The Consecration of the priests - The Conduct of Christ - Part 1

Now let's turn to the scriptures again and our reading for this Bible reading is in the book of Leviticus and in chapter 8. Now there's considerable ground to cover and so I'm going to read some parts of Leviticus 8 and then we're going to move into Leviticus chapter 9. I join with what Mark said as he opened his Bible reading this morning. Nice to be with our brethren. You'll notice how they treated him so kindly this morning.

I'm sure that they're going to do the same for me. The book of Leviticus and in chapter 8. And the subject that we're really going to take up is are we replicating the conduct of the Lord Jesus? Let's read from verse number 6. And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. And he put upon him the coat and girded him with the girdle and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod upon him.

And he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him. Also he put in the breastplate the urim and the thummim.

And he put the mitre upon his head. Also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein and sanctified them.

And he sprinkled the wrath upon the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the labour and his foot, to sanctify them. And he poured out the anointing oil upon Aaron's head and anointed him to sanctify him. Now look down with me.

We read from verse number 22. There are the two sacrifices that come between in those verses. There's a sin offering, there's a bullock for a sin offering, and there's a ram for a burnt offering.

And I just want to make you aware of those. Even I don't think we'll be discussing those two sacrifices today. Verse number 22.

And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram and he slew it. And Moses took of the blood and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear and upon the thumb of his right hand and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron's sons and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear and upon the thumbs of their right hands and upon the great toes of their right feet.

And Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. And he took the fat and the rump and all the fat that was upon the inwards and the call above the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right shoulder and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord. He took one unleavened cake and a cake of oil bread and one wafer and put them on the fat and upon the right shoulder.

And he put all upon Aaron's hands and upon his son's hands and waved them for a wave offering before the Lord. And Moses took them from off their hands and burnt them on the on the altar upon the burnt offering. They were consecrations for a sweet savor.

It is an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And Moses took the breast and waved it for a wave offering before the Lord for of the ram of consecration. It was Moses part as the Lord commanded Moses.

And Moses took of the anointing oil and of the blood, which was upon the altar and sprinkled it upon Aaron and upon his garments and upon his sons and upon his son's garments with him. And sanctified Aaron and his sons and his sons and his sons and his son's garments with him. And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations.

As I commanded, saying Aaron and his sons shall eat it and that which remain of the flesh and of the bread shall you burn with fire and you shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation seven days until the days of your consecration be at an end for seven days. Shall he consecrate you as he has done this day? So the Lord has commanded to do to make an atonement for you. Therefore, shall you abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night, seven days to keep the charge of the Lord that you dine on for? So I am commanded and Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

Chapter nine, verse one, and it came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. And he said unto Aaron, take the young calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering without blemish and offer them before the Lord. And on to the children of Israel, thou shalt speak, saying, take a kid of the goats for a sin offering and a calf and a lamb both of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering.

Also, a bullet and a ram for peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord and a meat offering mingled with oil. For today the Lord will appear unto you. And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord.

Look down at verse 22, please. And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people and blessed them and came down from offering of the sin offering and the burnt offering and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation and came out and blessed the people.

And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. There came a fire out from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat, which when all the people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces. Now, the Lord blessed to us this extensive and beautiful reading of the Holy Scriptures.

One of the problems we have when we come to the book of Leviticus is that we read these things. And we read about burnt offerings and we read about sin offerings. We read about peace offerings, wave offerings.

And you go through the detail of the chapter that we'll be considering, Leviticus 8 and into Leviticus 9. And you look at it and you think, well, it's OK for William Skates. He knows all this stuff. But what chance do I have? Now, I don't want you to feel like that today because we'll be moving essentially away from the person of the Lord in the garments of the high priest.

And we're going to be looking at very practical things as we move down through Leviticus chapter 8. The first thing I want to mention just for opening and to keep the opening as brief as possible. I want you to notice the devotional aspect as we're considering Leviticus chapter 8. You think of Aaron. I didn't read the verse, but you will read this.

It says that Aaron was taken. And then you'll notice that Aaron, he was clothed and he's clothed in these majestic garments that were described to us this morning. So he's taken and he's clothed.

And then as we analyze the chapter with a broad brush, you'll notice that Aaron was sanctified. Now, you keep those things in mind. He's taken, he's clothed, he's sanctified.

