Moses Consecrates Aaron and His Sons (Exodus 29:1-9)
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”
So Moses did as the LORD had commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And Moses said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded to be done.”
Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He tied the woven band of the ephod around him and fastened it to him. Then he put the breastpiece on him and placed the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece. Moses also put the turban on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the holy diadem, on the front of the turban, as the LORD had commanded him.
Next, Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it; and so he consecrated them. He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.
He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. Then Moses presented Aaron’s sons, put tunics on them, wrapped sashes around them, and tied headbands on them, just as the LORD had commanded him.
The Priests’ Sin Offering
Moses then brought the bull near for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the bull, took some of the blood, and applied it with his finger to all four horns of the altar, purifying the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it so that atonement could be made on it.
Moses also took all the fat that was on the entrails, the lobe of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it all on the altar. But the bull with its hide, flesh, and dung he burned outside the camp, as the LORD had commanded him.
The Priests’ Burnt Offering (Exodus 38:1-7; Leviticus 1:1-17)
Then Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the ram and sprinkled the blood on all sides of the altar. He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, the pieces, and the fat. He washed the entrails and legs with water and burned the entire ram on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The Ram of Ordination (Exodus 29:10-30)
After that, Moses presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. Moses also presented Aaron’s sons and put some of the blood on their right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he sprinkled the blood on all sides of the altar.
And Moses took the fat—the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with their fat—as well as the right thigh. And from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD, he took one cake of unleavened bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer, and he placed them on the fat portions and on the right thigh. He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before the LORD as a wave offering.
Moses took these out of their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. He also took the breast—Moses’ portion of the ordination ram—and waved it before the LORD as a wave offering, as the LORD had commanded him.
Next Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and their garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, as well as Aaron’s sons and their garments.
And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’ Then you must burn up the remainder of the meat and bread.
You must not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are complete; for it will take seven days to ordain you. What has been done today has been commanded by the LORD in order to make atonement on your behalf. You must remain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and keep the LORD’s charge so that you will not die, for this is what I have been commanded.” So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD had commanded through Moses.”
There are three main parts to this chapter: first, Moses calls the entire congregation as witnesses and then bathes Aaron and his sons with water. Moses dresses Aaron in the priestly garments as God has directed and then dresses Aaron’s sons in linen tunics and head bands as well. While not described here, the priests are also supposed to wear linen breeches, thus avoiding exposing their genitalia as they ascend to the altar. This kind of dress is in stark contrast to that of the pagan priests who might wear little or nothing at all and who will deliberately exhibit their genitalia, the bigger the better. Moses offers a bull as a sin offering for the priests, applying some of the blood to the horns of the altar and pouring the rest of the blood out at the foot of the altar. After offering the kidneys and fat as a burnt offering, Moses takes the rest of the bull and burns that outside the camp.
Next, Moses offers a ram as a burnt offering on behalf of the priests. MOses sprinkles the blood on all sides of the altar, cutting the ram into pieces, washing the entrails and legs, and burning the entire animal on the altar.
Finally, Moses offers the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons lay their hands on its head. Moses slaughters the ram, taking some of its blood and putting it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. Moses also presents Aaron’s sons and puts some of the blood on their right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Moses takes meat and bread and has Aaron and his sons wave these items before the Lord as a sign that they are offering them; however, the priests will later consume most of these items. Finally, Moses sprinkles anointing oil and blood from the altar on the priests and their clothing. The priests then spend seven days in the Tent of Meeting without leaving it to complete their consecration. Presumably, the priests will eat the bread and boiled meat from the sacrifices during that time.
What’s the point of all this? God wants His people to take His worship very seriously! God orders Moses to anoint the right ears, right thumbs, and right big toes of the priests so that they will hear His Word, do what He wants them to do, and go only where He wants them to go. Aaron and his sons are just as sinful as all the other Israelites, so they must undergo special rituals before they are qualified to minister before the Lord. God wants those men to remain in the Tent of Meeting for seven days so that they can commune with Him and consider their priestly calling.
APPLICATION: Those of you who are truly Bible scholars will realize that these descriptions constitute “Leviticus Light,” in other words, a very sketchy analysis of this chapter. Entire books have been written about the symbolism of these offerings; however, here I am trying to describe the main purposes of these rituals. I feel the main thrust of this chapter is that those who minister need cleansing from sin just as much as everybody else, if not more so. 1 John 1:8-10 tells us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
When I was a small child in Sunday School, we learned a song that said, “Oh be careful little eyes what you see.” If you look at the verses, you will realize they follow the pattern of anointing God has carried out in this chapter.
1 Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see, Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see. There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love, Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see.
2 Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear, Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear. There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love, Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear.
3 Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say, Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say. There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love, Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say.
4 Oh, be careful, little hands, what you do, Oh, be careful, little hands, what you do. There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love, Oh, be careful, little hands, what you do.
5 Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go, Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go. There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love, Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go.
Whether we are big or little, our Heavenly Father is still looking down in tender love. God wants everything we see, hear, speak, or do, and every place we go to honor Him. But we all fall short because we are human. Moses ritually slaughtered animals and sprinkled blood and anointing oil on the priests to consecrate them. But Jesus Christ has shed His blood on Calvary as the ultimate blood sacrifice. Our only remaining actions are to trust that Jesus has done this for us and to believe on Him.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord Jesus, we confess that we are sinners and that we cannot free ourselves from our sins. Help us to trust that You have paid the price for our sins. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In Your mighty and precious Name, Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment