Tues.’s Devo- Sanctifying the Priests

Read: Exodus 29:1-30:10; Matthew 26:14-46; Psalm 31:19-24; Proverbs 8:14-26 Moses was give the ceremony they were to perform to consecrate Aaron and his sons as the priests. We can look at what they went through and see how God sanctified Jesus as our High Priest and how he sanctifies us as his holy priesthood. They were to take a young bull and two rams with no defects along with unleavened bread spread with oil to the entrance of the Tabernacle. Aaron and his sons were to be washed with water to sanctify them. Aaron was to be dressed in his priestly garments and then his sons were to be dressed in theirs. The bull was then presented and Aaron and his sons were to lay their hands upon it transferring the sins of the world to the bulls head. The bull was then sacrificed at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Blood from the bull was put on the horns of the altar and the rest poured out at the base of the altar. The fat was to be burned and the rest taken outside the camp as a sin offering. This Next they laid their hands on the head of one of the rams. He was also killed and his blood sprinkled on the sides of the altar. The ram was cut into pieced and laid out on the altar where it was burned as a sweet aroma to the Lord. This was the ram for the sins of the nation. The other ram was brought forth and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. It was killed and its blood placed upon the right earlobe, the thumbs of their right hands and the big toe of their right feet. The rest was poured on the sides of the altar. This ram was for the sanctification of the priests. The blood on their earlobe was to anoint their ears so they could hear God’s voice for the people. The blood on their right thumb was to anoint their hands so they could do the work God appointed them to do on the earth. The blood on their right big toe was to anoint their walk with God. The thumb and the big toe are fundamental in the functioning of the rest of the hand and the balancing of the foot. That is what the leadership does for the Body of Christ. Then the bread was offered and their portions of the meat were offered up to the Lord. They then ate their portion of the meat and the bread. As they ate the meat that represented Christ’s body they were identifying with the body of Christ. For seven days they were to wear their garments and sanctify the altar with oil. Each day of this week they were to offer daily sacrifices the morning and the evening. The morning sacrifice would be accompanied by flour and oil and the evening sacrifice with flour and wine. Moses was told to have constructed another altar for incense. It was to be placed right outside of the curtain that leads to the Holy of Holies. Aaron was to burn incense there in the morning and evening. Once a year he was to purify the altar with blood on the horns of the altar. This is the Lord’s most holy altar. This altar stands for the intercession that Christ does for us and the intercession we do. In Matthew, while Judas was preparing for Jesus death, Jesus sent his disciples to prepare for their last supper - the Passover seder. At the supper, Jesus told them about what Judas had done and why. He had to die to fulfill the Scriptures and God’s will. Judas would suffer greatly for what he did. Judas even had the nerve to ask Jesus if he was the one he was talking about. Jesus answered, “you have said it.” By his own words, he condemned himself. Jesus broke the bread and told them that this was his body and that the wine represented his blood. This was the covenant between God and man. He left them with the fact that after he was raised from the dead, he would meet them in Galilee. Peter, who can’t keep his mouth shut said that he would never deny him. Jesus told him that he would deny him three times before the cock crowed. Then Jesus took them to Gethsemane. Here is where Jesus fought his battle of his will. This was Jesus’ hardest night. This is where Jesus forgave his enemies and gave in to the will of his father knowing what it was about to cost him. Obviously, his disciples were oblivious to his struggle as they could not stay awake. Lord, help us to strengthen our spirit to go the distance of what is coming in the next leg of our journey. May we not lose heart or give up on the promises of God. God is still the God who delivers us.