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Nine times the word is translated separate in the Authorized Version.
This
is its basic meaning and we are brought back to the thought of
sanctification. A Nazarite was one who was wholly separated to God.
(3)
Qadash meaning to set apart: 'And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his
sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest's
office' (Exod. 30:30).
The most frequent rendering of this word is sanctify
and it occurs 110 times in the various conjugations of
the Hebrew verb. Its significance is a person or service entirely set apart
to God.
(4)
Male.
'Thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons' (Exod. 29:9).
The basic meaning underlying the word is to fill the hand. Thus it is
translated to be filled, to replenish, to be fulfilled. Seventeen times we
have it rendered consecrate in the Authorized Version, and in Joshua 3:15 and
1 Chronicles 12:15 it is used in connection with Jordan overflowing its
banks. It also occurs in Exodus 15:9 and Proverbs 6:30 where it is rendered
satisfy.
The usage of these four words throws a flood of light on the true
meaning of consecration. A consecrated person is one who is devoted,
separated, set apart entirely to the Lord, and whose hands are full of loving
service in all that pertains to Him. Only such a one can be really satisfied
and overflow in blessing to others. We notice that, with the exception of
Exodus 32:29, the many occurrences of the word 'consecration' are linked with
the priesthood of Aaron and his sons. Here was a full -time service
dedicated to God, forcibly reminding us of the fulness of practical meaning
that lies behind this aspect of truth.
In the New Testament, consecration is only mentioned twice, and that in
the Epistle to the Hebrews, which
is largely a Divine commentary on the Aaronic and Melchisedec priesthoods
(Heb. 7:28; 10:20). While the word is not of frequent occurrence in the New
Testament the fact of consecration is certainly stressed. The apostle
reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:19,20 'ye are not your own, for ye are bought
with a price'. That price is nothing less than the sufferings and death of
the Son of God. Therefore all the voluntary handing back of ourselves and
all we have to Him in loving service is merely giving the Lord back His
property. To do anything less than this is to cheat Him of what is His own.
It is indeed 'our reasonable service' (Rom. 12:1). We are asked to present
our bodies to Him (verse 1) and to yield ourselves unto God (Rom. 6:13). It
is one thing to read or sing Frances Ridley Havergal's hymn 'Take my life and
let it be, consecrated Lord to Thee', but quite another to make it a truth in
our daily experience. Too often the business life and the home life take
first place, and the Lord and witness for the dispensation of the grace of
God and the truth of the Mystery get pushed into the background. Parestemi,
translated 'yield', means literally 'to place alongside'. We are asked to
place ourselves alongside God, i.e. entirely at His disposal. Can it be that
He would not use us for His glory and the enlightenment and blessing of
others if we were constantly to take this step? We do not believe this
to be possible. We have a good deposit of truth which centres round the
ascended Lord Jesus, the gospel of His grace and the revelation of the
dispensation of the Mystery (Eph. 3), with its untold riches of glory in
which He has overflowed towards us (Eph. 1:8). This certainly demands that