The children of Israel were called to be "a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation" (Exod 19:6). From among the Israelites God chose the family of Aaron for a special priesthood at the tabernacle and temple.
Moses would briefly serve as God's proxy to install Aaron and his sons into this priesthood. God laid out the details of the ordination procedure to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exod 29), and these details were carried out after the construction of the tabernacle (Lev 8).
The elaborate ordination would last for a week (v 35), during which time something important would be created---a new priesthood. Aaron would be anointed with oil (v. 6), making him an "anointed one", a messiah.
Several sacrifices were included in the process. There was a sin offering that would symbolically remove sin from Aaron and his sons and take it outside of the camp of Israel (vv 10-14). The instructions for this offering specify that the "long lobe of the liver" and the kidneys of the bull be burned on the bronze altar (v 13). Some commentators (e.g., Nahum Sarna) have observed that in the Ancient Near East, livers were often used for divination. One effect of the instructions in v. 13 is that this practice would not be adopted in Israel.
There would also be a burnt offering of a ram (vv 15-18) that would symbolize the total dedication to God that would be required of the priests.
Blood from a second ram would be applied to the right ears, right thumbs, and right big toes of Aaron and his sons (vv 20-21). The priests would listen to the people, act for their good, and walk among them. They were to be dedicated to God in every aspect of their lives.
Questions are raised by the last sentence in verse 37: "Whatever touches the altar shall become holy." Here the meaning probably is not that profane things become holy by coming in contact with the altar. Haggai 2:10-14 indicates that impurity spreads through contact, but that holiness does not. Instead, the meaning may be that the only things that should come in contact with the altar are those that are already holy.
Chapter 29 ends by repeating the purpose of the tabernacle and its service, emphasizing God's desire to dwell among his people. Exodus 25:8 and Exodus 29:45-56 form a pair of bookends setting off chapters 25 through 29.
In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on August 7, 2021, Rob Wilson reflected on what it means to be consecrated to serve God in a sinful world, as Aaron was and as we are today. I John 2:20-27 discusses the anointing with the Holy Spirit that Christians receive.
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