Scripture Reading: Lev. 8:1-36

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 & DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 13　DAY 1　»

　　Exo. 28:41 ...And you shall anoint them and consecrate them and sanctify them, that they may serve Me as priests.

　　Lev. 8:26-28 ...He took one unleavened cake and one cake...and placed them on the fat portions and on the right thigh....He waved them as a wave offering ...and burned them on the altar upon the burnt offering. They were an offering of consecration for a satisfying fragrance; it was an offering by fire to Jehovah.

　　God brought His people, His elect, through the wilderness. God moved with them and brought them to Mount Sinai. Sinai represents God's presence. God brought His people to Himself at Sinai and stayed with them...(Exo. 19:1; cf. Num. 10:11). God stayed with His people day and night there, so God trained them.

　　At Mount Sinai God gave them the law and the pattern for the tabernacle. On the one hand, God regulated them by the law, and on the other hand, He encouraged them by the tabernacle. After the decree of the law and the building up of the tabernacle at Sinai, God gave them all the chapters of Leviticus to train them to worship and partake of God and to live a holy, clean, and rejoicing life. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, "The History of God in His Union with Man," p. 169)

　　In Hebrew, the word consecrate (Exo. 28:41; 29:9, 33, 35) means "to fill the hands." Through Aaron's consecration to receive the holy position of high priest, his empty hands were filled (Lev. 8:25-28).

　　The word consecration is sometimes translated "ordination." Consecration is on our side; we consecrate ourselves to God. Ordination is on God's side; He ordains us.

　　For Aaron and his sons to be consecrated to serve as priests meant that their empty hands were filled. Aaron and his sons appeared empty-handed before Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting. But when they were consecrated, their empty hands were filled with the type of Christ in different aspects.

　　The first seven chapters of Leviticus describe five categories of offerings: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. Then five kinds of laws are given concerning the application of the five kinds of offerings. The result of the application of these offerings is peace. Peace is the totality of what Christ is to us with God. Under Christ's redemption, we are enjoying Christ as a totality, and this totality is peace, which implies rest, enjoyment, and satisfaction.

　　After the record of the offerings, Leviticus describes the consecration of the priesthood. This indicates that the offerings in chapters 1 through 7 are for the consecration, or ordination, of the priests.

　　According to the spiritual significance of this book, we all are priests. We have been reborn, regenerated, to be priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10)....However, we need a day of consecration on which we give ourselves to God and say, "Lord, I am Yours because You bought me. You redeemed me with Your blood, and You have regenerated me. Now that I have Your life and the enjoyment of Your redemption, I would like to offer myself to You. I give myself to You to serve You as Your servant, even as Your slave." God will immediately accept our offer and ordain us to be His serving ones, His priests. Thus, consecration is on our side, and ordination is on God's side.

　　Leviticus is not a book for ordinary people; it is a book for priests. Since we have been sanctified and separated from ordinary people, we are no longer common. We are a particular people—we are priests. All the offerings refer to Christ, and whatever Christ is to us and does for us is to constitute us priests. This constitution is the divine ordination.

　　In our first birth, our original birth, we were constituted sinners (Rom. 5:19)....Through our second birth, we who believe in Christ have been constituted priests. Now we need our consecration and God's ordination to make our priesthood official. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 249-250)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 4, "The History of God in His Union with Man," ch. 13; Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 28

«　WEEK 13　DAY 2　»

　　Lev. 8:4 ...The assembly was gathered at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

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

　　1 Cor. 6:11 ...These things were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

　　The consecration of Aaron and his sons took place at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting (Lev. 8:3-4). This signifies that our consecration for the priesthood is not only before God but also for the church life....In Leviticus 8 the Tent of Meeting signifies the church life. We are God's priests in the church and for the church.

　　[Washed in verse 6] signifies that for our consecration for the priesthood we need to be washed by the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11).

　　In Leviticus 8:6 Moses somewhat signifies Christ, and the water typifies the Holy Spirit. Christ washes us with the Holy Spirit. For the priesthood, which refers both to the priestly service and to a body of persons who are priests, we need to be washed by the Spirit. Therefore, 1 Corinthians 6:11 tells us that we have been washed, cleansed, by the Spirit. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 250-251)

　　"Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the laver and its base, to sanctify them" (Lev. 8:10-11). This signifies that Christ and the church, then the cross and the washing of the Spirit, are related to the New Testament priesthood for the priests' sanctification.

　　In the Bible, the tabernacle typifies Christ as an individual (John 1:14), and it also typifies the church as the dwelling place of God. In Leviticus 8 the tabernacle denotes the church much more than it denotes Christ....The anointing of the tabernacle signifies the anointing of the church, in which we, the New Testament priests, serve God.

