Ordained as Men

"Then you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. You shall slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the lobes of his sons’ right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, and sprinkle the rest of the blood around on the altar. Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him; so he and his garments shall be consecrated, as well as his sons and his sons’ garments with him." -Exodus 29.19-21

Here in Exodus 29 God is instructing Moses on how to ordain priests of the service of God. The first thing we notice is that there is death and blood involved. Hands are placed on the head of a ram, the ram is slaughtered, and the blood is placed on the priest and then sprinkled on the altar. They are being consecrated and set apart for service to God. Just as their garments were to be holy and set apart for work in the tabernacle, so their lives are to be set apart in service to God. It's a serious calling, and a serious process.

Men, we have been called to be priests. We have been charged with the spiritual instruction of our families. It is a serious task. We don't sprinkle blood on an altar, or put some on our ear lobes, thumbs, or big toes, PETA would go nuts if we did. That ceremony is gone, but we need ceremony still.

When I worked through The Way of the Wild Heart the book talks about the intentionality of raising boys into manhood. It takes about initiation, and about ceremony, and how we've lost it. Being a man is a serious thing, it's a serious calling. Sadly too many do it casually and selfishly. This is not what God created and called us to do.

We are to be men, set apart, and ordained by God to lead others to Him. We are set apart for His holy work, and it is a serious undertaking. Let us treat it as such. Let the masculine journey not be something we neglect, or do half-heartedly. Let us pour ourselves fully into it, realizing that if we don't something much more valuable than a ram is going to die.

Let us allow God to ordain us as men.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor