Exodus 29:10-14
The priests are consecrated through a sin offering that addresses guilt before they can minister at the Lord’s altar.
10 “You shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.
11 You shall kill the bull before Yahweh at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
12 You shall take of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.
13 You shall take all the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar.
14 But the meat of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp. It is a sin offering.
The priests are consecrated through a sin offering that addresses guilt before they can minister at the LORD’s altar.
To command the sin offering for Aaron and his sons in the ordination ceremony, including identification with the bull, slaughter before the LORD, blood applied to the altar, altar purification, and the burning of the flesh outside the camp.
Exodus 29 follows the priestly garment instructions of Exodus 28 and explains how Aaron and his sons are to be consecrated for ministry. Verses 1-9 introduce the ordination materials, washing, vesting, anointing, and priestly installation. Verses 10-14 then begin the sacrificial sequence with the bull of the sin offering, establishing that the priests themselves must be purified before they can serve at the altar on behalf of Israel.
After the initial ordination instructions, washing, clothing, and anointing of Aaron, the first sacrificial act in the ordination sequence is the bull for the sin offering. This prepares the priests and altar for the following burnt offering and ordination ram rituals.
The Consecration of the Priests and the LORD’s Promise to Dwell Among Israel
The LORD consecrates priests, altar, and daily sacrifice so He may meet with Israel, dwell among them, and be known as the God who redeemed them from Egypt.