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One-sentence summary: God gives Moses instructions on how Aaron and his sons are to act as priests of Israel, to make sacrifices and minister to Him daily in the holy place in order to make atonement for the sins of the people, so that God's presence can dwell with them.
God tells Moses to take Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to minister to the Lord as high priests. He must make holy garments for Aaron "for glory and for beauty." He should "speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom [God] has filled with the spirit of wisdom" to make Aaron's garments: a breastplate, an ephod (a type of aprion), a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. Gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine woven linen should be used for the ephod (with specifics given for how to make it.) It should have two onyx stones on it with the names of the sons (tribes) of Israel on the stones as memorials, and Aaron will "bear their names before the Lord." The "breastplate of judgment" will also be made of the same materials with four rows of precious stones, 12 in all, engraved with the 12 tribes of Israel, so that Aaron will bear their names "as a memorial before the Lord continually" when he goes in to the holy place. Aaron should place a urim and a thummim (supposedly objects used to determine innocence or guilt, though there is mystery surrounding these) over the breastplate when he goes in. "So Aaron will bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually." The robe should be blue with pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet and golden bells on its hem so that Aaron will make a sound when he goes into the holy place before the Lord so that he "may not die." A tiny plate of pure gold should be made with "holiness to the Lord" engraved on it on a blue chord on the turban, on Aaron's forehead, so that Aaron will "bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts," so that they may be "accepted before the Lord." The tunic should be of fine linen thread, the turban of fine linen, and the sash of woven work. Aaron's sons should have tunics, sashes, and hats "for glory and beauty." Moses should anoint, consecrate, and sanctify them to minister to the Lord as priests. Also, he should make linen trousers for them to wear when they minister so that they "do not incur iniquity and die" (nakedness is a big deal to God.)
God tells Moses to take one young bull and two unblemished rams, unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil and unleavened wafers of wheat flour anointed with oil in a basket, and to take the bull and two rams with Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. Then, he is to gird Aaron with the ephod, breastplate, and turban, and pour anointing oil on his head and dress his sons in their priestly garment, and they should be consecrated and keep the priesthood in this way. Also, Aaron and his sons should put their hands on the bull, and it should be sacrificed before the Lord by the door of the tabernacle. Some of the blood should be put on the "horns of the altar" with the rest beside the base of the altar. (Directions are given to burn the fat on the altar and the flesh with fire outside the camp as a sin offering.) Aaron and his sons should put their hands on the head of the ram, sacrifice it, and and sprinkle the blood around the altar, then cut the lamb in pieces (gruesome) and burn it on the altar as a burnt offering, a "sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord." The same should be done with other ram, except the blood should be put on the right ear of Aaron and his sons, the thumb of their right hands and the toe of their right foot, and then it should be sprinkled around the altar. Then, some of the blood on the altar, along with anointing oil, should be sprinkled on Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments to "hallow them and their garments." Also the fat of the ram along with a loaf of bread, a cake, and wafter from the basket should be put in Aaron and his sons' hands, and they should wave them "as a wave offering before the Lord," then burn them on the altar "as a burnt offering, a sweet offering to the Lord made by fire." (I know, this all just seems so strange if you are not Jewish.) Then, the breast of the ram of Aaron should be consecrated and waved it as wave offering before the Lord as Moses's portion. From the ram of consecration, the consecrated breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering (gift) will be for Aaron and his sons, which will be for them and Israel, "for it is a heave offering (from their peace/heave offerings to the Lord.)" And the holy garments of Aaron should belong to his sons after him. Whoever of them becomes the high priest in his place should put his garments on for seven days when he goes in to minister to the Lord. The ram of the consecration's flesh should be boiled in the holy place, and Aaron and his sons should eat it with the bread in the basket. If any remains until the morning, it should be burned with fire and not eaten, because it is holy.
Aaron and his sons should be consecrated for seven days and a bull offered every day as a sin offering for atonement. The altar must be cleansed when they make atonement and anointed it to sanctify it for seven days, and whatever touches it must be holy. They are to offer two lambs of the first year, day by day continually, one in the morning and one at twilight, along with flour and oil as a grain offering and wine as a drink offering in the morning and evening both, "as sweet aroma made with fire, a burnt offering to the Lord," where the Lord will meet with them to speak with them. The tabernacle will be sanctified by God's glory, and God will consecrate the tabernacle and the altar and Aaron and his sons. God "will dwell among children of Israel and be their God, and they will know [He is] the Lord their God who brought them up out of the land of Egypt to dwell among them. [He is] the Lord their God."
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
Reading this for the non-Jew unfamiliar with these practices is quite gruesome... until you think about how gruesome sin is. The sacrifices were a constant reminder. Thankfully, there is no need for them anymore, because Christ, our sacrificial lamb, has been sacrificed for us once and for all! Hallelujah! Praise God!