LEVITICUS 20


     We will continue on in this lesson studying the ordination of
Aaron and his sons as high priest and priests. We will continue the
dressing of the high priest. To get a better view, I will repeat one
verse from the last lesson. Leviticus 8:7 "And he put upon him the
coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe,
and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle
of the ephod, and bound [it] unto him therewith." Leviticus 8:8 "And
he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the
Urim and the Thummim."

     In our study on Exodus, we went into what the Urim and Thummim
meant, but it bears repeating here. The Urim means lights, and the
Thummim means perfections. These symbolize complete truth. My own
personal belief is that in this Urim and Thummim, there was a very
precious diamond with the unspeakable name of God engraved on it.
When the breastplate was tightened, the stone pressed into the heart
of the high priest, and God spoke to the people through the heart of
the high priest. A better way to say, in the breastplate, would be in
the pouch behind the breastplate. The Urim and Thummim was not on the
same side of the breastplate as the 12 stones of the tribes of Israel.
The 12 stones were on the outside for all to see, the Urim and Thummim
was on the under side. Jesus Christ is the perfect Light of the world.
We can, also, see in this earthly high priest, a shadow of the eternal
High Priest, Jesus Christ our LORD.

     Leviticus 8:9 "And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the
mitre, [even] upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the
holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses."

     Mitre comes from the word {mitsnepheth}, and it means a tiara or
an official turban. This mitre, along with the robe showed the
authority of the high priest. The gold plate on the forehead of the
high priest meant that the high priest was to keep God ever before
him. It, also, meant that the mind of the high priest should be stayed
on God. This gold on the front of the forehead symbolized the power
and authority of God in the ministry of the high priest. In all of
this, Moses keeps reminding them that God gave these instructions.

     Ministers, we should not be wasting God's time and our time on
finances, and government.  That is someone else's concern. The
minister, is the spiritual leader of the congregation.  The spiritual
needs of the congregation should be our priority. This is a holy
calling, as you can easily see from the garments of the high priest.
When the high priest was ministering in the things of God, He was
totally separated from worldly things.

     Leviticus 8:10 "And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed
the tabernacle and all that [was] therein, and sanctified them."

     The very first thing we must see here, is that this is not just
any oil. This is special oil for the purpose of anointing. Let's look
back in Exodus and see that this oil is holy ointment. Exodus 30:23
"Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred
[shekels], and of sweet cinnamon half so much, [even] two hundred and
fifty [shekels], and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty
[shekels]," Exodus 30:24 "And of cassia five hundred [shekels], after
the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:" Exodus 30:25
"And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound
after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil."
Exodus 30:26 "And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation
therewith, and the ark of the testimony," Exodus 30:27 "And the table
and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the
altar of incense," Exodus 30:28 "And the altar of burnt offering with
all his vessels, and the laver and his foot."

     We need to see in this that not only the building is to be
anointed, but everything and everyone in it. The sanctuary, set aside
for worshipping God, then or now, should be kept holy. The oil we
ministers use in the church today to anoint people or the holy things
of the sanctuary is pure olive oil, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit
of God. We should not use just any oil, because the oil itself must be
holy.

     Leviticus 8:11 "And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven
times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and
his foot, to sanctify them."

     We know that the sprinkling 7 times, symbolizes that this made it
spiritually complete. We have spoken before that to sanctify
something means that it has been set aside for God's purpose. Things
in the sanctuary then, or in our sanctuaries now, should not be used
for other things. These things have been set aside for God's purpose.
We must not mix the world in God's house. God's house is holy.

     Leviticus 8:12 "And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's
head, and anointed him, to sanctify him."

     Notice here, that Aaron was set aside for God's work in this
sanctifing. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit of God to minister
in the anointing. The oil poured on Aaron's head was in such abundance
that it ran down his face and even to the hem of his garment. This
symbolizes his total dedication to God. You may say, how do you know
this ran down to his hem? It was not sprinkled, it was poured. The
word translated poured here, means overflowed, in some instances.

     Leviticus 8:13 "And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats
upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as
the LORD commanded Moses."

     In the high priest, Aaron, we were seeing a shadow of Jesus, the
great High Priest. As in many of the types and shadows, we were also
seeing the office of a pastor of a church. Now we will be looking at
the sons of Aaron, who symbolize the Christians. The garment here,
will be different. There will be no breastplate, or ouches of gold
with the 12 tribes on the shoulder. These coats are made of white
linen, the same as the garments we Christians will be wearing in
heaven. These coats of linen symbolize the righteousness that the
Christian takes on as a covering, after Jesus took our sin upon His
body. The priests will not have the responsibility of carrying the
congregation on their shoulders, or their heart. Christians do have on
a garment of authority, but this authority is to use the name of the
High Priest and minister in His name. Just as Aaron's son's authority
is through Aaron the high priest, so the authority of the Christian is
in the name of Jesus. We have power of attorney to use the name of
Jesus, and Aaron's sons minister under the supervision of their
father. The fact the girdle was on them, showed the presence of God.
We see in the bonnet, which was white linen, the covering of pure
thoughts. We, also, see the beauty of holiness in these bonnets. There
was no gold on this bonnet, as there was under the mitre that Aaron
wore. Exodus 28:40  "And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and
thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for
them, for glory and for beauty."  There is really no need to add to
this Scripture, it explains the bonnets.  Let us look at two
Scriptures about the Christian's covering for the head, since these
priests symbolize the believers in Christ. I Thessalonians 5:8 "But
let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of
faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."  Ephesians
6:17 "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God:" White linen symbolizes righteousness in
Christ. This linen bonnet could easily be thought of as the helmet of
salvation then.

     To summarize this lesson, we must realize the significance of
these priests and the high priest to our churches today. Remember that
in this particular Bible study, we are looking at the spiritual
message that is to be found in each of the verses. Go back through
this lesson again, and see if we Christians and the pastors of our
churches are living up to this high calling of God.  If not, what are
we going to do about it?




















                             Questions 20

1.  What is this particular lesson about?
2.  In what order was Aaron dressed?
3.  What does Urim mean?
4.  What does Thummim mean?
5.  What do these two words symbolize, that can be summed up in one
    word?
6.  What does the author believe was in the Urim and Thummim?
7.  What does the author believe was engraved on it?
8.  How did God speak to the people?
9.  Who is the Light of the world?
10. Who is a shadow of the eternal High Priest Jesus Christ?
11. What was put on Aaron's head?
12. What was on Aaron's forehead?
13. What does mitre really mean?
14. The mitre, along with the robe of Aaron, showed what?
15. What 2 things did the gold plate on the forehead mean?
16. What warning to present day ministers can we see in the mitre and
    the gold on the forehead?
17. From the garments of the high priest, we see that the call of a
    minister to work for God is a ____ calling.
18. What did Moses anoint, besides Aaron?
19. Could Moses use any oil for this anointing? Explain
20. Why do Christian ministers today use pure olive oil to anoint
    with?
21. The sanctuary, then or now, must be kept ____.
22. How many times did Moses sprinkle the altar?
23. What does this number tell us?
24. What does the word sanctify mean?
25. How did Moses anoint Aaron?
26. What does the word that was translated here {poured} mean?
27. The oil going from the top of Aaron's head to the hem of his
    garment meant what?
28. What did Moses put on Aaron's sons?
29. How did the coat and other garments vary from Aaron's garments?
30. What was different about the bonnet Aaron's sons wore and the
    mitre Aaron wore?
31. In Aaron, what 2 shadows do we see?
32. In Aaron's sons who do we see a shadow of?
33. Who, besides Aaron and his sons, will wear white linen garments of
    righteousness?
34. How do the responsibilities of Aaron and his sons vary?
35. What authority do the Christians have?
36. What head covering are the Christians to put on?
37. What is the sword of the spirit?
38. What significance does this lesson hold for Christians and
    Christian leaders?
39. Are you as a person living up to the high calling of God?