There I Will Meet With You

Good morning, everyone. It's a joy to worship with you. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 29.

Exodus 29 · chapter mention

And if you don't have a Bible, raise your hand and we can bring a copy of it over to you that you can use while you're here.

Exodus chapter 29.

Exodus 29 · chapter mention

We'll be going through the whole chapter.

I'll also be referencing Exodus 30, 22 to 33, but I'm only going to read Exodus 29 at the beginning.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Father, we come to you and humble ourselves before you.

We incline our ears to hear from your Word because we believe that you speak to us and address us in your Word.

We want to be challenged.

We want to be comforted by the truths of the Scriptures.

We want to be reminded of your grace toward us in Jesus, our great high priest.

And we want to be a living sacrifice, acceptable and pleasing to you.

So please, even in this time of worship, consecrate us for yourself.

We ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

If you are able, please stand with me for the reading of God's Word from Exodus 29.

Now, this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.

Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil.

You shall make them a fine wheat flour.

You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket and bring the bull and the two rams.

You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

Then you shall take the garments and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban.

You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.

Then you shall bring his sons and put coats on them.

And you shall gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and bind caps on them.

And the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever.

Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting.

Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.

Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

And shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger.

And the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar.

And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them.

And burn them on the altar.

But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp.

It is a sin offering.

Then you shall take one of the rams.

And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.

And you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar.

Then you shall cut the ram into pieces and wash its entrails and its legs and put them with its pieces and its head.

And burn the whole ram on the altar.

It is a burnt offering to the Lord.

It is a pleasing aroma of food offering to the Lord.

You shall take the other ram and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.

And you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons.

And on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet.

And throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar.

Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar and of the anointing oil.

And sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and his sons garments with him.

He and his garments shall be holy and his sons and his sons garments with him.

You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them.

And the right thigh for it is a ram of ordination.

And one loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil.

And one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord.

You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord.

Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as a pleasing aroma before the Lord.

It is a food offering to the Lord.

You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord.

And it shall be your portion.

And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priest's portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination from what was Aaron's and his sons.

It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel for it is a contribution.

It shall be a contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.

The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him.

They shall be anointed in them and ordained in them.

The son who succeeds him as priest who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place shall wear them seven days.

You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place.

And Aaron and his son shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration.

But an outsider shall not eat of them because they are holy.

And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire.

It shall not be eaten because it is holy.

Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons according to all that I have commanded you.

Through seven days shall you ordain them.

And every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement.

Also you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it and shall anoint it to consecrate it.

Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it and the altar shall be most holy.

Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

Now, this is what you shall offer on the altar.

Two lambs a year old day by day regularly.

One lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.

And with the first lamb a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with the fourth of a hen of beaten oil and a fourth of a hen of wine for a drink offering.

The other lamb you shall offer at twilight and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning for a pleasing aroma of food offering to the Lord.

It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord.

Where I will meet with you to speak to you there.

There I will meet with the people of Israel and it shall be sanctified by my glory.

I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar.

Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.

I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.

And they shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them.

I am the Lord their God.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

A few years ago when I was visiting a church member who was hospitalized during the COVID pandemic.

I remember visiting and the hospitals were at the time taking extra precautions for safety.

They gave me a brand new mask that I had to wear without which I could not enter the hospital.

And if I remember correctly they also asked if I was experiencing any symptoms of illness and took my temperature before letting me in.

Even after that I didn't get to go straight into the room where this church member was hospitalized lest I contaminate that room.

So I had to wait in the waiting room and a nurse went and escorted the church member out to the waiting room where I could meet with her across the table.

You couldn't there were also guidelines for how you can interact within the waiting room and only for a limited time.

It was a very unusual time and never before had I been as acutely aware of the dangers of spreading viruses.

Because of the vulnerability of the patients in the hospital, some of whom were immunocompromised, I was treated like a contaminant, a contagion, because I was a potential carrier of the virus.

Exodus 29 tells us about all the hoops that the priests had to jump through in order to be consecrated enough to minister at the tent of meeting, at the tabernacle,

as mediators for God's people.

And these priests must have felt something similar to what I felt during that hospital visit.

Not because the person they were meeting was sick, but because the person they were meeting, God, was holy.

The extensive process of washing and being clothed with special garments, anointing and sprinkling and sacrificing and eating that was required for the priests to be consecrated for service at the tabernacle would have communicated to them that they are a contagion.

