Exo 29:1-37 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Exod 29:1-37: 29:1-37 Moses was required to consecrate (or sanctify ) Aaron and his sons to serve the Lord. This emphasis on making the priests holy is found throughout the ceremonies (29:6 , 21 , 28 , 29 , 34 , 36 , 37 ). They were set apart not merely for service, but to serve a God whose nature is utterly different from that of fallen, sinful humans. The report of how these instructions were carried out is found in Lev 8 . 29:1 with no defects: The same word is translated “blameless” and “perfect” in reference to human and divine behavior (e.g., Gen 17:1 ; Ps 18:30 , 32 ). The sacrifice is representative of God’s own character and the character he seeks in humans.

Summary for Exod 29:1-37: 29:1-37 ^a Moses was required to consecrate (or sanctify) Aaron and his sons to serve the Lord. This emphasis on making the priests holy is found throughout the ceremonies (29:6 ^b, 21 ^c, 28 ^d, 29 ^e, 34 ^f, 36 ^g, 37 ^h). They were set apart not merely for service, but to serve a God whose nature is utterly different from that of fallen, sinful humans. The report of how these instructions were carried out is found in Lev 8 ⁱ. 29:1 ^j with no defects: The same word is translated “blameless” and “perfect” in reference to human and divine behavior (e.g., Gen 17:1 ^k; Ps 18:30 ^l, 32 ^m). The sacrifice is representative of God’s own character and the character he seeks in humans.
29:4 ⁿ wash them with water: This act dramatized the truth that no one can live in God’s presence with the filth of sin in their lives (29:21 ^o).
29:7 ^p The anointing oil empowered a person for a task through the Holy Spirit (see Isa 61:1 ^q).
29:9 ^r forever: The fulfillment of this promise, as with the one to David, clearly leads beyond the merely human. Aaron’s own behavior was less than sterling (e.g., ch 32 ^s; Num 11 ^t), and the behavior of his sons and descendants was no better (1 Sam 2:12-17 ^u; Isa 28:7 ^v; Ezek 8:15-16 ^w; Mal 2:1-9 ^x). The promise could only find its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ (see Heb 7:26 ^y; 9:11 ^z).

• To ordain (literally to fill the hands) means to give a person a task to perform.
Summary for Exod 29:10-34: 29:10-34 ^aa The consecration of the priesthood of Aaron involved a sin offering (29:10-14 ^ab), a burnt offering (29:15-18 ^ac), and an ordination offering (29:19-28 ^ad). The same patterns established here are expanded to the regular offerings of the people (see 29:38-46 ^ae; Lev 1–5 ^af). In all three cases, Aaron and his sons lay their hands on [the] head of the sacrificial animals (Exod 29:10 ^ag, 15 ^ah, 19 ^ai), indicating that sin is a matter of life and death, and that it can only be removed by a death. Because it represents life, blood is prominent in these ceremonies (29:12 ^aj, 16 ^ak, 20 ^al, 21 ^am).
29:13 ^an The fat was considered the best part and so was given to God.
29:14 ^ao The remains represented what was unclean in human behavior.

• sin offering: See Lev 4 ^ap.
Summary for Exod 29:15-18: 29:15-18 ^aq The next offering was a gift of thanks to God; it also represented the complete giving of oneself to God.
29:18 ^ar pleasing aroma: Such language is anthropomorphism, describing God with human terms and experiences. God’s delight in an appropriately offered sacrifice is like a human’s enjoyment of a pleasing smell.
Summary for Exod 29:19-28: 29:19-28 ^as This ordination offering is very similar to the peace (or fellowship) offering later described in Lev 3 ^at. The fat was burned as a gift to the Lord, but the breast and the thigh, after having been dedicated to the Lord by lifting them up before him (29:24-26 ^au), became the portion for the priests to eat (29:26-28 ^av). In the regular peace offering, the remainder of the meat was to be eaten by the person making the offering in a fellowship meal (Lev 7:11-18 ^aw), as the priests did here (Exod 29:31-34 ^ax).
Summary for Exod 29:20-21: 29:20-21 ^ay The placing of the blood on the earlobes, thumbs, and big toes represented dedication of the entire person to God. Sprinkling it on their clothes indicated that the clothing, too, could be used only for holy purposes.
29:30 ^az The descendant who succeeds him: Each succeeding high priest was to be ordained in the same way.
29:31 ^ba This sacred place was probably in the courtyard of the Tabernacle.
Summary for Exod 29:32-34: 29:32-34 ^bb Eating in the presence of the Lord signified an intimate relationship with him (as in 24:9-11 ^bc).
29:33 ^bd their purification: Or their atonement. Traditionally, atonement has been described as a “covering over.” Some more recent commentators seek to derive the term from another Semitic root (which does not occur elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible) and thus arrive at “blot out, erase, or cleanse.” In either case, the effect is the same: Persons and objects are made capable of surviving in God’s presence because of a negation of the effects of their sin.
29:37 ^be As with the priests, the altar was to be made holy so it could be used in service of the holy God.