“Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2 You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. Exodus 28:1-2.

Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:

When I gave Moses the plans for the tabernacle in the wilderness at Mt. Sinai, right in the heart of the plans, I revealed the ministry and office of the High Priest and his priest sons. I dedicate three complete chapters concerning the garments, consecration, and anointing of the High Priest and his priest sons. Exodus 28, 29, and 39. You must know from this I am showing you something very significant that you should treasure and ponder in your heart. For now in Jesus, I have made you a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart that I have called out of darkness into My own marvelous light and have made Jesus your great High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

I told Moses to bring Aaron, his brother, and his sons close to him and to make holy garments for them for glory and beauty. Draw close to Me and I will draw close to you. I drew the priests into My inner circle where they were touching the holy and the sacred where others could not enter. And to do so they had to be in holy attire.

Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name. Bring an offering and come into His courts. Worship the LORD in holy attire; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:7-8.

I will return to the garments that I designed and gave the pattern to Moses, but today I want to talk about the consecration of the High Priest and his priest sons.

In the plans I gave Moses for the consecration of the High Priest and his priest sons, you will notice I first speak of the sacrifice to be offered to atone for their sins and put them right with Me so they can draw close to Me without judgment but in oneness as My own special treasure.

“Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them to minister as priests to Me: take one young bull and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. You shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams.” Exodus 29:1-3.

The bull was the sin offering, Exodus 29:14, the first ram was the burnt offering, Exodus 29:18, and the second ram was the peace offering. Exodus 29:27-28. The peace offering included the wave and heave offering (making the sign of the Cross with the breast and the leg), Exodus 29:26-27, the application of the blood from the offering upon Aaron’s ear, thumbs, and big toes, Exodus 29:20, and the sprinkling of Aaron’s garments and his son’s garments with blood and the anointing oil.

Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him; so he and his garments shall be consecrated, as well as his sons and his sons’ garments with him. Exodus 29:21.

Jesus made peace through the blood of the Cross, reconciling all the lost to Me.

Please notice that the priesthood is My special treasure though I am the owner (fee simple) of all the earth, though man has the leasehold until it expires and the seven seals of the title deed can be broken by Jesus to return to take the earth. I had offered the royal priesthood to the entire nation of Israel but only one tribe drew close and was loyal to Me.

Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own special treasure among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ Exodus 19:3-6.

While Moses was up on Mt. Sinai receiving the plans and designs for the Tabernacle, his fellow Israelites made a molten calf out of the gold I gave to them when they left Egypt to fund the building of My tabernacle and began a wild party before that idol. Moses was so angry with them that they could so quickly turn back to idols when I had just done such wonders in the land of Ham to bring them out of slavery and poverty to freedom and prosperity and a promised land for their own nation, a people set apart walking in the wisdom of My Word. But they were not willing. Does it remind you of Jesus and the descendants of these Israelites that rejected Him?

When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44.

Moses did not weep, he got angry and broke the tablets on which I had written the ten commandments and he made a call to the Israelites to see who responded:

Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies— then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. Exodus 32:25-26.

A people out of control are a people of no vision and a lack of knowledge of who I am and who I have made them to be. They begin acting like beasts of the field who have no hope after this life alone. And that is why they needed a great High Priest and priest sons to intercede for them with Me, to instruct in My ways and My Words, and to offer sacrifice to atone for their sins to  keep justice from falling upon them. On that day it was Moses who stood in the gap but then a tribe joined with Him to keep Me with the people and the people with Me. And they became My priests, My own special treasure and I was their treasure. Out of the twelve tribes they were My portion and I was their portion and they were the best provided for of all the people. But remember, all could have had this favored treatment and today in Christ you can all have it now too. In Heaven they are still singing their gratitude to Jesus, their great High Priest for that is why they are there in My Kingdom forever.

“Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and race and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10.

Jesus is the firstborn of many brethren.

For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.” And again, “I will put My trust in Him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.” Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:11-18.

I not only consecrated Aaron and his sons but also their holy attire of beauty and glory.

“The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, that in them they may be anointed and ordained. For seven days the one of his sons who is priest in his stead shall put them on when he enters the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.” Exodus 29:29-30.

And now I have clothed you as My royal priesthood in the garments of Salvation and the robe of righteousness.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:26-29.

Mose was the first one to anoint the priests but then the garments themselves continued to sanctify and set apart those who put them on.

The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Romans 13:12-14.

And the priests ate of the peace offering that had made atonement for them

“You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket, at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Thus they shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration. Exodus 29:32-33.

And you now do the same with the body and blood of the one who took your sins away at your ordination by Jesus as a kingdom, priests unto Me.

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

And why did I need a tabernacle and a priesthood? So I could dwell with My people and be their God and they be My people.

I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God. Exodus 29:44-46.

Sound familiar?  I speak the end from the beginning.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4.

I love you. Keep the vision and know who you are for you are not ignorant of who I am. You know Me for you have seen Me in seeing Jesus, your great High Priest and great good Shepherd.