The Ram of Consecration and The Cereal Offerings (Exodus 29:19-26).
Sin having been dealt with and self-dedication and worship having been offered the consecration now continues.
“And you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, then you shall kill the ram, and take of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and cast the blood on the altar round about. And you shall take of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his clothing, and on his sons, and on the clothing of his sons with him, and he shall be sanctified, and his clothing, and his sons, and his sons' clothing with him.”
This offering bears the signs of being a Peace Offering (Exodus 29:28 compare Leviticus 3:1-17 with its similarities), although certainly an unusual one. Again identification is made with the beast by the laying on of hands, and the blood is shed, but this time the blood is applied differently. Instead of being applied to the horns, the upper extremity of the altar, it is applied to the extremities of the offerer, the ear (the highest bare extremity, the head is covered), the thumb (the outer extremity) and the big toe (the lowest extremity). The idea is to stress that the whole of the man is involved. It may also well be that the idea is that the ear, which is to hear the voice of God, the hand which is to do His will, and the foot that is to walk in His ways, are also in mind, and to be seen as dedicated to Yahweh.
The applying of the shed blood stresses that they are now cleansed and consecrated to Yahweh. The same blood is then offered to Yahweh by being cast at the foot of the altar, emphasising that the life has been given and the blood has been shed.
But then the blood is taken and mingled with the anointing oil and these are sprinkled on Aaron and his sons, and all their clothing. The purpose is both to cleanse them and to sanctify them and their clothing, to set them apart to Yahweh as holy and for His use. Thus are they made at peace with God. The oil demonstrates that they are fully dedicated to Yahweh for His will, and the blood that they are fully cleansed for this purpose. Sprinkling always indicates complete and total application. The stress on their clothing is because these are the holy garments of the priests which will enter the Sanctuary. They too must therefore be cleansed and dedicated to Yahweh. And because the clothes will, as it were, last through the generations in that form, it is a dedication and cleansing of all who are to come who will one day wear the ‘same' clothing (Exodus 29:29).
It is probable that this is the anointing of the sons of Aaron mentioned in Exodus 28:41; Exodus 30:30. No other anointing is necessary for them, and by it they partake in the previous anointing of Aaron (Exodus 29:7).
“And you shall take of the ram the fat, and the fat tail, and the fat that covers the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and the right thigh. For it is a ram of consecration.”
As always these are to be burned up and offered to Yahweh (Exodus 29:25). They are seen as ‘the fat of the land', the very best. All parts that might be used wrongly for divination are also offered. And the offering of them all is an act of consecration.
“And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before Yahweh, and you shall put the whole on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, and shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh, and you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on the whole burnt offering for a sweet savour before Yahweh. It is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.”
Along with the fat and its accompaniments a loaf of the unleavened bread, a cake of the bread mingled with oil, and a wafer (see Exodus 29:2) are to be taken, and the whole are to be put into the hands of Aaron and his sons and are to be waved before Yahweh. This stresses that they are an offering to Him, a wave offering. We are probably to see that Moses causes their hands to wave the offerings before God for he is performing all the sacrificial activities and thereby he is enabling them to perform their first act as priests. (This may the ‘filling of the hand' of Exodus 29:8, their symbol of office). Then the meal offerings are to be taken by Moses and burned on the altar on top of the whole burnt offering previously offered. This too is pleasing to Yahweh and delightful to Him. It is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
“And you shall take the breast of Aaron's ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before Yahweh, and it will be your portion.”
We note the constant way in which Aaron is emphasised even over against his sons (Exodus 29:9-10; Exodus 29:15; Exodus 29:19-21; Exodus 29:24). Here it is ‘Aaron's ram of consecration'. The consecration of Aaron is the prime element, his sons are simply being consecrated along with him. The essential priesthood is being established.
We also note Moses' part in all this. He is performing all the priestly functions, and this is emphasised in that he is to here receive the priest's portion. The prime breast of the ram is to be taken, waved before Yahweh to demonstrate that it is His, and then accepted by Moses as a gift from Yahweh (as regularly happens with the peace offering).