(Lev 8:1 NASB) Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
(Lev 8:2 NASB) “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread;
(Lev 8:3 NASB) and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.”
Lev 8:3: This chapter has to do with the consecration of the priests and of the Tabernacle. When it says “all the congregation,” it means the entire nation was to assemble there. The Hebrew word for “congregation” is edah. H3259; congregation:– assembly(5), band(2), company(13), congregation(126), congregation’s(1), herd(1), swarm(1).
(Lev 8:4 NASB) So Moses did just as the LORD commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting,
(Lev 8:5 NASB) Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded to do.”
(Lev 8:6 NASB) Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near, and washed them with water.
Lev 8:6: Aaron and his sons were washed with water. This cleansing was more than ritual. It was spiritual. They were being dedicated to the work of Elohim and this cleansing was necessary. This cleansing was an immersion of their entire body and was performed by Moses Himself, the representative of Elohim. After this, the priests had to wash their hands and feet before serving in the Tabernacle (Ex. 30:19-20).
We probably do not fully understand the foot washing that Yeshua did for His disciples until we relate it to this passage. Everyone understands that He was giving them a lesson in humility. But it seems as though it was much more than that. Yeshua was probably consecrating them in service to Elohim in a very direct way that mirrors this dedication of the priests (John 13:1-12).
(Lev 8:7 NASB) And he put the tunic on him and girded him with the sash, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the artistic band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him.
Lev 8:7: This is another similarity to the foot washing Yeshua performed on the disciples. In both instances, the High Priest was girded around His loins (John 13:4).
(Lev 8:8 NASB) He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim.
Lev 8:8: What is the Urim and the Thummim? Most scholars say the words stand for “light and perfection.” They were kept in the breastplate and apparently Elohim used them to give the high priest answers in judgment.
On the night Yeshua consecrated His disciples to special service ot Elohim, He exercised His perceptive judgment from the Father on one of the disciples (John 13:18-21).
(Lev 8:9 NASB) He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
(Lev 8:10 NASB) Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.
(Lev 8:11 NASB) And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.
Lev 8:11: The altar and all of the utensils used in the Tabernacle were consecrated according to the command of Elohim.
(Lev 8:12 NASB) Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.
Lev 8:12: The High Priest is anointed with oil before the sacrifices are killed. In the same way, Yeshua was anointed a few days before He consecrated His disciples to special service to Elohim and before He was sacrificed (Matt. 26:6-13).
(Lev 8:13 NASB) Next Moses had Aaron’s sons come near and clothed them with tunics, and girded them with sashes, and bound caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:13: The description of the tunic and sash fits perfectly with the raiment of Yehsua when He appeared to John on the isle of Patmos (Rev. 1:12-13). He had already been fully consecrated as our High Priest by this time and was dressed accordingly.
(Lev 8:14 NASB) Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.
(Lev 8:15 NASB) Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.
Lev 8:15: The blood of the sacrifice was put on the horns of the altar and was poured at the base of the altar. In a similar way, the tree of the crucifixion of Messiah was the altar upon which He was sacrificed for us. Just as Torah required, His blood was spilled at the foot of that altar also (John 19:33-34).
(Lev 8:16 NASB) He also took all the fat that was on the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat; and Moses offered it up in smoke on the altar.
(Lev 8:17 NASB) But the bull and its hide and its flesh and its refuse, he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:17: The sacrifice of the atonement had its flesh consumed outside the camp. In the same way, the sacrificial flesh of Messiah was destroyed outside the camp (Heb. 13:12-13).
(Lev 8:18 NASB) Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
(Lev 8:19 NASB) And Moses slaughtered it and sprinkled the blood around on the altar.
(Lev 8:20 NASB) When he had cut the ram into its pieces, Moses offered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke.
(Lev 8:21 NASB) After he had washed the entrails and the legs with water, Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:21: This ram is sacrificed in a similar manner as the bull.
(Lev 8:22 NASB) Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
(Lev 8:23 NASB) And Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
(Lev 8:24 NASB) He also had Aaron’s sons come near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar.
Lev 8:24: The blood of the sacrifice is applied to the right ear, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. This is to demonstrate that they are to hear the Word of Elohim and they are to work and walk in His ways.
In the same way, we are told to follow Yeshua in all that He did and we are to walk the way He walked and obey the commands of Elohim (Matt. 28:18-20).
(Lev 8:25 NASB) And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right thigh.
(Lev 8:26 NASB) And from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake and one cake of bread mixed with oil and one wafer, and placed them on the portions of fat and on the right thigh.
(Lev 8:27 NASB) He then put all these on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, and presented them as a wave offering before the LORD.
Lev 8:27: The wave offering is said to have this meaning by the Jewish writers: the wave offering was waved horizontally towards the four cardinal points, to signify that He to whom it was consecrated was the Master of the whole earth.
Once again, this is what Yeshua said as He ascended (Matt. 28:18).
(Lev 8:28 NASB) Then Moses took them from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were an ordination offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the LORD.
(Lev 8:29 NASB) Moses also took the breast and presented it for a wave offering before the LORD; it was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:29: The wave offering was a fragrant aroma to Elohim (Eph. 5:1-2).
(Lev 8:30 NASB) So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.
(Lev 8:31 NASB) Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the flesh at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and eat it there together with the bread which is in the basket of the ordination offering, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’
Lev 8:31: The anointed ones were to sit at the doorway of the tent of the meeting and eat the flesh of the sacrifice and eat the bread of the offering. This signifies the fellowship they now have with Elohim. They are set-apart for His service.
Yeshua said we are to do the exact same thing. He told us to eat His flesh and that He is the Bread of Life from heaven that we are to consume (John 6:51-57).
(Lev 8:32 NASB) “And the remainder of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn in the fire.
(Lev 8:33 NASB) “And you shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through seven days.
(Lev 8:34 NASB) “The LORD has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf.
Lev 8:34: These things were done to make atonement on behalf of the priests. This applies to us because we are His priests (1 Peter 2:9).
(Lev 8:35 NASB) “At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that you may not die, for so I have been commanded.”
(Lev 8:36 NASB) Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD had commanded through Moses.
Lev 8:36: If we truly are a part of the priesthood of Israel, then this applies to us. This explains why we are commanded to do all the things Yeshua commanded us as just previously referenced in Matthew 28:18-20. It is not a new command, it is merely our duty as part of His priesthood.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas