Exodus 29:15-18
The first ram is offered wholly to the Lord as a burnt offering, signifying consecrated priestly service before Him.
15 “You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
16 You shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood, and sprinkle it around on the altar.
17 You shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its innards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head.
18 You shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to Yahweh; it is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
The first ram is offered wholly to the LORD as a burnt offering, signifying consecrated priestly service before him.
To command the offering of the first ram in the priestly ordination ceremony as a burnt offering, including hand-laying, slaughter, blood application, washing, and total burning on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Exodus 29:15-18 stands inside the priestly consecration sequence that begins in Exodus 29:1-9. The previous unit dealt with the bull as a sin offering for priestly purification. This unit turns to the first ram, a burnt offering, before the second ram is used for ordination in Exodus 29:19-28. The flow is deliberate: purification precedes whole offering, and whole offering prepares for installation into active priestly service.
The first ram follows the bull of the sin offering in the ordination ceremony. Aaron and his sons have already been washed, clothed, and identified with the sin offering; now the burnt offering marks consecration through a whole offering to the LORD.
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.