Fellowship with God

Introduction

Last week we finished up the sacrifices and the offerings that God commanded to be made in order to consecrate and ordain Aaron and his sons into the priesthood and to prepare them to do the work of ministering to God in the tabernacle. As we closed out our text last week not only had they been ordained and consecrated, but God had also provided for priests to have a portion to care for them as they completed their work within the tabernacle and later the temple. In the next few verses we see that not only has God provided the priests with a portion, but He has also provided for the future of the priesthood and then the agreement or covenant between God and Aaron and Aaron’s sons are ratified with a fellowship meal.

In our earlier work in Exodus, you may recall that at the completion of the giving of the Law, God cut a covenant with His people and we witnessed the adoption or ratification of that covenant in chapter 24. In verse 11 of Exodus chapter 24 we read these words, Exodus 24:11 “Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they beheld God, and they ate and drank.” and we studied how this was a fellowship meal in which God communed with His people and they with Him, signifying that both parties had formally agreed to the covenant, specifically that the one true God would be their God, and they would be His people and that they would obey all that was commanded of them. As we work through the text today this will be an important event to recall, as it will help us to understand the text.

There is another event, however, that we also need to keep in mind as we study today’s text, what it meant to the Israelites and what it teaches us, that we need to keep in mind as well. That event, found in Exodus 12 and 13, is the Passover and/or the feast of unleavened bread. As you may recall, this is the feast that God commanded the Israelites to take part of just before He brought about the tenth and final plaque in which the first born sons of Egypt would be put to death. You may recall that as we studied that particular passage we talked about how this is a feast or a festival that is still celebrated today in Judaism, it is also the feast that occurred on the night before Christ was to be crucified.

Part of the preparation of the Passover includes the singing of the Hallel Psalms, what we would know as Psalm 113 - 118. These Psalms take an individual on a very specific journey, beginning with an acknowledgement of who God is, praise for what He has done, a desire to give Him and Him alone all glory, a profession of love and adoration of God, and praise for His lovingkindness. They conclude with Psalm 118 which I will read for you this morning. As you hear the words of this Psalm, think about what they are proclaiming and how the things that they are proclaiming have been accomplished.

Psalm 118 LSB

Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good; For His lovingkindness endures forever. Oh let Israel say, “His lovingkindness endures forever.” Oh let the house of Aaron say, “His lovingkindness endures forever.” Oh let those who fear Yahweh say, “His lovingkindness endures forever.” From my distress I called upon Yah; Yah answered me and set me in a large place. Yahweh is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? Yahweh is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in Yahweh Than to trust in nobles. All nations surrounded me; In the name of Yahweh I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me, indeed, they surrounded me; In the name of Yahweh I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished as a fire of thorns; In the name of Yahweh I will surely cut them off. You pushed me down violently to make me fall, But Yahweh helped me. Yah is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly. The right hand of Yahweh is exalted; The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly. I will not die; indeed I will live, And recount the works of Yah. Yah has disciplined me severely, But He has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to Yah. This is the gate of Yahweh; The righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is from Yahweh; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which Yahweh has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O Yahweh, save! O Yahweh, succeed! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh; We have blessed you from the house of Yahweh. Yahweh is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I exalt You. Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good; For His lovingkindness endures forever.

The closing lines of this particular Psalm should seem familiar to you as many of them are dealing with the consummation of the plan of redemption in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we have moved through much of the later parts of the book of Exodus we have talked much about types and shadows and this morning will be no different as we discover the types or shadows that are included in the fellowship meal between God and the priests and bring these great truths of scripture that are revealed in both of the earlier texts from Exodus and how they tie into the Psalms that are sung in preparation for the Passover. Which brings us to our text for today. This morning we again look to the instructional text found in Exodus chapter 29 and the obedience text found in Leviticus 8 where we will read verses 31-32. So put your finger in Leviticus and turn to Exodus 29 as we begin by reading verses 29-34 together.

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s Holy, Inerrant, Infallible, Authoritative, Sufficient and Complete Word:

Exodus 29:29–34 LSB

“The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, that in them they may be anointed and ordained. “For seven days the one of his sons who is priest in his stead shall put them on when he comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place. “You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. “Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket, at the doorway of the tent of meeting. “Thus they shall eat those things by which atonement was made to ordain them, to set them apart as holy; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy. “If any of the flesh of ordination or any of the bread remains until morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

Leviticus 8:31–32 LSB

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.’ “And the remainder of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn in the fire.

