Sometimes, I find, the Holy Spirit breathes on a passage of scripture I have not noticed before. Details which once seemed insignificant jump to the fore. Or historical accounts I skimmed past quickly before, thinking them hard to follow, suddenly spring to life. Every time this happens, I am astounded at my blindness and humbled by God’s desire to open His story. He loves to be known by those who love Him.
Recently my daily devotion included a reading about the ordination of Aaron and his sons. The passage is from Exodus, one of my favorite books. I love the drama of the story. I am awed by God’s friendship with Moses. But I confess, the details of tabernacle worship are hard to visualize and I tend to skim past them.
However, on March 13, 2021, the Holy Spirit gave me a great gift, opening the “eyes of my heart.” I could see Moses and Aaron standing with all his sons at the entrance of the tabernacle on the day of their ordination. More importantly, I could feel the excitement with which the Trinity orchestrated and attended that day. The vesting of Aaron was both a turning point in Israel’s history event and a prophetic act. That day Israel became a people of worship, with a unique relationship to the Living God. They also became a prophetic people, enacting sacrifices which would point the whole world to its Savior. Here is what the LORD said to Moses.
“Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them to minister as priests to Me: take one young bull and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread…. You shall put (the wafers) in one basket and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod; and you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. You shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and bind caps on them, and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
Everything about the vesting of Aaron points to Jesus, our Great High Priest. Aaron is washed in water, a sign of Christ’s baptism. He is dressed in white linen symbolizing the perfect righteousness of the Lord. He is crowned as Jesus will be crowned King of all nations. He bears on His breastplate precious stones bearing the names of each tribe of Israel – a sign of Yeshua’s faithful love and remembrance of His people. And on this breastplate rest the Urim and Thummim through which the high priest discerns the judgments of God. In this way the high priest, like Jesus, is both minister and judge.
My mind was exploding with all these prophetic signs (and many more besides) when my attention was drawn to Aaron’s beard. I could see Moses pouring the oil over his brother’s head – consecrating him for a service which had never before been done on earth. I could feel the weight of that oil and smell its fragrance – a fragrance which rose to heaven. I knew the Trinity was present in that moment as Aaron stood surrounded by his brothers, and I suddenly understood, at least in part, David’s psalm.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.
Aaron was anointed in the presence of His sons, because Jesus shares His priesthood with His brothers. Our unity is oil on our Savior’s beard, for it is the reason for His sacrifice. His sacrifice is our life eternal, in union with Him. And His joy is to share with us His dominion, His judgments, and His love for the Father. When we walk in unity we bless our great High priest. We honor His sacrifice, and we, like Aaron’s extended family, eat of His holy gifts.
But when we fail to walk in obedience, we are a grief to our High Priest. Aaron’s sons treated the Lord’s commands lightly, offering “strange fire” of their own design in the Lord’s temple. This brought immediate death and grief to Aaron on a day that should have been filled with joy.
Obedience to our Savior is a first step toward unity. Without it, we cannot walk in peace with each other. Under the common yoke of obedience to Jesus, we can see what is beautiful in one another. We bear witness to how our brothers and sisters honor Jesus, our great High Priest. Shared submission unites our hearts, and our love for one another flows like oil down our Savior’s beard. What a mystery – that we can bless the One who shed His blood for us! And when we do, we enter the Father’s blessing – eternal life together!