CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Exodus 29
Chapter 29 of 40
Chapter Overview
What happens in Exodus 29
God gives instructions for the seven-day ceremony to set apart Aaron and his sons as priests. Sacrifices are offered, blood is applied, and God promises to dwell among His people.
Scripture
Exodus 29
Preparing for the Ordination
Study note
The ordination ceremony required a bull and two rams without defects, along with bread, cakes, and wafers made without yeast. Aaron would be washed, dressed in the priestly robes, and anointed with oil. His sons would also be dressed and set apart for service.
1 "Here is the ceremony for setting Aaron and his sons apart as holy priests. Get a young bull and two male sheep — all of them without any defects." And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,
2 "Use the best wheat flour. Make bread with no yeast. Make flat cakes with no yeast, mixed with olive oil. Make thin wafers with no yeast, brushed with olive oil." And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
3 "Arrange them all in a basket and present the basket, along with the bull and the two rams." And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.
4 "Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and bathe them with water." And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
5 "Then get the priestly robes and dress Aaron — first the tunic, then the robe, then the priestly vest, and then the breastpiece. Secure the vest around him with its expertly woven belt." And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:
6 "Place the turban on his head and attach the sacred crown to the front of the turban." And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
7 "Take the anointing oil and pour it over his head to consecrate him." Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
8 "Then bring his sons forward and put tunics on them." And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
9 "Wrap sashes around both Aaron and his sons, and put head coverings on the sons. Being a priest will be their permanent right by this ordination ceremony. Through these steps, you officially install Aaron and his sons as priests." And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
The Sin Offering and Burnt Offering
Study note
The bull was offered as a sin offering to purify the altar. Its blood was placed on the horns of the altar and the rest poured at its base. The first ram was offered as a burnt offering, completely burned on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
10 "Lead the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and his sons must place their hands on the bull's head." And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
11 "Slaughter the bull in the Lord's presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting." And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
12 "Dip your finger in some of the bull's blood and apply it to the horns of the altar. Pour the remaining blood out at the base of the altar." And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
13 "Remove all the fat surrounding the internal organs, the lobe covering the liver, and both kidneys along with their fat. Burn all of it on the altar." And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
14 "The rest of the bull — its meat, hide, and waste — must be burned outside the camp. This is a sin offering." But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.
15 "Bring one of the rams. Aaron and his sons must place their hands on the ram's head." Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
16 "Slaughter the ram, collect the blood, and splash it against all four sides of the altar." And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
17 "Butcher the ram into sections. Wash the internal organs and the legs, and arrange them alongside the head and the rest of the pieces." And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.
18 "Burn the complete ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord — a fragrance that pleases him, an offering presented by fire." And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
The Ram of Ordination
Study note
The second ram was for ordination. Blood was placed on the right earlobes, right thumbs, and right big toes of Aaron and his sons, symbolizing that their hearing, work, and walk were now dedicated to God. Parts of the ram and bread were placed in their hands and waved before the Lord.
19 "Bring the second ram. Aaron and his sons must place their hands on this ram's head." And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
20 "Slaughter this ram. Take some of its blood and dab it on the right earlobe of Aaron and each of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Splash the rest of the blood against all four sides of the altar." Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
21 "Take some blood from the altar along with some anointing oil and sprinkle the mixture on Aaron and his clothing, and on his sons and their clothing. This will make them and their clothing holy." And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
22 "From this second ram, take the fat, the fatty tail, the fat coating the organs, the lobe of the liver, both kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh. This is the special ram used for the ordination ceremony." Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:
23 "From the basket of unleavened bread sitting before the Lord, take one round loaf, one oil-mixed flat cake, and one thin wafer." And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:
24 "Put all of this into the hands of Aaron and his sons. Then have them wave it back and forth before the Lord as a special wave offering." And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.
25 "Take everything back from their hands and burn it all on the altar on top of the burnt offering. It is a sweet fragrance before the Lord — an offering made by fire." And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
26 "Take the breast portion of the ordination ram and wave it before the Lord as a wave offering. This portion is set aside for you." And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part.
27 "Set apart the breast of the wave gift. Set apart the thigh that was lifted up too. These parts come from Aaron's special ram. They were waved and given to God." And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:
28 "These portions will permanently belong to Aaron and his sons as their share from the Israelites. It is a contribution the Israelites give to the Lord from their peace offerings." And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.
Daily Offerings and God's Promise
Study note
The ordination ceremony lasted seven days. God also established the daily burnt offering of two lambs — one in the morning and one in the evening. God made a powerful promise: He would dwell among the Israelites and be their God. The entire purpose of the Exodus was so God could live among His people.
29 "Aaron's holy clothing must be handed down to his descendants. Future priests will wear them when they are anointed and officially installed." And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.
30 "The son of Aaron who takes his place as priest must wear these clothing for seven days. He must wear them when he starts serving in the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place." And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.
31 "Take the ordination ram and cook its meat in a location that is set apart as holy." And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.
32 "Aaron and his sons must eat the meat of this ram along with the bread from the basket, right at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting." And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
33 "Only they may eat these consecrated items — the food used to make atonement during their ordination. No one else is permitted to eat any of it, because it is sacred." And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
34 "If any of the ordination meat or bread remains uneaten by morning, you must burn the leftovers. It cannot be consumed because it has been set apart." And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 "Do everything I have told you about Aaron and his sons. The whole process of setting them apart takes seven days." And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
36 "Each day, sacrifice one bull as a sin offering to make things right. Purify the altar through this atonement process, and anoint the altar to make it holy." And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.
37 "Keep doing this for the altar over seven full days, setting it apart as completely holy. After this, the altar will be so holy that anything touching it becomes holy too." Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
38 "Here is what must be offered on the altar as a daily routine: two one-year-old lambs each day." Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
39 "Present one lamb in the morning and the second lamb in the evening." The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
40 "With the morning lamb, bring a grain gift too. Use two quarts of the finest flour. Blend it with one quart of pressed olive oil. Also pour out one quart of wine as a drink gift." And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
41 "Present the second lamb at twilight with the same flour offering and drink offering as the morning sacrifice. It will be a pleasing aroma to the Lord — a gift presented by fire." And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
42 "This daily burnt offering must continue at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, generation after generation, before the Lord. That is the place where I will meet with you and talk to you." This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
43 "I will meet the Israelites at that place, and my glory will make it holy." And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
44 "I will set apart the Tent of Meeting and the altar as holy. I will also set apart Aaron and his sons to minister before me as priests." And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
45 "I will make my home among the Israelites and be their God." And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
46 "They will understand that I am the Lord their God, the one who brought them out of Egypt for this very purpose — to live among them. I am the Lord their God." And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
Key Themes
Themes in Exodus 29
Consecration and ordination for holy serviceThe necessity of sacrifice before serving GodAnointing with oil as a sign of God's SpiritGod's promise to dwell among His people
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Exodus 45-46 John 1:14
God's promise 'I will dwell among the Israelites' finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, who 'became flesh and dwelt among us.'
Apply This Today
Living Exodus 29
Before Aaron could serve as priest, he had to be washed, clothed, and anointed. God does not send us into service unprepared. He cleanses us, equips us, and empowers us by His Spirit. Whatever God calls you to do, He will prepare you for it — you do not have to manufacture your own readiness.
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