Leviticus 8:33-35

The 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 … . . .

Leviticus 8:14-36

The sacrificing begins in verse 14 and goes through the end of the chapter (Leviticus 8:14-36). There was a bull for a sin offering in verse 14 to cleanse the priests, followed by one ram for a burnt offering in verse 18 to symbolize their complete dedication to God.

Next was a second ram (verse 22), called the ram of consecration. This one is interesting because it only shows up here in the ordination of the priests. This offering was a type of the peace offering, which we understand pictures a meal between God, mankind, and the priest, except here the priests weren’t fully priests yet. Even so, it represents fellowship with God, and a relationship on good terms because of God’s grace. It also implies being filled and satisfied because of what God provides and does.

But this ram of consecration was not a typical peace offering because its blood wasn’t just sprinkled around the altar. It was a meal, but its blood had a special purpose. Notice what happens with the blood from the second ram for the priests:

For us, God does the consecrating, and it is spiritual in nature rather than involving the blood of an animal. Even so, this ritual shows three areas or applications for us to be aware of. Remember also that, as with holiness, there is an initial consecration by God, but there is also a lifelong process of consecration, which we usually call sanctification. So, the three areas in this ritual point to areas where God has consecrated, but they are also areas to pay attention to in our service as priests on an ongoing basis.

First, God consecrates the ear. The ear is how the priest hears the Word of God, which is a foundational duty. A priest must be tuned into God. God has consecrated our hearing by drawing us from the world and giving us His Spirit, which provides spiritual discernment to recognize what is of God and what is not.

In John 10:27, Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” The metaphors are different, but the implication is the same. Our ears have been tuned to our Shepherd and High Priest so we can follow Him. That is available to us while those around us are tuned into the world instead. Their ears have not been consecrated with the blood of the ram, which points to Christ.

Yet with this privilege comes a great responsibility, and these days, a great deal of work. The siren song of the world is becoming more insistent, reaching us through our phones and watches and earbuds, competing for and even drowning out the voice of our High Priest. So, there is an evaluation point here for us regarding how much we actively seek the voice of our High Priest versus passively taking in the many voices from the world. We have been given a priceless gift, but it is up to us to consistently use it.

After God consecrates the hearing, second, He consecrates the thumb. The thumb is the extremity, and it represents the whole hand. In turn, the hand represents one’s ability to work, to serve, or to perform priestly duties. The right hand, especially, symbolizes strength, ability, and skill. The picture that emerges is that, with consecration, our abilities and aptitudes are set apart for divine work and service.

Again, the people of this world have not been set apart to serve God the way we have. It is a privilege. Through God’s Spirit, we can serve and sacrifice, confident that God will fill in the gaps and provide what is needed. Richard made this point in his Bible study last year on the feeding of the 5,000. God provides with abundance that we cannot comprehend or anticipate. What He is looking for, though, is our willingness to reach out, to lend a hand, and to be conduits of His outworking. God does the things we are unable to do, but He is looking for effort from us. We must give God something to bless, and trust that He will give the increase. He has gifted each of us to serve, and our inclusion in God’s royal priesthood means we have a responsibility to then use what He … . . .

Leviticus 8:33-35

We will start with the time structure, which is found in verse 33:

The first similarity between this Feast and the consecration of the priests is the length of time. The priests had to stay within the tabernacle of meeting for seven days. The Feast is also seven days long (Leviticus 23:34-36). In the Bible, seven days is the common length of time for sanctification or purification, and that’s what we see here.