EXODUS 29:1-28 PREPARE TO SERVE THE LORD2021 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Exodus 29:1-28 Prepare To Serve The Lord

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2021. Amen. Well, as we look at Exodus chapter 29 this evening, I've titled the message, Prepare to Serve the Lord.

Prepare to serve the Lord. Because what we see happening here in this chapter is the consecration service or the ordination service for Aaron, the first high priest.

And his sons who would be priests there with him in the ministry at the tabernacle that Israel was preparing in the wilderness. And so we have the children of Israel there in the wilderness at Mount Sinai and hearing from God about the tabernacle and all of the different elements and pieces and furnishings.

and they're going to be spending some time fashioning those and forming those and setting up the tabernacle there in the wilderness and really beginning this whole new experience that they've never had with God before.

The nation of Israel goes back to Abraham who, you know, was the friend of God and had relationship with God and received these promises of God. And then along to his son Isaac and then to his son Jacob, also known as Israel. And the tribes of Israel are the sons of Jacob. And the nation developed with a knowledge of God, with an understanding of God and with the promises of God.

But now they're going to have really something in place for them to come and meet with God, a place to encounter Him and walk with Him and worship Him, a place to live out their obedience to Him and experience life with Him.

And so here we get to see the beginnings of that here in the book of Exodus and the beginnings of this priestly role that would be there in place for the children of Israel as they sought to know the Lord and walk with him. Now, as we look at these things, there's a lot of different aspects that we can look at.

And there's great value in looking at these things that God established and learning about the character of God, the plan of God, his purposes. There's great value in a lot of these things. As you look at the tabernacle, there seems to be some clear symbolism that points to Jesus throughout. And you can see those elements. And so there's great value in that. And as we look at the consecration of priests,

today, there's great value for that as well. It's appropriate not just for priests. And as I first began to look at the passage on Sunday evenings, I usually look ahead at the week at what the Lord's going to be having me teach on Wednesdays. And I looked at the passage and I thought, hmm, Lord, what are you going to have me to share from Exodus chapter 29? It seems, you know, kind of really

abstract material and maybe not so much stuff that we would relate to too much. But as I began to, you know, consider the passage further, the Lord just began to bring out more and more about how much this means to us. This is appropriate for all believers because similar to priests,

All of us as believers are called by God. And this is something we've studied and shared many times throughout the years here at Living Water. And so I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about this. But every believer has a place within the body of Christ.

That is a place within a church, a place within the kingdom of God, a place within the plan of God with a specific role or function to fulfill. And along with that is the giftings of the Holy Spirit.

where the Holy Spirit anoints us and supernaturally enables us to fulfill that role that he has given to us. And so like priests, we have a role, we are called by God, and we are enabled by God to fulfill that role.

We also know that the scriptures point to us, believers in Jesus, as a priesthood. That is, that we have a connection to God, a relationship to God, and a service unto God that is similar to the priesthood in many ways. Peter tells us this a couple times in 1 Peter 2. In 1 Peter 2.9, he says,

a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

He calls us as believers a royal priesthood, that we corporately together have this unique role to proclaim the praises of God who called us out of darkness and into the marvelous light. And so as we look at these things, there's insight and things to consider for each one of us about the roles that God has given to us. At the same time,

Something that the Lord just kind of stirred on my heart as I was preparing today. Perhaps as we work our way through these things tonight, you have been feeling more than just a general sense of a need to serve God and a general idea of, you know, this is, you know, the way that I serve God within the body of Christ. But perhaps upon your heart, there's what you might describe as a burden, that you're feeling a sense of God's call.

And I want to encourage you, if the Lord has been stirring up something in your heart, that it's been in preparation, and you can answer that call right now as God is calling you, like he called Aaron, like he calls his people to follow him, you can answer that call. As we walk through these things, you can respond to that call of the Lord and really receive this inauguration into this new season that God has for you.

And so I want to encourage you as you have that prompting in your heart to answer the Lord, respond to that call. Similar to, you know, we look at the prophet Samuel early in his days when he said, here I am, you know, you called, here I am, your servant listens.

Or later on, Isaiah says, here I am, send me. In a similar way, you perhaps have this call that's been kind of there. It's been building, it's been building, and perhaps to this point today, where the Lord wants you to now receive that call, respond to it, and move forward in the things that he has for you.

Now, this isn't something that we can, you know, just do ourselves. Hebrews chapter 5 verse 4 talks about how the calling to the priesthood, no one takes this honor to himself, but must be called by God just as Aaron was. And Aaron was chosen by God. Aaron was chosen by God.

Aaron didn't sign up for it. He didn't, you know, choose it. That wasn't part of his master plan or the plan of Moses. This was the plan of God, the call of God. And so it's not about us executing what we want, but us responding to what God says. And if God is telling you something,

Well, tonight he wants you to answer that call and take that first step in the way that he is calling you. Looking at verse 1 again, it says, That word hallow, it's the idea of setting apart or consecrating, devoting to something.

