Old Testament

Leviticus 10:8-20
Absolute Zero

The last few verses of this chapter are almost always wholly mis-analyzed by scholars, and their comments are, thus, completely wrong. I think the reason why this is stems from a human desire to prove that we somehow can merit a favorable opinion from God, even when we completely blow what we are doing.

In other words, it comes back to works-based salvation, even by those who claim that they have no works which merit their salvation. Somehow, deep inside, we try to find good, even despite that which is completely bad.

Can you name two things which are impossible for us to do as humans? Well, there are a lot of things that are impossible. Making me handsome is certainly beyond the realm of possibility, but that’s not what I’m talking about. What are some scientific things which are literally impossible for us to do?

Well two of them are attaining the speed of light, and cooling to absolute zero. Both face the identical problem. Getting to the speed of light requires an infinite amount of work, or energy, in order to overcome the mass which is being propelled forward. Getting down to absolute zero requires extracting an infinite amount of heat from the thing being cooled. Both of these are impossible.

Spiritually, what is something impossible for us to do? Well, if you

know even basic theology, you know that there is nothing you can actively do to please God in order to be saved, no matter how much you do, just like going the speed of light. It’s simply not possible. And the reason why is because we can never get ourselves to the spiritual state of absolute zero sin.

If you’ve been paying attention to the Leviticus sermons, you know that man is born in sin. It is a part of his very nature. If we equate the heat that we need to extract in order to reach absolute zero, to the sin we need to extract in order to reach absolute perfection, we have a great parallel. The sin is in us, and we, of ourselves, can never fully extract it. And the Law of Moses, which was to be our sin-extractor, simply wasn’t up to the task.

Text Verse: “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” Hebrews 5:1 

The law says, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 18:5). Whoo hoo! The sin extractor is given. The Law of Moses says that we can live if we do the things of it. Strap on your sin-extractor and set it to “eternal life” mode. It’s a snap I tell you.

Well, maybe not. Aaron’s words to Moses in verse 19 show us that there is a snag in the snap. In verse 20, we read that Moses was content with Aaron’s words, but if he stopped, sat down, and contemplated the words Aaron spoke, he probably would have broken down in tears and said, “Just take me now Lord.” Or maybe he would have said what King Solomon said 500 years later –

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
3 What profit has a man from all his labor
In which he toils under the sun? Ecclesiastes 1:2, 3

The sin infection is too deep, the sin-extractor is ineffective, and man remains separated from His infinitely glorious heavenly Father. What a sad state of affairs. But thanks be to God for the true sin-Extractor. Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ our Lord who can take away our sin. The law was given to show us what was impossible, but what is impossible with man is possible with God. Yepperino… It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Word From the Lord to Aaron (verses 8-11)

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying:

v’daber Yehovah el aharon lemor – “And spoke Yehovah unto Aaron, saying.” Verse 8 is one which is unique in all of Scripture. The Lord speaks directly to Aaron alone. In Exodus 7:8 and 12:1, the Lord spoke to both Moses and Aaron. This will occur again several times in Leviticus and Numbers after this. But in this verse alone, the Lord speaks directly to Aaron. It is something which concerns him and the priesthood, and it is an order which is therefore directed solely to him.

It is also an advanced indication that what has just occurred in the death of his sons is directly related to what will now be said. The two are being connected together. Though it is merely conjecture that this is so, it is sound conjecture. Nearly one half of the priest-hood has been destroyed by the fire of the Lord. Those remaining have been told that they are not to mourn over what occurred.

Because of these things, there could be the assumption on their part that the Lord is displeased with the newly established priesthood. They could also assume that they will all die before the Lord over the slightest infraction. But this is not so. The law of the sin-offering was given, and the first sacrifice in that law was specifically for the high priest who had sinned. Therefore, they could rest assured that not all infractions would lead to death.

With the Lord’s words being directly spoken to Aaron, there is an assurance that what has happened is not the standard, as long as the holiness of the Lord was not violated by their actions. However, if the Lord was truly displeased with the priests, they could expect judgment. And so, the Lord now speaks to Aaron with a command to him and those who issue from him who will minister as priests. These words will keep the priests from a sad repeat of what has occurred in the deaths of Nadab and Abihu.

⁹ “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die.

yayin v’shekhar al teshet – “Wine and super-strong drink, no drink.” The word yayin, or wine, is explained in this and other passages, such as when it was introduced in Genesis 9:21 when Noah got drunk, as fermented wine with an alcohol content. The word shekhar is introduced into Scripture here, and it indicates a beverage with a very high alcohol content – blinko juice.

If one were to stop with the first few words of this verse, as many seem to enjoy doing when citing their aversion to people drinking alcohol, there might be made a case for no person ever drinking. But the words do not stop with “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink.” They go on to a further explanation – “…you nor your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting.” There is a specific group who are named and a set time when the prohibition is given.

Further, along with the priests during the conduct of their duties, the only other time alcohol is prohibited in the entire Bible is in the rules for the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6. People like Samson and John the Baptist were considered as Nazirites from birth, and thus the prohibition extended to them. At all other times, no such prohibition exists, and the drinking of wine and shekhar are condoned throughout Scripture as long as it does not lead to brawling, addiction, and the like. One time when their consumption is specifically stated as a good thing is in the law of the tithe in Deuteronomy –

“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. ²³ And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. ²⁴ But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, ²⁵ then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. ²⁶ And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. ²⁷ You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.” Deuteronomy 14:22-27

In the New Testament, Paul says the following to the saints at Corinth –

“Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.” 1 Corinthians 11:20-22

There Paul doesn’t tell them not to drink alcohol. Instead, he tells them that if they want to do so (the word he uses indicates this), to not do so at the Lord’s Supper, but rather do it at home. The ceremony was to be conducted with respect. Paul’s prohibition to Timothy and Titus concerning elders not being given to wine uses a word which indicates being “quarrelsome over wine” and thus an abusive brawler. It cannot be seen as a prohibition against any consumption, as he tells Timothy that it is OK elsewhere.

This is not my attempt to change anyone’s mind on whether they will drink or not. Rather, it is an analysis which is necessary from time to time, like everything else in Scripture, to avoid the unbiblical and legalistic rules which are constantly pounded into believer’s heads. Whether it is the law of the tithe, or the law of alcohol for the priests in the sanctuary, there is a context which needs to be considered and not carried beyond that context.

^9 (con’)It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations,

huqat olam l’dorotekem – “statute forever to your generations.” The prohibition is only for the times that the priests were engaged in their official duties, but it was for all times henceforth. If a priest were to drink, he was expected to not do so when ministering before the Lord. Until the coming of Christ, and the fulfillment of the law through His work, the statute was to be adhered to by all of Aaron’s sons in their official duties.

¹⁰ that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean,

Though perfectly understandable, the verse here is not well translated. Each noun is preceded by a definite article. It should read, “that you may distinguish between the holy and the unholy, and between the unclean and the pure.” There are definite and set categories being described. One of those categories is seen for the first time in Scripture, khol, or “unholy.” It will be used only seven times, once in Leviticus, twice in 1 Samuel, and the rest in Ezekiel. It refers to that which is ordinary rather than holy.

The verse is given to show the importance of not being inebriated when performing the duties of a priest. Again, what is implied is that Nadab and Abihu failed to do this, and it cost them their lives. What is rather sad are the countless comments concerning alcohol by scholars which are tied to this verse which insist, at the expense of the rest of the body of Scripture, on the prohibition of drinking for either some or all believers. It is inappropriate to insert personal biases into Scripture to form a doctrine about a matter.

¹¹ and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”

What is peculiar to me is to see how almost all translations which did a good job in verse 10, turn around and did a marginal job with verse 11, and vice versa. The NKJV perfectly translates this verse, even to the term “by the hand of Moses.” It is an exact translation showing that when the Lord spoke to Moses, he carefully recorded, by hand, everything he heard. The term, b’yad, or “by the hand,” is an idiom which indicates authority, or capability to accomplish. This is what is seen in the words as they are used here of Moses. The inspiration of Scripture is exactingly implied in these words. The Lord spoke, and Moses’ hand responded accordingly.

As far as this verse, the prohibition of the priests drinking while serving is further explained here. It is because they were to be instructors of the people concerning the law. If they were drunk while on duty, they would be ineffective teachers. But this is the Lord’s word, received directly by the hand of Moses, and therefore, they were to treat its instruction as a holy duty. The teaching of the priests is noted in Malachi 2 –

“For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,
And people should seek the law from his mouth;
For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 2:7

However, throughout the years, the priests are seen to have been negligent, and even failures, at the task to which they were called. This is seen, for example, in Ezekiel 22 –

“Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean…” Ezekiel 22:26

Because of the failure of the prophets, the priests, and the kings of Israel to perform their duties in the holy manner to which they were called, the people fell away and eventually were judged for having completely left the way of the Lord.

Do not imbibe while attending to your station
Not wine or something stronger shall you at that time partake
You are the instructors of Israel, your nation
And so fermented drink you shall forsake

That which is holy and that which is unholy do not mix
That which is unclean and that which is pure you shall separate
If you are drunk, how can you other people’s problems fix?
Only greater problems will you create

Be holy as I am holy, this I am instructing you
Tend to your duties with that always on your mind
To your tasks you shall be faithful and you shall be true
Carefully execute the duties you have been assigned

II. Obedience to the Law (verses 12-15)

¹² And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were left:

As a reminder, the four names given in this verse mean: Moses – He who draws out; Aaron – Very High; Eleazar – God has helped; and Ithamar – Land of Palms, palms being a symbol of uprightness. Moses, speaks to Aaron and his two sons who remain with explicit instructions. By specifically naming Eleazar and Ithamar, and in using the term ha’notarim, or “the remaining,” it is showing us that Moses does not want any others in his family to make a similar mistake and also die before the Lord.

^{12 (con’t)} “Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy.

Despite what happened with the two oldest sons, they were still to continue with the rites of the final day of ordination. This included eating the most holy grain offering. Moses’ instructions now have already been given to the priests, but he is ensuring that they are fully aware of the need to continue through with their duties regardless of what else has taken place among them. This is the grain offering of the people noted in verse 9:17. It was considered most holy, and so it had to be consumed within the courtyard, and it could only be eaten by the designated priests.

