Consecrated and Ordained for God

Introduction

Last week as we worked through the final verses regarding God’s instructions to Moses for the fabrication of the priestly clothing we were told in that Moses Exodus 28:41 “shall anoint [Aaron and his sons] and ordain them and set them apart as holy, that they may minister to Me as priests.” and I told you that as we moved into chapter 29 we would be fleshing out exactly what God’s command to Moses entails. As we move from chapter 28 to 29 we see a shift take place in the commands. We have reached the point where the instructions move from building and clothing specifications, to instructions regarding practices. As we move through the remainder of Exodus we will see these instructions give way to obedience as we witness the Israelites, led by Moses, obey exactly as God has commanded them.

Along the way, we will see a few more commands regarding objects, but the predominant focus will be the instructions regarding the institution of the priesthood and the operation of the tabernacle itself. As we approach this, the first thing that God commands Moses regarding is the way in which the priests, both the high priest and the ordinary or common priests, would be formally instituted into service.

Over the next few weeks as we work through this set of instructions we will see the cleansing, anointing and investiture of the priests, the sin offering, the burnt offering, the ordination offering, the instructions regarding the work of the priests, all culminating in the fulfillment of the purpose of God brining His people out of the land of Egypt, so that He may dwell among them. This morning, however we will focus on the opening verses of chapter 29. In these verses we will see the commands regarding gathering the materials for the purpose of setting the priests apart, the ceremonial washing of the priests, and finally their investiture, anointing and ordination.

We are also going to be supplementing our reading from Exodus with a few verses from Leviticus. The instructions we see laid our for us in Exodus 29 are detailed in Leviticus chapters 8 and 9, so over the next few weeks as we work in Exodus 29 we will also be pulling text from Leviticus 8-9. So, as we prepare for the reading of God’s word, turn in your Bibles to Leviticus 8, put your finger there and turn back to Exodus 29, we will be reading verse 1-9 in Exodus, then we will flip over and read verses 1-13 in Leviticus 8.

Text

Stand for the reading of God’s Holy, Authoritative, Complete, Sufficient, Inerrant, and Infallible Word:

Exodus 29:1–9 LSB

“Now this is what you shall do to them to set them apart as holy to minister as priests to Me: take one bull from the herd and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. “And you shall put them in one basket and bring them near in the basket along with the bull and the two rams. “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons near to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. “And you shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod and the ephod and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod; and you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. “Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. “And you shall bring his sons near and put tunics on them. “You shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and bind caps on them, and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. So you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

Leviticus 8:1–13 LSB

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” So Moses did just as Yahweh commanded him. Then the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded to do.” Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near and washed them with water. And he put the tunic on him and girded him with the sash and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him. He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it and set them apart as holy. And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the laver and its stand, to set them apart as holy. Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to set him apart as holy. Next Moses brought Aaron’s sons near and clothed them with tunics and girded them with sashes and bound caps on them, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Gracious Heavenly Father, as we enter into Your presence this morning fill us with an acute awareness of Your holiness. Recall to our minds the precious truth of who You are; Creator and Sustainer of all things. Lord as we gather here in this place for worship today, it is our prayer that we would respond to You calling our hearts into true worship of the One true God. We are thankful that You, before the foundation of the world, chose to redeem us as Your people. Lord I ask that by Your Spirit that the message for Your people in this place to day is in accordance with Your Holy Word. Lord we ask all of this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Gather the Materials

The opening statement of God in both of these passages is to command Moses to gather the materials that will be needed to obey the command that God has given. We will address each of the different items in more detail as we come to their uses throughout the chapter. That the section begins with the command to gather the materials before beginning the ritual is one of practicality and preparation, so that once the ceremony begins it proceeds through to completion without distractions or interruptions. The work that is to be undertaken here is one that is serious and as such should receive the focus and attention that it deserves. Later in verse 35 of Exodus chapter 29 we read Exodus 29:35 ““Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you shall ordain them through seven days.” There is some disagreement around if this means that the entire ceremony proceeds over seven days or if the entire ceremony is repeated for seven days, either way it speaks to the seriousness that God has placed on this work of setting apart and consecrating the priesthood.

While we are certainly not being called to gather these materials and conduct our own seven day ceremony, the fact that this command introduces us to this text does in fact teach us a biblical principle that we see carried throughout scripture and that is one of preparation. Romans 12:1–2 “Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Renewing our mind is a form of preparation.

