Message 133
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 29:1-14; 40:12-15; Lev. 8:1-9, 12-17
In this message we come to another section of the book of Exodus. We have covered the tabernacle with its furnishings and also the priestly garments. When God’s people were gathered at Mount Sinai, Moses received the revelation of the pattern of the tabernacle and the design of the furniture of the tabernacle. The children of Israel were to build a house, a sanctuary, for the Lord to dwell among them and for His people to serve Him. Following this, the book of Exodus records a description of the priestly garments.
In the Bible garments signify our living, behavior, conduct, and character. This indicates that, concerning the priests, God’s serving ones, Exodus first takes care of their outward conduct signified by the priestly garments. Now in chapter twenty-nine we have a section dealing with the sanctification of Aaron and his sons to be priests.
Those who read Exodus 29 can easily be impressed with what is often called the consecration of the priests. Apparently this chapter is concerned with consecration, for here we see that the priests and their garments have been made ready and need to be consecrated. Some versions use the word ordination instead of consecration. This translation of the Bible is based on the traditional, religious practice of ordination. Actually, there is no ground for this translation. Verse 9 says, “And you shall gird them with a girdle, Aaron and his sons, and bind caps on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs for an eternal statute; and you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.” The Hebrew word rendered consecrate literally means “fill their hand.” Neither the word consecrate nor the word ordain is accurate. Therefore, I prefer not to use the word consecrate in verse 9. What this verse talks about is the filling of the priests’ hands. Because their hands were empty, they needed their hands to be filled. This indicates that we cannot serve God empty-handed. If we would serve Him, our hands must be filled with Christ. Thus, to consecrate the priests, to ordain them (if we want to use that word), means the filling of their hands. The hands of those who serve the Lord need to be filled with Christ.
In 29:1 the word sanctify is used: “And this is the thing which you shall do to them to sanctify them to serve as priests to Me: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish.” To sanctify something is absolutely different from ordaining it or consecrating it. To sanctify means to set something apart. For example, there may be many cattle in a herd, but one of these cattle is set apart from the herd. As a result, that animal is sanctified. Furthermore, when an animal is set apart from the herd or flock, a mark may be put on it to indicate that it has been set apart. Hence, to sanctify means to set something apart with a certain mark.
Formerly we were among all the sinners in the world. But one day the Lord set us apart. Salvation is an all-inclusive matter, and it includes being set apart. One day the Lord Jesus came to set us apart, that is, to save us. He separated us from sinners. To be saved and set apart in this way is to be sanctified.
The Lord’s sanctifying always labels us, puts a mark upon us. We bear a mark to indicate that we have been saved, sanctified, and set apart unto God. Do you know what is the mark that separates us and sets us apart? This mark is Christ Himself.
When we were among sinners, we were empty. Not only were we empty-handed, but our whole being was empty. When we were saved, Christ came into us and became the mark that sets us apart from empty sinners. From that time on, we have had something within us, something in our hand, with which to serve God. Many Christians, however, do not realize this. No one has told them they have Christ to fill their hand. Nevertheless, from the time we were saved, we have had Christ.
Since we have Christ, we should not come to God empty-handed. Rather, we should always come to Him with Christ. This is the reason we pray and meet in the name of the Lord Jesus. To meet in the Lord’s name is to meet with Him. Those, such as the Jews, who pray to God without praying in the name of the Lord Jesus, pray to Him in a way that is empty-handed. But our praying in the name of the Lord Jesus is different because we are praying to God with our hands filled.
Now we can understand that consecration in Exodus 29 means to fill our hands. Genuine consecration is the filling up of our emptiness with Christ. This also is sanctification. Whenever we come to the meetings, we should have something of Christ to offer to God. We should not come to the meetings empty-handed. To be empty-handed in the meetings is to be condemned. We all should be priests whose hands are filled with Christ.
Aaron, the high priest, experienced the Passover in Egypt. In relation to the filling up of Aaron’s empty hands, the sin offering was the first offering presented to God. Was this not a repetition of the Passover? Did not the Passover include the sin offering? These questions are not easy to answer. We all experienced the Passover when we were saved. Why, then, do we still need the sin offering? Why in the filling up of the priests’ empty hands was there still the need for the sin offering? When we were saved and experienced the Passover, our sins were forgiven. Nevertheless, when we come to the Lord, we still need the sin offering. No matter how long we have been saved, whenever we come to serve God, we need the sin offering because we are still living in the flesh, in the old creation. To serve God as priests requires the sin offering. Even to contact the Lord during morning watch requires the sin offering. Serving the Lord as a priest is a great matter, and contacting Him in the morning watch is a comparatively small matter, but in both cases we need the sin offering and the trespass offering.
