“And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.”
The priest is to put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and he shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. The morning ash removal is a priestly act that requires the full priestly vestment: the linen tunic and the linen undergarments. The priest who performs the most ordinary maintenance task of the altar's service — removing the previous day's ashes — does so in the full dignity of the priestly office. The ashes are placed beside the altar, not carelessly discarded. The reverence shown to the ashes of the burnt offering communicates the reverence owed to what was consecrated to God: even what has been consumed retains its sacred character.
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