¹³ You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord; for so I have been commanded.

Because the grain offering was most holy, it could not be taken outside of the courtyard, nor could it be eaten by anyone else. It was the due of the priests by a statute, and therefore it had to be treated in accordance with the command given to Moses.

¹⁴ The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your daughters with you;

These were the offerings of the people mentioned in verses 9:18-21. As they were not most holy, they could be eaten anywhere in the camp as long as it was a clean place, meaning where there was nothing defiled. Chapter 7 showed that these portions of the offerings were given for the maintenance of the priests and their families. This even included the daughters of the priests as long as they were unmarried, widows, or divorced. However, if they were married, they were to be cared for by the husband’s house.

^{14 (con’t)} for they are your due and your sons’ due, which are given from the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel.

As I said, this was recorded in the law of the peace offerings in Chapter 7. There it said –

“For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever.” Leviticus 7:34

In order to sustain the priests, these portions of the offerings were set aside and consecrated for them alone. Moses is reminding them of this and ensuring that the meat of these portions is properly tended to so that no other negative occurrences arise.

¹⁵ The thigh of the heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the Lord.

The word “they” in this verse, as in “they shall bring with the offerings,” is not speaking of the priests, but of the people of Israel. When they brought their offerings, they would include the heaved thigh and the raised breast along with all of the fat. This was a part of the rite of these offerings, and Moses is reminding them that once such an offering was made, the thigh and the breast would then belong to them.

This has been explained before, but the breast, or khazeh, comes from khazah which means “to see” because it is the part that is most seen when looking at the front of the animal. That, in turn, comes from a root which indicates to gaze at, and to mentally perceive, as in a vision. The shoq, or thigh, actually can mean the thigh, shoulder, hip, or leg. It comes from a word meaning “overflow,” and thus “abundant.” And so it is the abundant area of meat on an appendage. The right thigh was set aside as the priest’s part. This signifies the honorable side. But it further reflects the power and strength of the animal.

Of these parts, the breast was offered as a tenuphah, or wave offering, whereas the right thigh is offered as a terumah, or a heave offering. The terumah comes from the word rum which means to be high, or exalted. 

Thus one can see the idea of something being offered up, like an oblation. The breast which indicates seeing and vision, and thus the acquisition of wisdom, is waved in acknowledgment of God’s omnipresence, and the right thigh which indicates strength and honor is lifted in acknowledgment of God’s omnipotence.

Both then speak of Christ’s mediatorial abilities which are acknowledged in the waving and heaving of the different parts. He is the wisdom and power of God for His people, and the One from whom all knowledge and strength is derived. This is why these parts were given to the priests, and this is why Moses is, once again, being very specific concerning the offerings.

The priests were the mediators between the people and the Lord. Jesus is our One final Mediator between God and man. Moses is carefully ensuring that the typology is not violated by the actions of Aaron or his sons, because it would then violate the picture of the fulfillment of the typology seen in Christ.

^{15 (con’t)} And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you, by a statute forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

These parts, which in type looked forward to Christ’s greater ministry, were given to Aaron and his sons as a statute for as long as the Law of Moses was in effect. As the priesthood of Aaron was assigned the priestly duties of this law, they were to receive these benefits of their priesthood until such time as the law itself was annulled. This occurred when Christ shed His blood in fulfillment of the law, and in initiation of the New Covenant.

A statute forever, throughout your generations
This is how it shall be from now on
Though will rise and fall many surrounding nations
You shall continue until this law is gone

Until the time it is fulfilled, and thus taken away
You shall continue on as I am instructing you
The requirements must be met from day to day
Until it is fulfilled, and along comes something New

And that day will come, be sure of that in your heart
But it will not be because of you or one of your sons
From another tribe of Israel, will come a brand new start
And those who follow Him, will be His chosen ones

I will send the Redeemer, and He will finally take away
All of these statutes which I give You today

III. The Sin Problem (verses 16-20)

¹⁶ Then Moses made careful inquiry about the goat of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up.

These final verses bring in the importance of paying attention to what occurs with the blood of each offering, and what is to happen to that offering after the ritual of the blood is complete. Each offering was to be handled in a way unique to its particular requirements. This sin offering is no different and Moses knew that. And so the Hebrew reads darosh darash mosheh – “investigating, Moses investigated.”

As there was a set procedure to be followed, and as he did not see that it was followed, he made a very careful investigation into the matter. There had been enough death for one day, and he didn’t want to see more. The inquiry is concerning the flesh of the sin-offering which was presented on behalf of the nation for the eighth day of the ordination. It was the people’s offering noted in verse 9:15. The blood rite for that offering was conducted at the altar of burnt-offering. The blood was not taken into the holy place, and it was also not for Aaron’s sin, but for that of the congregation. Therefore, the meat of the offering was to have been eaten by the priests, not burned up. But, that is just what happened to it.

Some assume the reason why is because they were grieved at the loss of their brothers and simply had no desire to eat. But nobody except the priests was allowed to eat the meat of this offering. And so to keep it from becoming corrupt, or so that it might not inadvertently be eaten by someone else, they burnt it on the altar.

^{16  (con’t)}And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying,

Moses singles out the sons of Aaron for his anger. This tells us that it was they who burnt the meat up on the altar. He had investigated, and the investigation pointed to them. If Aaron had participated in it, he would have included him in his rebuke as well.

They had actually violated a command of the Lord and had aggravated the situation even more. This is why, once again, the term ha’notarim, or “the remaining,” is used concerning them. The fact that they didn’t die, shows that they should have been even more attentive to their duties than ever before. They were not, and Moses is more than displeased with them because of it.

It appears that the sons readily assumed that their eating this meat, or their burning it up on the altar, was an insignificant difference. However, they will now be corrected on this point of the law…

¹⁷ “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord?

The error of the sons of Aaron was not perceiving that their eating of the sin offering actually had more significance than merely being something they could eat as a graciously offered meal – something they could accept or reject at will. In the eating of the sin offering, they actually bore the guilt of the congregation, thus making atonement for them.

The blood was never taken into the holy place. If that had happened, then the animal would have been handled in a different way. But the blood had merely been cast out upon the altar of burnt-offering. In the eating of the flesh, they therefore actually took the sin of the congregation upon themselves for the purpose of canceling it, or making expiation for it. This is what was symbolically intended in eating it. This is described by Keil –

“This effect or signification could only be ascribed to the eating, by its being regarded as an incorporation of the victim laden with sin, whereby the priests actually took away the sin by virtue of the holiness and sanctifying power belonging to their office, and not merely declared it removed.” 

The importance of this picture is realized in what Christ did for us. First, John the Baptist, and then Isaiah exactingly describe the work of the Lord, showing that what we are looking at here in Leviticus is but a mere shadow of the reality which lay ahead in His marvelous work –

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

Here, Christ Jesus is said to be the sacrifice. The sin of the people Israel was placed upon an innocent animal that would bear their sin. From there, the sin was then placed upon the priest who mediated between the people and God. In eating the flesh, they then took on the guilt which had been passed to the animal –

“He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:11, 12

From there, the sin was completely atoned for through the mediator’s duties. In this, the words of Jesus concerning defilement are more readily understood. In Mark 7, we read this –

“Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” ²⁰ And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, ²² thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” Mark 7:18-23

You might ask, “How can the priest, picturing Christ, eat the sin-bearing animal and not take on its sin in a final way, thus being forever separated from God?” I was actually emailed this question by a faithful viewer not too long ago. If Christ took on our sin, becoming sin for us, then how could He have been resurrected? The wages of sin is death, and He bore our sin.

The answer is because the priest is already acceptable because of his ordained position. In consuming something from outside, he cannot become defiled, instead, it passes through him and is purified. The priest symbolically consumed all of the evil things which came out of the nation of Israel, and purified them. This is exactly what Jesus is speaking of because this is exactly what Jesus did. He bore upon Himself all the sin of the world, but because He was already pure, and ordained by God for the task, the defilement could not cause Him to become defiled. Instead, it was purified and eliminated through His work, a work which was accomplished as this verse says liphne Yehovah, or “in the face of Yehovah.”

Jesus was actually speaking to the people of priestly matters because He is the One, true, and final high priest of God. The sons of Aaron had missed the typology, and therefore, they had missed the picture of Christ’s work on behalf of the people. Moses continues to explain this…

¹⁸ See! Its blood was not brought inside the holy place; indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place, as I commanded.”

Two different things are intended with the word “holy” in this verse. The first is speaking of the blood being brought into the holy place within the tent of meeting. This did not happen with this sacrifice, and therefore the meat was to be eaten, not burned up. The place where it was to be eaten is in a holy place, meaning within the sanctuary, but not within the holy place of the tent of meeting. For this reason, and to avoid misunderstandings, a new word is introduced into the Bible, penimah. It means “inside.” In this case, it is specifying “inside the holy place.” This is the first of 13 times the word will be used in the Bible.

Again, as I said before, it is the rite of the blood which determines what occurs with the rest of the sacrifice. The typology must be maintained in order to ensure the picture of Christ to come. The sons of Aaron failed in this.

¹⁹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Look, this day they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me!

Almost all scholars tie Aaron’s words in with his grief, and the grief of his sons, as being the reason for not eating the sin offering of the people, something prescribed by the law. However, this is not the case. Aaron will ask a conditional question based on what he has just noted to Moses, which is that the sons had offered their sin offering, and they had offered their burnt offering before the Lord. And further, they had done it before Nadab and Abihu had died. The offerings were on behalf of all the sons, not just the two living ones. And yet, two of them still died in sin on that day!

How could they eat the sin offering of someone else when they had not attained to the state of holiness which kept them from dying in their own sin? It is a giant mark upon the Aaronic priesthood, coming on the last day of the ordination process which shows its completely fallible nature. It couldn’t even perfect its priests. As this is so, how could it be expected to perfect those who came to the Lord through those priests? Indeed, something much greater was needed for that to come about.

The book of Hebrews, which is the 58^th book of the Bible, will explain what that “greater than” is. We will be there before you know it, and it will all be explained to you then. Don’t miss a single Sunday sermon in the meantime.

