Exodus 29:1-21 NKJV 29 “And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). 3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.
4 “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water. 5 Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod. 6 You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8 Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.
10 “You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the base of the altar. 13 And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
15 “You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram; 16 and you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it all around on the altar. 17 Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head. 18 And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.
19 “You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. 20 Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. 21 And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.
Yet, again, just like the vestments, these Old Testament practices of purification and consecration, instituted by God, had their meanings. “Blood… on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons… on the thumb of their right hand… and on the big toe of their right foot” (v 20) The right ear emphasized hearing and obeying the Word of God. The right thumb signified that the priests were now pure to handle the holy things of God. The big toe on the right foot allowed the priests to walk on holy ground, pure before the Lord.
Oh, how relieved we New Testament pastors and lay people should be, in that our Ordinations and Installations do not have these bloody sacrifices to go through any longer. These are not necessary in the New Testament of Christ’s blood. For we have no such command as the Jews had long ago. “Christ is the end of the Law” (Rom 10:4). “The Law and Prophets prophesied until John,” Jesus said (Matt. 11:13). “The Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ,” says John the Baptist (John 1:17).
God consecrates the Aaronic priesthood to consecrate His people, who would be a kingdom of priests (19:6). Our High Priest, Jesus, set aside this older order of sacrifice to offer Himself once for all. “For He [Jesus] says “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb. 10:9-10) To this, we can respond: Thank You, Jesus!
Rejoice! For Christ’s perfect righteousness gets declared (accounted) unto us through faith alone. His blood now cleanses God’s believing baptized children. Through faith in Jesus, we can “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb. 10:22)
Let us pray: O Lord, ever-keep us believing in Your gracious promises of Holy Baptism through which You cover us with the forgiving blood of Your Son. Amen.