Leviticus 8:31 - Meaning and Application

Moses had finished his part of the ceremony, so now Aaron and his sons had to do theirs.

They were to boil the meat of the peace offering and eat it in the court of the tabernacle. Whatever was left over had to be burned with fire (Leviticus 8:31, Leviticus 8:32). This showed their thankful agreement to the act of consecration. When God gave Ezekiel his calling, he told him to eat the scroll, which meant taking the message into himself and accepting it fully (Ezekiel 3:1, Ezekiel 3:2).

They were also to stay inside the court of the tabernacle for seven days (Leviticus 8:33). The priesthood is a kind of holy warfare, so they had to learn to endure hardship and to avoid getting tangled in the affairs of this life (2 Timothy 2:3, 2 Timothy 2:4). Since they had been set apart for this service, they were to give themselves completely to it and attend to it steadily.

In this way, Christ’s apostles were told to wait for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4). During those days of consecration, the same sacrifices were to be offered each day that had been offered on the first day (Leviticus 8:34). This shows how limited the law’s sacrifices were, since they had to be repeated again and again because they could not remove sin (Hebrews 10:1, Hebrews 10:2). They were repeated seven times, and seven often points to completeness, because they pictured that one offering by which all who are made holy are perfected forever.

The work lasted seven days because it was like a new creation. The time also honored the Sabbath, which was likely the last day of the seven, prepared for during the six days before it. In the same way, the days of our life should be our preparation for being fully consecrated to God in the everlasting Sabbath. They stayed there day and night (Leviticus 8:35), and we should be just as steady in meditating on God’s law (Psalm 1:2).

They also had to keep the charge of the Lord. Each of us has a charge to keep: we have an eternal God to honor, an immortal soul to care for, duties that must be done, and a generation to serve. It must be our daily concern to keep that charge, because it is the charge of the Lord our Master, who will soon call us to account. If we neglect it, we do so at our own ruin.

The command was clear: keep it, or die. To betray the trust given to us is spiritual death, even eternal death. We should let that warning keep us careful and humble. Then we are told that Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded (Leviticus 8:36). Their consecration was completed, and they gave the people a good example of careful obedience to the new laws about sacrifices. After that, they could teach the people with greater authority.

In this way, the covenant of peace (Numbers 25:12), and the covenant of life and peace (Malachi 2:5), was made with Aaron and his sons. Yet after all these ceremonies, one final mark was still needed to fully show Christ’s priesthood. Aaron and the other priests were made priests without an oath, but Christ was made priest with an oath (Hebrews 7:21). That matters, because their priesthood could not last forever, but Christ’s priesthood is lasting and unchangeable.

Gospel ministers are compared to those who served at the altar, because they handle holy things (1 Corinthians 9:13). They speak from God to the people, and from the people to God. They are the pastors and teachers Christ appointed to remain in the church until the end of the world. They are likely meant in the promise that points to gospel times, “I will take some of them for priests and Levites” (Isaiah 66:21).

No one may take this honor for himself. A man must first be shown, by testing, to be clothed and anointed by the Spirit of God with the gifts and graces needed for the work. He must also give himself fully to the service with a sincere heart. Then, by word and prayer, since everything is made holy in that way, and by the laying on of hands from those who themselves devote themselves to the word and prayer, he is set apart to the office. In that way, he is recommended to Christ as a servant, and to the church as a steward and guide.

Those who are solemnly dedicated to God should not leave his service, but should remain faithful in it all their days. Those who do continue, laboring in preaching and teaching, are to be counted worthy of double honor, greater honor than that given to the Old Testament priests.