^{19 (con’t)} If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?”

The answer to his question is obvious, “No.” If the sin offering and the burnt offerings which were intended to take care of the sins of the priests before they tended to the sins of the congregation were tainted by what occurred, thus meaning they were also tainted, then how could they take on the sin of the people in order to purify them? Aaron’s logic is impeccable, and it shows us how vastly inferior this priesthood is to that of Christ – infinitely so.

The sin of man could never be taken away by the blood of bulls and goats – case in point is the death of Nadab and Abihu. Add into that the future death of Aaron, and then the death of Moses who performed the installation of Aaron, and you have a completely failed system. However, the system itself is not the failure, it is the people within the system. And within the people is the true failure, sin. Contemplating David’s words of the 51^st Psalm shows to us the seed of failure contained within the Law of Moses –

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51;5

*²⁰ So when Moses heard that, he was content.

The word “content” is insufficient here. It makes the account end sounding as if Moses accepted the word as satisfactory and nothing more. The Hebrew says, va’yishma mosheh va’yitav b’enav – “and heard Moses, and (it was) well-pleasing in his eyes.” There was a failure within the law, and that failure was corrected by what Aaron had done, at least as far as it could be corrected in this regard.

When Moses realized the astuteness of Aaron in regards to his solemn duties, he wasn’t just content. Rather, he was well-pleased. Where the law had broken down, the high priest had readjusted and overcome. It is a look back on the fall of man, and a look forward to the greater High Priest who would correct that fall. The law of the Garden of Eden had broken down; the true High Priest, our Lord Jesus, had corrected that failing. Surely, when God the Father saw what had been wrought, it was well-pleasing in His eyes.

The question for each of us concerning Chapter 10 is directed at the first seven verses, and it concerns the tragedy which befell Nadab and Abihu. Adam Clarke defines the parameters they used for their actions for us, and then he explains how we can either follow them, or follow the right path…

“Nadab and Abihu would perform the worship of God not according to his command, but in their own way; and God not only would not receive the sacrifice from their hands, but, while encompassing themselves with their own sparks, and warming themselves with their own fire, this had they from the hand of the Lord – they lay down in sorrow, for there went out a fire from the Lord, and devoured them. What is written above is to be understood of persons who make a religion for themselves, leaving Divine revelation; for, being wilfully ignorant of God’s righteousness, they go about to establish their own. This is a high offense in the sight of God. Reader, God is a Spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. Such worshippers the Father seeketh.” Adam Clarke

The story of Nadab and Abihu highlights to us the impossibility that we could ever reach absolute zero on the sin-scale on our own. We are humans existing within the stream of time. The infection is in us, and we can’t go backwards in order to reverse the curse.

Instead, what we need is something, or better – Someone, that can take us from the corrupt physical world which we dwell in and are a part of, and lead us to the place of where the spiritual can take us to absolute zero sin. That Someone is Jesus. What Moses, Aaron, and the law that they received and mediated, could not do, Jesus Christ could. He was born without the infection, He lived under the Law that He gave to Israel without becoming infected, and He died in fulfillment of it, thus ending it. And in its ending, He offers His work to us as a gift – free and clear. There is nothing we need to do except receive it as the gift it is. Today is the day folks. Be reconciled to God through the gift of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Closing Verse:  “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13, 14 

Next Week: Leviticus 11:1-23 There won’t be any eating crab’s claws, no, none of that fun… (Dietary Laws, Part I) (16^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Sin Problem

Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying:
To His high priest he was thus relaying

“Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink
You, nor your sons with you
When you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die
This thing you shall not do

It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations
That you may distinguish between holy and unholy
And between unclean and clean
These things certainly shall be

And that you may teach the children of Israel
All the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them
By the hand of Moses; all the things He did tell

And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar also
His sons who were left: for them to know

“Take the grain offering that remains
Of the offerings made by fire to the Lord
And eat it without leaven beside the altar
For it is most holy; hearken to this word 

You shall eat it in a holy place
Because it is your due and your sons’ due
Of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord
For so I have been commanded to instruct you 

The breast of the wave offering
And the thigh of the heave offering too
You shall eat in a clean place
You, your sons, and your daughters with you

For they are your due and your sons’ due
Which are given from the sacrifices
Of peace offerings of the children of Israel to you

The thigh of the heave offering
And the breast of the wave offering, according to this word
They shall bring with the offerings of fat made by fire
To offer as a wave offering before the Lord

And it shall be yours and your sons’ with you as well
By a statute forever, as the Lord has commanded; as to you I tell

Then Moses made careful inquiry about the goat
Of the sin offering, and there it was—burned up
————–Of this he made note

And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar
The sons of Aaron who were left, saying
“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a holy place
Since it is most holy; answer me this I am praying

And God has given it to you
To bear the guilt of the congregation
To make atonement for them before the Lord
Atonement for the Israelite nation

See! Its blood was not brought inside the holy place
This you did not do
Indeed you should have eaten it in a holy place
As I commanded you

And Aaron said to Moses
“Look, this day they have offered their sin offering, you see
And their burnt offering before the Lord
And such things have befallen me! 

If I had eaten the sin offering today
Would it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?”
So when Moses heard that, he was content
Upon hearing Aaron’s word

Thank You, O God, for such a wonderful word
Thank You for the mysteries which are hidden there
Each that we pull out speaks of Jesus our Lord
Thank you that in His goodness we too can share

For all eternity we shall sing to You our praise
Yes, from this time forth and for eternal days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 10:1-7
Profane Fire Before the Lord

We use a fist bump to show a special approval of someone we know and meet up with. It is more friendly than a handshake, and it is definitely not something that we would consider offering to someone of higher stature than we are unless they offered one first.

In other words, when meeting the president, we would be foolish to put out our fist and say, “Hey Don, put it there buddy.” He very well may put it there, but he also may think, “What an arrogant jerk.” Rather, etiquette would have us wait for him to make the first offer, and then we would respond to that. This is an unwritten code, and yet it is a sensible thing to do because this is what culture expects.

In the case of God, we too often act as if we have a right to extend our hand in a fist bump and expect that He will respond accordingly. Preachers treat him this way, and the stupidity of it has flowed down to the youngest child in the pews.

Christian radio will often speak of the personal nature of our relationship with God because of Christ, but they will, at times, bring it down to that close and personal fist bump level. We are the initiators of it, and He will certainly respond accordingly.

In many ways, the sense of the true and absolute holiness of God is all but gone except in a very few churches in regard to the whole. But God is God. Despite having come in the form of man, and having lived among us, we must remember that He is holy. It is His very nature.

Reading the law is a good thing because it reminds us of that. Today’s passage is a perfect example for us to study and consider. Yes, we are under a far superior covenant, with a much closer and more personal Mediator, but we are still the created, and He is the Creator. Let us remember this as we live in His presence.

Text Verse: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28, 29

Hebrews is a part of which testament? Anyone? Really? The New? But it says that we are to serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. What about the fist bumping? Does that qualify? Let us not treat our position in Christ as something that allows us to be flippant in our attitude toward the Lord. And let us not deviate from the sound and fixed words of instruction we have been given.

Two of Aaron’s sons did exactly this, and it cost them their lives. We have an anointing that rests upon us which asks us to be holy, not to act as if we are above the very word that led us to the position we now possess. May this precious word instruct us, fill us and guide us all our days as we live in His glorious presence, performing our duties to Him and for His honor. The way to do this is to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Fire From the Lord (verses 1 & 2)

In the Bible, and especially during the time of the giving of the law, there are things which are prescribed, and then there is often a noted incident where a violation of that thing which is prescribed occurs. This is then followed with a most severe punishment for the violation. For example, in Leviticus, there is a violation of blaspheming the name of the Lord which is followed with the punishment of being stoned to death. The same is true in Numbers with a violation of the Sabbath. It is certain, as the Bible records, that other such violations were not handled in the same manner. But the examples are given to show what is the just due for violating such a law. In not executing judgment on the first of such a violation, it would set a precedent that such an evil act or tendency was actually acceptable and that nothing would ever be done about such infractions.

In the coming verses, we will see such an instance. Laws were given, standards were expected, and the holiness of God was to be considered. If the Lord did not take the action that He took, it would have set the precedent that nothing would be done about all future violations that matched what occurred here. In fact, it would demonstrate an unjust and fickle nature of God to let the first instance be overlooked, and then to arbitrarily choose to punish a later violation of the same nature.

However, no such fickleness would be seen if a later violation was forgiven. Instead, it would demonstrate the merciful nature of God whose holiness was again violated, but who was willing to forgive the transgression nonetheless. Understanding this, each one of us has seen the latter aspect of God.

We have been the recipients of His mercy when we were once objects of His wrath. Thank God that He did not hold us to the same standard as those who at first offended Him. Keep these things in mind as you ponder what happens in this account, and what really should happen to all people who are separated from the infinite holiness of God.

Then Nadab and Abihu,

These two sons of Aaron were introduced into the Bible in Exodus 6:23 in the genealogical listing of the family of Moses and Aaron. They were then invited up Mount Sinai with Moses, Aaron, and seventy of Israel’s elders. There they had a meal in the presence of God. They were then called by name to minister as priests before the Lord, along with their father and two brothers in Exodus 28.

Nadav means something like Volunteer, or Willing (in the sense of willing to give). It comes from a primitive root which gives the sense of volunteering or offering something spontaneously. Avihu means something like “Whose Father (is) He,” when referring to God. Understanding that the term “father” in the Bible signifies one who is in authority, and thus to whom respect and honor is due. It is something implied in the use of the term. Thus one under the father’s authority is under obligation to perform their duty when requested.

^1 (con’t) the sons of Aaron,

Now they are introduced alone, apart from their father for the first time. Unfortunately, being unattended by their father, they assumed they could be true men of Israel on their own accord and stand before the Lord in whatever manner of their choosing. The Bible will later note that neither has children, and so they are still certainly young. Their youthful indiscretion will be a most costly lesson for the priestly line of Israel, and for Aaron in particular.

