Good Morning.
And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. (Leviticus 8:22)
In Christendom, when something is consecrated, it is elevated to the status of being sacred, meaning it is set apart for service unto God. The same is true from a Hebrew perspective, in fact, a lot of what Christians observe in terms of holiness is inherited from our Jewish friends. So then, the special offering mentioned here was for the consecration of the priests. There is, however, another aspect of this offering when we look at it a bit closer.
The Hebrew word translated as “consecration” is ha’miluim, which actually means “completion,” or better, “fullness” and in the plural sense of the word. It seems to me, this is meant to suggest that, with the presentation of this offering, the priests were coming into the fullness of their calling and responsibility. Interestingly, this Hebrew word is related to the Hebrew term shalamim, which is “peace offering.” With this peace offering, Aaron and his sons were regarded as “complete” in that they were stepping into the service for which they had been chosen.
The reason you and I should be interested in these terms is so that we might better understand the Hebraic perspective of what it means for something to be fulfilled. In times past, we may have thought that the fullness or completion of something meant that it was accomplished and, therefore, no longer in force. In other words, a task completed or fulfilled is a task no longer necessary to perform. However, in Hebrew thought, the opposite is true; fullness or completion means that the task is now functioning the way it is supposed to. With the consecration (“fullness”) of the priests, they were beginning to function in the purpose to which they had been called.
These concepts are connected in a term most of us are familiar with — shalom. While it is true that it is a term used to say, “Hello,” “Goodbye” and even “peace,” in reality, the word conveys the notion of being whole and complete. In other words, everything is as it should be and working according to the Creator’s plan. Perhaps that is why peacemakers are so esteemed in the Kingdom of God; not because they simply cause others to cease being hostile toward their brother but because they work to bring unity to those who have been divided.
Messiah, who is our peace, came to make two different peoples “one new man” (Ephesians 2) and, consequently, we are called to do the same. The point, then, is that we should all strive for peace in the Body, which is to say, to function in our purpose and inspire others to do likewise. In this way, we will come into the fullness of our calling.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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