Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests (29:1).
God instructed that the Levites were to be priests. They were set apart for the service of God. Their jobs were very practical such as setting up, taking down and carrying the tabernacle and its various items from place to place as the Israelites followed God. Among the Levites were Aaron and his descendants, who were cohanim or priests. Those were the ones who offered the sacrifices on behalf of the people. It was Aaron and his sons who were ordained in the ceremonies described in this chapter that lasted for seven days.
This ordination was an intense experience, involving all the senses – sight (the garments which were for “glory and beauty” (28:2); touch (blood was put on the tips of their right ears, thumbs of their right hands, and great toes of their right feet – 29:20); as well as smell ,sound, and taste (of the burnt offerings – 29:18, 32).
The ultimate purpose of this was for God to not only meet with His people, but to dwell with them:
“It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before HaShem where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am HaShem their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am HaShem their God” (29:41-46).
God wants to live with His people – how wonderful is that! The thing that separates us from Him is our sin, but Yeshua (Jesus) took care of that by His sacrificial death for our sins and His resurrection from the dead.
Although we don’t want to, we do still sin, but “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9).
To those of us who have accepted this sacrificial gift from God, God has given us His Holy Spirit to live in us. In fact, the Scriptures say that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).
That should affect how we live – lives that are set apart for God, even as the priests, whom we are reading about, were set apart for God and His service. This is a glorious thing – may God help us to live this way!
Prayer: God, I thank You for Jesus’ sacrifice for me, the cleansing and forgiveness that is mine because of what He has done. You dwell with me. May You empower me to live a life that is worthy! Amen.
