‘Let Aaron your brother be brought to you from among the Israelites, with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so that they may serve me as priests.
Aaron, his kids, his grand kids, his great grand kids and so on, were always priests. That was to be their life.
2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honour.
So they wouldn’t confuse him for anybody else.
3 Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so that he may serve me as priest.
A visual sign that God had set Aaron and company apart for His own purposes.
4 These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may serve me as priests. 5 Make them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.
Would you sweat in those?
6 ‘Make the ephod of gold,and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen – the work of skilled hands.
The ephod goes on first and covers all of you before you put the other pieces on.
7 It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so that it can be fastened. 8 Its skilfully woven waistband is to be like it – of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.
9 ‘Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth – six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. 13 Make gold filigree settings 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.
That feels like it would be heavy, but God knows what He’s doing.
15 ‘Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions
You wear this over top of the ephod.
– the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 16 It is to be square – a span long and a span wide – and folded double. 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
22 ‘For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 23 Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. 24 Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 25 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 26 Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 28 The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.
29 ‘Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. 30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.
Getting more difficult to walk around in those. God doesn’t just call us to do easy things in our lives.
31 ‘Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for the head in its centre. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. 33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. 34 The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate round the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.
Also helps the other people waiting outside to know whether the priest is still alive or not. Again, God doesn’t want to kill anyone. God has given very specific instructions and warnings as to how to behave before Him so that He won’t have to kill anyone. The priests know what they are getting themselves into. It’s a role that must be taken seriously.
36 ‘Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. 37 Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.
In order for everything to be made right before the Lord, Aaron had to carry the guilt of Israel in there.
39 ‘Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. 40 Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honour. 41 After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.
Anointing involves putting olive oil on their heads. A visual sign that they were set apart for the Lord.
42 ‘Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.
I stand corrected, these would go on first before the Ephod. You don’t want your parts touching all the gold. There’s nothing right about that in any context.
‘This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants.
This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests: take a young bull and two rams without defect.
Not having a defect as an animal set it apart and made it holy. This was important in those times where even if the animals without defects Israel still had to keep sacrificing lambs, bulls, rams, doves to cover for their sins. Eventually, when Jesus shows up as a human, and also fully God at the same time, He becomes the perfect lamb of God. The once for all time sacrifice, dying on the cross for our sins once and for all time. Not only that, but Jesus is raised to life Something humans can’t do for themselves with imperfect animals over and over. This moment ended the need for temporary animal sacrifices. Jesus, the high priest, the sacrificial Lamb of God. Perfectly blameless, takes on the sin of the whole world once and for all time. I guess what i’m trying to say is, there’s foreshadowing here. It’ll be a while, but it’s going to happen. These guys won’t get to see it, but the pronise of Genesis 3 will be fulfilled.
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
2 And from the finest wheat flour make round loaves without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves without yeast and brushed with olive oil. 3 Put them in a basket and present them in it – along with the bull and the two rams.
That’s a lot of meat, and a lot of time finding high quality wheat. Sin is serious. So are the consequences.
4 Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
That was what it took to be clean enough to go to the places in the tabernacle where they needed to be.
5 Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skilfully woven waistband. 6 Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. 8 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics 9 and fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance.
When you’re a priest, you don’t have to dress yourself. Interesting. I like the emphasis about the skillfully woven waistband. They have no worries of anything being out of place or falling down or being embarrassed.
‘Then you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
It usually involved pouring olive oil on their heads.
10 ‘Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
Part of setting the bull apart for the Lord’s purposes.
11 Slaughter it in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.
The one time when touching blood is OK.
13 Then take all the fat on the internal organs, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its intestines outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
God only liked the smell of certain parts.
For a better explaination of this part, check this out.
15 ‘Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 16 Slaughter it and take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. 17 Cut the ram into pieces and wash the internal organs and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces. 18 Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.
No separate fires for this one.
19 ‘Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 20 Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then splash blood against the sides of the altar.
The third sacrifice began by taking the other ram. As with the bull in the first sacrifice and the first ram, Aaron and his sons were required to lay their hands on the head of the ram, allowing them again to identify with the animal, that it was dying instead of them.
After laying their hands on the head of the ram, the priests were to slaughter the ram. Then, they were to take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the lobes of his sons’ right ears. The ears needed to be cleansed to prepare them to hear the word of God.
They were also to put blood on the thumbs of their right hands. The thumbs were used in accomplishing the work of ministering before the LORD and thus needed cleansing. Also the big toes of their right feet. This was done to cleanse their walk before the LORD and also be a visible witness to the people on how to conduct themselves as His people.
Lastly, they needed to sprinkle the rest of the blood around on the altar. Using the same blood on the altar identified Aaron and his sons as the ones that could approach the altar.
Learn more here, where I got the quote in the first place.
21 And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.
And also soaked.
22 ‘Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat on the internal organs, the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.) 23 From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the Lord, take one round loaf, one thick loaf with olive oil mixed in, and one thin loaf. 24 Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. 25 Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord, a food offering presented to the Lord. 26 After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron’s ordination, wave it before the Lord as a wave offering, and it will be your share.
27 ‘Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. 28 This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.
There’s an incredible amount of detail here because this was really important to get right at the time.
29 ‘Aaron’s sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.
This shows how well these garments were made, if they can be worn for generations to come. Everything the Lord does is high quality. Even if we don’t notice it at first.
31 ‘Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. 32 At the entrance to the tent of meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. 33 They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred. 34 And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred.
Cooked meat is good meat. This particular meal is only good for one sitting.
35 ‘Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them. 36 Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement.
Seven bulls.
Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. 37 For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
There is no mention of how much olive oil was used in this process. I imagine it was a lot. It’s important, so it’s worth it.
38 ‘This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. 39 Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight. 40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning – a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.
Ongoing sacrifices for the sins of the people of Israel. Two lambs per day. This is how seriously God takes sin. We have Jesus now, so we don’t have to do this anymore, but that was even more serious. We’ll get there in a while.
42 ‘For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. There I will meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.
I bet those were super cool moments.
44 ‘So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
God is not far away. Not even at all.
46 They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
Super cool.
Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense.
Another altar.
2 It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high –
One meter is basically 2 cubits
Cubits to feet: number of cubits x 1.5.
its horns of one piece with it. 3 Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold moulding around it. 4 Make two gold rings for the altar below the moulding – two on each of the opposite sides – to hold the poles used to carry it. 5 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law – before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law – where I will meet with you.
No expense was spared for this one either.
7 ‘Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so that incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.
This helped with the smell after all the sacrifices.
9 Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.’
Aaron was a busy guy.
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 ‘When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted.
Ransom is not kidnapping in this case. It’s much more positive. Like Abraham’s tithing. This builds on that.
Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord.
The age of mature adulthood. Adulthood started at 13 then.
15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.’
About $6. It was probably worth more back then.
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 ‘Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die.
You can’t go in there being all dirty.
Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die.
That also makes it less likely that the food is dirty. The Lord deserves clean food. (Among many other things)
This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.’
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 ‘Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 24 500 shekels of cassia –
Shekels were also used to measure weight.
A shekel is about 10 grams or 0.31 oz. It’s so much easier to measure the weight in metric in this situation.
all according to the sanctuary shekel – and a hin of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 26 Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, 27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.
30 ‘Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, “This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula.
God has the patent.
It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.”’
The sacred anointing oil was only for the priests.
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take fragrant spices – gum resin, onycha and galbanum – and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.’
It’s a good smell to be sure, but it’s more important than that. Don’t just use it willy nilly.
Scripture Discussed: Exodus 28 through Exodus 30
IIWAC: Exodus Priests
Aaron, his kids, his grand kids, his great grand kids and so on, were always priests. That was to be their life.
2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honour.
So they wouldn’t confuse him for anybody else.
3 Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so that he may serve me as priest.
A visual sign that God had set Aaron and company apart for His own purposes.
4 These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that they may serve me as priests. 5 Make them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.
Would you sweat in those?
6 ‘Make the ephod of gold,and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen – the work of skilled hands.
The ephod goes on first and covers all of you before you put the other pieces on.
7 It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so that it can be fastened. 8 Its skilfully woven waistband is to be like it – of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.
9 ‘Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth – six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. 13 Make gold filigree settings 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.
That feels like it would be heavy, but God knows what He’s doing.
15 ‘Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions
You wear this over top of the ephod.
– the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 16 It is to be square – a span[a] long and a span wide – and folded double. 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper.[b] Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
22 ‘For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 23 Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. 24 Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 25 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 26 Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 28 The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.
29 ‘Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. 30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.
Getting more difficult to walk around in those. God doesn’t just call us to do easy things in our lives.
31 ‘Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for the head in its centre. There shall be a woven edge like a collar[c] around this opening, so that it will not tear. 33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. 34 The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate round the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.
Also helps the other people waiting outside to know whether the priest is still alive or not. Again, God doesn’t want to kill anyone. God has given very specific instructions and warnings as to how to behave before Him so that He won’t have to kill anyone. The priests know what they are getting themselves into. It’s a role that must be taken seriously.
36 ‘Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. 37 Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.
In order for everything to be made right before the Lord, Aaron had to carry the guilt of Israel in there.
39 ‘Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. 40 Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honour. 41 After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.
Anointing involves putting olive oil on their heads. A visual sign that they were set apart for the Lord.
42 ‘Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.
I stand corrected, these would go on first before the Ephod. You don’t want your parts touching all the gold. There’s nothing right about that in any context.
‘This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants.
This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests: take a young bull and two rams without defect.
