THE ORDINATION OF PRIESTS
LESSON FOR THE JUNIOR CLASSES
STUDY SCRIPTURE:
EXODUS 29: 1_9 35_37
Key Verse
“Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Seven days you shall consecrate them”.
Exodus 29: 35
INTRODUCTION
Human beings have very limited ability to understand what reality is as far as God and the beings in heaven know. But those who belong to God and are a part of his family will one day understand the things of heaven.
The Bible tells us that what we see are a shadow of what is to come. The things were see are really a representation of the things in heaven which are eternal and wonderful things. God therefore has to teach men and women about the truths of our existence and what God has prepared for us. So God establishes actual things on earth to teach us a little bit of what is important.
Since human beings sinned in the garden of Eden God had to send His Son Jesus Christ to live among men to teach them the truth about God the Father and about heavenly things. Because of sin Mankind had moved away from God and God needed to bring them back to Him.
They needed someone to represent them before the throne of God and to have men do the things to enable God to forgive them and bring them close to Him. That person would then lead them in worship of God. The position of that person in Israel was called the High Priest. His name was Aaron and he was the brother of Moses. He worked with Moses to obey God’s instructions to deliver the people of Israel from captivity in Egypt. God appointed Aaron and his sons to be priests in the nation, representing them before God and obtaining forgiveness for their sins. He would then be responsible to lead Israel in worship of God. He would have to teach them about the commandments of God and the rules God had established for the nation.
Aaron and his sons were made priests by God. Aaron was specially dressed up with a crown of gold on his turban or hat and he had a covering on his chest called the breastplate on which was engraved the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. His sons who would also be priests would be specially dressed.
All of them were consecrated in a special ordination ceremony led by Moses. They were beautifully dressed. Sacrifices were made in this special 7 day ceremony so that their sins would be forgiven and they would be declared to be holy and be able to represent the people in the presence o God in the tabernacle. Once consecrated, this meant Aaron and his sons were set apart in the service of God, Aaron the High Priest once each year could enter into the special place in the tabernacle called the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant was, and pray. Aaron represented the nation and the priests who came after him had that role. There he would pray to God for the forgiveness of the sins of the nation and bring the blood of the sacrifice to the Mercy Seat.
But now the Messiah, the true High Priest was finally sent by God to live among men, offer Himself as a sacrifice for their sins, bring salvation to those that believe in Him as their Redeemer. Jesus was this true High Priest and He would represent men to God after paying the price men should have paid for their sins by dying for them. Jesus Christ was the sacrifice and He was the final High Priest and our representative before God and so we do not need to do sacrifices of animals. We can now approach God the Father directly for any needs we have.
The position of Aaron and the other High Priests after him teaches us about the role Jesus plays in our lives. We therefore have been told in the Bible and we know we have been appointed priests of God under the Great High Priest Jesus Christ and we have the role of offering spiritual sacrifices to God. The Apostle Peter made this clear to us. So we love others as God commanded, help them in every way we can, pray for them and ask God to forgive them, and point men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ for only He can save them.