“I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God” (Exodus 29:43-46, NASB).

This chapter gives regulations for the consecration of the priests that would minister to God in the Tabernacle. The priests were to be ordained for service in the Tabernacle through purification rites and the offering of burnt sacrifices for atonement of sin. First, the priests were to be washed with water in the doorway of the Tabernacle. Then their priestly garments were placed on them and anointing oil poured over their heads.

Next a series of sacrifices were offered for atonement. They were to sacrifice a bull and wipe its blood on the horns of the altar, burn the fat on the altar, and burn its hide and flesh outside the camp. Then they were to take a ram and sacrifice it by sprinkling its blood around the altar and then cut the ram into pieces and burn it on the altar. Next, they were to sacrifice another ram and wipe its blood on the right earlobe, hand, and foot of the priest, burn the fat on the altar, and boil and eat the meat.

But this consecration ritual didn’t change the priest. It didn’t make him any different than he was before the ceremony. It didn’t make him holy. The consecration ritual symbolized what only God could do. It was only God’s glory, His presence, dwelling in the Tabernacle that made them holy and acceptable for God’s service ministering in the Tabernacle..

What Holy touches becomes holy! Where Glory resides becomes glorious!

When God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, dwells in you, then you become holy. And, if God’s Spirit dwells in your body, then your body should only be used for God’s purposes and in ways that God intended. Because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul urged the Corinthians to refrain from immorality : “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Glorify God by living a holy life because you are the dwelling place of His glory!

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12:1, NASB)