"God tells Moses what he is to do in order to consecrate Aaron and his descendants after him so they will be worthy to serve God as priests. A young bull and two unblemished rams are to be sacrificed as a sin offering and fire offering to the Lord in order to consecrate Aaron and his descendants as priests of the sanctuary. Also, Aaron and his sons are to be ordained for seven days with a sacrificial bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. God also instructs Moses to conduct a regular burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord. This is where the Lord will meet with the Israelites and speak with them. The tent of meeting will be consecrated by God's glory. Afterward, God says that He will dwell among the Israelites and be their God."
Consecration of the Priests
29 “This is what you shall do to consecrate Aaron and his sons so that they may serve Me as priests: take one young bull and two rams, without blemish, 2 and unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. 3 You shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. 4 Then bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting [out where the basin is] and wash them with water. 5 Then you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece, and wrap him with the skillfully woven sash of the ephod; 6 and you shall put the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. 8 You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 And you shall wrap them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the [ornamental] caps on them; and the priest’s office shall be theirs by a perpetual statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
- WHAT CONSECRATION IS. "The Meanings of qds in the Sinai Legislation. In the Sinai material ( Exod 19:1-nu ; 10:10 ) qds [v;d'q], which is translated "consecrate/sanctify/make holy, " means separation with relationship to God." Consecrate means "dedicated to a sacred purpose", or "to officially make something holy and able to be used for religious ceremonies." Aaron and his sons were chosen and called by God, for priesthood. While it is a big responsibility, it is also a great privilege from God-- and it is God's grace and lovingkindness that will sustain them.
- WASHING WITH WATER, ANOINTING WITH OIL. The Lord gave step by step instructions in ordaining and consecrating the priests (Aaron and sons). I'm sure every step has a meaning and significance.. I noticed 2 things that are quite symbolic, with Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus is the Living Water, that ultimately cleanses us from all sins and darkness, while "oil" usually pertains to the "Holy Spirit." Therefore, being a priest is a big deal to God.. I think, in reality, there was no one qualified to be a priest, because all the people were sinful and unholy-- that's why there's a step or ritual wherein 1 bull and 2 rams will be sacrificed. We have been separated from God because of sin, but Jesus is the mediator that sacrificed (Lamb of God) and reconciled us to God, who is Holy.
10 “Then you shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall [a]lay their hands on the bull’s head. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord by the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. 12 And you shall take some of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar [of burnt offering], and you shall pour out the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar. 13 You shall take all the fat that covers the intestines and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and offer them up in smoke on the altar. 14 But the meat of the bull, its hide, and the contents of its intestines you shall burn in the fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
15 “And you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram; 16 then you shall kill the ram and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it around the altar [of burnt offering]. 17 Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its intestines and legs, and place them with its pieces and its head, 18 and you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord: it is a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.
19 “Then you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. 20 Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ears of Aaron and his sons 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 [of burnt offering]. 21 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 his garments and on his sons and their garments. Now Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments shall be consecrated (dedicated, made holy, declared sacred for God’s purpose).
22 “You shall also take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the intestines, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh; (for it is a ram of ordination), 23 and one loaf of bread and one cake of oiled bread and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord; 24 and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and wave them as a [b]wave offering before the Lord. 25 Then you shall take them from their hands, add them to the burnt offering, and burn them on the altar for a sweet and soothing aroma before the Lord; it is an offering by fire to the Lord.
26 “Then you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination, and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be your (Moses) portion. 27 You shall consecrate the waved breast offering [of the ram] used in the ordination and the waved thigh offering of the priests’ portion, since it is [a contribution] for Aaron and for his sons. 28 It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their due portion from the Israelites forever, for it is a [c]heave offering. It shall be a heave offering to the Lord from the Israelites from the sacrifices of their peace offerings.
29 “The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed and ordained in them. 30 That son who is [high] priest in his place shall put them on [each day for] seven days when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place.
