Exodus 29 Summary: A Concise Overview in 5 Minutes

Exodus 29 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• God delivered the Israelites from slavery in approximately 1491 B.C.

• The events of Exodus 29 took place 3-4 months after the Hebrews left Egypt (19:1).

CHARACTERS:

• God – The Lord’s glory descended on Mount Sinai. In Exodus 29, God spoke with Moses on the mountain and gave him instructions for ordaining priests.  

• Moses – A Hebrew who grew up in the house of Pharaoh. He fled Egypt in Exodus 2 and went to live in Midian. God called him back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites from slavery.

• Aaron – God chose Aaron, Moses’ brother, to be the High Priest of the Israelites.

• Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar – Aaron’s sons who were chosen to serve with him as priests to the people.

WHERE:

• Moses and the Israelites were encamped near Mount Sinai.

OUTLINE:

• THE CONSECRATION AND ORDINATION OF PRIESTS IN ISRAEL (29:1-37):

  • This chapter contains God’s instructions to Moses on how to ordain Aaron and his sons as priests.

  • Moses was to take a bull, two rams, unleavened bread, unleavened cakes, and unleavened wafers and bring them to the Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting).

  • Aaron and his sons were to wash themselves with water before dressing in the special priestly clothes described in Exodus 28 (the ephod, breastpiece, etc).

  • Aaron was to be anointed with oil.

  • Aaron and his sons were to place their hands on the head of the bull before it was killed, and its blood put on the horns of the bronze altar.

  • Some of the bull’s fat, the “long lobe of the liver,” and the kidneys were to be sacrificed on the altar. The rest of the bull was to be burned outside the camp because it was a “sin offering.”

  • One of the rams was to be sacrificed as a food offering on the altar.

  • The other ram was to be killed and some of its blood placed on Aaron and his sons and their clothing to mark them as holy.

  • Certain portions of the ram were to be put in Aaron’s hands and waved before the Lord as a “wave offering.”

  • After the wave offering was complete, part of the ram, one loaf of bread, one cake, and one wafer were to be burned on the altar as a food offering.

  • Next, the breast of the ram was to be waved as a wave offering.

  • The ram’s breast and thigh were given to the priests to keep.

  • Aaron and his sons were to take the ram’s breast and thigh, boil them, and eat them with the remaining unleavened bread at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

  • The priest’s ordination would last 7 days.

  • In addition to the sacrifices listed above, every day of their ordination, a bull was to be sacrificed as a sin offering and the altar was to be purified.

• DAILY SACRIFICES OFFERED BY THE PRIESTS (29:38-46):

  • The priests were to offer 2 lambs every day on the altar, the first in the morning and the second at twilight.

  • The lambs were to be sacrificed with “a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering.”

  • The Tabernacle would be the place where God would meet with the Israelites, and it was to be a consecrated and holy place.

APPLICATION:

• Why does the writer of Exodus include so many details regarding the ordination of priests, the tabernacle structure, and the rules for sacrifices?

• Part of the reason is because many of these details foreshadow God’s future work through Jesus and His Church.

• The book of Hebrews is a great book to read if you want to start to understand the parallels between Jesus’ work and the work of the Israelite priests.