We have pointed out that 29:29-46 is a brief sketch of chapters twenty-eight and twenty-nine of Exodus. The first aspect of this sketch consists of statutes concerning the holy garments of the high priests. Verses 29 and 30 say, “And the holy garments which are for Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them and to fill their hands in them. Seven days shall the son that is priest in his stead put them on, when he comes into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.” These verses speak only of the garments worn by the high priest, first by Aaron and then by his sons, his descendants, after him. This word was to apply to all the coming generations. It applied to Aaron, then to his son, and after that to his grandson. There could, of course, be only one high priest at a time. When Aaron died, Eleazar his son succeeded him as high priest.
Concerning the holy garments, verse 29 says that Aaron and his sons were to be anointed in them and to have their hands filled in them. The phrase “in them” means in the priestly garments. In order to have the anointing and the filling of hands, the high priest had to be clothed with the holy garments. In other words, if he were not properly clothed, he would not be qualified to be anointed.
God cannot anoint anyone who is naked. Neither can He fill the hands of such a one. This is the reason, as we have already seen, that in the sanctification of the priests we first have the washing and then the covering of their nakedness. If we are spiritually naked in the sight of God, He will stay away from us. Anyone who was not properly clothed could never enter into the Holy of Holies to appear before God. Anyone who came into God’s dwelling place had to be fully covered. Now we see that in order for the high priest to be anointed and to have his hands filled, he had to first be clothed with the holy garments.
This principle also applies to us as priests in the church life today. Do you intend to serve in the church as a priest? If this is your intention, you need to be anointed and filled. However, you must be anointed and filled in the priestly garments. At this point, we need to recall that these garments typify different aspects of Christ. Hence, to be clothed with the priestly garments is to be fully covered by Christ and with Christ. Once we are covered by Christ, we are qualified to be anointed.
Today many Christians either neglect the Holy Spirit, or they speak of the Spirit in a strange way. This is the reason I cannot agree with today’s Pentecostalism. Many in Pentecostalism do not experience a genuine anointing, because they are not properly covered with Christ. Actually there is no need for us to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If we are covered with Christ in a proper way, the anointing is ours. It comes automatically. I can testify of this from my experience. For a period of time many years ago, I adopted the practice of speaking in tongues. But after more than a year, I fully abandoned that practice. I can testify that I have more spiritual power today than I did when I spoke in tongues. But many who claim to have the power of the Spirit actually have nothing more than a phantom. Their experience and their work are not lasting.
Not only were the high priests anointed in the holy garments, but they had to be clothed with these garments in order to have their hands filled. This indicates that we need to be covered with Christ, and then we can have our hands filled with Him.