Exodus · chapter 29 of 40
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Exodus 29 explains how Aaron and his sons would be consecrated as priests: washed with water, clothed, anointed with oil and with the blood of sacrifices, over seven days of ordination. It also describes the daily offering of two lambs, one in the morning and one at twilight, and promises that God will dwell among Israel and be their God.
Exodus 28 introduced the priests' garments. Exodus 29 explains the ritual by which Aaron and his sons would be set apart for the Lord's service. The ordination lasts seven days and combines washing, clothing, anointing and sacrifices, to show that no priest approaches God by his own merit but by what God himself provides.
The chapter begins with the elements of the consecration: a young bull, two rams without blemish, unleavened bread, cakes mixed with oil and wafers. Moses washes Aaron and his sons with water at the entrance of the tent of meeting, clothes Aaron with the tunic, the robe, the ephod, the breastpiece and the turban with the holy crown, and anoints him by pouring oil on his head. Then he clothes his sons.
The sacrifices are made in order. Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the head of the bull, which is offered as a sin offering. The first ram is burned whole as a burnt offering. The second is the ram of ordination: its blood is put on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons, and blood is sprinkled on the altar and, mixed with anointing oil, on them and their garments. Part of the meat and bread presented is eaten by the priests, and no one else may eat it.
The process lasts seven days, and each day a bull is offered as a sin offering and the altar is purified. Then the daily offering is established: every day, morning and twilight, a lamb a year old is offered with flour, oil and wine. God promises to meet the Israelites there, to consecrate the tent and the altar, to dwell among them and be their God, so that they will know he is the Lord who brought them out of Egypt.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Aaron and his sons are washed with water at the entrance of the tent of meeting before they are clothed. Cleansing comes before service: no one serves God without first being made clean.
The blood of the ram is put on the right ear, hand and foot of the priests. Their whole being, what they hear, what they do and where they walk, is consecrated to God.
Every day, morning and twilight, a lamb is offered. Israel's worship was constant and did not depend on mood; the altar was never left without an offering.
God promises to dwell among Israel and be their God, so that they know he brought them out of Egypt precisely to live with them. It is the purpose of the whole Exodus and of the tabernacle.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Moses washed them with water. — Exodus 29:4
Answer: The anointing oil was poured on his head. — Exodus 29:7
Answer: It was burned whole on the altar as a burnt offering to the Lord. — Exodus 29:15-18
Answer: On the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big toe of the right foot. — Exodus 29:20
Answer: Seven days. — Exodus 29:35
Answer: Two lambs a year old, one in the morning and one at twilight, every day. — Exodus 29:38-39
Exodus 29 teaches that serving God begins with being cleansed and consecrated by him. Before any task, the priests were washed, clothed and covered with blood. Someone who teaches or leads today can remember that his ability to serve comes from God's grace, not from his own merit, and can ask in prayer which area of life needs to be surrendered again.
The daily offering shows the value of constancy. Morning and evening, without fail, Israel drew near to God. A group can think of concrete habits, prayer at the start and end of the day, Bible reading and thanksgiving, that sustain fellowship with God even when the feeling is absent.
Exodus 29 ends with the greatest promise of the book: God will dwell among Israel and be their God. Chapter 30 adds other elements of worship: the altar of incense, the atonement money, the bronze basin and the anointing oil.
The text does not give a direct explanation, but the image is clear: ear, hand and foot stand for hearing, doing and walking. The blood set them apart for God and meant the priest was wholly consecrated to his service.
It was the offering consumed entirely on the altar. It expressed total surrender to God and served to make atonement. Here the first ram is given whole on behalf of the priests.
Hebrews teaches that Christ is the perfect high priest and that his sacrifice does not need to be repeated, unlike Israel's daily offerings. The New Testament sees in the tabernacle sacrifices a shadow of what Christ fulfilled.