Exodus 29:17

17 Then you shall cut the ram into its parts, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its parts and its head,

Exodus 29:17 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 29:17

And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces
For the better convenience of laying it upon the wood on the altar, that it might be burnt; for it was to be a whole burnt offering:

and wash the inwards of him, and his legs;
denoting the purity of the sacrifice of Christ, and that when his people give up themselves to God as a whole burnt offering, in the flames of love and zeal, their affections should be pure and sincere:

and put [them] unto his pieces, and unto his head;
lay them together, so that they might be entirely consumed at once; signifying that Christ was both in soul and body an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour to God; zeal for the honour of whose house, and the glory of his name, ate him up, as well as the fire of divine wrath; and so our whole souls, bodies and spirits, should be presented to the Lord as a holy, living, and acceptable sacrifice to him, which is more strongly suggested in the next verse.

Exodus 29:17 In-Context

15 Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram,
16 and you shall slaughter the ram, and shall take its blood and dash it against all sides of the altar.
17 Then you shall cut the ram into its parts, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its parts and its head,
18 and turn the whole ram into smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord; it is a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord.
19 You shall take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram,
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.