The Offering of the Ram of Consecration Along With A Grain Offering As A Pleasing Odour (Leviticus 8:22-29).
In view of the fact that they all partake of this sacrifice (Leviticus 8:31) it would appear to be a Peace Sacrifice. It represents Christ Who was made our Peace and our Wellbeing. By partaking of Him we find peace with God and are made spiritually whole.
‘And he presented the other ram, the ram of consecration (of ‘filling up'), and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.'
The other ram to be offered is now brought forward. It is called the ram of consecration. The word for consecration is used only of this ceremony. It comes from a root meaning ‘to fill up'. Compare Exodus 29:9, ‘to fill the hand', which also indicated consecration to the priesthood. In texts from Mari of about the eighteenth century BC a similar word is used of conquerors being ‘filled' with the booty of the conquered. Thus the thought here is of what Aaron and his sons receive by this consecration.
Through the offering of this ram they are being given a permanent privilege which will last through many generations, to be living representatives of God. And along with that goes the tithes and offerings of the people, participation in a portion of many offerings and sacrifices, and in cities in which to dwell, and in rights to teach the Law. Their hands are being filled to overflowing, as symbolised by the offerings placed in their hands (Leviticus 8:27), but all so that they may be available to be the servants of God. Their hands are being filled with blessings and with great responsibilities. The ‘filling of the hand' has in the first place the parts of the ram of consecration, the fat and the shoulder, and the unleavened bread, in mind (Leviticus 8:27). But these were symbols of what would in future be theirs.
And it is through our Ram of Consecration Himself that, having been purified and dedicated through Him as our purification for sin offering and our whole burnt offering, we can be raised to serve as His heavenly priests, ministering on earth with sacrifices of praise (Hebrews 13:15) and thanksgiving, offering ourselves up constantly as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1) and being a pleasing odour to Him and to others through our witness and testimony (2 Corinthians 2:14-15).
‘And he slew it, and Moses took of its blood, and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood on the tip of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar round about.'
Aaron then slew the offering and Moses caught the blood in a basin and his first act was then to put some of the blood on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot. It was put on each extremity. As with the application of the blood to the horns and base of the altar (the extremities of the altar) in the case of the purification for sin offering this was for purification. The Priest had to be pure in ear and hand and foot. He had to have an ear to hear the voice of God, a hand to do the will of God and a foot to go in the way of God. Thus was he to be totally dedicated to the service of God.
So the dedication signified by the whole burnt offering was now sealed in depth by this individual application. The same ceremony applied to his sons. They too were dedicated in full in the same way. And then the same blood was applied to the sides of the altar for atonement. All that the Priest and his sons had done in the past was now atoned for. They came into office made at one with God, and with their sins forgiven. Their ears were purified, their hands clean, their feet dedicated. They were, as it were, made whole, and in their wholeness they were bound to His service for ever with every faculty that they possessed.
So when a person comes to Christ for forgiveness is he set apart to God, and his ear, hand and foot are marked with the blood of Christ as from then on dedicated to the service of Christ. We are no longer our own, we are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). From then on we are here only to hear His voice, to do His will and to walk in His way (John 10:27-29). Anything less falls short of true Christian conversion (although in our case too the initial process may take ‘seven days', that is, a divinely perfect period).
‘And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the inwards, and the covering of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right thigh, and out of the basket of unleavened bread, which was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat, and on the right thigh, and he put the whole on the hands of Aaron, and on the hands of his sons, and waved them for a wave-offering before Yahweh.'
The fat and vital parts of the ram of consecration, and the right thigh, together with some of the grain offering, was then placed on the hands of Aaron and his sons so that they could wave them before Yahweh as a wave-offering, possibly by moving them from side to side. This indicated that they were offering them to God and that they came to God on their behalf.
It was also the first time that they had carried out this action which in future they would perform countless times. It was an initiatory act.
As His priests we also must offer the fat on the altar. All that is best, all that is surplus to our necessity should be offered and ‘burned up' in the service of God as an offering to Him, that He might receive it to do with as He will, thereby laying up for ourselves treasure in Heaven where it can never fail (Matthew 5:19-21).
‘And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar on the burnt-offering. They were a consecration for a pleasing odour. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh.'
Moses then took what they had waved before Yahweh and burnt them on the altar of burnt offering. The fat and vital parts were that which was always offered to Yahweh, as representing both the choicest portions and as representing the vitality of the animal; the thigh was that which was usually set apart for the priest. Here therefore it was a voluntary gift to Yahweh by the priests and an indication that they recognised that all that they in future received would have come from God; and the grain offering was the memorial portion offered from every grain offering. They all came up to Yahweh as a pleasing odour, and as an offering made by fire. They were received with pleasure as something fully purified and belonging to God.
Thus what they had to offer up to Him included what was their right, as a token that what they would afterwards receive came from His hand. We have in this a reminder that all that we have comes from God, and that we too should offer it back to Him so that He may use it as He will. Such an offering, genuinely made, is a pleasing odour to Him.
‘And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave-offering before Yahweh. It was Moses' portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.'
Moses then took the breast, and that he waved before Yahweh. Again it was being offered to Yahweh as belonging to Him to be utilised as He proposed. Perhaps in this case God's purpose was that it should be set aside for Moses as the officiant, for we are not told that it was burned on the altar.