From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John

Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture

Jane Austen
(A Biography)

Solomon Among the Postmoderns

The Baptized Body

1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary

The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter

A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons

Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature

Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen

The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism

A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel

Against Christianity

From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution

Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy

Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper

A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament

Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature

Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays

Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life

The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church

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Theology - Liturgical: Feast of Rededication

Is it fair to use the sequence of offerings in Leviticus 8 and Numbers 6 as models for Christian worship?  After all, these two texts are specialized – the “filling” ceremony for the priests and the rededication of a Nazirite.

When we find the same sequence in Chronicles, it’s also for specialized ceremonies, like the temple rededication in 2 Chronicles 29.

I believe the sequence does work more generally, but to see it we need to discern the logic that connects these ceremonies.

Premise one: Priests were living tabernacles (see Kline, Images of the Spirit).  So, it make sense that the sequence of offerings used for the ordination of priests would be the sequence for the rededication ceremony.

Premise two: Nazirites are temporary priests (see Jordan on Nazirites).  Nazirites too are, in a somewhat different way from priests, living tabernacles.

Preliminary conclusion one: Though the inauguration of a Nazirite status involves only an oath, and not sacrifice, the renewal of a Nazirite vow, reinstalling the temporary priest in his priesthood, follows the pattern of priestly ordination.  And it makes sense too that the rededication offerings for temples and Nazirites should be similar.

Premise three: We are each priests and temples, indwelt by the Spirit.  We are likewise collectively a priesthood and a temple.  We are all permanent Nazirites by union with the Nazarene.

Premise four: Worship is renewal of priesthood, reinvestiture.  Our old, filthy clothes are removed and we are covered in garments of glory and beauty, and allowed to sit to a king’s feast.

Final conclusion: Therefore, it is fitting that we use the sequence of offerings for temple rededication, priestly ordination, and Nazarite rededication for our worship.  Given the links of priests and temples, worship is a temple renewal.  Every eucharist is a feast of rededication.