Our God has set us apart for the most amazing work in history – to be His witnesses of the gospel. The Levitical priesthood was a shadow of this ministry.
Exodus 29: Consecration of the Priests
1 "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,
2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour.
3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams.
4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
5 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 skilfully woven band of the ephod.
6 And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban.
7 You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.
8 Then you shall bring his sons and put coats on them,
9 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.
10 "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.
11 Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting,
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 "Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram,
16 and you shall kill the ram and shall take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar.
17 Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head,
18 and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
19 "You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram,
20 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.
21 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.
22 "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),
23 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.
24 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.
25 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.
26 "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.
27 And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'.
28 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.
29 "The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him; they shall be anointed in them and ordained in them.
30 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.
31 "You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place.
32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
33 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.
34 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.
35 "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,
36 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.
37 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.
38 "Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day regularly.
39 One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.
40 And with the first lamb a tenth seah of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering.
41 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, a food offering to the LORD.
42 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.
43 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory.
44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.
45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.
46 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.
Exodus 30: The Altar of Incense
1 "You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.
2 A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.
3 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a moulding of gold around it.
4 And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its moulding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.
5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you.
7 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it,
8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations.
9 You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.
10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD."
The Census Tax
11 The LORD said to Moses,
12 "When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.
13 Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD.
14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD's offering.
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD's offering to make atonement for your lives.
16 You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for your lives."
The Bronze Basin
17 The LORD said to Moses,
18 "You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it,
19 with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet.
20 When they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the LORD, they shall wash with water, so that they may not die.
21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations."
The Anointing Oil and Incense
22 The LORD said to Moses,
23 "Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane,
24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.
25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,
27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,
28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand.
29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.
30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.
31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, 'This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.
32 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.
33 Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.'"
34 The LORD said to Moses, "Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part),
35 and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.
36 You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you.
37 And the incense that you shall make according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. It shall be for you holy to the LORD.
38 Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from his people."
Things to think about…
You are set apart for the Lord’s service. The blood of lambs, rams and bulls in Ex 29 for the setting apart of the Priests represents Christ’s blood over us. We are set apart for His service and are His representatives in this fallen world. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Our service, setting apart for the Lord and salvation has cost a great price – Christ’s blood. What sort of service should we offer in the light of this great cost? Surely with our own lives as we are to be ‘living sacrifices’.
Our prayers are a sweet smelling incense to the Lord. The altar of incense, Ex 30:1-10 was covered by gold, representing the Lord’s presence and blessing, was a place of offering, but also communion. Our prayer time should be one of life, joy and sweetness with our Lord. Pray for that sweet communion with your Saviour to be even more rich. Enter into glory with Him at this altar of prayer. Note that unauthorised incense would not be tolerated, vs 10. Prayers that focus on self and display discontent are like offering this unholy incense on His altar.
The census of a half shekel was required of every male twenty and above, Ex 30:11-16. We are numbered and known by the Lord. Remember Jesus tells Peter that the sons are free and yet tells Peter to go fishing to pay the temple tax for them both, Mt 17-24-27. This is true, but true freedom only comes from Christ’s coin. Only He can pay it.
Do you see any significance between the bronze basin and the washing of hands and feet , Ex 30:17-21 and John 13 with the washing of the disciples feet by Jesus? The significance is found in vs 20 “so that you may not die”. Jesus said you are clean though not all of you, you have no part in Me unless I wash your feet. What did He mean? Christ has to wash us from our sin. As Christ’s priests we are washed at His bronze basin.
The anointing oil and formula, Ex 30:22-38 represents the work and presence of the Holy Spirit. His presence needs to flow through us individually and as a church. With Him every part of our lives and service is anointed, just like all the holy articles that were used in the tent of meeting, vss 26-29. This formula was not offered by Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu as we shall see when they offered ‘strange fire’.
Cell group questions from Sunday morning’s sermon “What’s with the stones” Ex 28.
1. The High Priest had the 12 tribes of Israel represented by 12 precious stones on his breastplate. What was the significance of the stones, their placement and where they were taken by the High Priest in his ministry in the holy of holies in the tabernacle?
2. Doug brought out that Jesus is our Great High Priest. Discuss what this means and how the Old Testament High Priest was a type of Christ.
3. What did Doug mean when he said that if he had a choice of stone a lump of coal would have been his choice. He also brought out that when sin is committed blood had to be shed. What does this mean in the light of Christ and the cross?
4. In the New Jerusalem the walls are made up of 12 layers of precious stones and we are personally given a white stone with a new name, Rev 2:17. Discuss.
5. Pray for new folk that have recently joined us that they be joined into the fellowship of the church. Pray for each other, our city and country.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Gary and Christine who lost their sister/sister in law Diane to a long battle with cancer. Pray for Diane’s husband Evan that his heart softens to Christ.
2. Pray for Catherine who has suffered many mini strokes, TIA’s. In hospital at present.
3.
4. Others who are struggling in their commitment to Christ and relationship strain/choices.
5. Sunday’s messages. The message this week – “Done decently and in order” Exod 36-40, Jay.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. Faithful preaching by Doug Horne on Sunday.
2. Ras Beirut Baptist Church thankful for CBC’s partnership and support - $1500.
3. 5 young people stepping up to be trained on the words and streaming software.
4. Blessing Beirut ($1500). Thank you!
5. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
6. Praise God for all those who serve at CBC.
Announcements
1. Prayer meetings back this week. Tuesday and Thursday mornings at church 5:30am – 6:30am.
2. Carols Sun 20th Dec 6pm. Start with a meal. Carols to start after the meal.
3. Training for words and streaming – 6pm Friday night – young people.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Kids Church in the house this week when the message is on.