^1 (con’t) each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord,

The sins to be found in these recorded words are several. First, each took his censer. This implies that that these were censers not fashioned for use in the sanctuary, and which had not been part of the consecration process. The word for censer in Hebrew is makhtah. It comes from the word khathath which means terror, ruin, or destruction. It is a fitting concept in regards to what occurs.

This is the first time that this word has been translated as “censer,” and yet it is certainly correct in its use. Their using it in this manner shows that not everything that was to be done in the sanctuary was specifically recorded. Rather, there were rites and implements which had purpose which are not specifically a part of the written code, or which will later be included as a part of the written code. Such is the case with this type of censer.

Secondly, they came together to offer incense. This was a duty which was only to be conducted by one attending priest at a time.

Thirdly, incense offered in a censer was only allowed by the high priest. According to the law, it is never noted as an offering made by anyone but him. The incense offered by the other priests was burnt in the golden altar in the holy place, or along with offerings on the brazen altar, but never in censers.

Forth, it says that they offered profane (meaning strange) fire. According to verse 16:12, the high priest was to take the fire for the incense from the brazen altar, which had been sanctified by the Lord’s fire. It is the same fire which had come out and burnt the ordination offering on it. This is the fire that was to never be extinguished from that first time it was lit. It is a celestial fire, having been sanctified by Yehovah himself.

Instead of using this fire, sanctified by the Lord, they lit their own fire to ignite the incense. The word used to describe the fire is zarah which means “another.” It can be used when speaking of another god, an adulteress who goes after another, etc. They failed to use what was holy and fitting for their offering and instead used that which was another; thus it was profane.

Fifth, it says that they offered this profane fire liphne Yehovah, or “in the face of the Lord.” This could be disregarded as a mere idiom that they did it in any given spot, intending it to be as an offering to the Lord, but such is not the case.

Rather, they went directly to the Most Holy Place, and there they offered this incense. We know this is the case because Leviticus 16 begins with these words –

“Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord, and died; ² and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.” Leviticus 16:1, 2

It is after the death of these two sons that the Lord warns Aaron that even he is not allowed to come anytime he wished inside the veil. The implication is that this was at least a part of why they were destroyed, along with all the other infractions of their assigned sacred duties.

Verse 4 seems to imply that their bodies were laying before the sanctuary when they were to be carried out, and almost all great and noted scholars cite this being the case. However, the word when translated as “sanctuary” is not correct. We will see the intended meaning when we get there. It does not merely mean that they were to be taken away from the sanctuary’s presence.

In all, these transgressions demonstrated an uncaring attitude towards the highly specific, God-directed, commands that had been previously laid out. They probably felt that because they were ordained as priests, they had a run of the place and that they were even above the laws which ordained them in the first place, something not uncommon in those ordained, even to this day.

Ancient tradition, which is actually included in verse 9 of the Palestinian Chaldee version, says that these two sons had drank too much of the drink offerings and were therefore drunk at the time they did this. This seems more than possible, because the very first prohibition after this account is finished is that of the priests not drinking alcohol when they performed their duties before the Lord. It is thus one of only two instances in the Bible that the drinking of alcohol is expressly forbidden, the second being during the performance of a Nazirite vow in Numbers 6.

^1 (con’t) which He had not commanded them.

asher lo tsivah otam – “that no commanded them.” This is a figure of speech where the negative form is used for an emphatic affirmative. Thus, there is more to be understood than is expressed in the words. Not only did they do something which was without some sort of command or authority from God, but they did it against his expressed command. Therefore, it should read something like, “…which was expressly forbidden to them.”

There is no such command recorded for us to read, but not everything they were told to do is necessarily recorded. And even more, it is implicitly to be understood from Leviticus 6:12 that the only authorized fire to be used is to come from the fire sanctified by the Lord when He consumed the offering of the ordination. The two sons have done what was expressly forbidden, and in so doing, there is now a consequence for their actions…

² So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

va’tese esh miliphne Yehovah va’tokal otam – “And there went out fire from the face of Yehovah and consumed them.” It is the exact same words, word for word, which were used only 2 verses earlier, but instead of “them,” it spoke of the offering on the altar. The timing of this event is made all the more notable because it was the last thing recorded, right at the end of Chapter 9 –

“Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. ²³ And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, ²⁴ and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” Leviticus 9:22-24

The words are the same, the Source is the same, the effect is the same, and yet the result is quite the opposite. Life and acceptance was realized in the offering upon the altar; death and disavowal was realized in these two young men.

1 Peter 4, citing an example found in Ezekiel 8, tells us that judgment begins at the house of God. Such is the case here. It is the first such time it is seen in Scripture, right at the very beginning of the time of the Aaronic priesthood, but it will not be the last. This, however, is a truly memorable incident which follows directly on the heels of that other memorable incident.

The Lord had shown His approval of the ordination process, He had accepted the offering made to Him, and He thus indicated that the ministry of Aaron and his sons would be acceptable before him. The fire of the Lord indicated all of this. It was a fire of approval, acceptance, and affirmation. But within an extremely short period of time, be it minutes or hours, His fire became one of disapproval, disavowal, and destruction.

The same sanctifying fire of the Lord which came out to acknowledge and accept the sanctity of the ordination process had now come out to sanctify that which had been profaned after completion of the ordination process. Instead of an offering for sin upon the altar, their lives were taken. Paul speaks of exactly this concept in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 –

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.”

A New Testament example of what has occurred here is found in Acts 5 –

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. ² And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? ⁴ While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

⁵ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. ⁶ And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷ Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”

She said, “Yes, for so much.”

⁹ Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. ¹¹ So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

What happened to Nadav and Avihu is certainly what happened to Ananias and Sapphira. In verse 5, we will see that these two will be carried out by their tunics. Because of this, the fire of the Lord spoken of here is a not a fire of heat, but one which quenches life nonetheless, just as it was in Acts. The price for the disobedience in both of these instances was high because there is always the necessity of God vindicating His own glorious majesty.

Having said this, there is no reason to make the mental jump from temporal judgment to eternal punishment. Such is the case in both Leviticus and Acts. God knows who are His, and He will choose the discipline or punishment He feels is worthy of the offense, both in order to rectify the situation, and to demonstrate and reveal His divine attributes as He sees fit. And just because some are punished more severely than others, it does not mean that their position in heaven is necessarily forfeit. Of this verse, Adam Clarke judiciously notes –

“The Lord is a consuming fire! He will either hallow or destroy us: he will purify our souls by the influence of his Spirit, or consume them with the breath of his mouth! The tree which is properly planted in a good soil is nourished by the genial influences of the sun: pluck it up from its roots, and the sun which was the cause of its vegetative life and perfection now dries up its juices, decomposes its parts, and causes it to moulder into dust. Thus must it be done to those who grieve and do despite to the Spirit of God. Reader, hast thou this heavenly fire? Hear then the voice of God, Quench not the Spirit.” Clarke

Profane fire is offered to the Lord
Wrath and indignation is the result
First and foremost we should have checked His word
What has happened is only our fault

The Lord has shown us what is right and good
What is proper is carefully laid out
His word is not difficult; it can be understood
In careful study, we can be sure – having no doubt

But it is so much easier to have our ears tickled
Careful study is hard work, it causes the head pain
But if we allow ourselves to stew and become pickled
We will throw our heavenly rewards right down the drain

Help us Lord, to be attentive to Your word
Help us to pay attention to the instruction we have heard

II. The Holiness of the Lord (verses 3-7)

³ And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:

Moses immediately steps in to keep the situation from getting out of hand. He already knows the glory of the Lord in a way no other person could imagine. And so he reminds Aaron of the penalty for displaying anything other than holiness, even now. Moses is even more concerned about Aaron’s life being kept safe than he is about his emotional distress at the loss of his sons.

Therefore, in order to keep him from doing something rash and also dying before the Lord, he reminds him of the Lord’s own words. None of what he says next is a direct quote of anything we have read, but the principles have already been seen several times.

In other words, what Moses says is to be taken in a reflective tense, not a passive one. It is how things are with God at all times. He was this way; He is this way. Everything about how the Lord has dealt with Israel, Moses, and Aaron has been a demonstration of what Moses will now speak. He simply speaks of the judgment of God which always exists and which necessitated what came about.

^3 (con’t) ‘By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;

biqrovay e-qadesh – “In those who come near me, I will be shown as holy.” The words here bear directly on what will be said in the next verse. They are words which confirm that the two sons of Aaron died, not in the courtyard, but in the Most Holy Place, there before the Ark itself where they had gone to present their fatal offering of incense before the Lord.

They had made a sad lapse in judgment, assuming that they were immune from judgment, and thus above the law of the Lord, because of their consecrated status. Assuming they were encouraged with a little wine as well, they were emboldened when they should have been humble. They were tipsy when they should have been of sound mind. And they were set on a course of death rather than one of life.

The cherubim woven into the veil warned them of attempting to work their way into paradise, but they brushed the figures aside and proudly produced their scented offering. But it bore the stench of death, not the aroma of life. They drew near to holiness, but their hearts, filled with pride at their newly attained office, were their downfall in that Most Holy presence.

He had shown that in those who come near Him, He would be seen as holy. He had done this for them in the ordination process, but they had failed to live up to what was bestowed upon them, and so He was shown holy in them through the punishment He inflicted.

^3 (con’t) And before all the people
I must be glorified.’”

v’al pene kal ha’am ekaved – “and before face (of) all the people, I will glorify myself.” The Lord had shown His glory numerous times already, and so it should have been a perfectly understood axiom that He was, in fact, glorious. The garments of the priests were given, as we were told, for glory and for beauty.

These things, and countless others, were done to display the glory of God to the people. He glorifies Himself in such ways. But when one of his chosen priests sinned openly and in a public way, he vindicated His honor and His glory through their destruction. There is nothing arbitrary or unreasonable about what has occurred. It was evident from His first dealings with Israel, and it had become even more evident with each step of the process that led them to where they were at the moment.

If we consider this from our own time and situation, how much more just and acceptable will it be when He glorifies Himself through judgment on the world in the tribulation period. We have another 3500 years of proofs of His glory demonstrated in fulfilled prophecy – in Christ the Lord, in His church, and in His return of Israel to their land. Imagine the severity of judgment which is due upon the false preachers, teachers, and ministers of His word.

