Leviticus 8 - Introduction

Chapter 8 The Anointing of the High Priest.

This chapter again, as with Leviticus 1, takes up from the last part of Exodus (see Exodus 40:33). It describes the anointing of Aaron as the first High Priest of Israel, to oversee the tabernacle. Or, as he is mainly known in the text, as ‘The Priest'. This was together with his sons who would be his deputies as ‘priests', and one of whom would replace him when he died. Nations around all had High Priests and it is not therefore surprising that it was an idea that Israel took up under God (for the actual term High Priest see Leviticus 21:10; Numbers 35:25; Numbers 35:28). Had they not had a High Priest they would have been an oddity among the nations.

His responsibility was to look after the religious life of Israel, and to act as Israel's representative before, and mediator with, God. As such he had to ensure the proper working of the cult, to ensure that all was done rightly, and to ensure that the people knew the Law of God. He had to ensure that all the correct procedures were carried through with regard to the offering of sacrifices, that the daily and weekly ministrations were fulfilled, and that the people were made aware of the Law of God and what was required of them. And above all he was responsible for ensuring the successful celebration of the great Day of Atonement when all Israel's sins were ‘atoned for' for each year, for another year (see Leviticus 16).

The importance of all this for us today is that we too have all been called to be priests under our own Great High Priest (1Pe 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6), and in what happened to Aaron and his sons we can see something of our privileges in Christ. But like Jesus Himself our priesthood is not earthly, but heavenly. According to the Law no one, apart from the descendants of Aaron (Hebrews 8:4), can serve as a priest on earth, not even Jesus. But their ministry has ceased, both because invalidated by the offering up of Christ, and because of world events. Earthly sacrifices are therefore no longer acceptable, and can no longer be offered. Thus we do not serve on earth as an earthly priesthood, we serve in a heavenly priesthood (Hebrews 10:19). Through the work of Christ all earthly priesthood has lost both its function and its validity. They were but shadows and types of a reality to come (Hebrews 8:5; Hebrews 10:1). Any man who claims to carry out priestly functions on earth on behalf of others, who is not descended from Aaron, is a fake. And anyone who does as a descendant of Aaron is out of date.

Our responsibilities and privilege are made clear in the New Testament. As His priests we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5), the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15; Philippians 4:6), and to show forth the excellences of Him Who has called us out of darkness into His most marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9). This includes a constant presentation of our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service, in order that we might carry out His will (Romans 12:1), praying with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit for all God's true people (Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6), offering up the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 2:7; Colossians 4:2) and ministering to God's people and to the world (Philippians 2:17; Philippians 4:18; Hebrews 13:16; Romans 15:16). And we do this in the Name of the One Who offered up one final sacrifice for sins for ever, a sacrifice never needing to be repeated. Thus the only offering and sacrifice that we can now make is the offering of ourselves to and through Him, as we are made one with Him in His sacrifice (Galatians 2:20).

And this is the basis on which we can read ourselves into these Chapter s. For like Aaron and his sons we too have been called to priesthood. And like them we must treat it as a serious business. Aaron is a type and shadow, partly of the High Priesthood of Christ, and partly of our position as priests under Christ's High Priesthood.