They're a pollutant that required cleansing before they can approach the holy presence of God.

It's important to note that this is no mere formality.

God is not some bureaucratic overlord that just likes to clutter things with red tape that people to jump through and clear.

God is irreproachable.

He's beyond reproach.

And because of that, God is unapproachable in his holiness.

He can tolerate no one and no thing that is not purified or consecrated, set apart for him.

This is why only a commitment to a regular, ongoing sacrifice enables the priests to minister within the tabernacle.

Instead of glossing over these detailed requirements as tedious and wearisome, we need to see God's heart behind them.

Why God provides these sacrifices.

And we see that here in chapter 29, verses 43 to 46.

Please look in your Bibles, verses 43 to 46.

Follow along as I read it.

There I will meet with the people of Israel, and he shall be sanctified by my glory.

I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar.

Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.

I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.

And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them.

I am the Lord their God.

Some of the most important recurring themes throughout the book of Exodus are all summarized here in these few verses.

The Lord's plan to make himself known to his people, as it says in verse 46, which has been repeated throughout the book.

His plan to be their God, which has been repeated throughout the book.

His plan to meet with them, which has been repeated throughout the account of the construction of the tent of meeting.

His plan to dwell among them, which has been repeated again and again throughout the tabernacle narrative as well.

In fact, the tabernacle means the dwelling place of God.

So note how all of these stated objectives of God, these explicit objectives that God gives us here in his word,

are all relational, to make himself known, to be their God, to meet with them, to dwell among them.

God's ultimate goal is to redeem a people for himself among whom he himself can dwell.

The sacrifices themselves are not the end.

They're just the means of getting there, a means for fellowship between God and man.

God did not create humans so that they'd make sacrifices and provide him with food while he rests,

as is the case in some pagan mythologies.

God did not mandate sacrificial rituals so that he could be entertained by us.

God is not going on a power trip demanding these sacrifices just because he can.

God made provisions for these sacrifices for our sake so that he might meet with us,

so that our sins might be atoned for, so that he can dwell with us.

That's why this passage is in the scriptures to teach us that God consecrates the priests

and the tent of meeting so that he might dwell among his people.

We're going to look at that main point in two parts.

First, we're going to look at the consecration of the priests and the altar.

And then secondly, we're going to look at the consecration of the Israelites.

That second point is going to be very short,

so don't despair if I spend most of my time in the first point.

Verses 1 to 2 give us the ingredients list, the materials list,

that you need for the consecration of the priests.

And it says,

To consecrate the priests for service, they need a bull, two unblemished lambs,

unleavened bread, unleavened cakes, and unleavened wafers.

We'll see their specific uses in the following verses,

but for now, we need to recognize how these are reminiscent of the Passover.

Remember, at the Passover, there's the unblemished lamb,

and there's the unleavened bread that's consumed by the Israelites.

When God goes through Egypt and judges eat the Egyptians and strikes down their firstborns,

but the Israelites' firstborn males are spared

because they had sacrificed an unblemished lamb and daubed its blood on their doors,

and that consumed the sacrifice and the unleavened bread.

And at the beginning of this passage, it reminds us of the Passover and the Exodus.

And at the end of this passage, in verse 46, it reminds us of the same,

where God says,

So this ties the Exodus and the tabernacle together.

This is God's way of telling the Israelites,

the same Yahweh, the Lord God, who with mighty signs and wonders delivered you

and redeemed you from your slavery in Egypt.

That very God is who I am, and I am going to dwell among you.

That mighty God, that Lord God himself is going to dwell in your very presence.

And the first step in consecrating a priest is the washing.

It says in verse 4,

So this, again, the mention of the entrance to the Tent of Meeting clearly communicates

that this is so that they can enter in.

This is purification before they can be in the presence of God.

And after this consecration period,

the priests would only be required to wash their hands and feet before they minister.

But at this occasion, it seems like they're getting a full-on bath.

It says that they're to wash them, their whole selves, with water.

And it's only after this ritual bath that they can put on the holy garments,

the priestly garments that we talked about last week,

which is the second step of the consecration,

being clothed with the special garments.

And after they are clothed,

verse 7 tells us that Moses is to take the anointing oil

and pour it on Aaron's head and anoint him.

Later on in Exodus 30,

we learn that Aaron's sons are also anointed with oil.

And not only Aaron's sons,

but also the furnishings and the Tent of Meeting itself

are also anointed with the anointing oil.

