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Exodus 29:10–14

“You shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting” (Ex. 29:10–11).

When the Lord gave the instructions to Moses for ordaining Aaron and his sons as the priests of Israel, He told him to take a bull, two rams, and some unleavened bread and cakes (Ex. 29:1–2). Importantly, these were not things that Aaron and his sons themselves procured. In other ancient Near Eastern religions, the priesthood could be bought and sold, given to the person who brought the best offering. But things were to be different in Israel. Because Aaron and his sons did not bring the sacrifices for their ordination themselves, they could never claim that they had purchased their priesthood or that they were priests because of something that they did. Instead, God established Aaron and his sons as priests. As Hebrews 5:4 reminds us, no one rightfully takes the honor of the priesthood for himself but must be called by the Lord to the office of priest.

Today’s passage explains what was to be done with the bull when it came time to ordain the priests. The rituals described in Exodus 29:10–14 are similar to the rites for the sin offering that we read about in Leviticus 4, so we can see that the offering of the bull in the priestly ordination functioned as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the priests. Since this was the first sacrifice performed in the process of ordination, we learn that before the priests could be ready to offer sacrifices on behalf of others, they first had to have sacrifices offered for themselves. The priests had to be holy to do holy work, and this anticipates the coming of Jesus as our perfect High Priest who could offer the final atonement of sin because He had no sin of His own that needed to be covered (see Heb. 7:27; 9:1–10:18).

During the ordination ceremony, Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull (Ex. 29:10). In so doing, they identified themselves with the bull, almost certainly confessing their sins while their hands were on the animal (see Lev. 5:1–5; 16:21). Thus, the sins were symbolically transferred to the bull, which was killed in place of the priests who were undergoing consecration (Ex. 29:11). In other words, the bull was the substitute, bearing the penalty that Aaron and his sons deserved. Next, blood was smeared on the horns of the altar of sacrifice and poured out on its base, making it a fit place for the atoning sacrifices of Israel (Ex. 29:12). The animal’s fat, considered its best portion, was given to God by burning, and the rest of the bull was disposed of outside the camp (Ex. 29:13–14).

Coram Deo Living before the face of God

The old covenant priests were sinners set apart for the work of God by sacrifice. We, too, are sinners, and if we are set apart to God through the sacrifice of Christ, then the Lord can use us to accomplish His work. Every Christian should seek to fulfill his or her calling, knowing that our Creator is pleased to use those whom He has set apart by sacrifice.


For Further study
  • Leviticus 8:1–17
  • Ephesians 5:2

    Washing and Clothing the Priests

    Shepherding through Catechesis

    Keep Reading Lost Virtues

    From the October 2022 Issue
    Oct 2022 Issue