28 Days 2020: Day 2
- Exodus 32:29 (NCV) Then Moses said, “Today you have been (consecrated) given for service to the LORD. You were willing to kill your own sons and brothers, and God has blessed you for this.“
- Leviticus 20:7-8 (CEV) 7 Dedicate (consecrate) yourselves to me and be holy because I am the LORD your God. 8 I have chosen you as my people, and I expect you to obey my laws.
- Joshua 3:5 (NIV) Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."
- Joshua 7:13 (NIV) "Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.
Consecrated to serve God
- Read Exodus 29
- Exodus 30:30 (NIV) "Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.
The priest’s first obligation was to minister to the Lord and please Him. If they forgot their obligation to the Lord, they would soon begin to minimize their responsibilities to the people, and the nation would decay spiritually.
That God chose Aaron and his sons to minister in the priesthood was an act of sovereign grace, because they certainly didn't earn this position or deserve it. But, that God should save sinners like us, make us His children, and form us into a "holy priesthood" is also an act of His grace, and we should never lose the wonder of this spiritual privilege. "You did not choose Me, but I chose you" (John 15:16, nkjv).
God's people today must remember that our first obligation is to please the Lord and serve Him. If we do this, then He will work in us and through us to accomplish His work in this world. When Jesus restored Peter to discipleship, He didn't ask "Do you love the ministry?" or even "Do you love people?" His repeated question was, "Do you love Me?" (John 21:17) Just as a father's most important obligation is to love his children's mother, so the servant's most important obligation (and privilege) is to love the Lord. All ministry flows out of that relationship.
(1) they gave the priests "dignity and honor" (Ex. 28:2, niv) and set them apart, just as a uniform identifies a soldier or a nurse;
(2) they revealed spiritual truths relating to their ministry and our ministry today; and
(3) if the priests didn't wear the special garments, they might die (vv. 35, 43). Bible Exposition Commentary - Be Delivered (Exodus 25-20).