PRACTICING THE WORK OF PRIESTHOOD Aaron and his sons abided seven days at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And on the eighth day following their anointment they started, by the Lord’s command, to offer burnt offerings, peace offerings, grain offerings, etc. Then God appeared to them, His glory was proclaimed to all the people; and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. …. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces (24) 1- The start of the work of priesthood on the eighth day 1 2- A divine command to offer sacrifices 2 - 7 3- Offering the sacrifices and the offerings 8 - 21 4- Blessing the people 22 - 23 5- The appearance of the divine glory 23 6- The divine fire 24 7- The shouting of the people 24 1- THE START OF THE WORK OF PRIESTHOOD ON THE EIGHTH DAY: After the consummation of the rite of consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests, they did not start right away to practice the priesthood work, but abided at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days. On the eighth day they started practicing that task for their own sake, and for that of the people. Waiting until the eighth day, was a symbol of the new eternal life, namely the risen life in Jesus Christ; on account of that the eighth day is the first day of the new week -- The Lord was risen at the dawn of Sunday, namely at the dawn of the eighth day. … The priest cannot practice his priesthood work except by the Lord Christ, risen from the dead. Then he can set forth to work with the strength of resurrection. According to St. Augustine: [The day of the Lord is the eternal eighth day, sanctified by the resurrection of Christ, referring to the eternal rest of the body and the soul]. By the same thought we find that the celebration of the feast of the tabernacles happens on the eighth day (23: 36), when we take off the tent (tabernacle) of our body of dust, to enjoy the eternal building not made by hands (2 Corinthians 5: 1), by the power of the resurrection of the Lord Christ . … On the eighth as well, the sacrifices for the purification of those with body discharge were offered (Leviticus 15: 24, 29); and for the leprous (14: 10) – when man, by the resurrection of the Lord, gets the new creation in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 14); so that there would be in us no defilement of the discharge of evil, or of the leprosy of sin. 2- A DIVINE COMMAND TO OFFER SACRIFICES: In the first seven days, Moses offered sacrifices for the sake of Aaron and his sons; But on the eighth day, after the consummation of the rites of their consecration, and they came to the eighth day, as though into the resurrection of the Lord, they became committed to offer sacrifices and offerings for their own sake, and for that of the people According to some Jewish scholars, the calf they offered as a sin offering (2), has been an atonement for the golden calf that was made by Aaron for the people (Exodus 22: 20); … Anyway, Aaron and his sons were committed to offer a calf as a sin offering, and a ram as a burnt offering (2); at the expense of Aaron’s and his sons’ own money, and not at that of the tabernacle, nor of the people; to let tem feel their need to atone on their own sins, the known to them and the unknown; together with their commitment to offer their life a burnt offering of love, perfect to God. We already spoke about those two offerings in chapters 1 and 4. These two line of thoughts are perpetually confirmed by God to His priests: the feeling of their own weakness together with their other brethren, and their commitment of offering their whole life a burnt offering of love to God in the service of their brethren. Having offered those two offerings, they, again offered for the people, a sin offering, a burnt offering, a peace offering, then a grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil (3 and 4). This order came to be appropriate to the needs of the people. The priest starts with seeking the forgiveness of sins through the sin offering; then proclaims his longing that God would receive the life of the whole people as a burnt offering for His pleasure. By so doing, the priest proclaims his thanksgiving to God through the peace offering, and his acceptance of fellowship with the delivered Lord Christ, through the grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil. … He starts by seeking the mercy in the worthiness of the blood, and ends by receiving the life of Christ, delivered as a divine gift, lived by the church through her unity with her crucified Head. 3- OFFERING THE SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS: With such elaborate rites, Aaron and his sons consummated what the Lord commanded them to do, of offering sacrifices and offerings for their own sake, and for that of the whole people. … We have already studied the spiritual concepts