Leviticus 8:13 says, And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses. Moses simply began to carry out God's instructions concerning Aaron and his sons. Of course, Aaron and his sons had to do as Moses instructed them, just as we today must do as God instructs us to do. Verse fourteen adds, And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. After Aaron and his sons were dressed in their priestly attire, Moses brought a bullock for a sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Normally, the people brought the sacrifice to Aaron and his sons and the person bringing it laid his hands on the head, but in this case, it was the sins of Aaron and his sons, the priests, that were being sacrificed for. No matter what our position in the church may be, we all need to confess our sins so that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross may atone for them. Verse fifteen continues, And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it. This time, Moses was doing the job of the priests, since he was God's representative, and the priests could not make atonement for their own sins. Verse sixteen states, And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar. Moses offered the sacrifice on the altar of those things normally offered there. We today have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross to atone for our sins, and it is the only way that sin can be atoned for. Verse seventeen adds, But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses. Moses burned what was left of the bullock outside the camp. Aaron and his sons did not get what was left in this case, I believe because it would have been them profiting materially from the sacrifice for their sins. When we come to Christ accepting Him as our Savior and Lord, we do not do so to profit materially. Verse eighteen continues, And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. Moses next brought a ram for the burnt offering, and once again Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head as they had done with the bullock. Verse nineteen says, And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. Verse twenty adds, And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. Moses was once again the one carrying out the requirements for the sacrifice, just as Jesus Christ carried out the only sacrifice for sin that will ever be acceptable. We cannot come to God through our own plan, just as Aaron and his sons couldn't make sacrifices for their own sins. Of course we do not have a Moses, an earthly representative of God, who can sacrifice for us. Through faith in Christ alone can a person find salvation. Verse twenty-one continues, And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. Once again, the whole sacrifice was burned, this time on the altar, and it was a sweet savor to the LORD. Our sacrifice of all that we have to God through our faith in Christ will always be a sweet savor to God. Verse twenty-two declares, And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. Then verse twenty-three adds, And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. This was the sacrifice of consecration, and Moses first consecrated Aaron. As followers of Christ, we must each individually consecrate our self to God. Verse twenty-four concludes, And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. Moses did the same with Aaron's sons. Aaron's consecration did not consecrate his sons, just as the consecration of someone else cannot consecrate us today. We must all come to Christ individually to be sanctified before God.
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