Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 16:29-34

29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 

30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 

31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. 

32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: 

33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. 

34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.

We have been told the details of this special ritual and here in the final verses it is explained that this is to be yet another yearly holy day for the people. In later passages we will hear it named as the Day of Atonement. This day has more in common with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, than the Feasts of Firstfruits, and Ingathering. Like the former, it was to be a special sabbath, in which no one would do any work, only devote themselves to the observances of that holy day. It was also like the Feast of Unleavened Bread in that it was set upon a specific day and month of the year.

Thus, on the same day each year, the people would consider the special ritual of the priest, and how he was making atonement for them all. As we read in verse 33, it was atonement for the sanctuary, for the tabernacle, for the altar, for the priests, and for all the congregation. All that Israel was and all that they had made was sanctified as one conduit to the Lord. This explains why Aaron would sprinkle the blood upon even the mercy seat. It was also the work of the Israelites, a vessel in the fallen world, and as such it was necessary to periodically recommit it to the Lord.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 28:41-43

41 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.

In addition the articles of clothing already mentioned, there is also a pair of linen breeches to be worn underneath it all. In an earlier chapter I mentioned how the Lord had previously mandated that there be no stairs ascending to an altar, so that the priest’s nakedness would not be exposed. This suggested that the priests previously wore no layers underneath their robes, which is now amended in these verses.

After being dressed, Aaron and his sons were to be anointed, consecrated, and sanctified. All three of these words describe a person being set apart for the work of the Lord, but let us consider their unique features, and how they apply to the work of a priest.

  1. Anointed. To be anointed was to receive a blessing via the application of oil. Anointing oil was representative of the spirit of God, thus a physical symbol of how the spirit of God would rest on the individual and enable him to do his holy work. Anointing is therefore a practice of empowering the priest to do his duties in an acceptable manner.
  2. Consecrated. To consecrate is to take something from the world and dedicate it to the Lord. Whereas a sacrifice consumes the offering to the Lord, consecration leaves it intact. For example, a singer does not have to destroy her beautiful voice in order to consecrate it in songs of praise. For the priests, they would be living offerings to the Lord, replacing the typical labors of life for doing His work.
  3. Sanctified. To sanctify something means to clean and purify it. The priests were mortals, and therefore imperfect, and those flaws would have to be expunged by the grace of God.

Thus, the priests were to be blessed with a portion of the Spirit to guide them, cleaned of their sins, and then set apart to solely do the work of the Lord. Dressed and hallowed, they would be ready for the last stage of their preparation, which we will hear about in the next chapter.