In Peter’s first letter to believers he writes 1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and fear,”. In Proverbs 24:27 we read “Establish your work outside And make it ready for yourself in the field; And afterwards, you shall build your house.” Both of these refer to the preparation that we as believers should undergo so that we are prepared to do the work that we have been called to do.

One of the results of the charismatic movement within Christendom is the teaching that preparation and order prevent the Holy Spirit from working. This is a lie and is absolutely of the enemy. At no place, in all of scripture, do we see God performing in a matter that is chaotic. If we pay close attention to the commands that are given to the Israelites here in scripture regarding the tabernacle, the commands given regarding the Passover, the commands given later to separating the tribes of Israel into their places around the tabernacle, and on and on, we see, very definitively that God is the very opposite of chaos and very much the God of order.

The arguments will point to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples in the New Testament, the sign gifts, those gifts that served as evidence of the authority of the apostles. But what we see is not some random chaotic movement, but a gift or gifts given for the purpose of furthering the progression of the gospel as it spread beyond Jerusalem and into the world. All of scripture testifies to the ordered, prepared, worship of God by His people, according to His commands.

Worthy Offerings

We also see in the first verse the necessity that the offerings to be made to God are both costly to His people and perfect in His sight. First, note that these are domesticated animals. They hold value and serve a purpose among the people and as such the sacrifice of these animals comes at a price. Think about it in terms of what it would costs today, one bull, is not only valuable for the meat that it contains, but also for the number of offspring that it can produce. A typical farm will have a bull to cow ratio of somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:25. If the meat from one bull is worth a thousand dollars, imagine if that bull, over the course of his life, sired 25 calves a year for the five years or so that they are used for this purpose,, that’s 125 cows, at $1,000 each, bringing the value of that one bull to $125,000 in today’s economy. Recall if you will that earlier we went down to verse 35 which seems to indicate that this ritual is to be repeated daily for 7 days, this means in today’s economy the value of this sacrifice totals to somewhere around $875,000.

However, it wasn’t just that the sacrifice was to be costly to them, it also was to be without blemish. We read in Malachi chapter 1 regarding the corruption within the priesthood around this particular command. It reads Malachi 1:6-10

Malachi 1:6–10 LSB

“‘A son honors his father, and a slave his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is the fear of Me?’ says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ “You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of Yahweh is to be despised.’ “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Please, bring it near to your governor! Would he accept you? Or would he lift up your face?” says Yahweh of hosts. “But now, entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us! With this thing which is from your hand, will He lift up any of your faces?” says Yahweh of hosts. “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not light a fire on My altar in vain! I have no delight in you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand.

There are two things that this command should do in the hearts of God’s people. The first is to remind us that only in Christ can the true fulfillment of this be found. As we have read before in Hebrews, the earthly priesthood was insufficient in that it could never perfectly atone for the sins of the people of God, this was something that only the perfection found in Christ could satisfy. So the command for the perfection of the sacrifices calls us to look forward to the only one that could truly be the perfect sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we look at this command, however, we should also see, especially when we study the words of the prophet Malachi, that we as the people of God have a responsibility towards guarding the truth, notice that God says through Malachi, Malachi 1:10 ““Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not light a fire on My altar in vain!…” It was better, in God’s eyes that the gates of the temple be shut and the fires of the altar extinquished than for an improper sacrifice to be offered. Now, obviously, again we are not being called to continue the same type of sacrifice that the Israelites were, but note what Romans 12:1 says again “Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Our lives, our worship, all that we do is presented to the Lord as a sacrifice and that sacrifice is called to be holy, or set apart, to God and PLEASING to God. Anything less than your complete submission to Him according to the work He has performed in you is not what He calls us to.

Verse 2 and 3 continue with the listing of items that Moses is to bring in preparation for this ceremony of consecration and ordination and as I said earlier we will deal with the fullness of each of these as we come to their usage in the ceremony. This brings us down to verse 4.

Cleansed with Water

Hopefully you recall from our study through the specifications that God gives regarding the tabernacle that there were three major parts of the tabernacle compound, the wall surrounding the tabernacle, the courtyard and then the tent of meeting. The tent of meeting consists of two sections, the holy place and the Holy of Holies. You may also recall that there was only one entrance to the tent of meeting from the courtyard, it was here that God commanded Moses to perform this ceremony. This help to draw the line for the people distinctly between the common space in the courtyard and the prohibited space beyond that was set aside only for those specifically set apart by God, called according to the purpose of serving Him as priests.

