The consecration of the priests

Lite commentary

Exodus 29 gives the instructions for setting apart Aaron and his sons as priests. The passage belongs to Israel’s life under the Mosaic covenant at Sinai. Israel has already been redeemed from Egypt, and now God provides the priesthood and sacrifices by which a holy God can dwell among a sinful people in the tabernacle.

The chapter begins with the materials required for ordination: a bull, two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread and cakes made with oil. Aaron and his sons are brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting, washed with water, clothed in priestly garments, and anointed. These actions show that priestly ministry is not taken up by personal ambition. It is given by God, marked by holiness, and carried out according to his command. The priesthood is also established as a perpetual ordinance within Aaron’s family under this covenant arrangement.

The sacrificial sequence is carefully ordered. First, the bull is offered as a purification offering. Its blood is applied to the altar, the rest is poured out at the base, and the remains are burned outside the camp. This displays the removal of impurity from the sacred sphere. Second, the first ram is offered as a burnt offering, wholly given to the Lord as a pleasing aroma. Third, the second ram is the ram of consecration. Its blood is placed on the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe of Aaron and his sons. The text does not explain the symbol in detail, but the most responsible reading is that the whole priestly person is set apart for obedient hearing, faithful action, and a consecrated walk before God.

Blood from the altar is also mixed with anointing oil and sprinkled on the priests and their garments. This joins cleansing and consecration together. The priests are not merely officials wearing special clothing; they and their garments are made holy for service to the Lord.

The food rites are also integral to the ceremony. Portions of the ram and bread are placed in the priests’ hands and waved before the Lord. A wave offering is a presentation to Yahweh, after which authorized portions are distributed according to his command. Aaron and his sons eat holy food connected with the atonement made for them, but no one else may eat it. Any leftovers must be burned, because holy things cannot be treated as common.

The consecration lasts seven days. Each day a bull is offered for atonement, and the altar itself is purged and set apart as holy. Atonement here includes cleansing or purging for holy service. This shows that sin defiles, and even the altar used in worship must be consecrated before regular service can begin. When the text says that anything touching the altar will be holy, it speaks about the altar’s consecrated status in the sanctuary, not about a magical power in physical contact.

The priestly office is also prepared for future generations. Aaron’s holy garments are to belong to his sons after him, and the priest who succeeds him is to wear them for seven days when he first comes to minister in the Holy Place. This reinforces that the Aaronic priesthood is hereditary and ordered by God within the Mosaic covenant.

The chapter ends by moving from the ordination of the priests to Israel’s regular worship. Every day, morning and evening, a year-old lamb is to be offered with grain and drink offerings. This continual burnt offering forms the daily rhythm of worship at the entrance of the tent of meeting. The climax comes in God’s repeated promises: he will meet with Israel, speak there, sanctify the tent, altar, and priests, dwell among the Israelites, be their God, and make them know that he is the Lord who brought them out of Egypt. The goal of all these detailed rites is not ritual for its own sake, but covenant fellowship with the holy Redeemer who lives among his people.

Key truths

• God’s holiness requires that access to him come through his appointed means, not human invention.
• Consecration means being set apart as holy for Yahweh’s exclusive service.
• The Aaronic priesthood was God-given, hereditary, and consecrated for Israel’s tabernacle worship under the Mosaic covenant.
• Atonement and cleansing are necessary because sin defiles people and sacred space.
• The priests were set apart wholly for God in their hearing, action, and walk of obedient service.
• Holy food, holy garments, holy space, and holy offerings had to be treated according to God’s command.
• The daily offerings show that Israel’s worship required continual sacrifice before the Lord.
• God’s purpose in redemption was not only to bring Israel out of Egypt, but to dwell among them and be known as their God.

Warnings, promises, and commands

• Aaron and his sons must be washed, clothed, anointed, and consecrated according to God’s command.
• The bull, rams, bread, blood, oil, garments, and priestly portions must be handled as holy things, not as common objects.
• Only the ordained priests may eat the holy food from the consecration rite; leftovers must be burned.
• The consecration of the priests and altar must continue for seven days.
• Aaron’s holy garments are to pass to his sons, and each succeeding priest must wear them for seven days when entering ministry.
• Israel must offer the continual burnt offering every morning and evening throughout their generations.
• God promises to meet with Israel, speak to them, sanctify the tent and altar, dwell among them, be their God, and make them know him as the Lord who redeemed them from Egypt.

Biblical theology

This passage establishes the Aaronic priesthood and sacrificial system as part of Israel’s covenant life at Sinai. It shows that God’s presence among his redeemed people requires holiness, mediation, and atonement. The repeated rites, sinful priests, and continual sacrifices later help explain the need for a greater and final priest and sacrifice, fulfilled in Christ. Yet Exodus 29 first speaks of Israel’s actual priesthood, altar, and tabernacle worship under the Old Covenant, and that original covenant role must not be erased.

Reflection and application

• We should not use this chapter as a direct manual for Christian ordination or worship rituals; it belongs to Israel’s Aaronic priesthood and tabernacle service.
• The passage teaches us to approach God with reverence, remembering that nearness to him is a mercy made possible by atonement.
• Those who serve God in leadership should learn from the priests that ministry is holy service under God’s command, not a platform for self-importance.
• The repeated sacrifices remind us of the seriousness of sin and the greatness of God’s provision for fellowship with his people.
• God’s promise to dwell among Israel encourages us to see redemption as more than rescue from bondage; God saves in order to make himself known and live among his people.