And you'll notice that then there's a sacrifice. And as the sacrifice occurs, then there are others brought in. And you'll notice that Aaron's sons, the sons are brought in.

And then those that are associated with Aaron, they spend time seven days out of sight in the tabernacle of the congregation. Where we have introduced Leviticus chapter 9, that seven day cycle is broken. And the eighth day occurs.

And now in the sight of all the congregation, Aaron comes out and he's seen. In these beautiful garments, in the resplendence of his person, he moves forward and he's seen. And those that were the sons of Aaron, they were seen with him.

And you'll notice that Aaron, he blesses the people. As he's manifested, he blesses the people. Then he and Moses go into the tabernacle.

He and Moses come out from the tabernacle. And the second time he appears, he blesses the people again. Now I'm sure you're going to Hebrews 9. Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time.

And at the end of Leviticus 9, it says this. And the glory of the Lord, it was seen. Now we follow that through as we consider the Lord Jesus.

He is taken. Hebrews chapter 5 is it. Every high priest taken from among men.

He is ordained for men in things pertaining to God. We have noticed today, not only was he taken, but we have seen the resplendence of his glory. The garments of glory and beauty.

Then we notice that Aaron was sanctified. And of course you're going to John 10 in your mind. You remember what the Lord Jesus said.

Say ye of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world. And you remember John 17. He says himself, for this cause I sanctify myself.

So the Lord was sanctified. Now I should point out at this stage that when it speaks of sanctification with the Lord Jesus, it's very different from our sanctification and even that of Aaron. It wasn't for purification for the Lord Jesus.

It simply means that he was set apart to accomplish the will of God. So he's taken in the garments of glory and beauty. He's sanctified.

There's a sacrifice in Leviticus chapter 8. We notice there's the two sacrifices and then there's the ram of consecration. So you have a sin offering and a burnt offering. And then the ram of consecration is offered with the Lord Jesus.

It was one sacrifice. One sacrifice for sins forever. And then Aaron and his sons are out of sight.

And for seven days they are not seen. And of course you and I know we're waiting for the moment of the rapture. And there's going to be a period when Christ and us, we will be out of sight.

It's not now for seven days. But it's at least for seven years. And then that will be broken and the eighth day comes.

And he comes forth in resplendent glory. And he blesses the people. So that's the devotional aspect as we come to the chapter.

The second thing I'll mention is this. It's the divisions of the chapter. One of the things that occurs in this chapter, you'll notice the Lord commanded Moses.

Look at verse number 4. Moses did as the Lord commanded. Verse number 5. This is the thing which the Lord commanded. Verse number 9. As the Lord commanded.

Verse number 13. As the Lord commanded. Look down again.

Verse number 17. As the Lord commanded. Verse number 21.

As the Lord commanded. Verse number 29. As the Lord commanded.

Verse number 34. As the Lord commanded. Verse number 35.

For so I am commanded. Verse number 36. All the things which the Lord commanded.

Now by the time you read that chapter, I'm guessing that you would, along with me, you will have seen by now, what was mentioned to Moses, what he received in Exodus 28, what was verified in Exodus 39, now has been put into place. As the Lord commanded Moses. And so if you analyze that statement, I'm not going to do it.

You can take time in your own personal study and just analyze the divisions of the chapter from that standpoint. The third thing I want to mention are the details of the chapter. You'll notice on the outline I have mentioned four things.

When the ceremony took place. Why the ceremony was needed. Where the ceremony took place.

How the ceremony took place. And those will give us the details of this ceremony of consecration. I'm not going to mention all of those.

Because that clock is going way too quick. And we have only an hour and a half for this Bible reading. I will mention the first one.

When this consecration ceremony took place. One of the things that amazes me as I come to the book of Leviticus. Is that God put this in Leviticus 8. I would have expected, I have to admit to you.

I would have expected that we start in Leviticus chapter 1. And in Leviticus chapter 1 what God will do is show us. This is the priesthood. This is Aaron and his sons.

This is the consecration of Aaron. And this is the consecration of his sons. Instead God doesn't do that.

What the Lord does is this. He gives us details of a burnt offering. And a meal offering.

And peace offerings. And sin offerings. And trespass offerings.