Our prayer this morning is adapted from “The Valley of Vision” - Praise and Thanksgiving

Almighty God, You, oh Lord, are the fairest, greatest , and creator of all things. Our hearts admire, adore, and love You. Though they are small in comparison to You, our hearts are as full as they can be and we would pour out all that is in them in ceaseless praise before You. When we think upon and converse with You there are ten thousand delightful thoughts that spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, and ten thousand refreshing joys spread over our hearts and crowding into every moment of happiness. We bless You, Almighty God, for the souls that You have created. That You have not abandoned those souls but rather adorned them and sanctified them, even when they are rooted in the most barren of soil. We bless You for the bodies that You have given us, for preserving its strength and vigor, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes and ears that do Your bidding. For the royal bounty of our daily provisions, both a cup and a table, overflowing. For appetite, taste, sweetness, social joys of family and friends, the ability to serve others, for hearts that feel sorrow and needs, for a mind to care for our fellow men and women, for opportunities to spread happiness, for our loved ones who are already experiencing the joys of heaven, for our own expectations and ability to see You clearly. Father, we love You more than words can say for what You are to those whom You have created. Increase our love, O Lord, through all time and eternity. Father we ask these things in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Priesthood in Perpetuity

One of the benefits that we have here today, on this side of Christ’s redemptive work, and look back and see how the words of God given to Moses and the Israelites had far greater truths being expressed than what they were able to see at that time in that place. Verses 29 and 30 are great examples of this, for the Israelite, these verses served to demonstrate the faithfulness of God towards His people through the provision of a high priest in perpetuity, meaning that for all time, God would always provide His people with a high priest to serve in the role of mediator between God and man. For them, it was the lineage of Aaron initially and then the tribe of the Levites.

For us, here this morning, and for all of God’s people in all time and in all places, this still holds true, but the beauty of God’s plan is that we no longer have to rely on a high priest that is standing on the shoulders of those who have come before. Notice in the passage the holy garments were what was demonstrative of their right and ability to serve within the Tabernacle and the Temple. Even when taking on the garments of the high priest who went on before them and even then their service was temporary. We know that as the years passed the role of serving as high priest rotated through the priest hood. You may recall the words of Luke 1:8–9 as it describes the reason that Zechariah was in the temple when the angle of the Lord visited him and proclaimed the birth of his son John, whom we know as John the Baptist, it reads, “Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.”

In the letter to the Hebrews we read in Hebrews 1:1–3 “God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”. Jesus, now sitting at the right hand of the Father is the one true mediator between God and man, serving in the presence of the Father as our Great High Priest, and just as He promised the people of Israel through Moses that they would never be without a representative, so too does He continue to provide for His people through the Great High Priest.

Covenant Language

Earlier I mentioned the ratification of the covenant between God and His people that took place after the giving of the Law. Immediately following this fellowship meal, Moses is recalled to the mountain of Sinai where God writes the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets and then proceeds to instruct Moses regarding the construction of the Tabernacle and the institution of the priesthood, chapters 25-30 of Exodus. Contained within those passages is continual use of covenantal language. What I mean by that is these are continually the commands of God with reminders of the promise of God. For example, as God gives the commands that are to be obeyed, there is a promised result from the obedience to those commands. For the tabernacle it was that God would come and dwell with His people, for the implements it was that as the commands were obeyed these tools would serve as the means for the atonement of the people, or the reconciliation between God and His people, as we come to the priesthood it is that, through this ordinary man, chosen and set apart by God for the specific work of ministering before Him in the Tabernacle, the work of performing the sacrifices and carrying the burden of the sins of the people before God resulted in God’s acceptance, if His commands were properly obeyed, of those sacrifices.

As we come to the conclusion of the instructions regarding the consecration and ordination of the priesthood, we see another, albeit much smaller ceremony that ratifies or confirms this covenant regarding the priesthood. To be clear, these are the terms of this covenant, God provides a man to stand in as the role of high priest and other men to serve in the role of ordinary priests, these men are to be taken through the process that God has commanded here as representatives of all the priests who would follow, and if they obey the commands given, He covenants, or promises to, accept their work as sufficient to atone for the sins of His people and to bring them into fellowship with God.

These men serving in these roles, although called and set apart by God, declared holy through the work of consecration, and having their hands filled with the work that was set before them (or ordained) were certainly not perfect as is demonstrated by the fact that they daily have to offer up sacrifices of atonement, first for themselves and then for the people, notice in verse 34 regarding the command to burn in the fire anything leftover from the meal that was to take place. This command existed, not because the food had become unclean or defiled, notice it specifically states that it, being the flesh of the ram, is holy. This forces a question, what changed? certainly the flesh was holy when the men consumed it the day before and the text tells us that it is still holy, so why is it not to be consumed.

