Good morning, everyone. It's a joy to worship with you. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 29.
And if you don't have a Bible, raise your hand and we can bring a copy of it over to you that you can use while you're here.
Exodus chapter 29.
We'll be going through the whole chapter.
I'll also be referencing Exodus 30, 22 to 33, but I'm only going to read Exodus 29 at the beginning.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Father, we come to you and humble ourselves before you.
We incline our ears to hear from your Word because we believe that you speak to us and address us in your Word.
We want to be challenged.
We want to be comforted by the truths of the Scriptures.
We want to be reminded of your grace toward us in Jesus, our great high priest.
And we want to be a living sacrifice, acceptable and pleasing to you.
So please, even in this time of worship, consecrate us for yourself.
We ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
If you are able, please stand with me for the reading of God's Word from Exodus 29.
Now, this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.
Take one bull of the herd and two rams without blemish and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil.
You shall make them a fine wheat flour.
You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket and bring the bull and the two rams.
You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
Then you shall take the garments and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod.
And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban.
You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.
Then you shall bring his sons and put coats on them.
And you shall gird Aaron and his sons with sashes and bind caps on them.
And the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever.
Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting.
Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.
Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
And shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger.
And the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar.
And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them.
And burn them on the altar.
But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp.
It is a sin offering.
Then you shall take one of the rams.
And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
And you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar.
Then you shall cut the ram into pieces and wash its entrails and its legs and put them with its pieces and its head.
And burn the whole ram on the altar.
It is a burnt offering to the Lord.
It is a pleasing aroma of food offering to the Lord.
You shall take the other ram and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
And you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons.
And on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet.
And throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar.
Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar and of the anointing oil.
And sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and his sons garments with him.
He and his garments shall be holy and his sons and his sons garments with him.
You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them.
And the right thigh for it is a ram of ordination.
And one loaf of bread and one cake of bread made with oil.
And one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord.
You shall put all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord.
Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as a pleasing aroma before the Lord.
It is a food offering to the Lord.
You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord.
And it shall be your portion.
And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priest's portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination from what was Aaron's and his sons.
It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel for it is a contribution.
It shall be a contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.
The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him.
They shall be anointed in them and ordained in them.
The son who succeeds him as priest who comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place shall wear them seven days.
You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place.
And Aaron and his son shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
They shall eat those things with which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration.
But an outsider shall not eat of them because they are holy.
And if any of the flesh for the ordination or of the bread remain until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire.
It shall not be eaten because it is holy.
Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons according to all that I have commanded you.
Through seven days shall you ordain them.
And every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement.
Also you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it and shall anoint it to consecrate it.
Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it and the altar shall be most holy.
Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.
Now, this is what you shall offer on the altar.
Two lambs a year old day by day regularly.
One lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.
And with the first lamb a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with the fourth of a hen of beaten oil and a fourth of a hen of wine for a drink offering.
The other lamb you shall offer at twilight and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning for a pleasing aroma of food offering to the Lord.
It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord.
Where I will meet with you to speak to you there.
There I will meet with the people of Israel and it shall be sanctified by my glory.
I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar.
Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.
I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.
And they shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them.
I am the Lord their God.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
A few years ago when I was visiting a church member who was hospitalized during the COVID pandemic.
I remember visiting and the hospitals were at the time taking extra precautions for safety.
They gave me a brand new mask that I had to wear without which I could not enter the hospital.
And if I remember correctly they also asked if I was experiencing any symptoms of illness and took my temperature before letting me in.
Even after that I didn't get to go straight into the room where this church member was hospitalized lest I contaminate that room.
So I had to wait in the waiting room and a nurse went and escorted the church member out to the waiting room where I could meet with her across the table.
You couldn't there were also guidelines for how you can interact within the waiting room and only for a limited time.
It was a very unusual time and never before had I been as acutely aware of the dangers of spreading viruses.
Because of the vulnerability of the patients in the hospital, some of whom were immunocompromised, I was treated like a contaminant, a contagion, because I was a potential carrier of the virus.