　　The anointing brings the Triune God mingled with humanity to the priests and to the church life. This anointing includes Christ's human living, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. According to Exodus 30, the anointing oil is an ointment composed of oil, typifying the Spirit, compounded with four spices, signifying humanity (typified by the number four), human living, the death of the cross, and resurrection. When we are anointed as priests and as the church, we are anointed with the Triune God compounded with Christ's humanity, human living, death, and resurrection. This anointing of the priests and the tabernacle also involves the sin offering (Lev. 8:14-17) and the burnt offering (vv. 18-21). All the elements of the anointing oil, the compound Spirit, with the sin offering and the burnt offering must be constituted into our being. Then we will be real priests to God, not by what we are through our natural birth but by the Triune God compounded with Christ's humanity, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension.

　　Leviticus 8:12 tells us that Moses "poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to sanctify him." This signifies that Christ as our High Priest was anointed by God for His sanctification.

　　The consecration or anointing of the priesthood is to make God one with us, for the anointing oil signifies that whatever God is, whatever He does, and whatever He will do are ours. What God has done, what He is doing, and what He will do involve many things, such as Christ's incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming back. All this has been anointed upon us, that is, made one with us.

　　In the consecration of Aaron and his sons, the offerings immediately followed the anointing. The offerings remind us of who and what we are, and of what we should be yet are not. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 253-255, 257)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 29

«　WEEK 13　DAY 3　»

　　Exo. 28:2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

　　4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a girding sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and for his sons that he may serve Me as a priest.

　　In typology garments signify expression (cf. Isa. 64:6; Rev. 19:8). The priestly garments signify the serving priests' expression of Christ. The priests were also sanctified, separated to God, by their holy garments (Exo. 28:3). (Exo. 28:2, footnote 1)

　　The priestly garments, being mainly for glory and for beauty, signify the expression of Christ's divine glory and human beauty. Glory is related to Christ's divinity, His divine attributes (John 1:14; Heb. 1:3), and beauty, to Christ's humanity, His human virtues. Christ's divinity, typified by the gold of the priestly garments, is for glory, and His humanity, typified by the blue, purple, and scarlet strands and the fine linen, is for beauty. A life that expresses Christ with the divine glory and the human beauty sanctifies us and qualifies us to be the priesthood. (Exo. 28:2, footnote 2)

　　In Leviticus 8:7-9 Moses clothed Aaron with the high priest's garments. "He put the tunic upon him and girded him with the girding sash and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod upon him....And he placed the breastplate upon him, and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim. And he placed the turban upon his head, and on the turban, on its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown." This signifies that Christ as our High Priest is adorned with all the excellencies of His divine and human attributes and virtues. These attributes and virtues are Christ's garment.

　　Moses' clothing the sons of Aaron with priestly garments signifies that the New Testament priests are adorned with all the attributes and virtues of Christ.

　　The New Testament uses clothing to refer to our outward expression (Matt. 21:7; John 13:4). Our outward expression should be the expression of Christ's divine attributes. These attributes include the divine love, kindness, and holiness. Christ's divine attributes are expressed in human life as virtues. This means that the divine attributes become human virtues, and the human virtues are the expression of the divine attributes. The divine attributes and human virtues are not merely combined and united but mingled. For example, as a man Christ had human love, but this human love was mingled with the divine love. What God is (oil) was mingled with what Christ is (fine flour) in His humanity. In this way, God's nature was included in the expression of Christ's humanity. Because in Christ the divine attributes were mingled with the human virtues, His love, kindness, and mercy are extraordinary. In Him, the divine love, kindness, and mercy were mingled with the human love, kindness, and mercy.

　　This mingling of the divine attributes and the human virtues has become our clothing, because we who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). To put on Christ is to be clothed with Christ. The very Christ with whom we are clothed is our priestly garment. Now whether we are a husband or a wife, a parent or a child, a teacher or a student, we should wear our priestly garment— a garment that is the expression of Christ's divine attributes mingled with His human virtues. Especially when we are going out to preach the gospel to sinners, we need to wear this garment. The expression of Christ should be our uniform. As we contact others, we need to impress them with the expression of Christ, that is, with the Christ with whom we are clothed. If we do this, we will have power and authority in our gospel preaching.

　　When we are ordained by God to serve Him as priests, He clothes us with Christ. One day you may consecrate yourself to the Lord to be a priest. Immediately, God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit will adorn you. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 251-253)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 28

«　WEEK 13　DAY 4　»

　　Lev. 8:14-15 And he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. And Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and put some of it on and around the horns of the altar with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and sanctified it, to make expiation for it.