And so now Aaron and his sons are going to be hallowed. They're going to be devoted to a life of ministry as priests. And so here we have the instructions that God gives for that ceremony, for that to take place. Now it's actually going to be carried out and fulfilled later on in Leviticus chapter 8. And so perhaps we'll have another chance to review those things at that time. But there's five steps that I want to walk you through in Leviticus.

this evening, five steps to prepare ourselves to serve the Lord following the model and example here of the consecration of the priests. And the first step that we'll find is in verses one through four, which we read a few moments ago, be washed of the past. Be washed of the past. Jumping to verse four, here's what it says.

And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water. The really beginning of this ceremony was to be a bath. That Moses was to give Aaron and his sons a bath at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

So at this point, as God is giving these instructions, the tabernacle is not built yet, but he's giving all the instructions for it to be built. And so when it's set up, in order for the tabernacle worship to begin, there has to first be priests that are there and available. And so it begins this consecration ceremony at the door of the tabernacle. Before they can enter in, before they can do anything, there needs to be this washing that takes place.

Now, as I was looking through this passage, and I would encourage you to consider it as we work our way through, it's interesting to note that so much of what is recorded here, Aaron and his sons are recipients.

They're not so much the ones doing the work or generating things or making things or putting things together, but they are part of the ceremony mostly as recipients of what already has been done or what others are doing for them. For example, in verses 1 through 3, God tells Moses to make all these preparations.

all the elements that are going to be necessary in the verses that follow, God tells them, he says, here's what you need to do. Take one young bull, in verse 1, and two rams without blemish. He's telling this to Moses, not to Aaron, not to Aaron's sons. Moses, you go get a young bull. You get two rams. Then verse 2, you...

Get some unleavened bread and some unleavened cakes that are mixed with oil. Get some unleavened wafers anointed with oil. You shall make them of wheat flour. And then Moses put them all in a basket and bring them in the basket with the bull and the two rams to the door of the tabernacle with Aaron and his sons. And so you see all of this preparation that Moses has to do in advance.

And Aaron and his sons aren't the ones scrambling around to do those things, but all of that is being done behind the scenes for them. In a similar way, when God is calling us to some unique role, some special ministry that he has set before us, he is behind the scenes preparing these things in advance. Ephesians chapter 2 says,

talks about us walking in the works which God has prepared beforehand, that we don't have to invent good works to do. We don't have to invent, you know, a way to serve God, but God has gone before us. He's prepared the way, and everything is ready. We just need to begin to step into those things that have been prepared.

But as we step into that, the first part begins with a separation from the past. And so Moses now is going to wash them. Again, verse 4. And you shall wash them with water.

It's kind of an interesting scene to think about, right? Here is, as you look at Leviticus chapter 8, you see all of the congregation of Israel is gathered together for this event. And here they are, all gathered together. Here it is, all excited. We're going to start. And how does it begin? It begins with a washing ceremony. It begins with a bath where Moses washes Aaron and his sons. Now, this is a one-time washing at the beginning of their service unto the Lord.

As you go through the different elements of the tabernacle, you'll notice the bronze laver that is to be placed in front of the tabernacle where the priests would wash ongoing. They would wash their hands. They would wash their feet. They would wash as a result of the sacrifices that were being done and the cleansing that was needed. But that was kind of a spot wash, right? This was a complete washing to inaugurate them, to begin this new ministry of

that they would enter into. Pastor Warren Wiersbe says, And so this was the beginning of their service, to be washed, to receive a washing.

Now, again, I would point out, it doesn't say that Aaron and his sons are to wash themselves. But again, Moses is to perform this cleansing upon them. They are there to receive it. They are to accept it and to allow themselves to be washed. And this would wash off of them all of the dust, all of the dirt, but it would really speak about and demonstrate a clean break from their former life.

Before this washing, they were not priests. After this washing, they will forever be priests. And so this is what divided those two segments of their life. It began with a washing.

It was what divided. It was, you know, the A.D. to B.C. separation, you know, that divider of their life. It was this washing ceremony, this cleansing that would take place, began their new life as priests unto the Lord. And I think that speaks to us, some encouraging things for us in seeking to answer the call of God in our lives and fulfill the role that he has given to us within the body of Christ.

And that is that we also need to receive this washing. That there would be a cleansing of the old and a fresh start. As we often quote Paul telling us in 2 Corinthians, that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

There's also many times in our lives where there needs to be that clean break. There needs to be that dividing line where before this, there was a different kind of life and different things and different elements involved. And then after this, well, this was when I began that call that God had placed upon my life. And I answered that call. And this was the beginning of

of that. And I have different times in my own life that I can kind of think back and reflect on, those dividing times where God launched, you know, me into a new direction and said, all right, this is the way to go. And there was many times that God has done that in my life. And it begins with that clean break, that fresh start, that cleansing of the old things, the washing off of the things that were, and now stepping into this new life that God has for us.

The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, talks about the difference between the life of a believer and the life of an unbeliever, the life of the righteous and the life of the unrighteous. And he reminds us that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. And he goes on to list some of the things that, you know, would be a lifestyle that would keep you from experiencing the kingdom of God.

He says, fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners. He says, look, all of these will not inherit the kingdom of God. And that itself is not that surprising. But what's interesting is verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 6. He goes on from there to say this, and such were some of you, but you were washed.

