ALONE WITH GOD     

Almost a year had passed since the departure of Israel from Egypt, and the tabernacle had just been set up, when, at the divine command, the vast host of Israel were gathered at the tabernacle to witness the elaborate rites of the consecration of the priestly family to their important office. Of course, not more than the elders of the tribes could crowd into the court, but doubtless the common people gathered about the door and probably thronged the surrounding mountain-sides. We may well imagine, when all were thus gathered, a small procession issuing from the tents of the priests and, while a solemn hush rested upon the gathered multitude, passing into the court before the door of the sanctuary. First in the procession is Moses, the giver of the law - the meek man of God. Next is Aaron, whom God had chosen for the high priesthood. Following their father come his four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Next come four Levites with offerings, one leading a bullock, a second and third each leading a ram, and a fourth carrying a basket containing unleavened bread, unleavened cakes, and unleavened wafers with oil poured over them.

The rites of priestly consecration, like others of the shadows of good things, held great typical significance, and were performed in the exact order of the antitype. Aaron's dedication represents that of Christ to his great work, while that of his sons is typical of our consecration - as priests of our God. Of course, Aaron had to be made ceremonially clean to become a type of Christ; but Jesus needed no such cleansing, for he was intrinsically pure from the beginning. With this exception the type and antitype are parallel.

Their Washing. - First Moses washed them, probably at the laver. The laver represented regeneration, as we have already shown. So, likewise, those who believed upon Him whose coming John the Baptist announced, were regenerated (Luke 16:16 and John 3:3). Logically the sin-offering belongs here also, but historically, as it was in Jesus' ministry, the great sin-offering must come after the anointing of the high priest and immediately before the consecration and anointing of the common priests. So it was in the type. Men were regenerated and in the kingdom long before Calvary.

Robing and Anointing of Aaron. - Next the holy garments, already described, were put upon the high priest, after which came the holy anointing-oil. This anointing of Aaron was highly significant. The oil was made by God's special formula as described in Exodus 30:22-33. God had a patent on it, and penalty was death for infringement by making it for any secular use. This is "the precious ointment" that was poured out "upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments" (Psa. 133:2). Its pleasant odor reminded the Psalmist of the sweet fellowship of brethren in unity.

This specially compounded ointment was a type of the Holy Spirit. This is made clear in the first epistle of John, chapter two, verse twenty-seven: "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things." And it is the Holy Ghost that teaches. That this is the antitypical meaning of that holy oil is shown by the plain statement of the New Testament that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power" (Acts 10:38). From this verse it is certain that the holy chrism on Aaron's head typified the Holy Spirit's coming in bodily form like a dove and resting upon Jesus as he ascended from the baptismal waters of the Jordan. There was fulfilled Daniel's prophecy, "To anoint the Most Holy" (Dan. 9:24).

As Aaron's anointing was before the sin-offering was offered, and his sons did not receive the oil until after, so our great High Priest, Jesus, received the Holy Ghost three years before the cross, and the disciples, the common priests, not until fifty days after the crucifixion and resurrection, on the day of Pentecost. Jesus fully predicted on the night of his betrayal that he would send the Holy Ghost to them later. This was fulfilled when with a sound as of a mighty wind he came on them as tongues of fire. The prophet Isaiah predicted Christ's anointing long years before. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings" (Isa. 61:1). Jesus said in the beginning of his ministry and before his crucifixion that this prediction was fulfilled (Luke 4).

The oil was poured upon Aaron, while it is said to have been merely sprinkled upon his sons. Aaron received a copious measure of it so that it ran down over his person. So of Jesus it was said, "God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows" (Heb. 1:9). And he said of himself, "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him" (John 3:34). The Spirit is given by measure to men so they may constantly become more filled with his working; but Jesus had him in unlimited measure for power, wisdom, and knowledge. Jesus was infinite in all his capacities.

