SEALED within the Ark of the Covenant as testimony of the LORD on Sinai — the TEN WORDS –– written in Exodus and Deuteronomy as you know, but also referenced in Leviticus.
The Office of Priest – כָּהַן
“So the priest who is anointed and ordained to ministerH3547 asH3547 aH3547 priestH3547 in his father’s place shall make atonement:
he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make atonement for the holy sanctuary,
and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting
Who would know more about the Altar of Sacrifice than the Priest appointed to the atonementfor all worshipers of the LORD?
The LORD established certain laws of holiness for the priests in addition to the Commandments of the LORD for His chosen people.
“Then you shall bring the bull near before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. “You shall slaughter the bull before Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
“For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and set it apart as holy; then the altar shall be most holy, and whatever touches the altar shall be holy.
כָּפַר kâphar, kaw-far’; a primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen);
Bitumen, also known as mineral tar, is derived from the partial distillation of crude petroleum. - source
figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:—appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile(-liation).
‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the [soul] life.’
Picture it: a Priest standing between the HOLINESS of God and the Altar upon which your sins have been covered with blood of the sacrifice and the remains burned beyond recognition.
“According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall make it.
A brief look at the LORD's instructions for building the Tabernacle (LIST from the CSB should help us visualize it in contemporary terms and measurements.)
8 “They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them.
10 “They are to make an ark of acacia wood, forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high.
Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it..
14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them.
14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them.
17 Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide.
18 Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat.
21 Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.
IT IS A MOST HOLY PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH!
Table for the Ark of the Covenant
23 “You are to construct a table of acacia wood, thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high.
31 “Youa are to make a lampstand out of pure, hammered gold.. 37“Make its seven lamps,and set them up so that they illuminate the area in front of it.
26:1 “You are to construct the tabernacle itself with ten curtains.. 2 Each curtain should be forty-two feet long and six feet wide;
7 “You are to make curtains of goat hair for a tent over the tabernacle; make eleven of these curtains. 8 Each curtain should be forty-five feet long and six feet wide.
15 “You are to make upright supports of acacia wood for the tabernacle. Each support is to be fifteen feet long and twenty-seven inches wide.
31 “You are to make a curtain .. bring the ark of the testimony there behind the curtain, so the curtain will make a separation for you between the holy place and the most holy place.
34 Put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
35 Place the table outside the curtain.. 36 “For the entrance to the tent you are to make a screen…
Exodus 27:1 You are to construct the altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, 7 1/2 feet long, and 7 1/2 feet wide; it must be 4 1/2 feet high. 2 Make horns for it on its four corners..
9 “You are to make the courtyard for the tabernacle. Make hangings for.. the courtyard out of finely spun linen, 150 feet long.. 12 For the width of the courtyard, make hangings 75 feet long,, 14 make hangings 22 1/2 feet long for [each] side of the gate,
16 The gate of the courtyard is to have a 30-foot screen
18 The courtyard is to be 150 feet long, 75 feet wide at each end, and 7 1/2 feet high..
21 In the tent of meeting outside the curtain that is in front of the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamp from evening until morning before the Lord.
In addition to these for the place of worship, Exodus provides instructions related to worship and the Priests, followed by a book with more detail.
Leviticus – Prescription for Perfect Worship, Priestly Requirements
Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them:
Observe the progressive path of worship established between the people worshiping the Lord our God from beyond the tent of meeting, to the altar of sacrifice, into the more holy hidden places and before the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat and the Very Presence of the LORD — and again, atonement from the LORD via the Priest to the tent of meeting.
No man should know the significance of the sacrifice — and atonement — more than the Priest.
Think about his separation of holiness from the everyday people as you view the priests preparing for worship. Let’s look at a few of the requirements from their prescriptive handbook.
True worship requires priests set apart in holiness
And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation…
And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
Leviticus 8:4,10 KJV
And he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.
Leviticus 9:15 KJV
True worship requires people set apart in purity
“When a case of serious skin disease may have developed on a person, he is to be brought to the priest.
Leviticus 13:9 CSB
True worship requires propitiation in blood
Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent…
When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally):—appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy(-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify(-ied one, self),
Exodus 21:5-7
“Also let the priests who come near to Yahweh set H6942 themselves apart H6942 as H6942 holy H6942, lest Yahweh break out against them.”
And Moses said to Yahweh, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You [testified to] warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain, and set H6942 it apart H6942as H6942 holy H6942.’”
Exodus 19:22-23 LSB – noting H6942 meaning Sanctify or Hallow
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
Sanctification of children learning to walk in Christ
To the saints in Galatia:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.
But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
Paul’s letter (epistle) to the Galatians 4:8-9 ESV
To the saint sitting with you in church:
In conclusion, the best way to examine some of the jargon of Scripture like anointed, consecrated, sanctified, justified and holiness is in prayerful time in the Bible itself.