That past life, those previous things, those earlier days, those have been washed from you. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. There was a new work, a clean break, a fresh start that God gave to you. And so the Corinthians had this fresh start. They had been washed clean.

Aaron and his sons, they have this fresh start. Now at this point, they are washed. And it encourages me to encourage you and to encourage myself, be washed of the past. Now again, through all of these things, it's interesting to note how much Aaron and his sons are recipients. And so when we talk about being washed of the past, we're not talking about washing ourselves. We're not talking about doing our own work. But

but being washed, allowing ourselves to be washed. And that's something perhaps the Lord wants you to meditate on and consider. How can you be washed by the Lord? I would suggest to you, it really means presenting yourself to the Lord. Although the priests were washed, as in they were recipients, it was done to them, I would suggest it was also, there was some cooperation going on.

that the priests weren't, you know, standing there limp or laying there limp and, you know, making it difficult for Moses to wash them. They also weren't resisting him, you know, like, no, nope, you're not getting my armpits. Nope, you can't wash them. Nope, I'm not letting you do it. They weren't resisting it. They weren't,

uncooperative, they were cooperating. They were like, okay, here we go. Wash my armpits. Here we go. That took a big risk right there. That could have been a big stain. If you see a stain, it's just a shadow. Okay, so it's not. But okay, here it is. You know, there's this part of my body now and it's ready to be cleansed. I think in a similar way, it paints this picture for us of presenting ourselves to the Lord.

That we would take our complete lives and present them before the Lord and hold nothing back and resist on nothing and say, okay, Lord, you know, you want my feet, you want my knees, you want my ankles, you want my elbows, you want my armpits, whatever it is that you want, Lord, I'm presenting it to you.

You wash me. You cleanse me. You remove all of the dirt, all of the filth, all of the stink, all of the old things that don't belong in this new season that you've established for me. Present yourself to the Lord. Allow him to let go of those things, to loose those things from your life and from your body.

It reminded me of the occasion in John chapter 13 where Jesus washed his disciples' feet. And as he's going around the table, he comes to Peter who has a little bit of a problem with this. It's a bit of a backwards thing for the Lord to wash his feet, he thinks. In John chapter 13, Peter says, "...you shall never wash my feet."

And Jesus tells him, if I do not wash you, you have no part with me. If I don't wash you, you have no part with me. And it's interesting to consider because those stinky parts, right, those messy parts, those dirty parts of our lives, many times we're trying to hide those from God or keep those from God, and we don't want those to be exposed.

But the Lord would say, look, if I don't wash you, if you don't present that part to me and allow me to do this work, yes, it's messy, yes, it's ugly, yes, it's stinky, but I want to wash you and cleanse you of those things. I want to remove those things from you. And Jesus died upon the cross to deal with those things in our life. And so Jesus says, if I don't wash you, you have no part with me. Let me wash you.

And Peter said, well, okay, well, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Well, then everything, just wash me completely. And Jesus goes on to tell him, he who is bathed needs only to wash his feet. I appreciate the heart, you know, the sentiment, Peter, essentially Jesus is saying, but you've already been cleansed. You don't need a whole new bath all over again, right? That cleansing ceremony already started when Peter began to follow Jesus.

But along the way, your feet do get dirty. And so perhaps for you tonight, the being washed isn't that initial cleansing from the past life, but perhaps your feet have picked up some dust along the way. Perhaps there's been some muck and some mire that you've been trampling in, treading in, and the Lord would say, if I don't wash you, if you don't let me do this for you,

then you have no part in me. Be washed of the past. Be washed of those things. Present them to the Lord and allow the Lord to remove those things out of your life. Well, moving on to verses five through nine, we get the second step.

In preparing to serve the Lord, number two, we need to be changed and anointed. Be changed and anointed. Let's look at verses five through nine together here in Exodus chapter 29. It says this, Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron and the robe of the ephod, the ephod and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod. You shall put the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban.

You shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them, and you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons. Here, the Lord goes into the details of the things that they are to put on.

They are to have their clothes changed. And we're not going to get into all of the details about their garments here, but Exodus chapter 28 records a lot of detail about these garments.

There's all these different materials that are to be working together, all these different pieces of the garments, lots of great things to consider in those things. And so if you haven't done that, I would encourage you to take some time later on, go back to Exodus 28.

Think about the different stones. Think about the different materials. Think about these different pieces of clothing and what they meant for Aaron and his sons, but then also what they might mean for us as servants of the Lord.

they were to put on these different pieces. And so there was all these different elements. There was a tunic, there was a robe, there was an ephod, there was a breastplate, there was a woven band or belt around their waist, a turban with a crown or a nameplate on it that said, Holiness to the Lord. And so there was all these different pieces that they were to put on. And their clothing then would be changed. If it's not clear, these are not the clothes that they wore before this event.

These are the clothes that they wore after this event. These are the pieces of clothing and elements that they would wear in their service unto the Lord. Now, as you consider this idea of clothing, moving that into the New Testament, clothing really speaks of our new nature in Christ throughout the New Testament.

