Context No. 3726 of 4322 · Exodus

Exodus 29:1-9: in context

1“This is the thing that you shall do to them to make them holy, to minister to me in the priest’s office: take one young bull and two rams without defect, 2unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. 3You shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams. 4You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water. 5You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and clothe him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 6You shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 7Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8You shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them. 9You shall clothe them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headbands on them. They shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. You shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

This passage describes the elaborate ceremony for consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests: sacrifices offered, the priests washed with water, clothed in the sacred garments, and anointed with oil. Each element carries meaning.

They are washed, for those who serve God must be cleansed; clothed in special garments, for their role sets them apart; anointed with oil, a sign of being set apart and equipped for God's service. And on Aaron's turban is set a holy crown engraved with Holiness to the LORD. The whole ceremony declares that to serve God as a priest was a holy calling, requiring cleansing, consecration, and being set apart. And it points ahead to Christ, our great High Priest, and to all believers, now called a royal priesthood. In Christ we too are washed, clothed in his righteousness, and set apart to serve God. The careful consecration of the priests reminds us that drawing near to serve a holy God is a holy calling, made possible only through the cleansing and consecration Christ has now provided.

Do I understand that serving and drawing near to God is a holy calling, and do I rejoice that in Christ I am washed, clothed in his righteousness, and set apart as part of his royal priesthood?

Sources

Exodus 29:4: "You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water."
Exodus 29:7: "Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him."
1 Peter 2:9: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession."