Stained By Blood
There are moments in life when something marks us so deeply that we are never the same again. A wedding ring marks a covenant. A uniform marks a calling. A scar marks a story. Once marked, you carry that identity with you wherever you go. If you’ve ever attended a wedding, you know that a ceremony is more than a celebration, it’s a public moment of consecration. Two people don’t just feel married; they become married through vows, symbols, and commitments that mark a new identity. Rings are placed on fingers. Promises are spoken out loud. From that moment on, everything changes—how they listen to one another, how they serve one another, and the direction of their lives together. In Leviticus 8, we witness a ceremony just as serious, just as public, and just as life‑altering. Aaron and his sons are being ordained as priests—not with flowers or music, but with blood. Moses takes blood and “stains” Aaron and his sons and the meaning is unmistakable. Just like a wedding marks a couple as belonging to one another, this ordination marks these men as belonging wholly to the Lord. This was God’s way of saying, “You are Mine now.” Just like a wedding ceremony doesn’t end with the vows but launches a whole new way of life, this ordination ceremony doesn’t stop at symbolism—it defines how God’s priests are to live every day.
The blood placed on Aaron and his sons was not random or decorative. It was intentional. God was staining the very areas where covenant faithfulness would be lived out. And in doing so, He shows us that belonging to Him reshapes how we listen, how we serve, and how we walk. God is saying to them, “You will listen differently now because your ears will hear for Me.” “You will work differently now because your hands will serve for Me.” And you will walk differently now because your feet will walk in all my ways.” Before Aaron ever ministered at the altar, before he ever spoke a blessing, God claimed his listening, his labor, and his direction. This was not partial devotion—it was total consecration. And that is the heart of this passage, and the call is still echoing to us today. Being stained by God is to not just believe differently—but so that we will live differently, every day, everywhere we go. Each stain calls us to examine a different part of our daily obedience. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to live with ears to hear, hands to serve, and feet to walk in His ways.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, as we open your Word this morning, prepare our hearts to be transformed. Let us not leave this place unaffected but by your Holy Spirit help us to use our ears to listen and hear your words, to use our hands for your service and to use our feet to walk in obedience to all your ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Our first point this morning is Confession of Sin found in Leviticus 8:14-21. Follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “He then presented the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar to purify the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So, he consecrated it to make atonement for it. Moses also took all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar. But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its intestines burned up outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses. He then presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Then Moses slaughtered the ram and splashed blood against the sides of the altar. He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, the pieces and the fat. He washed the internal organs and the legs with water and burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
We continue our study of the ordination service for Aaron and his sons. Last week they were washed, dressed and anointed. The next order of business was for Moses to make three offerings on their behalf. The first was the sin offering because they were sinful human beings just like everyone else and needed to confess their sins and be atoned for. The first sacrifice was a bull because it was for Aaron the High Priest. It was costliest sacrifice they could have brought. The bull prefigured Christ’s sacrifice, serving as a "type" or symbol of the ultimate atonement. Aaron and his sons leaned their hands with all their strength on the head of the bull symbolically removing their sin and putting it on the animal and the Moses killed the bull. God allowed Moses to take the place of the priests during the ordination service, because Aaron and his sons had not been ordained yet. Once the priests were ordained, these duties, from that time forward, belonged to the family line of Aaron. Once the bull had died, Moses took the blood and with his finger put some on the four horns of the burnt altar. Altars were places of mercy and refuge, and horns were symbols of strength. This action signified the granting of mercy and being safe from the Lord’s wrath against sin. Placing the blood on all four horns signified complete purification of the altar and its power to fully atone for the people’s sin. The word used for “finger” means “that which accomplishes a task.” As creation is the work of the Lord’s finger in Psalm 8:3 which says, “When I consider the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place”, here mercy, refuge and full atonement of sins is granted by God through the work of the mediator, Moses and his finger. The blood not only expiates or atones for the sins of Aaron and his sons, but it also purifies the altar so it can be used for God’s purposes.
Then Moses took the rest of the blood and poured it out at the base of the altar. This was symbolic of returning the life blood of the animal back to God who gave it life in the first place. The blood also consecrated the altar and made atonement for it. This set the altar apart so it could be used for God’s holy purposes. Notice, it was a two-step process; the altar was first purified and then consecrated. It had to be atoned for because it had been fashioned by sinful human hands and would be continually used by sinful human beings. This altar had to be sanctified but Jesus, our perfect High Priest, was able to sanctify himself as John 17:19 says, “For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” Moses continues to follow God’s command for the sin offering found in Leviticus 4. He took all the fat parts of the bull and burned them on the altar. The fat parts of a sacrifice signified abundance and the best of the animal and as such belonged to God. It also represented the inner emotions and feelings, the mind and reasoning and the inner purity of Christ which was offered to God like incense. Christ’s sacrifice would be a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord. The rest of the bull was taken outside the camp and burned. Normally, if the animal’s blood was not taken into the Holy Place, the flesh could be eaten by the priests. To eat of the sin offering was symbolic of the priests taking the offeror’s sin into them and away from the sinner. But they could not partake of this sin offering because it was given for the priests themselves and would have been symbolic of taking their sin back into their bodies. Plus, they were not allowed to benefit from a sacrifice given for themselves. At the end of this section, we see again that Moses did as the Lord commanded. Moses continued to completely obey the Lord’s instructions. Everything pointed to Christ and so had to be done exactly as God commanded it.
