OT Bible Study #18: Priests
Make the pure light of Your divine knowledge shine in our hearts, Loving Master, and open the eyes of our minds that we may understand the message of Your Gospel. Instill also in us reverence for Your blessed commandments, so that overcoming all worldly desires, we may pursue a spiritual life, both thinking and doing all things pleasing to You. For You, Christ our God, are the Light of our souls and bodies, and to You we give the glory, together with Your Father, without beginning, and Your All Holy, Good, and Life- Creating Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. (2 Corinthians 6:6; Ephesians 1:18; 2 Peter 2:11)
Review. Who was on Sinai. Moses et al. God et al.
Feast of the Ascension
Main descriptive readings: Acts 1: 10-12. But the angels did more than just what is described here.
From the Lord I Call Hymns
The Lord has ascended into heaven, / that He might send the Comforter to the world. / The heavens prepared His throne, and clouds — His means of ascent. / Angels marvel to see a Man high above them. / The Father receives Him Whom He holds, co-eternal, in His bosom. / The Holy Spirit commands all His Angels: / “Lift up your gates, you princes!”! / All you nations, clap your hands: // for Christ has gone up to where He was before!”
The Cherubim were amazed at Your Ascension, O Lord, / beholding You, the God Who sits enthroned upon them, / ascending upon the clouds; / and we glorify You, for Your mercy is good. // Glory to You!
From the Litya Hymns
You ascended, O Christ, to Your Father, / Who is without beginning, / though You were never parted from His uncircumscribed bosom, / and the heavenly Powers accepted no addition to the thrice-holy hymn of praise, / but recognized You, O Lord, as one Son, only-begotten of the Father / even after becoming man. // In the abundance of Your compassion, have mercy on us!
From the Aposticha Hymns
…But the Bodiless Powers were asking: “Who is this Man of beauty? / Not man only, but both God and man, / the two natures together made manifest./ And so exultant Angels, flying about the Disciples, in shining robes cried out: “O Men of Galilee, / He Who is gone from You, / this Jesus, man and God / will come again as God-man, the Judge of living and dead, / granting the faithful forgiveness of sins and His great mercy!”
…the choirs of Angels rejoiced with gladness; / the higher Powers cried out, saying: / “Lift up your gates, you princes, / and the King of Glory will come in!”…
OT Readings for the feast:
Isaiah 2:2-3, Isaiah 62:10-63:9 [also Zechariah 14:1,4,8-11]
Building Up to the Priests
- Exodus 24:8. What is this all about? Why put blood on the people?
- Exodus 25:16-22. Note that this is the same God that said not to make graven images. So don’t let people say that icons are disallowed by the Second Commandment! Also note that God meets them there.
Vestments: Exodus 28
- Exodus 28:21. Why have the names in there?
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: And on the breast of the high priest were certain stones hanging, twelve in number, in the midst of which were placed two other stones, manifestation and truth. By means of a riddle through these the chorus of the holy apostles is clearly signified being, as it were, in a circle around Emmanuel, who is manifestation and truth. For he manifested the truth by having taken away the worship of God in shadows and in types. - Exodus 28:34. A pomegranate? Why?
GREGORY THE GREAT: Hence in the vesture of the priest, in accordance with the divine Word, pomegranates are added to the little bells. What else is symbolized by pomegranates but the unity of faith? For as in the pomegranate many seeds within are protected by one outer rind, so unity in faith comprehends numberless people of holy church, who, though varying in merits, are retained within it.
The Ordination: Exodus 29
- Exodus 29:4. Washing with water. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: The high priest washes himself, then offers incense; for Aaron was first washed, then became high priest. For how could one who had not yet been cleansed by water pray for others?
CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: You must know that this chrism [chrismation] is prefigured in the Old Testament. When Moses, conferring on his brother the divine appointment, was ordering him high priest, he anointed him after he had bathed in water, and thenceforward he was called “christ” [“anointed”], clearly after the figurative Chrism. - Leviticus 9 repeats this and adds additional information (and Leviticus 10 gives a warning!).
- Leviticus 9:5. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: Well is the church named ecclesia [“assembly”], because it calls forth and assembles all men, as the Lord says in Leviticus: “Then assemble the whole community at the entrance of the meeting tent.” It is worthy of note that this word assemble is used in the Scriptures for the first time in the passage when the Lord established Aaron in the high priesthood. In Deuteronomy God says to Moses, “Assemble the people for me; I will have them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me.”2 He mentions the name of the church again when he says of the tablets: “And on them were inscribed all the words that the Lord spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly”; as if he would say more plainly, “on the day on which you were called and gathered together.” And the psalmist says, “I will give you thanks in a great church [ecclesia], in the mighty throng I will praise you.”
- Leviticus 9:22-24. What does this remind you of?
Bibliography
Lienhard, J. T., & Rombs, R. J. (Eds.). (2001). Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
NEXT WEEK: Golden calves and bad incense.