Exodus 29 tells us about all the hoops that the priests had to jump through in order to be consecrated enough to minister at the tent of meeting, at the tabernacle,
as mediators for God's people.
And these priests must have felt something similar to what I felt during that hospital visit.
Not because the person they were meeting was sick, but because the person they were meeting, God, was holy.
The extensive process of washing and being clothed with special garments, anointing and sprinkling and sacrificing and eating that was required for the priests to be consecrated for service at the tabernacle would have communicated to them that they are a contagion.
They're a pollutant that required cleansing before they can approach the holy presence of God.
It's important to note that this is no mere formality.
God is not some bureaucratic overlord that just likes to clutter things with red tape that people to jump through and clear.
God is irreproachable.
He's beyond reproach.
And because of that, God is unapproachable in his holiness.
He can tolerate no one and no thing that is not purified or consecrated, set apart for him.
This is why only a commitment to a regular, ongoing sacrifice enables the priests to minister within the tabernacle.
Instead of glossing over these detailed requirements as tedious and wearisome, we need to see God's heart behind them.
Why God provides these sacrifices.
And we see that here in chapter 29, verses 43 to 46.
Please look in your Bibles, verses 43 to 46.
Follow along as I read it.
There I will meet with the people of Israel, and he shall be sanctified by my glory.
I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar.
Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.
I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.
And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them.
I am the Lord their God.
Some of the most important recurring themes throughout the book of Exodus are all summarized here in these few verses.
The Lord's plan to make himself known to his people, as it says in verse 46, which has been repeated throughout the book.
His plan to be their God, which has been repeated throughout the book.
His plan to meet with them, which has been repeated throughout the account of the construction of the tent of meeting.
His plan to dwell among them, which has been repeated again and again throughout the tabernacle narrative as well.
In fact, the tabernacle means the dwelling place of God.
So note how all of these stated objectives of God, these explicit objectives that God gives us here in his word,
are all relational, to make himself known, to be their God, to meet with them, to dwell among them.
God's ultimate goal is to redeem a people for himself among whom he himself can dwell.
The sacrifices themselves are not the end.
They're just the means of getting there, a means for fellowship between God and man.
God did not create humans so that they'd make sacrifices and provide him with food while he rests,
as is the case in some pagan mythologies.
God did not mandate sacrificial rituals so that he could be entertained by us.
God is not going on a power trip demanding these sacrifices just because he can.
God made provisions for these sacrifices for our sake so that he might meet with us,
so that our sins might be atoned for, so that he can dwell with us.
That's why this passage is in the scriptures to teach us that God consecrates the priests
and the tent of meeting so that he might dwell among his people.
We're going to look at that main point in two parts.
First, we're going to look at the consecration of the priests and the altar.
And then secondly, we're going to look at the consecration of the Israelites.
That second point is going to be very short,
so don't despair if I spend most of my time in the first point.
Verses 1 to 2 give us the ingredients list, the materials list,
that you need for the consecration of the priests.
And it says,
To consecrate the priests for service, they need a bull, two unblemished lambs,
unleavened bread, unleavened cakes, and unleavened wafers.
We'll see their specific uses in the following verses,
but for now, we need to recognize how these are reminiscent of the Passover.
Remember, at the Passover, there's the unblemished lamb,
and there's the unleavened bread that's consumed by the Israelites.
When God goes through Egypt and judges eat the Egyptians and strikes down their firstborns,
but the Israelites' firstborn males are spared
because they had sacrificed an unblemished lamb and daubed its blood on their doors,
and that consumed the sacrifice and the unleavened bread.
And at the beginning of this passage, it reminds us of the Passover and the Exodus.
And at the end of this passage, in verse 46, it reminds us of the same,
where God says,
So this ties the Exodus and the tabernacle together.
This is God's way of telling the Israelites,
the same Yahweh, the Lord God, who with mighty signs and wonders delivered you
and redeemed you from your slavery in Egypt.
That very God is who I am, and I am going to dwell among you.
That mighty God, that Lord God himself is going to dwell in your very presence.
And the first step in consecrating a priest is the washing.
