Shall we turn to the eighth chapter of Leviticus again? Chapter eight in the book of Leviticus. We have begun the study of this blessed chapter where we have the institution and the consecration of the priesthood in the days of Moses long ago. We've already covered part of the chapter. We've noticed particularly the importance of the occasion that not only was Aaron and his sons brought together, but the whole congregation of Israel to witness this solemn and wonderful event, which implies to you and to me as fellow believers today, the joy of realizing when it comes to the priesthood, every blood-bought, redeemed believer has to have a share in that priesthood. We are more favored than the children of Israel were. Only Aaron and his sons were privileged to minister in the tabernacle. Only Aaron and the high priest of whatever day it may have been was only permitted to go into the holiest of all once a year. For my fellow believer, you and I, from our New Testament we well know that the death of Christ has rents availed between our believing sinners and God, and you and I can boldly come into the presence of God to speak with him. May I say again, please remember this, the Israelites, the ordinary people, could never go beyond the entrance of the gate at the tabernacle. Only the priests could go further than that, ministering at the altar and onward, that no other person could ever answer into the tabernacle. Now that is not so for you and for me. We're all given the boldness of liberty without fear to draw nigh to God and be with him. We have noted the consecration of Aaron. He was anointed. And that is anointing, he typifies the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has been made for you and for me, our great-eyed priest in heaven above, according to the book of Hebrews. You will know very carefully, if you do, take care to realize that Aaron was anointed in his office before the sin offering was made. for himself and for his son, indicating he represented the Lord Jesus. For our Lord Jesus Christ never did need a sacrifice for his sins, for he had none. And thus, Aaron being so anointed before the sacrifice for the sin offering was given to baptize the Lord Jesus, made a high priest Not after the order of Aaron, as we well know from the book of Hebrews, but after the order of Melchizedek. Aaron had successive priests that followed him. The Lord Jesus will never have another priest that succeeds him, as the great high priest. We've also noted that sin offering was then made together, first of all, before the sons of Aaron were clothed together with Aaron with their holy garments. Now we come to the burnt offering that follows on this occasion. Let me begin reading, please, at verse eighteen, if you please, when we have the burnt offering in verses eighteen through twenty-one. Moses brought the ram for the burnt offering, and every son laid their hands upon the head of the ram, and he killed it, and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. and he cut the ram into pieces. Moses burnt the head and the pieces and the fat, and he washed the inwards and the legs in water. And Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet saver and an offering made by fire unto the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. Now you may recall in the study of the burn offering in chapter one, that burn offering represented and only represented the complete and perfect devotion of our Lord Jesus Christ to do the will of God, whatever the cost may have meant for him. You may also remember The dad's burn offering was called, together with the meal offering and also the peace offering, a sweet smelling savor. It was all for God, a sweet savor to him, representing the fragrance of his own beloved son in his devotion to do the will of God when he was upon the earth. And as a sweet savor offering, the burn offering was just carried out and executed. For what purpose? Well, before we go to the next one, which was an offering that's called the consecration offering, God is indicating the purpose and ministry for Aaron and his sons to officiate and be completing the priesthood to which they were called. Their ministry was to be a sweet savor of Christ to the heart of God. Can I repeat that? Please let me say it in this manner. My fellow believer, my brother and my sister in Christ, we've emphasized that all of us are priests. The priesthood of all believers takes in every man, woman, boy and girl. who belongs to Christ through saving faith in his precious and only work. And the purpose for our priesthood is that out of it, through it, in its ministry, whether in the presence of God or in the world, is that Christ should be a sweet saver through our work for him and our responsibility to him. So God has One ran for a burnt offering as a sweet savor, where all of it arose to the heart of God and for his satisfaction. So, my fellow believer, may I say to your heart and mine, your ministry, my ministry, and please let me remind you, let me not be forgetful to say, every man, woman, boy, young girl that is saved is in the ministry. You read Ephesians chapter three in verse eight and so on. And you'll find that until every one of us has been given a ministry. Don't worry if you never get on the platform. There's lots of things to do. We don't sign in on the platform. There's ministry. And ministry means service. And that's preached. As we know from first Peter two. We have a holy priest to Godward. And we have a royal priesthood. priesthood manward, so that we're responsible for the savor of Christ to be given Godward, as well as manward, in relation to our priestly work down here below. But let us come to the ram of consecration. This is one of the most fascinating, and the important one, perhaps, in relation to the institution of the priesthood. Chapter eight and verse twenty-two. Let me just read, beginning at verse twenty-two, down through verse twenty-five. Moses brought the other ram, the ram of consecration. Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram, and Moses slew it. Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, upon the thumb of his right hand, upon the great toe of his right foot, and he brought air and suns, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about, and he took the fat and the rump and all the fat, that was upon the inwards and the call upon the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right shoulder and so on. We'll stop right there for just a moment and go on further a little later. But here is the ram of consecration. And upon this occasion Moses brings the ram to Aaron and his son. And Aaron and his son put their hands upon the head of the ram, in identification the ram of consecration. They were being separated from all others to do the ministry of God. Now may I remind you of a verse in chapter seventeen in John's Gospel. Verse nineteen, where the Lord Jesus said, Praying to the Father in his high priestly prayer, which is properly can be called, praying for his own in this world. For their sake I sanctify myself that they may be sanctified. Sanctify them by thy truth, for thy word is truth. Now let me give you the picture. You don't have it in Aaron and sons together, because here you find them together. Not Aaron separate. But in the relationship of your relationship in mind to the Lord Jesus, he's our great high priest. And for our sake, he separated, sanctified, set apart, not on the earth, but in heaven to carry on his high priestly ministry. We'll see a little more of it as we go on later. But also, please now, You and I should be identified with Him in such a separation. Scientify them through thy truth, pray the Lord Jesus. Thy word is true, and for their sake I sanctify myself. Now, beloved, let me say, please, the ram of consecration, you've got to put Christ there first of all. And he needed no sin offering to enter into his ministry. Not for himself. But he made one for you and me. As we well know. And then took up that priestly word. In heaven above. But you and I are to be identified with it. And please note. How symbolically it is represented here. You find in verse. Twenty-three after the identification, laying their hands upon the head of the ranch, Moses flew it. It had to die. My beloved, you recognize there's two things to be pointed out. The Lord Jesus had to die before he could take up his high priestly ministry in heaven. In a certain measure, you and I should realize we need to die too. Except according to we fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. My beloved, there is no question of doubt. Death to self, death to our own will is necessary. And out of the pouring out of our lives that we deny ourselves in that way for his glory, there can be a blessed usefulness to labor and be for his glory here. So let me point out what you and I should do. The Lord Jesus, he was completely yielded to the will of God. Now let me quote Romans chapter twelve, one and two. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God. that she presents your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that holy and perfect and acceptable and perfect will of God. And there you can see you and I should identify us not Jesus, You live completely from God's will when you are here upon the earth in order to save me. Now, Lord Jesus, I should be identified with you, recognizing death to self, death to the world, but a life to God. So please note the application. As you read on in verse twenty-three, what did Moses do when it was slain? He took the blood. and he put it upon Aaron's right ear, upon the right thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right thumb. Now may I say this? When he did that, the blood of the sacrifice put a claim on Aaron and upon his son to the priesthood to which they were called. The blood was upon the ear, the blood was upon the thumb, and the blood was upon the great soul. First of all, and necessarily first, they had to let their ears be open to know God's will and hear his voice. Then when they knew it, their hands were to serve him, and their feet were to walk in his way. Please let me say this. In the tabernacle of old, God did not permit one person to officiate unless, as we saw last week at the beginning of this chapter, they had been bathed and ceremonial bath all over. Then they had to have the blood flaming them as the service of God. But my beloved, how typical for you and for me to realize, is the blood upon the ear? Is the blood upon the tongue? Is the blood upon the feet? God's servants of all could not walk into the sanctuary unless they had been thus separated under God by this action. And oh, their joy of realizing you and I should be doing the same. Then will you please go further, please? Let me go further down. He took the fat and the rump and all the fat that was upon