Do we understand that the path of service for God is always downward? “Humble yourselves.”
The priests had been washed, clothed, and Aaron anointed. And now they watched Moses do what they would observe thousands of times in the years ahead. He brought the bull to center stage, “the bull for the sin offering” (Lev 8:14). If it had been humbling for the priests to be washed and dressed by Moses, as if they were little children, how humbling was this! They had to all reach in and place their hands on the bull’s head. By this, the whole congregation saw them acknowledge that they, too, were sinners before God! Then Moses killed the bull. This was their bull. In all the service we may do for others, we must never forget that we are sinners so great in the eyes of God that we need a Savior as much as any other sinner. So Paul’s warning: “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal 6:1). As usual, the blood was placed on the horns of the altar and the rest poured out at its base. Then, also as usual, the fat was burned on the altar. The altar was heaven’s hotspot on earth, the place where God had dealings with people. What was His message? The blood, negatively, must make atonement for a person’s wrongs; the fat, positively, brought acceptance with God to the person. The rest of the animal was “burned with fire outside the camp” (Lev 8:17). But that wasn’t all. There were also two rams, one for a burnt offering, all for God’s pleasure. Remember that in it He could see His Son, who would qualify to be the only one called a GREAT High Priest (Heb 4:14). The other ram was to be used for the priests’ consecration. In our next lesson, we’ll learn what consecration should mean to us.