It says in verse 4,
So this, again, the mention of the entrance to the Tent of Meeting clearly communicates
that this is so that they can enter in.
This is purification before they can be in the presence of God.
And after this consecration period,
the priests would only be required to wash their hands and feet before they minister.
But at this occasion, it seems like they're getting a full-on bath.
It says that they're to wash them, their whole selves, with water.
And it's only after this ritual bath that they can put on the holy garments,
the priestly garments that we talked about last week,
which is the second step of the consecration,
being clothed with the special garments.
And after they are clothed,
verse 7 tells us that Moses is to take the anointing oil
and pour it on Aaron's head and anoint him.
Later on in Exodus 30,
we learn that Aaron's sons are also anointed with oil.
And not only Aaron's sons,
but also the furnishings and the Tent of Meeting itself
are also anointed with the anointing oil.
However, at this point of the initial consecration of the priesthood,
it's only Aaron the high priest who is anointed with oil
and set apart in that way.
So this is a special anointing,
which is why throughout Leviticus,
the high priest,
Aaron and his people who would succeed him in that role,
is sometimes referred to as the anointed priest
to distinguish them from the other priests.
The high priest is the special priest.
And according to Exodus 30, 23, 24,
the anointing oil was to be a blended perfume,
not of common, ordinary spices,
but of the finest spices.
It says,
of liquid myrrh,
500 shekels,
and of sweet-smelling cinnamon,
half as much,
that is 250,
and 250 of aromatic cane,
and 500 of cassia,
according to the shekel of the sanctuary,
and a hen of olive oil.
Shekel is,
it's like 100 shekel is about two and a half pounds.
So if you add up the myrrh,
the cinnamon,
the aromatic cane,
and cassia,
that's 1,500 shekels,
which is 37.5 pounds worth of spices.
That's a lot of spices.
And they're supposed to mix all of that up
with a hen of olive oil.
A hen is about a gallon of olive oil.
So imagine a milk jug full of olive oil.
And considering that these are all spices
that weren't native to that land,
and were likely imported from other places
like modern-day Saudi Arabia or India,
they would have been extremely expensive
and precious,
and therefore unfamiliar to the ordinary Israelites.
Myrrh is a gum resin,
which is a thick, sticky substance
that oozes out of certain trees
when you cut it open.
It smells similar to licorice,
or anise,
has a sweet, spicy scent.
Cinnamon,
you guys are all hopefully familiar with.
Imagine the smell of cinnamon sticks
or cinnamon buns.
Sounds good right now.
Aromatic cane
is not a reference to sugar cane,
which would make it also delicious,
but to calamus,
a grass that gives a sweet scent,
an earthy, citrusy smell
when you crush it.
So the oil that's produced
from this aromatic cane
is called ginger grass.
It's very similar to lemongrass.
Cassia is a spice made from the bark
of certain East Asian evergreen trees.
It smells a lot like cinnamon,
so it's sometimes called Chinese cinnamon.
So the anointing oil
would have had a strong,
resinous, cinnamony, spicy scent,
very similar to the smells
associated with Christmas.
So like the resinous scent of pine trees,
the cinnamony aroma of mulled wine
and gingerbreads,
everything that this anointing oil touched
became holy.
God says in Exodus 30, 31 to 33,
this shall be my holy anointing oil
throughout your generations.
It shall not be poured
on the body of an ordinary person
and you shall make no other like it
in composition.
It is holy
and it shall be holy to you.
Whoever compounds any like it
or whoever puts any of it on an outsider
shall be caught off from his people.
This particular perfume mixture
of the anointing oil
was not to be reproduced
because it was to be associated
exclusively with the tabernacle
and it was not to be applied
to anything other than
the tabernacle itself
and it was not to be applied
to anyone apart from the priests
themselves who minister
in the tabernacle.
That's why the anointing oil
is called holy,
meaning it's set apart
for a special purpose.
If other things
and other people
smell the same,
it would no longer be special.
It would lose its sacred status.
Especially in the ancient Near East
where the climate is hot
and running water is rare.