the inwards and the collar above the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right shoulder. Then out of the basket of unleavened bread, there was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake and a cake of oil bread, one wafer, and put them on the fat and upon the right shoulder. Now please again let me re-emphasize Christ is pictured here. The basket of unleavened bread. The unleavened cake. The cake of oil bread. The waiter. Go back sometime to chapter two. And read of the meal offering. That spoke of the perfect humanity. The sinlessness. And the perfectness of the life of the Lord Jesus. When he was here upon the earth. And that was necessary for them to take. As they bring the offering now, as we shall see, with the ram of consecration before the Lord. And they were put upon the right shoulder of the sacrifice. Then go further. Then Moses put all of it, what he had out of the basket, that represented the humanity and the perfection of the Lord Jesus in his life. And as well as the shoulder there was the sacrifice. And if I may be reminded with you the preceding verse in verse twenty, in verse twenty-five, don't forget the symbol of the inward energy of the Lord Jesus and his sacrifice symbolized by the fat. And then the right shoulder of the sacrifice was taken, wasn't consumed, and he put all upon Aaron's hands and upon his son's hands. and wane them for a wave offering before the Lord. Now what I want you to notice is this, that which was taken, whether symbolizing the life of Christ and also the death of Christ, by the right shoulder. That was the meaning of consecration. He filled their hands with that. My beloved fellow believers, please let me say, for you and for me, for myself tonight. I cannot come before you unless my hands are filled. Fill with what? That which pertains to the life of Christ and that which pertains to the death of Christ. All the importance of realizing Consecration of the means, I commend or commit myself, I make a commitment. No, I get to know Christ. I feed on Christ. See, fill my hands. My beloved, please let me say, I know there are some that emphasize greatly the responsibility of surrendering your life. Look, what you and I need is to get our life filled with Christ. The filling of the hands. Please know what follows now. In verse twenty-eight. Well, at the end of verse twenty-seven, he weighs them as a wave offering before the law has been. Let me ask you something. Here's what you've got. When you and I come into the presence of the Lord, whether it's the prayer meeting tonight, whether it's the worship meeting on Sunday morning, our hands should be filled with what? Christ. Thoughts of him? His blessed life, his blessed person, his great redeeming work, waved them as a wave offering. In that particular way, it was waved from side to side before the Lord on this occasion. It was for the Lord. My fellow brother and sister, next Sunday morning when we come to remember our Lord, bring you a wave offering. What is it? Whatever you have, Christ. on your hands, on your thoughts to Christ. I'm going to tell you very frankly, if you want to enjoy fellowship with God, you better talk to him about his dear son. He'll listen to you. He'll enjoy it before the Lord. And then go further than in verse twenty-eight. Then Moses took them from off their hands and burnt them on the altar for upon the burned offering. He took all those parts and he burnt them upon the altar of the burned offering and they arose. Consecration for a sweet favor. It is an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Oh, the joy of knowing this, may I commend it to you. When you and I come to worship, Oh, praise God, the Holy Spirit would take our thoughts and the meditation of our hearts and lift them up to the Father. This is what we think of Christ. My hands are filled. Let me repeat again, talk about consecration. Oh, you will. But the Hebrew words of consecration mean filling of the hands, filling of the hands. You remember in chapter twenty-six of Deuteronomy that Israelite was commanded, don't come to the Lord's house unless you bring a full basket of your first fruit. First the Lord. Oh, my beloved brother and sister, would you God we bubble over and boil over when we come together to worship the Lord and tell him what we think of Christ? Let me tell you this. The greatest privilege on the earth is telling God what you think of Christ. And I want to tell you something else. It'll be your greatest privilege to do the same in heaven too. And that's what we'll be doing to all eternity. And it's weighed as an offering before the Lord. But go further in verse, as you read in verse thirty-nine. There was not only something for God, but there was something for the priest. Moses took a breath. Wage it for a wave offering before the Lord for a ram of consecration. It was Moses's part. And the Lord commanded Moses. The Lord said, Moses is some part of it for you. Part of it for you. Then go further. Well, let me stop there. There was something for Moses in it. And I want to tell you something. When we offer our praises and worship of the Lord till with Christ, the Lord Jesus himself gets something out of it. Who? for him. Then you read on, please. Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which is upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, upon his garments, upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons' garments with him. I want you to know these two things in particular. One we've emphasized greatly. First, the application of the blood And here, the application of the oil. My beloved Lemmy said this. Every redeemed child of God has had the blood of wine and the oil of wine. One representing the sacrificial work of our Lord Jesus, redeeming the soul. And the other, oil is always the type of the Holy Spirit. Upon believing you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of God. Please let me put it this way. We cannot worship without some appreciation for the blood of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Both are needed. May I go even further? For the ministry and service that we do for the Lord, both are needed. Let me point out some similarities before closing. Between the Old Testament priesthood and even the priesthood of the believer today, You'll find in the Word of God, and you'll find it here in our chapter. Aaron and his sons were called. They were set up, particularly called out from all the nation of Israel, to be priests. And you know, every believer has been called into the priesthood. You read First Peter, two-nine, and two-eight, two-five, and two-nine. You find we are called holy priests, royalty. We've been called for it. You may raise a question. Thank God. You don't have to go to some institution or through some theological outfit to be made a priest. The moment you're saved, you are a priest. Call. Read Romans chapter eight. First of all, he called us before he justified us. But may I give you another thought? We have it in our chapter. They were not only called to the priesthood, they were cleansed for it. Remember that? They had their ceremonial baths, and they also, remember this, they also had the blood upon their ears, and upon their thumbs, and upon their toes. Cleanse for it. My beloved, let me say, the night, the moment where you and I were cleansed from all sin by the blood of Christ, we were cleansed to be made free. To call upon God, to enter His presence, to be in His presence, to worship a minister, as the case may be. But may I go further? They were not only called, they were not only cleansed for the priesthood, and as we saw in our chapter in the early part, they were closed for it. They were closed for it. Aaron had his high priestly garment. The sons had their regular priestly garment. Prescribed it. As you know, as you read Exodus chapter twenty-eight and twenty-nine, even those garments were prescribed by the God told them how to make the garments and what to make. And he didn't leave it up to Moses. He says, this is what you cover them with. This is what the high priest must wear. This is what his sons must wear. And you know, when God saved you and me, he gave us a new robe. A robe of righteousness. The righteousness of God. Offer unto all, but upon all them that believe. He clothed me in the righteousness of God himself through Christ. A robe of righteousness. You'll remember Isaiah, which is in chapter sixty-six, where in saying that coming day Israel will sing, he's given me the garment of salvation. And I want to tell you, the garment of salvation is the best robe you could ever wear down here. My power believer, you've got a garment of salvation, a robe of righteousness. Not your own. It's God being through Christ. He would make sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him. And what a joy do you know? I'm clothed for my priesthood. Believe me. I don't have to worry what kind of a tie I'm going to wear. I've got something better. And you know the difference. What a joy I'm clothed. in the righteousness of Christ. Well, they're trying to know that. But I'm not only clothed for it. May I go further? As you have it here, I'm consecrated to it. As the Lord Jesus said, sanctify them by thy truth, set them apart by thy truth. Thy word is true. My beloved, it's the position of sanctification. you've already been set apart and grant that by the Spirit through the Word the practical effort of that sanctification will be revealed. But then even further, I'm claimed for it. I'm claimed. My beloved plea, let me say, the blood of Christ claims you and claims me. The Holy Spirit claims you and claims me. As upon the priest, the blood was placed, and upon that blood laid it, the oil was placed, and claimed for it. And what Joyner realized, the claim is greater than the blood of a ram, is the blood of Christ. And the claim is greater than just mere oil that was anointing oil in that day. It's the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. for the hands to be filled. And once you have at the end of the chapter, let me quickly read it through. Moses said unto Aaron and to his son, Boiled the flesh, that was part of the sacrifice of the consecration ram, Boiled the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and buried it with the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his son shall eat of it. Now we, I hope you noticed, there were two parts of the ram that they were to partake of. First of all, offer to God. The wave, shoulder, the shoulder was wave, and then there was the heave offering. Look, offer to God, to the Lord above. And then there, and then Moses was told, he had a part in it. And now his sons were told, they should eat of it. They should eat of it. Go down to the end of verse thirty-one. There eat with the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as