Thursday, December 5, 2019

Exodus 29:31 says, And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.  Verse thirty-two adds, 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.  The ram of consecration was to be cooked and eaten by Aaron and his sons, along with the bread in the basket.  This was to be done by the floor of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Verse thirty-three declares, 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.   Aaron and his sons were to do this to consecrate themselves.  Strangers were not to eat of these things, because the meat and bread were holy in God's view.  Those who do not believe in God have always been kept from sharing in God's sanctification.  Those who do not accept Christ as Savior and Lord today will never share in everlasting salvation.  Verse thirty-four adds, And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.  Anything left over was to be burned, because it was holy.  Verse thirty-five states, And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.  Moses was to follow God's instructions concerning Aaron and his sons.  They were to be consecrated for seven days.  When we come to Christ today, we must come on God's terms, and when we do, we are then consecrated to Him.  Verse thirty-six adds,  And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.  A bullock was to be sacrificed every day for a sin offering, and the altar was to be cleansed afterwards.  Verse thirty-seven says, Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.  After seven days of atonement for the altar, it was considered holy and anything that touched it was considered holy.  We today do not have a physical altar that is considered holy in this respect, in that anything that touches it becomes holy.  We do have the Holy Spirit living in us if we are followers of Christ, so when we go to the altar, it becomes a holy place.  Verse thirty-eight declares, Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.  There was to be an ongoing offering.  Today, Christ is our everlasting offering to atone for our sins.  Verse thirty-nine adds,  The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:  There was to be a morning offering of one lamb, and an evening offering of the other.  Verse forty adds, And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.  In addition to the lamb, there was to be a bread and wine offering.  Today, Christ is the Lamb, and we commerate His sacrifice with the Lord's Supper of bread and wine, or grape juice as the case may be.  Verse forty-one states, And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.  The evening offering was to be the same as the morning offering.  Verse forty-two declares, This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.  The people of Israel were to have a continual offering to God, and today Christ is our continual, forever sacrifice to God.  Verse forty-three adds, And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.   God said He would meet the children of Israel in the tabernacle.  We today have so much greater access to God.  As Christians, we have God with us at all times through the Holy Spirit living in us.  Verse forty-four continues, And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office.  The sacrifices that were offered did not sanctify the altar and Aaron and his sons, but God did.   No matter what we sacrifice to God, it will not sanctify us.  Only Christ can.  Verse forty five declares, And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.  God said He would be their God and dwell among them.  As followers of Christ,  God is our God and He dwells among us.  Verse forty-six adds,  And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God. Today, if we are followers of Christ, we know that God is our God, and He dwells among us.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Exodus 29:22 says, Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:  Certain parts of the ram and the fat of certain parts were to be used for consecration to God.  Verse twenty-three states, And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:  Then verse twenty-four adds,  And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.  One loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread were to be placed in the hands of Aaron and his sons as a wave offering to God.  Verse twenty-five says, And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.  After the bread and wafer had been given to Aaron and his sons, it was to be given back and burned on the altar as an offering to God.  I believe that the sweet savor was more to do with their obedience than the actual burning of the bread and wafer.  Verse twenty-six states, And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part.  The breast of the ram was to be taken by the people as a wave offering on their part.  Obviously, they could not all be in physical possession of the breast, but it was to represent them all.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:  Then verse twenty-eight continues, And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.  This was to be a heave offering to God from the children of Israel from their offering of sacrifice from then on.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.  The holy garments of Aaron's were to pass to his sons after him.  We do not have holy garments today, but we must do our best to pass the truth of the gospel on to our children.  Verse thirty adds, And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.  The son who had on the holy garments was to serve as priest for a week.  There was only one priest allowed in the holy place, but we today have unlimited access to God.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Exodus 29;10 says, And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.  Then verse eleven adds, And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of the bullock, and it was to be killed before the LORD by the door of the tabernacle.  I believe this was to symbolize Aaron and his sons dying, or being sacrificed to God.  The bullock would take their place in sacrifice before God, just as Christ takes our place in sacrifice before God.  Verse twelve states, And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.  Some of the blood was to be put on the horns of the altar, and the rest was to be poured at the bottom of the altar.  Basically, the altar was to be covered by the blood of the bullock from the top to the bottom, just as we today as followers of Christ are completely covered by His blood.  Verse thirteen says, And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar,  Some of the organs of the bullock were to be burned on the altar.  Verse fourteen adds, But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.   The rest of the bullock was to be burned outside the camp as a sin offering.  We cannot come to God without our sins being atoned for, and by having faith in Christ is the only way this can happen.  Verse fifteen states, Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.  Then verse sixteen adds, And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.   As with the bullock, Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of one of the rams and it was to be slain.  Then the blood was to be sprinkled around the altar.  Verse seventeen says,  And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.  Then verse eighteen adds,  And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.  The whole ram after it was cleansed to be burned on the altar as a sacrifice to the LORD.  I believe that we can say that like the ram, Christ sacrificed Himself fully on the cross to atone for our sins.  Verse nineteen states,