You might remember just a few weeks ago in the book of Revelation, we were talking about the saints who are clothed in white robes, and it speaks of that being clothed in righteousness, that new nature that we have in Christ. In Ephesians, as well as Colossians, Paul uses this wording that is attached to clothing. It's put off and put on.

In Ephesians chapter 4 and Colossians chapter 3, there's some really important lessons there about putting off these characteristics, these natures, these habits and activities, and then instead to put on these other things, these new nature that we have in Christ.

And the word put off and put on, again, it's attached to clothing. In fact, some translations refer to it as clothe yourself in these things. For example, Colossians chapter 3, verse 12 and 13, Paul says, "...therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another."

If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Now, prior to this, he talked about a bunch of things that we are to put off. Anger, wrath, malice, so on and so forth. But now here are the things that we are to put on. First on the list is tender mercies. But again, some translations translate it as clothe yourself with tender mercies.

Clothe yourself, that is to put it on, this garment, this new nature that you have in Christ. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, which speaks of our justification, but it also speaks of our sanctification, and that we get to put on these garments that the Lord has prepared for us, this new life, this new nature that has been accomplished because of the cross.

And so as the priests are clothed in this new garments, again, there's much depth that you could consider there. But for us tonight, just looking at the example to understand there is a new nature. There is a new attitude, a new heart that God would have us to put on. But it's already prepared. Again, it's not like something we have to generate. It's not something that we have to invent or create yet.

It is a new nature that is provided for us in Christ. But like with the washing, there is some cooperation on our part, right? Again, the priests, they weren't laying their limp. Like, you know, okay, dress me, but, you know, it's difficult and people are having to like raise up their hand and, you know, put their hand through.

It wasn't something that they were just sitting there passively. They were offering the hand and pushing it through the garment and lifting their head up through the hole for the neck and all of those things. They were cooperating in this clothing process in a similar way. We get to cooperate. The clothing is there. The nature is there. The things that have been provided for us by Christ are there.

But we also get to cooperate and put those things on and deliberately put our arm, you know, through the tender mercies and express and experience and live out those tender mercies before the Lord and to the world around us. I like what Charles Spurgeon says about these garments. He says, note that these garments were provided for them. They were at no expense in buying them, nor labor in weaving them, nor skill in making them,

They had simply to put them on. And you, dear child of God, are to put on the garments which Christ Jesus has provided for you at his own cost and freely bestows upon you out of boundless love. The incredible thing to think about is this new nature that we have in Christ, similar to the priests.

This wasn't clothing they had to buy, clothing they had to make, something that they had to do. It was something they had to receive.

It was something that they simply had to accept and allow themselves to be clothed in a similar way. You are to put on the garments that Christ has provided you. And so the beginning of this new season of ministry, the beginning of a new season of serving the Lord in this direction that he has placed before you, in this role that he has given to you,

First of all, there needs to be a changing of garments. There needs to be the putting off of those old garments that no longer represent your life and your nature. And to put on the new garments that do represent, that are consistent with the life and nature that God has called you to.

Well, then also in this portion is the anointing that takes place. And so be changed is one thing, but also we need to be anointed. Look again at verse 7. And so here it's just a brief verse talking about this anointing oil.

But there's great significance here. Now, once again, there's so many things to consider. We're not getting into all of the details, but just a glimpse. The anointing of oil that was poured on the priest. On Sunday, as we looked at chapter 22, we talked about the Holy Spirit and the ministry of the Holy Spirit within us. This here in verse 7 really pictures the ministry of the Holy Spirit upon us.

And there is, as believers, different experiences that we have with the Holy Spirit or that we can have with the Holy Spirit. There's the three different experiences that you can see recorded in the scriptures. First of all, where the Holy Spirit is with you. That is, before being born again, before being regenerated and having new life in Christ.

More simply put, before believing in Jesus Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit is alongside, the Holy Spirit is with in order to bring about conviction, in order to draw us to the Lord and His salvation and forgiveness.

But upon believing in Jesus Christ, there is a change. The Holy Spirit is not just with you, that is, you know, there alongside of you, but now the Holy Spirit is within you. And the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is something that is...

The truth for every believer in Jesus. Every believer in Jesus has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. That's clear throughout the scriptures. You can check out Romans chapter 8. If you don't have the Holy Spirit, you are not His, the Apostle Paul tells us.

And so there is that indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit, and he works within us to develop and produce fruit, to draw us near to the Lord, to connect us, to help us to hear his voice, many advantages and blessings for us as the ministry of the Holy Spirit continues within us. But then we also see in the scriptures the ministry of the Holy Spirit upon us.

And it's a different thing. It's a separate thing where we see the Holy Spirit come upon. I often refer to this as the empowering ministry. So you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but you also have the empowering of the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit enables you to do the work that God has set before you. We, as believers in Jesus, have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

but we also have the opportunity to have the Holy Spirit come upon us in power. This is referred to in the scriptures as being filled with the Spirit, being baptized with the Spirit, or having the Holy Spirit upon you. All three of these are used interchangeably as you go through the book of Acts and see the different experiences and the things that happen.

