The Making and Worshiping of the Golden Calf

Continuing with a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 32:1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

In the last chapter, God had just finished talking to Moses on Mount Sinai, where he had been for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:18).  Meanwhile, the people grew restless because they didn't know what had become of Moses.  Consider that this must have been some time before the end of forty days as it would take them time to accomplish what they set out to do in Moses's absence.  The people came to Aaron who had been put in charge in while Moses was gone from the people, and asked him to make them gods to go before them.  As God in the cloud went before them on their trek to the promised land, this must be a reference for the need of "gods" to go before them so that they could continue their wilderness trek.  The phrase they used "as for this Moses" wreaks of contempt and impatience.  How soon people forget!  When you read this, it seems unfathomable, but I know it happens to us all the time.  They have the one true God of the universe in their presence vowing to be their God, and they get impatient for Moses's return and have the need for "gods", any old god?  Surely, in their minds the gods would have been representative of their one true God; they just seemed to need something physical to follow.  But had God not just told them not to make any graven images or likenesses?  He said it amongst thunder and lightning and smoke that greatly frightened the people.  How much more of an impression could He have made upon them?

(2) And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

To me, this is the most unbelievable, that Aaron, who had been Moses's right-hand man, and was in charge of these people in Moses's absence, should seem to go along with them.  He told them to break off the golden earrings that were in the ears of their wives and children and bring them to him (in order to make a god as they asked).  I was surprised to find that most of the early commentators gave Aaron the benefit of the doubt and supposed that he did not initially go along with this plan of theirs, and by asking for only the earrings of the wives and children, he was asking for what he thought would be the hardest for them to give up, and they would abandon their plan.  It seems to me that they are reading into the text something that was not at all expressed.  "IF" it did happen that way, the point is obviously that it did not matter, for it seems Aaron eventually gave in to the will of the people.

(3) And all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.  (4) And he received them from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

The people did indeed bring Aaron the earrings, and once again, I see no hesitation in Aaron.  He appears to take them from their hands and immediately proceed with fashioning a golden calf!  Possibly the likeness was chosen because of the familiar ox worship they had been exposed to in Egypt.  Once again, some of the commentators suppose that Aaron was fashioning something he surely thought they would recognize as foolish and would regret the giving up of their precious gold they had received from their Egyptian neighbors.  And once again, I believe they have to add to the text to come up with this viewpoint.  "IF" this was his plan, it wasn't a very good plan from a man in leadership.  This appears to be a leader who doesn't lead, but follows the will of the people.  Do we not see that these days in our leaders who appear to sway as the polls determine?  The people happily accepted the golden calf and proclaimed it their God!  This is the one place where I am willing to give them a small benefit of the doubt.  Surely they did not see this inanimate golden calf as their god, but as a representative of their Lord who brought them out of the land of Egypt.  This was still a complete violation of the commandment God had given them, and inexcusable, but it brings the point to a place where we can personally identify with it.  How many times do we fudge a little on God's commandment because we "aren't really worshiping idols"?

(5) And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.”

When Aaron saw his finished product, he went on to build an altar before it.  Then he indeed proclaimed a feast be made to "the LORD", not to the calf.  It appears they were indeed using the calf as a representation of their one true Lord, but there can be no likeness that can measure up to God, and anything in heaven above or in the earth below would only disrespect and diminish the one true God, especially a calf, the symbol of pagan worship!  Besides, it was disobedience to a direct commandment, regardless of what they thought their motives were.  God's laws are always about what is truly best for us, and I believe this one is no exception.  God wanted His people to learn to depend on Him even though they could not see Him.  They needed to feel His Spirit and presence among them and learn to follow that.  We know God in our hearts, not from something we physically see and feel.  That ultimately makes Him much bigger to us and someone we can surely trust with everything!  A god that can be contained in a box that we have created is not our one true Creator God.  It is in our best interests to better know the one true God and not be limited to what we can see and understand.

(6) And they rose up early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

It was supposed to be their feast to the Lord, and the next day the people indeed woke up early, offered their burnt offerings and brought their peace offerings.  However, it begins to sound like a raucous party where they ate, drank, and were merry, probably to excess, as the original word for "play" was "tsachaq", most often used to mean laughing in scorn or mocking.  If this is indeed so, then not only were the people who had just recently received the thunderous ten commandments of the Lord, making likenesses of the Lord to worship them, but they were probably also taking the Lord's name in vain.  They were certainly taking Him all too lightly and commonly.

As a side note, I just read something from Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, that I had not read before, and want to mention here.  Henry was contemplating about how Aaron could have so easily fallen into such an active role in this vain idol worship, even leading by making the golden calf and proclaiming the feast day.  He wrote that the Jews have a tradition that Hur, also left in charge with Aaron, did indeed oppose what the people wanted to do, and was stoned, and that is why we never hear anything of him afterward.  This may have frightened Aaron into compliance.  It may have been a story based on presumption and assumption to explain why Aaron would do such a thing.  I would think it would have been written about in scripture if it were true.  The fact that it wasn't written, even if it was true and not written, must mean that it just doesn't matter why Aaron did what he did.  Aaron was the chief priest, Moses's right-hand man, second in command, and now in charge of the people, and there is no evidence that he even tried to dissuade the people.  If he was so frightened not to take even an initial stand against their vain idolatry, then he wasn't much of a leader, and I believe that is certainly the point here.

(7) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down, for your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. (8) They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, which has brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

Meanwhile, the Lord had just finished His instructions to Moses, and now told him what the people were doing in his absence.  He urged him to quickly get down to them because they had corrupted themselves.  Note the Lord said "your" people whom "you" brought out of Egypt.  The people had so corrupted themselves in hearts and actions against the Lord that He did not even consider them His people anymore.  After hearing God's commandments and promising to obey them, the Lord noted they had quickly forgotten His commands and He told Moses exactly what they had been doing--making a molded calf, worshiping and sacrificing to it, and even told Moses their very words about this calf being their god which had brought them out of Egypt.

(9) And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people. (10) Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”

The Lord told Moses He had seen this group of people and saw that they were a stiff-necked (from two words meaning "stubborn" and "neck") people.  It was written by Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, that this was possibly a reference to the stiff-necked ox that they worshiped.  He told Moses to leave Him alone and let Him destroy this people, and that He would make a great nation from Moses and his line alone.  I always find it interesting when God says something like, "let Me alone".  How could Moses do anything to stop the God of the universe from destroying these people if He wanted to?  He obviously couldn't, but for our own learning, He showed us an example of intercession for a people that deserved death, as will unfold in the next verses.

(11) And Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? (12) Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.'"

Moses began pleading with God.  The word translated as "pleaded" in the NKJV and as "besought" in the KJV is "chalah" and more completely means "to become weak, sick, or grieved", and one of the lesser used definitions is to pray or beg.  I believe that means Moses was completely broken and prostrate before the Lord, begging for the people.  He pleaded with God to have mercy on this people, and seemed to indicate to God that he knew these were God's people, not his own, and gave glory to God alone as the one who brought the people out of Egypt with His great power.  He pleaded not only for the people, but for God's honor and glory, and that should always be our prayer, as well, that through the things we ask of our Lord, that glory and honor be brought to Him.  Moses begged the Lord to turn from His wrath, have mercy on this undeserving people, and turn away from His plan to destroy them.  This is a perfect illustration of Christ interceding on our behalf.  We sinful people are deserving of eternal death and separation from God, but Christ intercedes for us.  Note how God said in verse 10 that He would make a great nation of Moses alone.  Jesus Christ who sits as King at the throne of God came down to intercede for us, to save us from our deserved death.  Moses could alone have been the father of his people as was Abraham, but being unselfish and loving, pleaded for the people.