The Sacrifices at the Altar. - The bullock was first offered for a sin-offering for all the priests. It was like an ordinary sin-offering of a priest except that the blood was put upon the horns of the brazen altar instead of the golden altar, as was ordinarily done. This was doubtless because they were not yet priests, but only being made such. Next the first ram was offered for a burnt offering, a symbol of acceptable worship only through atonement. Then the second ram was offered for a peace-offering, and the meat-offering of bread and cakes accompanied it. The peace-offering was also the consecration-offering. Otherwise these offerings were simply the various kinds of sacrifices of the Levitical system. These will be considered in detail in our next chapter.

The Blood of Consecration Applied to the Priests. - When the ram of consecration was slain, some of its blood was taken and applied to the person of Aaron and of each of his sons. It was put upon the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot. It was to consecrate them. The blood-stained ear signified that they were consecrated to listen faithfully to God's commandments, the blood-stained hand that they were to do diligently the duties God had assigned to them, and the blood-marked foot that they should tread the courts of God's house and walk in his way. This shadow of good things contains an important lesson for us today who are of God's holy priesthood. Too often there is a failure of this complete consecration of every power of the being to God's service. While many see only this consecration in sanctification, others see only cleansing. But God had both in the type, and intends it so in the antitype. The cleansing is in order to the devotion of our powers to God's service. God saves us that we may obey him, serve him, and follow him.

The Anointing of Aaron's Sons. - We have already seen Aaron himself anointed before the bloodshedding as the great High Priest was anointed by the Holy Spirit. Now we come to the anointing of the sons. Aaron was anointed as typical of Christ with pure ointment because Christ was holy and needed no cleansing by blood, but the only anointing the sons received was by the oil mixed with the blood from the altar. That this was the blood of the ram of consecration is evident, because the blood of the sin-offering had been poured out at the foot of the altar and not sprinkled upon it, the blood of the burnt offering was sprinkled upon the altar but had been burned with the burnt offering, and the ram of consecration is being dealt with at the time this anointing is enjoined. Fairbairn and Moorehead both understand it this way. Moses mixed this oil and blood together and sprinkled it upon them. This was applied to Aaron as well as his sons, as the sin-sacrifices were. Because he was a sinful man, this had symbolic meaning, but not typical meaning as did his anointing with the pure oil without blood and as the oil and blood did of his sons.

But why the blood in the oil for anointing the sons? It has already been shown that the oil was typical of the Holy Ghost and that believers, the common priests of this dispensation, first received the anointing of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Does the blood of Christ have a part in our anointing with the Holy Ghost? On the same occasion as Jesus promised the Holy Ghost to his disciples who had believed on him, had been regenerated, had been sent to preach, and whose names were written in heaven, he prayed that they might be sanctified, that they might be kept from the evil. We showed in the preceding chapter that the New Testament teaches a cleansing of the heart from native depravity after conversion, also that the Holy Ghost baptism is subsequent to conversion, as shown by every example recorded in the New Testament. As further proof that a cleansing of the heart takes place in connection with the Spirit's baptism, we quote Acts 15:8, 9 where Peter is describing the experience which Cornelius and his household received at the time he visited them. "And God, which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."

The blood is the means of sanctification (Heb. 13:12), and the Spirit is the agent who applies it (Rom. 15:16). Is it not reasonable, therefore, to believe that in this anointing of Aaron's sons with oil mixed with blood, after the sin-offering had already been offered for their justification, we have a remarkably accurate type of the fact that a cleansing is wrought when we are anointed by the Holy Ghost, which second cleansing is also typified by the two rooms of the tabernacle?

The Eating of the Ram of Consecration. - The eating of the ram of consecration being a part of the regular rite of the peace-offering, its typical meaning will be disscussed in that connection. The continuation of these rites of consecration of Aaron and his sons for seven days indicates doubtless the completeness of their consecration, seven being the number of perfection. When the consecration was ended on the eighth day, and Aaron with Moses had entered the sanctuary, then Aaron came out and lifted up his hands and blessed the people. So Jesus, when he had accomplished the antitype of the ancient shadows we have been considering, ascended into the presence of God, from where he has ever blessed his people as a merciful and faithful High Priest, who can be touched with a feeling of their infirmities.