The Book Of LEVITICUS
Leviticus 27:34 "These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for
the children of Israel in mount Sinai."
CHAPTER 9:
Now that Aaron and his sons have completed their week of consecration and ordination, the time has come to officially inaugurate the tabernacle for corporate worship by the Israelites. But first Aaron needs to offer up a sin offering and a burnt offering for himself. (v.2) (Ezekiel 43:27) This seems strange given that he had just finished seven days in isolation while offering up daily burnt and sin sacrifices, and what makes this command even more unique is that the young calf is never required of any other Israelite throughout scripture, according to the commentary in my study Bible. The Thomas Nelson commentators hypothesize that this might have something to do with Aaron’s sin of creating the golden calf in Exodus 32, which would make sense given the command by Moses in verse 3. Whatever the case, the two offerings symbolize Aaron’s total and complete submission to God and his appointed service in the tabernacle as high priest for the children of Israel. (Refer back to the illustration at the top of this post, courtesy of the Moody Bible Commentary, for a comparison of Aaron’s ministry as high priest versus that of Jesus Christ’s.) Moses then commands Aaron to gather another young calf, as well as a young goat and a lamb, all without blemish or spot, for a burnt offering on behalf of the congregation of Israel. (v.3) (Leviticus 4:23, 28, Ezra 6:17, 10:19) After that is to be a peace offering of a bullock and a ram, and then a meat offering to complete the inauguration ritual. (v.4) (Leviticus 2:4) Once all this is finished, “…the Lord will appear unto you,” proclaims Moses. (Exodus 29:43) Aaron does as Moses instructs him, and all the people gather at the courtyard of the tabernacle where Moses then gives further commands regarding each of the offerings. (v.5) Moses repeats once more, “…the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.” (v.6) Aaron begins the ritual by first offering up the young calf and ram on behalf of himself as earlier instructed. (v.7-8) He dips his finger in the blood and marks each of the horns of the altar before pouring out the blood around the bottom of the altar. (v.9) He then offers up the rest of the animal as prescribed by God through Moses in his earlier instructions. (v.10-11.) He and his sons then perform the burnt offering. (v.12-14) Now Aaron is able to perform the sacrifices on behalf of the people. (v.15-22) (Isaiah 53:10, Hebrews 2:17, 5:3) Notice that the sin offering is always done first. Before there can be fellowship with God there must first be atonement for sin. Next comes the burnt offering (v.16), then the meat offering (v.17), a portion of which is done “…beside the burnt sacrifice…”, meaning that both offerings were burned at the same time. This makes sense given that the burnt offering represents one’s complete surrender to the Lord (Leviticus 1), and the meat offering symbolizes the tithe of firstfruits as well as dedication of life and service to God (Leviticus 2). Once all of that is complete there can then be true fellowship with the Lord as represented by the peace offering. (v.18-21) Verse 21 concludes with “…as Moses commanded.” Aaron follows each of God’s commandments, as given to him by Moses, to the letter. He concludes the sacrifices by blessing the people. (v.22) (Deuteronomy 21:5, Luke 24:50) Moses and Aaron then go into the tabernacle itself (v.23) but the text doesn’t say how long they were inside, nor is there any description of what is done there. All that we’re told is that when they come out they bless the congregation of Israel once more. After this, God’s glory appears to the nation in the form of a fire that consumes the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offering. (v.24) (Genesis 4:4, Judges 6:21, 2 Chronicles 7:1, Psalm 20:3) The people give a shout of joy, falling on their faces before Almighty God in true worship and reverence for His power and glory. (Ezra 3:11) CHAPTER 10: The first seven chapters of Leviticus describe God impressing on Moses the importance of the holiness of the tabernacle and the specificity of the various sacrifices and offerings that the priests are to be performing on behalf of themselves and the rest of the nation. Chapters 8 and 9 describe Moses passing on those instructions to Aaron and his sons, and he makes it clear to them that deviation from any of the prescribed processes of these sacred duties and rituals will bring immediate judgment by God upon themselves and the people. “…keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not…” (Leviticus 8:35). The holiness of God had been stressed many times to the Israelites by Moses, God’s appointed messenger and leader, since their exodus from Egypt. The whole point of the sanctification and purification rituals that Aaron and his sons had just completed in the previous two chapters was to emphasize the difference between “…holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean…”. (v.10) This was made especially clear to the nation in the aftermath of the incident with the golden calf. But now, here in chapter 10, we see a second example of what happens when God’s commandments are ignored and His holiness is profaned. Verses 1-2: Nadab and Abihu are the two eldest sons of Aaron. (Exodus 24:1, 9, Numbers 3:2, 1 Chronicles 24:2) According to the notes in my study Bible, “The censers are fairly flat pans in which burning coals are carried.” It then gives four possibilities regarding the “…strange fire…” (v.1) that is offered up to God by Aaron’s sons:
That cross reference from Numbers 16 refers to the rebellion of Korah against Moses and Aaron. One interesting detail that relates directly to this incident with Nadab and Abihu is the use of the censers and holy incense. (Numbers 16:6-7) While no further details regarding the fire and incense are given in that passage either, it is clear from both of these incidents that those two things are an essential element of the priesthood for which God had given specific and detailed instructions for its use. That is the sin which Aaron’s sons committed. The fire that they offered up had not been commanded by God, and He judged them for their disobedience. Verse 3: Moses explains the depth of Nadab’s and Abihu’s transgression to Aaron. The whole point of God’s law, which He had dictated to Moses, who then passed it on to the children of Israel, is summed up in this verse: “…I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.” God’s holiness cannot be overstated, nor is it something to be treated as trivial or ordinary. His holiness and His glory will not be shared with any other, nor will He allow anyone to rob Him of His rightful glory. That is one of the key definitions of sin. Whatever it is that Aaron’s sons did with their strange fire, it robbed God of His glory and profaned His holiness, and God will not tolerate that. Aaron understands this, and he gives no protest, nor does he attempt to justify the actions of Nadab and Abihu to either Moses or the Lord. This was also the same sin committed by Cain in Genesis 4. God had explained to Adam and his sons what constituted an acceptable offering, and Cain refused to obey. He thought that his offering of crops was better than what God had prescribed. This is why God warned him about the sin that crouched at the door of his heart. (Genesis 4:7) Nadab and Abihu had the same choice as Cain: surrender and obey God or give into the sin of pride and risk God’s wrath and judgment. Sadly, they chose the latter. Verses 4-7: Mishael and Elzaphan are the cousins of Moses and Aaron, and thus they are permitted to enter the tabernacle because they are of the tribe of Levi. (v.4) The bodies of Aaron’s sons are carried outside the camp. (v.5) Moses then explains to Aaron and his two younger sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, that they must continue their priestly duties on behalf of the congregation of Israel. There is no time for them to properly mourn the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. Therefore the people will mourn on their behalf. (v.6) The Moody Bible commentary explains it this way: “Here is a most vivid picture of the truth that God does not show favoritism when it comes to sin. Aaron was not allowed to publicly mourn (v.6-7), even though these were his sons. Even the mourning of God’s priest was a consecrated endeavor.” Verses 8-11: This is the only time in the book of Leviticus where God speaks to Aaron directly. The fact that God gives a specific warning for the priests to abstain from wine and other strong drink is why many Biblical scholars believe that Nadab and Abihu were intoxicated. (Genesis 9:21, Proverbs 20:1, 31:5, Isaiah 28:7, Ezekiel 44:21, Hosea 4:11, Luke 1:15, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Timothy 3:3, Titus 1:7) The reason for this prohibition is given in verse 10: “That ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.” Verse 11 also states that Aaron and his sons are to “…teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.” In other words, the priests are not only to serve as intercessors before God on behalf of the Israelites, but they are also to teach the Israelites about God and His law. This is a very high calling, an appointment made by God Himself, and thus it is not to be taken lightly or treated as trivial in any way. The inebriating effects of alcohol could cause the priests to profane the offerings and sacrifices by not performing them correctly and thus offend God and His holiness. (Malachi 2:7-8) Verses 12-15: Moses reminds Aaron and his two remaining sons that the portions of the grain and wave offerings are theirs to eat “…in the holy place…” (v.13), that God has provided this meat for them. (Leviticus 2:3, 6:16, 26) The reason for this reminder is twofold: 1) God has not rejected Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar because of the sin of Nadab and Abihu, and 2) Aaron and his sons are unwilling to eat their portion because of their grief and state of mourning. This latter reason becomes clear in the last five verses of this chapter. Verses 16-20: Moses becomes angry with Eleazar and Ithamar when he discovers that the portions of the goat of a sin offering (Leviticus 9:3, 15) that should have been eaten by the priests has been completely burnt on the altar instead. (v.16) When he confronts them he reminds Aaron and his sons once again that God has given them their portion of this offering “…to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord…”. (v.17) (Exodus 28:38, Leviticus 22:16, Numbers 18:1) When the priests consume the flesh of the sin offering, it's an outward sign to the one bringing the sacrifice to God that the Lord accepts the offering. Thus, to not eat the meat would send the wrong message to the one seeking atonement. From Moses’ point of view, Aaron and his sons are risking God’s wrath by not obeying His commands regarding the law of the sin offering, which is what caused the deaths of Nadab and Abihu. Only that offering of which the blood is used to purify the holy place (Leviticus 6:30) must be wholly burnt on the altar. Since that is not the case here, Moses is understandably upset with Aaron and his sons for what he perceives as disobedience to God. (v.18) Moses concludes his rebuke with the phrase, “…as I commanded…”, meaning that his instructions came from the Lord. They are to be taken seriously and never ignored. Aaron’s response is simple: he and his sons refrained from eating their portions of the meat of the sin offering because of their current state of grief. “…such things have befallen me…” (v.19) Presumably they did not want to risk further dishonor against God by eating of the sin offering, even though God had made provision for the priests to do so. That is what is meant by the question at the end of verse 18: “...if I had eaten…should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?” The Moody Bible Commentary offers the following explanation for this verse: “The underlying motivation behind difficult choices in life should always be the pleasure of God. The primary focus of the priests, despite the day’s events, was on self-denial and exalting God in their efforts.” Moses accepts Aaron’s response, and nothing more is said on the matter. (v.20)
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