(13) “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

Moses went on to plead with God to remember His original promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.  It's not that God needs reminding, but we should always stand on God's promises.  No matter how things appear, we stand on the promises of God, and should pray to that effect.  We pray for God's will, and we pray that He have mercy, and forgive us our sins, that we may remain His forever.  Is that not what Jesus Christ did for us?  He interceded for us, and although we deserved death, He provided a way that God's will be done, but that we may by His mercy be forgiven our sins, and inherit the kingdom of God forever.

(14) And the LORD relented from the harm which He thought to do to His people.

The Lord indeed turned from His righteous and well-deserved plan to destroy His people, but this plan was probably not yet known to Moses as indicated by the following verses (esp. 30-31).

(15) And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. (16) And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

Moses turned from conversing with God and started back down the mountain.  He carried the two stone tablets of God's Testimony in his hands.  The tablets were written on both sides, which appears to have been a remarkable thing in its time as in ancient times two sides of the same substance were never used.  Some of the old commentators I have read suppose that it may have been the same law written on the back as on the front so that it could be seen by the reader and the listening observers.  Some even speculate that the lettering may have been cut all the way through so as to be seen from both sides, but the back side would have been seen in reverse.  It's also possible the different laws were written on different sides of the two tablets so as to be read in book form.  We can't really know exactly how the tablets looked, but we do know that they were remarkably or perhaps even miraculously unique, and that they were the work of God, once again said to be the writing of God Himself.

(17) And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”

When Moses ascended all the way up the mountain to converse with God, Joshua had stayed partway down the mountain, but had remained there all the while Moses was there.  Moses had been on the top of the mountain for forty days, and Joshua had waited for him patiently.  As Moses came down to where he was, he told him that he heard the shouts of the people, and supposed there was war in the camp.

(18) And he said, “It is not the voice of the shout of victory, neither the voice of the cry of defeat, but the noise of singing I hear.”

The Lord had already revealed to Moses what the people were really doing in his absence, so he understood the noise to be their singing rather than the sounds of war.

(19) And it came to pass, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses's anger burned hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

Although God had already told Moses that the people had made a calf and were sacrificing to it and worshiping it, I guess the sight of it was too much for Moses.  When he saw their dancing and celebrating, he threw the stone tablets out of his hands and they broke at the foot of the mountain.  In the past, I always took this as just Moses's righteous anger.  However, I always felt a twinge of guilt for Moses having thrust tablets written by the very finger of God.  Perhaps he should have shown more care and respect for those tablets than to have allowed them to be destroyed in his anger.  It was upon reading and studying some of the old commentaries that I frequently read along with this Bible study, that I found that it was thought that this action was probably inspired by the Holy Spirit of God and was symbolic.  They cite the fact that Moses was never really chastised for his actions, and he himself talked quite frankly with no regret about his actions in Deuteronomy 9:17.  There he seemed to suggest he could have done it deliberately, saying, "I took the two tablets and cast them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes."  When Moses broke the tablets, it was symbolic of the fact that the people had broken God's laws written on those tablets. 

(20) And he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink of it.

Additionally, Moses took the calf they had made and burned it in fire and ground it to powder which he then scattered on the water and made the people drink.  Of course, Moses wanted to destroy the detestable thing, but also there was symbolism in showing the people that their god had been reduced to nothing but powder, something the people were able to drink.  Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, said it this way, "The idol was brought to nothing and the people were made to swallow their own sin."

(21) And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”

Moses then rightly turned to Aaron to ask how he could have let such a thing happen.  Note the way he asked it.  First, what could they have done to him that he would allow it; and second, that he, Aaron, was responsible for bringing so great a sin on the people, by allowing them to do such a thing.  For his brother to allow such an abomination, surely the people must have terribly threatened him.  He was in charge of this people in Moses's absence and responsible for this great sin brought upon them.  As leader, Aaron was in a position of higher responsibility.  I can't help but think of the times in the Old Testament that it was stated that the king "did evil in the sight of the Lord" and "made Israel to sin".  God did indeed hold the leaders to a higher standard.  It was their responsibility to righteously and morally lead the people.  My mind can't help but play the line, "Obama did evil in the sight of the Lord, and made the people to sin".  How could it possibly look to the Lord that we not only kill babies, but chop them up to use their best parts; and that we not only allow homosexual marriage, but celebrate it, something God specifically called an abomination, shining God's rainbow, His symbol of promise, on the White House, the symbol of our government and country?  People can justify these acts to their dying days, but they can never convince me that God approves.  The closest they can get to making me understand how we can allow such atrocities is that we are a secular country and we have secular laws.  This country is not a church.  The kings were leaders of Israel, God's own people.  Fine, but how on earth do people think a country without God will survive?  It won't, plain and simple.

(22) And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are set on mischief. (23) For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ (24) And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

Aaron's answer is remarkable in its weakness and immaturity.  It seems to be in our nature to always want to blame others for our sin, from the time Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.  Here Aaron weakly blamed the people, suggesting that Moses knew how they were.  He even seemed to lay a little blame on Moses when he repeated the people's seemingly contemptuous remark about not knowing what had become of "this Moses".  Aaron offered no evidence of heavy-handedness on the part of the people, but described how the people asked for a god and he asked for their gold.  He merely cast the gold into the fire and out popped a calf!  Does this not sound like a child explaining the mess he made?  When there is no one else to blame, Aaron said in effect, "it just happened".  One can only assume his point was that perhaps Satan himself entered into the fire and created the calf.  I suppose that is someone else to blame--"the devil made me do it".  However, Aaron didn't bother to add that he himself had fashioned and molded the calf (verse 4 above).

(25) And when Moses saw that the people were naked (for Aaron had made them naked to their shame among their enemies), (26) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the LORD'S side? Let him come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

This word "naked" didn't really mean stripped of their clothing, but rather exposed by their sin, and therefore abandoned by God in the face of their enemies.  Once again, it is said that Aaron caused this.  Moses then stood in the gate of the camp and asked who was on the Lord's side, obviously in opposition to the false idol and raucous sin that had developed in its presence.  Whether they had never participated in the idolatrous acts, or perhaps they did and they now turned from their sin and chose the side of their Lord, the sons of Levi, Moses and Aaron's own tribe, gathered themselves to Moses.

(27) And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’”

Wow!  This verse may make most people uncomfortable.  Moses told those Levites who had gathered before him that the Lord instructed them to go throughout the camp and kill the transgressors, not sparing their own brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Note he told them to go from gate to gate.  I believe this suggests that they were not to go into the tents of people who were not taking part of the celebration feast to the false idol, but rather the people who were still "in the streets", as it were, not ashamed and not repenting for what they had done.

(28) And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell about three thousand men of the people that day.

Again, wow!  The children of Levi killed about 3000 men from their own brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Before we get caught up in the presumed cruelty in this verse, we must consider that this was in no way an indiscriminate massacre.  It has already been pointed out that the people killed were only the ones who persisted in their celebration to the false idol.  A choice was made to all the people when they were all asked, "Who is on the LORD'S side?"  They all had the opportunity to turn from their wickedness and come to Moses on the Lord's side.  Those who would not turn were destroyed from God's people.  There is always a consequence to sin.  People often don't want to accept responsibility for their actions; they want to pleasure in their sin with no consequences, but that is not how it works.  Sin ultimately means death, and life is only in the Lord.  He beckons us to "choose life".  In this case, 3000 men chose death.

(29) For Moses had said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day."