And other aspects. And the laws of those offerings. And you say why does he give us seven chapters.

And then come to Leviticus chapter 8. Well he establishes a principle. What we learn is this. That the way to God is more important than the work for God.

If I could put it into something that we use all the time. We learn this. That worship is more important to the Lord than service.

And here it is. You will remember the words of the Lord Jesus. He said to Satan.

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. And him only shalt thou serve. And we learn that right here.

As we come to the details of this ceremony of consecration. The last thing I'll mention. I want to speak about the discussion of the passage.

You've noticed I've tried to give at least three broad sections of the two chapters. You'll notice that we're going to look at the consecration. It's occasion and observance.

And there are seven things that I've mentioned in that section. I would like us if we can. If some of the brethren want to deal with all seven.

That's perfectly fine by me. I would like to major on three. I would like to first of all speak about the washing.

And then I want to speak about Aaron being clothed. And then I want to notice the anointing. And then we move very quickly to the second section.

And that's from verse number 22. And we move right to the end of the chapter. And we look at consecration.

Identification. Application. And one I should have.

Appreciation. I should have put another one in there. Scientification.

Verse number 30. Scientification has occurred further up the chapter. That's why I left it out.

But just if some of our brethren want to introduce it here. You can introduce Scientification. And then continuation.

And we look at eight days or seven days. And then we move to the eighth day. As we come to the next section.

So the third section. And we'll just do a brief overview. This will be at the end.

And I know you're all tired. And you're thinking oh man. But we'll do a brief overview.

And we'll speak about the eighth day. We might not even touch all the sacrifices. But we will come to the priestly blessing.

The blessing for the people. The glory of the Lord appearing. And the fire coming out.

And consuming the burnt offering. And the fat. So we'll commence.

And as we commence. I'll ask our brethren. If there's any general comments or questions.

Before we move into the occasion and observance of this ceremony. I'd be happy just to try and handle those now. You mentioned the sacrifices of the first seven.

The first earlier chapters in this book. And then we come to the inauguration or the consecration of the priest. Could we say that sacrifice brings the people of God into relationship with God.

And then the priesthood's function is to maintain us in that relationship. Sure. These people of course had been brought into a relationship with God via redemption.

Sure. So these people had been redeemed from Egypt. And as such then they were able to approach God and offer that burnt offering.

But in the tabernacle system. Sure. Sure.

Your applications. Very good. Anything else generally before we move into verses six.

So this took place at the door of the tabernacle. I think you mentioned that in verse two. Why to the door of the tabernacle.

So they've come through the gate. All right. They're in the court.

And before the door. Before you actually go into the sanctuary. This procedure has taken place.

I think the answer is given to that in verse number three. William. Because in verse number three.

Moses is told. Gather thou all the congregation together onto the door. When we come to chapter nine.

The same thing is mentioned. Moses is told verse number five of chapter nine. And all the congregation drew near.

Now logistically. I'm not exactly sure how that happened. So logistically.

We'll have to leave all of those details. But for a practical application. What we can see is this.

This was done publicly. Very public. Yeah.

So this wasn't something that was done in a corner. It was done openly. It was done in the eyes of all.

And it was done publicly. And the reason for that was this. God was ratifying the priesthood.

That would operate on his behalf. For the people. And God would have them know.

Very publicly. The priestly provision that he was making for them. And so likewise.

God would have us know. The priestly provision that's made for us. In the person of Christ.

Hence the Bible reading. And is it not also a demonstration of. Not just of the provision of the priesthood.

But the necessity of the priesthood. Because really they had come. As far as they were able to come.

And then there was. There were those who were chosen out. To go further.

And was a reminder of the holiness of God. And the need for a mediator to. To mediate their approach.

Very good. So it was a priesthood of representation. The priest went into the presence of God.

And they came forth from the presence of God. Representing God to the people. And they left the people and went back in.

Representing the people to God. Now. David.

Anything there? I'm going to have to hold on. To Bible reading number four. Some of these same things will be.

Brought up again. Right. I don't know how detailed you want to get into them.

But well, I'll touch some of them. I'm sure there might be others here tomorrow. That won't be here today.

So do you see any connection? It depends on how you want to look at this. Are we looking at this as us? About how you would prefer to move. That's how I would practically like to use this.

