Exodus 29

Today’s reading outlines the way in which the priests were consecrated (or set apart) to God. This process started with the priests being washed by water, as they needed to be cleansed before serving the Lord (v. 4). For us, before any service is rendered to God, let us be sure we are first washed clean by the atoning work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Next, the priests were properly clothed, not by their own doing, but by others who draped them in God’s specified regalia (vv. 5-9). As a royal priesthood, we are clothed in Jesus’s righteousness, which alone makes us fit for this role. 

The priests were then commanded to put their hands on a provided sacrifice, confessing their sin and acknowledging that the animal would be offered as a substitute in their stead (v. 10). Likewise, before we are set apart as priests to God and His people, we must confess our sins and receive the truth that Jesus died a death that we deserve. 

Blood from the sin offering was then spread on the horns of the altar (v. 12). “The idea behind the ancient Hebrew word for altar is essentially, ‘killing-place.’ The ancient altar — a place of death — was made holy and was consecrated to God. Like that ancient altar, the altar of the New Covenant — the cross — is transformed from a place to death to a place set apart to bring life.”[i]

Following the sin offering, the priests were to offer another sacrifice—this time burning a whole ram on the altar (v. 18). This burnt offering would be a pleasing aroma to the LORD, similar to how, when we offer our entire bodies to God as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), He is pleased with our intentional decision to live for Him alone.   

God then instructs the priests to do the following with another ram: “you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons’ garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him” (vv. 20-21). 

The blood of the sacrifice on their bodies was to constantly remind the priests of what it cost to be made holy before God. And of the blood and oil spread on their priestly garments, Matthew Henry says, “We reckon that the blood and oil sprinkled upon garments spot and stain them; yet the holy oil, and the blood of the sacrifice, sprinkled upon their garments, must be looked upon as the greatest adorning imaginable to them, for they signified the blood of Christ, and the graces of the Spirit, which constitute and complete the beauty of holiness, and recommend us to God.”[ii]Brothers and sisters, let us be thankful for God’s great gift of Jesus’s blood, while also being grateful for the Holy Spirit who now lives in us.

After this second ram was killed and its blood was spread on the priests and the altar, God gave specifications for it to be presented as a wave offering (acknowledging its dedication to the One who provided it), then instructed the priests to consume the ram. Again from Matthew Henry, “Their eating of the things wherewith the atonement was made signified their receiving the atonement,…their thankful acceptance of the benefit of it, and their joyful communion with God thereupon, which was the true intent and meaning of a feast upon a sacrifice.” Friends, let us not just believe in Jesus’s sacrificial atonement for the forgiveness of our sins, but also embrace the joyful communion with our Creator that His blood has secured for us. 

The method by which a new priest was to be consecrated lasted seven days (v. 35). During that week, a bull was to be sacrificed daily as a sin offering (v. 36), thus reminding the priest (and the Israelites) that animal sacrifices were not a permanent remedy for their sin.  Speaking of daily sacrifices, the priests were tasked with offering lambs as sacrifices each day and night as a regular burnt offering to the LORD (vv. 38-42). This was to remind the people that offering themselves wholly to God was not a one-time event, but rather a daily lifestyle. 

Chapter 29 closes with some noteworthy truths about God. First, the LORD says in verse 44, “I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.” We must never forget that all our best efforts, valuable as they may be, cannot sanctify us. Only God can do so. And lastly, God reminds His people several times in the last few verses that He will dwell with them and be their God (vv. 45-46). In the midst of a somber set of directives, what a comforting reminder from God that He is with His people and desires to be in relationship with them. 

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Journal responses to the following prompts:

·       How can you consistently remind yourself of what it cost to be forgiven by, reconciled to, and consecrated to God? 

·       Do you offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice daily? What does that process look like for you? 

[i] Study Guide for Exodus 29. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved March 20, 2026, from 

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/exodus/exodus-29.cfm

[ii] Henry, M. (2014). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible. (Vol. 1). Hendrickson Publishers. p.