Interesting that the newer translations wrote something to the effect of, "then Moses said" or "afterward Moses said", but the KJV makes the most sense to me--"For Moses had said" before they went out and "did according to the word of Moses".  The children of Levi killed 3000 of their men because Moses had told them the word of the Lord to go from gate to gate throughout the camp killing their brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Additionally, he had said that if they would devote themselves to the Lord, obeying His command to kill those who weren't on the Lord's side and had apparently remained indifferent about their worship of the golden calf, sparing not even their loved ones, that the Lord would recognize their zeal for Him and would bestow a blessing on them.

(30) And it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin; and now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make an atonement for your sin.”

Although the greatest offenders had been slain, Moses reminded the people the next day that they had committed a great sin and certainly were not yet free from guilt.  He told them he would now return to the Lord on the mountain and "perhaps" he would be able to get forgiveness for them.

(31) And Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold. (32) Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—and if not, blot me, I pray, out of Your book which You have written.”

Moses returned to the Lord and told Him what the Lord had already told Moses.  I have to assume that knowing the Lord already knew this, that this statement was more of a confession or lamentation that "these people" had done such a thing.  Moses pleaded with the Lord to forgive their sin, and then went as far as to offer his own life if the Lord would not forgive them.  Wow, I'm not sure I could have offered so much as to be blotted out of God's book which He Himself had written.  I don't know if this was a literal book of God's people, the names of the children of Israel, the ones who were to inherit the promised land; and Moses was referring to God's proposal in verse 10 that He destroy all the people and make a great nation from Moses alone, and he was now asking the Lord not to do that.  Then again, perhaps this was God's Book of Life and Moses was actually asking that he be blotted from the Book of Life, either alone or along with his people.  I have to assume by God's answer below that Moses was not expressing this out of greater love for his people than for His Lord, and desiring to go with them, but because of his great love for his Lord and His glory, he was willing to sacrifice himself to prevent the total destruction of His people which were an example and reminder to the world of the power and might of the Lord (v. 11-12 above).  In this, Moses would be an example of Christ who would lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:11), and as everything has appeared to be an illustration of the coming Christ, I believe this is also one.

(33) And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. (34) Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you; behold, My Angel shall go before you; nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."

The Lord, however, told Moses that each offender was to suffer for his own sin; Moses, as innocent of this great sin, would not die for the guilty.  He then told him to go ahead and lead the people toward the place of which He had spoken, the promised land.  However, He said His Angel would go before them.  This sounds as if the Lord Himself would no longer be with them in the cloud.  However, in His mercy, He would allow His Angel to lead the people toward the promised land, but in the day that He Himself visited, He would not forget this sin, and the people would indeed be punished for it.  In this, the Lord would punish the individuals, but would not take His blessing from the nation as a whole.

(35) And the LORD plagued the people because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

For the present, it appears that the Lord did send a plague to the people because they had made the calf, although there are no details of the plague.  Note that although Aaron had made the calf, scripture referred to the people having made it.  Indeed, they were the ones who desired it to worship it, and were the guilty ones.  Aaron definitely bore some guilt, surely in weakness and inability to stand up for the Lord against the people, but the people were plagued because "they made the calf".

The people, as the nation of the children of Israel, were saved from total destruction.  However, Moses was not able to totally turn away the wrath of God.  This may be in example of how the law was unable to completely reconcile men to God, and that was reserved for the coming Christ, in whom alone it is that God would so completely pardon sin that it would be remembered no more (Hebrews 10:17).

God Gives Moses the Tablets of Stone

Continuing a Bible study in a chronological order set forth by Skip Andrews here:

(Exodus 31:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah."

In the previous chapters, God had been telling Moses how to build a tabernacle, how to make the various altars and utensils that would be used in the tabernacle, and how to clothe and anoint the priests.  He now told him that he had called a specific craftsman by the name of Bezaleel to do some of the work.  Bezaleel was from the tribe of Judah, the grandson of Hur, who was probably the same Hur that was with Moses and Aaron and helped support Moses's hands during the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:10-12), and who was left in charge with Aaron while Moses was on the mountain (Exodus 24:14).

(3) "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, (4) To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, (5) And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship."

God said He had filled Bezaleel with His own Spirit in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all sorts of workmanship, to be able to create and construct designs in gold, silver, brass, as well as the cutting and setting of jewels, and wood carving.  This shows how the "natural talents" of a person are gifts from God.  We all have seen the difference between someone who reads and studies to do something, and one who seems to have been born with a natural talent to do the same thing.  That "natural" talent is God-given and God-inspired by His own spirit, and we should be ever thankful to Him for the talents we possess.

(6) “And I, behold I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are wise hearted, that they may make all that I have commanded you:"

God also called Aholiab, who was from a different tribe, to work with Bezaleel.  The commentaries that I study suggest in so many words that this was to keep one tribe from getting too prideful.  All parts of the body of Christ are needed and have honor (1 Corinthians, chapter 12).  God once again said that He was the One who put wisdom in all who are wise, and He had put the talents in these two men to carry out all He had commanded Moses to make.

(7) "The tabernacle of the congregation, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, (8) And the table and its utensils, the pure gold candlestick with all its utensils, the altar of incense, (9) And the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base, (10) And the cloths of service, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office, (11) And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place; according to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

God then gave Moses a recap of all that He had commanded him that these two men should make--the tabernacle itself, the ark with its mercy seat, all the furnishings and utensils of the tabernacle, the candlestick, the altars, the wash basin, the holy garments to be worn by the priests, the incense, and the anointing oil.  All the instructions that God had given Moses in the previous several chapters, He now instructed to be carried out by Bezaleel and Aholiab.

(12) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (13) “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Verily My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (14) You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you; everyone who defiles it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. (15) Six days may work be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.'"

In their work on the tabernacle and its furnishings, God told Moses to warn the people that they were to observe the Sabbaths of the Lord.  That was a sign between God and His people that He had given them as one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, that was to be observed throughout their generations, and was not to be skipped even in their zeal to do God's work on the tabernacle.  It was Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, who pointed out in the last chapter that here was where there was a distinction between being put to death and being cut off from his people.  If you read verse 14 alone, you might assume there was a difference between defiling the Sabbath and working on the Sabbath.  Perhaps defiling it was to do evil on the day or to worship idols on the day set aside for God.  It was Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, who referred to Isaiah 56:2, where God said that the man was blessed who kept his hand from doing any evil on the Sabbath.  Defiling, doing evil, on the Sabbath was punishable by death, but perhaps disobeying in one's zeal for God and neglecting the Sabbath, was still disobedience and punishable by excommunication, but perhaps was distinguished from the evil act deserving of death.  However, when you read the verse in context along with verse 15, scripture clearly states that doing work on the Sabbath does defile it, and that act alone was punishable by death.  The Sabbath was a holy day set aside for rest and devoted entirely to God.  Ignoring it was defiling that holy day and was punishable by death.

(16) "‘Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. (17) It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

The children of Israel were admonished to always observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant between them and God, at least as long as the Mosaic law continued until the coming of the Messiah.  It was a sign between God and His children, patterned after His creation week when the Lord made heaven and earth in six days, and then rested on the seventh.  Not only did He rest, but He was refreshed.  That is a remarkable statement regarding the God of the universe!  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this word "refreshed" was not applied to God anywhere else in the Bible.  Indeed, I found it in only two other verses, one in Exodus 23:12 where it referred to the people being refreshed on the Sabbath day, and one in 2nd Samuel 16:14, where the king and the people refreshed themselves.  Obviously, God did not have need of a rest to be refreshed, but wanted His people to imitate His example because mere humans indeed did need rest.  Jesus Himself said in Mark 2:27 that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man made for the Sabbath.  God made the Sabbath to be a rest and refreshment for man, and He patterned it after His creation week.  In observing the Sabbath, the children of Israel declared to the world that they worshiped the one true God who created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.  It was a sign that they were His people, and He was their Lord. 

