19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.

20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

Now the second ram is sacrificed. This one is neither a sin offering nor a burnt offering, but something new. The first two sacrifices took the essence of the animal and gave them to God, whereas this one has its essence directed towards the priest. This time the blood is being placed upon the ear, thumb, and toe, and then mixed with oil and sprinkled all over them. In the following verses we will learn that the meat of the ram would also be given as a meal to the priests.

It seems clear that the first two sacrifices represented what man brought as an offering to God, and now we are starting to hear what God brings back as an offering to man. With the first two sacrifices we saw represented how man must give up his sins and dedicate his life to the Lord, and now in today’s verses we see a symbol of God sacrificing his own son, Jesus Christ, that his divine blood might purge away our sins and make us holy.

No man is sufficiently pure from his efforts alone, there must also be the touch of the divine to make him truly sanctified. The sacrifices that the man makes are simply to make himself a ready receptacle to the receiving of God’s spirit, which comes as an act of grace. This is therefore a covenant, a sacred bond that goes both directions between God and man, with expectations and requirements for each.