
Moses had been on Mt. Sinai for some time now. He had been instructed on the laws of God as they pertain to personal conduct, altars, slaves, restitution, social justice, sabbaths and festivals, the future sanctuary, and furniture therein, the tabernacle the people were going to build, and the priests and their holy garments. In Exodus 29, God instructs Moses on how to prepare, or, “consecrate,” the priests who were to serve His people in His temple.
Moses was told to consecrate the priests. To do so, he had to wash them, dress them, and make offerings for them.
First, Moses was told to make a sin offering for the priestly candidates. He was told to bring them to the entrance of the tent and wash them with water. Then, he was to clothe them with the priestly garments, anoint them with oil, and “ordain” them.
To ordain literally means, “to fill the hand.” Anyone who is called into ministry will have their hands full, so to speak. We must! If we have nothing to give, we’ve no use in God’s house. We must be busy about God’s business when he has us involved in serving his people and his house. We have no time to slack or sloth as some who wear the titles in the church are so infamously known to do. We must ourselves continually receive from God in order to properly give nurture, console, comfort, correction, and instruction to His people. Therefore, our hands must first be filled. Our hands will be full if we would work for God.
These men were brought to the entrance, or, the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. This act symbolized their mediation and their standing between God and man.
After they were ordained, the offerings were to be made. One was a sin offering for the sins of these soon to be priests (Exodus 29:10-14.) One was a burnt offering wherein these me dedicated themselves to God (Exodus 29:15-18.) And one was to be a peace offering for the fellowship between God and man (Exodus 29:19-28.) Part of the blood from these offerings was put upon these men and sprinkled on their robes. This was to point us all to the necessity of Christ’s sacrificial blood covering us. They had to wear these blood-stained garments and make sacrifices for seven days in order for ordination to be complete. Not only that, but once they began to serve in the temple they had to make animal sacrifices daily. I imagine it was a pretty dirty job for someone wearing such elaborate clothing. One who faithfully serves God’s people is bound to get their hands, and robes, desperately dirty in doing so.
Only the priestly candidates could eat of the ram of ordination. Anything that touched the altar where these sacrifices were made became holy.
All of these preparations were done to magnify the seriousness and sacredness of the office. It was so they, and we, might understand the weight of the call of God when we hear it, and that those who are seeking position and influence in God’s house out of human ambition rather than a true call might not assume such things upon themselves. Many a man wreaks havoc, brings great judgement upon himself, and harms many within God’s church by putting himself forward for ministry out of greed and self-interest. Woe to him!
The whole seven day ceremony was meant to point they, their people, and we, to the gospel. Jesus is our high priest. He is our one mediator between we and the Father. If we are going to serve him, we must first be washed clean of sin and clothed with his sacrificial blood. We must understand the seriousness of our call, and we must prepare accordingly.
We live in a culture full of people who treat the offices of leadership within the church as day jobs and personality contests; power pulls and position pandering. Many lack respect and reverence in their knowledge, their attitudes, and even their dress. These things are evidenced clearly by their utter and complete unpreparedness. These things should not be so! If you would not preach the gospel and tend to God’s house for the joy of doing so and free of charge, you should not ever think yourself fit to do those things in exchange for a paycheck! The priesthood, the pastorate, and the leadership within the church are not day jobs! They are not popularity contests, power plays, or positions to covet! These are to be taken on only by the direct and decided call of God after much preparation and sobriety of thought over their consideration. Anyone who believes he is called to ministry should consider Exodus 29 carefully.
Caring for God’s people is the hardest job in the world, hands down. Caring for God’s people is the best job in the world, hands down. Amen.
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