Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Consecration to God



“Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water.  You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.” – Exodus 40:12-13

When I first read of God telling Moses they would wash Aaron and his sons, I thought it was more of a purification process than anything else.  This morning though as I read of them doing what God says in Exodus 40:12, I see it differently.  Verse 13 mentions Aaron’s consecration to God. 

Consecration is to “make or declare sacred; dedicate formally to a religious or divine purpose”, which is what baptism is all about.  It’s making a public statement that you are dedicating yourself to the ways of God and have decided to follow Jesus. 

In Matthew 3, we read of John the Baptist (not his religion, but his occupation) baptizing believers.  Then Jesus comes to him to be baptized himself, and says in verse 15, “for thus is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness”.  In doing so, Jesus represents the High Priest office, as Aaron had held. Aaron, in the office of High Priest, was the one to offer sacrifices and make atonement of our sins in the tabernacle.  But with Christ, the Son of God, the office of High Priest was to be taken by Him. This washing of water was an ordinance given like that given to Aaron and his sons to be washed.  

By being baptized, we present ourselves to God, and to our High Priest Jesus Christ We consecrate ourselves through this act of obedience to God, declaring our belief in Jesus Christ, and formally stating that we are God’s for a divine purpose.
There’s an old song called “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”.  The words summarize the meaning of baptism better than I ever could.  In summary it says:

I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow,
No turning back, no turning back.
My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus;
No turning back, No turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:14-16