It wasn't readily available
for frequent washing.
Most of you guys probably
took a shower this morning.
That is not possible all the time
in this context.
So imagine what you would smell
on an ordinary basis.
Sweaty body odor.
Thousands and thousands of people.
That's what you smell.
So you find one place
in the whole congregation of Israel
it smells different.
It smells sweet.
It smells of spice.
Cinnamon.
Gingerbread.
It sets the place apart.
You shall make no other
like it in composition.
You're supposed to make people
stand in awe of God
to recognize that
He is no common folk
but set apart from us.
It also served to distinguish
the priests of God
and in particular
the high priest
as set apart for God
in His dwelling place.
So imagine being
in that congregation
being in a room full of people
and then there's one person
who's wearing perfume.
Everybody else just smells
like body odor
but one person smells
like perfume.
That sets that person apart.
That's the purpose
of this anointing oil.
And usually
it was reserved for kings.
Kings were anointed with oil.
Prophet Samuel
anointed King David.
Zadok the priest
anointed King Solomon.
But in rare cases
prophets were also anointed.
Prophet Elisha
was anointed by Prophet Elijah.
And as we see
in our passage this morning
it's the priests
who are anointed
with special oil.
Aaron the high priest
was anointed.
The anointing
sets the people apart.
No one else
can sit on the throne
except for
the anointed King.
No one else
can enter into
the holy place
to minister within
God's presence
except
for the anointed priest.
This is why
it is significant
that Jesus
the most common title
that is given to him
is the Christ
which means
anointed one.
He
and he alone
can sit on the throne
of David
as the Messianic King.
And Jesus alone
can go into
the heavenly
tabernacle
the temple
to minister
in God's presence
on behalf of his people.
Jesus
is the one
who goes
where we cannot go
and does
what we cannot
do.
That's why
we worship
Jesus as
the Christ
and sing
in Christ
alone
my hope
is found.
After Aaron
is anointed
and he and his sons
are fully clothed
in the holy garments
it says in verse 9
and the priesthood
shall be theirs
by a statute forever
meaning indefinitely
until it comes
to a time of fulfillment
in Christ.
Thus you shall
ordain Aaron
and his sons.
The word
ordain
is a very
interesting word.
It occurs again
in verse 35
through seven days
shall you ordain them.
So the two references
bracket this passage
where all the details
of the sacrifices
are given.
It's for their
ordination.
In Hebrew
the word ordain
literally means
to fill the hands of
to fill someone's hands
with something.
The expression
likely originates
from the practice
of ceremoniously
placing some
object or article
of authoritative office
into the hands
of the person
that's being appointed.
For example
in some parts
of the ancient world
when you give
the governor
a mandate
to govern
you will place
in his hands
the seal
of his governorship
which he can use
to authenticate
the documents
to make them
official and authoritative
and the cord
of governorship
which he would wear
upon himself
as a sign
as a symbol
of his authority.
So you would place
those things
into their hands.
So that's
the invest
word invest
kind of communicates
that investing
someone with authority
or clothing them
with the right garments
for authority
and this practice
is actually
where we get
the English word
mandate
which comes from
the Latin word
for hand and give
to mandate
to give someone
a mandate
to mandate someone
is to give
something into
their hands.
And so Aaron
and his sons
are here being ordained.
They're being mandated
charged with something
invested with authority
but what exactly
is their mandate?
What are their hands
being filled with?
So scan verses
10 to 25
with me
for the word hand
and its synonyms
and we'll see
exactly what's happening.
Verse 10
Aaron and his son
shall lay their hands
on the head
of the bull.
Verse 15
Aaron and his son
shall lay their hands
on the head
of the ram.
Verse 19
Aaron and his son
shall lay their hands
on the head
of the ram.
Again
verse 24 to 25
you shall put all these
on the palms of Aaron
and on the palms
of his sons
and wave them
for a wave offering
before the Lord
and you shall take them
from their hands
and burn them
on the altar
on top of the burnt offering
as a pleasing aroma
before the Lord.
What are Aaron and his son's
hands being filled with?
The sacrifices
and the offerings
on behalf
of God's people.