Not having a defect as an animal set it apart and made it holy. This was important in those times where even if the animals without defects Israel still had to keep sacrificing lambs, bulls, rams, doves to cover for their sins. Eventually, when Jesus shows up as a human, and also fully God at the same time, He becomes the perfect lamb of God. The once for all time sacrifice, dying on the cross for our sins once and for all time. Not only that, but Jesus is raised to life Something humans can’t do for themselves with imperfect animals over and over. This moment ended the need for temporary animal sacrifices. Jesus, the high priest, the sacrificial Lamb of God. Perfectly blameless, takes on the sin of the whole world once and for all time. I guess what i’m trying to say is, there’s foreshadowing here. It’ll be a while, but it’s going to happen. These guys won’t get to see it, but the pronise of Genesis 3 will be fulfilled.
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring[a] and hers;
he will crush[b] your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
2 And from the finest wheat flour make round loaves without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves without yeast and brushed with olive oil. 3 Put them in a basket and present them in it – along with the bull and the two rams.
That’s a lot of meat, and a lot of time finding high quality wheat. Sin is serious. So are the consequences.
4 Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
That was what it took to be clean enough to go to the places in the tabernacle where they needed to be.
5 Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skilfully woven waistband. 6 Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. 8 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics 9 and fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons.[a] The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance.
When you’re a priest, you don’t have to dress yourself. Interesting. I like the emphasis about the skillfully woven waistband. They have no worries of anything being out of place or falling down or being embarrassed.
‘Then you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
It usually involved pouring olive oil on their heads.
10 ‘Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
Part of setting the bull apart for the Lord’s purposes.
11 Slaughter it in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.
The one time when touching blood is OK.
13 Then take all the fat on the internal organs, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its intestines outside the camp. It is a sin offering.[b]
God only liked the smell of certain parts.
For a better explaination of this part, check this out.
15 ‘Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 16 Slaughter it and take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. 17 Cut the ram into pieces and wash the internal organs and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces. 18 Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.
No separate fires for this one.
19 ‘Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 20 Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then splash blood against the sides of the altar.
Learn more here, where I got the quote in the first place.
21 And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.
And also soaked.
22 ‘Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat on the internal organs, the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.) 23 From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the Lord, take one round loaf, one thick loaf with olive oil mixed in, and one thin loaf. 24 Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. 25 Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord, a food offering presented to the Lord. 26 After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron’s ordination, wave it before the Lord as a wave offering, and it will be your share.
27 ‘Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. 28 This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.
There’s an incredible amount of detail here because this was really important to get right at the time.
29 ‘Aaron’s sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.
This shows how well these garments were made, if they can be worn for generations to come. Everything the Lord does is high quality. Even if we don’t notice it at first.
31 ‘Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. 32 At the entrance to the tent of meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. 33 They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred. 34 And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred.
Cooked meat is good meat. This particular meal is only good for one sitting.
35 ‘Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them. 36 Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement.
Seven bulls.
Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. 37 For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
There is no mention of how much olive oil was used in this process. I imagine it was a lot. It’s important, so it’s worth it.
38 ‘This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. 39 Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight. 40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah[c] of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin[d] of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning – a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.
Ongoing sacrifices for the sins of the people of Israel. Two lambs per day. This is how seriously God takes sin. We have Jesus now, so we don’t have to do this anymore, but that was even more serious. We’ll get there in a while.
42 ‘For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. There I will meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.
I bet those were super cool moments.
44 ‘So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
God is not far away. Not even at all.
46 They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
Super cool.
Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense.
Another altar.
2 It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high[a] –
One meter is basically 2 cubits
Cubits to feet: number of cubits x 1.5.
its horns of one piece with it. 3 Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold moulding around it. 4 Make two gold rings for the altar below the moulding – two on each of the opposite sides – to hold the poles used to carry it. 5 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law – before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law – where I will meet with you.
No expense was spared for this one either.
7 ‘Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so that incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.
This helped with the smell after all the sacrifices.
9 Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering[b] for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.’
Aaron was a busy guy.
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 ‘When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted.
Ransom is not kidnapping in this case. It’s much more positive. Like Abraham’s tithing. This builds on that.
Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel,[c] according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord.
The age of mature adulthood. Adulthood started at 13 then.
15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.’
About $6. It was probably worth more back then.
17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 ‘Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die.
You can’t go in there being all dirty.
Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die.
That also makes it less likely that the food is dirty. The Lord deserves clean food. (Among many other things)
This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.’
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 ‘Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels[d] of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels[e] of fragrant calamus, 24 500 shekels of cassia –
Shekels were also used to measure weight.
A shekel is about 10 grams or 0.31 oz. It’s so much easier to measure the weight in metric in this situation.
all according to the sanctuary shekel – and a hin[f] of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 26 Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, 27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.
30 ‘Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, “This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula.
God has the patent.
It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.”’
The sacred anointing oil was only for the priests.
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take fragrant spices – gum resin, onycha and galbanum – and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.’
It’s a good smell to be sure, but it’s more important than that. Don’t just use it willy nilly.
Scripture Discussed: Exodus 28 through Exodus 30