Footnotes: Exodus 29:10 By laying his hands on the head of the sacrifice the offerer identified himself with it and through its death it became an atonement or covering for his sin. Because the sacrifice “covered” his sin it placed the offerer in a right relationship with God, just as later under the new covenant the perfection and sacrifice of the Christ would cover (atone for) the imperfection and sin of those who identified with Him and accepted Him as Savior.
Exodus 29:24 The wave (undulation, wavelike) offering and the heave (lifted up, raised) offering were named after their manner of presentation. These were either voluntary gifts or contributions required for a specific religious purpose such as the atonement offering. It was understood that God received these offerings and then designated them for a religious purpose such as the support of the priests and their families, or the preparation and maintenance of the tabernacle.
Exodus 29:28 See note v 24.
"and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance." Ephesians 5:2
Food of the Priests
31 “You shall take the ram of the ordination and boil its meat in a holy place. 32 Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram and the bread in the basket, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. 33 They shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy [that is, set apart to the worship of God]. 34 And if any of the meat of ordination or the bread remains until morning, you shall burn it in the fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 “So you shall do to Aaron and to his sons in accordance with all I have commanded you; during seven days you are to ordain them. 36 You shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar from sin when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it [for God’s sacred purpose]. 37 For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar [of burnt offering] and consecrate it; then the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy (set apart for God’s service).
38 “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two one year old lambs shall be offered each day, continuously. 39 One lamb you shall offer in the morning and the other lamb [d]at twilight; 40 and with the one lamb there shall be one-tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten [olive] oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering [to be poured out]. 41 And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and do with it as with the grain offering of the morning and with the drink offering, for a sweet and soothing aroma [to appease God], an offering by fire to the Lord. 42 This will be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. 43 There I will meet with the Israelites, and the Tent of Meeting shall be [e]sanctified by My glory [the [f]Shekinah, God’s dwelling presence]. 44 I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar [of burnt offering]; also I will sanctify Aaron and his sons to serve as priests to Me. 45 I will dwell among the sons of Israel and be their God. 46 They shall know [from personal experience] and acknowledge that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.
Footnotes: Exodus 29:39 See note 12:6.
Exodus 29:43 Only God can sanctify (set apart) something for His divine purpose. Man can consecrate (dedicate) something as sacred, that is, declare it separated from secular use.
Exodus 29:43 This Hebrew word is not found in the Bible, but was used by the rabbis to describe the presence of God. Its basic meaning is “royal residence.” Among other things, the rabbis said that the Shekinah is present where ten people pray together, or where three people are sitting as a court of judges.
- 7 DAYS. Since 'priesthood' is a life-long service to God, in behalf of all the people-- it will take 7 days to ordain and consecrate the priests (Aaron and sons). Here, the significant number 7 of God was mentioned again. While reading all these, it seems that it was Moses (and the people) who were doing everything, for God, but it's actually God who was doing 'everything' He can for all the people-- and Moses and the people will just obey and follow. It was God who provided, guided, and made everything possible. 430 plus years, God is still the same (yesterday, today and forever), to the Israelites (Abraham's descendants). By the end of the chapter, God promised that He will dwell among the sons of Israel and He will be their God. God will make them remember that He is the God who rescued them from the land of Egypt, into the promised land (Canaan).
After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):
a. One young bull and two rams without blemish: The ceremony for consecration required animals intended for sacrifice. Consecration couldn’t happen without shedding sacrificial blood.
b. Unleavened bread, unleavened cakes: The ceremony for consecration required bread for fellowship with God. Consecration couldn’t happen without true fellowship with God.
a. Aaron and his sons: This was not a ceremony for just anyone in Israel. There were special consecration ceremonies available to anyone – such as the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6. But the ceremony described here and carried out in Leviticus 8 was for priests, for Aaron and his sons.
iii. Like these ancient priests, every Christian is washed by the work of God’s word (Ephesians 5:26), by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). This cleansing work was accomplished by the death of Jesus for us (Revelation 1:5) and appropriated by faith.
a. Take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron: After being cleansed, the priest had to be clothed – but not in his own clothes. He had to put on garments given by God.