Bulls and rams
are too big
to literally
fill their hands with
so they just
lay their hands
simply
on the heads
of the animals
to identify
with that animal
saying
this is my charge
this belongs
to me.
This is not
a transference
of sin
from the priests
onto the animals
before the sacrifice
because it applies
even for sacrifices
that do not deal
with sin.
It's a way
of identifying
it's designating
the animals
as the priests
charge
to bring the sacrifices.
This is their
priestly mandate.
They are authorized
to minister
within the tent
of meeting
to make sacrifices
for God's people.
The following verses
give us a preview survey
of the various types
of sacrifices
that were offered.
It's later described
in more detail
in Leviticus 1-7
and there are
some discrepancies
between this
and Leviticus 1-7
because these are
the initial sacrifices
to consecrate
the priests
and those are
the subsequent
sacrifices
that would be given.
But there are
enough similarities
for it to be
a real preview.
First type of sacrifice
mentioned in verses
10-14
is the sin offering.
Aaron and his sons
are to lay their hands
on the head of the bull
then kill it
at the entrance
of the tent of meeting.
Then they are to put
some of the blood
on the horns
of the altar
and pour out the rest
at the base of the altar.
The organs and the fat
are to be burned up
on the altar
while the flesh
the skin
and the dung
are to be burned up
outside the camp.
And we learn later
in Leviticus 4
that sin offering
in particular
served to purify people
from unintentional sins
from the defiling effects
of unintentional sins.
It's appropriate
that the first sacrifice
during the consecration
of the priest
is a sin offering
because they must be
cleansed of their sins
even sins that they
didn't know
that they had committed
unwitting sins
before they can minister
in God's holy place.
The altar itself
is consecrated
during this process
with the application
of the blood
on the horn
and the base.
The second sacrifice
we see described
in verses 15 to 18.
Verse 18 calls it
a burned offering
to the Lord.
It is a pleasing aroma
of food offering.
It's not literal food
for God
that he eats.
It's a pleasing aroma.
God smells it.
And just as they did
with the bull
Aaron and his sons
are to lay their hands
on one of the rams
then kill it
at the entrance
of the tent of the meeting
and then they are
to throw its blood
against the size
of the altar this time
so now the whole altar
is covered
the horn, the size
and the base
and after this
the entire ram
the meat
the entrails
the legs
the head
is all to be burned up
on the altar.
As Lydicius 1.9 says
the burnt offering
is one of the most
costly kind of offering
because it consumes
the whole thing
completely.
Nothing is left over.
Pleasing aroma
to the Lord.
So a burnt offering
in this way
signifies Aaron
and his sons
being consecrated
completely for God's service.
Wholly given to the Lord
totally committed
to the Lord.
And then so having offered
the sin offering
for atonement
and the burnt offering
of consecration
the third sacrifice
is a wave offering
of fellowship.
We see later
in Leviticus 7
a wave offering
is a type of peace offering
or a fellowship offering.
It's distinctive
among the sacrifices
in that
some of its part
is eaten
by the priests
and the worshippers
representing their fellowship
with God.
So Aaron and his sons
are to lay their hands
on the other ram
that they have not yet
burned up
to kill it
and they are to
put its blood
this time
on the extremities
of Aaron
and his sons
on their right ear
on their right thumb
and on their right big toe
probably representing
their whole body
their whole selves
being cleansed
and consecrated for God.
So with consecrated ears
they are to listen to God
with consecrated feet
they go into God's presence
to serve
and with their consecrated hands
they serve and minister
at the table.
In future fellowship offerings
after the priests
are fully consecrated
the officiating priest
would receive
the right thigh
of the ram
to eat
and the other priests
would receive
the breast
of the ram
to eat
and the rest
of the meat
would be given
to the ordinary Israelites
to eat.
However on this occasion
because the priests
are not yet consecrated
it's Moses himself
who is consecrating
the priests
he takes the right thigh
and then the breast
is given
the breast is given
to Moses to eat
rather
and then the right thigh
is burned up
and then the proper offerings
are waived
before the Lord
presented to him
and then Aaron
and his sons
later get to partake
in the rest of the meat
as we see in verses
31 to 34.
