BloodBath

“And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.” (Le 8:24 AV)

Of this practice, Albert Barnes writes, ”Before casting forth the blood round the altar in the usual manner, Moses took a portion of the blood and put some of it on the right extremities of each of the priests. This, being performed with the blood of the peace offering, has been supposed to figure the readiness of the priest who is at peace with Yahweh to hear with the ear and obey the divine word, to perform with the hand the sacred duties of his office, and to walk with the feet in the way of holiness.”  The Jewish religious system is filled with symbols.  Everything they did points to a greater principle.  The furniture of the tabernacle was laid out in the shape of a cross.  The Israelites encamped around the tabernacle in the shape of a cross.  In fact, the symbol of the cross is throughout the tabernacle.  In the above example, the symbolism is not lost on Bro. Barnes.  His assessment is as good as anyone's.  God takes sin rather seriously.  For someone to undertake ministry on His behalf without first cleansing himself would not be acceptable.  That which one would hear, partake of, and walk of his life should be cleansed by the blood of our Perfect Sacrifice before we attempt to serve Him with our life.

Just the other day, we looked at the custom of washing one’s hands before one eats.  I gave examples of my Mother’s on-the-spot grooming habits.  I shared the whole spit-and-wipe technique of mobile bathing my Mom used to perform on our way to any place in public.  She wanted us to look our best and if we did not, it was a reflection on her.  This is not that.  This is a bit different.  The practice of placing blood on the tip of the ear, the thumb, and the great toe of the foot was an act of consecration.  It was a rite of purification prior to service.  Something similar would be a prayer of confession and repentance before we rise and serve God for the day.  Perhaps a few moments of reflective intercession for one’s own faults is warranted before we attempt to live for God the entire day.  Maybe a reflection of what we are and how we have failed would be a good faith gesture on our part so that a holy God is not offended by how flippantly we can take the responsibility to live for God.

Moses bathed Aaron and his sons.  Moses applied to blood.  This is not something these priests could do for themselves.  Someone of authority and ordained by God to do so would be the one to consecrate them to service.  What a picture this is of Christ!  Moses, who is the one who prepares the priests for service is a perfect picture of Christ’s atoning and sanctifying work of His people.  In order to be worthy of service to our Father, we must yield to the cleansing of the blood of Christ in all areas of life.  We are to yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit as He washes away all the sin which we have indulged by confessing and forsaking it.  Then, by the water of the Word, our souls can be cleansed of all that offends God so that we might enter the day as a clean vessel, fit for the Master’s use.