i. Like these ancient priests, every believer is clothed in Jesus Christ and in his righteousness (Revelation 3:5). These are clothes that are given freely by Jesus, but received and “worn” by faith.
ii. “Note, that these garments were provided for them. They were at no expense in buying them, nor labor in weaving them, nor skill in making them; they had simply to put them on. And you, dear child of God, are to put on the garments which Jesus Christ has provided for you, at his own cost, and freely bestows upon you out of boundless love.” (Spurgeon)
b. And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him: Priests must be anointed. The oil (a picture of the Holy Spirit) was poured over their heads, indicating that it was given in great measure, not in small measure (Psalm 133:2).
i. Like these ancient priests, every believer has an anointing (1 John 2:20) that they may receive and walk in by faith.
a. Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull: The washing at the door of the tabernacle was only one aspect of the symbolic cleansing from sin. There had to be the punishment of the guilty, and this happened. As Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the bull, they symbolically transferred their sin to the bull.
ii. Like these ancient priests, every believer can only be consecrated to God through sacrifice. Our consecration should be greater, because it was made through a far greater sacrifice – the sacrifice of God’s own Son.
i. The idea behind the ancient Hebrew word for altar is essentially, “killing-place.” The ancient altar – a place of death – was made holy and was consecrated to God. Like that ancient altar, the altar of the New Covenant – the cross – is transformed from a place to death to a place set apart to bring life.
c. Tip of the right ear…thumb of their right hand…big toe of their right foot: These consecrated priests were stained with the blood of sacrifice. They should hear differently because the blood was on their ear. They should work differently because the blood was on their thumb. They should walk differently because the blood was on their toe.
i. Specifically, it was applied to the right ear, hand, and foot. This isn’t because God felt they could do whatever they wanted to with their left ear, hand, and foot. It is because the right side was considered superior, with more strength and skill (because most people are right-handed). God wanted their best to be dedicated to Him.
iii. In this way, eating is a good picture of a healthy, continuing relationship with Jesus.
· Eating is personal. No one can eat for you, and no one can have a relationship with Jesus on your behalf.
· Eating is inward. It does no good to be around food or to rub food on the outside of your body – you must take it in. We must take Jesus unto ourselves inwardly, not merely in an external way.
· Eating is active. Some medicines are received passively – they are injected under the skin and go to work. Such medicines could even be received while one sleeps – but no one can eat while asleep. We must actively take Jesus unto ourselves.
· Eating arises out of a sense of need and produces a sense of satisfaction. We will have a healthy relationship with Jesus when we sense our need for Him and receive the satisfaction the relationship brings.
b. They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: For seven days they lived at the tabernacle and ate the ram of the consecration and the bread of consecration. The consecration ceremony wasn’t quick and easy. It took time, reflection, and a constant awareness of sacrifice and atonement.
i. Leviticus 22:11 says, But if the priest buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. Since Jesus, our High Priest, has purchased us with His own life, we may eat of the priestly portion. And since we are born again as children of God – born in his house, the family of our High Priest – we also may eat his food and enjoy the priestly privileges of our High Priest.
c. For a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord: These burnt offerings – completely consumed by fire – pleased God and “smelled good” to Him. God is honored and glorified by our complete surrender to Him.
a. So I will consecrate: God made it clear who performs the work of consecration. We are tempted to think that we sanctify our self because we are so immersed in the sanctifying process and because it draws so much out of us. Yet God does the work – what we do is remove barriers and spend time with the focus on Him.
d. I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God: God again stressed the idea of relationship in the process of consecration. This worship-filled relationship with God is both the instrument and the fruit of consecration.
b. Unleavened bread, unleavened cakes: The ceremony for consecration required bread for fellowship with God. Consecration couldn’t happen without true fellowship with God.
a. Aaron and his sons: This was not a ceremony for just anyone in Israel. There were special consecration ceremonies available to anyone – such as the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6. But the ceremony described here and carried out in Leviticus 8 was for priests, for Aaron and his sons.
