This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Welcome to our look at Exodus chapter 29, which means we are in week 6, day 4.
We're looking today again at the priests. We looked yesterday at the priest's
clothes and the fact that God wants to clothe us in a different way because of
who we are in Christ.

And that's part of living the life of freedom, is realizing He wants to clothe
you in a different way and saying each day, God, do that through your spirit in
my life, grow that in my life. Today we look at the consecration of the priest,
the commitment of the priest. In this chapter, it's called the ordination of the
priest.

We look at ordinances a couple chapters ago. Now we get to look at ordination in
these verses. It's an idea of being set apart, recognizing that they're holy.

In verse 9, we see that the priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. And so
they were to ordain Aaron and his sons. And I want to walk through with you what
they did in this ordination.

Sometimes we have ordination services today in churches where people are set
aside in recognition of the fact that they're going to serve God in full-time
ministry the rest of their lives. But this is a different kind of ordination
service. Remember, all that's happening here is looking forward to what God's
going to do in your life, in my life.

The life of the priest foreshadows the life of the believer. So look at what was
involved in this ordination. And then I want you to see in a moment how it's
some very familiar things when it comes to my life and your life.

What were they to do when they ordained, when they recognized, they consecrated
the priests? First, they were to dress them. Verse 5 and 6, "Take the garments
and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself, and the
breast piece.

Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. Put the turban on his
head and attach the sacred diadem to the turban. " That was part of this
ordination, as Aaron would stand there and he'd be dressed in these clothes that
we talked about yesterday.

So first, dress him. Number 2, anoint him. Verse 7, "Take the anointing oil and
anoint him by pouring it on his head.

" So he was to be anointed as a sign of holiness of what God was doing in his
life. First dress, then anoint. Number 3, make offerings.

And in this case, they offered a bowl and some rams and some bread. Verse 10 is
the first of these offerings, "Bring the bowl to the front of the tent of
meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it
in the Lord's presence at the entrance to the tent of the meeting.

" Now as they were making these offerings, there is something I want to point
out here, very interesting that happened. In verses 19 and 20, "Take the other
ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it, and
take some of its blood, and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and
his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their
right feet.

Then sprinkle blood against the altar on all sides. " That just pops out at you.
You read the offering was made, the sacrifice was made, and then the blood,
you're to take it and put it on the right earlobe, the right thumb, and the
right big toe.

There's just something that's awesome about that as we read through this. You
see this great ordination service, and all of a sudden you've got earlobe and
thumb and toe, and a bit of blood being put on each. Why?

Why does this happen? It was a sign of the fact that that sacrifice that was
made involved all of Aaron's life, all of his son's life. To be a priest, to be
consecrated as a priest, wasn't just a part of their lives.

It wasn't just their head. It wasn't just their hands. It wasn't just their
feet.

It was head and hands and feet. It was all of their lives. All of their lives
was being recognized in this moment as being cleansed, being consecrated before
God.

That's what it means to serve him. Now, it's interesting. When you get to
Leviticus 14, this same exact ceremony, the right earlobe, the right thumb, the
right toe, is where blood is placed as an offering for the cleansing of a leper.

So whether priest or leper, whether the most honored spiritually in ancient
Israel or the most dishonored, lepers were unclean. They would live outside of
the city. Whatever strata of society you lived on, the sacrifices that were
made, there is recognition that it covers all of who you are.

There's a close connection they had to this offering that was made. We're going
to come to what that means in our lives in just a minute. They were to be
dressed.

They were to be anointed. There was an offering that was made in this
ordination. And then finally, they ate.

I love that part of it. Verses 32 and 33, "At the entrance to the tent of
meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is
in the basket. They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for
their ordination and consecration.

But no one else may eat them because they are sacred. " So only those for whom
the offering was made could eat of this offering. Now why did they do all this?

When you understand why they did all this, it unlocks a key that opens a door
that helps you and I to see the deep significance of this in our lives. Why did
they do all this? Why a tabernacle?

Why a priesthood? It was all a sign of the fact that God was dwelling with them.
Verses 45 and 46.

This ordination ends with God saying, "Then I will dwell among the Israelites
and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God who brought them
out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

" As I read through this chapter about the ordination of these priests, I have
two great thoughts in my mind. Number one, thank you. Thank you, Jesus, for what
you did on the cross.

No longer do we have a need for a temple or clothes or sacrifices or earlobes
and thumbs and toes because you've made us holy by what you did through your
Spirit, putting your Spirit into us. Not only do you dwell among us, but you
dwell in us by your Spirit. Thank you, Jesus, for what you did on the cross.

There's a second thought that hits me as I read through this chapter. As I read
through this chapter, I'm reminded of another ordination of sorts, another
recognition of the fact that it's God who dwells amongst us. There are many
similarities between this ordination and the promises that are shown to us in
the book of Revelation.

If you're familiar with the book of Revelation, you know that it ends with God
saying, "I will dwell with them. They shall be my people. I shall be their God.

" That's the end of the book of Revelation. That's what the entire book looks
forward to. If you look at the book of Revelation, there are the same things
that happened in this ordination of these priests.

We will dress. We will be anointed. We will offer.

We will eat. We will dress all through the book of Revelation. There are those
who dress in white robes that are a sign of their purity.

We will be pure because of what Jesus has done for us. We will be anointed. As
oil was poured on their head, God's Spirit has been poured on our lives, so
we're anointed by his Spirit.

You see that all through the book of Revelation. We will offer. We offer all
through the book of Revelation.

What is offered? Our worship is offered. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God
Almighty.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lamb who is on the throne. Our worship is offered again
and again and again in the book of Revelation. We will dress.

We will be anointed. We will offer. We will eat.

In the book of Revelation, it is the wedding supper of the Lamb. The Lamb is
Jesus. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

So even as a sacrifice, a ram was sacrificed here, and that blood was put on
their ears and thumbs and toes in recognition that that covered all of their
lives, Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave his life for us. And that blood covers not
just ears, thumbs, and toes. It covers everything about your life.

Every sin in your life is covered by what Jesus did for you. And we're going to
celebrate the wedding supper of the Lamb. Who's invited?

Everyone who's accepted his offering. Just as with the priests sitting down, and
only they could eat this offering because they were the ones who had accepted
this offering. In the wedding supper of the Lamb, it's going to be everyone, the
millions upon millions upon millions, who have accepted the offering of Jesus
Christ for us on the cross.

What an ordination that's going to be. What a celebration that's going to be. I
want you to be part of that celebration.

If you're not sure you're forgiven, if you're not sure you're going to be there
with him, it's not based on what you do. If it was based on what you do, you
could never be sure until you got there. It's based on what he did.

So you can be sure by accepting that gift. Let me just lead you in a brief
prayer, accepting it now. Just say, Jesus Christ, I accept the gift of your
offering for me.

I want it to cover every sin in my life. I need your forgiveness. I accept the
gift of your offering for me.

And I look forward to celebrating with you in eternity. Between then and now,
show me how to follow you. Show me how to live for you.

And Jesus, for all of us, we pray that you'd help us to live in the holiness of
what's going to happen someday, that we will be dressed in white robes. We will
be anointed by your spirit. We will offer our worship and we will eat in this
wedding supper of the Lamb.

Help us to live in light of that reality, even today. Help us to fix our
thoughts on heaven, even as we live the realities of earth. Not to lose out on
what we can live today, but to have a new perspective on everything we face
today.

We ask for this. In Jesus' name, amen. Tomorrow, we're going to talk together
about what it means to be anointed.