(18) And He gave to Moses, when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, two tablets of testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

At the end of God's conversation with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two stone tablets, incredibly written with His own finger, a lasting record of testimony that represented the covenant between God and His people.  Some theologians have suggested that God didn't actually write the tablets Himself; "with the finger of God" meant it was done instantaneously, by His will and power immediately, without the use of any instrument.  Others, like Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, citing Dr. Henry Winder in his History of Knowledge, believed that not only did God write the tablets Himself, but that until He did, there had been no writing in alphabetical characters, but only marks or symbols or hieroglyphics.  I don't see that that is confirmed by scripture.  Back in Exodus 17:14, God told Moses to write a memorial in a book.  True, it could have been written with symbols, but I see no need to prove that God invented the alphabet.  I do believe it is confirmed in scripture that God Himself wrote the tablets.  In Exodus 24:12, God told Moses to come up to Him on the mountain where He would give him tablets of stone which He had written.  A little later in Exodus 32:16, it will refer to the writing on the tablets being the writing of God.  As He always does to surely establish a fact (Deu. 19:15, Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1), this was confirmed at least three times in scripture, so I believe that God did indeed write the tablets.  Whether He took the time to painstakingly chisel them into stone, or spoke them and they were instantly written, I don't see that it makes a difference.  God wrote the tablets so that His people would have a permanent record of His Testimony, that is, the written laws of His will concerning His people.  This permanent record written by their Lord Himself emphasized the supreme importance His law was to play in their lives.  I believe the stone tablets "written with the finger of God" is illustrative and representative of the fact that these laws were to be ultimately and even more permanently written on our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3). 

The Altar of Incense and the Ransom of Souls

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 30:1) "And you shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood."

For the past several chapters, Moses has been up on the mount with the Lord who was giving him instructions on how to build a tabernacle.  In the last chapter He told him how to consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests, and in this chapter we continue with instructions on how to build an incense altar.  It was to be made of the same wood as the altar of burnt offering.  I would imagine that where so many sacrifices were offered, it was necessary to have some incense to remove the bad smells that must have come from the slaughter of so many animals, the burning of flesh, and the sprinkling of the blood.

(2) “A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width; it shall be square; and two cubits shall be its height; its horns shall be of the same."

The cubit being about 18 inches, this altar would be 18 inches square and about three feet high.  It was to have horns of the same wood, probably of the same piece, like the horns on the altar of burnt offering.

(3) “And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a crown of gold all around."

The altar was to be overlaid with pure gold on its top and sides, and even the horns were to be covered in gold.  Additionally, there was to be a crown molding of gold all around.  This altar would later be referred to as the golden altar.

(4) "And two golden rings you shall make for it, under the crown molding on both its sides; upon the two sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it all. (5) And you shall make the staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold."

Two golden rings were made for the altar under the crown molding on each side, into which poles or bars would be placed in order to carry the altar.  The poles were also to be made of acacia wood like the altar itself, and overlaid with gold.

(6) “And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you."

The incense altar was to be placed outside the veil that divided the holy place from the most holy place where the ark of the Testimony with its mercy seat was kept.  Above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim, is where God had said He would meet man in Exodus 25:22.

(7) "And Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. (8) And when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations."

As Aaron was expected to tend the candle lamps every morning and every evening, so also at that time he was to burn sweet incense on the golden incense altar.  Just as there was to be continual light, there was to be continual sweet incense burning throughout the generations.  Once again, I would imagine that was a necessity because of the smells that must have occurred because of so many slaughtered animals, blood, and burning flesh.  It made for a perpetual sweet perfume which honored God.

(9) “You shall not offer strange incense on it, nor burnt sacrifice, nor grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it."

The golden incense altar was only to have the incense specifically made for it burned on it; there were to be no other types of incense.  It was not to be used for any sacrificial burning or any other types of offerings.  Nothing was to be offered on it but incense, and only the incense appointed for it.

(10)  “And Aaron shall make atonement upon the horns of it once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

Once a year this altar was to be purified by the sprinkling of blood on the horns of the altar, by what was called a sin offering of atonement.  This was to be done yearly throughout their generations.  I'm not sure which was the most holy to the Lord, the annual atonement itself, or this altar which was most holy and must be annually purified.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, did a beautiful job of explaining why everything was done the way it was done with regard to this altar, including many other scripture references to back up his opinion:

"This incense-altar typified, 1. The mediation of Christ. The brazen altar in the court was a type of Christ dying on earth; the golden altar in the sanctuary was a type of Christ interceding in heaven, in virtue of his satisfaction. This altar was before the mercy-seat; for Christ always appears in the presence of God for us; he is our advocate with the father (1 Jo 2:1), and his intercession is unto God of a sweet-smelling savour. This altar had a crown fixed to it; for Christ intercedes as king. 'Father, I will...' (Joh 17:24). 2. The devotions of the saints, whose prayers are said to be set forth before God as incense (Psa 141:2). As the smoke of the incense ascended, so much our desires towards God rise in prayer, being kindled with the fire of holy love and other pious affections. When the priest was burning incense the people were praying (Luk 1:10), to signify that prayer is the true incense. This incense was offered daily, it was a perpetual incense (Exo 30:8); for we must pray always, that is, we must keep up stated times for prayer every day, morning and evening, at least, and never omit it, but thus pray without ceasing. The lamps were dressed or lighted at the same time that the incense was burnt, to teach us that the reading of the scriptures (which are our light and lamp) is a part of our daily work, and should ordinarily accompany our prayers and praises. When we speak to God we must hear what God says to us, and thus the communion is complete. The devotions of sanctified souls are well-pleasing to God, of a sweet-smelling savour; the prayers of saints are compared to sweet odours (Rev 5:8), but it is the incense which Christ adds to them that makes them acceptable (Rev 8:3), and his blood that atones for the guilt which cleaves to our best services. And, if the heart and life be not holy, even incense is an abomination (Isa 1:13), and he that offers it is as if he blessed an idol (Isa 66:3)."

This really had me pondering why there had to be a blood sacrifice.  Actually the more precise question I had was which came first, a necessary blood sacrifice that Christ came to fulfill, or the plan for Christ with a blood sacrifice that was a foreshadowing of Him?  I don't have to know the exact answer as to why God required a blood sacrifice.  He is God and is bound (I don't like that word as God is not really bound by anything) by truth and His God-like character.  There are things in God's nature I cannot and don't really want to understand.  If I could totally understand the mind of God, then He wouldn't be a very powerful and almighty God.  So I am okay with that.  However, I have never thought until now about the possibility that Christ came first and then the blood sacrifice.  I know Christ came first; He has been there since the beginning (John 1:1), but I mean the plan for His sacrificial death for our sins.  I did find an article here at gotquestions.org that I thought gave a satisfactory answer for this:

"The whole of the Old Testament, every book, points toward the Great Sacrifice that was to come—that of Jesus’ sacrificial giving of His own life on our behalf. Leviticus 17:11 is the Old Testament’s central statement about the significance of blood in the sacrificial system. God, speaking to Moses, declares: 'For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.'