After the sin offering was brought and sacrificed, Moses brought a ram and offered it for a burnt offering. We see Moses following God’s instructions by bringing the sin offering first, which dealt with the guilt of the worshiper. Then he offers the burnt offering second which represented their total devotion to God after being cleansed from their sin and guilt. Aaron and his sons again leaned their hands with all their strength on the head of the ram and Moses killed it. Moses took the blood and “splashed” it all around the altar. The word used means “to cast forth” and was symbolic of the complete and voluntary surrender of the priests to die to themselves and live for God. Paul captures this idea in Romans 6:11, which says, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Again, there is a logical order to these sacrifices. The bull was a sin offering which counted Aaron and his sons dead to sin and the burnt offering showed a complete surrender to and living for God. The ram symbolized the priests as “living sacrifices” to the Lord, as Paul in Romans 12:1 urges us to do. Moses continues to follow God’s instructions for the burnt offering by cutting it into pieces and burning the head, the pieces and the fat on the altar. This ensured that the offering would be burned up completely. He washed the entrails and legs with water to clean off any defilement that may have been on it. The inner parts are washed which symbolizes the inner purity of Christ where there was no defilement. The legs are washed because that was where the animal would pick up any defilement as it walked. This symbolized that Jesus walked this earth and was not defiled. Moses then burned the rest of the ram completely on the altar as a burnt offering. The ram offering represented Christ’s perfect sacrifice, and so it was acceptable to God as a pleasing aroma, a food offering to Him. The word for “burn” signifies “making something fragrant” like incense and is used to point to Christ. The ram signified the wholly acceptable offering of Jesus Christ on behalf of Aaron and his sons, which would allow their duties at the altar and tabernacle to be pleasing to God.
That brings us to our second point, Confession of Separation, found in Leviticus 8:22-30. This is what God’s Word says, “He then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Moses also brought Aaron’s sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he splashed blood against the sides of the altar. After that, he took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh. And from the basket of bread made without yeast, which was before the Lord, he took one thick loaf, one thick loaf with olive oil mixed in, and one thin loaf, and he put these on the fat portions and on the right thigh. He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they waved them before the Lord as a wave offering. Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord. Moses also took the breast, which was his share of the ordination ram, and waved it before the Lord as a wave offering, as the Lord commanded Moses. Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. So, he consecrated Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments.
Moses offers a second ram which was called the ram of “consecration.” The Hebrew word for “consecration” means “to fill” and so this ram was also called the “ram of the filling.” This symbolized Aaron and his sons being set apart and filled with the Spirit. Again, we see Christ and His work in us as there is first atonement for sin followed by surrender of our lives completely to Him and then being filled with the Holy Spirit. Of course, these three acts happen all at once in us when we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord but here, we see them played out with Aaron and his sons in a logical order. For the third time, Aaron and his sons again leaned their hands with all their strength on the head of the second ram, and Moses killed it. This ram is essentially a fellowship offering, but because it is for the consecration of Aaron and his sons it becomes more than a normal fellowship offering. The leaning on the head of the bull was to transfer their sin to the substitute. The leaning on the head of the first ram was to offer their lives completely to God. The leaning on the head of this ram was to symbolize receiving God’s authority to serve Him as priests in His tabernacle.
Next, we encounter a major part of the ordination service. These actions by Moses on Aaron and subsequently on his sons was one way God was setting them apart for His service. Moses took some of the blood of the ram of consecration and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot. This signified that Aaron was accepted by God as High Priest and given His authority to fulfill his duties. The right side, in the Bible, is considered the favored side. It is the side of strength, blessing, authority, honor, judgment, wisdom and cleansing. Three areas of Aaron’s body were stained with blood. First, the lobe of his right ear was stained signifying that he was consecrated to listen and hear the word of God. Second, the thumb of his right hand, representative of the whole hand, was stained signifying that he was consecrated to serve the Lord with purity. Lastly, the big toe of his right foot, representative of the whole foot, was stained signifying that he was to walk in holiness and in all the ways of the Lord. As the High Priest of Israel, Aaron was to not only be ready to listen for and hear the words of the Lord, to obey His Word as he served the Lord in the tabernacle but to walk in all the ways of the Lord, as well. Paul in Colossians 1:9-12 sums it up for all Christ-followers like this: “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives (speaking of their ear), so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way (speaking of their toe), bearing fruit in every good work (speaking of their thumb), growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” Having these three areas of His body stained by blood symbolized that his entire body was consecrated to the Lord. The blood of the sacrifice should remind us that there is a better High Priest who perfectly fulfills all these images.
Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and performed the same ritual on them. As Aaron, is a picture of Jesus Christ, so Aaron’s sons are a picture of us who are Christ-followers and part of the Lord’s kingdom of priests. Moses then splashed the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar, symbolizing two things. One, that Aaron and his sons were willing to perform their duties in service to the Lord, and two, that God accepted their willingness to serve Him. Then we see a second major part of the ordination service. Moses gathered the parts of the animal that belonged to the Lord, the fat parts, the entrails, the kidneys and the right thigh. These signified the most abundant and most honorable parts of the sacrifice and so the very substance of Christ. He also gathered the three types of unleavened bread from the basket of bread that Moses brought before the Lord at the door to the tent of meeting. He put the bread on top of the fat parts, the kidneys and the right thigh and put them on the hands of Aaron and his sons. This probably looked like a weird pile of meat and bread, but it was a literal picture of “consecration” or “filling.” Moses literally filled the hands of Aaron and his sons, which was symbolic of them being filled with the Spirit of God. The bread symbolizes Jesus as the bread of life and that we are sustained by Him. The fat parts, the entrails, the two kidneys, the right thigh and the bread offerings all point us to Christ and his work in our lives including on the cross. Garrett says, “This comes from the Person and work of Christ which is reflected in the various things piled up in their hands.”
Once all these offerings were put on Aaron and his son’s hands they were waved before the Lord as a wave offering. The Hebrew word for “wave” means to “move to and fro.” It seems that Moses put his hands under Aaron’s and his son’s hands, and they would make a waving motion all together. They may have waved them toward the four corners of heaven symbolizing they were being offered to the all-present Lord. It is also possible that the wave offering was done by each of Aaron and his sons in turn. This ritual also symbolized Moses transferring his temporary duties as priest to Aaron. This was Aaron and his sons first act as priests. Once the wave offering was waved before the Lord, Moses took it all back and burned them on the burnt altar. Even though Aaron and his sons had performed their first priestly duty, they still were not fully installed as priests. This wave offering burned on the altar to the Lord, as a consecration offering, signified that they had completely submitted themselves to God and His authority. The Lord smelled a sweet aroma not because of the animal burned on the altar but because it pictured His son, Jesus Christ, sacrificing Himself as a perfect offering on the cross. Also, we see the right thigh burned up on the altar. This normally would have gone to the priests but, again, it was inappropriate for Aaron and his sons to benefit personally from an offering made on their behalf. Then Moses took the breast of the consecration ram and waved it as a wave offering before the Lord. The Hebrew word for “breast” means to “see” or “vision” and pictures Christ who is the source of all divine vision. After presenting the breast to the Lord, Moses was able to take it for himself because he was the temporary officiating priest.
We again are told that Moses did as the Lord commanded. Moses was ever faithful to the Lord. The last part of this section of the ordination service shows Moses taking some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkling it on Aaron and his garments and on Aaron’s sons and their garments. This indicated purification and atonement for Aaron and his sons. This effectively consecrated both the priests and the clothing, indicating they were made holy and endowed with the Spirit of God to serve the Lord. Both the priests and their clothing were set apart to the service of the Lord and the Israelite people in the tabernacle. Remember, these garments were not Aaron’s exclusively. Every High Priest wore the high priestly clothes until they died and then they were passed on to the next one. Notice that the blood that Moses sprinkled on Aaron, his sons and their clothes came from the altar. This was blood from the consecration ram that he had already splashed against the burnt altar. This symbolized the transmission of holiness from the sacrifices and the altar to the priests and their clothing. This demonstrated that the sacred rituals and the individuals performing them were connected. So, what can we learn and apply to our lives from this section? Just as Aaron and his sons were consecrated to hear God’s Word, to use their hands to serve Him and to use their feet to walk in God’s ways, we as God’s kingdom of priests should follow their example. That brings us to our first next step which is I will use my ears to listen and hear God’s Word, use my hands for faithful service to God and use my feet to walk in all His ways.
That brings us to our third point, Confinement, found in Leviticus 8:31-36. This is what God’s Word says, “Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, “Cook the meat at the entrance to the tent of meeting and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, as I was commanded: ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’ Then burn up the rest of the meat and the bread. Do not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for your ordination will last seven days. What has been done today was commanded by the Lord to make atonement for you. You must stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and do what the Lord requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded.” So, Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses.”
