Exodus 29:10-21 – we are cleansed, anointed and dedicated to serve God

In Exodus 29, God gave instructions for the ordination of Aaron and his sons. The first nine verses show specific details of how they should be washed and prepared for the ordination. Though they would be washed and dressed up looking good, they would only look good outwardly. What about the spiritual side of their life? They were still sinners after all. There would still be a disparity between their appearance and their inner condition that had to be dealt with. The guilt of their sin nature must be dealt with. Sacrifices had to be made to atone for their sinful nature before they could be consecrated for the role. So, in Exodus 29:10-21, three sacrifices were prescribed and they had to be carried out over seven days.

Exodus 29:10-14 describe the most important of the three sacrifices that must be carried out first. A bull was to be brought as a sin offering. It would be sacrificed at the courtyard outside the Tabernacle. Some of the blood of the bull would be taken and sprinkled on the horn of the altar of sacrifice. This act was to sanctify the altar and make it holy to God. Any sacrifice offered to God on the altar would then be accepted as an offering for the payment of sin. The uncleaned parts of the bull would be burned outside the camp. On the altar of sacrifice would be the rest of the animal offered as the atoning sacrifice. Before the bull was killed by Moses, the priests would gather around it and lay their hands on its head. In this act, they would be identified with the bull and their sin would symbolically be imputed to the bull. As the bull which they had laid their hands on was being burned, it would dawn on them that they were the ones that deserved to die. The penalty of sin would be death. But God had mercifully allowed a bull to die in their place as their substitute. This is pointing to Christ who had died in our place. His death on Calvary was the ultimate sacrifice. It should have been you and I that should have been punished. But God had mercifully sent Christ to take our guilty place and die in our stead. The offering of the bull shows that like everyone else, the priest also needed God to forgive their sins.  

In verses 15-18, we see the next sacrifice to be made. The first of two rams would be taken and as before Aaron and his sons would lay their hands on the head of the ram. Moses was to slaughter it and take its blood and sprinkle it around on the altar. The rest of the ram would be cut up into pieces with its entrails and legs. Then they would be put together with its head on the altar. Every part of the ram was to be wholly offered as a burnt offering by fire to the Lord. The smoke that arose would be a sweet aroma to the Lord. The offering of the whole ram offered as a burnt offering became the symbol that the priests had given their whole life as a total dedication to the Lord. Calvary, where Christ gave His life for us, is our first altar. There we give our life to Him. Then there must also be another altar, where we dedicate ourselves totally to the Lord to serve Him wholeheartedly.

Finally, in verses 19-21, the details of the third sacrifice were given. Like the previous two sacrifices, Aaron and his sons would lay their hands on the second ram, which would then be slaughtered. Its blood would then be taken and applied to the lobes of the right ears and the big toes of the right feet of Aaron and his sons. Then blood would be sprinkled on the altar on all sides. Some of the blood with the anointing oil would be sprinkled on Aaron and his sons and their garments. This act would complete its consecration. This last sacrifice was for the priest in particular as their ordination. It was to sanctify them for the holy service they would henceforth be performing. The blood of the bull justified them since they were sinners. The blood of the second ram sanctified them and got them ready for priestly service.   

The whole scene must be very bloody. Crimson blood was everywhere, on the altar, on the horn of the altar, on the right ear lobes, big toes of their right thumbs and big toes of their right feet and even their garments. They had been set apart for the priestly service. What’s more significant is that the whole act tells us that they were cleansed, dedicated, anointed and set apart for the priestly service. Like them, we believers of Christ have been cleansed by His precious blood. By being baptised we are identified through the washing of water. Then we are anointed by the treasured Spirit of God. Now we are dedicated and set apart to serve Christ in the world because we have been justified by Christ!