Preparation for Service

CHAPTER TWO: PREPARATION FOR SERVICE

I want to make you see that the time for establishing true leadership in the Body of Christ is upon us. For many years the people of God have been mislead in doctrines, abused in substance and taken advantage of in submission. Now the Lord is about to raise up and bring forth those of us He has been grooming for leadership in this end-time. The Lord spoke to me about two weeks prior to writing this and said, “There is no more time.” In other words, we, the called and chosen of God to lead His people, have no more time to be entangled in the affairs of this life. This is the season for agreeing with God. In order for the royal priesthood to understand the ordination of the office to which it has been called, we must go back to look into the ordination and work of the first priesthood. In doing so, I found that a very dear friend of mine,

CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS

Leviticus 8:1-13

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

3 And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

4 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

5 And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.

6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.

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.

8 And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.

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.

10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.

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.

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

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.

Exodus 29:1-7

1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,

2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.

3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.

4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.

5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:

6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.

7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

Here is another beautiful picture of God’s sovereignty coupled together with man’s responsibility producing results that are glorifying to God and edifying to man. God (in His sovereignty) calls, provides cleansing, covering, anointing and fills our hands. It is all of God but unless we exercise our responsibilities, accept and use what is provided, the world remains lost -- without God and Christ’s marvelous salvation.

Below are things that Moses was to do and the priests’ response in their consecration.

They must be:

• Taken
• Brought
• Washed
• Clothed
• Consecrated
• Anointed
• Hands filled
• The Wave Offering

TAKEN: “Take Aaron and his sons with him” (Exo. 28:1) Aaron and his sons did not choose to be priests. God chose the tribe of Levi for reasons we cited in our study of the Levites. If this arrangement was in force today, everyone would say that it was a family affair. Well it was! Moses was of the tribe of Levi. Aaron was his brother, and the rest of the priests were his nephews. The Merarites, Kohathites, and Gershonites, who transported and protected the Tabernacle, were of the tribe of Levi. They were chosen of God, and God has a right to choose whom He will. They had a heart for God and stood for His cause. When the clean came up after their idolatrous escapade, the Levites were first to identify with the Lord. I often hear accusations in church work where a son or son’s family work very close to their father. “It’s a family affair.” After all, who else can work in as close harmony with a father than a son? And, too, it is a compliment to a father if a son wishes to serve God under his father’s guidance. Furthermore, it is quite scriptural. So Aaron and his sons were taken and called of God into the priesthood. They were taken or called out of the tribe of Levi. Korah also was of the tribe of Levi but was not taken or called to the priesthood. He tried to force his way in, only to suffer the consequences of his actions.

Jesus Christ was called of God for the eternal priesthood. “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles:” (Isa.42:6): also Heb.5:4,10. As Aaron was called to be High Priest and his sons were called to be priests, so God called Jesus Christ to be the Great High Priest and we, too, are called to be priests (Rom.8:29,30; II Tim. 1:9; Heb.3:1,2).

BROUGHT: “And Moses brought Aaron and his sons.” They were brought unto the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation; they stood before God and before the people. Every one called of God must clearly remember this two-fold presentation: They were presented to God. They were presented to the people. In presenting them before God, they had a special privilege of coming close to God and into intimate fellowship with God. With this special privilege came the responsibility to the people. They were to minister the things of God to the people. They were to come to God on behalf of the people. They were the link between God and the people. What an awesome responsibility to be such a link. There was only One who could truly be that link – of course it was the Lord Jesus Christ. Being Divine and human gave Him a hand clasped into the hand of God and a hand outstretched to the sinner – clasped to the redeemed. God called Israel to be a “kingdom of priests, a holy nation,” but they failed so He had to “Take” His only begotten Son and appoint Him to raise up a kingdom of priests and a holy nation from among the Gentiles.

WASHED: “And washed them with water.” In our study of the Laver we dealt with the washing procedures and made reference to John 13 where our Lord washed the disciples’ feet. The reference, no doubt, was to this scene of the priests being ceremonially washed once (though, otherwise, they might have bathed twice a day) and then ceremoniously needing to wash their hands and feet each time they approached the Tabernacle services. There are many scriptures that associate this washing with regeneration. This washing, however, was a cleansing in Consecration for service as a priest. They would have to identify with the sacrifice upon the Brazen Altar before they could even come to the door of the Tabernacle. Furthermore, they had the blood applied to their right ear, thumb and toe. Only the blood could cover sin. Washing was to wash away sweat (which God hates) and the filthiness of the flesh. Aaron and his sons were washed together. This whole ceremony was not one of salvation but one of consecration, one of sanctification and one of setting apart. Aaron and his sons were members of Israel by the proclamation of God. In this washing the father and sons were one. “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (John 17:19); also Hebrews 2:11. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Yet, there is a cleansing involved in this initial washing. “…Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”(Revelation 1:5). As blood and water flowed from our Lord’s side giving birth to the Church, so the blood and the water of the Word are involved in the sanctification and setting apart of the Church.

Ephesians 5:26-27

26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and withoutblemish.

We must be careful not to make this washing something it was not. Some have taken this washing and associated it with our Lord’s statement of John 3:5.

John 3:5

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The original in that statement reads “Except a man be born of water even the spirit he cannot enter in the Kingdom of God.” These priests were washed, clothed with fine linen, (righteousness) and sanctified or set apart to the service of God.

A New Testament scripture that ties in with Christ’s work in us is 1 Corinthians 6:1 and also Hebrews 10:21-23:

1 Corinthians 6:11

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Hebrews 10:21-23

21And having an high priest over the house of God;

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

CLOTHED: “and clothed him.” Note that while they all washed together, special emphasis is given that Aaron was clothed first, and not until Aaron was clothed and anointed does it say that his sons were clothed (verse13). This, of course, reveals to us that our Lord was clothed with all these garments and anointed before His sons (we, the priests chosen and anointed through salvation) came into existence. Notice the order in which Moses clothed the High Priest. It was not Moses’ idea but rather him carrying out God’s detailed instructions:

• The Linen Coat. Girded him with the Girdle – these two became one.
• The Robe of blue.
• The Ephod with the Breastplate and Girdle.
• The Mitre with ribband of blue and Crown – “Holiness Unto the Lord.”
• Then he applied the blood and anointed him.
• Filled his hands.

Similar instructions are given to all His priestly sons in Ephesians 6:11-17:

• Loins girt about with truth – linen Robe and Girdle.
• Breastplate of righteousness – Ephod with Breastplate.
• Shield of faith – Mitre and Crown of holiness.
• Helmet of salvation – priests’ Bonnet Sword of the Spirit –
• Word of God – hands filled with wave offering.
• Praying in the Spirit – anointed with Oil

We have studied the meaning of the garments of the priests in previous chapters and how they spiritually apply. May we be so clothed in our service to the Lord. The armour described above is mainly defensive armour. We must first learn how to stand and properly defend our position and give no place to the enemy. But we will never take the kingdom from satan by simply standing. Having our priestly garments and our armour of warfare, it is time to rise up and take the Kingdom. We are commissioned to establish His Kingdom on earth and this can only be done through consecrated priests. There is no room for co-existence with satan.

CONSECRATED:

Leviticus 8:22-24

22 And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.

23 And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.

24 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.

The blood of the consecration ram was applied to Aaron and to his sons.

John 17:19

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

EAR: “And Moses put the blood upon the tip of their right ear.” The blood was applied to the tip of the right ear. Thumb of the right hand and the great toe of the right foot. The meaning of this is very simple to understand, but many find it difficult to observe. Our hearing should be entirely set apart for our Lord: to hear His voice and respond; to hear the cry of the lost world and exercise our priestly duties. Too often believers who allowed those ears which have been sprinkled with blood become satan’s garbage cans. We hear some evil report and pass it on. Worse yet, we clothe it in religious wrapping. One sister calls another and says, “hate to say this, but I’m asking you to pray for our dear brother – did you hear that he fell into the sin of . . .?” Why, the hypocrite really doesn’t want to ask for prayer. She’s anxious to pass along some juicy gossip. If she knew the word and heard the word, she would have heard:

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Mark 4:24

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

Revelation 2:7

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

THUMB: “and upon the thumbs of their right hands.” The blood on the thumb simply means service. Our hands are given to us to serve God, our family and humanity. Our hands are to be engaged in the work of God. God did not give hands to be idle. There is a day coming when we will give an account of our works, whether we are building with hay, wood, and stubble or precious stones, gold and silver that the fire will not destroy. Many think that they are doing the works of God by baking pies and doing needlework for an auxiliary. Perhaps this will not bring judgment, but I doubt if it will bring any reward. Some of that work is only done to soothe one’s conscience. They buy ingredients, labour in baking them, and then buy each other’s products often dissatisfied with their purchase. Why not simply give the cost of the product in cash and be done with it. Or why not bake that pie and take it to a needy family or a senior citizen who, on today’s allowance, has forgotten what pies taste like. But that may not receive the desired recognition. Our hands have been sprinkled with the blood of His sacrifice. They do not belong to us but to Him. What are we doing with them? They were designed to lay hands upon the sick, or give a cup of cold water in His Name. In Nehemiah’s day one hand had a trowel and the other a sword. Men and women were at work. One part of the wall was built exclusively by women. Oh, I do not advocate such manual labour for women, but there was an emergency and all hands were at work. We are in a state of great emergency today. Seventy-five million souls are being added to the rolls of the heathen every year. More than half of the world has never yet had an opportunity to accept or reject Jesus Christ. Our hands are given us to do the work of God. They are given to us with an ability to earn wages and prosper. All cannot go into all the world but all must have a part in giving so the gospel can be taken as a witness and a sign into all the world.

TOE: “and upon the great toes of their right feet.” The toe, of course, represents our walk before God and man. Much could and should be said and done about our walk. There is an unscriptural teaching that has been introduced by satan into the Church since the Reformation: and that is that mankind is prone to sin, and that he cannot live and walk as Christ and the disciples’ did. It no doubt is a carry-over from Romanism which actually sold indulgences and prospered by man’s constant sinning and endless confessions. Certainly even the Roman Church has had a reformation, but whether it be Roman or Protestant, there is an unscriptural message heralded from the pulpits that a Christ-like walk is impossible. We say that we belong to Christ and abide in Him and He abides in us, but then we make excuses and allowances for ourselves not to walk as He walked.

1 John 2:6

He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

The Apostle Paul believed that every believer should, could and must “walk worthy” of the Lord (Colossians 1:10). The original rendering says exactly like Christ. – 1,000 meters to the kilometer, 1,000 grams to the kilogram, 12 inches to the foot, 16 ounces to the pound – exactly like Jesus Christ walked. He did not hesitate to say, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). He told Timothy, “Be thou an example to the flock.” The New Testament Church believed that a person was a Christian if he lived and walked like Christ. The answer to a Christ-like walk is to walk in the Spirit. “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16).

This walk was not for Sunday only but a consistent daily walk whether it be home, business, office or otherwise (Eph. 4:1; Rom. 6:4;1 Peter 2:21).

ANOINTING:

Leviticus 8:10-12

10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.

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.

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

Here is a picture that would almost seem contradictory if we do not carefully search out the scripture. Moses took the Anointing Oil and anointed the Tabernacle and all as the above scriptures declare. He then took the Anointing Oil and poured it upon Aaron’s head on the Mitre and all until it ran down his beard and clothing. There is no record that Aaron’s sons were anointed in this fashion. When the scripture says “Thou shall anoint Aaron and his sons” (Exodus 30:30) it simply means that when Aaron was anointed so were his sons. The anointing of Aaron included his sons. When we read about anointing Aaron’s sons like their father (Exodus 40.13), it would seem that each successive high priest should be anointed like his father. Yet, there is no record that any other priest was anointed like Aaron. When Aaron was called home in Numbers 20:23-28, Moses was told to take the High Priest’s garments off Aaron and put them on Eleazar his son. No mention is made of special consecration or anointing. The anointing of Aaron was the anointing for his sons. They, of course, were sprinkled with oil when all holy things were sprinkled. There is a special significance to all this. For the scripture refers time and again to Jesus as the Anointed One, anointed above His fellows and having the Spirit without measure. So when He was anointed and sanctified or set apart, we were anointed and sanctified in Him.