^3 (con’t) So Aaron held his peace.

v’yidom aharon – “and was mute Aaron.” Upon realizing the just nature of what occurred, Aaron completely shut up any possible questioning of the Lord’s judgment. He realized that what happened was just, it was right, and it was necessary. It reflects the words of David in the 39^th Psalm –

“I was mute, I did not open my mouth,
Because it was You who did it.” Psalm 39:9

We can rage against the judgments of man. We can be angry at the unfair decisions of our boss. We can shake our fist in the judge’s face, or demonstrate against the injustices brought upon us by our government, but we cannot question the Lord’s decisions. What He determines is perfect, fair, and final. It is a lesson Paul passes on to both Jew and Gentile as he sums up a portion of his argument in the book of Romans –

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Romans 3:19

The Lord is a consuming fire, and He is especially jealous for the sake of His own holy name. When that name is dishonored, or when His glory is diminished through the actions of His chosen, a demonstration of wrath is the natural result. Therefore, we should pray as the Shulamite did towards her beloved –

“Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.” Song of Solomon 8:6

⁴ Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them,

Moses now has a duty which needed be attended to. There are two corpses which must be removed from the camp. This cannot be accomplished by Aaron or one of his remaining sons. To touch a dead body would defile them, and they could not perform their duties. And so he calls for Mishael and Eltsaphan.

Mishael means “Who (is) what God (is)? Eltsaphan means something like “God has concealed,” or “God has hidden.” These two are the sons of Uzziel, or God of Strength. He is the uncle of Aaron, making the other two his cousins. The word for “uncle” is dod, which interestingly and literally means “Beloved.” They now have a somber duty awaiting them.

^4 (con’t) “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.”

The words here are very precise. Two verbs in a row without any adjoining “and” begin the clause. It simply says, qirbu se-u – “go near; carry.” He uses the verb form of the adjective that he just used in verse 3, qarav, or “come near.”

It then says that they are to carry their brothers, meaning their relatives, from the face of “the holy.” He repeats another word that he just cited of the Lord in the previous verse, qadosh, or “holy.” The Lord said, “In those who come near me, I will be shown as holy.” Now he says “Come near, carry your brothers from the face of ha’qodesh, or the holy.”

He is explicitly instructing them to do what would otherwise be forbidden. Nobody but a priest could enter the presence of the Lord, but the exceptional circumstances demanded exceptional actions. They were to enter the presence of the Lord and remove the bodies of those in whom He had shown Himself holy.

A picture is formed out of these seven names. Moses, or “He who draws out” calls Mishael and Eltsaphan, or “Who (is) what God (is)?, and “God has concealed,” for a task. They are the sons of “God is My Strength.” Who is the beloved of Aaron, or “Very High.” They are to carry out Nadav or “Willing,” and Avihu, or “Whose Father (is) He.”

The entire verse points to the work of Christ who 1) draws out for us the nature of God so that we can understand it. It is He 2) who is what God is, and He reveals what 3) God has concealed. In these revelations of Himself, He is the Son of 4) the God of Strength and who is the 5) Beloved of the one who is 6) Very High, meaning God the Father. The dead are the 7) Willing and 8) whose Father (meaning God) is He. The unfortunate death of these two men is recorded in the most marvelous way to give us a snapshot of the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ. It is that by which the Lord, in the highest sense, has shown Himself holy.

⁵ So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.

The two cousins of Aaron do as they are directed. Having the expressed permission to enter the Most Holy Place, they retrieve the bodies of Nadav and Avihu and carry them, by their priestly garments, out of the camp. Tradition holds that the garments of the priests, when worn out, were used as wicks for use in the lamps of the sanctuary. However, these could not be so used as they were defiled. They, together with the corpses of the bodies, were buried outside the camp.

Several scholars have deduced from verses such as this that modern practices of burying people within the confines of cities is an abhorrent practice. They go further then and note that it is utterly contemptible that the dead should be buried on the grounds of churches. That is both highly legalistic, and it is stupid.

The camp of Israel cannot be equated with any such notion in either the modern city or the church. Common sense and reason does need to be used when considering our internment processes. The defilement caused by death ceased in Christ. Death has lost its sting, and a dead body is simply a shell which will decompose, but which possesses no power to cause the redeemed to become unclean. This is a precept of the law which is fulfilled in Christ.

As far as the account in Leviticus, it is now the 8^th day of the ordination process, and it is just 6 days before the Passover was to be slain. Because of their defilement in touching these corpses, they will now be excluded from being allowed to participate in the Passover. Thus, they are at least partly included in the account recorded in Numbers 9 –

Now there were certain men who were defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. ⁷ And those men said to him, “We became defiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the children of Israel?”

⁸ And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord’s Passover. ¹¹ On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹² They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. ¹³ But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person shall be cut off from among his people, because he did not bring the offering of the Lord at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. Numbers 9:6-13

⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes,

The priests were held to a very high standard, as we will see with other such things that will continue to be required within the law. The word used concerning uncovering the head is para. This comes from a root which means “to loosen.” Thus the idea is to let the hair be free or disheveled, or to shave it off such as in a sign of mourning. To so uncover one’s head or to tear the clothes were outward signs of mourning.

However, because they were adorned in their priestly clothes, they were to maintain dignity and honor before Lord, thus showing the Lord as holy, exactly as was stated explicitly in verse 3.

Eventually, the law will specify in chapter 21 that the priests who were sons of Aaron could show signs of mourning for their close relatives, but in verse 21:10 it says that the high priest could never uncover his head or tear his clothes. At this time, Aaron and both his sons had the anointing oil on them, and they were thus held to the highest standard of all.

Further, such signs could imply to others that they believed the punishment was unmerited and they were accusing the Lord of unjust severity in His actions. Should they treat Him as unholy again, as Nadav and Avihu did, then there would be consequences…

^6 (con’t) lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people.

The Lord has already shown that the severest punishment would result from such an offense. How much more if the offenses continued right on the heels of His judgment on the first offense! The only thing they could expect would be death. But even more, wrath would come upon all the people. There would be no ordained mediator left for the people, and as we saw in Chapter 4 concerning the sin offerings, guilt would then be on all.

Without a high priest to mediate, only guilt would remain, and with guilt then only wrath could be the just due. They had verbally agreed to the terms of the covenant, and they had made themselves liable to all that it encompassed when they did. This included placing themselves under the high priest as their sole mediator before the Lord. This concept of a corporate sense of belonging continues on in the church. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:26 –

“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

^6 (con’t) But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled.

The word says, “And let your brothers.” It could be translated as “but,” thus showing a contrast to Aaron and his sons, but it could also mean something entirely different. If the intent is “and,” which seems likely, then the verse would read, “And let your brethren, the whole house of Israel morn over the burning that the Lord has kindled.” Instead of mourning over the lost sons of Aaron, it is a mourning directed to the people of Israel who had seen the glory of the Lord diminished through the actions of their representatives.

At the very beginning of the priesthood, which comprises the mediatorial aspect of the Law of Moses, there had been a major failing which resulted in the indignation of the Lord, and an outward sign of His vast displeasure at their conduct under the law. From the outset of the priests’ mediation of the law, death was the first thing seen.

This then is set in direct contrast to the mediation of Christ under the New Covenant. Instead of death, God had accepted the first duties of the Mediator, His atoning sacrifice, and approved of it. Having so approved of it, He confirmed that approval in the… resurrection. It is the ultimate sign of His extreme approval at Christ’s conduct under this New Covenant.

The contrast could not be clearer. Instead of the fallible, and sin-filled nature of the priests of the Aaronic priesthood, we see the infallible, sinless nature of Christ the High Priest of the New Covenant. In all ways, His is the superior mediation.

⁷ You shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die,

This is telling them that they were not to follow Mishael and Eltsphan to the burial, nor were they to attend any funeral service which would be conducted, thus taking them from their place at the door of the tent of meeting. As I said, there are similar prohibitions which are specifically stated for the high priest in Chapter 21 –

“He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; ¹¹ nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; ¹² nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 21:10-12

The high priest was never to leave the sanctuary at such a time, lest it would appear to the people that he had a greater duty to attend to the dead than minister between the people and the living God. Such is the case now for not only the high priest, but for his sons also. Service to the Lord comes before all things.

^7 (con’t)for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.”

The anointing oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. He is a Spirit of life, not death. As this is so, they were to have nothing in common with death because sin is the source of death. In Christ, we are reckoned as dead to sin because of His work. We are dead to the law, and thus dead to sin. This is why we are, according to Paul, sealed with the Holy Spirit upon belief. Again, the contrast is made perfectly clear that the Law of Moses is wholly inferior to the New Covenant in Christ.

*^7 (fin)And they did according to the word of Moses.

The obedience of Aaron to the word of Moses is explicitly stated here to show that Aaron and his sons understood the gravity of the situation, and were obedient to the precept. It was a lesson for them, and for the people of Israel, that the priests were first and foremost responsible to the Lord. From this, there would always be the reminder of how the priests were to conduct themselves.

The failings of future priests, and what occurs to them for their failures, would be understood in accord with this first precedent- setting account which came at the very inception of the priesthood. As a sober warning, Adam Clarke states these words concerning this passage –

“Every part of the religion of God is Divine. He alone knew what he designed by its rites and ceremonies, for that which they prefigured – the whole economy of redemption by Christ – was conceived in his own mind, and was out of the reach of human wisdom and conjecture. He therefore who altered any part of this representative system, who omitted or added any thing, assumed a prerogative which belonged to God alone, and was certainly guilty of a very high offense against the wisdom, justice, and righteousness of his Maker.” Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke is spot on. The sons of Aaron added to the word of God, doing that which their own minds conjured up, and they suffered for it. The warning to not add to or subtract from God’s word is repeated several times in Scripture. Under the New Covenant, we are given broad latitude in conducting our lives, both personal and religious, in the presence of the Lord.

However, we are also given many specific and direct admonitions as well. We are not to depart from them, and we are not to add to them in the sense of mandating that which is contrary to His word. I personally tremble for the many pastors who stand in the pulpit and claim a word from the Lord in order to conduct their ministries as they see fit, or to impose upon the congregation in a manner which suits them, but is not according to Scripture. Let us never allow this into our lives.

