Shadows of Good Things

CHAPTER IV

THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD

Consecration of Aaron and His Sons
(Exodus 29, Leviticus 8)

the great High Priest was anointed by the Holy Spirit. Now we come to the anointing of the sons. Aaron was anointed as typical of Christ with pure ointment because Christ was holy and needed no cleansing by blood, but the only anointing the sons received was by the oil mixed with the blood from the altar. That this was the blood of the ram of consecration is evident, because the blood of the sin offering had been poured out at the foot of the altar and not sprinkled upon it, the blood of the burnt offering was sprinkled upon the altar but had been burned with the burnt offering, and the ram of consecration is being dealt with at the time this anointing is enjoined. Fairbairn and Moorehead both understand it this way. Moses mixed this oil and blood together and sprinkled it upon them. This was applied to Aaron as well as his sons, as the sin sacrifices were. Because he was a sinful man, this had symbolic meaning, but not typical meaning as did his anointing with the pure oil without blood and as the oil and blood did of his sons.

  But why the blood in the oil for anointing the sons? It has already been shown that the oil was typical of the Holy Ghost and that believers, the common priests of this dispensation, first received the anointing of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Does the blood of Christ have a part in our anointing with the Holy Ghost ? On the same occasion as Jesus promised the Holy Ghost to his disciples who had believed on him, had been regenerated, had been sent to preach, and whose names were written in heaven, he prayed that they might be sanctified, that they might be kept from the evil. We showed in the preceding chapter that the New Testament teaches a cleansing of the heart from native depravity after conversion, also that the Holy Ghost baptism is subsequent to conversion, as shown by every example recorded in the New Testament. As further proof that a cleansing of the heart takes place in connection with the Spirit's baptism, we quote Acts 15 :8, 9 where Peter is describing the experience which Cornelius and his household received at the time he visited them. "And God, which knoweth [77] the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."

  The blood is the means of sanctification (Heb. 13:12), and the Spirit is the agent who applies it (Rom. 15:16). Is it not reasonable, therefore, to believe that in this anointing of Aaron's sons with oil mixed with blood, after the sin offering had already been offered for their justification, we have a remarkably accurate type of the fact that a cleansing is wrought when we are anointed by the Holy Ghost, which second cleansing is also typified by the two rooms of the tabernacle?

  The Eating of the Ram of Consecration.—The eating of the ram of consecration being a part of the regular rite of the peace offering, its typical meaning will be discussed in that connection. The continuation of these rites of consecration of Aaron and his sons for seven days indicates doubtless the completeness of their consecration, seven being the number of perfection. When the consecration was ended on the eighth day, and Aaron with Moses had entered the sanctuary, then Aaron came out and lifted up his hands and blessed the people. So Jesus, when he had accomplished the antitype of the ancient shadows we have been considering, ascended into the presence of God, from where he has ever blessed his people as a merciful and faithful High Priest, who can be touched with a feeling of their infirmities.  [78]

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