“And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water” (Ex. 29:4).
With the institution of the priesthood, God consecrated Aaron and his sons to Himself, setting them apart from the rest of the people. They were distinguished from common men and sanctified for His service. Matthew Henry explains that the consecrating of the priests was the “perfecting of them,” and that Christ, the antitype of the priests, is perfect and “consecrated forevermore” (Heb. 7:28).
God appointed Moses to consecrate Aaron and his sons for the priesthood. Moses was the servant of the Lord, and by God’s order he was to do the work of a priest and set forth the sacrifice on their behalf. The place where they were to be consecrated was the door of the tabernacle of meeting. God chose to dwell in the tabernacle, and the people attended in the courts. This made the door between the court and the tabernacle the appropriate place for those to be consecrated as mediators between God and man. There they would stand before both and lay their hands (as it were) on both.
The priests were to be washed, signifying that they must be clean who “bear the vessels of the Lord” (Isa. 52:11). Anyone who strives for holiness must cleanse himself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit (Isa. 1:16–18; 2 Cor. 7:1). This is true for all New Testament believers, for we are washed in the blood of the Lamb and consecrated to serve the Lord. Those who have been washed are obligated to rid themselves of worldliness and to serve the Lord all their days.
The priests were to be clothed in holy garments to signify that it was not enough for them to put away the corruption of sin, but they had to put on the fruit of the Spirit, being clothed in righteousness. We must not think of the Christian life as comprised solely of repentance and the putting to death of the old man. But we must think of it as walking in faith, bearing fruit, and putting on the new man who is modeled after Christ Jesus.
The high priest was to be anointed with oil, symbolizing the pouring out of the Spirit on the church to empower it for service. Jesus was anointed by the Spirit for His public ministry, and after He ascended into heaven, He sent the Spirit to His disciples. In the form of fire, the Spirit anointed Christ’s chosen vessels, equipping them for their work of service to the Lord and preparing them to proclaim the Gospel.
Read Psalm 133. The oil used to anoint Aaron and to consecrate him as the high priest was pleasing to the Lord. In the same way, the unity of the people of God as they worship together is pleasing to the Lord. What keeps you from being like the oil running down Aaron’s beard? Pray today for unity and purity in your church.
