Listen, Act, Walk

Leviticus 8

The Priests’ Offerings

(1) 1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2"Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; 3and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."

4So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 5And Moses said to the congregation, "This is what the LORD commanded to be done."

18Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

22And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

24Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

With 2004 just having started many turn their minds to resolutions that they desire to follow through on for the New Year. As I was perusing the Internet, I ran across a humorous article entitled: New Year’s Resolutions You Can Keep. Here was some of the resolutions suggested:

1.Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.

2. Stop exercising. Waste of time.

3. Read less. Makes you think.

4. Watch more TV. I’ve been missing some good stuff.

5. Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.

Hopefully we will be more ambitious in our resolutions! There does, however, often seem to be a disparity between what we hope to accomplish and what we actually do accomplish. A common resolution that people often make is to lose weight. I found an interesting article from a British magazine dated February 3,2003.

“Failed New Year’s resolutions to get fit and fight the flab have cost the nation over £300 million. (Bad joke to add if reading this: That’s 300 million pounds in British currency—not in human flab.)

“An estimated 15 million people made health-related pledges, but half have already thrown in the towel, according to a recent survey.

“The seven million quitters, who joined gyms, bought sports equipment and attended slimming classes, spent an estimated £335 million between them on their short-lived exercise regimes.

“The survey of 1,000 people by Norwich Union Healthcare found that 32 per cent of those questioned made a resolution to get in shape this year. But nearly half of those have already quit - 47 per cent saying they lacked the willpower, 42 per cent saying they were too busy, six per cent blaming the expense, and five per cent accusing family and friends of not giving enough support.”(www.newwoman.co.uk)

This morning I would to speak about three resolutions that would be worth trying to keep this year and for every year of our lives. Let’s consider the passage we read earlier.

Leviticus 8

22And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24Then he brought Aaron’s sons.

And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

It seems like a pretty bazaar ritual being described here. Moses in consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests was to kill a ram and then touch their ears, thumbs, and big toes. Why did he do this? I believe even the order with which he does the things is important.

There are things that Moses does here and I believe these are three things that God is saying that He desires for His people to do in their lives. All three of these things are essential resolutions for the New Year.

I. Listen---“tip of the ear.”

When Moses touched the ear tips of Aaron and his sons while consecrating them, God was saying to them that they need to be committed to hearing His voice. They needed to listen to God’s commands so that they would be careful not to disobey Him.