And note that
this whole process
of ordaining
the priests
and consecrating them
and the altar
it takes seven days
that's repeated
three times
in this passage.
Verses 35 to 37
Thus you shall do
to Aaron
and to his sons
according to all
that I have commanded you
through seven days
shall you ordain them
and every day
you shall offer a bull
as a sin offering
for atonement
also you shall purify
the altar
when you make atonement
for it
and you shall anoint
it to consecrate it
seven days
you shall make atonement
for the altar
and consecrate it.
The number seven
is symbolic
of completeness
because God
created the world
in six days
and then rested
on the seventh day
so it was all finished
in seven days
and we're going
to look at this
a little more closely
in a couple weeks
but throughout
the tabernacle narrative
we find this phrase
Lord said to Moses
exactly seven times
six times
it is connected
to various instructions
regarding the construction
of the tabernacle
and on the seventh time
it is connected
to the instruction
regarding the Sabbath
again
Exodus 31
and that's intentional
so the construction
of the tabernacle
mirrors in one sense
the creation
of the world
it's kind of a
miniature universe
a new creation
that God
is bringing about
for the sake
of his people
and so it takes
seven days
completeness of days
for the priest
to be consecrated
it's not going to
take a few minutes
it's not going to
take a few hours
it's a rigorous process
because going into
the presence of God
and ministering there
is no small matter
and this process
of consecration
will have to be
repeated
generation
after generation
because Aaron
will eventually die
and his sons
will eventually die
and their sons
will have to succeed
them
and them succeeded
by their sons
it says in verses
28 to 30
it shall be for Aaron
and his sons
as a perpetual due
from the people
of Israel
for it is a contribution
it shall be a contribution
from the people
of Israel
from their peace offerings
their contribution
to the Lord
the holy garments
of Aaron
shall be for his sons
after him
they shall be anointed
within them
and ordained in them
the son who succeeds
him as priest
who comes into
the tent and meeting
to minister in the holy place
shall wear them
seven days
this is
an important note
because
the succession plan
reminds us
that the Aaronic
priesthood
is only a provisional
and temporary
solution
to our problems
it offers
no ultimate
abiding solution
to the problem
of how a holy God
can dwell among
a sinful people
and it wasn't meant
to provide
a permanent solution
because it was only meant
to point
to the ultimate solution
that God provides
for us in Jesus
Hebrews 7
23 to 28
I want to project
that for you
on the screen
it says this
now there have been
many of those priests
since death
prevented them
from continuing
in office
but because
Jesus lives forever
he is a permanent
priesthood
therefore he is able
to save completely
those who come to God
through him
because he always
lives to intercede
for them
such a high priest
truly meets
our need
one who is holy
blameless
pure
set apart
from sinners
exalted above the heavens
unlike the other
high priests
he does not need
to offer sacrifices
day after day
first for his own sins
and then for the sins
of the people
he sacrificed
for their sins
once for all
when he offered
himself
for the law
appoints as high priests
men in all
their weakness
but the oath
which came after
the law
appointed the son
who has been made
perfect
forever
day after day
Aaron and his sons
needed to make
first sacrifices
for themselves
their own sins
and then again
for the sins
of the people
it's like the labors
of Sisyphus
in Greek mythology
there's a king
named Sisyphus
who reigned over
what is now
modern day Corinth
and the man
manages
to cheat death
twice
and the so called
god of death
Hades is angry
that this king
cheated death
and so he punishes him