The answer lies in the status change of the priests themselves, remember, daily, they are to offer up an atonement for their sins. Even though priesthood has now been declared holy, the men filling the roles are still sinful creatures. This demonstrates for us the pervasiveness of the sin nature in our lives and the insufficiency of the sacrificial system. The overall image that we should see here in this fellowship meal is that the lesser covenant between God and the priesthood is being ratified, or confirmed.

A New Covenant

So what does this have to do with us here today and why did I mention the Passover earlier? One of the truths that we see regarding meals following covenant language throughout the Old Testament is that they are to serve as a celebratory acts where the people of God are celebrating the work of God in their lives. When we look back at the institution of the Passover, at the heart of this meal, was a celebration for what God was about to do. Each subsequent time that the Passover was observed it was a celebratory act that served to remind the people of God what He had done for them in delivering them from bondage in the land of Egypt. Even today, when Jewish people celebrate the Passover they are celebrating their deliverance from Egypt, sadly, however, they are also looking forward to the time when the Messiah would come. Sad, because He has come, John 1:11 “He came to what was His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

In each of the feasts that celebrate the work of God in the lives of His people the consummation of the flesh of the sacrifice represents communion or fellowship between God and His people. Note verse 33, the final clause of this passage, “but a layman (literally a stranger, so not a person of God) shall not eat them”. In this situation this specifically deals with anyone who is not of the priesthood, but in the larger context of other festivals and feasts, this would be anyone who is not of the people of God, for us, a believer.

So, the picture that you should have before you is that of a feast taking place in which God and His people are in fellowship or communion with one another as a celebratory act that either demonstrates that a covenant had been ratified or celebrating a covenant between God and His people.

Keep this picture in your minds eye as we press forward.

Gathered together in the upper room of a home in the city of Jerusalem, Christ and His disciples celebrated the Passover together, but unlike any other Passover that these men had been a part of, this one would forever alter history. As the meal came to a conclusion Jesus speaks up, each of the gospels contains either a specific narrative of these events or an allusion to these events, but we will narrow our reading to Luke’s account. We read in Luke 22:14-20

Luke 22:14–20 LSB

And when the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. “For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

Note Jesus’ words carefully in verse 20… the new covenant. One of the truths that we see repeated in the Prophets is this concept of a new covenant, one issued in by the Messiah and here, seated around the table, Jesus not only speaks of this new covenant, but institutes a “meal of remembrance” regarding this covenant, a celebratory act to be observed by the people of God because of the provision of God whereby we are brought into fellowship… or communion with Him.

The Body and The Blood

In the modern church the Lord’s Supper is often observed in a manner that is more about checking off a box. The truth that we see prescribed, or given as a command, for us in scripture, however, is something much different. If we look back into the Old Testament and look to the festivals and feasts that served as fellowship meals celebrating the work of God in the lives of His people, there is much we can learn about the way in which we should approach the Lord’s table.

First, with real true preparation. It should not have gone unnoticed the preparation that went into the meal that these priest’s shared with God and I am not referring to the manner in which the food was prepared. The preparation I am referring to started before the foundation of the world. Foundationally we need to see that none of the instructions that God gave to the people of Israel were thought up in the moment to respond to anything that was happening around the people of Israel. The danger in that thought process is the reduction of the Sovereignty of God. From a more narrow sense, the preparation begin in Exodus 28 as the clothing of the priesthood was described and continued through the very detailed ritual that led to this meal. Everything served a purpose, every action taught the people, all of them coming together so that as these priests consumed this meal in the presence of God at the doorway to the tent of meeting, the last thing that they were concerned about was how the food tasted. They were in awe of what had been done for them by God, they had seen not only the costs of atoning for their sins but also that He has made provision for them so that they only need concern themselves with service to Him, and that He had seen to it that the priesthood remain so that future generations would have a representative.

How often, do we truly come to the table prepared, thinking about the cost for our sins that Christ paid on Calvary’s cross, the truth that God has, not only provides for our daily needs, but has made provision for our eternity, reconciliation between us and Him, and that He has exalted God the Son to the right hand of the father so that He continually serves on our behalf as our Great High Priest.

Secondly, this takes place in a holy place. In Exodus, Moses commands them to boil the meat in a holy place, Leviticus helps to clarify that this holy place is the doorway of the tent of meeting, the same place where they are to consume this flesh. This place is Holy because of the presence of God and because it has been set apart by Him for His purposes. There was nothing inherently special about the specific ground on which they were standing, it was not the location that mattered, what mattered was the presence of God among His people. Recall that as Moses approached the burning bush he was told to remove his sandals because where he was standing was holy ground, again this had nothing to do with the actual dirt on which he stood but rather that the God was present in that place at that time. Our church buildings are not holy, in and of themselves, but when the people of God gather for the worship of God they become holy in that moment because of God’s presence. Often times people find this difficult to process because we talk about God’s omnipresence, that He is in fact present in all times, places and situations. What we need to consider, however, is that as the people of God gather for the purpose of worshipping God rightly, then God presence is there in a special way, resulting in that place being holy. Along with this, we should understand that God the Spirit dwells within each believer, setting us apart as holy. In 1 Corinthians 11:27–29 Paul writes “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must test himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”

