pomegranatesandchains

This is the third post in a series on the consecration of the priesthood. For seven days in the wilderness, the new priesthood went through the consecration process and on the eighth day, they began to function in their appointed roles in the tabernacle. This 8th day is 1st Aviv, which begins at 6pm on 13th March and ends 6pm 14th March 2021. The eighth day is the first day of a new week. It is also the day of naming after the birth of a child and the day of circumcision or entrance into covenantal rights and privileges for the sons of Abraham. A name carries with it a sense of identity, character and purpose. The name of God’s bondservant company in the endtimes is ‘the Branch’. The name of God’s people throughout history is the Hebrews—those who have crossed over; those who have come out of idolatry to serve the Living God.

Why did God choose this day for the tabernacle to be erected and for the priests to begin functioning? Because it marked the anniversary of a new beginning for His people; one that had been inaugurated in Egypt, exactly one month after the plague of darkness. That was a day of releasing instruction on the process of crossing over, of giving a precise blueprint for safe passage during the passing over of the Destroyer, which would occur in two weeks time. Prior to the final blow on the slave shackles of Egypt, God told His people exactly how to conduct themselves in order to be safe and ready to move out of the place they had been planted for generations. The 1st Aviv launched a change of era for those enslaved in Egypt. And exactly one year later, priestly worship in the wilderness tabernacle was launched. The whole of the previous year had been one of organisation, assigning of place and order, manufacture of the necessary parts and preparation of the priesthood. But on this day, everyone understood why God paid such attention to detail. He was constructing a place for His glory to dwell!

A Day of Glory and Fire

Exo 40:34  Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle!

The 12 tribes of Israel were encamped exactly as God had positioned them, in a giant circle round the tabernacle and on 1st Aviv, the glory of the Lord was manifested in their midst. So powerful was His presence that Moses could not even go back into the tabernacle. Leviticus 8 gives a more detailed description of everything Moses and the priests had to do on this day of the launch of the tabernacle. There were sacrifices to complete, wave offerings to lift up and a blessing to be spoken over the people.

Lev 9:23  Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord [the Shekinah cloud] appeared to all the people [as promised]. Lev 9:24  Then there came a fire out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

The 1st Aviv is the day the fire of God consumed the acceptable sacrifice. It is a day of glory AND fire. But it is also the day on which the unthinkable happened! Immediately after the demonstration of God’s acceptance of the rightly offered sacrifice, Nadab and Abihu rose up and offered strange fire on the altar. Why is it called ‘strange’?–Because it was not ordained by God or part of their appointed duties. They had stepped outside of the specific instructions God had given and assumed they could repeat what their father Aaron had done in offering incense. But God had not asked it of them nor assigned them the position. Presumption and spiritual pride manifested in rebellion to God’s ordained order and pattern, and it could not be tolerated.

Continue reading at source: A New Day, a Fiery Day – Fresh Oil Releases