Today, the laying on of hands is a popular feature of many assemblies. These days everybody is practicing the laying on of hands. Some do it on others while praying, healing, blessing and much more.
Pastors are laying hands on Ministers and on members of the assembly. Similarly, Ministers are laying their hands on each other and on the pews. Sometimes you find them laying hands on the pastor too. But it’s not a New Testament (NT) phenomenon.
However, in the past and in the Old Testament (OT) days, the priests and the prophets were the main ones to practice the doctrine of laying on of hands..
Moses, a prophet of God, also functioned as a High Priest, for he instructed the priests of their duties and prepared them for their office.
How is the Laying on of Hands Related to Sin Offering?
As result, he was one of the first persons in the Scriptures to lay his hand on another person for a spiritual reason. Subsequently, he laid his hand on Joshua as the Lord commanded him.
In executing the duties of his office, as a High Priest, he taught Aaron and his sons all that they knew. Aaron was the High Priest and his sons were priests. Upon the death of Aaron, one of his sons would become the High Priest.
The Sin Offering
However, before both Aaron and his sons could “minister” in the “Priest’s Office”, Moses had to “hallow” them or “consecrate” them, (Exodus 29:1-9 & Leviticus 8:1-17).
Therefore, in the process of consecrating Aaron and his sons, it was necessary to remove their sins. Their remission of sins was by impartation to a sin offering.
This means that the soon-to-be High Priest and his priest-to-be sons must lay their hands on the head of a “young bullock” or cow and transfer their sins to the animal.
“And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.”
Exodus 29:10
Then, immediately after this Moses would kill the animal “before the Lord”. This was the sin offering (Exodus 29:14).
Later, he would utilize its blood and fat in the related ritual of ordination for the High Priest and the priests.
An Important Reason For The Laying On Of Hands
To recap, Moses consecrated Aaron and his sons through a ritual of washing, change of wardrobe, and anointing with holy oil.
Then, they, by laying on of their hands imparted their sins to a Sin Offering, a bullock. Later, Moses would kill the Sin Offering. Then he would use its blood and fat in a spiritual ritual to appease God.
The High Priest and the priests were the only ones to enter the Tabernacle. However, before they could enter they had to wash.
Priests Employed the Laying on of Hands
Through Christ, we are priests and kings before God. Even females are priests and kings before Him because He does not see us with gender but as souls either living or dead (Revelation 1:6).
Our sins were laid on Jesus Christ. He is our Sin Offering. He was crucified on our behalf and his blood was used to appease God for our sins and cleansing. And his crucifixion happened outside the camp.
In closing, we observe that priests employed the laying on of hands for the impartation and removal of sins before it was utilized for any other spiritual purposes in the Church.
Leroy A. Daley is an author, blogger, YouTuber, and Bible teacher. Globally, he's helped hundreds of Christians understand the Bible better. He has been studying and teaching the Bible for more than forty years. He is passionate about the Lord and spends quality time with the Word of God every day.
His Books are available for purchase wherever books are sold.
