6. Leviticus 8-10

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Intro: “Get me to a priest….”

Get me to a Priest! Where’s the Priest…

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What images do those words confer up? We tend to have charactered view these days of what a “PRIEST” is… These days we tend to think of Roman Catholic priests and we (Protestants) tend to feel an allergic reaction to that sort of thing - and for some good reasons!

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Watch TV and the village priest will either be a saintly figure… or else a naive wet blanket… or else hell be the Machiavellian type who committed the murder (it was the rev so-and so in the drawing room, with the candlestick).

And so perhaps you approach this passage in Leviticus - which is all about PRIESTS - with a bit of baggage… or perhaps with interest… or maybe just with a sigh (are we still doing Leviticus for another week)?

Today I want you to see that a Priest is essential - that YOU (and I) need a PRIEST… and also (in another sense that YOU (and I) also ARE Priests, in some ways.

I hope that grabs your interest… we have a very long passage before us - three whole chapters, but we’re going to speed through the detail and (I hope) see the big point.

Three headings will help us - we’re going to see…

Functioning Priests

Failing Priests

And Future, Fulfilled Priests.

Let’s go, no. 1…

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1. Functioning Priests

Pickup our reading - chapter 8 v1

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Leviticus 8:1–4 NIV

The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering,  the two rams and the basket containing bread made without yeast, and gather the entire assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

What’s going on? Well, for the first time in Leviticus we have, not just lists of regulations, but a narrative…. So what is happening?

Aaron and his sons are being set apart… ordained… to function and Priests.

We’ve heard much about priests so far as we’ve studied the different sacrifices and offerings - the Priest have had a key role (without them there would BE do sacrifice, no atonement, to functioning tabernacle, and no ope of approaching God)… but now Leviticus pauses to give us this narrative to help us understand what they are, and who they are, and why they matter.

As these men are set apart for this task… the narrator describes the three steps - the RITUALS (if you like).

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First there’s ritual preparation (

that’s the section we’ve just read - bringing together of the Priest’s-to-be with all the paraphernalia needed - garments, oil, a bull, two rams, bread without yeast etc.

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Next there’s ritual enactment

the actual act of setting these folk apart for the role (that’s verses 5-29. Just have your Bible in hand as we skim through now…

There’s washing and dressing the Priests, just as God commands - v6 and 9… and the clobber they were is impressive to say the least - CLEARLY God is saying these priests are important, their role is VITAL.

Then there’s the anointing - everything gets a good dab of oil (they annoying the tabernacle and everything in it)… including on Aaron and his sons themselves. The idea here is to set them apart as Holy - it is a holy task they have, to come before a Holy God.

Except of course there’s a great, big problem. A great, big problem. None of these priests - neither Aaron, nor any of his sons, nor any of his descendants IS holy. They are sinful… before they can even think about mediating in the sin of others…. Or bringing sacrifices for the sin of others - what about their own wrongdoing?! And that brings us to what happens next - three offerings.. the purification offering (v14-17), the ascension offering (v18-21), the ordination offering (v22-29). And here the text now feels familiar to us - the instructions again given on how the offerings must be performed… to make the point approach God is not easy… in fact (without sacrifice) is not POSSIBLE for sinful people.

PAUSE - LET HANG - BREAK OFF

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Notice one details here in these offerings which differs from anything we’ve seen before. Read from v23…

Leviticus 8:23 NIV

Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.

This sounds odd to us…. In the next verse the same process is repeated so it’s not just for Aaron but for his sons - fo the priests as well.

SO far in Leviticus we’ve seen blood splashed in all sorts of places - but never on people - what on earth is this business (you ask?)

It symbolises that the whole priest…. The whole person… from top to toe… is entirely set apart for this role… for the service of God… to be a PRIEST - that is to be a MEDIATOR… who who goes between people and God… who who brings sacrifices to enable forgiveness.

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“ritual completion”

Look at v36 SLIDE

Leviticus 8:36 NIV

So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses.

In fat that phrase “do it as the Lord commanded” or “just as the Lord commanded” is repeated again and again in this section…. And no wonder - it is crucially important! Skip back a verse for an example… v35

Part of the drill is that the priests must….

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Leviticus 8:35 NIV

You must stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and do what the Lord requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded.”

This is life and death stuff… sinners cannot approach a Holy God without a mediator and without sacrifice to atone for sin… he is utterly Holy.

But he is also completely gracious. Yes he gives strict and detailed instructions… but y’know I do the same with our kids. When Fiona (our youngest - who’s 8) walks off across the fields about a mile to call on her friends my instructions are also specific….

Don’t go anywhere near that busy road

If she isn’t there you come straight back

If anything changes or you want to divert from your plans, you come straight back to ask (and no you can’t go on a skateboard trough a muddy field).

My instructions a very specific… but it’s not because I hate her but because I love her.. I want her safety AND her joy - I want her to be in the presence of friends, but to do so without harm Likewise… God desires the presence of his people… and to do so in a way which will not bring them into dreadful danger.

And the wonderful thing (as we move into chapter 9)…. The amazing thing… is there in chapter 9 verse 5…

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Leviticus 9:5 NIV

They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the Lord.

In other words the priesthood begins to function - they DID the things the Lord commanded… and by the end of the chapter there’s the real miracle - look at v23

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Leviticus 9:23 NIV

Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.

Don’t miss this Moses and Aaron go into the tent of meeting… and they don’t die!

More than that… they come out… and they and the people see and encounter and experience the glorious presence of the Lord… and they don’t die!

Read on - v24

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Leviticus 9:24 NIV

Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

There is is you see… if you want the presence of God - you need a functioning priesthood. You need a go-between… and when they do things just as God commanded - graciously God gives us presence with his people in relationship and there is great, great joy.

