Leviticus 8:22
And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
The verse records the bringing of the second ram, the ram of consecration, for the ordination by which Aaron and his sons were set apart through seven days of ceremony to minister for others before God in the earthly sanctuary. Their laying of hands upon its head transferred sin to the offering, so that it bore their guilt in their place and was accepted for them under the broken law. The blood of that ram placed upon the right ear, right thumb, and great toe, with blood sprinkled upon the priestly garments, marked the whole man and what he wore as belonging to God for hearing His voice, doing what is heard, and going on His errands. The whole service was a pattern of Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, the ram pointing to Jesus as the Lamb of God whose sacrifice alone takes away sin and whose blood separates believers to God, both justifying and sanctifying them for continual service and worship.
Consecration Ceremony Described
Leviticus 8:22 belongs to the account of the consecration of the priests, one of the few historical narratives in Leviticus amid its laws for sanctuary worship and proper approach to God. It stands as part of the sacrifices described in the first eight chapters of the book, whose details each had meaning. In that account the verse identifies the second animal brought forward as the ram of consecration, offered in connection with Aaron and his sons being set apart as priests.
Moses set apart Aaron and his sons in special ordination ceremonies before they began their ministry for others, consecrating the Levitical order of priesthood. That consecration lasted seven days, during which they laid their hands on the head of the ram of consecration, and it prepared them to serve as priests. Their ministry was to be performed before the ark containing the law in the Most Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary while that sanctuary continued. After the consecration God publicly accepted their priestly ministry.
The ceremony set the priests and even their bodily faculties apart for God's service. Blood from the ram applied to the right ear signified hearing and understanding what God spoke. Blood on the right thumb represented both hands ready to do what had been heard, and blood on the great toe represented feet ready to carry out the errands made known by God's voice. The consecration extended beyond Aaron himself when his priestly garments were also hallowed, so that sprinkled blood marked both him and what he wore as belonging to God.
Type of Christ's Work
The earthly sanctuary ministry to which this ram belonged was a pattern of Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, and its priesthood and rites served as a type of Christ and His priesthood there. The sacrifices described in the first eight chapters of Leviticus each have a symbolic connection to the work of Jesus Christ, and the details of these consecration sacrifices each had meaning whose fuller meaning is found in His sacrifice, life, and work. The consecration ram itself was one of the sacrifices that served as a type pointing forward to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Aaron and his sons laying their hands upon the head of the ram signified the transfer of sin from the sinner to the offering, so that the offering bore the sinner's sin in the place of the sinner and was accepted in the sinner's place as an offering to the broken law, and in this the animal sacrifices typified Christ's offering for sin.
That Levitical priesthood ministering before the ark containing the law in the Most Holy Place of the typical sanctuary while that sanctuary continued belonged to a ministration that could only exhibit guilt, condemnation, and death. It offered no sacrifice that could take away sin, and its offerings could only point penitent sinners forward to the great Sacrifice to be offered for the sins of men. This stands in contrast to the ministration of Christ as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, who died for the human family and is able to save to the uttermost. The ram's blood applied to the priests to set them apart for God points to the blood of Jesus, which separates believers to God because they belong to Him and both justifies and sanctifies them for continual service and worship.