of those sacrifices and their rites in the first seven chapters of this book. 4- BLESSING THE PEOPLE: Aaron blessed the people twice: the first time, it is said: “Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the sin offering” (22) Concerning this blessing, we notice that Aaron lifted his hands up toward the people, probably proclaiming the authority of priesthood granted to him by God. Lifting the hands up probably refers to the appearance of the Lord Christ, symbolized by the hand. The blessing offered by the priest is nothing but the blessing we got in Jesus Christ, who blessed our nature in Him. … The blessing was realized after offering the sacrifices; as it was not possible for mankind to receive the blessing of the Lord in them, except in the worthiness of the precious blood. Through the altar, the priest gathers together with the people, to offer the blessing, not his own, but that of the Lord, delivered for our sake. The text of the blessing is most probably that offered by the Lord Himself to Moses; saying: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you. And give you peace” (Numbers 6: 22-26). The second blessing was when Moses and Aaron entered together into the tabernacle of meeting, then came out, and blessed the people (23). In the first time he confirmed that the blessing will dwell through the holy sacrifice; But here, he confirms that the blessing is realized through two things: The first is the gathering together of Aaron and Moses, a reference to that of the priesthood with the prophetic work; namely, the worship with the spiritual evangelic understanding; No separation between our Aaron and our Moses; and no isolation of the priesthood wok from the evangelic work…. The second is entering together into the tabernacle, a reference to getting our blessing through the holy church; as the priest is a member in the holy church, who received the Holy Spirit as a gift from her heavenly Groom. Concerning this St. Cyprian says: [There is no salvation outside the church]. Through these two blessings, we can say in short: a- The blessing is the gift of the slain Christ through His priests. b- The blessing is the gift of the Lord Christ through the church by the Holy Spirit, granted to her. c- There is no separation between the blessing we get through the priestly work (Aaron), and the enjoyment of the Word of God (the prophet Moses). 5- THE APEARANCE OF THE DIVINE GLORY: Having received the blessing on the hands of Aaron (and Moses), through the holy sacrifice, inside the church, the Holy Book says: “The glory of the Lord appeared to all the people” (23) We do not know the way by which the glory of the Lord appeared: Was it in the form of a dense cloud surrounding the people of God? … Or was it in the form of a pillar of fire? … Or was it through any other specific appearance toward the divine sanctuaries?! … What we know when we enjoy the divine blessing, is the transfiguration of God by His glory in our depths, in a way, touched by our souls, and felt by our hearts. The apostle says: “God is manifested in the flesh; … seen by angels” (1 Timothy 3: 16). Receiving the blessing of the Lord, we come to be like angels, in whom God appears with His glory. 6- THE DIVINE FIRE: “And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar” (24) If sin is like a fire that consumes the soul, According to St. Augustine: [This fire would not be overcome, except by the fire of the Holy Spirit, who consumes evil, and kindles the soul with the holy life. … Fire is therefore replaced by fire. As the people were blessed, and to them the glory of God appeared, a fire came out from before God to proclaim that God has received their sacrifices, His pleasure with them, and, at the same time, it proclaimed God’s glory and awe. 7- THE SHOUTING OF THE PEOPLE: Having witnessed the glory of God, and having seen the fire come out from before God, that consumed the burnt offering, the people shouted and fell on their faces (24). That shout came as a natural reaction of the inner joy that filled their inner being; as a fruit of their gaining the blessing of the Lord, of their enjoyment of the divine glory, and of witnessing the holy fire. … I wish our praise, as well, would not only be by uttering words of thanksgiving and praise to God by our mouths, but as a fruit of the exultation of our soul, the purity of our heart, and its gladness by gaining the true blessing, the transfiguration of the glory of God in us, and the fiery Spirit kindling in our depths; so that the tongue would utter what the inner man carries of true joy. The people shouted and fell on their faces, proclaiming their perfect worship and submission before the Lord their God. Our joy in the Lord and our exultation are the true motives to our worship to Him, and our perfect submission to His will.
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