thy command is saying, Aaron and his son shall eat it. Now, I may know this with you. Not the sin offering, nor the burn offering of the ram, but the ram of consecration was partaken of figuratively by God himself, by Moses and Aaron and his son. What's the picture? Well, let me put it very frankly. The whole church is represented today by Aaron and his son. And God the Father is represented. He feeds upon his son. And his children are to feed upon his son. That breath. and shoulder that was a part of the offering that was their portion to feed upon. Please let me tell you this. The shoulder typifies the eternal strength of Christ. The breath typifies the eternal love of Christ. My beloved one is joined to know when you and I gather together in worship or in prayer, we can feed our souls upon the affections of Christ. and his love toward us, as well as toward God, and his eternal strength. He bears us upon his shoulder. And here what you have in the whole picture, God has his portion. Moses and Aaron and his sons have their portion. So in the fellowship of faith, the fellowship we ask, let me quote first John one three, our fellowship is with the Father, with his Son, Jesus Christ, and with one another. Cheating upon Christ. Let me give you another thought as you go to the end of the chapter. Let me just mention it. Just briefly, I mentioned it. Go to verse thirty-five, if you please. Ye shall abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night, seven days, and keep the charge of the law that she dined up. For seven days, they have to stay there, feeding on the offering. Fallorshiping with God. A complete number of days. My beloved, may I say this? There's no question of doubt that the complete life of the believer should be a life that's feeding upon Christ. And join him. And join him. And fellowship with God. All the joy of realizing. Please, my brother, my sister. It pictures the happy communion that you and I can enjoy with God because of the delight he found in his son, in whom we also have found our delight, through the sacrifice that he made. And we can feed upon the great heart of his eternal love, rest our faith upon his eternal shoulders, the supporters and people, to complete that of our life. for seven days. Moses said, don't you leave. Don't you go out of the time of night until the seven days are finished. Would it God that you and I could do the same spiritually in our lives and join communion and fellowship with God? Please remember the ram of consecration. Is the blood upon the ear? Is the blood upon the thumb? Is it upon the soul? So on Jesus said, Mine ear saith thou digs. The ear for God. Samuel said, Speak, Lord, for thy servant what? Hear us. Have you got the blood stained here? And the proverb writer said, What thine hands find to do, do it with all thine might. When that service of the Lord is directed by the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. And the thief? walking with him in his way and through this path, this scene that we walk through. I think of the words of Elijah in second Kings chapter two. As to Elijah, he said, you read second Kings chapter two and read that early part of the chapter when Elijah made his last journey before he was taken to heaven. And he said, the Lord has sent me to Elijah. The Lord has sent me to kill God. The Lord has sent me to Jericho. The Lord has sent me to Jordan. And went on till he got to the wilderness. But he could say, The Lord has sent me. My beloved, God granted you and I may let our blood be upon our feet as well as our hands and our thumb and our toes. The whole picture is this. The whole man is under his control from top to bottom. I think the dearest saint of God, Salome, a dear old brother, he's written some about him, one of our wonderful hymns in our worship. Him also, I really love him. The one that tells about the one praising the Lord, the Lamb of God, O Lamb of God. He said, on one occasion a young lady in England, when he was a young servant of God, came to him and asked him a question, should I go to a public dance? He says, I've been invited to a public dance. He looks here and says, well, he said to us, that all depends is the blood on the toe. You get the thought. Is the blood on the toe? What thy hands find sin do, do with all thy might. And let that blood on the toe guide you in his path. He leadeth me. Oh, bless this thought. Oh, words that heavenly comfort brought. Where will I do, where will I do, where will I be, till it's God's hand that leadeth him. My fellow priest, just let me leave you with the thought. Please remember the blood's on the ear. Listen to his voice. Please remember the blood's on the thumb. He'll tell you what to do for him. Please remember the blood's on the toe. He'll tell you where to go for him. Shall we pray? Father, we thank thee in the name of our Lord Jesus, the great high priest. Lord Jesus, please help us to be fellow priests, sharing thy priestly work downhill on the earth. And we have an entrance into thy holy presence above, any time, all the time. And we just pray thee, Lord. Above all things do help us to feed on thee, feeding upon Christ, as on we go. Grant indeed, Lord, with our staff in hand and our feet well shard, we'll go on feeding upon thyself. Help us, Lord, to prove what consecration means. We ask in his precious and worthy name for thy glory, Lord. Amen. Thank you. I'm glad to be with us, Peter.