After all that has transpired, Aaron and his sons still were not completely ordained yet. There was one more step for them to take. They had to be confined to the tabernacle grounds for seven days. They were to boil and eat the meat of the ram and the remainder of the basket of bread in the door of the tabernacle of meeting. As the bread and the ram both pictured Jesus Christ, this eating symbolized the eating of Christ’s body as an act of communion. As this was a type of fellowship offering, sharing it with the Lord would strengthen their relationship with Him. During these seven days Aaron and his sons were being spiritually prepared for their duties in the tabernacle. The meat of the ram and the bread was to be eaten on the same day. Whatever was left over to the next day had to be burned with fire. This symbolized that the offerings belonged entirely to God and that nothing was to be taken lightly or treated as common. It also reinforced the idea of the priest’s complete dedication, obedience and holiness in their service to God. The food spoiling and becoming corrupt and unclean would have been unacceptable because of God’s holy and incorruptible nature.
They were to stay in the courtyard at the door of the tent for seven days. This was where the burnt altar and the bronze laver were situated. Each day for seven days, Aaron and his sons would be consecrated and have their hands “filled.” They would be purified, consecrated and atoned each day for seven days symbolizing they were fully purified, consecrated and atoned for. The altar would also be fully atoned for, and Aaron and his sons would be fully ready to perform their holy duties as priests at the burnt altar and in the Holy Place. By the time the seven days were over the altar would be considered most holy and from that time on, only the ordained priests could make sacrifices on it. They were to stay at the door of the tent of meeting day and night, indicating they were to keep watch, stay vigilant and on guard. They were to be careful to do what the Lord required so they would not die. This was considered a time of probation to test Aaron and his sons to see if they would be obedient, dedicated and take their priestly role seriously. If they could not be trusted to completely obey the Lord in these small things how could God trust them to obey Him in the vital things they were ordained to do. At the end of this section, we are told that Aaron and his sons did all the things the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. They received the same accolades as Moses had.
In chapter 9 they will begin their priestly ministry, a ministry that would last about 1500 years until the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. I have mentioned numerous times from God’s Word that as Christ followers we are called to be a kingdom of priests. In Israel, the priests stood in the gap between God and the people. They brought the needs of the people before God and lived the character of God before the people. We don’t serve in a tabernacle, but we are called to serve as a kingdom of priests to the ends of the earth. For us today as Christ-followers that includes our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our dinner tables, etc. Anywhere we live, work, learn and play. In conclusion, here is what being a kingdom of priest may look like for you in practice. First, we intercede for others; we take responsibility for the well-being of others through prayer. We are God’s ambassadors to our non-believing friends or struggling co-workers. We should be on the lookout to notice when those we meet are hurting in some way. We can try to glean what is happening and bring that person and their situation specifically before the throne room of the Lord. We should have the mindset that we are spiritual advocates for those who don’t realize they have one yet.
Second, it means having a reconciliation mindset. It’s the work of a priest to try to heal broken relationships between people and between God and people. We should be the ones who de-escalate office drama or family feuds rather than throwing gasoline on them. We need to represent God’s character (mercy, justice, grace, integrity, etc.) so accurately that those we meet will see a clearer picture of what God is actually like. Third, it means making sacrifices. It may be sacrificing our time, our ego, or our resources, etc. for the sake of others. It may mean being willing to do mundane tasks with a level of care that treats the work as an offering to God. It means showing up for people in uncomfortable circumstances (grief, failure, sin, poverty, etc.) where others may not want to go. So, are you living as a priest of God? Are you reaching out to this troubled and fragmented world? Are you channeling God's love and healing power to the hurting people around you? Are you actively looking for people who are hurting, people who are in need and then serving them with the love of Jesus Christ. Are you using your ears to listen and hear God’s Word? Are you using your hands for faithful service to God? Are you using your feet to walk in all the ways of the Lord? Allow the Holy Spirit to anoint you, stain you with the blood of Jesus and work through you. As you do this, you will be living not only after the pattern of Jesus, our great high priest, but after the pattern of God's eternal commandments in the book of Leviticus. That brings us to our last next step, which is I will intercede for others, help others reconcile broken relationships and sacrificially serve others as one of God’s kingdom of priests.
As Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final song and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for calling us to be your people and for cleansing us through your perfect sacrifice of Jesus, our High Priest. Consecrate our ears to hear your Word, our hands to serve you faithfully, and our feet to walk in all your ways. Send us out by your Holy Spirit as a kingdom of priests, to intercede for the hurting, to help bring reconciliation in broken relationships, and to serve sacrificially in all the places where we work, learn, play and live. May we do these things to your honor, praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.