As we consider these things, again, there's a lot of doctrine. There's a lot of things that we could consider. But here's the main point that I wanted to make sure we got to this evening. And that is receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit in this way. Now, when the priest would be anointed...

It wouldn't be just like a little bit of a dab, you know, put a little dab of oil, but there would be the pouring out of oil. It would run down his face, run down onto his chest and all over those garments. There'll be other portions of the ceremony later on where, you know, there's a dab pushed here, sprinkled there. But this anointing was the pouring out of the oil. Notice it says in verse 7, pour it on his head and anoint him.

And that's the picture there of the Holy Spirit just being poured out upon us in abundance. And we have the opportunity to receive that being poured out. In fact, we're commanded, Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 5, to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. That is to continue to receive that pouring out of the Holy Spirit. How do we do that? How do we

receive. Again, notice how many of these things are done to them, done for them, right? Aaron and his sons, they're not generating these things, but Moses pours out. And what Aaron has to do is stand there and accept and receive the pouring out of oil. Here's what Jesus said for us as believers, receiving the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. In Luke chapter 11, verse 13, he compares the

the Father to earthly fathers. He says, earthly fathers are evil. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? To be filled is something that is done to us. It's the receiving of a work of God. It's a receiving that is accomplished by asking.

And so here we see in our preparation to serve the Lord, we need to be changed and we need to be anointed. That is, we need to present ourselves to the Lord in all the different aspects of our lives and allow him to wash us and cleanse us.

Present ourselves to the Lord and allow him to put on the new nature that he has provided for us. And we present ourselves to the Lord with a request saying, Lord, would you fill me? Would you empower me? Would you pour out your Holy Spirit upon me for this new role that you've given to me? And so be changed and anointed. Well, moving on to the third step in verses 10 through 14,

Here we get to accept forgiveness for our sin. Accept forgiveness for our sin. Let's read verses 10 through 14 together. Here in Exodus chapter 29, it says this, You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting. And Aaron and his son shall put their hands on the head of the bull. Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger.

Here in these verses, verses 10 through 14, we see the offering of the sin offering.

Now, we're going to spend some more time looking at the sin offering as we head into the first part of the book of Leviticus. There's some great detail about the different offerings and sacrifices that were available and were required for the nation of Israel to offer at the tabernacle. And so I'm not going to, again, go into all the detail about the sin offering. I feel like I keep saying that. But the point is, look, there's so much here that the Lord has for you if you desire to dig into it.

But for us to consider the preparation for serving the Lord, there does need to be this sin offering, this acceptance of the forgiveness for sin. I would draw your attention to verse 10. He says, you shall have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his son shall put their hands on the head of the bull.

This was not a unique thing to this ceremony. This was the normal part of the sacrifices that were done at the tabernacle. That every occasion, actually, there is no animal sacrifice where this really isn't the case. When an animal is brought to the tabernacle to be offered to the Lord, there was always to be this placing of the hands upon the head of the bull.

Placing the hands upon the head of the animal that was to be sacrificed. And there's some great significance here. And if you allow yourself to think it through, there's some really powerful things that would minister to us about that. Can you picture yourself being, you know, back there at the tabernacle or with Aaron and his sons here? And they bring this animal that is to be sacrificed.

And you physically are there placing your hand upon the animal. You're touching it. You're looking at it in its eyes. You are there close, up close and personal. And the laying on of hands doesn't just speak about that close connection, but it really speaks about the substitution. You're placing your hand upon the animal and you're saying, this animal is taking my place.

This animal is receiving what I deserve. This animal is acting on my behalf. This animal is a substitute for me. And so you can think about it as substitution. You can also think about it as identification. I am this animal. And as this animal is sacrificed, as this animal is slaughtered, as this animal pays the price for sin, it represents sacrifice.

Well, what I deserve and really my rightful place. Whenever there was a sin offering, that confession was involved. It would be given here. The worshiper would place their hand upon the head of the animal and confess their sin.

In Leviticus chapter 16, on the Day of Atonement, the priest would lay his hand on the head of the animal and confess the sins of the nation. There was this close connection to this offering and this great realization, this is taking my place. This is receiving, really, the penalty of my sin. So they would place their hands on the head of the bull.

Considering that, Pastor Charles Spurgeon says, the Hebrew word means more than lightly placed in the hand. It gives the idea of pressing hard upon the bullock's head. They came each one and leaned upon the victim, loading him with their burden, signifying their acceptance of its substitution, their joy that the Lord would accept that victim in their stead or in their place. When they put their hands on the bullock, they made a confession of sin.

There was this great connection. They would lean, they would place the burden of their sin upon this animal. And it would be now their substitute receiving the death, receiving the burning in their place. And so this sin offering was to be done for Aaron and his sons. There is always a cost for the cleansing of sin. Hebrews tells us in Hebrews chapter 9 that

Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. But for us today, of course, there is not the animal sacrifices. Instead, for us today, we are to follow this same pattern, not with an animal, but looking to the Lord and placing our hand upon the Lord, placing it firmly there and saying, Lord, you take my burden. You receive the penalty for what I've done, the payment for my sin, the judgment for

for my corruption. Lord, you are my substitute, and I'm identifying myself with you. There needs to be these occasions in our life where we identify with the Lord to such a great degree, where we realize and recognize that it's not just, you know, some random fact a long time ago that Jesus died upon the cross, and, you know, now suddenly we can believe in him and be forgiven.

