Leviticus 8:18-9:22
Next there was the ram for a burnt offering which tells us of the sweet savor of Christ’s devoted obedience which we have already spoken of in our talk on Exodus 29. Then there was the second ram — the ram of consecration — the blood of which was sprinkled on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on his right thumb, and on the great toe of his right foot. This was done to Aaron’s sons too. It speaks of Christ’s obedient, consecrated life even unto death and also of how the same devotedness should be the character of our lives. Of course Aaron himself had been anointed with oil (typical of the Holy Spirit), first before the blood was put on, for he typifies Christ. With us the blood must come first, for we must be cleansed from our sins before we can be indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God.
After the blood had been put upon them, Aaron and his sons were given the wave offering. So in worship how we delight to present Christ to God in all the excellence of His Person and work.
Spiritual Power and Priceless Blood
The anointing oil and the blood were to be sprinkled upon Aaron and his sons and upon their garments. Priestly service must be by the power of the Spirit, while never forgetting the cost of our redemption, even the precious blood of Christ. But how blessed to be identified with Christ as the One who has received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33), after having accomplished that great redemptive work.
For seven days Aaron and his sons were to abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, feeding upon that which typified accomplished redemption, and the glory of the Lord did not appear to the people until the eighth day. Surely this is a beautiful picture of the church’s place now. While Israel has not seen the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ, we do, and we are in a place of nearness to Himself through sovereign grace on the ground of accomplished redemption. There we can feed upon the blessed fruits of what He has done in that hidden place of separation, like Aaron and his sons together at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. May our souls be stirred to enter into and enjoy these things in fuller measure, and may we count it a privilege to keep the charge of the Lord until He comes again — a moment which is very near at hand!
Wonder and Worship
On the eighth day Aaron brought a sin offering and a burnt offering, while the children of Israel brought a sin offering, a burnt offering, peace offerings, and a meat offering mingled with oil. Then “all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord” (Leviticus 9:5). They were all present to see the wonderful things which were to take place that day, and if in any measure we are able to lay hold of the marvelous truths seen in type here, we will wonder and worship too!
Aaron, once again a type of Christ, took all the sacrifices and offered them before the people in God’s appointed way. The only part that Aaron’s sons had in all this was to bring the blood to Aaron, and since they typify the church, what a wonderful picture we see here of the time when the Lord Jesus comes in glory for the deliverance of Israel, for we will be with Him then — our robes washed in the blood of the Lamb. We will be, as it were, “bringing the blood” as the ground of our redemption — and of Israel’s too!
For Further Meditation
1. What did our redemption cost God?
2. The figure described here shows how Aaron and his sons delighted to present Christ to God. Practically speaking, what does it mean to “present Christ to God”? How can we do that each day of our lives?
3. A good and relatively simple source of instruction on consecration can be found in God’s Way of Peace — God’s way of Rest, Power and Consecration — God’s Way of Holiness by E. Dennett.