How better to explain sanctification (or any ‘Christian’ jargon) to a new child of the faith with whom you worship than with Biblical text?
READ any of the links provided in the Scriptures above.
OR For more on the topic of Sanctification you may search it here on TalkofJESUS.com OR simply read the earlier post below with my closing thought.
Sanctification – a refining of our holiness in Christ
For this is the will of God, your sanctification.. For God did not call us to impurity,
but in sanctification.
Consequently, he who sets this aside is not setting aside man
We also defined anointing, but today I'm not quite ready for 'sanctification' without first briefly examining what some view as consecration in this Common Era.
Even though some rites seem Biblical, some Common Era christians claim their rights in place of observing a religious consecration to God.
And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
Consecration, whether Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist — Orthodox, Reformed, unaffiliated — Roman Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian or evangelical — atheist or naturist — – consecration is part of a public proclamation of faith — a religious rite.
Who is consecrated?
The answer here seems simple enough. In this instance, the priests who are exclusive Aaron and his sons.
And by extension into an Old Testament context, the Levites are the ONLY Priests anointed and consecrated to serve the LORD on behalf of the church (that is, the Hebrew chosen) as a separate and holy people to God our Father of all creation.
The LORD will judge some Priest and strike them down to death in some instances. The Priest of God and especially the one High Priest bear a weight of accountability for the entire congregation of the Hebrew people.
What is consecrated?
The garments of the priests – the linen cloths and holy garments.
On certain occasions the priest must consecrate all the people and everything in the place of worship.
Even certain times carry an obligation of consecration to the Lord our God:
The LORD instructed Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the LORD..
“He is holy to the LORD during the time of consecration.
Many Christians speak the priestly blessing of Numbers
More than simply a benediction
The LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
Numbers 6:22-23 RSV
“SAY to Aaron and his sons (the Priests)” — “SAY to them (the people of Israel)” receiving the blessing of the LORD through HIS command!
DO NOT MISS the weight what the LORD says here.
דָבַר dâbar, daw-bar’; a primitive root; perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue:—answer, appoint, bid, command, commune, declare, destroy, give, name, promise, pronounce, rehearse, say, speak, be spokesman, subdue, talk, teach, tell, think, use (entreaties), utter
Now you may have recited this COVENANTAL BLESSING in your earlier days; perhaps in English, Latin, some other language, or even in its original Hebrew of the Torah:
– Instructions of the One Son of God, our only Lord and Savior Christ Jesus
Do WE casual communicants of our Common Era church worship our ceremony and rites as personal idols?
a Catholic conversation
Excerpt from a Catholic C.E. podcast:
“I think a lot of people have a problem with consecration to Mary.
Fr. H. She’s not Jesus. Gender neutral language, okay, she’s not Jesus-
we don’t want to be gender neutral with the mother of God.
Fr. H. No we don’t.
It’s not directed apparently at least when we say consecration to Mary, maybe you’re going to straighten that out. But the other thing is we have no idea what the word consecration means. What does that mean concentration to?
Fr. H. Well, this is an important topic. And of course, but that’s not the most important aspect of the topic… The term consecration comes in mostly in the 17th century… All right. So that means giving everything over to someone else.
But the word consecration in Catholic theology, and I really don’t like to question what has become a term in popular devotion. And I’m perfectly happy to say consecrate yourself to Mary, it’s a perfectly good expression, but probably the word entrustment is more precise.
“Consecration has an expression that is meant for such things which are given over to God, in the service of God, liturgically especially in him only…
‘Father‘ H. – Roman Catholic theologian
Is every consecration ‘Holy?’
CONSECRATION of Priests according to Scripture, consecration to holiness in ceremonial rites of the Church, leadership of Christ’s flock — like with the Levites, NONE to be taken lightly.
Convocations of Bishops
Error by many Bishops of Rome.
Many Priests and Pastors of all Common Era christian churches have worn the shepherd’s robes of heresy with cunning common rebellion against Jesus Christ,Who IS and WAS and WILL be.
Do we not commonly witness these in everyday culture?
Who so quickly dismisses Scripture and twists the Lord’s instruction?
Now a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher.. He must manage his own household well.. He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil…
Pronouns: this, these, etc. Yet Christ's Apostle is clear in his instruction concerning consecration of leadership of the Church.
God's word is clear as to the humble roles of Christ's servants, both husbands (of a woman) and wives (of a man). NO adultery. NO divorce. NO fornication. NO sinful flesh usurping God-given roles.
NO idolatry of Rite (or of no rite). NO worship of Saint (capital 'S') or Angel. NO idolatry of self or knowledge or earth or sea or tree. NO following of prophet, for the false proclaim false gods.
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
OUR CONSECRATION to GOD is to HOLINESS! And in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit we worship ONLY HIM.
