Seven Days of Consecration

Seven Days of Consecration

Exodus 29: ³¹ “And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place. ³² Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ³³ They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy. ³⁴ And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

 

³⁵ “Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Seven days you shall consecrate them. ³⁶ And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. ³⁷ Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.

 

============

 

GOD told Moses to have Aaron and his sons eat the second ram as prescribed. GOD also said to repeat the sin offering for seven days.

 

My Observations:

• GOD may have been paralleling the holy week or Passover week, which is the week JESUS died for the sins of the world.
• Seven days of consecration was a one-time action.
• GOD declares people as holy even though we are sinners.

 

This meal was made for the consecration of Aaron and his sons. It was meant for them and them alone. Even the scraps were to be burned.  GOD was setting up a model where sin needed to be confessed and something had to die for the atonement of the confessed sins.

 

Bulls were special. They could breed cows that would provide meat and milk. To kill one meant cutting off the possibility of breeding. It was a sacrifice indeed. JESUS would become the sin offering that was holy and acceptable to GOD.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the seven days of sin offerings used in the consecration of Aaron and his sons?
• What is GOD consecrating you for?
• Do you believe that JESUS paid for your sins, past, present and future?

Altar of the Tabernacle

Altar of the Tabernacle

Exodus 27: “You shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide—the altar shall be square—and its height shall be three cubits. ² You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze. ³ Also you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. ⁴ You shall make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the network you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. ⁵ You shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be midway up the altar. ⁶ And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. ⁷ The poles shall be put in the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it. ⁸ You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it.

 

============

 

GOD gave Moses specific instruction on how to make an altar to sacrifice animals to HIM.

 

My Observations:

• GOD expected specific animals to be sacrificed at specific times for specific reasons.
• GOD chose bronze as the metal which could withstand heat and maintain integrity.
• GOD knew the sacrifice would be messy, so HE had Moses build a way to clean it.

 

Sacrifices would be a reminder of Adam and Eve’s sin and for the need of bloodshed to atone for sin. GOD killed an animal to cover Adam and Eve. But HE also died for our sins, showing humans that HIS blood was needed to save humanity.

 

The altar would be able to transfer ashes and blood away from the top. Cleaning the altar was thought of in the design. Bronze is made of copper and tin. Neither metal is mentioned in the revelation of heaven, only gold. GOD also knew the children of Israel would need to cary the altar around, so HE designed a way to carry it. GOD was pointing to the sacrifice of JESUS.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about the details of the altar?
• Has GOD ever given you specific instructions?
• How often do you remember the sacrifice JESUS made for you?