As a picture of ourselves. Of ourselves as free. As those who have been washed.

So that brings us. That brings us to them. That's why I want to start with the washing.

Because we're in verse number six. Moses brought Aaron and his sons. And washed them with water.

So Aaron was washed. And Aaron's sons were washed. Mark.

Sorry, Brother Tom. This is just before we get to that practical point. I'm picking up on something we were discussing at the break.

One of the things that we didn't really get a chance to. And it's unfair to use your Bible reading to tie up my loose ends. We didn't really get to talk about was Aaron's sons.

I did sort of suggest that some of the things that were true of Aaron's sons. Are perhaps more truly seen of us. Do we see here a reminder.

Continuing to take Aaron in his function as a type of Christ. Do we see here our relationship. Not as high priests.

But as priests. Very good. That's pertinent.

And that helps me as we are moving through the section. One of the problems we had this morning was this. That we were constantly moving backwards and forwards.

Between different aspects. And so we were introducing the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. We were introducing practical things from the garments.

We were introducing as much as we could do. Just to make these Bible readings as practical as possible. And that will occur in this Bible reading too.

So there will be a measure of flow through as we are moving down. But Aaron and his sons. He washed them with water.

Now come in and help us. What we are looking at as we are considering this washing. So where.

You have emphasized in your outline. Yes, the ceremony took place. So are we still at the door of the tabernacle then? I think we have moved from the door itself.

And we have moved to the brazen labor. Okay. Well, there is a space in between there.

Sure. I suppose that's where it happened. So at any rate.

In the line of approach into the presence of God. We have come past the brazen altar. Right.

That has taken place. Sure. Right.

And this is a one-time washing. You have emphasized that. And quite a humbling experience too for Aaron.

To be stripped in front of the whole congregation. Sure. And then to be washed by his brother all over.

And then clothed. Sure. So would you like this? I know you want to apply it to us.

Is it the washing of regeneration? Most definitely. Now, just to further elaborate what our brother has said. I think that John 13 shows this forth.

You remember in the upper room the Lord took a basin. He divested himself of his garments. He takes a basin and water.

And he moves round those 12 men who were there at that time. And he washed their feet. Then he comes to Peter.

And you recall Peter is horrified by this. And Peter says, No, Lord. No, Lord.

Thou shalt never wash my feet. And then, of course, the Lord says, Well, he says, Peter, if I don't wash your feet, you have no part with me. And Peter goes immediately to the other extreme.

And he says, Lord, he says, Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. And the Lord says to Peter, Peter, he says, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet. Now, those two words are different in Greek that the Lord said to Peter.

And in the Septuagint version, the first one is the word used here. It's the word used for a washing all over. He that has been bathed all over doesn't need that again.

He only needs to wash his feet. Right. And in case there's anyone wondering about the washing of regeneration, it's Titus chapter 3, verse 5. And that is synonymous with conversion.

That's what we're speaking about. Just in case anyone's wondering washing and what's going on. That's the conversion of a believer.

The moment they're brought to God. So we were emphasizing in the first reading that the garments were put on Aaron and that they conveyed upon him something that he didn't otherwise have. So what we're learning here now, though, is that there has to be a fitness so that it mattered what was put on the man.

But it mattered the condition of the man on whom they were very good. So so there's a condition that we have been brought into. God has sanctified us.

We have been cleansed and positionally were sanctified. We've come to that later. I don't want to jump ahead too much, but we have been cleansed and we have been washed and made fit for the presence of God.

Now, is there anything else on the washing? How are we presently if the once for all washing took place? Did Aaron have to wash after that? Yes. Yes. Good.

Who said that? Yes. Yes. So every time when Aaron was coming to function, he had to wash.

There was a continual washing. Now, that's John 15, verse number three. The Savior in John 15, verse number three, he says, Now are you clean through the word that I have spoken unto you? And so there is there's a practical cleansing which we receive through the word of God.

One of the benefits of Bible studies like this are we are brought back to the Scriptures and through the application of the Word of God, defilement is cleansed from us so that we can continue before the Lord. Now let's go back to New Testament truth. We've come by way of the altar, Calvary has passed, the priesthood has not yet entered into the sanctuary.

