What is the meaning of Exodus 29:3? Put them in a basket “Put them in a basket…” (Exodus 29:3) looks back to verse 2, where God names the items: “unleavened bread, cakes of unleavened dough mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil.” • The basket keeps the bread offerings together, protected, and distinct from anything common, much like the golden pot that held manna (Exodus 16:33) and the chest that preserved the scroll of the Law (2 Kings 22:8). • Because the loaves are unleavened, the basket also guards their purity (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). • Gathering them in one container pictures unity; all that sustains the priesthood is bundled for service, anticipating the one loaf that symbolizes the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17). Present them in the basket “…and present them in the basket…” signals a formal hand-off at the entrance to the tent of meeting (Exodus 29:4). • Nothing is pulled out piecemeal; the whole basket is lifted to God, echoing how Israel was to “present the firstfruits in a basket” before the Lord (Deuteronomy 26:2-4). • Presentation means ownership transfers to God. That same idea fuels Paul’s call to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). • The priesthood begins not with what they take from God but with what they give Him—everything He first supplied. Along with the bull “…along with the bull…” ties the bread to the sin offering that immediately follows (Exodus 29:10-14). • The bull’s blood provides atonement for Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 4:3-7). Without cleansing, no priestly service can even start (Hebrews 9:13-14). • Placing the basket beside the bull reminds us that fellowship (symbolized by bread) rests on forgiveness (symbolized by shed blood). • It foreshadows Christ, who combines the true bread from heaven (John 6:48-51) with the once-for-all sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:10-12). And the two rams “…and the two rams.” Each ram has its own purpose (Exodus 29:15-28). • Ram #1 is the burnt offering—everything consumed on the altar, expressing total surrender (Leviticus 8:18-21). • Ram #2 is the ordination offering; its blood is applied to the priests’ right ear, thumb, and big toe, setting their hearing, working, and walking apart for God (Leviticus 8:22-24). • Together the rams illustrate consecration’s two sides: wholehearted devotion and practical holiness. Abraham’s substitutionary ram (Genesis 22:13) and the Lamb of God who takes away sin (John 1:29) both echo here. summary Exodus 29:3 gathers bread, basket, bull, and rams into a single moment that launches Israel’s priesthood. The basket of unleavened bread shows provision and purity; presenting that basket underscores complete surrender; the bull secures atonement; the two rams express total devotion and lifelong consecration. The verse teaches that ministry to God begins with forgiveness, is sustained by His provision, and is lived out in wholehearted, set-apart service—realities ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, our perfect High Priest and final sacrifice. |
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