However, at this point of the initial consecration of the priesthood,

it's only Aaron the high priest who is anointed with oil

and set apart in that way.

So this is a special anointing,

which is why throughout Leviticus,

the high priest,

Aaron and his people who would succeed him in that role,

is sometimes referred to as the anointed priest

to distinguish them from the other priests.

The high priest is the special priest.

And according to Exodus 30, 23, 24,

the anointing oil was to be a blended perfume,

not of common, ordinary spices,

but of the finest spices.

It says,

of liquid myrrh,

500 shekels,

and of sweet-smelling cinnamon,

half as much,

that is 250,

and 250 of aromatic cane,

and 500 of cassia,

according to the shekel of the sanctuary,

and a hen of olive oil.

Shekel is,

it's like 100 shekel is about two and a half pounds.

So if you add up the myrrh,

the cinnamon,

the aromatic cane,

and cassia,

that's 1,500 shekels,

which is 37.5 pounds worth of spices.

That's a lot of spices.

And they're supposed to mix all of that up

with a hen of olive oil.

A hen is about a gallon of olive oil.

So imagine a milk jug full of olive oil.

And considering that these are all spices

that weren't native to that land,

and were likely imported from other places

like modern-day Saudi Arabia or India,

they would have been extremely expensive

and precious,

and therefore unfamiliar to the ordinary Israelites.

Myrrh is a gum resin,

which is a thick, sticky substance

that oozes out of certain trees

when you cut it open.

It smells similar to licorice,

or anise,

has a sweet, spicy scent.

Cinnamon,

you guys are all hopefully familiar with.

Imagine the smell of cinnamon sticks

or cinnamon buns.

Sounds good right now.

Aromatic cane

is not a reference to sugar cane,

which would make it also delicious,

but to calamus,

a grass that gives a sweet scent,

an earthy, citrusy smell

when you crush it.

So the oil that's produced

from this aromatic cane

is called ginger grass.

It's very similar to lemongrass.

Cassia is a spice made from the bark

of certain East Asian evergreen trees.

It smells a lot like cinnamon,

so it's sometimes called Chinese cinnamon.

So the anointing oil

would have had a strong,

resinous, cinnamony, spicy scent,

very similar to the smells

associated with Christmas.

So like the resinous scent of pine trees,

the cinnamony aroma of mulled wine

and gingerbreads,

everything that this anointing oil touched

became holy.

God says in Exodus 30, 31 to 33,

this shall be my holy anointing oil

throughout your generations.

It shall not be poured

on the body of an ordinary person

and you shall make no other like it

in composition.

It is holy

and it shall be holy to you.

Whoever compounds any like it

or whoever puts any of it on an outsider

shall be caught off from his people.

This particular perfume mixture

of the anointing oil

was not to be reproduced

because it was to be associated

exclusively with the tabernacle

and it was not to be applied

to anything other than

the tabernacle itself

and it was not to be applied

to anyone apart from the priests

themselves who minister

in the tabernacle.

That's why the anointing oil

is called holy,

meaning it's set apart

for a special purpose.

If other things

and other people

smell the same,

it would no longer be special.

It would lose its sacred status.

Especially in the ancient Near East

where the climate is hot

and running water is rare.

It wasn't readily available

for frequent washing.

Most of you guys probably

took a shower this morning.

That is not possible all the time

in this context.

So imagine what you would smell

on an ordinary basis.

Sweaty body odor.

Thousands and thousands of people.

That's what you smell.

So you find one place

in the whole congregation of Israel

it smells different.

It smells sweet.

It smells of spice.

Cinnamon.

Gingerbread.

It sets the place apart.

You shall make no other

like it in composition.

You're supposed to make people

stand in awe of God

to recognize that

He is no common folk

but set apart from us.

It also served to distinguish

the priests of God

and in particular

the high priest

as set apart for God

in His dwelling place.

So imagine being

in that congregation

being in a room full of people

and then there's one person

who's wearing perfume.

Everybody else just smells

like body odor

but one person smells

like perfume.

That sets that person apart.

That's the purpose

of this anointing oil.

And usually

it was reserved for kings.

Kings were anointed with oil.

Prophet Samuel

anointed King David.

Zadok the priest

anointed King Solomon.

But in rare cases

prophets were also anointed.

Prophet Elisha

was anointed by Prophet Elijah.