So in between Calvary and Christ's ascension, there is resurrected life. We by virtue of regeneration have resurrected life, life after the death. Now the practical question is this, are we living day by day in the good of resurrected life? Very good, and that is very practical and it's very pertinent and one of the things that we're trying to emphasize here is just our own spiritual condition before the Lord.

If we can lead these Bible readings a different way than we've come, it will have accomplished the purpose that the brethren convey this conference for. Now if we have considered washing and there's nothing else, we move on to the next one. We spend a few minutes on the clothing and then move to the third one that I want to touch, which is anointing.

Anything more on the washing? The clothing then, our brethren mentioned a number of portions this morning, you remember our brother Mark, he mentioned Exodus 28, Exodus 39 and here we have the third one. There might be a fourth one our brethren haven't mentioned, Numbers chapter 20 and so you can profile, they were giving alliteration, I actually brought alliteration of the four, but I thought, you know, can I use that alliteration now? But you go through yourself. Are they peace? No, no peace, leave it out.

So we're working in the reverse order here, aren't we? We were noticing this morning that we moved from the outside in, but obviously practically now we have to work from the inside out, but we have the idea of a cleansed man, we have the idea of a moral fitness, and then we're working out towards the... So what our brother Mark is saying is this, that from verse number 7, it's the order in which the garments were placed onto Aaron as he would receive the garments. So we've had the description of the garments, Exodus chapter 28, we've had the documentation of the garments, Exodus chapter 39, now it's dressing in the garments, Leviticus chapter 8, and then if you want to go to Numbers chapter 20, it's a man being dispossessed of the garments. There was a day came that Aaron and Moses, they went up onto Mount Hor and Moses took those garments from Aaron and he put them onto Eliezer, his son.

So here's a man being dressed in order that he will represent the people as he goes in to the presence of God. The white linen tunic here that's being put on him, speaking to us of Christ's own intrinsic personal righteousness on resurrection ground. This is the man who's going to go in, and we are made the righteousness of God in him.

Can I just ask you, I just want to make sure, you're not saying that we get the personal righteousness of Christ, are you? No, no. Good, okay. No, no, no, no, we have no links with Christ prior to the cross.

See, there's a thing being taught and has been taught in Reformed theology for years, and that is that when a person gets saved, they get Christ's righteousness. Now that is not biblically correct, in fact it is not even correct to say that they get God's righteousness. One person's personal righteousness cannot be conveyed to another.

But you say, what do we get? We get a righteousness which has been provided from God through the person of the Lord Jesus. It's a righteous standing. That's it.

Now, anything else on the clothing? And we will have to leave it. Go ahead. You're not going to go through them all again? I wasn't, because we've been through them all this morning, but do you want to? No, no, no.

No, okay. Again, we have to make a distinction right between Aaron's clothing, if he is a picture of our great high priest, and his son's clothing, if we're going to stick with the strict order here. Sure.

So the son's clothing is found in verse number 13, Moses brought Aaron's sons, put the coats upon them, girded them with girdles, put bonnets upon them, as the Lord commanded Moses. So if you want to introduce it to ourselves, the practical thing is seen in verse number 13 for us. So what about the anointing then? We've moved, we've seen Aaron and his sons washed, Aaron is personally clothed, Aaron's sons will be clothed.

Verse number 10, Moses takes the anointing oil, and he anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and he sanctified them. He sprinkled the wrath upon the altar seven times. He anoints the altar, and then he comes, verse number 12, and he poured the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and he anointed him.

So there's three anointings. There's the anointing of the tabernacle, there's the anointing of the altar and the vessels out in the court, and then there's the personal anointing of Aaron's head as the oil is poured upon him. So there's a common element then being applied to all of these things.

Sure. So the place, first of all, and the vessels and what not is anointed, and then the priests that are going to function there are anointed too. So there's both the place and the people.

Good. Now the anointing oil, what does it speak of? If we can identify that, then we can move to Exodus 30, we'll introduce Exodus 30, and then we move on to other things in the Bible reading. What is the anointing oil? What does it speak of, Brother Mark? Thank you, William.

The unique specialness of this anointing oil, it could only be used on this occasion, the fragrance of it, something that could not be compounded for any lesser use. I think William's definition there is helpful, the fragrance of Christ. The fragrance of Christ.