"A 'sacrifice' is defined as the offering up of something precious for a cause or a reason. Making atonement is satisfying someone or something for an offense committed. The Leviticus verse can be read more clearly now: God said, 'I have given it to you (the creature’s life, which is in its blood) to make atonement for yourselves (covering the offense you have committed against Me).' In other words, those who are covered by the blood sacrifice are set free from the consequences of sin.

"Of course, the Israelites did not know of Jesus per se, or how He would die on their behalf and then rise again, but they did believe God would be sending them a Savior. All of the many, many blood sacrifices seen throughout the Old Testament were foreshadowing the true, once-for-all-time sacrifice to come so that the Israelites would never forget that, without the blood, there is no forgiveness. This shedding of blood is a substitutionary act. Therefore, the last clause of Leviticus 17:11 could be read either 'the blood "makes atonement" at the cost of the life' (i.e., the animal’s life) or 'makes atonement in the place of the life' (i.e., the sinner’s life, with Jesus Christ being the One giving life through His shed blood).

"Hebrews 9:11-18 confirms the symbolism of blood as life and applies Leviticus 17:11 to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 12 states clearly that the Old Testament blood sacrifices were temporary and only atoned for sin partially and for a short time, hence the need to repeat the sacrifices yearly. But when Christ entered the Most Holy Place, He did so to offer His own blood once for all time, making future sacrifices unnecessary. This is what Jesus meant by His dying words on the cross: 'It is finished' (John 19:30). Never again would the blood of bulls and goats cleanse men from their sin. Only by accepting Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross for the remission of sins, can we stand before God covered in the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)."

(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (12) “When you take the sum of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for his soul to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them."

The Lord continued instructing Moses.  He was to take literally a head count of the number of the children of Israel, and every man was to pay a ransom, or a tribute or tax.  This tax or ransom was the redemption price each man paid to the Lord for redeeming his soul and bringing him into the covenant with Him.  They were to pay this ransom at the time of the count so that there would be no plague among them.  It appears they might incur punishment if they did not honor and pay this important ransom for their souls.  The original word for "plague" was "negeph", and although it was most often used to mean "plague", the first and most literal definition indicated by Strong's is "a trip of the foot".  Once again this was a picture of the coming Christ who would preserve them from the fall by sin into eternal death and destruction.  Before Jesus Christ came and paid the ransom for all, the children of Israel were required to pay their own ransoms.  Just as one must accept Christ's sacrifice for himself by believing in Him to cover his sins and thereby be saved from eternal death, the children of Israel had to actively participate by paying their own ransoms to avoid plague.

(13) “This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs); a half shekel shall be the offering to the Lord."

At the time of the numbering of the children of Israel, each who was numbered was to give half a shekel.  "According to the shekel of the sanctuary" probably just meant that they were to use the standard of the shekel kept in the sanctuary, as "shekel" referred to a weight in silver.  A shekel, or twenty gerahs, looks to be a little more than a third of an ounce in our current weights and measures, and they were to give half of that.  Thus silver was used to redeem souls in the Old Testament.  This is obviously what Peter spoke of in one of my memory verses when he said in 1 Peter 1:18-19, "Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

(14) “Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. (15) The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for your souls."

Only the ones twenty years and older were to give this half shekel offering to the Lord.  I believe we will find out later that it was only the men, and not women and children, who had to pay this ransom.  That makes sense since it was silver and that might necessarily have to come from the head of the household.  It also makes me ponder about how the father is to be the spiritual head of his household, and through his payment of the ransom, his family might be saved, but that is not really addressed here.  Notice that the rich were not to give more than half a shekel, nor were the poor to give less than half a shekel.  The price of the ransom of a soul was the same to all, as it is now in Jesus Christ.  No sin or sinner requires greater payment than another; one price is paid for all, as in the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

(16) “And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, that it may be a memorial to the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls."

This ransom tax was considered atonement money as it was paid for the redemption of the souls of the children of Israel, and it was to be appointed for the service of the tabernacle.  It would serve as a reminder to the children of Israel that they were sinners and deserving of death, but that a ransom price was given to and accepted by God, for the atonement of their souls, and in this they should be ever grateful of His mercy and favor.

(17) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (18) “You shall also make a laver of brass, and its foot also of brass, to wash; and you shall put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and you shall put water in it. (19) For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet at it."

The Lord continued to instruct Moses.  He was to make a brass laver, which was a large basin or bowl, on a foot or pedestal of brass, to be placed between the tabernacle and the altar of burnt offering which was by the door of the tabernacle.  It was to hold water where Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet.

(20) “When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, that they die not. (21) So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute forever to them, to him and to his descendants throughout their generations.”

Every time Aaron and his sons went into the tabernacle or when they went near the altar to make a burnt offering to the Lord, they were to wash their hands and feet.  Although cleanliness was important before entering the tabernacle and ministering to the Lord, I imagine it was symbolic of the purifying of their doings and their goings, before entering the tabernacle or ministering to the Lord.  The Lord told Moses, and then repeated it, that Aaron and his sons must wash with water so that they not die.  Dr. John Gill wrote, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, about how this act was a picture of sin which exposes one to eternal death and must be washed away by the blood of the Lamb of God.  It also sounds like an immediate hand of God would cause death if they neglected this command "by how much easier it was to perform it, by so much the more were they inexcusable, and to be treated with greater severity; and this is repeated, that they might carefully observe it, lest they perish".  Similarly, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to wash away one's sins is easy on our parts, requiring no special works, and likewise should it be inexcusable if we should reject and neglect it?

(22) Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (23) "Take also for yourself principal spices, five hundred shekels of pure myrrh, half as much sweet cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet cane, (24) five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. (25) And you shall make from these a holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary; it shall be an holy anointing oil."

Additionally, the Lord told Moses to take the best spices, with which He gave him the formula to make a holy ointment.  First he was to take 500 shekels of pure myrrh, which would be about 12 1/2 pounds of liquid oil, with a shekel being about .4 of an ounce.  He was to take half as much each of cinnamon and sweet cane, and 500 shekels of cassia, and mix them with a hin of olive oil, which would be almost a gallon of oil.  He was to make of the ingredients, a holy anointing oil, after the art of the apothecary, who pounded and mixed drugs and perfumes.  It was to be considered a holy anointing oil.

(26) "And you shall anoint the tabernacle of the congregation with it, and the ark of the Testimony, (27) And the table and all its utensils, the candlestick and its utensils, and the altar of incense, (28) And the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. (29) And you shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy."

Moses was to use the holy anointing oil to anoint the tabernacle, including the ark of the Testimony, the table, candlestick, altar of incense, altar of burnt offering, wash basin, and all the utensils pertaining to them.  By this anointing, they would be sanctified and considered most holy, set apart for sacred use.  Whatever touched these anointed and holy objects "shall be holy".  The question might be must they be holy before they were allowed to touch, or were they made holy because they touched...?  Interestingly, the NKJV made it sound as if whatever touched these things must be first holy.  But what made things first holy, but being sanctified by God in the way He instructed?  I believe, as in Exodus 29:37, with regard to whatever touched the holy altar, that once these items were properly sanctified, that they themselves sanctified the things that touched them, just as the altar sanctified the gifts on it.  This is based on what Jesus said about the altar sanctifying gifts upon it (Matthew 23:19).

(30) “And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me in the priest's office."

Likewise, the anointing oil was to be used in the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests.

(31) “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. (32) It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; neither shall you make any other like it, according to its composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. (33) Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, shall be cut off from his people.’”

