out of the camp and burned. This was a sin offering and when they placed their hands on the animals head they in a sense transferred their sin to the animal and it was sacrificed in its place. This is what Jesus did for us to make that permanent, [Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.]
In addition to the sin offering there was a burnt offering and this one while it will be butchered as well, but the entire animal would be cast upon the altar for God, [Exodus 29:15-18 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. 16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. 17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. 18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.]
A ram wholly burnt upon the altar was in honor of dedicating themselves wholly to God and to His service, as living sacrifices, kindled with the fire and ascending in the flame of holy love. And they were not done yet, now the second ram was offered, known as the ram of consecration.
[Exodus 29:20-22 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. 22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:]
Now we know why being a Christian is often referred to as being on the right, and there was a specific purpose behind this. Right, always signifies doing what is actually right as opposed to the left which always signifies what appears to be right, but is wrong. Placing the blood on their right ear was to keep them attentive to what they were hearing, the thumb was to keep them alert to what they were touching, the right toe was to keep them minded of where they were walking. In addition to the three animals, one more sacrifice would be made, bread, also known as the wave offering.
[Exodus 29:23-27 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: 24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. 25 And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. 27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:]
Except for the consecration, this would also be the procedure in which anyone coming to be cleansed of their sin would follow. The ram of consecration was unique in the rest of the offering because they were able to eat of part of this meat. Part of the flesh was waved heavenward and burned as though God fed on it, while the other part was eaten by the priests. It was as though God had feasted together with them in one holy sacrament, just as when Jesus ate of the Passover meal with the disciples before His passion, [Luke 22:15-16 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.]
Believe it or not, their being consecrated and used for service in the Tabernacle and to receive the offerings of the people did not happen in one day, it took seven days and they had to follow the same procedure. Now, once they were consecrated they were able to proceed with their duties.
[Exodus 29:35-36,38,42-43 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. 36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. 42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.]
Why were they to make atonement for the altar? Due to all the blood that had been shed. It too needed to be cleansed of all that blood that was shed on it for the sins of the people and with good reason. Can you imagine what it would look and smell like if it were not cleaned off? If you ever used a BBQ grill you see what happens to it when it is not clean. In reference to our salvation, this is also why we need to confess our sins daily, it refreshes us and cleanses us from the sins we get into for the day, [1 John 1:9-10 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Exodus 28:30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.]
Today’s Prayer: God, We know that there is nothing we can do or say to merit salvation, it is a free gift to all who believe in the ultimate price that Your Son paid for our sins. Thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life, and saving my soul. And thank You also for cleansing me so that I may be able to stand before You in light and integrity. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power, wisdom, guidance, and the strength to be the minister that You want me to be. Help me remove everything from my life that would keep me from serving You with my whole heart. And fill me with Your mercy, grace, and the things that are acceptable to You. I ask these things in your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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