The Ram of Consecration

The ram called olah was not the only one to arrive at the altar during the priests’ consecration service. His buddy, the ram of consecration, accompanied him. Though his fate was similar in some ways to that of olah, the destination of his blood was much different.

The ram of consecration felt the same pressure of the priests’ hands on his head, suffered the same knife to his throat, gave up the same amount of life as his companion. But the blood that spilled from him experienced a detour before finding its way to the altar. Moses painted it on the right ears, thumbs, and big toes of Aaron and his boys. The rest Moses splashed about the altar before sprinkling it on the priests—setting them aside wholly unto the Lord.

As New Testament priests in God’s Kingdom (Exodus 19:6), what does this say to us today? The first clue is in which side of the body the blood touched. A person’s right side is a position of honor and strength. (We see Jesus, for example, seated at the right hand of the Father in Scriptures such as Acts 2:33 and Hebrews 8:1.)

Consecrating this side implied the dedication of the priests’ personal honor and strength to God’s service. Their ears, hands, and feet would be devoted to the Lord—honoring him in all they listened to, what they did, and where they went. That same spiritual blood has been sprinkled on us so that our ears and hands and feet should be set apart for those things which concern the Lord. (Read more about this, if you’d like, in my book A Place for Me in God’s Tent.)

The Ram Wasn’t Done Giving

The next clue is in what happened next. Because, even after all his blood had been poured out, the ram of consecration wasn’t done giving. Moses removed the fat, kidneys, and right thigh from his carcass and piled them into the open arms of the priests. On top of these, he added wheat in the forms of a loaf, a cake, and a wafer. Thus loaded with meat, fat, and bread, Aaron and his sons waved them before the Lord.

This was God’s portion of the sacrifice—the best of the meat along with the innermost parts of the ram. When the waving was done, therefore, Moses took all of it back from the priests and cast it into the flames as a burnt offering.

As these parts burned on the altar, Moses took the ram’s other thigh, along with its breast, and heaped all this into the priests’ arms. Once more they waved it before the Lord. But once that was done, this portion became their own.

Feeding on the Ram of Consecration

 In the process of consecrating his priests to minister to both God and his people, the Lord not only appointed their supply, he served it from his own table. The ram who had consecrated them became the one who provisioned them for service.

It’s no wonder the Hebrew root of the word “consecrate” carries a sense of “filling.” God filled the priests’ arms first with his own portion, then provided for those who were serving him—making himself the source for both portions.

In celebration of this mutually beneficial sacrifice, the priests remained in the tabernacle for the next seven days, feeding from the same ram in different ways as they sat around a common table (Exodus 29:19–37)

The Ram of Supply

As New Testament priests, we are similarly positioned. We stand between God and his people, speaking to him for them and to them for him. It’s a heady, often intimidating job. One which we can’t hope to accomplish without his help. Who among us can say they’re fully qualified to handle the pressures, able to give all that may be required?

In the ram of consecration, we have God’s assurance that, in return for giving our ears and hands and feet to his service, he will fill our spiritual arms with all we need. The ram he used to consecrate us to serve in his dwelling place will also strengthen us to do so faithfully.