What is the meaning of Exodus 29:17? Cut the ram into pieces • Exodus 29:17 opens with the directive: “Cut the ram into pieces”. • The ram is the second of two offered in the priests’ ordination (see Exodus 29:15-18). • Dividing the animal pictures total consecration—every part is surrendered to God, echoing the way a burnt offering was prepared in Leviticus 1:6-9. • Nothing remains withheld; it foreshadows the believer’s call to present his “whole body as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). • The cutting also prefigures Christ’s complete self-offering, later affirmed in Hebrews 10:10-14. Wash the entrails and legs • Next, Moses is told to “wash the entrails and legs” (Exodus 29:17). • Internal organs and the parts that touched the earth needed cleansing, underscoring God’s demand for inward and outward purity (Psalm 24:3-4; Matthew 23:26). • This act anticipates the spiritual washing believers receive—“our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22), and reminds us to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit” (2 Corinthians 7:1). • The priests could not skip this step; holiness is never optional (Leviticus 8:20-21). Place them with its head and other pieces • After washing, the instructions continue: “place them with its head and other pieces” (Exodus 29:17). • Reassembling all parts on the altar ensures a complete offering. It reflects unity—head and body together—hinting at the later truth that Christ is the head and we are His body (Ephesians 1:22-23). • Every cleansed piece is ready for the fire, symbolizing wholehearted devotion that rises as “a pleasing aroma to the LORD” (Leviticus 9:13-14; Philippians 4:18). • The order—cut, wash, reunite—mirrors the gospel pattern: conviction, cleansing, and communion. summary Exodus 29:17 gives a tangible picture of consecration. The cutting shows total surrender, the washing highlights holiness, and the reassembling points to unified, wholehearted worship. As the priests followed these steps, they modeled the life God still desires—people fully offered, cleansed inside and out, and gathered under their Head for His glory. |
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