So you see the fragrance of Christ, but it's produced in us through the Holy Spirit. Is that how you view it? And it was poured upon, this oil was poured upon Aaron, and you have a reference to that in Psalm 133, the precious ointment upon the head that went down upon his beard, even Aaron's beard, down to the skirts of his garment, it was poured upon him, and no quantity mentioned, so he giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. That's by the Lord, to the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's right. Now, what we're looking at is where in Exodus 30, there was a holy anointing oil that was produced. It was made of four principal spices.

It was made of myrrh, and sweet cinnamon, and sweet calamus, and cassia. Now, if our brethren want to spiritualize those, I'd be happy if they want to do that, but I would suggest it speaks of graces produced by the Holy Spirit of God, and Aaron received this anointing. You remember in the Old Testament, the king was anointed, and the prophet was anointed, and here's the high priest, and he is anointed, and of course, we have received an anointing.

You remember that both John and Paul, they speak, and John says, we have received an anointing, we have received an anointing from the Holy One. You say, when did that take place? Well, here's Aaron and his sons, they're washed and clothed, and now they're anointed, and for us, the anointing took place when we trusted the Lord Jesus. It took place at the moment of conversion.

And from that, going back again to Titus 3 and 5, washing of the regeneration and the renewing of the Spirit which He has shared on us above. Very good, and that links the two together, and there's a number of passages in the New Testament that link the receiving of the Spirit directly to the moment of conversion. If you want corroboration of it, go to the book of Romans.

Romans 8 will do it. You'll find it where our brother has done it, in the book of Titus. You'll find it in the book of Galatians.

Galatians chapter 3, received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith. And so, at the moment of conversion, Ephesians chapter 1, you will remember that at that point, we received the Holy Spirit. And this fragrance, this fragrance of Christ, as we're using as the interpretation, since from the moment of conversion, we're indwelt by the Spirit of God, and we have a spiritual ability, if you will, to live for God, there should be the fragrance of Christ in our lives.

We should be a testimony to Him continually. David. Now, in verse 10, when you have the anointing oil, anointing the tabernacle and everything within it, we would say that's pretty exhaustive, right? And then it, but then verse 11 moves outside and the labor is anointed and the altar.

But of course, there's the unique reference of the sprinkling of the altar seven times. Any thoughts on why that receives special attention? I have thought that primarily that will be where the people could receive blessing from. They could bring a burnt offering and it was that altar that would receive what they brought.

And so the seven times, it always speaks of completeness or something that's complete before God. But perhaps you have something else in mind. I just wondered if it's highlighting the significance, the importance of the function of the altar.

Good. And bringing them near. Yes.

And again, in relation to the spirit of our Lord Jesus in His death, it was through the eternal spirit that He offered Himself without spot on to God. Very good. So it means for the altar.

Good. And we've been emphasizing in the earlier Bible reading the tangible nature of the system and we've thought about what was seen and we've thought about what was heard and we can think about the things that were touched. And there was, this is another sense that's involved.

And there must have been, you know, aspects of tabernacle service that weren't particularly pleasant to smell. But the fragrance that's associated here with the consecration of the priest is something when we think of the character of Christ and we think of the graces and the virtues that are seen in Him, we can appreciate the appropriateness of this unique and special fragrance. Very good.

So we've got the fragrance of Christ seen here on Aaron, the high priest, and of course there was another fragrance because there was an incense altar and there was incense that was offered on the incense altar and as our brother said, practically, you think of all the blood that was shed and you think of the animals that died. The tabernacle, it wouldn't have been a very pleasant place for the smell, but there were these aspects where God found a fragrance that ascended onto Him. And even some of the aspects that we probably wouldn't have found particularly palatable that were a sweet savor to God because they spoke of Christ.

Sure. Very good. That's in the burnt offering, the peace offering.

Good. I mean, I'm sure they smelled nice at the start, but probably not when you got a bit through. Good.

Now, can we move to the second section, if that's okay? Is there anything else that our brethren would like to touch in those first, from verse number six to verse number 13? No. That's good. Sorry, it's not good, but... Let's move to the second section.

We're now moving down to verse number 22. And from verse number 22, we'll move to the end of the chapter and it's the order and objective. We look at consecration.

