The Ordination of Priests

March 16, 2025 Background Scripture: Exodus 29: 1- 37; Leviticus 8:1 - 36 Lesson Passage: Exodus 29:1 9, 35 - 37 God gave Moses detailed instructions for the setting apart of men to serve Him in the first tabernacle on behalf of the nation of Israel. These men would serve as priests of Israel. The priest's role was to stand before God on behalf of the people. These men were not volunteers. Nor did they possess certain personal qualifications. God selected those who would serve as priests. They were set apart to offer sacrifices to God for the people of Israel. God declared what those sacrifices were and how they were to be offered. He also specified what they were to wear while serving. Then God gave the specific process to use to set those men apart for His purpose. In the case presented in our lesson, those men were Aaron and his sons. Aaron, the brother of Moses, served as Israel's first High Priest. Today's lesson is the detailed record of the commencement of the Aaronic Priesthood. God established the Aaronic Priesthood as a perpetual priesthood. Upon Aaron's death, one of his sons was to be ordained Israel's High Priest in his stead, This lineage was to continue based on God's decree. The ordination process ensured the men were properly prepared according to God's instructions before beginning their ministry. At the commencement of the Aaronic priesthood, the responsibility of consecrating, or ordaining, Aaron and his sons was given to Moses. It was a very elaborate process that began with their bodies being washed with water. In that nomadic setting in the desert of Sinai, bathing was a rare privilege, but cleanliness was required by God as part of the ordination, After the water cleansing, Aaron and his sons were dressed in the priestly garments God had specified for them. Since the priests would be offering sacrifices to God on behalf of the people, those men had to first have sacrifices offered to God on their behalf. The animal sacrifices involved a bull and two rams. Prior to the sacrificial animals being killed, Aaron and his sons placed their hands on its head. In doing so, they identified themselves with those animals. God told Moses what to do with the blood that was drained from the carcasses of the animals. The bull was offered first as the sin offering. It should be clear that the bull had not sinned, therefore its sacrifice was for the sins of the ones who identified with it by the laying on of their hands. The bull was sacrificed to symbolize the washing of sins from their souls. Some of the blood was used to anoint the altar before burning its fat and organs on it. The two rams were offered separately. Again, Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram's head prior to the rams being put to death. The first was offered as a burnt offering on the altar to provide a sweet odor to appease God. The second ram was offered as a ram of consecration. Its blood was used to anoint Aaron and his sons, the altar, and the holy garments that Aaron and his sons wore. Specific portions of the ram were to be lifted and waved before the Lord. A portion was specified for Moses and parts were boiled for Aaron and his sons to eat along with the unleavened bread that was used in the ordination. Any leftovers were to be burned completely with fire the next day. The entire process was to be repeated each day for seven days. Aaron and his sons were to remain at the door of the tabernacle throughout the entire process of consecration. They were not permitted to go outside the door ofthe tabernacle during those seven days of consecration. That elaborate process and its repetition for seven days emphasized the sacredness of the office to which God had appointed them. There is much symbolism throughout the ordination whereby physical things and actions represented spiritual realities. Serving God is not a trivial matter, and it should never be taken as such. The first ordination of Israel's priests is a reminder. C. Hudson March 8, 2025