And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.  Verse twenty adds, Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.  Aaron and his sons were to place their hands on the head of the other ram, and it was to be killed.  Some of the blood of the ram was to be put on the right ear of Aaron and his sons and some on their thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot.  I believe this was to symbolize being completely covered by the blood.  The rest of the blood was to be sprinkled on the altar.  We can say that as followers of Christ, we are completely covered by His blood shed for us on the cross.  Verse twenty-one concludes, And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.  The blood and oil from the altar were to be sprinkled on Aaron and his sons to hallow, or consecrate, them before God.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Exodus 29:1 says, And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,   Aaron and his sons didn't just decide that they would be priests.  God chose them to be priests, and then they were hallowed, or consecrated as priests.  We today, when we become followers of Christ, become a part of the priesthood of believers, not because we choose to be, but because God calls us to be.  Then, whatever function we have in the church, it is because God calls us to that function.  Verse two states, And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.  In addition to the young bullock and two rams without blemish mentioned above, they were to take unleavened bread and cakes tempered with oil, and wafers anointed with oil.  Verse three adds, And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.  All the bread was to be put in one basket, and brought with the bullocks and two rams to consecrate and sanctify Aaron and his sons so that they might minister as priests.   When we come to God today to join the priesthood of believers, we must come by being sanctified by our faith in Christ, Who was our sacrifice for our sins.  Verse four says, And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.  Aaron and his sons were to be brought into the tabernacle and washed with water.  Verse five adds, And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:  Aaron was to be dressed in the priestly garments of the High priest.  We today as followers of Christ are dressed in the righteous of Christ.  Though we do not have physical garments to set us aside, we are nonetheless washed by the blood of Christ and covered by His righteousness.  Verse six states, And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.  The mitre was to be placed on Aaron's head.  Verse seven adds, Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.  Aaron was to be anointed with oil, signifying that he was consecrated to God.  Verse eight states, And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. Then verse nine adds, And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.  Aaron's sons were then to be dressed in the coats of the priesthood, and all were to have on girdles and bonnets.  They were basically to be covered from head to toe in priestly garments, just as we are to be completely covered by the righteousness of Christ today.   The priesthood was to be theirs for a perceptual state, just as our priesthood as believers today is perpetual, if we are consecrated by the blood of Christ.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Exodus 28:30 says, And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.   The Urim and Thummin, which were used to determine God's will were to be in the breast plate.  Verse thirty-nine states, And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.  Verse thirty-two adds, And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.  These are instructions for the robe for Aaron.  Verse thirty-three states, And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:  Verse thirty-four adds, A golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.   Verse thirty-five continues, And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.  The bell was to used so that the people knew when Aaron went into the holy place.  Verse thirty-six declares, And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.  They were to make a golden plate engraved with HOLINESS TO THE LORD.  God will never allow His holiness to be forgotten, especially when we come before Him to worship.  Verse thirty-seven says, And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. Verse thirty-eight adds, And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.  Aaron was to wear this when he went before God on behalf of the people of Israel.  Verse thirty-nine states, And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework   Then verse forty states, And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.  Different garments were to be made for Aaron's sons.  Though they were to be priests, there was to be only one high priest.  Today, we as followers of Christ are a part of the priesthood of believers, but there is but One High Priest, and that is Jesus Christ.  Verse forty-nine declares, 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.  Aaron and his sons were to be anointed and sanctified as priests so they could minister to God.  We today as Christians are consecrated by the blood of Christ so that we can do the work of God in the world.  Verse forty-two says, And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:  Then, verse forty-three concludes, And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.  Aaron and his sons were not to come into the tabernacle or near the altar with sin in their lives.  I believe that this would be known, unconfessed sins, and the same applies to us today.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Exodus 28:23  says, And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.  This is further details about the breast plate.  Verse twenty-four adds, And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.  This was the golden chain described in verse twenty-two.  Verse twenty-five continues, And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.   The golden chains were to be attached to the breast plate at one end and to ephod at the other.  Verse twenty-six says, And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.  There were to be two golden rings on the ends of the breast plate.  Then verse twenty-seven adds, And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.  There were to be two more golden rings on the two sides of the ephod, underneath to serve as a coupling for the curious girdle.  Verse twenty-eight states, And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.  The breast plate and the ephod were to be bound together with piece of blue lace running between the golden rings.  God gave Moses specific details for the wardrobe of Aaron.  The only specific requirement we have in order to come before God today is that we come by the way of the cross.  We don't have to be dressed a specific way and are not limited in our access to God.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.  The names of the children of Israel would be close to Aaron's heart when he went into the holy place.  As followers of Christ, wherever we go, the Holy Spirit goes with us to keep us close to the heart of God.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Exodus 28:9 says, And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:  There were to be two oryx stones engraved with the names of the children, or tribes, of Israel.  Verse ten adds, Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.  Six were to be named on one stone and six on the other, according to birth order.  Verse eleven says, With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.  These were to be precious stones, which would represent all the people of Israel appearing before God when the High Priest went in to the holy of holies.  Christ represents each believer by name before God today, and we should realize what a precious thing this is.  Verse twelve states, And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.  Aaron was to bear the two stones, representing all God's people, on his shoulders, just as Christ bears all of those who believe in and follow Him upon His shoulders today.  Verse thirteen says, And thou shalt make ouches of gold;  Verse fourteen adds, And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches. This was to be a very precious and ornate garment, much more so than the ordinary priestly garments.  Verse fifteen says, And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.  There was to be a breast plate of judgment made, in the same manner as the ephod.  Verse sixteen states,  Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.  The breast plate was to be of double thickness, or two ply.  These next few verse give details of the breast plate.  Verse seventeen says,  And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. Verse eighteen states, And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.  Verse nineteen adds, And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. Verse twenty continues, And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.   Verse twenty-one concludes, And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.  There were to be a total of twelve different stones, each with the name of one of the tribes of Israel on it.  Though we are all different, like these stones representing the people, we are all equally precious to God, and today Jesus is the One and only One Who can represent us before God.  He is our High Priest.  Verse twenty-two says, And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.  This is simply more of the way the breast plate was to be made ornate.