To consecrate someone to be God’s priest is to sanctify him, and to sanctify him is to set him apart. In order for someone to be set apart to serve God as a priest, his hands need to be filled. This filling up of the hands becomes a mark that sets him apart from everything that is common. If I have something of Christ filling my hands, this indicates that I have been set apart. Whoever has Christ in his hands to fill his emptiness is set apart, sanctified.
Not only is it inaccurate to use the word consecrate in verse 9, but it is also inappropriate, because it somewhat hinders the proper understanding of what is recorded in this chapter. When we read the word consecrate, we may automatically think about dedicating ourselves to the Lord. But as we have pointed out, the meaning of consecrate here is to have Christ filling up our emptiness. In ourselves we are empty-handed. Now we need our empty hands to be filled with Christ. Having our hands filled is not a matter of consecration; it is to sanctify us, to set us apart, to make us different from others.
If our hands are filled with Christ, those in our family, neighborhood, or place of employment will realize that we are different. But if we are common, if there is no difference between us and unbelievers, then we are not priests. What makes us different from others is that we have Christ filling our hands. Wherever we may be, at school, at work, or at home, we need to have hands full of Christ. Being filled up with Christ will then be a mark that sets us apart from those who are common. Others will recognize that we are different. They are still empty-handed, but our hands are full of Christ. To have hands filled with Christ is to be sanctified to be a priest.
When I was young, I learned about the universal priesthood from the Brethren teachers. The Brethren are opposed to the clergy-laity system. Before they were raised up one hundred sixty years ago, the clergy and laity were prevailing among Christians. Then the Brethren began to stand up against this system and testify that it is wrong. They said that, according to the New Testament, all believers are priests. Because this teaching is true, I accepted it and passed it on to others. However, I did not realize how God’s people could be sanctified to serve as priests.
Although Aaron and his sons were of God’s people, they still needed to be sanctified. What was done to them in Exodus 29 was not done to unbelievers, to Egyptians. Because they were among the people of God, Aaron and his sons had experienced the Passover, even while they were yet in Egypt. But they still needed to be set apart, sanctified, in order to serve God as priests. According to verse 9, the priesthood was to be theirs for an eternal statute. What was it that sanctified Aaron and his sons and made them different from others? What made them different and sanctified them from the rest of the children of Israel was the filling up of their hands with all the rich offerings. This filling sanctified them, set them apart, and became a mark of separation and sanctification. Yes, we all have been saved, but we need to ask ourselves if our hands are filled with Christ.
For a long time I did not know how to be a priest. Through years of groping, I gradually came to understand that to serve God as a priest requires that our hands be filled with Christ. Praise the Lord that I am no longer groping! Now I see that it is by having our hands filled with Christ that we are set apart to serve God as His priests.
We all need to be encouraged to function in the meetings. But the question is how to function. Some may function by simply saying, “Praise the Lord!” However, if someone functions only in this way for a period of time, he will no longer have a pleasant taste when he declares this in the meetings. The same will be true of saying, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah.” To function properly in the meetings, we all need to have our hands filled with Christ.
We need to see what it means to be sanctified to serve God as a priest. This matter of being set apart, separated, does not take place by some action or activity on our part; it comes about by having our hands filled with Christ as the offerings. This filling up of our empty hands with Christ is our sanctification, and this sanctification sets us apart to be God’s priests.
Who sets us apart for this? The One who sets us apart to be priests serving God is Christ. However, the Christ who sets us apart is not a mere doctrinal Christ; He is the Christ we experience as the offerings filling up our hands. If we understand this, we have the proper foundation to consider the details of the sanctification of Aaron and his sons to be priests.
In order to have our hands filled with Christ, we need to be washed. Exodus 29:4 says, “And you shall bring Aaron and his sons near unto the door of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water.” What we need for the filling of our hands cannot be given to us if we are unclean. Therefore, we need to be cleansed, washed. One who is dirty cannot serve as a priest. For this reason, it was necessary for Aaron and his sons to be brought near to the door of the tent of meetings and washed with water.
