Consecrated

DEVOTION

EXODUS

CONSECRATED

Ex 29:1-9

29:1 "This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect. 2 And from fine wheat flour, without yeast, make bread, and cakes mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil. 3 Put them in a basket and present them in it — along with the bull and the two rams. 4 Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. 5 Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. 6 Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred diadem to the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. 8 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics 9 and put headbands on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. In this way you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

NIV

Although we have seen back in chapter 19 that God declared the whole of Israel to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, here he is actually consecrating the tribe of Levi, Aaron and his sons as the priests to serve the LORD in the tabernacle. There is much discussion about Jesus being the High Priest forever. However Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, not Levi. Nevertheless for the moment in time, during those years preceding the coming of Christ, the Levi tribe served as priests. Here we have Moses dressing Aaron and his sons in the royal garments God had shown Moses to have made so that they would clearly be the men who served God in the tabernacle. There is going to be some actions taken next with the bull and the rams, but for now let us just stay with the idea of them being consecrated as priests. What we learn here is that we are not those priests. We are now the holy nation, a royal priesthood who serve the LORD.

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation , a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

NIV  

Anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is now the chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. It is clear that we were once not the people of God, but since we accepted Jesus we have become the people of God. Once we were under the wrath of God, not his mercy, but now in Christ we are under his mercy. We were in the darkness, but he has called us out of that into the light. The Holy Spirit convicts all men of their sin and need of repentance, and praise God we listened to the Spirit, we heard his voice, felt his conviction and responded, leaving the darkness and coming into the wonderful light. As Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the LORD, so are we. We are made or declared sacred, set apart or dedicated to the service of God.

Zeph 1:7

7 Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.

NIV

Jesus is that sacrifice and as the Holy Spirit invited us through that conviction which we responded to we have been consecrated by God. Having said that, all are invited, but some are too busy to come to the banquet. So we who were invited and came to Christ, are now dressed in these royal trappings, this royal garment of Christ, and we are his holy nation, his royal priests. Let us serve our LORD in his tabernacle, our very beings, consecrated.