Moses was instructed by God to tell the children of Israel that this holy anointing oil was to be for the Lord and to be used continually as instructed throughout their generations.  They were forbidden to pour it on themselves as was the case with personal anointing oil.  Nor were they allowed to make for themselves an anointing oil made with the same ingredients, because it was to be considered a holy oil to them, set apart for sacred use by and for the Lord.  Whoever made a similar compound for personal use, or whoever put it on a stranger, which I believe in this case meant anyone not of the line of Aaron who were the appointed priests, would be cut off from his people.  Whether this meant excommunication from the congregation of Israel, or immediate death and therefore excommunication from the living, I am not certain.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out in a later verse, Exodus 31:14, that the Lord distinguished in the same verse about those who would be put to death and those who would be cut off from his people.  Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that this cutting off meant excommunication from the congregation of the children of Israel.

(34) And the LORD said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. (35) And you shall make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy. (36) And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you."

The Lord told Moses also to take some other specific aromatic spices of equal proportions and make a perfume, again after the art of the apothecary, who pounded and mixed drugs and perfumes.  Some of it was to be beaten very finely, and placed before the ark of the Testimony, which was probably on the golden incense altar (v. 6 above), where the Lord had previously promised to meet with them.  It was to be considered most holy to the children of Israel.

(37) "And as for the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition; it shall be to you holy for the LORD. (38) Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”

Once again, if anyone made a perfume according to this formula for personal use, he would be excommunicated from his people.  Thus God instilled in His people a reverence for the things of Him, and taught them not to abuse or profane anything by which God made Himself known to His people. 

Consecration of the Priests

Resuming a chronological Bible study, this particular order designed by Skip Andrews here, I pick up with Exodus, chapter 29:

(Exodus 29:1) “And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them to minister to me in the priest's office: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, (2) And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). (3) And you shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams."

For the past several chapters of Exodus, Moses had been up on the mount with God who had most recently been giving him instructions on building a tabernacle and furnishing Aaron and his sons with all they needed to be priests for the Lord.  This chapter begins with instructions for the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the office of priesthood.  First Moses was to take a young bull and two unblemished rams.  Then he was to take three different kinds of unleavened bread made with wheat flour:  loaves of unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and thin unleavened wafers rubbed or anointed with oil.  The unleavened breads were to be placed in a basket and brought with the bull and two rams.

(4) “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and you shall wash them with water."

Then Moses was to bring or direct Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle where they were to be washed with water, surely a symbol that they must be cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit (2 Corinthians 7:1) before entering the tabernacle of the Lord, and certainly before bearing the vessels of the Lord (Isaiah 52:11).

(5) "And you shall take the garments, put the coat on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod; (6) And you shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban."

All the garments that Moses had been instructed to make or have made for Aaron were to be ceremoniously placed on him after he washed at the door of the tabernacle.  After they placed the turban on Aaron's head, they were to place the holy crown on the turban which was the gold plate with the words HOLINESS TO THE LORD engraved on it.

(7) "Then you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him."

After Aaron was dressed in his priestly garments, anointing oil was to be poured over his head in order to anoint him for the priest's office.

(8) "And you shall bring his sons and put coats on them. (9) And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the caps on them; and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute; and you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons."

Then Aaron's sons were to be brought forward and the coats that were made for them were to be placed on them.  The sashes and caps were likewise to be placed on the sons and Aaron, as well.  Thus Aaron and his sons would be consecrated to the office of the priesthood, and that office would be theirs for a perpetual statute in that it would descend from father to son in Aaron's family throughout all generations, until the Messiah came.

(10) "And you shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of the congregation, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. (11) And you shall kill the bull before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

Then the young bull was to be brought to the tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of the bull.  This act of putting their hands on the head of the bull probably signified that they understood this sacrifice was offered for them.  Then the sacrificial bull was to be killed "before the Lord" outside the door of the tabernacle, but probably inside the courtyard.

(12) "And you shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the base of the altar."

After the bull was slain and the blood was probably collected in a basin, some of the blood was to be put on the horns of the altar with the finger.  As the horns were where people in distress would later flee for refuge and laid hold on, the blood on the horns may have represented the blood of Christ, "being effectual to the cleansing of their souls, and the remission of their sins, through the application of it to them by the Spirit of God" (Dr. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible).  The rest of the blood of the bull was to be poured beside the base of the altar.

(13) “And you shall take all the fat that covers the inwards, the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar."

There are such varying interpretations of what is meant by verse 13 that it is difficult to know exactly the true meaning.  I wish I could know with more certainty as usually God's laws had good common sense behind them, and if He said we shouldn't eat the liver or other certain organs of an animal, I would assume there is a good reason why.  Take "the fat that covers the inwards"; many take this to mean the membrane or caul of the bowels, the entrails, or the intestines.  That is quite reasonable, but I can't help but wonder if it meant all the fat covering all the organs inside the body.  The original word translated as "inwards" was "qereb" and it was defined by Strong's as "the nearest past, the center, bowels, midst, heart, within self".  Most often it was used in the Bible to mean "among" or "midst" or "within".  Indeed, I have found that whereas we consider our hearts to be our centers of emotion, in Biblical times, it was the gut.  Actually, that is much more accurate, isn't it?  Don't we have feelings down in our guts?  We get butterflies in our stomachs?  We can literally get sick in our stomachs or bowels with worry.  We might get heart flutters when we are nervous, but I think most of our emotions take place in our center part, an area around our waist or middle that includes the liver, stomach, kidneys, and intestines.  At this point, my best guess is that they were to take all the fat that covered the organs in this mid-section of the sacrificial animal.

Next consider the "caul that is above the liver".  Again, I'd really like to know if God intended for us to eat animal livers or not.  There are many health experts, even Biblically minded ones, who say that beef liver is extremely healthy.  Taking it a step at a time, the word translated as "caul" was "yothereth".  Strong's says it is a form of the word "yathar" which meant "jut over, exceed, remain or be left, left behind", thus making "yothereth" mean "the lobe or flap of the liver (as if overhanging), caul, appendage, overhang, protrusion".  In all instances in scripture, "yothereth" was always translated as "caul".  The dictionary defined caul (where it pertains to the inner organs, specifically the liver area) as "a large fold of peritoneum hanging from the stomach across the intestines; the large omentum".  Now I'm more confused!  Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary defined it this way:  "(Heb. yothe'reth; i.e., 'something redundant'), the membrane which covers the upper part of the liver (Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; 7:4; marg., 'midriff'). In Hos. 13:8 (Heb. seghor; i.e., 'an enclosure') the pericardium, or parts about the heart, is meant."  Looking at an illustration of body organs, there does appear to be an extra flap of the liver over the stomach.  Maybe that is what is meant?  As far as whether or not the liver may be eaten, I was directed back to Exodus 12:9, where the Passover lamb was to be eaten roasted "with the purtenance" which means "the inner organs" or specifically "the liver, heart, and lungs of an animal", so it does seem there was no prohibition against eating animal liver.

Finally, the two kidneys and the fat on them were also to be burned on the altar along with the fat and caul above the liver.  Just as varied as opinions of exactly what parts of the body were meant were the opinions regarding the reasoning behind the act of burning the fat, etc.  The fact that these parts of the body made up the gut and the source of emotion, I noted with interest Dr. John Gill's pondering about whether the burning of the fat represented a good thing or a bad thing.  Perhaps they were honoring the Lord with the very center of the very best we have to offer, or "being the seat of carnal desires, affections, and lusts; it may denote that the inward part of man is very wickedness, and that the inward corruptions of nature, and the carnal affections and fleshly lusts, are to be mortified and destroyed..."

(14) “But the flesh of the bull, and its skin and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering."