Once this ceremony is completed and the priests have been duly consecrated for service to God, He would command that they only need to wash their hands and feet in the laver of bronze. In Exodus 30:17–21 we read “And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. “And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; when they come into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to Yahweh. “So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his seed throughout their generations.”” As we come to this passage we will study the laver in depth but we also need to understand that the washing that God is speaking of here is not the same.

This washing is a complete washing of Aaron and his sons that represents a removal of all defilement. This is especially important, given that the command to bring them in Hebrew tells us that this was not just a matter of bringing them to this particular place, but one of presenting them to God, in the same way that the sacrifices mentioned in verse 1-3 were to be presented to God. If you will recall, Exodus 28:41 ““You shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall anoint them and ordain them and set them apart as holy, that they may minister to Me as priests.” This is a command of consecration, meaning that Aaron and his sons were being set aside in totality for service to God in the tabernacle. For God and for God alone. Matthew Henry writes:

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Exodus 29:1–37

The work to be done was the consecrating of the persons whom God had chosen to be priests, by which they devoted and gave up themselves to the service of God and God declared his acceptance of them; and the people were made to know that they glorified not themselves to be made priests, but were called of God,

This is done prior to being clothed in the garments that were commanded by God to be worn. This demonstrated for the people that the priests were, ceremonially at least, fully cleansed for service before God. It was only by following the commands given by God that the priests were deemed acceptable to serve. By keeping this truth continually before God they were reminded that it took complete obedience to be able to enter into the presence of God and to minister to Him. This again should call to mind the truth of God’s holiness.

Please do not misunderstand me, we need to remember that because of the imputed righteousness of Christ we have the ability to boldly approach the throne of grace in prayers and supplications. It is right for us as believers to walk in confidence of that truth, to know who we are, because of Christ’s work, but it is equally important that in walking in this truth we are also continually reminded of the majestical, beautiful, awe inspiring Holiness of the Lord God Almighty. That it is only by grace alone, through faith alone that we are robed in the righteousness of Christ and declared just in His sight. Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,”

Clothed in Righteousness

At the completion of the ritual washing, Aaron was to be brought before God first. As he stood before God and the people he was ceremoniously dressed by Moses, again serving the role of mediator between God and man. This symbolizes the investiture of God’s authority into the person of the high priest the one person who was called and set aside by God to perform specific duties that no other could perform. As a reminder, it was only the high priest who could enter into the holy of holies, after proper preparation and following specific instructions, to make the atonement for the sins of the people by sprinkling the blood on the mercy seat. This is a point that we have labored as we worked through the individual items of clothing and as such should simply be a reminder for us of the perfect righteousness of Christ that allowed Him to serve as sacrifice of blood necessary for the remission of sins, but also our Great High Priest, who alone continues to represent us before the throne of God the Father.

Anointing

This brings us down to verse 7. In verse 7 Moses is commanded Exodus 29:7 ““Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.” We will encounter the anointing oil in chapter 30 but for the sake of our study here this morning let us read Exodus 30:22-33

Exodus 30:22–33 LSB

Moreover, Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “But as for you, take for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh 500 shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, 250, and of fragrant cane 250, and of cassia 500, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. “And you shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. “And with it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand. “You shall also set them apart as holy, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. “And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and you shall set them apart as holy, that they may minister as priests to Me. “And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. ‘It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same specifications; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ‘Whoever shall mix any like it or whoever puts any of it on a layman shall be cut off from his people.’”

From the final verse of this description we should get an understanding of how God views the use of this oil. To anoint someone was to continue to demonstrate the authority that had been invested in him by God. To define the person as holy, to ensure that they are seen as set apart. In 1 Samuel we see an encounter where David has the opportunity to end Saul’s life and stop Saul’s relentless search to seize and kill him. In that encounter however we read these words: 1 Samuel 24:4-7

1 Samuel 24:4–7 LSB

Then the men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which Yahweh said to you, ‘Behold, I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good in your eyes.’” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. And it happened afterward that David’s heart struck him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of Yahweh that I should do this thing to my lord, the anointed of Yahweh, to send forth my hand against him, since he is the anointed of Yahweh.” And David tore his men to pieces with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.