　　The bull of the sin offering signifies the stronger and richer Christ as our sin offering to deal with the flesh, the old man, indwelling sin, Satan, the world, and the ruler of the world, for the assuming of our New Testament priesthood (see footnote 4 on Lev. 4:3, par. 2). This reminds us that in ourselves we are a constitution of all the aforementioned negative things and need to offer Christ daily as our sin offering for our priesthood (see footnote 1 on Exo. 29:36). (Lev. 8:14, footnote 1)

　　The sin offering deals with our natural man, our flesh, the personified sin that dwells in us, Satan, the world hanging on Satan, and the power struggle. If we would be New Testament priests, all these things must be dealt with by Christ as the sin offering. When Christ was crucified as our sin offering, He dealt with the natural man, the flesh, the indwelling sin, Satan, the world, and the power struggle. In the divine ordination, such a sin offering is applied to us that we may be prevailing priests serving God. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 255)

　　The priests' partaking of the sin offering to bear the iniquity of the people signifies that we, the New Testament priests, partake of Christ as the believers' sin offering in the sense of participating in Christ's life, the life that bears others' sins, as our life supply that we may be able to bear the problems of God's people. The rich enjoyment of Christ as our sin offering in the church life enables us to minister Christ to the believers as the life that deals with sin, that they may deal with their sins to restore their broken fellowship with God (cf. Gal. 6:1-2; Eph. 4:2). (Lev. 10:17, footnote 1)

　　We may feel that we have been approved to partake of the table, but we are concerned about others who have been committing sins. We may know of some saints who have been committing sins and still come to the Lord's table. What shall we do? We must remember that Paul's word in 1 Corinthians 11 tells us to prove ourselves, to test ourselves for approval. It does not tell us that we have to prove or test others. We should leave others to the Lord and not be their judge. We should only judge ourselves and not judge others.

　　If you know that someone has committed some sins, you have to pray for him and learn to minister Christ as the sin-dealing life to him that he may deal with his sins. The life of Christ is a life that deals with sin, a sin-dealing life. First, you yourself must be dealt with by enjoying Christ's sin-dealing life. Then you must minister such a Christ as the sin-dealing life to others. The book of Leviticus tells us that the priests were to eat the sin offering in the holy place that they might "bear the iniquity of the assembly, to make expiation for them before Jehovah" (10:17). As you are enjoying Christ as the sin-dealing life, you must have the capacity to bear the iniquity of God's people. You must learn to minister Christ to the dear ones who are in sin.

　　To minister Christ as the sin-dealing life to someone is not to go to him to point out his fault and condemn him. This will only cause damage. You have to go first to soften his hardened heart. A person who sins usually has his heart hardened (Heb. 3:13). If you are going to minister Christ to him, you have to trust in the Lord that you may have the grace with the Spirit to soften his hardened heart. You have to soften his heart and warm up his heart. Then the very Christ as life will be actually, really, and richly ministered to him, and this life, which is the Spirit, will work within him. You do not need to mention his fault because the life that gets into him as the life supply will do a lot. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, "A Timely Word," p. 54)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, "A Timely Word," ch. 1

«　WEEK 13　DAY 5　»

　　Lev. 8:14 And he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.

　　10: 17 Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary? For it is most holy, and He gave it to you to bear the iniquity of the assembly, to make expiation for them before Jehovah.

　　If a person has a certain physical sickness, you do not need to mention his disease. If you minister the proper medication to this sick man, he will get well. I have experienced this in caring for the saints. I did not talk with the saint about his weakness, fault, or sin, but he was healed. He did not get healed by my word but by the very Spirit, the life of Christ, ministered into him through me. This is what it means, according to Leviticus, to bear the iniquity of the people of God. This is the way to get rid of the sins among some saints. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, "A Timely Word," pp. 54-55)

　　The work to recover the sinful saints takes time. It cannot be quick. You have to be patient. Even if it took eight months or a year to get one or two sinful saints recovered, that would be a great thing. Galatians 6:1 says that when a brother is overtaken in some offense, those who are spiritual should restore him. We have to do our best to recover a fallen saint. Out of one hundred saints meeting together, maybe two or three are living in a sinful situation. Since you are enjoying Christ, you can pick up the burden to take care of one of them. Another brother may have a burden for the same person. Then you and he can fellowship about this one saint and work together to help him. If you two can work together for half a year to get this sinful brother recovered, this is a great, great help to the church life. This kind of ministry is the element for us to maintain the oneness of the Spirit in the church life.