And as we see

in our passage this morning

it's the priests

who are anointed

with special oil.

Aaron the high priest

was anointed.

The anointing

sets the people apart.

No one else

can sit on the throne

except for

the anointed King.

No one else

can enter into

the holy place

to minister within

God's presence

except

for the anointed priest.

This is why

it is significant

that Jesus

the most common title

that is given to him

is the Christ

which means

anointed one.

He

and he alone

can sit on the throne

of David

as the Messianic King.

And Jesus alone

can go into

the heavenly

tabernacle

the temple

to minister

in God's presence

on behalf of his people.

Jesus

is the one

who goes

where we cannot go

and does

what we cannot

do.

That's why

we worship

Jesus as

the Christ

and sing

in Christ

alone

my hope

is found.

After Aaron

is anointed

and he and his sons

are fully clothed

in the holy garments

it says in verse 9

and the priesthood

shall be theirs

by a statute forever

meaning indefinitely

until it comes

to a time of fulfillment

in Christ.

Thus you shall

ordain Aaron

and his sons.

The word

ordain

is a very

interesting word.

It occurs again

in verse 35

through seven days

shall you ordain them.

So the two references

bracket this passage

where all the details

of the sacrifices

are given.

It's for their

ordination.

In Hebrew

the word ordain

literally means

to fill the hands of

to fill someone's hands

with something.

The expression

likely originates

from the practice

of ceremoniously

placing some

object or article

of authoritative office

into the hands

of the person

that's being appointed.

For example

in some parts

of the ancient world

when you give

the governor

a mandate

to govern

you will place

in his hands

the seal

of his governorship

which he can use

to authenticate

the documents

to make them

official and authoritative

and the cord

of governorship

which he would wear

upon himself

as a sign

as a symbol

of his authority.

So you would place

those things

into their hands.

So that's

the invest

word invest

kind of communicates

that investing

someone with authority

or clothing them

with the right garments

for authority

and this practice

is actually

where we get

the English word

mandate

which comes from

the Latin word

for hand and give

to mandate

to give someone

a mandate

to mandate someone

is to give

something into

their hands.

And so Aaron

and his sons

are here being ordained.

They're being mandated

charged with something

invested with authority

but what exactly

is their mandate?

What are their hands

being filled with?

So scan verses

10 to 25

with me

for the word hand

and its synonyms

and we'll see

exactly what's happening.

Verse 10

Aaron and his son

shall lay their hands

on the head

of the bull.

Verse 15

Aaron and his son

shall lay their hands

on the head

of the ram.

Verse 19

Aaron and his son

shall lay their hands

on the head

of the ram.

Again

verse 24 to 25

you shall put all these

on the palms of Aaron

and on the palms

of his sons

and wave them

for a wave offering

before the Lord

and you shall take them

from their hands

and burn them

on the altar

on top of the burnt offering

as a pleasing aroma

before the Lord.

What are Aaron and his son's

hands being filled with?

The sacrifices

and the offerings

on behalf

of God's people.

Bulls and rams

are too big

to literally

fill their hands with

so they just

lay their hands

simply

on the heads

of the animals

to identify

with that animal

saying

this is my charge

this belongs

to me.

This is not

a transference

of sin

from the priests

onto the animals

before the sacrifice

because it applies

even for sacrifices

that do not deal

with sin.

It's a way

of identifying

it's designating

the animals

as the priests

charge

to bring the sacrifices.

This is their

priestly mandate.

They are authorized

to minister

within the tent

of meeting

to make sacrifices

for God's people.

The following verses

give us a preview survey

of the various types

of sacrifices

that were offered.

It's later described

in more detail

in Leviticus 1-7

and there are

some discrepancies

between this

and Leviticus 1-7

because these are

the initial sacrifices

to consecrate

the priests

and those are

the subsequent

sacrifices

that would be given.

But there are

enough similarities

for it to be

a real preview.

First type of sacrifice

mentioned in verses

10-14

is the sin offering.

Aaron and his sons

are to lay their hands

on the head of the bull

then kill it

at the entrance

of the tent of meeting.

Then they are to put

some of the blood

on the horns

of the altar

and pour out the rest

at the base of the altar.

The organs and the fat

are to be burned up

on the altar

while the flesh

the skin

and the dung

are to be burned up

outside the camp.

And we learn later

in Leviticus 4

that sin offering

in particular

served to purify people

from unintentional sins

from the defiling effects

of unintentional sins.

