FRAMEWORKS:
Exodus 29 :
Consecration of the Priests
v.1-4
Preparations
v.5-9
Appropriately Dressed
v.9-14
A Bull as a Sin Offering
v.15-18
A Ram as a Burnt Offering
v.19-22
One Ram to consecrate
v.23-25
Bread as a Wave offering & Burnt Offering
v.26-28
Further use of a Ram
v.29,30
Garments
v.31-34
Eating the Ram
v.35-41
The Offerings to be for this first week of consecration
v.42-43
Thereafter, a ‘burnt offering' for every day
v.44-46
This is the means for the consecration of the Tabernacle and
its use.
v.1-4
Preparations
v.1
“This
is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me
as priests: Take a young bull and two
rams without defect.
v.2
And
from the finest wheat flour make round loaves
without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive oil mixed
in, and thin loaves without yeast and brushed with olive oil.
v.3
Put
them in a basket and present them along with the bull and the
two rams.
v.4
Then
bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting
and wash them with water.
[Notes:
These three different offerings are presented to God,
signs of obedience to these instructions. The aim is to consecrate
or set apart as holy for God's use the priests.]
v.5-9
Appropriately Dressed
v.5
Take
the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod,
the ephod itself and the breast-piece. Fasten the ephod on him
by its skillfully woven waistband.
v.6
Put
the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban.
v.7
Take
the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.
v.8
Bring
his sons and dress them in tunics
v.9
and
fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The
priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance.
[Notes:
Aaron is to come wearing the apparel that has been previously
described.]
v.9-14
A Bull as a Sin Offering
“Then
you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
v.10
“Bring
the bull to the front of the tent of meeting,
and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
v.11
Slaughter
it in the Lord
's
presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
v.12
Take
some of the bull's blood and put it on the horns of the altar
with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the
altar.
v.13
Then
take all the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the
liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on
the altar.
v.14
But
burn the bull's flesh and its hide and its intestines outside
the camp. It is a sin offering.
[Notes:
To ordain or set apart Aaron and his sons into the service
of the priesthood, they first bring the bull to the front of the
tabernacle where the bronze altar is, and by laying their hands
on the bull they identify with it, and it with them. They are
there to slaughter it [in their place so to speak], taking its
blood and by dipping a finger in it, wipe it on the horns of the
altar. A life has been given to God to enable this altar now to
be used. The rest of the blood is to be poured away. The fat-covered
inner organs are then burnt on the altar, i.e. the working elements
of its body are given to God. The rest is taken outside the camp
and disposed of by burning. Figuratively the bull has taken the
sin of the priests and it has been partly offered to God and the
rest cast out.]
v.15-18
A Ram as a Burnt Offering
v.15
“Take
one of the rams, and Aaron and
his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
v.16
Slaughter
it and take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar.
v.17
Cut
the ram into pieces and wash the internal organs and the legs,
putting them with the head and the other pieces.
v.18
Then
burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering
to the Lord
,
a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.
[Notes:
One of the rams is slaughtered in the same way but its
blood is splashed on the sides of the altar. The ram's body is
then cut up, washed and then entirely burnt on the altar. A ‘burnt
offering' is simply an act of goodwill towards God, expressing
the desire to please God. Note it happened after the sin offering.
Sin was removed, the way now open for fellowship with God. The
seriousness of the process of coming to holy God is realised by
the giving of a life to figuratively remove sin and remove any
obstacle to coming to God, and then the giving of a life to enter
into the Lord's presence. The recognition that is being expressed
is that a sinner deserves to die but someone else has stepped
in to give their life – a picture of what the Son of God would
do, but obviously not understood for centuries.]
v.19-22
One Ram to consecrate
v.19
“Take
the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay
their hands on its head.
v.20
Slaughter
it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right
ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands,
and on the big toes of their right feet. Then splash blood against
the sides of the altar.
v.21
And
take some blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil and
sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their
garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.
v.22
“Take
from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat on the internal organs,
the long lobe of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them,
and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.)
