The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 220

Vers. 7, 8.-0onsecration. By the sprinkling of the blood of sacrifice, and by their voluntary acceptance of obligations to obedience, the children of Israel became, formally, the people of Jehovah. 'fhey had avouched themselves to be the Lord's. They had taken on them the vows of his service. They were now consecrated to be doers of his will. The same idea of consecration is embodied in the New Testament word "saint." 'l'he believer is one of a sanctified, a consecrated, a priestly people, set specially apart "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. ii. 5). Consider- !. 'l'HE NATURE OF CONSECRATION. Consecration, as a Christian duty, involves three ideas-separation from evil, devotement to God, and ceaseless pursuit of holiness in heart and life. It has its ground in the fact of redemption, and in the sense of God's mercies. 'l'he consecrated heart then becomes a. sanctuary in which God dwells by his Holy Spirit; while this sacred indwelling in turn becomes a. new source of obligations to holiness. 'l'he holiness we are to aim at is a. holiness like God's own-nothing lower (1 Pet. i. 15, 16). Consecration, if never so complete as the Christian could wish, may always be perfect, at least in aim, in spirit, in intention, in desire. We are expected. like Caleb, to follow the Lord/vlly. 'l'he Divine ideal is the absolute consecration of him who said-" Lo, 1 come to do thy will, 0 God." "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work" (Heb. x. 9; John iv. 34). "I would rather," says Spurgeon, " my child had a perfect copy to write by, though he might never equal it, than that he should have an imperfect copy set before him, because then he would never make a good writer at all." The Scriptural idea of consecration comes out in the light of the usage of the cognate word-"sanctify." God himself is the fountain of sanctity or holiness. The whole Mosaic ritual was a grand apparatus for impressing this thought of God's holiness upon the minds of his worshippers. Everything to be used in his service, as contaminated by sin, required to be purged with blood (Heb. ix. :n). To this, in special cases, succeeded an anointing with oil ( eh. x.xx. 25-32). Thus purge<l and anointed, the sanctuary, person, sacred vessel, or whatever it might be, was regarded as completely sanctified ; in other words, as separated from common uses to the service of a holy God. The High Priests and Levites of the Old Covenant were all thus specially sanctified to God. But these things were only shadows; we have the realities corresponding to them under the New Covenant. If a man is really in Christ, he is already, by God's act, through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, and the holy anointing of the Spirit, a consecrated person,.and ought to regard himself_as such. This is the Divine side of the matter. There is clearly, however, a vast difference between the consecration of a mere utensil, say the golden candlestick, or the pots and vessels of the sanctuary, and the consecration of a living, moral, intelligent being. _A material thing is sanctified simply by the act of setting it apart t? ~red_ uses; its nature admits of nothina more. But the consecration of a moral bemg implies an act on his own part, as well ';.s on God's else the consecratioll has llO reality ; it is such only in name and form. The essenc~ of it lies ill a free, cheerful, se(f"-dedichtion of the person (cf. Rom. xii. 1). Here, then, a.re two sides of this subject, ~he. Di~ine anJ human-the ideal and the real-which two sides a.re constantly reappeanug in :Scnpture, Horuetimes apart, sometimes blending together, sometimes standing side by siJe, alw.ust with the force of contradictions, e.g., "Purge out therefore the old lea~e~, that ye wa:, be a new lump, even a.~ ye are mtleavened" (1 Cor. v. 7). lo shot·t., Uud .s cuu:se,·rc\tlc'it t'.;ives us a sta.udiug aud au iL!cal; but it is only as we cousriouRly arce1,t tltt, >t:1J.ld,ll1 232 THI<~ BOOK Ol? EXODUS. {en. XXIV. 7, 8,