Exodus 29:5-95And 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: 6And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. 7Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. 8And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. 9And 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. (Exodus 29:5‑9)
WHEN AARON and his sons were consecrated as priests, a young bullock, two rams, and other accompanying offerings were to be brought to the door of the tabernacle. These offerings all speak of Christ and will come before us a little further on in our chapter.
After they had been washed, Aaron is seen alone and separated from his sons. The beautiful high priest’s garments were put upon him, and he was anointed with oil. In this he stands alone, for here he is a type of Christ. Later on he is seen with his sons and is sprinkled with blood before being anointed. In this case he is viewed as a member of the priestly family and needed for himself the cleansing of the blood.
But the Lord Jesus needed no such cleansing; He was the holy, harmless, undefiled One, and was anointed by the Spirit immediately after His baptism, when He began His blessed service down here. Then it was the Spirit of God came upon Him in the form of a dove because of who He was — the spotless Son of God. We as believers, as seen in Aaron’s sons, must first know the cleansing power of the blood of Christ before we can receive the Holy Ghost. Now, because of this, all believers are priests.
The thought of a priest in Scripture is one who has access to God, “to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 2:55Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5). How wonderful the grace that has picked up sinners, afar off from God, washed us from all our sins in His own blood and made us “priests unto God and His Father"! We could not be nearer to God than we are now; “for in the Person of His Son we are as near as He.” Well might we join in singing the praise of Him who loves us: “To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 1:66And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:6).
He robed me in a priestly dress,
That I might incense bring
Of prayer, and praise, and righteousness,
To heaven’s eternal King;
And when He gave this robe to me,
He smiled and said, “Absolvo te.”
After Aaron was arrayed in his high priestly robes and anointed, the beautiful fine linen garments made for his sons were put upon them. Thus they are now seen as associated with him. This answers to the believer’s putting on Christ. We have nothing apart from Him. All the privileges and blessings we enjoy flow from our connection with Hint There is nothing of man’s doing in this. Priests cannot be made by man Christ is the Priest and He alone can make us priests unto God.
Furthermore, “the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute.” Nothing can change or undo, the work of Christ. The believer may fail, and we often do, sad to say. But in His perfect work He has made provision for one who has failed to be restored to communion again.
His work can never fail;
By Him our Sacrifice and Priest,
We pass within the veil.
To worship within the veil, to sing the praises of Him who loved us and of the Father who sent Him is the privilege and portion of every believer, both now and forever. May we seek to live for Him down here, dear young believer, as soon we shall live with Him in His glorious home on high.
ML-10/18/1970