so Sisyphus
has to roll
this huge boulder
up a hill
and every time
the boulder
nears the top
it just rolls
right back down
and he has to start
all over again
in endless cycle
and that's why
sometimes people
refer to
futile labors
and difficult labors
as Sisyphian
that's what
the Aaronic
priest's labors
were like
will there ever
be
an end
to this
interminable
work
more blood
more animals
more sprinkling
will God
ever
deliver us
decisively
from sin
and death
every time
they made
sacrifices
for sin
there would be
still
more sin
to deal with
on the following
day
every time
it was
ultimately
futile
because
Hebrews 10
4 tells us
it is impossible
for the blood
of bulls and goats
to take
away
sins
these sacrifices
were not meant
to be the solution
they were meant
to point to
God's ultimate
solution
in Jesus
our great
high priest
and Jesus
offers himself
up
his own life
his own body
on the cross
as a sacrifice
for sins
once and for all
so that we
never have to
repeat that
sacrifice
again
that's why
we don't
call
communion
a mass
or a sacrifice
it's not
a sacrifice
the sacrifice
has been
finished
it's been
offered
once and
for all
so we now
commune with him
in his fellowship
meal
we eat with
God
because
the sacrifice
has already
been made
and we
follow this
order
remember
the order
of the
sin offering
and then
the burnt
offering
and then
the fellowship
offering
Jesus offers
our sin
offering
and then
we offer
up ourselves
as the burnt
offering
of worship
and that's
what the
following verses
talk about
in the
consecration
of the
Israelites
in verses
38 to 46
after the
consecration
of the
priests
it gives us
some instructions
about the
regular sacrifices
that are to be
made after
the consecration
period is
over
and this
includes
two lambs
a year old
day by day
regularly
one in the
morning
one at
twilight
that are to
be sacrificed
and remember
that the
burnt offering
is the one
where the
whole thing
is burned
up entirely
into smoke
and I
mentioned to
you before
that the
Bible
theologically
connects
the bronze
altar
in the
courtyard
where the
sacrifices
are burnt
is connected
to the
golden
incense
the altar
of incense
inside the
holy place
they both
are square
they both
have horns
on its
corners
and they
both have
things burning
on it
at the
same time
at the
bronze
altar
twilight
and in
the morning
the sacrifice
burnt offering
is offered
and literally
to burn
that's the
word burn
in Hebrew
is to
turn into
smoke
you turn
the offering
into smoke
and that
smoke
ascends
and that
smoke
ascending
to God
as a
pleasing
aroma
is represented
by the
incense
right before
the most
holy place
in the
golden
altar
and so
those two
things
are connected
and so
this is
God
the Israelites
as they
consecrate
themselves
to God
offer
themselves
up to
them
as
that
becomes
a pleasing
aroma
to God
and worship
to him
think again
of what an
extravagant
offering
the burnt
offering
is
some of
you guys
are meat
lovers
not
once
twice
a day
the whole
lamb
is
gone
it's
burnt
up
the leg
of lamb
what's your
favorite
meat
the lamb
shank
the lamb
loin
chops
all of
it's
gone
to the
flames
I'm sure
I'm not
alone
in
having
the
experience
of
the
pain
of
leaving
your
meat
too long
in the
oven
so it's
burnt
to a
crisp
and it's
unfit
for human
consumption
you open
that
the smoke
comes out
and you
go
what a
waste
maybe
you still
eat it
because you
can't
waste
it
what a
waste
all of
that tasty
choice
meat
which should
have been
for my
mouth
and for
my
stomach
all
gone
up
in
flames
that's
the
point
of
the
burnt
offering
it's
lavish
it's
extravagant
it
spares
no
expense
because
God
is
worthy
of
that
worship
is not
a context
to be
frugal
or
stingy
God's
people
are not
to
reserve
any
part
of
their
sacrifice
for
burnt
offering
or
any
part
of
their
own
lives
for
themselves
they
are
to
be
wholly
given
to
him
and
wholly
devoted
to
his
service
they are
not to
love
God
with