[Notes:
So sin has been dealt with, fellowship [coming together]
established and now in the presence of the Lord, there is the
giving over of these men to God. The other ram is slaughtered
in the same way. The right side, hand etc. is always seen in scripture
as the side of authority and so now blood is put on their right
ears (sanctifying their hearing), the thumbs of their right hand
[sanctifying what they do] and on the big toe of their right foot
[sanctifying where they go]. Some of the blood plus some anointing
oil is sprinkled on them and on their clothes [blood conveys the
concept of life, oil conveys the Holy Spirit]. The are now consecrated,
set apart as holy for God's service. The fat from this animal
is removed].
v.23-25
Bread as a Wave offering & Burnt Offering
v.23
From
the basket of bread made without yeast, which
is before the Lord,
take one round loaf, one thick loaf with olive oil mixed in, and
one thin loaf.
v.24
Put
all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and have them wave
them before the Lord
as
a wave offering .
v.25
Then
take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with
the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the
Lord
,
a food offering presented to the Lord
.
[Notes:
They take the bread, wave it before God to show what
they are doing openly, and then they burn it on the altar. The
idea of the aroma of the burning bread ‘ascending to God' is of
doing something that seeks to bring a pleasurable experience.
[yes, God is not in the material world but all these things seek
to express a human intention to please and bless, admittedly at
the human level but that is all they have. By doing it, they convey
a heart intention.]
v.26-28
Further use of a Ram
v.26
After
you take the breast of the ram for Aaron's ordination, wave it
before the Lord
as
a wave offering, and it will be your share.
v.27
“Consecrate
those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his
sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented.
v.28
This
is always to be the perpetual share from the Israelites for Aaron
and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make
to the Lord
from
their fellowship offerings.
[Notes:
They similarly wave the breast of the ram, showing open
intention to please God, in preparation to eat it.]
v.29,30
Garments
v.29
“Aaron's
sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can
be anointed and ordained in them.
v.30
The
son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the tent of meeting
to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.
[Notes:
What has been done to the garments to sanctify them
for use before God, means these same garments can be passed down
to future generations of priest.]
v.31-34
Eating the Ram
v.31
“Take
the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place.
v.32
At
the entrance to the tent of meeting, Aaron and his sons are to
eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket.
v.33
They
are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their
ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because
they are sacred.
v.34
And
if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left
over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it
is sacred.
[Notes:
They cook the meat and eat it and the bread, as a ‘fellowship
offering' to convey sitting down at meal with God, one of the
ultimate signs of fellowship, harmony and unity. What is especially
important about eating this meat is that it is part of the same
meat used to deal with their sin [atonement] and by eating it,
they make it not only something used in an outward action, but
something taken right into their lives. What is left over must
be burned and no one else allowed to have it, nor they eat it
a second time.]
v.35-41
The Offerings to be for this first week of consecration
v.35
It is to be a week's process
v.35
“Do
for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking
seven days to ordain them.
Part
A: Atonement & Consecration
v.36,37
The bull that takes their sin is to be a daily offering for the
week
v.36
Sacrifice
a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the
altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate
it.
v.37
For
seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then
the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
Part
B: Fellowship
v.38-41
The two lambs (rams) one in morning, one in evening
v.38
“This
is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two
lambs a year old.
v.39
Offer
one in the morning and the other at twilight.
v.40
With
the first lamb offer 3.5
pounds (or about 1.6k)
of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of about
1 quart (or about 1 litre)
of oil from pressed olives, and the same of wine as a drink offering.
v.41
Sacrifice
the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering
and its drink offering as in the morning—a
pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to
the Lord.
[Notes:
The emphasis here is that this treble sacrificing is
to continue for the next week, although the sacrifice of the rams
will be split between morning and evening as if to ensure that
fellowship with God is emphasised throughout the day.]
v.42-43
Thereafter, a ‘burnt offering' for every day
v.42
“For
the generations to come this burnt offering
is to be made regularly at the entrance to the tent of
meeting, before the Lord.
There I will meet you and speak to you;
v.43
there
also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated
by my glory.
[Notes:
The fellowship offerings of two animals each day as
‘burnt offerings' are to become a continual practice at the Tabernacle.
See this reiterated in Num 28:1-8 with emphases on food offering,
pleasing aroma, as a burnt offering, plus a grain offering and
drink offering. It is like sharing a meal with the Lord.]
v.44-46
This is the means for the consecration of the Tabernacle and its
use.
v.44
“So
I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate
Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests.
v.45
Then
I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
v.46
They
will know that I am the Lord
their
God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among
them. I am the Lord
their
God.
[Notes:
This serious ceremonial is to be how the priests are
seen to be taken into holy service before God.]
Continue to Chapter 30