Leviticus 8:18-36 NKJV
18 Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19 and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. 21 Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23 and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. 25 Then he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh; 26 and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh; 27 and he put all these in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the Lord. 29 And Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ part of the ram of consecration, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.
31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire. 33 And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you. 34 As he has done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to make atonement for you. 35 Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.” 36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.
The rites and ceremonies of the ordination of the first Old Testament priests continue to be revealed in today’s reading. Of special note is the application of the ram’s blood on certain body parts of Aaron’s sons. In this unique act of purification, they were specifically cleansed for their service as priests. By the purification of these body parts, the priests were purified so completely that they were qualified to share in the Lord’s holiness, without desecrating it by their impurity. The right ear of each candidate was purified to hear and obey the Word of the Lord. The right thumb of each candidate was purified to handle the holy things of God. The right big toe of each candidate was purified to walk on holy ground. This rite of ordination involved the Lord’s admission of the priests into His presence and His acceptance of them as priests.
The Lord makes clear here in Leviticus 8 that His priests are not only specifically chosen by Him, but also that those same priests are to do exactly as God has ordered, and not to deviate from those orders in any way. At the very least we understand that God wants things done orderly while worshipping Him so that God’s people are rightly focused on Him. And He wants only men – not all, but some – to carry out the rites and sacrifices appropriate to their Office as priests.
To be sure, the rites and sacrifices given to and carried out by the OT priests all pointed to and were fulfilled by Christ Himself as the Great High Priest through His Passion, suffering, death, and resurrection as He atoned for the sins of the world. Hebrews 9:11 states, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.” Christ continues to serve you through your pastor/priest in pronouncing forgiveness in Holy Absolution, washing you clean in Holy Baptism, proclaiming Christ crucified for you in the preaching, and delivering His own body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine in the Supper
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for your sacrifice for my sins. Strengthen my faith in You alone. Amen.