But no, no, no, the reality is he died for me. And so I place my hand upon his head. I accept him or I present him as my substitute. And then the reality that comes with that, because he being perfect died upon the cross, he enables me to be cleansed. He is that perfect substitute, that perfect sacrifice so that I have the opportunity for forgiveness.

You believe in Jesus Christ. You make him your substitute. Now, not forcibly, he offers that. He says, I am your substitute. Believe in me. And believing in Jesus is really meaning what this picture is showing, that we are identifying with him, that we are accepting his offer to be our substitute, to receive the penalty of the cross, and to be forgiven of our sins.

This picture here also speaks to us about the need for confession and the importance of confession. To place your hand upon the head of the animal would be the occasion where the confession of that sin would be brought forth. And forgiveness of sin is hand in hand with confession. 1 John 1 tells us, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

It's interesting to consider that, right? Go back to point number one, we were washed. But there also needs to be these times of confession. The acknowledging our sin before God, having our hand upon his head, looking him in the eye, confessing our failure, confessing our sin, and receiving from him as a result, as he is our substitute, as we identify with him, we receive from him forgiveness.

There can be two really unhealthy extremes when it comes to this idea of confession, where you feel like there's no need to confess, no need for forgiveness. In 1 John 2, right after that portion that we're familiar with, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us. Well, then 1 John 2, verse 1 and 2, he says, I write these things to you so that you may not sin, but if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. Here again, you have this picture of Jesus as this sacrificial animal. He himself is the propitiation. And so you identify with him. You confess your sins to him. You allow him to be the substitute that he offers to be, and he confesses.

is that propitiation, that satisfaction for the judgment that is due as a result of sin. Accept forgiveness for your sin.

confess it to the Lord, accept that he has forgiven it. It's been paid for at the cross. And if you don't believe that, then you need to revisit the cross and remember the gravity of what took place there on that day. And we're gonna consider that, of course, not too long from now as we consider Good Friday, as we consider the resurrection and what Jesus did for us upon the cross.

All right, moving forward though, verses 15 through 18. Step number four, preparing to serve the Lord. Now, the fourth thing to do is to commit yourself to God completely. And here we're looking at verses 15 through 18. Let's read those together. Verse 15 says, "'You shall also take one ram "'and Aaron and his son shall put their hands "'on the head of the ram and you shall kill the ram "'and you shall take its blood "'and sprinkle it all around on the altar.'"

Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them in its pieces and with its head. And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Here we have the second offering that is to be offered as a result of this and as part of this consecration ceremony. As they are now preparing to serve the Lord, they would offer a sin offering. That was point number three, accepting forgiveness for your sin. But now they would offer a burnt offering. And the burnt offering was unique in compared to the other offerings because it was the one that was burnt completely.

The other offerings were offered in different ways, and there was different elements that were burned on the altar at the tabernacle. Some were burned outside of the camp, and we'll see another kind in just a moment as the next ram is offered. But this burnt offering, it would be offered there in the tabernacle courtyard on the altar in totality.

In verse 18 again, you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord. But here again, they would place their hand upon the head of the animal. There was still this strong connection to substitution and identification. And the burnt offering really spoke of the worshiper, the one offering the sacrifice, desiring to give themselves completely to the Lord. And perhaps this

confessing that they had not been so faithful in doing so previously. Pastor David Guzik puts it this way. The burnt offering said, we have failed to give our all to God. This animal now gives its all to atone for our failure, and we decide to live now giving our all, even as this animal who dies in our place.

And so potentially, possibly, this is, you know, what is being communicated by the burnt offering that, hey, I need to offer this because, well, my heart has been divided. I have had some, you know, different passions that were, you know,

in place, above God, taking priority over God, different things in my life that became more important to me, and I really haven't been sold out to God, and so I need to offer this burnt offering. It might be, you know, the readjusting after a failure in this area. Either way, looking forward, the burnt offering speaks of that giving yourself completely to God.

And so this one, it doesn't require a lot of imagination for us, right? For us as believers today, we can see clearly the picture here that we need to be wholly devoted to God, that we need to, as we prepare to serve the Lord, that we don't try to enter into it half-heartedly. God, here's 10% of my time and you can use it however you want, but Lord, I am 100% yours, right?

And all that I am, all that I have, all of my time, all of my energy, all of my strength, all of my resources, Lord, they're yours. They're in your hands. They're for your purposes. Lord, you are free to use them however you see fit. Commit yourself to God completely. Put yourself entirely upon the altar.

