Exodus 29:12, commentary and pictures

This verse gives one step in the seven-day consecration of Aaron and his sons for priestly service, directing that some of the bullock's blood be placed on the horns of the altar with the finger and all the rest be poured out at the base of the altar. It belongs to the detailed instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai for the sanctuary to be built exactly according to the pattern shown him, with its two apartments, veil, furniture and vessels, so that God might dwell among Israel. The blood stands for the life of the victim, and its use in this rite pictures the transfer of the sinner's guilt to the sanctuary to make atonement for sin and cleanse it while the transgressed law rested in the ark. The whole earthly sanctuary with its Levitical ministration was the copy and shadow of the true tabernacle on high where Jesus now ministers in the daily service of the holy place and the yearly work of the most holy place. The blood of the bullock itself could take away no sin but pointed forward to Christ, the Lamb of God who bears sin in His own body and takes it away by the sacrifice of Himself; with His once-for-all suffering and death these flesh offerings and carnal ordinances were abolished and the typical service passed away at Calvary when the veil was rent.

Setting and Ritual Procedure

Exodus 29:12 belongs to the detailed instructions for the tabernacle and its furniture given to Moses during his forty days stay on Mount Sinai together with the tables of stone, before the sanctuary was built. It is part of the sanctuary and priesthood system ordained during those forty days on the mountain, with its blood ritual belonging to the ministry established for the sanctuary before the ark. It is part of the very minute description of the sanctuary built in the days of Moses given in Exodus 25-40, which Moses was instructed to make exactly according to the pattern shown him in the mount.

That sanctuary Moses was commanded to build was made from offerings of gold, silver, brass, acacia wood, fine linen, goat's hair and other materials, with its framework, coverings, divisions, furniture and vessels, so that God might dwell among Israel. It was composed of two apartments separated by a veil, and is what the word sanctuary generally means. It served as God's dwelling place among His people in the wilderness, and later Solomon's temple built after the same pattern took the place of the portable tabernacle. In both buildings the worship of God upon the earth centered, and all the earthly worship and service revolved around the holy of holies where the law of God rested with the mercy-seat over it.

The verse prescribes the altar blood ritual for the bullock: some of its blood is put upon the horns of the altar with the finger, and all the rest is poured beside the bottom or base of the altar. It belongs to the instructions for the sanctuary and its services and to the beginning of service in the earthly sanctuary, directing how the bullock's blood was to be applied to the altar as part of the Levitical ministration that prepared the sanctuary service. It forms part of the seven-day consecration of Aaron and his sons to prepare them to minister between God and the people, with blood from the bull applied to the altar and poured at its base as one of the sacrificial acts accompanying their consecration to holy service. That ceremony as a whole included sacrifices, anointing oil and blood, and should be carefully studied together with the description of the priestly garments in Exodus 28.

Here sanctification means consecration, or the setting apart of priests and sacred things for religious use. Moses killing the bullock and putting its blood on the horns of the altar acted as the first priest under the old covenant. The priestly rites were committed to Aaron and his sons, so that Saul, who had not been ordained to perform such rites, was instructed to wait for Samuel. Exodus 29:1-31 gives laws for the regulation of Israel's worship, distinct from the laws governing civil government, setting out worship rules and the positions of those responsible for carrying them out. The same offerings and consecration required of the high priest were also required of the cleansed leper.

Meaning and Fulfillment in Christ

The sanctuary and its rites present God's plan for dealing with sin and saving sinners through Christ, serving as an earthly object lesson of God's government and His work for sinners. Sanctuary worship and its services were intended to bring people into harmony with God's holy law.

The blood used in the altar ritual represents life, the victim's life, with some applied to the horns of the altar and the rest poured beside its base. In the sanctuary service that blood pictured the transfer of the sinner's guilt and sin to the sanctuary through the priest. Sacrificial blood was so used to make atonement for sin and cleanse the sanctuary, while the transgressed law was kept in the ark.

The ancient tabernacle was constructed for that sacrificial service in sacrifices and offerings at the altar, unlike modern churches, and the whole service passed away when Christ came and suffered and died once for all. The earthly sanctuary with its two holy places under the Levitical priesthood was the pattern, example, copy and shadow of the true tabernacle and great temple on high which the Lord pitched and not man, built according to the pattern shown to Moses so God might dwell among Israel. Its ministration was the shadow of Christ's more excellent ministry in the true tabernacle where Jesus now ministers, divided into the daily service in the holy place and the yearly work in the most holy place for the sins of the people and for the cleansing of the sanctuary. Like the rest of the earthly sanctuary rites and ceremonies, this blood rite served unto the shadow of heavenly things as a type foreshadowing the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world and His power to forgive sin, transform character and deliver. The laws of Moses concerning sacrifices and offerings are ceremonial types revealing the shadows of the old dispensation, to be remembered so the substance of the new dispensation can be traced from them.

The blood of the bullock put on the horns and poured beside the bottom, like the blood of bulls and goats in such flesh offerings, could not really take away sins. It could only point penitent sinners forward to the great sacrifice, Christ, who bears sins in His own body on the tree and takes away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. As High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary before the ark of God's testament He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Him and freely forgive all who avail themselves of that propitiation, so that eternal life requires eating the flesh of the Son of man and drinking His blood.

This rite belongs not with the ten commandments God spoke directly to the people and wrote on stone with nothing added, but with the laws commanded by the hand of Moses in Exodus 25-30 and Leviticus. Those laws consist of burdensome ceremonies, flesh offerings and carnal ordinances imposed until the time of reformation, a yoke which neither the fathers nor the apostles were able to bear. After Christ suffered and died once for all they were not to be continued but were abolished in His flesh, finding fulfillment in His body, and the worldly sanctuary and its typical, shadowy service passed away entirely and forever at Calvary when the veil was rent.

Moses killing the bullock and applying its blood acted as the first priest under the old covenant, and in that priestly office and as prophet was a type of Christ, with the house of Moses, the house of Israel, a type of the house of Christ. That Levitical ministration before the ark brought the holy law to a sinful, rebellious people as condemnation and death, showing guilt and exposure to its just penalty with no promise of pardon in itself. The consecration ceremony with its sacrifices, anointing oil and blood accompanying setting apart to holy service typified the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit as the means qualifying priests for office. The same offerings and consecration required of the high priest were also required of the cleansed leper, showing that even the humblest child of God must be as devoted and consecrated as Christ. Beyond its place in the earthly copy made according to the pattern, no further explanation is given of this particular blood rite.