The consecration of the priests
29
📚“And this is what you shall do to them to set them apart to serve me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 2 📚and bread made without yeast, and cakes without yeast, mixed with oil, and wafers without yeast, spread with oil. You shall make them with wheat flour. 3 📚And you shall put them in one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams. 4 📚And you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall wash them with water.29:4 Ex 40:12; Lev 8:6. This washing was different from the daily washing the priests were to do in the laver (Ex 30:18-21). Christ fulfilled this type at His baptism (Matt 3:13-17). It was then that He entered into His ministry. As regards believers, the priests of the New Testament, this washing speaks of the washing of regeneration (1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26; Titus 3:5). The daily washing in the laver signifies the cleansing of the believer when he sins (Ps 51:2, 7; John 13:5-10; Heb 10:22; 1 John 1:9). Christ, the sinless Son of God, needed neither regeneration nor daily washing from sin. His baptism fulfilled the picture of Aaron the High priest and identified Him with His people. Note on Christ’s baptism at Matt 3:13.⚜
5 📚And you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and fasten them to him with the waistband of the ephod. 6 📚And you shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 📚Then shall you take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.
29:7 Ex 30:25; Lev 8:12; 21:10; Num 35:25; Ps 133:2-3. The Lord Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit immediately after His baptism (Matt 3:13-17; Acts 10:38).⚜
8 📚And you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 📚And you shall fasten them to them with sashes, to Aaron and his sons, and put the caps on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by a permanent ordinance. And so you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
10 📚“And you shall have a bull brought before the tabernacle of the congregation, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull.
11 📚And you shall kill the bull in the LORD’s presence, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 12 📚And you shall take some of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. 13 📚And you shall take all the fat that covers the inner parts, and the upper lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 📚But you shall burn with fire the flesh of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, outside the camp. It is a sin offering 📖.
15 📚“You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. 16 📚And you shall slaughter the ram, and shall take its blood, and sprinkle it all around on the altar. 17 📚And you shall cut the ram in pieces, and wash its inner parts, and its legs, and put them with its other pieces, and with its head. 18 📚And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering 📖 to the LORD. It is a soothing aroma 📖, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
19 📚“And you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. 20 📚Then you shall slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the large toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar.
29:20 This signified that they were cleansed and sanctified completely from head to foot.⚜
21 📚And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him. And he and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him, will be consecrated.
22 📚“You shall also take the fat and the rump of the ram, and the fat that covers the inner parts, and the upper lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and the right shoulder (for it is a ram for ordination), 23 📚and from the basket of bread made without yeast, that is in the LORD’s presence, take one loaf of bread, and one cake made with oil, and one wafer, 24 📚and put all of this in Aaron’s hands, and in the hands of his sons, and wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 📚Then you shall take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma before the LORD. It is an offering made by fire to the LORD. 26 📚And you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it as a wave offering before the LORD, and it will be your part.
27 📚“And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the lifted up offering, what was waved and which was presented from the ram for the consecration, that is, from what is for Aaron, and from what is for his sons, 28 📚and it shall belong to Aaron and his sons, an offering from the children of Israel by a permanent ordinance. For it is an offering lifted up. It shall be an offering lifted up from the children of Israel from the sacrifice of their peace offerings, their lifted up offering to the LORD.
29 📚“And Aaron’s holy garments shall belong to his sons after him, for their anointing in them, and their ordination in them. 30 📚And that son who becomes priest in his stead shall put them on for seven days, when he comes into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the Holy Place.
31 📚“And you shall take the ordination ram and boil its flesh in a holy place. 32 📚And Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 33 📚And they shall eat those things with which atonement 📖 was made at their ordination and consecration. But a stranger shall not eat of them, because they are holy. 34 📚And if any of the meat of the consecration ram, or any of the bread, remains until morning, you shall burn that remainder with fire. It must not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 📚“And so you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. You shall take seven days to ordain them.
29:35 We can learn something from the order of the ritual in the ordination of the priests. Remember that the priests of the Old Testament signify all of Christ’s believers now. The order was washing (v 4), dressing in holy garments, which speak of Christ’s righteousness (v 8), application of blood to ear, hand and foot, signifying the whole person (v 20), sprinkling of the anointing oil, which speaks of the Holy Spirit (v 21), offering of the burnt offering, which speaks of full dedication to God (vs 22-25), appointing the food of the priest – sacrifices which speak of Christ (vs 26-34). Now believers are regenerated (Titus 3:5), dressed in Christ’s righteousness (1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21), sanctified by Christ’s blood (Heb 13:12), anointed by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 1:21-22; 1 John 2:20) and find their spiritual food in Christ (John 6:53-63). And they are to offer themselves to God (Rom 12:1-2).⚜
36 📚And each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. And after you have made atonement for the altar, you shall cleanse it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it. 37 📚For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. And it will be a most holy altar. Whatever touches the altar shall be holy.
The Daily Offerings
38 📚“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year day by day regularly. 39 📚One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. 40 📚And with the one lamb offer a tenth of an ephah 📖 of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin 📖 of pounded olive oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering 📖. 41 📚And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and shall do to it as to the meat offering in the morning, and as its drink offering, for a soothing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
42 📚“This shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. There I will meet you and speak with you. 43 📚And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle will be sanctified by my glory.
44 📚“And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar. I will also sanctify both Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 📚And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
29:45 Note at Ex 25:8.⚜
46 📚And they will know that I am the LORD their God who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, so that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.