Exodus 29:24

29:1-37 Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for the priest's office, with ceremony and solemnity. Our Lord Jesus is the great High Priest of our profession, called of God to be so; anointed with the Spirit, whence he is called Messiah, the Christ; clothed with glory and beauty; sanctified by his own blood; made perfect, or consecrated through sufferings, Heb 2:10. All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices,

(24) Thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons. —Rather, on the hands. Having placed the offerings on the hands of his brother and his brother’s sons, Moses was to put his own hands beneath theirs, and to make a waving motion towards the four quarters of the sky, thus presenting the offerings to the ubiquitous God. Aaron and his sons thus performed their first priestly act, as passive instruments in Moses’ hands, by his muscular energy. Their priestly character was by these means made complete. (On “wave offerings,” see Note upon Leviticus 7:30 .) Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary29:1-37 Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for the priest's office, with ceremony and solemnity. Our Lord Jesus is the great High Priest of our profession, called of God to be so; anointed with the Spirit, whence he is called Messiah, the Christ; clothed with glory and beauty; sanctified by his own blood; made perfect, or consecrated through sufferings, Heb 2:10. All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices,Barnes' Notes on the BibleDoor of the tabernacle - Entrance of the tent. See Leviticus 8:3.Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary10-22.

And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle—This part of the ceremonial consisted of three sacrifices: (1) The sacrifice of a bullock, as a sin offering; and in rendering it, the priest was directed to put his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, expressing by that act a consciousness of personal guilt, and a wish that it might be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction. (2) The sacrifice of a ram as a burnt offering (Ex 29:15-18). The ram was to be wholly burnt, in token of the priest's dedication of himself to God and His service. The sin offering was first to be presented, and then the burnt offering; for until guilt be removed, no acceptable service can be performed. (3) There was to be a peace offering, called "the ram of consecration" (Ex 29:19-22). And there was a marked peculiarity in the manner in which this other ram was to be disposed of. The former was for the glory of God—this was for the comfort of the priest himself; and as a sign of a mutual covenant being ratified, the blood of the sacrifice was divided—part sprinkled on the altar round about, and part upon the persons and garments of the priests. Nay, the blood was, by a singular act, directed to be put upon the extremities of the body, thereby signifying that the benefits of the atonement would be applied to the whole nature of man.

Either toss them from one hand to another, as giving all from themselves to God; or shake them to and fro, towards the several parts of the world, to note God’s dominion over all places and people, and the extent of that true and great sacrifice, represented in these types to all.

Verse 24. - Thou shalt put all in the hands , or " on the hands." The offerings were to be laid first, on the hands of Aaron, and then on those of his sons, which were to support them; while Moses, putting his hands under theirs, made a waving motion with them towards the four corners of the heavens, to indicate that the gifts were offered to the omnipresent God. This process was that "filling of the hand," by which the actual installation in office took place. Moses, by the act, transferred the priestly functions, which he had hitherto exercised, to his brother and his brother's descendants. He made them by his muscular energy perform their first priestly act. Exodus 29:24

24 . hands ] lit. palms ; hence ‘upon,’ i.e. upon the open palms. wave them ] Moses is to ‘wave’ the offerings enumerated in vv. 22, 23, as they lie upon the priests’ hands, before Jehovah—i.e. to wave them not from right to left, but towards the altar and back. The ceremony of ‘waving’—first in H, Leviticus 23:11 ; Leviticus 23:20 —is prescribed mostly for offerings which become ultimately the perquisite of the priests: and it seems to be intended as a symbolical expression of the fact that such offerings are first given to God, and then given back by Him to the priest for his own use (Di. on Leviticus 7:30 , Now. ii. 239, Bä.): cf. Numbers 5:25 ; and see further on Leviticus 7:30 . Here, as the offerings were afterwards, not given to the priests, but burned upon the altar ( v. 25), the symbolism of the ceremony must be different; perhaps it is meant as a symbolical induction of the priests by Moses into their office of presenting sacrifices upon the altar (Bä.).

10-22. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle—This part of the ceremonial consisted of three sacrifices: (1) The sacrifice of a bullock, as a sin offering; and in rendering it, the priest was directed to put his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, expressing by that act a consciousness of personal guilt, and a wish that it might be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction. (2) The sacrifice of a ram as a burnt offering (Ex 29:15-18). The ram was to be wholly burnt, in token of the priest's dedication of himself to God and His service. The sin offering was first to be presented, and then the burnt offering; for until guilt be removed, no acceptable service can be performed. (3) There was to be a peace offering, called "the ram of consecration" (Ex 29:19-22). And there was a marked peculiarity in the manner in which this other ram was to be disposed of. The former was for the glory of God—this was for the comfort of the priest himself; and as a sign of a mutual covenant being ratified, the blood of the sacrifice was divided—part sprinkled on the altar round about, and part upon the persons and garments of the priests. Nay, the blood was, by a singular act, directed to be put upon the extremities of the body, thereby signifying that the benefits of the atonement would be applied to the whole nature of man.

Moreover, the flesh of this sacrifice was to be divided, as it were, between God and the priest—part of it to be put into his hand to be waved up and down, in token of its being offered to God, and then it was to be burnt upon the altar; the other part was to be eaten by the priests at the door of the tabernacle—that feast being a symbol of communion or fellowship with God. These ceremonies, performed in the order described, showed the qualifications necessary for the priests. (See Heb 7:26, 27; 10:14).