Again, they would lay their hand upon the head of this animal and identify with it. And you are my substitute. You are representing exactly what I am communicating to God. Lord, I am completely given over to you. The Apostle Paul talks about this in Romans chapter 12. He says,

He says, look, you are to offer yourself as a living sacrifice, but completely devoted, not half-hearted, right? Not conformed to the world, not living according to the world or bowing down to the world or, you know, living with those alternate passions and priorities, but

Not being conformed to the world, but instead being transformed by the renewing of your mind. So that you can prove, notice, the perfect will of God. So that you can walk in and perfectly fulfill the things that God desires and what God wants. That is the picture that is the animal there upon the altar.

And the priests would lay their hand on the head of the animal and the animal would go and be completely consumed on the altar and the priest would be looking on and watching the animal burn and saying, yes, Lord, that's me. That's me, I'm right there. I'm on your altar and I'm completely yours. You can consume me and fill me and use me and accomplish your purposes and fulfill your will with any part of my life, with any aspect of my life. I hold nothing back. Commit yourself.

to God completely. Don't hold anything back. No dreams, no goals, no, you know, reserved compartments that are just for me. God, you can't touch that. No, commit yourself to God wholly and completely. You want to see God work in your life and be a useful instrument to God, you'll be blessed if you commit yourself to God completely. Well, finally, the fifth step to consider found in verses 19 through 28 says,

Connect yourself to God in everything. Connect yourself to God in everything. Let's read through these verses here. Exodus chapter 29, verses 19 through 28. It says,

Verse 22.

Also you shall take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat on them, the right thigh, for it is a ram of consecration, one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord. And you should put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord."

You shall receive them back from their hands and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before the Lord. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord. Then you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord. It shall be your portion. And from the ram of the consecration, you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering, which is waved, and the thigh of the heave offering, which is raised, and

of that which is for Aaron and of that which is for his sons. It shall be from the children of Israel for Aaron and his sons by a statute forever, for it is a heave offering. It shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, that is their heave offering to the Lord.

Here we see the final sacrifice as part of this consecration ceremony. This second ram is now offered. And this second ram is a different kind of offering. So you had the sin offering,

That was point number three, the forgiveness of sins. You have the burnt offering. That was point number four, the committing yourself to God completely. But now the third offering is what is sometimes called the fellowship offering.

And it was offered and called different things in different ways. Again, we'll get into the different kinds of sacrifices in Leviticus. But here you have this fellowship offering, which was a sacrifice to the Lord, but there was a portion of it that was to be partaken of by those who were worshiping the Lord.

Once again, in verse 19, you see they are to put their hands upon the head of the animal. So the ram, again, there is to be the substitution. There is to be this identification. There is to be, you know, this acknowledgement of their condition in the sacrifice.

But this sacrifice was not just for the cleansing of sin, not just the statement of, hey, let's burn it all on the altar. But you can see in the final closing verses, verses 26 through 28, that they were to partake of it. In verse 26, Moses gets a portion. And this was always the case. It was one of the ways that God provided for the priests in the Old Testament.

As worshipers came and brought an offering, there was a portion of the offering, and many of the offerings, not all of them, but some of them, that

that the priest would get a portion of, and that would provide for him and his family. And he would partake of that. It would be holy unto the Lord, but it would be maybe like what we would consider communion today, right? That there would be this partaking of, this was the Lord's, it's given to the Lord. The Lord also is giving it to me, and the Lord received it from the altar, and I'm receiving it here. And, you know, there's this fellowship and communion with the Lord, right?

as well as with the worshiper, as a result of this portion being given to the priest. But then as those who were offering the sacrifice, there was a portion that they would keep as well. And verse 27 talks about that.

And it would be presented as a wave offering, right? They would have this portion and be presented. All right, Lord, this is for you. This is yours. And you're giving it back to me to enjoy and to have a nice meal, a big barbecue with my family. And so the worshiper would come and they would offer sacrifices and they would have a feast in many occasions.

that there would be this sacrifice for the sin offering, which was different. They wouldn't consume that. There would be the burnt offering, which they would sometimes offer. They wouldn't eat of that. But there was this fellowship offering where it was just like, you know, Lord, we just want to celebrate you and enjoy your presence and spend time with you. And so there was this offering and the ceremony where they would connect with the Lord. And then there in the

courtyard and the surrounding areas, they would partake of and enjoy that meal that God provided in their sacrifice unto the Lord.

And so this is where I get this idea of connecting yourself to God in everything. Also, you see this consecration offering that is given in verse 20. They're to take blood from this animal. And this was different than the normal sacrifices that we'll see that the people would give in an ongoing basis. But for this ceremony, there would be the taking of the blood and placing it on the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe.

And it spoke again of this connection of the priests to this sacrifice and their devotion to the Lord. Pastor Thomas Constable puts it this way, the priests had sacrificed blood applied to their ears, thumbs, and big toes. This symbolized their complete consecration to hear the word of God, to serve as mediators, and to walk as an example to others. Now,

Now, the specific detail about what the placing it on the ear means and the thumb means and the toe means, you know, different Bible scholars throughout the years have had different views and different ways of explaining that. But the overall idea that everybody, you know, understands and agrees on is like from head to toe, you know, this is the consecrating of myself, the committing of myself, the connecting of myself to God and serving him.

