SERIES D --- YHVH’S TABERNACLE --- LESSON 05

A SPECIAL CALLING

THE CONSECRATION OF AARON AND HIS SONS

From Exodus 29

While Moses was with Adonai on the top of Mount Sinai, Adonai gave him instructions concerning the tabernacle and its furnishings. Adonai also gave these further instructions to Moses concerning Aaron and his sons, who would minister to Adonai in the tabernacle: [This is what I want you to do to consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests who will serve Me. Present to Me a young bull and two rams without blemish, along with a basket of unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil and unleavened wafers sprinkled with oil. Use only fine wheat flour to make the bread, cakes and wafers. Bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tabernacle and wash them there with water. Clothe Aaron with his robe, tunic, ephod, breastpiece and sash. Then put the turban with the golden plate on his head. Anoint him by pouring olive oil on his head. When this is done, dress his sons in their priestly clothes with their tunics, turbans, and woven sashes. You shall ordain Aaron and his sons to be My priests. When you have brought the young bull before the tabernacle, Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon its head. Then you will kill it before Adonai at the entrance to the tabernacle. Put some of the blood of the bull on the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour the rest at the base of the altar. Burn the fat from the inner parts, as well as the kidneys and the fat on them, upon the altar as a sin offering. As for the bull’s flesh, its skin, and its dung, take them outside the camp and burn them there. Next, take one of the rams and have Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon its head. Kill the ram and sprinkle its blood around the altar. Then cut the ram into pieces, wash the legs and inner parts, and burn all of these pieces, along with the head and other parts, on the altar. It is a burnt offering to Adonai, a pleasing aroma offered by fire to Adonai. Have Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the head of the other ram as it is killed. Collect its blood and put some of it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the tip of his sons’ right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the large toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the rest of the blood around the altar. Now take some of the dried blood from the altar and stir it into anointing oil. Sprinkle some of this mixed blood and oil upon Aaron and his sons and their garments, to show that they and their garments are consecrated to Adonai. Take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering its inner parts, the part attached to the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them. Put with these things a loaf of bread, a cake made with oil, and a wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is set before Adonai. Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they will wave them before Adonai as a sign that they are a special offering to Him. After they have waved these things before Adonai, take them from their hands and burn them upon the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to Adonai, offered by fire to Him. Wave the breast of this consecration ram to and fro before Adonai. Then keep it as your own, for it will be your portion at this ceremony. In future offerings the breast will be waved to and fro before Adonai and the shoulder will be heaved up and down before Adonai. This meat in future offerings will be for Aaron and his sons and will continue to be so in all offerings to come. The people of Israel will always give this portion of their offerings as a gift to Adonai, whether they are making a peace offering or a thanksgiving offering. Aaron’s sacred garments will pass on to the sons who succeed him, and they will wear them when they are anointed and ordained. This will be the practice from one generation to another. Whoever comes to this office of High Priest will wear these garments for seven days before he enters the tabernacle to serve Adonai in the Holy Place. Now concerning this first ceremony, boil the meat of the consecration ram in a sacred place. Aaron and his sons shall eat this meat, as well as the bread in the basket, at the entrance to the tabernacle. No one but them will be permitted to eat these things used in their consecration ceremony, for they are holy. Any food left over until morning must be burned and not eaten, for it is consecrated food. Consecrate Aaron and his sons exactly as I have instructed you. The ceremony shall go on for seven days, with a bull offered each day as a sin offering for atonement. Each day, during these seven days, purify the altar, making atonement for it and anointing it by pouring olive oil on it. The altar shall be a holy thing and everything that touches it shall be consecrated, or set apart, for YHVH. Each day you must offer upon the altar two lambs which are a year old. Offer one lamb in the morning, along with three quarts of fine flour mixed with three pints of oil pressed from olives and three pints of wine as a libation. In the evening offer the second lamb, with a similar cereal offering and libation, as a pleasant aroma to Adonai. This offering will be continued daily before Adonai at the entrance to the tabernacle. I will meet there with the people of Israel and sanctify the tabernacle with My glory. I will sanctify not only the tabernacle, but also the altar and Aaron and his sons who serve Me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their YHVH, so that they will know that I am Adonai who brought them from the land of Egypt. Yes, I am Adonai, their YHVH Elohiym.

COMMENTARY

SACRIFICE AT THE TABERNACLE

The Hebrew word for sacrifice; {zebach} {pronounced ze-BAG}; meant {slaughtered animal.} Among the Israelites, animals had been killed as sacrifices to YHVH since the time of Cain and Abel. Sometimes they offered flour, bread and the first fruits of the harvest as well. The pagan people around them also offered animals, but to their idol gods. The meat was thought of as food for the pagan gods, who were supposed to get hungry the way people do. Some of these neighbours believed the most highly prized offering they could make was the sacrifice of their own children. YHVH punished the Israelites at least twice by allowing them to be led astray and adopt the practice. Prophets like Ezekiel and Jeremiah cried out in protest against this, because YHVH had not allowed human sacrifice as part of His people’s worship. Adonai set forth His system of sacrifices when the priests of Israel were consecrated for the new tabernacle. There was to be a sacrifice at morning and at evening every day. These two were usually offerings of incense. Peace offerings and offerings to atone for sin had to be made, as well as sacrifices to give thanks, praise, or to express a promise, wish or desire. If the sacrifices were animals, they could be sheep, goats, bulls, pigeons or turtle doves. They almost always had to be male. And all the animals were required to be completely healthy in every way, unblemished, even without scars.

There were three exceptions to those two rules:

1 -- A red heifer; a young cow who had not yet given birth; was needed for the sin of murder;

2 -- Occasionally a peace offering could be made with a female animal;

3 -- Minor blemishes were allowed in offerings that were voluntary, not called for by religious Law.

Some offerings were completely burnt at the altar, particularly the important ones made on special holidays. Other offerings; ones and those of peace, thanks and of promise or desire; were shared among YHVH, the priest and the person making the sacrifice. The blood was poured out at the foot of the altar. The only exception to that was the sin offering. Then, the blood was taken into the tabernacle itself. The priest sprinkled it seven times on the veil of the Holy of Holies, and put some on the four corners of the altar of incense. He then returned to the courtyard, where he put more on the four horns of the sacrificial altar and poured the rest on the ground. Offerings of other things besides animals and incense were sometimes permitted. Israelites could bring unbaked wheat flour mixed with oil; the first fruits of a harvest, dry grain, bread mixed with oil and frankincense or baked unleavened bread without salt. Sometimes a little wine was thrown into the altar flames with the flour and bread.