Passage: Exodus 27:20-28:2
The Big Idea
After we’re saved, what are we supposed to do? Walk with Jesus. The priesthood in Exodus shows how God not only saves His people by grace, but keeps them close to Him by grace, even when they fail. Jesus is our High Priest who supplies the oil that keeps the light burning.
“I Love Her”
I was watching a show where an eight-year-old boy was at a joint birthday party. He was sitting next to a little girl, sharing popcorn and watching a movie, having a great time. His parents asked if he wanted to send her back to the girls’ party. He said no. Why? “I love her.”
The most natural thing for two people who love each other is to be together. They could do anything, as long as it’s together. It’s not a chore or a job. It flows from a heart full of love.
After We’re Saved, What Then?
Once we’ve been forgiven and begun a relationship with God by faith in the blood of the Lamb, what do we do?
Once we were darkness, but now we are light in the Lord, so we live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
- Walking with Jesus is sanctification.
- Abiding leads to transformation.
- There’s no other source of life, light, fruit or joy. It’s all supplied from Jesus through the Spirit.
So after we’re saved: walk with Jesus, walk in His light, and be transformed by Him.
You’ve probably seen those special lights that reveal the bacteria on your hands. Gross. But imagine if the light actually killed the bacteria. That’s a picture of sanctification. Walk in the light.
Why a Priesthood?
The priesthood is connected with walking with God after we’re saved.
The same God who made a way by grace to save His people now makes a way by grace to keep them near to Him, even when they fail. Which is most of the time.
We need a priest because even after we’re saved, we still have our flesh: old patterns in our minds and emotions. The priesthood, and all of Leviticus, is about Jesus. Some parts foreshadow Him; some contrast with Him. He’s the real High Priest, our Priest. (Try not to picture religious officials in fancy robes.)
A priest enables us to walk with God, abide with God, know God and connect with God. He fosters the relationship.
The Ever-Burning Lamp (Exodus 27:20-21)
God commanded the people to bring pure oil of pressed olives so the lamp in the tabernacle would burn continually. Aaron and his sons were to tend it from evening until morning.
The priest was responsible for keeping the oil supplied so the light never went out, so the people could see.
The light is our life with God, the new life we walk in. God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Do you sense that light in your heart? That holy, healing, joyful light? Jesus gives it. How?
Through oil. And oil in the Bible is a picture of the Holy Spirit. The priest was responsible to always supply the oil so the people had the light and life they needed.
Not by Might (Zechariah 4)
Zechariah, also a priest, once saw a vision of a golden lampstand with a bowl on top, and two olive trees pouring oil directly into it. No priest needed to refill it. No more chores!
The meaning: it’s not by might or by power, but by His Spirit, says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6). Not by your collective resources or your individual strength, but by His Spirit. Just as the oil flowed into the lamps without human hands.
The Lord lays something on your heart. You get excited and lay the foundation. Then difficulties come and you get discouraged. We have to quit trying and start flowing.
Oil has no friction. It lubricates, gives fragrance, fuels fire and heals. It’s when I get out of the way and realize it’s not about what I do, but His Spirit.
Spurgeon prayed that God would even take away his resources and his power of speech, if that’s what it took for him to depend fully on the Spirit and see the blessing. When we trust our own resources, great or small, we miss the full supply of the Spirit.
Aaron and His Sons (Exodus 28:1)
God told Moses to bring Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, to serve Him as priests.
We move from the furniture of the tabernacle to its activity, and meet the priests. Aaron is the high priest. His sons serve with him, helping the people walk with God.
Aaron is a picture of Jesus, and his sons are a picture of us serving with Him. Their names reflect Jesus too:
- Nadab, “willing”: Jesus willingly submitted to the Father.
- Abihu, “He is my Father”: Jesus perfectly honored His Father as the Son.
- Eleazar, “God has helped”: Jesus is God’s help for us. His life, His death and His Spirit are all grace.
- Ithamar, possibly “land of palms”: fruitfulness. The righteous flourish like a palm tree and still bear fruit in old age (Psalm 92:12-14).
The sons shared in Aaron’s calling, but Aaron was really the one doing the work. We share in Jesus’ ministry, but He’s the one doing the work.
- Paul said he worked harder than all of them, yet it wasn’t him but the grace of God with him (1 Corinthians 15:10).
- Jesus said the Father who dwells in Him does the works (John 14:10).
- And whoever believes in Him will do the works He does, because He goes to the Father, and He will do whatever we ask in His name (John 14:12-14).
Garments for Glory and Beauty (Exodus 28:2)
God told Moses to make holy garments for Aaron, for glory and for beauty (Exodus 28:2).
God covers all their inadequacy and weakness and equips them to serve, so He can be honored. And that’s good, because do you know what Aaron was doing while Moses was up on the mountain getting these instructions? Making a golden calf (Exodus 32).
Our sufficiency isn’t from ourselves, but from God, who made us sufficient as ministers of the New Covenant, not of the letter, which kills, but of the Spirit, who gives life (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).
What This Means for Us
We have a great High Priest named Jesus. He saved us, and He supplies everything we need for life and godliness.
Our daily walk with God is kept alive by our Priest. He supplies the oil that keeps the light burning. He does the work our messed-up hearts need. He’s faithful to do what we could never do.
And then He qualifies us to serve alongside Him, giving us family, friends, coworkers, even enemies to serve as priests.
So how do we respond? Keep going our own way, chasing our own dreams, setting our own goals, living our own life?
I encourage all of us, myself included, to ask the honest question daily: is it “my will be done,” or “Your will be done”?
God is never looking for skill or effort. He’s looking for a heart surrendered to our Great High Priest, the Light of the World.
Grace Takeaway
You don’t have to keep your own lamp lit. Your High Priest keeps the oil flowing, morning and night, by His Spirit. Walk with Him because you love Him, and let His light do the transforming.
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