The bull's flesh, skin, and dung were to be burned outside the camp as a sin offering to make atonement for the priests.  Dr. John Gill noted that this was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who would suffer His painful and shameful death outside the gates of Jerusalem.  This was referred to by the apostle in Hebrews 13:11-12:  "For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate."

(15) “You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram; (16) And you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it all around on the altar."

Then they were to take one of the two rams they had been instructed to bring, and Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of the ram, again acknowledging their guilt and their need for this sacrifice.  Placing their hands on the head of the animal may have been an illustration of transferring their sin and guilt to the ram.  They were then to kill the ram and sprinkle its blood all around the altar.

(17) "And you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its inwards and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head. (18) And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD."

The ram was to be cut into pieces and its insides and legs washed, and all the pieces with its head were to be burned on the altar.  Burning the whole ram on the altar was to be a burnt offering to the Lord.  The two words translated as "sweet aroma" actually meant more of a "smell of rest" which meant the offering made by fire to the Lord caused His justified wrath to cease, and He acquiesced and rested, taking delight and pleasure in the burnt sacrifice made to Him.

(19) "And you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram.  (20) Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar."

Next Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of the second ram, and then they were to kill it.  They were to take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, and on their right thumbs and right big toes, surely signifying that they dedicated all their powers to the service of God.  The ears represented their hearing the word of God, their hands doing the things of God, and their feet walking in the way of God's word.  Then the second ram's blood was to be sprinkled all around the altar as with the first ram.

(21) “And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, and on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him."

They were also to take some of the blood of the ram and also some anointing oil and they were to sprinkle that on Aaron and his priestly garments, and also on Aaron's sons and their garments.  In this way, Aaron and his sons and their garments would be made ceremoniously clean and holy, the blood representing the blood of Christ, that perfect sacrifice, and the oil representing the Holy Spirit.

(22) “Also you shall take the fat of the ram and the rump, the fat that covers the inwards, the caul above the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and the right shoulder, for it is a ram of consecration:"

I have read that the sheep in this area were remarkable for their very broad fat tails, so that may be what is meant by the rump here.  They were to take the fat tail with the fat that was on it, and again the fat that covered the inwards, the caul above the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that was on them, and in addition, the right shoulder.  This was to be a ram of consecration, dedicating and ordaining the priests to their sacred office.  The original word for consecration used here was "millu", and it meant "fulfilling", even "setting" or "installation", as the same word was used when referring to the setting of the precious stones in the ephod.  This was the ram that represented fulfillment of the steps necessary to install the priests into their office.

(23) "And one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: (24) And you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD."

Along with the parts of the ram mentioned in verse 22, they were to take of the unleavened wheat breads in the basket mentioned in verse 2, one loaf, one cake mixed with oil, and one wafer.  All these things, which would seem to include the parts of the ram mentioned in verse 22 and the three breads, were to be placed into the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they were to wave them to and fro before the Lord as a wave offering, that is, in token of their being offered to the Lord.

(25) "And you shall receive them from their hands and burn them on the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet aroma before the LORD; it is an offering made by fire to the LORD."

"You" here probably means Moses himself as Aaron and his sons were not completely installed into the office of priesthood at this point.  Moses was to accept the wave offering from their hands and burn it on the altar for a burnt offering to the Lord.  Once again this was a "smell of rest" in which the Lord took delight and pleasure in the burnt sacrifice made to Him.

(26) "And you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be your part."

At this point the breast of the ram was to be taken by Moses and waved for a wave offering to the Lord.  God said that the breast was to be Moses's part, as Moses would be officiating as priest in the consecration ceremony for Aaron and his sons.  Later this part of the sacrifice would belong to the priests, that is, Aaron and his sons.

(27) "And you shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering which is waved, and the shoulder of the heave offering which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons. (28) And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute forever from the children of Israel; for it is a heave offering, and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, their heave offering to the LORD."

The breast of the wave offering was to be sanctified, set apart for the use of the priests.  Also the ram's shoulder was to be heaved for a heave offering.  Was this the same shoulder from verse 22 that had already been put into Aaron's and his sons' hands and waved as a part of a wave offering?  I suppose so; I can't really find a definitive answer to that.  I can't get my head completely around the meaning of all the symbolic gestures, and perhaps get hung up on unimportant details.  I will assume that the shoulder was first waved in a gesture of offering it to the Lord, and then burnt on the altar for a sweet aroma before the Lord (v. 25).  Then the burnt meats were to be waved and heaved in wave and heave offerings.  A wave offering was in a gesture to and fro from side to side, whereas a heave offering was heaved or offered up and then back down.  Early Biblical scholars pointed out that these motions indicated a cross.  I love that!  Just as the blood on the doorposts and lintels of the doors of the Israelites in Egypt at the first great passover that gave Passover its name intimated a cross, here the priests' actions of waving and heaving suggested a cross.  I just love how often Christ is found in the Old Testament!  All things have always pointed to Him.  God's plan for salvation has been there since the beginning; man just had to understand his need for it through all his failures.   

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, put it this way:  "The flesh of the sacrifice, with the meat-offering annexed to it, was...divided between God and them, that (to speak with reverence) God and they might feast together, in token of friendship and fellowship. Part of it was to be first waved before the Lord, and then burnt upon the altar; part of the flesh, part of the bread, for bread and flesh must go together; these were first put into the hands of Aaron to be waved to and fro, in token of their being offered to God (who, though unseen, yet compasses us round on every side), and then they were to be burnt upon the altar, for the altar was to devour God's part of the sacrifice. Thus God admitted Aaron and his sons to be his servants, and wait at his table, taking the meat of his altar from their hands."  That sounds reasonable, but where that leaves the heaved shoulder, raw or burnt, I'm not sure, but that is probably not important.

At this point, the breast was to be sanctified and set apart for Moses, and the shoulder was sanctified and set apart for Aaron and his sons.  However, as a statute forever (as long as the priesthood of Aaron lasted until the Messiah came), the breast and the shoulder would henceforth (after this first time) be the portion of the priests, Aaron and his sons.  The children of Israel would always allow the priests to have these parts, the breast and the shoulder.  Remember that Aaron wore the names of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders and on his breastplate.  Thus the heave offering was done on behalf of the children of Israel, and because the priest did this for them, they would always give this portion to the priest. 

(29) “And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them."

The holy garments they had made for Aaron were to descend from him to his sons, and would actually continue to pass from father to son as long as the priesthood continued in Aaron's family.  Aaron's sons after him would also go through the anointing ceremony of being washed, ceremoniously clothed, and anointed in the holy garments.

(30) "And that son who is priest in his place shall put them on for seven days, when he comes into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place."

The son who was priest in Aaron's place was the one who became high priest after Aaron.  The priesthood continued in Aaron's family by succession, with the eldest son being high priest.  The next successor to the office of high priest was to wear the holy garments for seven days when he went into the tabernacle to minister in the holy place.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that the "priest in his consecration was to abide seven days and nights at the door of the tabernacle, keeping the Lord’s watch", referring to a later verse in Leviticus 8:33 that spoke of not going out of the door of the congregation seven days until the days of the consecration were at end.  The number seven was considered the number of perfection.  It is often used to denote completion, accomplishment, fullness, or perfection of a thing.  As this act of consecration lasted seven days, it signified a perfect fulfilled consecration.

(31) “And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place. (32) And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

The rest of the flesh of the second ram, the ram of consecration, was to be boiled.  The scripture said it was to be boiled in the holy place, but later scriptures will indicate it was at the door of the tabernacle or holy place.  Aaron and his sons were to eat this boiled flesh and the rest of the bread in the basket by the door.  The door of the tabernacle probably referred to the whole courtyard at the entrance of the tabernacle.