Rather, let us offer holy fire to the Lord, in accord with His word and in a manner which He will find acceptable. But, there is the truth that no offering to the Lord can be considered acceptable unless we first belong to that same Lord. The way to do this is through calling on Jesus. Only through that act can we be reconciled to God the Father, and only in that can we then make right offerings to Him.

Closing Verse: “For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. ¹⁰ For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. ¹¹ For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.” 2 Corinthians 3:9-11

Next Week: Leviticus 10:8-20 It’s really cold at this temperature you know… (Absolute Zero) (15^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Burning Which the Lord Has Kindled

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron
Each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it
And offered profane fire before the Lord
Which He had not commanded them; not good we must admit 

So fire went out from the Lord, a deadly sword
And devoured them, and they died before the Lord

And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:
These words to him he was relaying

By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy

And before all the people I must be glorified
So Aaron held his peace, after his sons had died

Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan
The sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and to them said
“Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary
Out of the camp, now that they are dead 

So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp
As Moses had said; according to his authoritative stamp

And Moses said to Aaron
And to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, as well
“Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die
And wrath come upon all the people, as to you I tell

But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel
Bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled, for a spell

You shall not go out from the door
Of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die; so you have heard
For the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you
And they did according to Moses’ word

Lord, how good we have it in the age of grace
We have the whole word laid out before us
In obedience to You we are sure of a heavenly place
By faith, and faith alone in the finished work of Jesus

This is what Your word tells us
That the law only brought death, sorrow, and pain
But now we are saved by faith alone, nothing plus
Help us not to throw such a gift right down the drain

Give us wisdom to pursue You through Your superior word
And be obedient to it by calling on Jesus
Yes, may we not deviate from the gospel we have heard
And which is able to save each and every one of us

Hallelujah to You, O God, hear our praise!
Hallelujah to You, O Lord, as to you our voices raise!

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 9:1-24
The Glory of the Lord Will Appear to You

The Bible says that God has made everything beautiful in its time. I try to remember that whenever I see something we think of as ugly. If we see a spider, we might freak out a bit, knowing what it might do. If it’s poisonous, it could bite and either make us really sick or even kill us. If it’s not poisonous, it could still bring us pretty quickly out of a dead sleep. And so mostly we don’t think of spiders as beautiful.

And yet, if we look really closely at them, we might see colors which are magnificent. We might see capabilities that simply astonish us. We might find an intelligence that we could only describe as beautiful. God made them, and so they bear their own beauty which alone He determined.

The same is true with anything God has created. It bears a special mark of beauty that we can perceive if we just look. A person with a physical deformity might be the most pleasant soul around. We would find them beautiful despite their outward appearance.

A dead tree might not seem particularly beautiful at first sight, but the more you look at it, you will find things that mark it out as a wonderful sight to the eyes. In one way or another, if we just look, carefully we’re bound to see beauty in everything we look at that God has placed in our path.

I try my best to think this way, and it often helps me change my attitude about things. But I never leave it there. When I see beauty in something, I try to transfer my gratitude back to the Lord. As He is the Source of all things, then anything which I appreciate as having beauty had to come from Him in the first place.

Text Verse: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’” Hebrews 10:5-7

If you were in Israel and saw the parts of an animal laying on an altar, you might question where the beauty was in that. It’s just a pile of a once-living animal that is going up in smoke. But if you considered what that sacrifice meant, then you might say, “Isn’t that beautiful? God has allowed my sins to be taken away in this offering.” Or you might say, “The Lord has allowed me to fellowship with Him through that offering.” `

For the faithful believer in the Lord’s word, the sacrifices and offerings would be a truly beautiful thing. And for us, if we think about what they pointed to, we can see the beauty in them as well. Instead of thinking about the brutality of animal offerings, we can see the mercy of God bestowed upon undeserving people.

He created both, and He determined which was more important, and which was of less value. And that then leads us to the cross of Christ. What is the most horrifying thing that could ever have happened, is also the most beautiful thing that could ever have occurred. God saw that the death of Christ Jesus was of less value than the redemption of man. That may seem impossible, but His death had to happen for man to be redeemed.

And because He in fact went to the cross, then we know that He weighed out the cost, set the plan in motion, and carried through with the execution of it. Today, we will see the glory of the Lord as it was revealed to the Israelites at the initiation of the Aaronic priesthood. But that glory is insignificant in comparison to the glory which God revealed when He stepped out of His eternal realm and came to dwell among us. The things He did, the life He lived, and the cross He died upon demonstrate a glory which has sustained His church with a passion that has lasted for 2000 years. And it is only leading to a far greater glory in the time yet ahead.

Every chapter of the Bible is another stepping stone which is leading us on a marvelous trip back to paradise. If we can just learn what each chapter and verse is showing us along the way, it brings sense to what would otherwise seem irrelevant. Nothing in this beautiful word is irrelevant. Wonderful, beautiful things are to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Sacrifices Before the Lord (verses 1-7)

It came to pass on the eighth day

Seven days of ordination have taken place. This is probably the 8^th day of the month of Aviv. In Exodus 40:17 we read –

“And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.”

It is probable that the ordination of the priests began on that day as well. The Passover would be coming on the 14^th day of the month, and so this leaves just a few days for Aaron and his sons to perform their duties in that function for the first time. In Scripture, the number eight is always used very consistently. In Hebrew it is sh’moneh which comes from a root which means “to make fat” or “to cover with fat.” Thus it signifies being super-abundant. As seven is spiritual perfection, then in eight there is that which begins a new series, and so it is the number of new beginnings.

The 8^th day is set aside for the perfecting and purifying of both man and beast. When a child is circumcised, it is on the 8^th day. When a leper is cleansed from his affliction, he is considered purified on the 8^th day. The same is true with other such things. The 8^th day is that of perfecting and purifying. And so, like each of these examples, Aaron and his sons have been purified, and are now considered perfected for the object of performing their priestly duties. Here on the 8^th day of the process, and probably the 8^th day of the month as well, they enter into their new beginnings.

^{1 (con’t)} that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

The elders are called as representatives of all of the people below them. They are probably the same people who were called in verse 8:3 to observe the ordination process as representatives of all the congregation.

² And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord.

Of those just mentioned in verse 1, Aaron is addressed first. He is to bring an egel ben baqar, or a “calf, son of the herd,” as a sin-offering, and an ayil, or ram, as a burnt-offering. The fact that he was required to make a sin offering, even after having been ordained, shows us the imperfection of the Aaronic priesthood. One whose ministry is imperfect can never make others perfect.

The egel, or calf is the same as the adjective agol which means circular, or round. The reason is that a calf, especially one nearly grown, will frisk around, dancing and twirling. The mental imagery of this is beautifully seen in Malachi 4:2 –

“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.” NLT

The ayil, or ram, as has been seen, is an animal which denotes strength. The reason for sacrificing a calf, rather than a bull which was used during their ordination, is debated. The only other time the calf has been seen in the Bible is in the instance of the golden calf, of which Aaron was a participant.

Further, the only other time it will be mentioned in the five books of Moses is in Deuteronomy 9, where twice it will refer once again to the instance of the golden calf. It will be the animal which the witch of En Dor prepares as Saul’s last meal, and it will describe the golden calves fashioned by Jeroboam, king of Israel in defiance of the Lord.

Out of 35 uses in the Bible, it is seen in a positive sense only a few times, such as in Isaiah and Malachi, each of which speaks of youthful exuberance. For this reason, and because Moses is still giving the instructions for the rites, I would suggest that this egel ben baqar, or “calf, son of the herd,” is being used to show the youthful, and thus immature nature of Aaron’s priesthood.

Thus, he is reflective of Israel as a whole who remained in a state of youthful disobedience until Christ would come and initiate the New Covenant in His blood. Such is the nature of the ordination of Israel’s high priest under the Law of Moses, and on behalf of the people. Only in Christ would they grow into mature adulthood.

The ram as a burnt-offering reflects the total commitment of Aaron, his natural strength, being offered to God as a living sacrifice. In picture, it looks to Christ who offered all of His natural strength to His Father in His more perfect ministry.

³ And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying,

It is generally accepted that this means Aaron. After his sacrifices and offerings, he is now the official high priest, and therefore it is he who would, from this point on, speak to the people concerning priestly matters.

^3 (con’t) ‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering,

This is the same offering as was instructed for a ruler of the people in 4:23. It is a sa’iyr izzim, or hairy goat. In Scripture, hair denotes awareness. But more specifically, it denotes an awareness of sin. Thus, the hairy goat is used as a symbol of consciousness of sin.

This goat then pictures Christ, who came to die for the awareness of sin in fallen man. He is the sin-offering for all who acknowledge their sin, because they are conscious of it. In this case, it is the elders of the people who are accountable to God for themselves and those under them.

^3 (con’t) and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering,

Two animals are required for the burnt-offering. The first is an egel, the same as Aaron’s sin-offering. The other is a kebes or lamb. The egel, or calf, would carry the same meaning as before. It is an indication of the youthful, and thus immature, nature of the priesthood. It reflects Israel who remained in a state of youthful disobedience until the New Covenant. The kebes, or lamb, comes from a root meaning “to dominate.” And so it symbolizes Christ’s domination over sin, thus He is acceptable as an offering to God.

⁴ also a bull and a ram as peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with oil;

These as peace offerings were already explained in Chapter 3. The bull, the ram, and an accompanying grain offering were to be presented. The peace offering signifies the approval of the other offerings, and the symbolic dining together of the Lord with them.

^4 (con’t) for today the Lord will appear to you.’”

This is actually in the past tense, “…for today the Lord has appeared unto you.” The words are given as an accomplished fact, even though it has not yet happened. The Lord will manifest himself in a special way to signify his approval of the inauguration of the Aaronic priesthood. It is the same past tense as is seen in Psalm 102:16 –

“For the LORD has built up Zion;
He has appeared in His glory.”

The words are actually an anticipatory look to Christ who rose on the day after seventh (Sabbath) day, or on the 8^th day. It was then that He appeared to His people, signifying the New beginning that had taken place; God having approved of His more perfect priestly ordination.

⁵ So they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of meeting.

And all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord.

This duty is now carried out by Aaron. He is acting as the priest, just as Moses had instructed. The term “all the congregation” means the elders who stand as representatives of the congregation. Others who were not elders may have come in, but the term specifically speaks of the elders noted in verse 1.

⁶ Then Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded you to do, and the glory of the Lord will appear to you.”

Moses now speaks of things which will come to pass. Thus when they do occur, it will be proof of the Lord’s approval. In performing his required sacrifices and offerings, he would then be considered as the fully-installed high priest. In turn, he would then be acceptable to perform the priestly functions for the congregation who had brought their offerings. In turn, the Lord would appear to the people to confirm the entire process.

⁷ And Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the Lord commanded.”

As the consecrated priest, Aaron is still required to offer for his sin to make atonement for himself. If no other verse in Scripture (and there are many of them) shows us the fallible nature of the Aaronic priesthood, this one shouts it out to us. The high priest of Israel, who has gone through an elaborate ordination process, must still sacrifice for his own sins. Thus, despite being the mediator between the people and God, he stands on the same level as the people in regard to his manhood. Only after his sins are atoned for can he then offer the offering of the people for their atonement.

The glory of the Lord will appear to you
With your own eyes you shall see this
As He has spoken, so He shall do
The glory you see will fill you with heavenly bliss

At times the Lord’s glory comes in an awesome display
At times it is revealed in something we may actually miss
But if we pay attention day unto day
The glory we see will fill us with heavenly bliss

In the creation He has shown His glory to us
And in His word we find glory that was once concealed
And, O what glory when we behold Jesus
In His face is God’s glory fully revealed

In His face is glory that none can miss
It is glory that shall fill us eternally with heavenly bliss

II. Aaron’s Offerings (verses 8-14)

⁸ Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

Aaron himself is the one to bring the knife to the animal of sacrifice. In this, we see that the offering is offered and the mediator is the one to slay it. It looks forward to Christ who willingly gave Himself as our sin-offering. As He said, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.”

⁹ Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him.

The atonement here is for Aaron, but it is also for his sons who have collected the blood of the animal. What seems curious is that it speaks of sons, rather than a son. One would think one son would hold the bowl and collect the blood, but it says the sons brought the blood to him. As Aaron pictures Christ, so the sons of Aaron picture the redeemed who are the sons of God through faith (Gal. 3:26). Each must, by faith, bring the blood of the Sacrifice.

^9 (con’t) And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar.

Aaron dips his finger in the blood and puts it on the horns of the brazen altar. In Chapter 4, when a high priest sinned, he was required to bring the blood into Holy Place and sprinkle it before the veil. He was then to put it on the horns of the altar of incense.

This verse then shows us two things. First, this is for Aaron’s sin-nature rather than a specific sin. And secondly, he does not yet have access into the Holy Place. That is now obtained through this general sin-offering. It is the altar which allows access through the door of the tent of meeting. From here on, he will have this access.

The blood being placed upon the four horns of the altar typifies Christ’s blood which has the power to cleanse and forgive sin, even to the four corners of the earth. The pouring out of the blood is typical of Christ who shed all His blood, even to death.

¹⁰ But the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The words “as the Lord had commanded Moses” are in accordance with the instructions for the sin offering of verse 4:10. These parts, as we have seen, represent the abundance of the very deepest parts of Christ the Man. The fat is the abundance and health of life. The kidneys signify the mind and reasoning. And the fat lobe above the liver represents the emotions and feelings of the person. These then were to be offered to the Lord because they symbolized His most intimate aspects. They are the very substance of who He is, and so they are returned as a fragrant offering to God by fire.

A point of clarity: It says that he burned these things on the altar. It will say this again several times. It means that he placed them on the altar in anticipation of their being burnt. The consequence of the action is placed before the antecedent. This is not unknown in Scripture. This can be further deduced from the next words…

¹¹ The flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp.

This is, again, in accord with the disposal of an animal used as a sin offering for the high priest. It would be unacceptable for the animal to be eaten. In his cleansing, the body of the animal bore the sin of the mediator. Thus, it needed to be purged from the camp entirely. It says here that he burned these things with fire outside the camp. This would logically be done after the ordination ceremony. Though all things are accomplished, they are not necessarily accomplished in the order stated.

¹² And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar.

The next animal to be slain is the burnt offering. Once sin is atoned for, then one can give himself up wholly to God. This is the order in the sacrifices, and it is the order in salvation and sanctification.

¹³ Then they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar.

The word translated as “presented” in verses 12 and 13 is not the same as has been used in past passages. It should say they handed the blood and the burnt offering to him. They are right there with him, and the animal has already been brought forward and killed. They merely process the animal and hand it to Aaron.

¹⁴ And he washed the entrails and the legs, and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

As we have seen, and without a lot of elaborate detail, this washing of the entrails is symbolic of the inward purity of Christ. The washing of the legs is symbolic of His perfect life, having picked up no worldly defilement. This is to be emblematic of this same conduct in the lives of Aaron and his sons.

An offering for sin; atonement for what we have done wrong
It covers over those things which have offended our Lord
Though sin besets us and its power is strong
With the sin offering, we are again in one accord

Through the blood of our Savior we can fellowship again
It washes away all that we have done wrong
And it is available to all of the children of men
Because of Christ Jesus we have a new and heavenly song

Thank You, O God, for what You have done for us
When we were lost in sin, and objects of wrath just the same
You sent Your Son, Our Lord Jesus
To atone for our sin, and so we praise Your holy name

III. The People’s Offerings (verses 15-24)

¹⁵ Then he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one.

As he had made an offering for his own sin, he was now acceptable to act as mediator for the people. Therefore, their sin offering can now follow his. The order is carefully detailed to show us how the redemptive process works. One must have an acceptable mediator before they can then be made acceptable.

The remains of this particular goat were to be eaten by Aaron and his sons because they dealt with the sin of the congregation, not their own, and because the animal’s blood was never carried within the Holy Place. However, what becomes of this animal will not be according to that mandate. Rather, it will be a temporary source of consternation for Moses. This will be seen in Chapter 10.

¹⁶ And he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner.

After the sin offering of the people was made, only then could their burnt-offering be accepted. This follows the same pattern as that of Aaron and his sons, and indeed all such offerings.

¹⁷ Then he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning.

There are two lambs which were to be offered on the altar every day. This is the burnt sacrifice of the morning which was mandated by the Lord in Exodus 29:39. This verse seems to show that the grain offering which Aaron has in his hand is now burnt along with that regular morning offering. This is not correct.

The daily offerings would have been offered by Moses until the time of Aaron’s ordination. Moses would have already offered the morning offering. Along with that offering, a grain offering was to be presented each day. Moses would have already offered it. But, it is possible that the morning offering was also waiting to be burnt with the Lord’s initial fire.

Aaron is now taking a handful of the grain mentioned in verse 4 and placing it on the altar with the other offerings required in this chapter. This grain offering is in addition to the one already given in the morning offering, not a part of it.

¹⁸ He also killed the bull and the ram as sacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar,

The procedures for this burnt-offering are found in verse 3:1. As per the directions noted there, Aaron now carefully follows through with them.

¹⁹ and the fat from the bull and the ram—the fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver;

An entirely new word is introduced here, mekasseh. It is seen just four times in Scripture, and it means a “covering.” This is the only time it is used to indicate the fat which covers the kidneys. However, it is to be taken as synonymous with the fat parts which are seen in other passages already looked at. These choice parts of fat, all picturing Christ as we have seen numerous times, are removed from the animal.

²⁰ and they put the fat on the breasts. Then he burned the fat on the altar;

The breasts were the part of the wave offerings which were reserved for the priests. The fat would be placed on them, they would be waved, and then they would be burned on the altar.

²¹ but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave offering before the Lord, as Moses had commanded.

Though the fat is said to already be burned, it isn’t actually burned until after the wave offering is made. Further, as I said some time ago, all of the offerings will be burned at the same time, when the Lord’s fire ignites them.

²² Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them,

Aaron has now completed the functions necessary to show that he is fully installed as high priest. He has had his sins atoned for, and he has mediated on behalf of the people as well. The offerings are laid out, and are about to be burned to the Lord. In honor of this moment where he has demonstrated his authority to mediate, he now confirms it by blessing the people.

The Bible notes that the lesser is blessed by the greater. It is now his honor to serve in this special office, and so he lifts his hands and blesses the people. The blessing would be something similar to the high priestly blessing which is given in Numbers 6, but it is fantasy to assume that he would have given that exact blessing before it was ever instructed to be given. One tradition says that the words of Psalm 90:17 closely reflect what Aaron said –

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.”

This is not unlikely, because this is the oldest Psalm in the Bible, and the only one penned by Moses.

When a blessing is given, the one blessing would place their hands on the head of the one being blessed. However, when blessing a congregation, the symbolism is maintained by raising the hands above the heads of the people and pronouncing the blessing. This act of Aaron which acknowledges his right to bless the people as their mediator is a mere shadow of the blessing which was given by Christ to His people when it was revealed to them that He is the true Mediator of God’s people –

“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. ⁵¹ Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.” Luke 24:50

^{22 (con’t)} and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings.

The words “came down” are mis-interpreted by most scholars. They say that the altar was elevated above ground level. This is incorrect. The law of the earthen altar which is found after the giving of the Ten Commandments mandates that a ramp, and not steps, be used to go up to it. But that has nothing to do with the brazen altar.

The words “came down” have one of two possible meanings. It either means that there was a frame upon the altar which the priest would stand on in order to place the offerings on it, which is unlikely. It was only three cubits, or about 4 ½ feet tall. More likely, it means that it is nearer to the tent of meeting than the people would be, and so by leaving the altar and approaching the people, he would be coming down not in elevation, but in place of importance.

²³ And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting,

There is no explanation concerning these words. All we can do is speculate as to what occurred in the tent. Having said that, it can be inferred that the transfer of the priestly duties is completed in this act. Aaron has never gone in as priest, Moses will never again go in as priest.

Moses probably repeated the instructions which have been given while visually pointing out everything. They probably also presented themselves to the Lord at the altar of incense before the veil and prayed while there. As I said, it is all speculation, but their going in, if nothing else, has the purpose of showing that Aaron is accepted as the high priest. It is an acceptance which will be validated moments after they come out.

