As a pastor’s kid I was able to witness my dad’s ordination ceremony. It was sort of like a graduation type thing where the church leaders of the denomination declared him as suitable and validated his call by God. It was nice, we had cake. "Hey now", I was little. The Levitical priests ordination was radically different. They surely didn't have cake!
Leviticus 8 gives you a glimpse of a completely different ordination ceremony. Moses says to Aaron that you and all your sons are now special people called priests and you will be the only ones suitable to talk to God. You are responsible for making sure that the sins of the nation are atoned for. You have to slaughter animals, drain blood, burn fat, and wave animal parts around in the air. You have to eat portions what the people give you, because if you don’t eat it all, well then the people’s offering is in vain and not acceptable. This is your job from now on. But don’t worry; you’ll get paid in grain and livestock. Oh, and so the people will know that this is now your responsibility we’re going to have this big ordination ceremony. You’ll get to wear really cool clothes. We’ll slaughter a bull, a ram, a lamb and eat some flat bread with no yeast. There’s just this one part of the ceremony where I’m going to put blood on your right ear lobe, your right thumb, your right big toe and sprinkle blood on your clothes, but I’m sure you won’t mind. Then you have to go to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days and eat all this stuff we burned. If you leave before the seven days or don’t eat it all,...well...you’ll die. It’s what the Lord told me to do with you and your family, so I’m sure there’s no problem. Sound good? Aren’t you excited! Great, let’s do it!
When you look from the lens of our culture into the culture of ancient Israel it all seems out of focus. I wish I really understood their culture so I could look at the ordination ceremony described in Leviticus 8 and be awed by it instead of repulsed by it all. I’m sure to an ancient Israelite it was an awe inspiring spectacle. Especially when Aaron was all decked out in the Ephod, the sash, diadem and all. What a site that must have been! Not only did they have a holy place where God dwelled, but now they have ordained leaders to guide them back to reconciliation with God. I guess that could be pretty awe-inspiring to know that you had an avenue to God.
Can you imagine living in this time, when your only avenue to God was through a group of priests and rituals? Now, because Jesus replaced all those sacrifices I have God in me. The Holy Spirit is here with me right this moment. Wow! I don’t need to wait for my pastor to sprinkle blood on an altar. I’m an elder at my church, I’m not so sure I’d sign up for the job if I had to have blood on my right ear, right thumb, right toe and my clothes no matter how many times my pastor said, “It’s what the Lord told me.” But that’s what’s so cool about living on this side of the cross. I can listen to God’s voice myself. I have access to his very words. I have a relationship through his Spirit.
Before Jesus, I was not worthy to be in God’s presence. It’s not that he didn’t want me there; it’s just that my sinfulness simply could not exist in the presence of his holiness. Sort of like two magnets of the same polarity repulse each other. No matter how much I want them to join together, the laws of nature say it can’t happen. But Jesus, his holiness, his ultimate sacrifice puts me and God right together in the same time and space. How Cool is that. I think I’ll do my own special brand of “wave offering”! Which leads me to ponder…I wonder what the ancient Israelites would think if they looked through the lens of their culture into ours? I wonder what they would think.
When you look from the lens of our culture into the culture of ancient Israel it all seems out of focus. I wish I really understood their culture so I could look at the ordination ceremony described in Leviticus 8 and be awed by it instead of repulsed by it all. I’m sure to an ancient Israelite it was an awe inspiring spectacle. Especially when Aaron was all decked out in the Ephod, the sash, diadem and all. What a site that must have been! Not only did they have a holy place where God dwelled, but now they have ordained leaders to guide them back to reconciliation with God. I guess that could be pretty awe-inspiring to know that you had an avenue to God.
Can you imagine living in this time, when your only avenue to God was through a group of priests and rituals? Now, because Jesus replaced all those sacrifices I have God in me. The Holy Spirit is here with me right this moment. Wow! I don’t need to wait for my pastor to sprinkle blood on an altar. I’m an elder at my church, I’m not so sure I’d sign up for the job if I had to have blood on my right ear, right thumb, right toe and my clothes no matter how many times my pastor said, “It’s what the Lord told me.” But that’s what’s so cool about living on this side of the cross. I can listen to God’s voice myself. I have access to his very words. I have a relationship through his Spirit.
Before Jesus, I was not worthy to be in God’s presence. It’s not that he didn’t want me there; it’s just that my sinfulness simply could not exist in the presence of his holiness. Sort of like two magnets of the same polarity repulse each other. No matter how much I want them to join together, the laws of nature say it can’t happen. But Jesus, his holiness, his ultimate sacrifice puts me and God right together in the same time and space. How Cool is that. I think I’ll do my own special brand of “wave offering”! Which leads me to ponder…I wonder what the ancient Israelites would think if they looked through the lens of their culture into ours? I wonder what they would think.
written in 2007
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