Commentaries:
No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Leviticus 8:33.
Leviticus 8:33-35
Excerpted from: Lessons From the Eighth DayThe final example we will consider is in Leviticus 8, if you would turn there. Leviticus 8 & 9 are about the consecration of the priesthood, and the ritual the priests went through in preparation for service. There is a lot in these chapters, so I will just draw your attention to some things. But notice how much these instructions resemble the instructions for the Feast.
Like the Feast, the consecration of the priesthood took seven days. During that time, they had to stay, not in their own tabernacles, but in the Tabernacle. They were consecrated for seven days in God’s temporary dwelling, and they ate before the Lord, as we do at the Feast.
In chapter 9, beginning in verse 1, the ritual moves to the eighth day. Notice in verse 5 that “all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.” It is a type of sacred assembly. They assembled in anticipation of what the seven days had produced. But before that, various offerings were commanded. The reason for the sacrifices is found at the end of verse 4, where it says, “…for the Lord your God will appear to you.” Seven days of consecration, and on the eighth day, God would appear.
And that’s what happened, if you look at verses 23-24. The glory of the Lord appeared, fire came out and consumed what was on the altar (indicating it was accepted), and all the people shouted and fell on their faces. The Hebrew indicates it was a shout of joy and praise rather than terror, and the people fell on their faces in worship. The appearance of God—seeing God—qualifies as superabundance, as does the initiation of the priesthood.
Now, let’s start drawing this together. In matters regarding holiness, the worship of God, and things or people being dedicated to God, Scripture shows seven days of one activity, and then an eighth day for the real goal or purpose. The eighth day always involves something new, and usually abundance.
For seven days, the priests ate before the Lord within God’s temporary dwelling, even as we also eat before the Lord for seven days, and rejoice, and grow in our reverence and awe of Him, in our temporary dwellings. From this, it appears the seven days of Tabernacles, followed by the Eighth Day, are an echo, or a reminder, of the consecration of priests, followed by God’s appearance and acceptance of what was offered to Him. His portion on the eighth day was not merely the sacrifices, but more importantly, the priests.
Even though the consecration of the priests only directly involved the sons of Aaron, Aaron’s family represented the whole nation. God said the whole nation was to be a kingdom of priests. Similarly, we are a royal priesthood. We, too, have been consecrated for holy service and circumcised spiritually.
Now, let’s apply the principle of a day representing 1,000 years, and stretch this out over human history. In this expanded, 30,000-foot view, there are 7,000 years of God’s work with mankind—His preparation. That includes the 1,000-year Sabbath rest of the seventh millennium—the seventh day, as it were. That is when Christ Himself rules, which is the very definition of a Great Day. That seventh millennium will have peace and unity that mankind has not known since Eden.
I Corinthians 15 says that Christ must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. That includes death itself. So, there are 7,000 years of mortality. Again, this is a big picture view. Some of this will continue into the eighth millennium, even as the priesthood consecration continued into the eighth day. But notice that, generally, there are 7,000 years of temporariness and impermanence. 7,000 years of futility. 7,000 years of God getting things ready.
As great as the seventh millennium will be—and it truly will be great—the real goal is the eighth millennium. That is when all things will be made new, with new heavens and a new earth, as … . . .
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