We're going to take a look at this ram that was offered. We'll take a look at identification, the laying on of hands, the application of the blood, and we'll see what that means for us. The appreciation of the sacrifice, the seven things which are mentioned as we consider the ram.

And then of course, sanctification and continuation, they continued for seven days. So the first one then, it's verse number 22, he brought the other ram, the ram of consecrations. Could you just in a very simple way, brother, help us with this word, consecration? It's not a word we necessarily use every day.

It's a very important word in terms of our Christian experience. As our brother Mark knows, it's actually quite a challenging word because it literally means to fill the hands. And so what we are learning here is these men are having their hands filled so that they can serve God.

Now that's what we're learning here. As you and I are here, there should be consecration in our lives. And the whole point is this, that we fill our hands, whether it's the fragrance of Christ or filling our hands in service, it's all so that we can serve and honor the Lord that has called us out of darkness.

Do you want to develop that? No, I'm very happy with that. I suppose the one thing I would add with that is we find them initially with empty hands because their hands are placed on the ram. Something has to be given to them to fill their hands.

They come empty, they're filled, and they serve God with that. And that's God's grace. What we have to serve him with, we receive from him.

So their hands are placed on the sacrifice. Then there's blood that is placed upon their hands. As a consequence, then, their hands are filled.

So you can see the order in our service. We come with empty hands, we put our hands upon the sacrifice, there's blood which is being placed upon our hands, meaning that our hands are consecrated to God, and then our hands are filled so that we can serve. Just a very brief comment, just to fill in the little bit that we skipped over.

Aaron did require a sin offering. The Lord Jesus obviously didn't for himself, but there was atonement required first of all. We require atonement.

And then you have the ram for the burnt offering. That speaks of acceptance. And Aaron needed that.

We are accepted in the beloved one. And now we're eligible to serve. And so you have the avowal, if you will, to work for God.

So there's lots of lovely pictures going on here. There was a sin offering offered first. That speaks of forgiveness from God.

Then there was a burnt offering offered. That speaks of favor with God. And now there's this ram of consecration.

It's going to be offered, and so we're going to be brought into the service of God, faithfully. Again, coming back to these hands and the consecration word, I noticed that, and I don't want to move you on ahead, but you referred to the blood on the thumb, and that speaks of consecrated hands. But it's the thumb that we use to grasp, and that blood will affect what we grasp, both in terms of what we can no longer hold on to, what we have to let go, and we cannot fill our hands in service for God if we are holding on to things that are not pleasing to him.

Very good. I appreciate that. Maybe I'll get you to repeat that when we come down to the blood on the ear and on the thumb and on the toe.

You will notice that it was a ram, and that's always instructive to look at where the ram comes in in Scripture. For example, you'll remember, I think the first one that occurs in Scripture is Genesis 15. You remember Abraham was to take a ram, and then you'll recall in Genesis 22, at Moriah, there's a ram.

There was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. Whenever it's a lamb, it speaks of the submission of Christ. Whenever it's a ram, it speaks of the majesty of Christ.

One speaks of the meekness of the Savior, the other the majesty of the Savior. So let's leave that one. Our brethren would like to push on, and so would I, with 45 minutes.

We move from consecration, the ram, the majesty of the person of the Savior, and now we move to identification. They had to lay their hands upon the head of the ram. What are they identifying with? I think that they are identifying with the perfections of the sacrifice that is there.

Are you happy with that? Yeah. Eight chapters later, Heron will have his hands on another animal, and then identifying in a far different way. That's exactly right.

I think David, too, what David's referring to is the day of atonement. Now when you go to Leviticus 1, it seems to be one hand, the man that brought that animal, the burnt offering. Here, I would suggest it's most likely one hand.

In Leviticus 16, it seems to be that Aaron would put both his hands on the head of the sacrifice on the day of atonement. Here I would suggest it's identification with Christ. I'm sure everyone here remembers that moment when they identified themselves with the sacrifice, when they came to the Lord Jesus, when they trusted him.

Actually, this word is used in the book of the Psalms. They laid their hands. It has the idea of laying heavily.

It is the word used, thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy ways, Satan. So the identification, and then we're moving now to the third one. We're going to notice the application of the blood.

Now the blood was placed. If you look at it, verse number 23, Moses takes of the blood of the slain animal and he puts it on the tip of the right ear. Then he puts it on the thumb of the right hand, and then he puts it on the toe, the great toe of his right foot.