The washing of Aaron and his sons with water signifies the washing away of the defilements of the earthly touch, with the water in the Word (Heb. 10:22; John 15:3 see Eph. 5:26). In John 15:3, the Lord Jesus says, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” In Ephesians 5:26 Paul says, “That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word.” For us, the water that washes us is the word of God. In chapters fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen of John we see the sanctification of the priests. In these chapters the Lord Jesus was sanctifying His disciples to be priests. That sanctification began with the washing of the word, for the Lord told them that they were clean because of His word. The same is true in principle with Ephesians 5:26. It is by the water in the word that we are sanctified and cleansed.
Verses 5 through 9 indicate that after Aaron and his sons were washed, they were clothed with the priestly garments. First Aaron was clothed with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate. Then he was girded with the band of the ephod. Following that, the turban was put upon his head, and upon the turban there was the holy crown, the golden plate. This holy crown was like a diadem; it was the blossom of his priestly garments. Once Aaron had been clothed in this way, his garments became upon him a complete and perfect expression full of beauty and glory.
If Aaron had stood near the tent of meeting clothed in his priestly garments for a long period of time, he may have said, “I’m hungry. Outwardly I am properly clothed. My nakedness is covered, and I am clothed with garments for beauty and glory. But I still need something to nourish me and fill my hunger.” This means that the priests needed the offerings in addition to the garments. The offerings were to be the priests’ food. In addition to being washed and clothed, the priests needed inward nourishment, inward strengthening.
As we consider the picture of the washing and clothing of the priests, we realize the crucial need of food. We know from previous messages that the priestly garments typify Christ. To study these garments is an excellent way to study the Person of Christ. Not even in the New Testament do we have such a clear, rich, and profound record of the details of Christ’s Person as that in Exodus concerning the priestly garments. But these garments were only for outward expression and beauty. They could not meet the inward need for nourishment.
The story of the prodigal son and his return home illustrates the need for both clothing and food. The prodigal son decided to return home because he was hungry and had nothing to eat. He did not come back in order to have a garment for outward expression and beauty. However, before feeding him, the father first clothed him. According to Luke 15:22, the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him.” As the robe was being placed upon him, the prodigal son may have said to himself, “I’m still hungry. The robe may be very important to my father, but it is not that important to me. I came back because I needed something to eat.” After telling the servants to put the best robe on his son, the father said, “And bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry” (Luke 15:23). What made the hungry one happy was not the clothing — it was the fatted calf.
If Aaron had been clothed and not fed, he surely would have been hungry. He may have said, “Outwardly, everything is fine, beautiful, and glorious. But what about my hunger? I’m still empty inside.” This picture of Aaron clothed with the priestly garments but still in need of food indicates that we need Christ to be our outward expression and glory and even the more to be our inward nourishment and strengthening. We need Him to be our food! For this reason, in Exodus 28 we have the clothing of the priests, and in chapter twenty-nine we have the food for the priests. If as children of God we are to be sanctified to be priests serving Him, we need both outward clothing and inward nourishment. This clothing and nourishment are the filling up of our emptiness.
Now we can understand what it means to have our emptiness filled with Christ. There is an inward emptiness and an outward emptiness. Outward emptiness is a matter of nakedness, and inward emptiness is a matter of hunger. To exist we must solve the problems of both outward nakedness and inward hunger. Thus, for the maintenance of human life, food and clothing are absolutely vital. These needs, along with lodging and transportation, are the basic aspects of our living. To earn a living means to earn what we need to guarantee that we have clothing, food, lodging, and transportation. In the Bible the emphasis is not on lodging and transportation; it is on clothing and food. When we have Christ as our clothing, we also have Him as our lodging, for our clothing is our lodging. Furthermore, we may say that the Spirit is our transportation. In this message, however, we are concerned with clothing and food. Outwardly we must have clothing, and inwardly we must have food.
Both the clothing and food we need are Christ. This also is illustrated by the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The best robe placed upon the returned prodigal is Christ, and the fatted calf also is Christ. The best robe is Christ as our clothing, and the fatted calf is Christ as our food. Praise the Lord that when we wear the best robe and enjoy the fatted calf, we are filled and sanctified! We are sanctified by God the Father to be His priests with Christ as the mark of our sanctification. The Christ who fills our emptiness is the One who separates us, who sets us apart from being common. Hallelujah, our emptiness is completely filled with Christ! No longer do we have nakedness outwardly or hunger inwardly. Our outward emptiness is filled with Christ as our clothing, and our inward emptiness is filled with Christ as our food.