Hebrews 2:11

For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

We must understand if we are going to do the works of God we must share in Christ’s anointing. We are anointed to do the works He did. His death and resurrection brought His Body, the Church, into existence. The church is part of Him as Eve was part of Adam, The twain were called “Adam” not Adam and Eve. They had one name. They were one flesh. Christ’s death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. We are buried with Him, risen with Him.

Colossians 2:12

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

His anointing is our anointing. When the Oil was poured upon Aaron it went down his beard to the crown of where all the garments met; to the Breastplate where all the tribes were represented, set in one piece of gold bringing them together as one in birth; when the Oil flowed over each stone it brought their oneness into service; when the anointing flowed from Aaron’s beard it brought unity, blessing and life forevermore.

Psalm 133:1-3

1 A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

HE FILLED THEIR HANDS:

Leviticus 8:25-26

25 And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:

26 And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:

We shall not comment in depth here for we will go deeper into this in our study of the offerings. It is sufficient to say that the things put into Aaron and his sons’ hands speak very clearly of our Lord’s nature and ministry. The rump is the best part of the meat. It is also part of the loins considered to be the place of strength. The strength of the Lord is placed into the hands of His priests. The inwards, the caul above the liver, the two kidneys, their fat, all these inward organs speak of tender compassion, of mercy and tenderness. Into the hands of the priest is placed One who is of tender compassion, One who is touched with the feeling of infirmities. We must minister in compassion and tenderness to the Lord’s flock. The shoulder is strength. The Lord is our strength.

SHUT IN WITH GOD: After all was finished, they were clothed, anointed, hands filled, there remained one thing more.

Leviticus 8:31-36

31 And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.

32 And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.

33 And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.

34 As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.

35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.

36 So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

They had to be shut in with God. Their first priority was to fellowship with God. There is a custom world-wide, sanctioned and ordained of God that when a couple gets married, they spend their entire time together. There were instances in the Old Testament that even war was not to interfere with their time of being absolutely alone together to become one. God is not requiring these priests to spend seven days entirely with Him. They were not requested to fast, but to feast upon that which filled their hand. They were to fellowship. To be entirely set apart for Him. To be with Him. The call of God upon His ministers is first and foremost a separation unto God. Our wives and children have a legitimate claim on our time, affections, love and attention, but the minister will never be successful who does not realize that first and foremost his entire life is a separation unto God. The sooner a spouse and children adjust to allow God priority in his life, the happier they will be. This time alone with God, the first seven days of their consecration in being set apart for the work of God will be invested into becoming one spirit with God.

1 Corinthians 6:17

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

God put His Spirit upon Moses and then the Spirit of God that was upon Moses He put upon the seventy elders. I cannot recall reading of a division or split among these seventy elders. A denomination or a church with multiple pastors cannot survive unless the ministry is of one spirit. I shall not enlarge upon this for it is dealt with in my book “Transference of Spirits.” This union of one spirit with Christ is absolutely essential in the Christian ministry. Many goats have broken down the fence and assumed the role of leadership in the Christian church. They have never been born again, have not the Spirit of Christ. This results in a foreign gospel being preached by them. It is a gospel of works rather than the grace of God. It is a gospel that makes Christ only a man, an example to be exemplified rather than the Lamb or God taking away our sin and making new creatures. Aaron and his sons were now a distinct group. They alone were to spend seven days in the Holy Place. They have become a separated family. They will minister henceforth to all of Israel, but they become a “separated unto God” community. The true Church, the separated Church, must have a ministry to the world in its need, but it will not find its fellowship in the world. This group was called apart even from their family for these seven days. There must be time for every called, separated man of God to be alone with God. There must also be times when with a select group, ordained of God, they will meet to just be in the Presence of God and in fellowship with one another.

Almost every scientific breakthrough comes as a result of a few men who are dedicated to a certain cause, meeting together, comparing notes, findings and pooling their individual discoveries and collectively coming up with answers. Communism started with a few determined, dedicated men, who arriving at an ideology, planned their strategy to take the world. Seventy years later they controlled one-half of the world’s population.

Jesus called twelve men and He presented God’s love and plan to redeem mankind and establish His Kingdom on the earth. By the end of the first century, opposing kingdoms had fallen and the blood-stained conquering banner was firmly planted over most of the then known world. Unfortunately, the banner fell into hands that chained the Word of God to the pulpit, into the hands that knew not the cleansing power of the blood and the energizing power of the Holy Spirit. The Church went into what history records as “The Dark Ages.” Is it not time that Aaron’s sons, the sons of the Great High Priest again shut themselves up with God in a new dedication to take the kingdoms for our Lord Jesus Christ? It will only be successful if men lay aside their personal ambitions for recognition of what “I am doing” and “My work” or “My vision” and be totally separated unto God to be able to grasp “His Vision” and “His Plan,” to see what “He is doing” in the Church and in the land.

Let us look at these verses 31-36; 9:1-4 again. It appears that they were to boil the flesh and take the bread from the basket of consecration and eat it at the door of the Tabernacle. That which they could not eat was to be burned with fire in the morning.

Exodus 29:31-37

31And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.

32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.

34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.

36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.

37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

They fellowshipped, banqueted and were drawn nigh to God. He consecrated them, but one of the main things that happened during these seven days was that they feasted on the ram or “on those things wherewith the atonement was made.” When atonement had been made for them, the priests could eat the sacrifice that made atonement for them, in peace and fellowship with God and one another.

Just like the Passover Lamb, the substance of Israel’s salvation become the substance of their good strength, fellowship and joy, and here we have the priests feeding on the substance that was used in their atonement. It becomes their strength, their good and the reason for their fellowship and joy. How beautifully this all portrays Christ and the Lord’s Table.

John 6:33-58

33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.

42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.

44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.

47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

48 I am that bread of life.

49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Perhaps we come to the Lords’ Table in remembrance and in fellowship without partaking of and eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood. We do not properly discern the Lord’s Body; and for this cause many are weak, sickly and die (I Corinthians 11:29-30). During these seven days, it appears that food was made available daily. There was a bullock offered daily upon the Altar of atonement. God was consecrating these priests unto Himself. “He consecrated them.” This consecration was not something they did. Do we not mislead people when we say, “Come to this altar and consecrate yourself unto the Lord? Can we really consecrate ourselves? Some sincere people come for a few moments with tears to consecrate themselves. What we can do is yield ourselves unto Him, but He must consecrate us and this is not accomplished in a few moments. It takes time with Him to draw on His Holiness and walk in holiness. During these seven days He will consecrate them, “For seven days shall he consecrate you.” After this period, on the eighth day, a day of new beginning, for these priests and people, sacrifices were to be offered because “Today the Lord will appear.” Perhaps when the spiritual priests are fully consecrated unto the Lord, a new day comes to the priests and people who have made sacrifices, then the Lord will appear.

Matthew 24:14

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

It will take complete consecration and sacrifices to take this gospel to the whole world. Our commission is not only to be a witness but also to establish His Kingdom. God give us: Aaron and sons to be shut in with God for seasons of consecration! Nehemiahs whose men and women will build with trowel in one hand and sword in the other! Gideons whose band may be reduced to insignificance by worldly standards but men who fear neither the enemy or death, yet who know it is “not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord!” Men like Joshua and Caleb who will say, “We are able to take the land. God has given it unto us.” God raise up an army world-wide with generals and commanders who will not allow a world for whom Christ died to be lost!

(Excerpt taken from Pattern for Living by Rev. Alex W. Ness Th.D. Copyright Agapre Productions Inc.