half
of
their
hearts
they are
to love
him
with
their
whole
heart
whole
soul
and
whole
mind
and
whole
strength
and
that's
how
we
ought
to
live
brothers
and
sisters
Romans
12
wanted to
I
appeal
to
you
therefore
brothers
and
sisters
by the
mercies
of
God
to
resent
your
bodies
as
a
living
sacrifice
holy
and
acceptable
to
God
which
is
your
spiritual
worship
do
not
be
conformed
to
this
world
but
be
transformed
by
the
renewal
of
your
mind
that
by
testing
you
may
discern
what
is
the
will
of
God
what
is
good
and
acceptable
and
perfect
if
a
part
of
us
is
conformed
to
this
world
rather
than
transformed
in
accordance
with
God's
will
then
we
are
not
fully
consecrated
to
God
then
we
are
not
being
offered
to
God
as
a
whole
burnt
offering
we
were
just
singing
about
this
in
my
heart
in
my
soul
I
give
you
control
consume
me
burn
me
up
consume
me
from
the
inside
out
do
you
mean
that
brothers
and
sisters
what
part
imagine
a
room
that
represents
your
entire
life
everything
that's
in
your
life
is
represented
in
this
room
in
some
object
and
imagine
you
gave
God
free
reign
to
roam
about
the
room
to
grab
whatever
he
wants
and
he
can
take
it
for
himself
what
would
be
the
object
the
thing
in
your
life
that
you
would
start
to
get
nervous
about
and
say
oh
got
anything
but
that
what
is
it
your
romances
your
finances
your
friends
your
children
your
career
let us
not be
stingy
with
God
and
withhold
a part
of
our
lives
from
his
sovereign
rule
instead
let's
give
it
all
up
lavishly
extravagantly
pour out
our
love
on
him
because
he's
given
us
himself
in
Jesus
because
Christ
our
great
anointed
priest
offered
himself
as a
sin
offering
on
our
behalf
because
he's
died
once
and
for
all
on
the
cross
for
our
sins
we
can
now
offer
ourselves
up
as
burnt
offerings
to
God
as
a
pleasing
aroma
when we
turn
from
our
sin
and
live
in
faith
and
obedience
and
consecrate
ourselves
to
him
that's
when
God
sends
his
Holy
Spirit
to
indwell
us
to
dwell
with
us
just
like
God
dwelled
in
the
tabernacle
and
met
with
God's
people
in
the
old
covenant
there
that's
what
the
Lord
had
promised
remember
these
summary
verses
there
I
will
meet
with
the
people
of
Israel
and
you
shall
be
sanctified
by
my
glory
I
will
dwell
among
the
people
of
Israel
and
will
be
their
God
and
they
shall
know
that
I
am
the
Lord
their
God
who
brought
them
out
of
the
land
of
Egypt
that
I
might
dwell
among
them
I
am
the
Lord
their
God
that's
God's
heart
for
you
to
know
him
so
that
he
might
meet
you
there
and
so
he
might
dwell
with
you
that's
God's
heart
for
you
this
morning
and
where
is
that
there
we
don't
have
the
tabernacle
anymore
that
there
is
Jesus
he
is
the
new
tabernacle
he
is
the
great
high
priest
he
is
where
the
great
ultimate
sacrifice
was
offered
and
God
says
there
in
Jesus
I
will
meet
you
that's
why
we
see
this
amazing
and
wonderful
phrase
again
and
again
throughout
the
scriptures
in the
new
testament
we
are
in
Christ
we
are
dead
to
sin
and
alive
to
God
in
Christ
Jesus
there
is
therefore
now
no
condemnation
for
those
who
are
in
Christ
Jesus
therefore
if
anyone
is
in
Christ
he
is
a
new
creation
the
old
has
passed
away
behold
the
new
has
come
brothers
and sisters
and friends
who do
not yet
know
the
Lord
Jesus
there
God
will
meet
you
if
you
come
to
Jesus
let's
pray
together
God
Father
we
love
that
phrase
We
love
those
words
it's
our
greatest
boast
our
greatest
confidence
that we
are
in
Christ
We
had
no
way
to
save
ourselves
we
had
no
way
to
approach
you
in your holiness.
So Father, thank you for sending your son, Jesus,
to make a way for us.
And Lord Jesus, thank you for offering yourself up
for us
as the sin offering.
Thank you for redeeming us from our slavery
to sin and death.
Help us all,
every day,
every single moment of our lives
by faith and obedience
to consecrate ourselves to you.
That we might be an acceptable living sacrifice,
pleasing to you, Lord.
We pray all this in Jesus' name.
Amen.