Leviticus 8:1-17 NKJV
8 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; 3 and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”
4 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord commanded to be done.”
6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him. 8 Then he put the breastplate on him, and he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate. 9 And he put the turban on his head. Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to consecrate them. 12 And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.
13 Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put hats on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
14 And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering, 15 and Moses killed it. Then he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. 16 Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. 17 But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The next few days of readings focus on the ordination of the Old Testament priests. As the divinely appointed founder of the OT divine service, Moses conducted the inaugural rite of ordination for Aaron and his sons. Moses’ instructions are from God Himself. Even though he was not a priest, Moses officiated in this rite as the divine lawgiver and so established the priesthood as an institution in Israel. Even though he did all this only once, his actions set a precedent for all subsequent rites of ordination.
The members of the congregation were present for the ordination because the priests were ordained to represent them before God. God is the most important agent because He ultimately is the one who ordained the priestly candidates. He gave the instructions that are carried out in the ordination rite. He authorized the priests to minister on His behalf to Israel, and to represent them to Him.
Dr. John Kleinig, in his Leviticus commentary, writes: “Through his anointing, the high priest received the right of access to the tabernacle, the altar, and the basin. Through the anointing of their vestments, the priests received their right of access to the altar and the food from the altar. Hence, each day during the week of ordination, the daily ritual for their ordination ended with a sacred meal in the sanctuary” (pp. 201-202).
God still calls a man to the Office of the Holy Ministry through the means of a congregation of His people. No Call, no Office. When a man has been put into the Office, he is therefore obligated to speak and act for God – He must preach God’s Word rightly and administer the Sacraments faithfully, so that God can gift and bless His people. The Office of the Holy Ministry, therefore, is Christ Himself coming to you to forgive the sins you repent of, and to strengthen your faith by virtue of your Baptism as well as His body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for the pastoral Office through which You work and by which You bless Your people. Amen.