Leviticus 8:22-30 – Totally surrendered for His service

The second ram brought by Aaron and his sons was taken and used for the peace offering. Like what they did to the other ram, Aaron and his sons would lay their hands on the head of this second ram as well. Moses, as the officiating minister, then slaughtered it. Few things took place after the ram was slaughtered. Firstly, Moses took some of the blood and applied it on the right ear lobe, the right thumb and right big toe of Aaron. He also did the same for Aaron’s sons before the rest of the blood were sprinkled around the altar.

Secondly, verses 25 said Moses “…took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right thigh”. In verse 26, he also took from the unleavened basket of cakes, an unleavened cake, a cake of bread mixed with oil and a wafer. Together with the fats and what was taken from the basket of unleavened bread, Moses put them into the hands of Aaron and his sons to wave them as a wave offering to God.

Thirdly, Moses would also take all that they had waved to the Lord and “offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering.” The right thigh of the animal that was being offered was normally the portion of the priest, but since they were presenting the offering for themselves, they dedicated it to God. And fourthly, Moses took for himself the breast of the ram of the wave offering that would usually be given to the priest. Since he was officiating the offering, that portion was given to him.   

Finally in verse 30, “Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.”

The outstanding feature in the whole proceeding was the application of the blood of the slaughtered ram on the right ear lobes, right thumbs and right big toes of Aaron and his sons. This signifies that everything had to be dedicated to the Lord’s service. Their ears must be quick to listen to the Word of God; their hands must be ever ready to do the work of God, and their feet must be ever ready to move wherever God bids them serve. While the application of the blood was just one aspect of the whole activity, it was by way of saying that all that they were had to be offered for God's service. This is a lesson for us too. We must be totally yielded and surrendered to serve God.