iii. Like these ancient priests, every Christian is washed by the work of God’s word (Ephesians 5:26), by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). This cleansing work was accomplished by the death of Jesus for us (Revelation 1:5) and appropriated by faith.
a. Take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron: After being cleansed, the priest had to be clothed – but not in his own clothes. He had to put on garments given by God.
i. Like these ancient priests, every believer is clothed in Jesus Christ and in his righteousness (Revelation 3:5). These are clothes that are given freely by Jesus, but received and “worn” by faith.
ii. “Note, that these garments were provided for them. They were at no expense in buying them, nor labor in weaving them, nor skill in making them; they had simply to put them on. And you, dear child of God, are to put on the garments which Jesus Christ has provided for you, at his own cost, and freely bestows upon you out of boundless love.” (Spurgeon)
b. And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him: Priests must be anointed. The oil (a picture of the Holy Spirit) was poured over their heads, indicating that it was given in great measure, not in small measure (Psalm 133:2).
i. Like these ancient priests, every believer has an anointing (1 John 2:20) that they may receive and walk in by faith.
a. Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull: The washing at the door of the tabernacle was only one aspect of the symbolic cleansing from sin. There had to be the punishment of the guilty, and this happened. As Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the bull, they symbolically transferred their sin to the bull.
ii. Like these ancient priests, every believer can only be consecrated to God through sacrifice. Our consecration should be greater, because it was made through a far greater sacrifice – the sacrifice of God’s own Son.
i. The idea behind the ancient Hebrew word for altar is essentially, “killing-place.” The ancient altar – a place of death – was made holy and was consecrated to God. Like that ancient altar, the altar of the New Covenant – the cross – is transformed from a place to death to a place set apart to bring life.
c. Tip of the right ear…thumb of their right hand…big toe of their right foot: These consecrated priests were stained with the blood of sacrifice. They should hear differently because the blood was on their ear. They should work differently because the blood was on their thumb. They should walk differently because the blood was on their toe.
i. Specifically, it was applied to the right ear, hand, and foot. This isn’t because God felt they could do whatever they wanted to with their left ear, hand, and foot. It is because the right side was considered superior, with more strength and skill (because most people are right-handed). God wanted their best to be dedicated to Him.
iii. In this way, eating is a good picture of a healthy, continuing relationship with Jesus.
· Eating is personal. No one can eat for you, and no one can have a relationship with Jesus on your behalf.
· Eating is inward. It does no good to be around food or to rub food on the outside of your body – you must take it in. We must take Jesus unto ourselves inwardly, not merely in an external way.
· Eating is active. Some medicines are received passively – they are injected under the skin and go to work. Such medicines could even be received while one sleeps – but no one can eat while asleep. We must actively take Jesus unto ourselves.
· Eating arises out of a sense of need and produces a sense of satisfaction. We will have a healthy relationship with Jesus when we sense our need for Him and receive the satisfaction the relationship brings.
b. They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: For seven days they lived at the tabernacle and ate the ram of the consecration and the bread of consecration. The consecration ceremony wasn’t quick and easy. It took time, reflection, and a constant awareness of sacrifice and atonement.
i. Leviticus 22:11 says, But if the priest buys a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may eat his food. Since Jesus, our High Priest, has purchased us with His own life, we may eat of the priestly portion. And since we are born again as children of God – born in his house, the family of our High Priest – we also may eat his food and enjoy the priestly privileges of our High Priest.
c. For a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord: These burnt offerings – completely consumed by fire – pleased God and “smelled good” to Him. God is honored and glorified by our complete surrender to Him.
a. So I will consecrate: God made it clear who performs the work of consecration. We are tempted to think that we sanctify our self because we are so immersed in the sanctifying process and because it draws so much out of us. Yet God does the work – what we do is remove barriers and spend time with the focus on Him.
d. I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God: God again stressed the idea of relationship in the process of consecration. This worship-filled relationship with God is both the instrument and the fruit of consecration.
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Exd/Exd-29.cfm ©2013 David Guzik
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