　　The oneness can be maintained only in love by the Spirit. Criticism only builds up division and destroys the oneness. We all have to avoid negative talk and learn to take Christ as the sin offering, the sin-dealing life, that we may have the measure and the capacity with a certain amount of Christ to minister to the sinful saints. Then these saints, sooner or later, will be recovered. If we recover one brother, we will reduce the problems in the church life related to the oneness. If you get yourself approved before the Lord, try to help another one who has a problem. After six months of your ministering Christ as the sin-dealing life to him, his problem may be gone. This is not only to bear the iniquity of the people of God but also to solve the problems of the people of God. Furthermore, this is a practical way to maintain the oneness of the Spirit among the saints.

　　Thus, related to the Lord's table, we should practice two things. First, we have to prove ourselves. Second, we should not talk about a sinful saint but pray for him and try to minister the very Christ whom we enjoy to him. Sooner or later, this ministry will be a real salvation to him. Then the church's problem will be solved through us, and we will have no problem in the oneness of the Spirit. By this way we also can have peace within us to take the Lord's table.

　　Let us all be diligent to keep the oneness and endeavor to live a life of love in the church life. Love builds up, but knowledge kills (1 Cor. 8:1; 2 Cor. 3:6). Always live a life in love. Whether or not you go to help a certain one is secondary. The primary thing is to love all the saints, whether they are good or bad, with the same love. We have a tendency to love the stronger saints but not the weaker ones. We must love all the saints with the same love. As long as someone is a saint, he is a member in the church, and we should love him with the same love that we love the other saints. This will kill the germs, destroy the problems, and build up a permanent, lasting oneness of the Spirit. (CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, "A Timely Word," pp. 55-56)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, "A Timely Word," ch. 1

«　WEEK 13　DAY 6　»

　　Lev. 8:18 ...And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram [of the burnt offering].

　　6:9 ...The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it.

　　1 Cor. 11:29 For he who eats [of the bread] and drinks [of the cup], eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not discern the body.

　　Leviticus 8:18 through 21 speaks of the ram of the burnt offering for the consecration of the priesthood. This burnt offering, which is also included in God's ordination of the priests, signifies the strong Christ as our burnt offering for the assuming of our New Testament priesthood. The burnt offering reminds us that as serving ones we must be absolute for God. Because we are not absolute for God, we need to take Christ as our burnt offering. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 255-256)

　　All night until the morning [in Leviticus 6:9] signifies that a burnt offering should remain in the place of burning through the dark night of this age until the morning, until the Lord Jesus comes again (2 Pet. 1:19; Mal. 4:2). (Lev. 6:9, footnote 3)

　　Some of the blood of the ram of consecration was put on Aaron's and his sons' right ear, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. This signifies that the redeeming blood of Christ cleanses our ears for hearing, our hands for working, and our feet for walking. This is for the assuming of our New Testament priesthood.

　　Our hearing is mentioned first because it affects our working and our moving. The blood of Christ deals with our ear for listening to God's word, to God's speaking....As Isaiah 50:4 and 5 indicate, a servant must have a hearing ear. A servant who does not listen to his master's word cannot serve him according to his will, heart, and desire. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 265)

　　To serve God as priests, our hearing (ears), our working (hands), and our walking (feet) must be cleansed and sanctified by Christ's redeeming blood. We must learn how to listen to the word of God (cf. Exo. 21:2-6; Isa. 50:4-5...), to do what is required by Him, and to walk according to His way in serving Him....The same procedure was used in the cleansing of a leper (Lev. 14:14), indicating that in the eyes of God we sinners who have been ordained to be His priests are unclean, like lepers. (Exo. 29:20, footnote 1)

　　The consecrating priests remained at the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days for their expiation (Lev. 8:33-36). This signifies that our assuming of the New Testament priesthood should be thorough and complete for our propitiation at the entering in of the church life.

　　Verses 33 and 35 say, "You shall not go out from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are fulfilled, for it will take seven days to consecrate you....At the entrance of the Tent of Meeting you shall stay day and night seven days, and keep the charge of Jehovah, that you may not die; for so I have been commanded." The same procedure was repeated for seven days. Each day the program was carried out in a solemn way, for every aspect of the program was solemn. This solemnity is indicated by the words "that you may not die." Therefore, no one dared to be careless or loose. Everyone was aware of the seriousness of what was taking place and of what might happen if anyone was careless.

　　These verses should be a warning to us not to enter into the enjoyment of Christ in a careless way. We especially need this warning with respect to the Lord's table. The bread signifies Christ's body, and the wine signifies His blood. If we eat the bread and drink the wine without the proper discernment, our eating and drinking could be to our own judgment (1 Cor. 11:27-29). We need to be warned of the seriousness of participating in the fellowship in the enjoyment of Christ in a light or loose way. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 269-270)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 30