January 12

Exodus 29:33
“They shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof because they are holy” —Exodus 29:3333And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. (Exodus 29:33).
THE food of the priests was the offering of the Lord. In this they pictured believers, the priesthood of the new dispensation who, after having been justified through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, now are to feed their souls upon Him who died for them and rose again. It is as we meditate upon what the Word reveals concerning our blessed Lord that we feast upon His body and drink His blood. The worldling cannot enter into this. It is only for God’s anointed priests.
“O Lord, what consolation,
Doth in our souls take place,
When we Thy toil and passion
Can gratefully retrace!
Ah should we, while thus musing
On our Redeemer’s cross,
E’en life itself be losing,
Great gain would be that loss!”
—Bernard of Clairvaux.