It's appropriate

that the first sacrifice

during the consecration

of the priest

is a sin offering

because they must be

cleansed of their sins

even sins that they

didn't know

that they had committed

unwitting sins

before they can minister

in God's holy place.

The altar itself

is consecrated

during this process

with the application

of the blood

on the horn

and the base.

The second sacrifice

we see described

in verses 15 to 18.

Verse 18 calls it

a burned offering

to the Lord.

It is a pleasing aroma

of food offering.

It's not literal food

for God

that he eats.

It's a pleasing aroma.

God smells it.

And just as they did

with the bull

Aaron and his sons

are to lay their hands

on one of the rams

then kill it

at the entrance

of the tent of the meeting

and then they are

to throw its blood

against the size

of the altar this time

so now the whole altar

is covered

the horn, the size

and the base

and after this

the entire ram

the meat

the entrails

the legs

the head

is all to be burned up

on the altar.

As Lydicius 1.9 says

the burnt offering

is one of the most

costly kind of offering

because it consumes

the whole thing

completely.

Nothing is left over.

Pleasing aroma

to the Lord.

So a burnt offering

in this way

signifies Aaron

and his sons

being consecrated

completely for God's service.

Wholly given to the Lord

totally committed

to the Lord.

And then so having offered

the sin offering

for atonement

and the burnt offering

of consecration

the third sacrifice

is a wave offering

of fellowship.

We see later

in Leviticus 7

a wave offering

is a type of peace offering

or a fellowship offering.

It's distinctive

among the sacrifices

in that

some of its part

is eaten

by the priests

and the worshippers

representing their fellowship

with God.

So Aaron and his sons

are to lay their hands

on the other ram

that they have not yet

burned up

to kill it

and they are to

put its blood

this time

on the extremities

of Aaron

and his sons

on their right ear

on their right thumb

and on their right big toe

probably representing

their whole body

their whole selves

being cleansed

and consecrated for God.

So with consecrated ears

they are to listen to God

with consecrated feet

they go into God's presence

to serve

and with their consecrated hands

they serve and minister

at the table.

In future fellowship offerings

after the priests

are fully consecrated

the officiating priest

would receive

the right thigh

of the ram

to eat

and the other priests

would receive

the breast

of the ram

to eat

and the rest

of the meat

would be given

to the ordinary Israelites

to eat.

However on this occasion

because the priests

are not yet consecrated

it's Moses himself

who is consecrating

the priests

he takes the right thigh

and then the breast

is given

the breast is given

to Moses to eat

rather

and then the right thigh

is burned up

and then the proper offerings

are waived

before the Lord

presented to him

and then Aaron

and his sons

later get to partake

in the rest of the meat

as we see in verses

31 to 34.

And note that

this whole process

of ordaining

the priests

and consecrating them

and the altar

it takes seven days

that's repeated

three times

in this passage.

Verses 35 to 37

Thus you shall do

to Aaron

and to his sons

according to all

that I have commanded you

through seven days

shall you ordain them

and every day

you shall offer a bull

as a sin offering

for atonement

also you shall purify

the altar

when you make atonement

for it

and you shall anoint

it to consecrate it

seven days

you shall make atonement

for the altar

and consecrate it.