Before we come to the table, we should be prepared as I mentioned above, but we should also understand that what is taking place, is doing so in a holy situation, it is a time set apart by God for communion with His people, we are, like the Israelites, celebrating the deliverance from bondage. The difference is, that while they were celebrating physical deliverance from a temporary situation, we are celebrating an spiritual deliverance from the eternal situation of existence enduring the ceaseless wrath of God in that place of outer darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Thirdly, the consummation of the bread and the wine, or juice, is the body and blood of the sacrifice which made atonement on our behalf. Notice in the first part of verse 33 God says that they are to eat those things by which they were sanctified. Recall that just prior to this ram being slaughtered the priests were to lay their hand on the head of this animal, acknowledging that it was their substitute, that it stood in their place, taking the punishment that was required of them. A short time later they would find themselves consuming that very same animal, one that gave its life for theirs. As I studied this passage I ran across several theologians who tried to make a point to say that the word boil here did not necessarily mean that the meat was only boiled that it was likely boiled and then placed on the altar to “finish it off” and I have to be honest, that bothered me. At first it was just this nagging that I could not shake but eventually I came to realize what it was that was causing me concern. The effort to make a big deal out of the method in which this flesh was cooked comes from the a focus on the wrong thing. It shifted the focus from the sacrifice to the individual because the idea that this conveyed is that they could not possibly have consumed this flesh as a meal without doing something else to it other than simply boiling it. For anyone who has every cooked, simply boiling meat, without any additional work, generates a bland taste, which misses the point, entirely. The point was that they were consuming the flesh to internalize exactly what had transpired, the price that was paid for them.

When we come to the Lord’s table it is not about the quality of the bread or the tastiness of the juice or wine, but about what they represent. During the presentation of the elements we talk about how they represent the body and blood of Christ, but do we really think about them in that way. Do we see a body that has been beaten, bloodied because of the scourging that has torn deep gashes into the flesh of Christ? Do we look up and see a cross, with rivulets of blood streaming down as the blood of Christ drips from all of His wounds? Can we truly hear the cry of anguish as God the Son cries out to God the Father?

Finally, that this is a celebration. Although the imagery is stark and we are called to under go proper preparation, to recall that we are in a holy place when we take this fellowship meal, and that it should recall to mind the body and blood of Christ, there is also truth that this is a celebration. The priests were celebrating what God had done for them in consecrating them and ordaining them, the Israelites were celebrating deliverance from Egypt and we, we as Christians, should celebrate more than all of those because we celebrate the full and final deliverance from sin, the fact that God has redeemed us, that because of Christ righteousness having been imputed to us, we are in true fellowship with God, both now and for all of eternity.

Conclusion

Beloved, as we reflect on the fellowship meal that sealed the priestly covenant, let us see with clear eyes the beauty of God’s covenantal faithfulness—a faithfulness that has reached its full expression in Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest. The meal of ordination was not about the quality of the food or the preference of taste, but about remembering the price paid, the holiness required, and the grace bestowed. In the same way, when we approach the Lord’s Table today, we do so not to satisfy earthly hunger but to remember the broken body and shed blood of the One who fulfilled every shadow and type.

We are called to prepare our hearts in awe and reverence, recognizing the holy ground upon which we stand when God’s people gather to commune with Him. We are to see the cost of our salvation, not with casual indifference, but with trembling gratitude. Yet in this solemn remembrance, there is also cause for unbounded celebration: Christ has delivered us from sin and death and secured our eternal fellowship with God.

So I ask you this: When you next approach the Table, will you do so as one going through motions, or as one overwhelmed by the mercy of God, determined to live in true, joyful communion with the Savior who gave Himself for you?

Closing Prayer

Gracious and Holy God,

We come before You with hearts humbled by the weight of Your mercy and grace. We thank You for the covenant You have established through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, who offered Himself once for all to secure our redemption. Help us to approach Your Table with true preparation, with hearts cleansed by repentance and minds fixed on Christ crucified and risen. May we never take lightly the cost of our salvation, but remember with reverence the body broken and the blood shed for our sins. Grant us, Lord, the grace to live as those consecrated to Your service, rejoicing in the fellowship You have made possible. As we celebrate this holy communion, fill us with gratitude, awe, and holy joy. Unite us as one body, strengthened to proclaim Your gospel and to walk in faithful obedience all our days. We ask all this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.