- Can you picture what takes place when you hear Biblical words like ‘anoint?’
- OR Can you picture a process of ‘consecration?’
- Can you explain ‘sanctification?’
THIS WEEK we continue defining Biblical jargon, switching from passive verbs like consecrate to their nouns, i.e. consecration.
In case you missed our focus on anointing last week, take a look:
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.
The Anointed, the Consecrated and the Sanctified ones
I have employed a different part of speech here for the same concept.
Anointed, Consecrated, Sanctified: Which do you understand least?
Anointing
NOTES:
NOTE: The ANOINTED and the CONSECRATED hold the office of PRIEST.
And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
Exodus 30:30 KJV
NOTE: Saul, the ANOINTED and the CONSECRATED King holds the office of KING, but NOT PRIEST as does Samuel.
Samuel also said unto Saul,
The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
1 Samuel 15:1 KJV
1 Samuel 16 excerpt KJV
.. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward…
Consecration
Once again let's look at Hebrew Scripture of the Old Testament.
And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
- Did you get all that ABOUT the food of the Priests?
- See any significant symbolism to remind us of the LORD’s grace?
- Read on and observe that the anointed Priests remain in the Tabernacle for seven days in order to remain holy to the LORD.
מִלֻּא
masculine noun from מָלָא (H4390) –
For the false Common Era priestess: The LORD only dedicated certain men as Priests.
a fulfilling (only in plural), i.e. (literally) a setting (of gems), or (technically) consecration (also concretely, a dedicatory sacrifice):—consecration, be set.
source: Strong’s H4394 – millu’
a Covenant broken by Priests
Ezekiel – The Sins of Jerusalem
Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things.
They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
Vision of a Future Temple
Then the man brought me to the gate that faces the east, and there I beheld the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. The sound of his coming was like the sound of a mighty torrent of waters, and the earth shone with his glory.
The vision I beheld was like the man I had seen when he had come to destroy the city, and like the vision I had seen by the River Chebar, and I fell prostrate.
6 Say to the rebels of the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I have endured enough of these abominable practices in which you engage, O house of Israel. You have allowed foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and body, to enter my sanctuary and profane it when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. Thus, you have broken my covenant with all of your loathsome practices…
But as for the Levites who abandoned me when Israel strayed far from me by following its idols, they must suffer the consequences for their iniquity.
22 Priests may not marry either widows or divorced women, but only virgins of the race of Israel. However, they may marry women who are the widows of priests.
They shall teach my people to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and they shall make known to them the difference between what is clean and what is unclean.
Ezekiel 41 excerpt; Ezekiel 44 excerpt New Catholic Bible
Ezra
Just a bit more from the restoration of fallen Israel.
Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. And .. one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra,
“We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this.
Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
READ more of Ezekiel 10 NKJV
Consecration of a New Covenant
Here is where some confusion and considerable controversy can divide the Church.
And for their sake I consecrate myself, [fn] that they also may be sanctified [fn] in truth.
Gospel of John 17:19 ESV
– from The High Priestly Prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ
The function notes of the ESV derive from two forms of the same Greek word [translated: hagiazō]. These notes read respectively:
Or I sanctify myself; or I set myself apart (for holy service to God)
and Greek may be set apart (for holy service to God)
A deeper study of John 17 and various English translations, though not possible today, will point to the symbolism and mystery in the Lord’s words here.
Briefly, we’ll approach the chief controversy among divisions between Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant churches:
Holy Communion
.. the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said,
“This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Church at Corinth 11:23-26 ESV
Food for Thought
For today, I will simply ask one question concerning our eternal High Priest Jesus’ consecration of the communion bread and wine:
IF, ‘as often as [we, the saints of Christ’s Church] eat this bread and drink the cup, proclaim[ing] the Lord’s death, — are the body and blood proclaimed, with or without mysterious consecration of a priest, LITERAL or SYMBOLIC?
I can hardly wait to hear YOUR COMMENTS on consecration, in general, and also specifically on Holy Communion.
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