(33) "And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy."

Aaron and his sons would be eating the things with which the atonement was made, signifying their receiving the atonement.  Scofield wrote that the word "atonement" was not a proper translation of the original Hebrew word "kaphar", but rather the translator's interpretation.  Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs define the word as "cover" or "make reconciliation" or "make atonement".  However, Scofield asserted that these sacrifices merely "covered" the offerer's sin and secured divine forgiveness, but did not make the sinner "at-one" with God, which is what he said "atone" actually meant.  He pointed to the scripture in Hebrews 10:4 which said, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins."  Quoting Scofield, "The Israelite's offering implied confession of sin and of its due dessert, death; and God 'covered' (or) 'passed over' his sin, in anticipation of Christ's sacrifice."  He pointed out that the word "atonement" did not even really occur in the New Testament.  There is one KJV translation of it in Romans 5:11, but the word is "katallage" and actually means "exchanged" and most all of the other Bible translations used the word "reconciliation" rather than "atonement".

Back to commentary on verse 33 above, Aaron and his sons were to eat of those foods that had been used in the sacrificial covering of their sins, and by doing so, were consecrated and made ceremoniously clean.  However, no one outside the family of Aaron would be allowed to eat those foods because they were considered holy.

(34) “And if any of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy."

Also because the food was considered holy, if any of it remained until the next morning, they were to burn the remainder with fire, and none of it eaten that next day.  Those same orders were used with respect to what was left of the passover in Exodus 12:10.  In both cases, these sacrifices were representative of the covering of sins by Christ, and could not be allowed to spoil or be eaten by the unclean, heathens, or dogs, etc.

(35) "And thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; seven days you shall consecrate them."

All the things described before--washing, clothing, anointing them, sprinkling blood on them and their garments, and offering sacrifice for them--all those things were to be done to Aaron and his sons as commanded by God.  Although all the ceremonies were probably performed on the first day, they were not to consider their consecration completed until the end of seven days.

(36) “And you shall offer a bull every day for a sin offering for atonement; and you shall cleanse the altar when you have made atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it."

Every day of the seven days of consecration, they were to offer a bull for a sin offering.  Seven, being that perfect number of completion, was representative of the full and complete atonement for sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It appears that the seven daily sacrifices made atonement for the altar itself.  The altar itself could not sin, but it did receive many sin offerings, and was to be cleaned and atonement ceremoniously made for it to purge it from the uncleanness of the sins of children of Israel.  Afterwards it was also to be anointed with holy anointing oil and set apart for holy use.  Dr. John Gill pointed out that in this way the altar represented Christ, "who is that altar believers in him have a right to partake of; and though he had no sin of his own, no guilt of that kind to expiate, nor pollution to be cleansed from, yet as he had the guilt of his people transferred to him, and was clothed with their filthy garments, and had their uncleannesses on him; by the sacrifice of himself he purged away sin from himself and them, and was justified and cleared of all, and they in him... it was a figure of Christ anointed with the oil of gladness, the Holy Spirit, above his fellows; and was sanctified and set apart for his priestly office, in which he was both altar, sacrifice, and priest."

(37) “Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it, and it shall be a most holy altar; whatever touches the altar shall be holy."

After seven days of atonement and sanctification, the altar would be considered a most holy altar.  Then whatever touched it would also be holy.  I believe this literally meant that when the altar was properly expiated and sanctified, the altar itself sanctified the gifts that were on it.  Jesus referred to this in Matthew 23:19 when He asked what was greater, the gift or the altar that sanctified the gift?  Once again, Christ is illustrated in the rituals of the Old Testament.  He is our altar; for our sakes He sanctified Himself in order that we might be sanctified and accepted by God.

(38) “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. (39) One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at evening."

Every single day, continually, two young lambs in their first year were to be offered on the altar, one in the morning and the other in the evening.  This represented Christ the Lamb of God who continually covers and takes away the sins of His people on a continual basis.

(40) "And with the one lamb shall be a tenth deal of flour mingled with one-fourth of an hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering."

With the first lamb offered in the morning, they were also to offer a tenth deal of flour, which was a tenth of an ephah, which was an omer, or about two quarts, mixed with one-fourth hin, or about a quart, of pure pressed oil.  It is interesting to note that an omer was considered to be the amount one man could eat in a day and was the amount of manna per person the people were instructed to gather every day in Exodus 16.  They were also to offer one-fourth hin (about a quart) of wine for a drink offering. 

(41) “And the other lamb you shall offer at evening and shall do as with the grain offering and the drink offering in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD."

Likewise, in the evening, they were to offer the lamb with the same amount of flour and oil and wine.  This offering made by fire would be considered a sweet aroma to the Lord.  Matthew Henry pointed out that "the daily sacrifices were as the daily meals in God's house, and therefore they were always attended with bread and wine".

(42) “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of congregation before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak there to you."

Offered up every morning and evening, there was to be a continual burnt offering at the altar of burnt offering that stood by the door of the tabernacle.  This continual burnt offering was to last throughout the ages until Jesus Christ would become the ultimate sacrifice and put an end to these then unnecessary sacrifices.  The Lord promised to meet Moses there to speak to him.

(43) “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by My glory."

God promised also to meet the children of Israel of there, accepting their sacrifices, probably hearing their prayers and thanksgiving, and giving instruction through the priests.  What shall be sanctified by the Lord's glory?  The original KJV translators added the words "the tabernacle" where I rather supplied "it".  None of the old commentators believe the tabernacle is what was meant, as it was referred to in the next verse.  Rather the place where the Lord would meet His people would be sanctified by His glory merely by His presence there, or it might mean that the people themselves would be sanctified, or set apart or distinguished, because of His glorious presence among them.

(44) "And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar; I will also sanctify both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me in the priest's office."

The Lord would also sanctify the tabernacle, the altar, and Aaron and his sons as priests.  Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible pointed out that "the sanctification by Moses according to the Divine institution was only symbolical; and that Aaron and his sons must be sanctified, i.e., made holy, by God himself before they could officiate in holy things. From this, as well as from many other things mentioned in the sacred writings, we may safely infer that no designation by man only is sufficient to qualify any person to fill the office of a minister of the sanctuary. The approbation and consecration of man have both their propriety and use, but must never be made substitutes for the unction and inspiration of the Almighty. Let holy men ordain, but let God sanctify; then we may expect that his Church shall be built up on its most holy faith."

(45) "And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. (46) And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them; I am the LORD their God."

God promised to dwell among His children and He would be their God.  By His great blessings bestowed on them as when He brought them out of bondage in Egypt, the children of Israel would know that He was their Lord.  He brought them out to be His separate people that He might dwell among them.  Perhaps even greater than His act of bringing them out of bondage was the fact that He made them His special people who would dwell under His protection and guidance, with Him dwelling in the midst of them.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, put it this way:  "The purpose of the formal consecration of the sanctuary and of the priests who served in it was, that the whole nation which Yahweh had set free from its bondage in Egypt might be consecrated in its daily life, and dwell continually in His presence as 'a kingdom of priests and an holy nation'."  He referred to Exodus 19:6 where God said the children of Israel would be to Him a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

To this day, we must all have our indwelling Savior.  Adam Clarke beautifully wrote, "From the beginning of the world, the salvation of the souls of men necessarily implied the indwelling influences of God. Reader, hast thou this salvation? This alone will support thee in all thy travels in this wilderness, comfort thee in death, and give thee boldness in the day of judgment."