Thursday 11 July 2013
"Then Moses took some of the anointing-oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his vestments, and also on his sons and their vestments. Thus he consecrated Aaron and his vestments, and also his sons and their vestments." (v. 30)
Background
Today's passage about the ordination of Aaron and his sons isfull of ritual, whether it is what they are wearing, how they aredressed, the manner in which they are anointed, what they have toeat and how to eat it ... it seems to go on and on.
The clothes obviously set the priests apart from the rest of thecongregation and some of the things have special significance.Regarding the Urim and Thummin (verse 8), the Hebrew word Urimbegins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph) andThummin begins with the last (taw). They were sacred lots, whichwere often used in times of crisis to discern the will of God. Thesuggestion has been made that if Urim was in the majority, theanswer was no, but if it was Thimmin then the answer was yes.However whatever the answer, it was seen as coming from God.
Last Sunday as part of the Methodist Conference ministers (bothpresbyters and deacons) were ordained. Their clothes were probablynot so complicated, but it is a safe assumption that many newsuits were purchased for the occasion - they were certainlyspecial. The ritual and tradition would also have been less, butone important part is the congregation/Conference being askedwhether the people presented before them are worthy to be ordained.The people respond with a standing vote of affirmation and thewords "they are worthy". Those being ordained testify that this isone of the most moving parts of the day.
To Ponder
- What part does ritual and tradition play in your faith?
- What do you do to discern the will of God?
- How would you react if someone said that you are worthy?
- Spend some time today remembering in prayer those who wereordained last Sunday.