The number seven

is symbolic

of completeness

because God

created the world

in six days

and then rested

on the seventh day

so it was all finished

in seven days

and we're going

to look at this

a little more closely

in a couple weeks

but throughout

the tabernacle narrative

we find this phrase

Lord said to Moses

exactly seven times

six times

it is connected

to various instructions

regarding the construction

of the tabernacle

and on the seventh time

it is connected

to the instruction

regarding the Sabbath

again

Exodus 31

and that's intentional

so the construction

of the tabernacle

mirrors in one sense

the creation

of the world

it's kind of a

miniature universe

a new creation

that God

is bringing about

for the sake

of his people

and so it takes

seven days

completeness of days

for the priest

to be consecrated

it's not going to

take a few minutes

it's not going to

take a few hours

it's a rigorous process

because going into

the presence of God

and ministering there

is no small matter

and this process

of consecration

will have to be

repeated

generation

after generation

because Aaron

will eventually die

and his sons

will eventually die

and their sons

will have to succeed

them

and them succeeded

by their sons

it says in verses

28 to 30

it shall be for Aaron

and his sons

as a perpetual due

from the people

of Israel

for it is a contribution

it shall be a contribution

from the people

of Israel

from their peace offerings

their contribution

to the Lord

the holy garments

of Aaron

shall be for his sons

after him

they shall be anointed

within them

and ordained in them

the son who succeeds

him as priest

who comes into

the tent and meeting

to minister in the holy place

shall wear them

seven days

this is

an important note

because

the succession plan

reminds us

that the Aaronic

priesthood

is only a provisional

and temporary

solution

to our problems

it offers

no ultimate

abiding solution

to the problem

of how a holy God

can dwell among

a sinful people

and it wasn't meant

to provide

a permanent solution

because it was only meant

to point

to the ultimate solution

that God provides

for us in Jesus

Hebrews 7

23 to 28

I want to project

that for you

on the screen

it says this

now there have been

many of those priests

since death

prevented them

from continuing

in office

but because

Jesus lives forever

he is a permanent

priesthood

therefore he is able

to save completely

those who come to God

through him

because he always

lives to intercede

for them

such a high priest

truly meets

our need

one who is holy

blameless

pure

set apart

from sinners

exalted above the heavens

unlike the other

high priests

he does not need

to offer sacrifices

day after day

first for his own sins

and then for the sins

of the people

he sacrificed

for their sins

once for all

when he offered

himself

for the law

appoints as high priests

men in all

their weakness

but the oath

which came after

the law

appointed the son

who has been made

perfect

forever

day after day

Aaron and his sons

needed to make

first sacrifices

for themselves

their own sins

and then again

for the sins

of the people

it's like the labors

of Sisyphus

in Greek mythology

there's a king

named Sisyphus

who reigned over

what is now

modern day Corinth

and the man

manages

to cheat death

twice

and the so called

god of death

Hades is angry

that this king

cheated death

and so he punishes him

so Sisyphus

has to roll

this huge boulder

up a hill

and every time

the boulder

nears the top

it just rolls

right back down

and he has to start

all over again

in endless cycle

and that's why

sometimes people

refer to

futile labors

and difficult labors

as Sisyphian

that's what

the Aaronic

priest's labors

were like

will there ever

be

an end

to this

interminable

work

more blood

more animals

more sprinkling

will God

ever

deliver us

decisively

from sin

and death

every time

they made

sacrifices

for sin

there would be

still

more sin

to deal with

on the following

day

every time

it was

ultimately

futile

because

Hebrews 10

4 tells us

it is impossible

for the blood

of bulls and goats

to take

away

sins

these sacrifices

were not meant

to be the solution

they were meant

to point to

God's ultimate

solution

in Jesus

our great

high priest

and Jesus

offers himself

up

his own life

his own body

on the cross

as a sacrifice

for sins

once and for all

so that we

never have to

repeat that

sacrifice

again

that's why

we don't

call

communion

a mass

or a sacrifice

it's not

a sacrifice

the sacrifice

has been

finished

it's been

offered

once and

for all

so we now

commune with him

in his fellowship

meal

we eat with

God

because

the sacrifice

has already

been made

and we

follow this

order

remember

the order

of the

sin offering

and then

the burnt

offering

and then

the fellowship

offering

Jesus offers

our sin

offering

and then

we offer

up ourselves

as the burnt

offering

of worship

and that's

what the

following verses

talk about

in the

consecration

of the

Israelites

in verses

38 to 46

after the

consecration

of the

priests

it gives us

some instructions

about the

regular sacrifices

that are to be

made after

the consecration

period is