Although Saul was most assuredly not obedient to God, was not doing what was right in the Lord’s sight, because he had been anointed, set apart, chosen by God to fulfill a purpose in His plan, David saw him as sacrosanct, or protected from destruction, by anyone other than God Himself.

The high priest, especially, was set apart as holy, clothed in righteousness, and protected by God. There is a great truth here that should be seen and understood to the fullest extent possible. If we look at the account in scripture regarding the crucifixion of Christ we see plenty of opportunity to place the blame for His death on so many. We could blame the Jewish leadership, after all, it was at their insistence that Jesus be arrested and tried for crimes against the Roman Empire, they would also later accuse Him of blasphemy which was punishable by death. We could look to the Romans, who were the ones who actually carried out the unjust sentence of nailing Christ to the cross. We could call the names of Pilot or Herod for allowing the mockery of justice to continue. We can point to the common people, who urged on by their leaders and their own thirst for blood, cried out Crucify Him, Crucify Him. We could look at Adam, whose sin against God brought upon us all the curse, we can even look to ourselves, after all it was for our sin that He suffered, bled and died… BUT to look to any of those places, to name any of those as the person or people to blame for the death of Christ is to completely misunderstand what it meant to be the anointed one. That term, is the literal translation of the word Messiah. The anointed one, the one that was sacrosanct, set apart by God, protected by God and ultimately put to death by God, not for anything that He had done but for what we had done. How beautiful the words we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

In our churches today we have defiled the word anointed. There are those who would use this term for self promotion, to elevate the ordinary to the extra-ordinary. That God has called some believers to serve in roles of greater responsibility, I have no doubt. Here is some truth for you, however, just because some believers have been given the gift and responsibility to shepherd the flock and preach the Word, does not elevate us from the ordinary. If you will notice, the anointing was reserved here for Aaron, the high priest. Later we will see the clothing of all the priest anointed, but verse 7 is not talking about the clothing it is talking about the man. My personal conviction regarding this word anointed is that when we use it to describe ourselves or others, we are elevating ourself to a position above ordinary, we are giving ourselves the title of Anointed, we are calling ourselves extra-ordinary. The only time we see the word anointed used in the New Testament referring to believers is the common gift given to all believers, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, it is not a title for a singular individual. The Lord Jesus was and is the only one to bear that title as the true Messiah, the Christ.

Conclusion

In closing, as we consider the ordination of the priests, we must not view these commands as ancient ritual without present relevance. The preparation, the cleansing, the clothing, the anointing—each element reveals not only God’s holiness but also what He requires of those who would serve Him.

Believer, while you are not called to serve as a Levitical priest, you are called to present your life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. You have been washed—by the blood of Christ. You have been clothed—in His righteousness. You have been anointed—not with oil, but with the indwelling Spirit of God. And this is not symbolic only—it demands real obedience.

The call to holiness is not merely about avoiding sin; it’s about being intentionally set apart for God’s service. Just as the priests were prepared beforehand to minister before the Lord, so you must prepare your heart, your mind, your life—to live for His glory.

This preparation begins in the ordinary rhythms of life: in how you pray, how you speak, how you serve in your home, your church, your workplace. Are you offering God your best, or are you giving Him what is convenient, easy, or leftover?

Let me ask you directly: If your life is now the offering, and your body the temple, what preparation are you making to offer yourself wholly to God?

God is not honored by casual worship or half-hearted service. He is worthy of a people consecrated in every way.

So, are you living as one who has been set apart?

Let that question search you this week—and let your answer be reflected in your pursuit of holiness, your love for Christ, and your obedience to His Word.

Closing Prayer

Gracious and Holy Father,

We come before You humbled by the weight of Your Word and the call to live as those who have been set apart. You are worthy of reverent worship, wholehearted obedience, and sacrificial living. And yet, Lord, we confess our need—we are weak and often distracted.

So we ask now: strengthen us by Your Spirit. Cleanse our hearts daily by the renewing power of Your Word. Clothe us in humility, cover us with Christ’s righteousness, and teach us to walk in obedience. Help us to offer our lives as holy sacrifices—pleasing to You in every thought, word, and deed.

Let us not be content with partial devotion. Stir our hearts with holy fear and joyful love, that we may serve You with sincerity and truth.

Do in us what we cannot do for ourselves. Conform us fully to the image of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.