But sometimes in the great highs… things come crashing down and that, awfully, dreadfully, painfully… is what happens next. We’ve seen functioning priests… but now…

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2. Failing Priests

Pickup the story, I must warn you it’s about to take a very dark turn.

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Leviticus 10:1–3 NIV

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: “ ‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’ ” Aaron remained silent.

So the rapturous scene at the end of chapter 9 soon evaporates. Two of the Priests take things into their own hands… and - in a striking contrast to that repeated phrase “they did what the Lord commanded… they did what the Lord commanded”… these two did NOT do what the Lord commanded. And the consequences are appalling.

Instead of fire coming from the Lord to burn up the sacrifices - a sign that the system was working properly… now fire comes out from teh Lord (same phrase) and consumes these two in their arrogance. They think they can approach God in their own terms… perhaps, as quite junior Priests they think ‘stuff this’ I want a bit of the action close up… whatever their motivations they pay with their lives.

And this proves the point doesn’t it? If we were in any doubt… about the Holiness of God… and the danger we face before him.

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We’re going to come to ourselves in point three… but for now let me just say - the God of all… does not change. He is no less Holy today than he was for Nadab and Abihu. We tend to think God is a bit soft, or wet, a bit of a pushover… NO! He burns in Holiness…. We MAY NOT just approach him on our terms… we dare not go near him without a mediator - a functioning Priest to bring us (through sacrifice) into right relationship with God.

And without wanting to steal my own thunder in point three… if you do not have JESUS CHRIST as your priest.. if you don’t have HIS SACRIFICE to atone for sins… then this is the fierce judgement of God that awaits you. Let me plead with you don’t end up like these two…

Let me make one other side point… even as saved people… even as those in Christ.. this passage should give us great pause in our worship. We gather to worship God today… but as we do so don’t forget he is Holy… and we must be careful as we gather to honour him that we do only those things he has commanded… we don’t get to say “oh but I like to worship God this way…” NO GOD dictates the terms of worship not us!

We cannot come too God though our own means, or in our own ways, only through the priesthood God provides - functioning as it should.

Which brings us to point three today.

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3. Future, Fulfilled Priests

In many ways the New Testament commentary on Leviticus (as we saw with Brian last week) is the book of Hebrews…

And so, as we begin to consider what all of this means for us… just listen to the writer to the Hebrews…

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Hebrews 7:11 NIV

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come… ?

His point - as (again) we saw with Brian last week - is that the Levitical Priesthood (even when it functioned as it should)… was imperfect… was temporary… was a staging post… or (perhaps better) a signpost.

RIFF

Levitical priests - imperfect

Levitical Priests - repeated offerings… (impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin)

Levitical priests - kept on dying!

We STILL NEED a priest - a go between a mediator.. we need a priest who is perfect, and permanent, and who’s sacrifices can truly PAY

We need the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews sums it all up so perfectly like this…

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Hebrews 7:23–27 NIV

Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

Christ’s sacrifice of himself . CHrist’s permanent interceding, mediating work.

Just as an aside… that is one reason we DON’T call me a Priest. You can call me a Minister - one who is involved in ministry…. You can call me an elder (one who leads and teaches)… you can call me a pastor (one who shepherds)… but you cannot call me a priest. I do not mediate for you…. I do not make sacrifice for you - Christ is (as we often sing) - the great high priest who’s name is love, who ever lives and pleads for me.

So don’t call me a priest if what you mean by that is one who makes atonement… a mediator.. who whose sacrifice brings you to God.

Don’t call me a priest … UNLESS….UNLESS… you call yourself a Priest too.

You see there actually IS one sense in which the New Testament calls EVERY BELIEVER a priest.

Listen to 1 Pet 2.9 (Peter is writing to ordinary Christian people like you and me)

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1 Peter 2:9 NIV

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

He calls us ALL a priesthood.

Or likewise, listen to Revelation 1.6

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Revelation 1:6 NIV

and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

TO be clear this does NOT mean certain people (like church leaders) are the only who’s who are priest… this does not mean ANY of us are priests in the sense of being mediators to God.

But, of course, the priests had other roles too..

Priests were dedicated to serving God - now we who trust Christ likewise are to offer our whole selves (big toes and all) to his service.

Priests (in a sense) represented God to people… likewise our role as those who trust in Christ is to represent him to w world that does not know him it needs him… in the way we live, and the things we do, and the character we have, and the things we SAY.

Priests offered sacrifices…. We don’t offer sacrifice for sin any longer - Christ has fulfilled all of that… but we are called to live sacrificial lives where WE as living sacrifices are devoted to God. Our prayers are called “offerings” which come before God… we are to “Offer our bodies as a living sacrifice” says Romans chapter 12… When Paul writes to thank the Philippians church for the gifts they’ve given him to support his ministry he calls them “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God”

Finally Hebrews says (quote)

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Hebrews 13:15 NIV

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

PAUSE - BREAK OFF - BACK TO START

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Get me to a priest! Where’s the Priest…

What images does that conjure up?

The fact is we all need a priest…. We cannot come to God, in our own way, on our own terms, without the mediator and sacrifice that God provides - Nadab and Abihu learned that lesson the hard way.

We must come to God (MUST! Come to God) the way he has graciously made…. Through Jesus - the perfect priest and the perfect sacrifice… who pays for our sin to bring us to God… in him we can know great Joy and relationship restored….

And as we trust in him - although he is are only priest in the ULTIMATE sense… we too have a priestly role… if offering the deeds of our lives and our love of our hearts, and the words of our lips to him in gratitude and service

Let’s pray