over

and this

includes

two lambs

a year old

day by day

regularly

one in the

morning

one at

twilight

that are to

be sacrificed

and remember

that the

burnt offering

is the one

where the

whole thing

is burned

up entirely

into smoke

and I

mentioned to

you before

that the

Bible

theologically

connects

the bronze

altar

in the

courtyard

where the

sacrifices

are burnt

is connected

to the

golden

incense

the altar

of incense

inside the

holy place

they both

are square

they both

have horns

on its

corners

and they

both have

things burning

on it

at the

same time

at the

bronze

altar

twilight

and in

the morning

the sacrifice

burnt offering

is offered

and literally

to burn

that's the

word burn

in Hebrew

is to

turn into

smoke

you turn

the offering

into smoke

and that

smoke

ascends

and that

smoke

ascending

to God

as a

pleasing

aroma

is represented

by the

incense

right before

the most

holy place

in the

golden

altar

and so

those two

things

are connected

and so

this is

God

the Israelites

as they

consecrate

themselves

to God

offer

themselves

up to

them

as

that

becomes

a pleasing

aroma

to God

and worship

to him

think again

of what an

extravagant

offering

the burnt

offering

is

some of

you guys

are meat

lovers

not

once

twice

a day

the whole

lamb

is

gone

it's

burnt

up

the leg

of lamb

what's your

favorite

meat

the lamb

shank

the lamb

loin

chops

all of

it's

gone

to the

flames

I'm sure

I'm not

alone

in

having

the

experience

of

the

pain

of

leaving

your

meat

too long

in the

oven

so it's

burnt

to a

crisp

and it's

unfit

for human

consumption

you open

that

the smoke

comes out

and you

go

what a

waste

maybe

you still

eat it

because you

can't

waste

it

what a

waste

all of

that tasty

choice

meat

which should

have been

for my

mouth

and for

my

stomach

all

gone

up

in

flames

that's

the

point

of

the

burnt

offering

it's

lavish

it's

extravagant

it

spares

no

expense

because

God

is

worthy

of

that

worship

is not

a context

to be

frugal

or

stingy

God's

people

are not

to

reserve

any

part

of

their

sacrifice

for

burnt

offering

or

any

part

of

their

own

lives

for

themselves

they

are

to

be

wholly

given

to

him

and

wholly

devoted

to

his

service

they are

not to

love

God

with

half

of

their

hearts

they are

to love

him

with

their

whole

heart

whole

soul

and

whole

mind

and

whole

strength

and

that's

how

we

ought

to

live

brothers

and

sisters

Romans

12

wanted to

I

appeal

to

you

therefore

brothers

and

sisters

by the

mercies

of

God

to

resent

your

bodies

as

a

living

sacrifice

holy

and

acceptable

to

God

which

is

your

spiritual

worship

do

not

be

conformed

to

this

world

but

be

transformed

by

the

renewal

of

your

mind

that

by

testing

you

may

discern

what

is

the

will

of

God

what

is

good

and

acceptable

and

perfect

if

a

part

of

us

is

conformed

to

this

world

rather

than

transformed

in

accordance

with

God's

will

then

we

are

not

fully

consecrated

to

God

then

we

are

not

being

offered

to

God

as

a

whole

burnt

offering

we

were

just

singing

about

this

in

my

heart

in

my

soul

I

give

you

control

consume

me

burn

me

up

consume

me

from

the

inside

out

do

you

mean

that

brothers

and

sisters

what

part

imagine

a

room

that

represents

your

entire

life

everything

that's

in

your

life

is

represented

in

this

room

in

some

object

and

imagine

you

gave

God

free

reign

to

roam

about

the

room

to

grab

whatever

he

wants

and

he

can

take

it

for

himself

what

would

be

the

object

the

thing

in

your

life

that

you

would

start

to

get

nervous

about

and

say

oh

got

anything

but

that

what

is

it

your

romances

your

finances

your

friends

your

children

your

career

let us

not be

stingy

with

God

and

withhold

a part

of

our

lives

from

his

sovereign

rule

instead

let's

give

it

all

up

lavishly

extravagantly

pour out

our

love

on

him

because

he's

given

us

himself

in

Jesus

because

Christ

our

great

anointed

priest

offered

himself

as a

sin

offering

on

our

behalf

because

he's

died

once

and

for

all

on

the

cross

for

our

sins

we

can

now

offer

ourselves

up

as

burnt

offerings

to

God

as

a

pleasing

aroma

when we

turn

from

our

sin

and

live

in

faith

and

obedience

and

consecrate

ourselves

to

him

that's

when

God

sends

his

Holy

Spirit

to

indwell

us

to

dwell

with

us

just

like

God

dwelled

in

the

tabernacle

and

met

with

God's

people

in

the

old

covenant

there

that's

what

the

Lord

had

promised

remember

these

summary

verses

there

I

will

meet

with

the

people

of

Israel

and

you

shall

be

sanctified

by

my

glory

I

will

dwell

among

the

people

of

Israel

and

will

be

their

God

and

they

shall

know

that

I

am

the

Lord

their

God

who

brought

them

out

of

the

land

of

Egypt

that

I

might

dwell

among

them

I

am

the

Lord

their

God

that's

God's

heart

for

you

to

know

him

so

that

he

might

meet

you

there

and

so

he

might

dwell

with

you

that's

God's

heart

for

you