Why is it, brethren, that the ear is first? Very good. Is the ear linked with obedience? Sure. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear willingly and obediently.

So isn't that the order that the Savior acted on? He was always the one that heard. I think you referenced Isaiah 50 this morning, Mark. Morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to heareth the learned.

And so the Savior is the perfect example. You remember the Hebrew servant of Exodus 21. His ear bore through with an awe.

You remember Psalm number 40. Mine ears hast thou digged. You recall Hebrews chapter 10.

It moves from the singular ear to the dual ears. It moves over a body. Hast thou prepared me? He was always willing to listen to what God would say, and it culminated in a sacrifice of Calvary.

So the ear for obedience, and the hand for service, and the foot for walk. So all of the activity of these men would be marked with the application of the blood. And so it should be for us.

I think there's a lovely picture of that in the house in Bethany. You have Mary. The Lord had her ear.

Sure. Right. Then you had Martha.

She served. The Lord had her hands. And you had Lazarus, the man who was dead, but now he's up and walking again.

He's known for his new walk for sure. There's a man walking for God. So you're getting the feet there.

You get the feet. Yes. I think you're pushing that.

But anyway. I enjoy that. On their bodies they would have the very tangible reminders of the costly sacrifice that was needed to bring them into service for God.

Maybe we could add that word. Are you happy with the word costly for the ram? Very good. So coming back to the order here, it's one of the lessons that we're learning here that mere activity is not enough.

What is needed is obedience. And there are many believers who are active, but they're not obedient. Yes.

That'll not do. Sure. And they've got to listen.

First Mark. I know beloved believers, and they say, the Lord directed me. The Lord has given me this direction.

And you come to the scripture. And if they'd read the scriptures, they would have found that the Lord would never have directed them in that way. And the problem is this.

They haven't had the blood applied to the ear. They haven't. First of all, listen to what the Lord says.

And so here, practically, the blood is placed upon the ear. It's upon the thumb and it's upon the great toe of the right foot. Now, practically for us, what about a consecrated ear? Do we listen to what God says in the scriptures? What about our hands? Are we practically working for the Lord and serving him in the manner that he would call us to do? And what about our feet? Are we going anywhere today that would bring dishonor to the Lord and actually be against the very thing that we're learning in Leviticus chapter eight? John, this here is a peace offering.

And yet the application of the blood is different. Sure. What would we learn from that? Well, the peace offering itself brings us into fellowship with God.

So you notice the progression. When it's the sin offering, I'll repeat it for you, it's forgiveness from God. When it's the burnt offering, it's favor before God.

When it's the peace offering, it's fellowship with God. And these men are now brought into fellowship with God. And such is the fellowship they enjoy.

When the blood is placed upon their ear, they do not want to do anything that will break that fellowship. Right. So their activity is going to be marked by that.

Good. And any activity we're involved in for God must be marked with fellowship with God. Good.

And that will ratify our service. If it's marked by fellowship with the Lord, then our service will be the right kind of service. Now, is there anything else on the blood that's being... Sure.

Sure. Our brother... I'll just repeat your question, if that's okay. He has said that there are some, and they are teaching now, that we don't have to confess our sin, that the blood has taken care of all sin.

In a sense, there is one sense that our sins have all been forgiven. At conversion, sin, past, present, and future was all forgiven. If you want proof of that, go to the book of Colossians, Colossians 2, verse number 13.

Having forgiven us all trespasses. But, 1 John is very clear. This is not now a link of union, this is a link of communion.

Now they need to be maintained in fellowship with God in 1 John, and 1 John says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So it is incumbent upon me to make sure, as we used to be taught, that we keep short accounts with God. What are the consequences of continued service in the absence of fellowship? We can delude ourselves for quite some period of time.

Sure, and part of it is this, that we ourselves are out of touch with God, and we are emphasizing the service itself without the character in which we should serve. What are the consequences? What actually happens to us as gatherings of believers or individuals if this carries on? Well, if you go to the book of Corinthians, you know that some of those believers, they were taken away. So they actually died because of wrong acts of service for the Lord.

They hadn't maintained that character that was needed. Yet God can be gracious too. That's right.