Leviticus 8

At least twenty times in these three chapters you’ll find the word commanded. Moses and Aaron didn’t have to concoct an ordination ceremony. The same God who instructed Moses how to build the tabernacle also told him how to ordain the priests and how the priests should serve in the tabernacle (Ex. 28—29). Nothing was left to chance or to the imagination. Moses was to do everything according to what God had shown him on the mount (25:40; 26:30; 27:8; Heb. 8:5).

In the ministry of the church today, spiritual leaders must constantly ask, “For what does the Scripture say?’’ (Rom. 4: nkjv). God hasn’t left us in the dark as to what His church is, how it’s to be led, and what it’s supposed to do, but if we substitute people’s ideas for God’s Word, we will be in the dark (Isa. 8:20)! Religious novelties and fads abound, creating celebrities and increasing crowds but not always honoring the Lord or building the church. We need leaders, like Moses, who will spend time “on the mount’’ and find out from the Word what God wants His people to do.

The assembly called (vv. 1–5). The ordination of Aaron and his sons was a public event as every ordination ought to be (Acts 13:1–3; 16:1–3; 1 Tim. 4:14). First of all the priests would serve God and seek to please Him (Ex. 28:1, 3–4, 41), but also they would be the servants of the people. It would have been impossible for all the people in the camp to assemble at one time at the door of the tabernacle, so it was probably the elders and leaders who gathered, representing the tribes and the various clans (see Lev. 9:1). It’s a serious thing to be set apart for ministry, and it must be done under the authority of God and witnessed by God’s people.

Aaron and his sons washed (v. 6). This may have been done at the laver in the courtyard of the tabernacle (Ex. 38:8). The priests were ceremonially bathed all over but once; from then on, they washed their hands and feet at the laver while they were serving in the tabernacle (30:17–21). When sinners trust Christ, they are washed from their sins once and for all (Rev. 1:5—6; 1 Cor. 6:9–11); God’s children need to keep their feet clean by confessing their sins to the Lord (John 13:1–10; 1 John 1:9). In the Bible, water for washing is a picture of the Word of God (Ps. 119:9; John 15:3; Eph. 5:25–27). As we meditate on the Word of God and apply it to our lives, the Spirit of God uses the Word to cleanse us and make us more like Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).

Aaron clothed (vv. 7–9). Aaron and his sons all wore linen undergarments (Ex. 28:42–43; Lev. 6:8–10; see Ex. 20:26), but the high priest wore special beautiful garments, described in Exodus 28. First, Moses put on Aaron the beautifully woven white coat and tied it with the sash. Over that he put the blue robe that had the golden bells and pomegranates on the hem. Over this went the linen ephod, a sleeveless coat that was bound with a special belt; both the ephod and the belt were beautifully embroidered with threads of scarlet, blue, purple, and gold. Over the ephod was the breastplate, an embroidered piece of cloth folded double, on which were twelve precious stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel, and in which were “the Urim and Thummim.’’ On his head, the high priest wore a linen turban (or bonnet) with a special golden “crown’’ at the front on which were engraved the words HOLY TO THE LORD.

Each “believer priest’’ has been clothed in the beauty and righteousness of Jesus Christ and is accepted in Him (Isa. 61:10; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:6). Our righteousnesses are but filthy rags in God’s sight (Isa. 64:6). What must our sins look like to a holy God! The high priest was accepted before God because of the garments God provided in His grace.

Aaron and the tabernacle anointed (vv. 10–12). This was done with a special oil that no one was to duplicate in the camp, nor was it to be used on anyone but a priest (Ex. 30:22–33). In Scripture, oil is often a symbol of the Spirit of God who has anointed each believer (2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:20, 27; see Ps. 133). The Hebrew word “Messiah’’ and the Greek word “Christ’’ both mean “anointed one’’ (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38). The fact that “the anointing oil of the Lord’’ was on the priests set them apart from the common people and governed what they could and could not do (Lev. 8:30; 10:7; 21:12, 20).

Aaron’s sons clothed (v. 13). They didn’t have the beautiful garments of the high priest, but what they wore was still commanded by God, for their linen coats and turbans symbolized holiness before God in character and conduct. “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts’’ (Rom. 13: nkjv).

The various sacrifices offered (vv. 14–29). The bullock for the sin offering for Aaron and his sons made possible the cleansing of their sins, and the ram for the burnt offering symbolized their total dedication to the Lord. The blood of the sin offering even sanctified the altar.

The “ram of consecration [ordination]’’ took the place of the fellowship offering, symbolizing their communion with one another and with the Lord. The word translated “consecration’’ or “ordination’’ means “to fill up.’’ A part of the sacrifice, along with a meal offering (Lev 8:25–26), was placed in Aaron’s hands, thus filling them up, and then waved before the Lord. Later, this would be eaten. But the unique part of the ceremony was the putting of blood and oil on the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe of Aaron and his sons, symbolizing that they were set apart to hear God’s voice, do God’s work, and walk in God’s ways.

It was necessary that blood be shed before God could accept Aaron and his sons as servants in His holy tabernacle. Because He is the holy Son of God, Jesus Christ our High Priest needed no such sacrifices (Heb. 9). Instead, He is the one perfect sacrifice that “takes away the sin of the world’’ (John 1: nkjv).

The priests anointed (v. 30). Aaron had already had the holy oil poured upon him (Lev. 8:12), but now both he and his sons were sprinkled with both the oil and the blood of the sacrifices, taken from the altar. This meant that both they and their garments were “sanctified,’’ set apart by God for His exclusive use. Neither the priests nor what they wore could be used for any “common’’ purposes. They belonged wholly to God.

The ordination ram eaten (vv. 31–36). For the next week, Aaron and his sons had to remain in the tabernacle court, and each day, Moses offered sacrifices like those he had offered on “ordination day’’ (Ex. 29:35–36). The priests then ate the meat of the “ram of ordination’’ as well as the bread for the meal offering, just as they would have eaten the fellowship offerings. However, there was a difference; they were not permitted to eat the meat the next day (Lev. 7:15–16). Whatever was left over had to be burned that same day. Their seven days in the tabernacle precincts indicated the completion of their dedication to the Lord. Had they disobeyed and left the tabernacle, they would have died. It was a serious thing to be one of God’s priests.

Under the old covenant, God’s people had a priesthood; under the new covenant, God’s people are a “holy priesthood’’ and a “royal priesthood’’ (1 Peter 2:5, 9). Every believer in Jesus Christ can say with the apostle John: “To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion, forever and ever’’ (Rev. 1:5–6 nkjv).

God’s desire was that the entire nation of Israel be “a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation’’ (Ex. 19:6), but they failed Him and became “a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity’’ (Isa. 1:4). One reason the nation decayed morally and spiritually was because the leaders failed to be holy and obedient as God commanded. God finally had to send Babylon to chasten Israel “for the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests’’ (Lam. 4:13). “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land,’’ said Jeremiah. “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?’’ (Jer. 5:30–31 niv)

God wants His church today to be “a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that [they] may declare the praises of him who called [them] out of darkness into his wonderful light’’ (1 Peter 2: niv). The Jewish priests were a privileged people, yet they despised their privileges and helped lead the nation into sin. Even after the Jews returned to their land from Babylon and established their worship again, the priests didn’t give God their best, and God had to rebuke them (Mal. 1:6—2:17).

Leviticus 8—10 describes the eight-day ordination ceremony for the high priest Aaron and his sons. As God’s chosen priests, they had to accept three solemn responsibilities: submitting to God’s authority (chap. 8), revealing God’s glory (chap. 9), and accepting God’s discipline (chap. 10).