And so this blood would be applied in connecting them and this complete and total consecration. That word consecration, it means to be devoted to. It means that, you know, hey, everything that I do, everything that I hear or listen to, everything that happens in my head, everything that happens with my hands, everything that happens with my feet. Again, you know, perhaps you could think about it in different ways, but it's to be involved in. All of these are to be involved in the things of the Lord.

That my hands are not to be involved in things that don't belong with the Lord because the blood has been attached to, applied to my hand and offered to the Lord. That there is to be this connection to God in everything. And it's one thing that sometimes is difficult for us as believers to remember and to understand, but every part of my life is ministry unto the Lord. When I go to work and sit down and write code,

I am not ceasing to be a minister. And there, my hands are still about the Lord's business as I'm typing in code, right? As I'm writing out things and working out programs and all those things, right? All of those things are to be done unto the Lord as a ministry.

overflow and outflow of his work in my life and still in connection to him. That I'm not to be, okay, God, I'm clocking into work and so I'm off the clock with you. I'm disconnected from you. No, but no, no, this is to be about you and I'm still about the Lord's business and

When I'm at the grocery store, when I'm in the workplace, when I'm in this place or that place, that in everything I'm connected to God from head to toe, that there's no part of my life that doesn't belong to God, that is not lived out in fellowship with God. And I think that's the other piece of this and the idea of connecting yourself to God is the fellowship. And I don't cease to fellowship from God when I'm at work. I don't cease to fellowship with God when I'm somewhere else, but that every part of my life,

Whatever I'm doing, whether it involves my head, my hands, or my feet, that it is a connection to God. It goes further in verse 21 to describe now the blood is being sprinkled upon their garments. Now, you kind of go through chapter 28, you see all the beautiful intricacies and all the things that are involved in making these garments. And then in our eyes, like you can kind of think, well, just, you know, splattering blood on them now, like, wow, they're ruined. Right?

But for the Lord, again, he wanted that continual reminder for the priests as they would put on the garments and see the stains and be reminded of the need for forgiveness, that their role in the sight of God and in the plan of God, it was completely by the grace of God. And it would call them to that connection that they have to God, that they were part of this offering unto the Lord.

And as they have their hands and their feet and their ear anointed with oil and blood, their garments anointed with oil and blood, that they are to be perpetually reminded to be connected to God, that they are forever in tune with and in fellowship with God in all things.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 3.17, whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Again, wherever we go, whatever we're doing, as we talk about new seasons of serving the Lord and roles in the body of Christ, they're not limited to, all right, for this hour, you know, one day a week, this is the role. And so that's what I'm devoted to.

To be serving the Lord means my whole life. Everywhere I go, everything that I do, it is done with the Lord, in fellowship with the Lord.

As I'm eating a meal, I'm communing with the Lord. As I'm doing my work, I'm communing with the Lord. I'm connected to the Lord. I'm still seeking him. I'm still representing him. I'm still serving him no matter what I am doing. And so this evening, again, I would encourage you to prepare to serve the Lord. As believers, we all have a role within the body of Christ. We all have a way and a ministry and opportunity to serve the Lord.

And perhaps there is something specific and some special burden that God has placed on you. And you've been serving the Lord and walking with the Lord, but you understand there's this new season that God has before you. It's a good opportunity for you. Prepare. Be washed of the past. How do you be washed? Present yourself to the Lord. Again, you cooperate. It's done for you. He washes. He cleanses. He removes the filth. But you need to present those parts before the Lord.

And be changed and anointed. Put on that new nature that you have in Christ. And come to God with that request. Invite him to fill you and empower you with his Holy Spirit. Acknowledge sin and accept the forgiveness for it. You don't deserve to serve the Lord. That's true. None of us do. But we can be forgiven. We can have that clean slate.

as we confess our sins to him and accept and receive the forgiveness that he offers. And then we give ourselves to him completely, hold nothing back. Lord, all that I am, all that I have, it's yours, fully yours. I'm your servant, no matter what. And then keep yourself connected to God, no matter what you do, no matter where you go, no matter what you're involved with at the moment.

that you would live out a life that is in fellowship with God. You would allow him to be a part of your workplace, of your home, of your festivities, of your leisure times, of your vacations, of whatever you might be involved in. Connect yourself to God in everything, in every part of your life. Let there be that blood. Let there be that oil. Let there be that connection to God and your devotion to God through it all. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word and how it speaks to us and how it encourages us, Lord. We are, Lord, wretched and sinful, and yet we have the opportunity to be part of your incredible plan and to do things that have eternal value as we serve you.

You're so gracious and loving towards us, just as you chose Aaron and his sons, and Lord, they didn't deserve it. Lord, we don't deserve it, but you've chosen us. And so, Lord, we want to respond. We want to be ready. We want to be prepared. And so, Lord, would you help us to be washed, to be changed? Lord, would you fill us and empower us with your Holy Spirit?

Lord, would you bring us to confession, Lord, that we might receive your forgiveness and have that clean slate before you, that right standing in your presence. Lord, help us to be surrendering ourselves, totally devoted to you. And I pray, Lord, that you would reveal yourself to us over and over again throughout the day, each and every day, as we're connected to you in all things. Pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

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