Aaron and his sons are ordained for their priestly ministry. The phrase translated as ordain, here (ומלאת יד–אהרן ייד–בניו), literally means to fill the hand of Aaron and his sons. The earliest mention of a type of ordination by the people of anyone to any kind of ministry in Scripture literally means that through ordination, the people were doing two things. 1) They were affirming God’s appointment of a person to the ministry. God chose Aaron and his sons as priests. He chooses people for ministry today and gifts them for service. Just as the people had a responsibility to affirm God’s choice then, we do the same when a local church ordains anyone for any ministry today. God calls. We affirm someone for ministry, usually as either a deacon or elder (pastor), through prayer and the observation of that person’s spiritual gifts and current service in the local church. Ordination is about more than simply affirming that someone seems called to do a certain ministry. 2) Ordination is the commitment of the people to “fill the hands” of the one being ordained. I believe this means equipping them for the task at hand and providing their needs because their focus will be on the ministry they have been called to. That is why the people were to give the priests one bull, two rams, bread, cakes, and wafers. It is why the priests had their own portion of the sacrifices to sustain them.
When we ordain someone for the ministry, we do so based on our belief that God has called that person to that ministry. We also commit to care for the needs of that person in light of the demands of his ministry. That’s what ordination is Biblically, it’s not merely an interview, test, or affirmation. It is a commitment.
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