Exodus 29:15-18

¹⁵ “Then you should take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons should lay their hands on the head of the ram, ¹⁶ and you should kill the ram and should take its blood and throw it against the sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Then you should cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head, ¹⁸ and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.

burn the whole ram on the altar

Why should the creator be pleased by the complete destruction of one of his creatures? There is a message here, but most of the planet is not in a place where it is ready to accept it. The symbolism is more about eschatology than soteriology. Previously, the potential priests were to lay their hands on the young bull, as a way of identifying it as a symbol of substitution for themselves so that they could intercede for others. Perhaps the first ram symbolized those who would not be reached by their ministry. Its complete destruction symbolized the destiny of those who would not be part of the redemption process.

The good news of the gospel has its dark side. Like the ministry of the priests under the old covenant, the ministry of the priest-kingdom under the new covenant will have “takers” and “leavers.” There will be those who never hear the gospel, and there will be those who have a complete understanding of its message, and still choose to reject that message. The message of the first ordination ram is for the priests of either covenant. It warns us of the reality that the wages of sin is death. The grace of our God allows us to be part of his atonement, accepting the substitutionary death of Christ on our behalf. But the justice of our God requires that those who refuse that grace be completely destroyed for their sins. Those of us who share this gospel of grace must be careful to make that truth known as well.

LORD, as we prepare ourselves to minister your grace, may we be compelled to share the whole truth to those who listen. May we be moved with compassion toward the lost who are on their way to eternal destruction.