Leviticus · chapter 8 of 27
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Leviticus 8 tells of the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests. Moses gathers the congregation, washes them, dresses Aaron in the holy garments and anoints him with oil together with the tabernacle. He then offers a bull as a sin offering, a ram as a burnt offering and the ram of ordination, and commands the priests to stay at the entrance of the tent for seven days.
After the laws of the offerings, the book moves from instruction to practice: someone must serve at the altar. Aaron and his sons are chosen by God, not for their own merit. This chapter carries out the orders given in Exodus and shows that the priesthood is not taken up by human initiative but by divine call and consecration.
The Lord tells Moses to gather Aaron, his sons, the garments, the anointing oil, a bull and two rams, and the whole congregation assembles at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Moses says this is what the Lord commanded. He washes Aaron and his sons with water and dresses Aaron in the tunic, the sash, the robe, the ephod and the breastpiece, in which he puts the Urim and the Thummim, and sets the turban with the golden plate on him.
Moses anoints the tabernacle and everything in it with oil, sprinkles the altar seven times and pours oil on Aaron's head to consecrate him. Then he dresses Aaron's sons. The bull is offered as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering; Aaron and his sons lay their hands on them.
The second ram is the ram of ordination: Moses puts blood on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons. He then sprinkles them with anointing oil and blood. They eat the meat and the bread at the entrance of the tent and must stay there seven days. Aaron and his sons do everything the Lord commanded through Moses.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Moses brings Aaron and his sons forward and washes them with water. Before putting on the holy garments, the priests must be purified. No one serves the Lord on the strength of his own cleanness: the rite points to the need for purity to approach him.
Moses pours anointing oil on Aaron's head to consecrate him. The oil shows that God himself sets his servant apart and equips him. The title anointed, in Hebrew messiah, will later be key to understanding the work of Christ.
With the blood of the ram of ordination Moses touches Aaron's right ear, the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot. The act suggests that the priest's hearing, hands and steps are consecrated to the Lord's service.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: At the entrance of the tent of meeting. — Leviticus 8:3-4
Answer: He washed them with water. — Leviticus 8:6
Answer: The Urim and the Thummim. — Leviticus 8:8
Answer: The tabernacle and everything in it. — Leviticus 8:10-12
Answer: A young bull. — Leviticus 8:14
Answer: Seven days. — Leviticus 8:33-35
Leviticus 8 reminds us that serving God begins with being set apart by him, not with our own ability. In a Sunday school class you can ask what place prayer and dependence on God have before we take on a ministry, even a small one.
It also highlights obedience: Aaron and his sons do everything the Lord commanded. Today the New Testament calls all believers a royal priesthood and calls Christ the great high priest. Our service does not begin with our purity but with the cleansing Christ gives, and it is lived out with reverence and commitment.
Leviticus 8 ends with the priests consecrated, ready and obedient, waiting seven days. Leviticus 9 tells of the eighth day, when they begin to offer sacrifices and the glory of the Lord appears to all the people.
They were objects kept in the high priest's breastpiece and used to seek God's will. The Bible does not describe their form or how they worked in detail, so it is wise to speak of them with caution and stress that they served to receive direction from God.
The text describes the act but does not explain it. Many interpret it as consecrating the ear to listen to God, the hand to serve and the foot to walk in his ways. The blood also shows that consecration rests on a sacrifice.