^{23 (con’t)} and came out and blessed the people.

This is probably a blessing spoken in unison, possibly repeating what Aaron has already spoken. Again, what is unstated can only be speculated upon. However, their blessing upon the people now ushers in a new sight for the people to behold…

^{23 (con’t)} Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people,

As with the previous two clauses, we can only speculate what this means. Does this glory come from the pillar of cloud, from inside the tent of meeting, or is it a separate manifestation of Him? It doesn’t say, but it was there, and the Bible records that the people personally saw it.

²⁴ and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar.

The words are careful to note that the fire came out from the Lord. It cannot be interpreted that Moses and Aaron simply went into the presence of the Lord and brought fire out to ignite the sacrifice. Rather, the fire came from the Lord, consuming the offerings. It is a note of divine approval which is seen elsewhere in Scripture.

And the offering didn’t just burn. Rather the word akal, which means to consume, should be taken in its most literal sense. The offering was completely consumed by the fire. There are five other explicit times when something similar occurred during the acceptance of an offering, and one which may be inferred. The first, which must be inferred would be the acceptance of Abel’s offering over that of Cain.

The next comes here in Leviticus 9. Then in the case of Gideon’s offering in Judges 6. This is followed by the offering of Manoah and his wife in Judges 13. Then comes the offering given by David when dedicating the threshing floor of Onan in 1 Chronicles 21. Then comes the dedication of Solomon’s temple in 2 Chronicles 7, and finally in the case of Elijah’s offering in 1 Kings 18.

At various times in redemptive history, the Lord would provide a visible confirmation of His intents, purposes, and divine approval by sending out fire in order to accept an offering made to Him. The people of Israel at Moses’ time were blessed to have such a visible demonstration of His approval, and yet they quickly forgot what they saw and treated His glory with a special irreverence which has marked their character for the past 3500 years.

Because of this, they have suffered greatly. But the day is ahead when they will come to see and know the Lord in a much deeper way than they ever have before. That will be the day when they call out to Jesus, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

*^{24 (fin)} When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

At least for the moment, the people realized what they had seen, and accepted it for what it truly was… a divine miracle. This is now the very first time that the word ranan is used in the Bible. It means more than just shout, but “to shout for joy.” It will be used mostly in the Psalms and Isaiah concerning shouting to the Lord with joy or shouting for joy because of the works of the Lord.

Here in these verses today, we have seen the installation of a man born in sin, and who also died in sin. And each of those who followed after him inherited sin from him as well. And even more, the man who installed them, Moses, was a fallible, sin-filled man. Despite his high and exalted status within the nation, he was not exempt from death because he was imperfect.

The question we can ask is, “How can perfection come out of imperfection?” There is an answer to this question, but it is not found in the Law of Moses, or in the priesthood which administered that law. Nothing perfect ever resulted from it. Instead, it simply highlighted the imperfection of those under it.

However, perfection can come out of imperfection if there is something perfect to initiate the process. And this is what God did in Christ Jesus. He, being perfect in all ways, sent His perfect Son to accomplish the task. Every detail we have seen in today’s verses, and even in all of what we have seen so far in Leviticus, exactingly points us to Him. God is directing us to think on the purpose of the law, the giving of His Son, and the difference between the two. Let us not fall short by trusting in a law which can never perfect, and thus never save. Instead, let us put our hope in Christ Jesus alone.

Closing Verse: “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Psalm 40:5

Next Week: Leviticus 10:1-7 The Law’s instructions should not be ignored… (Profane Fire Before the Lord) (14^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

We Beheld His Glory

It came to pass on the eighth day
That Moses called Aaron and his sons also
And the elders of Israel
And he said to Aaron these words, as we know

Take for yourself a young bull as a sin offering
And a ram as a burnt offering, according to this word
Without blemish shall be this proffering
And offer them before the Lord 

And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying
‘Take a kid of the goats as a sin offering, so do
And a calf and a lamb, both of the first year
Without blemish, as a burnt offering, as I instruct you

Also a bull and a ram as peace offerings
To sacrifice before the Lord, as to you I now say
And a grain offering mixed with oil
For the Lord will appear to you today

So they brought what Moses commanded
Before the tabernacle of meeting
And all the congregation drew near
And stood before the Lord, awaiting His greeting

Then Moses said, “This is the thing
Which the Lord commanded you to do
And the glory of the Lord
Will appear to you

And Moses said to Aaron
“Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering
And make atonement for yourself and for the people
So shall you do with this proffering

Offer the offering of the people
And make for them atonement
As the Lord commanded
This is your solemn assignment

Aaron therefore went to the altar
And killed the calf of the sin offering which was for himself
In this duty he did not falter

Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him
And he dipped his finger in the blood
Put it on the horns of the altar
And poured the blood at the base of the altar; a crimson flood

But the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe from the liver
Of the sin offering he burned on the altar, so was the pyre
As the Lord had commanded Moses
The flesh and the hide he burned outside the camp with fire

And he killed the burnt offering
And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood
Which he sprinkled all around on the altar
A second crimson flood

Then they presented the burnt offering to him
With its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar too
And he washed the entrails and the legs
And burned them with the burnt offering on the altar
——- as instructed to do

Then he brought the people’s offering
And took the goat, as was said to be done
Which was the sin offering for the people
And killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one

And he brought the burnt offering, as described
And offered it according to the manner prescribed

Then he brought the grain offering
Took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar
Besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning
In his duties, he did not fail or falter

He also killed the bull and the ram
As sacrifices of peace offerings, which for the people were
And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood
Which he sprinkled all around on the altar 

And the fat from the bull and the ram
The fatty tail, what covers the entrails and the kidneys too
And the fatty lobe attached to the liver
And they put the fat on the breasts as instructed to do

Then he burned the fat on the altar
But the breasts and the right thigh
Aaron waved as a wave offering before the Lord
As Moses had commanded, by and by

Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people
Blessed them, and down he came
From offering the sin offering, the burnt offering
And peace offerings, according to each name 

And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting
And came out and blessed the people, a solemn word
Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people
And fire came out from before the Lord 

And consumed the burnt offering
And the fat on the altar as well
When all the people saw it
They shouted and on their faces they fell

Lord God, Israel beheld Your glory
And they saw the fire come forth from You
But that is just a taste of the magnificent story
Which speaks of Your glory, through and through

And an even greater glory was seen by the blessed eyes
Of those who beheld the coming of Christ Jesus
And someday we too shall behold Him
When in the twinkling of an eye, He comes for us

And for the ages of ages we shall see
Your glory shining out through Him unto us
Our joy will be full for all eternity
As we behold our magnificent Lord, radiant and glorious

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 8:14-36
The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood, Part II

The minute and detailed instructions for building the sanctuary were followed up by the careful and precisely recorded construction of it. This was to ensure that everything the Lord had commanded was followed through with, exactly as He specified. The reason this was so important is because in the book of Hebrews we are told that the earthly things were copies and shadows of the heavenly things.

The same is true with the minute and detailed instructions for the ordination of Aaron and his sons. They were given in Exodus, and now in Leviticus we are being given the careful and precisely recorded adherence to what was previously laid out. Again, each detail points to Christ, and so in order to protect the typology, everything is being detailed for a second time.

God guarded these pictures of His Son so that when He arrived, there would be no doubt that He was the fulfillment of them. And yet, because of the laziness of the church, how few ever take the time to look into these things? Thousands of years of meticulous work safeguarding them is pretty much ignored by the church Christ came to establish.

We are too busy claiming prosperity and infighting over minutiae to bother with such wonderful pictures of what God has done for us in Christ. But… for those who are willing to carefully and methodically follow page by page through this treasure we call the Bible, there is an endless stream of wonder and excitement.

Claiming prosperity in Jesus’ name is only as effective as your next trip to the hospital or loss of job. When those things come about, it suddenly dawns on you that the preacher’s words were a complete waste of time. And fighting with others in the church over silly little pet peeves results in the same headaches and heartbreaks that you will find at work or at home. In the end, nobody gains from such things. How much better to stick to proper doctrine and close and personal fellowship with those who bear Christ’s name.

Text Verse: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
⁷ Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
⁸ I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.” Isaiah 40:6-8

The scroll of the book is simply filled with Christ. The words Isaiah penned about the coming Messiah are proven true every time we come to another passage and search Him out. He is there, calling out to us to find Him. And yet, at the same time, everything we read about is literally true.

The Lord used real people, in real circumstances, to give us these wonderful tastes of what lay ahead when He would come and reveal Himself to us. And further, from these types and pictures came moral lessons that show us how only the Anti-type can truly satisfy our souls.

With a law mediated by fallible men, there can only be a fallible hope. But when the infallible Man arrived, He brought with Him a perfect and unsullied hope. As we finish up the ordination of Aaron today, let’s remember that.

Everything God is showing leads us to a better hope where we can come to God in full confidence that our prayers are heard, our offerings are accepted, and our Mediator will perfectly fulfill His duties for us. Keep this in mind. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Bull for the Sin Offering (verses 14-17)

¹⁴ And he brought the bull for the sin offering.

This bull was first ordered in Exodus 29:3 when the Lord gave the instructions to Moses concerning this ordination. It was then mentioned in verse 2 of this chapter. The bull, which pictures Christ, is now brought forward to be the sin offering for the priests.

^{14 (con’t)} Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering,

In this act, which we have seen for other sacrifices already, the bull takes on the curse which they deserve for their sins and it is transferred to it. The par, or bull, comes from the word parar which carries the meaning of defeat, or make void, although it can be variously translated.

The picture of Christ is that He defeated the devil, making void that which the devil had wrought. Thus, Christ can be the Mediator between God and man. For Aaron and his sons, with their symbolic transfer of their sins to the bull, the animal is accursed, and it must die. Thus we have what is known as a vicarious substitute.

In type, the bull is Christ who knew no sin, but was made sin for Aaron and his sons so that they might be righteous before God. The sin is symbolically removed from the one and transferred to the other. It is life for life, and therefore…

¹⁵ and Moses killed it.

It is Moses who kills the bull, not Aaron. He is acting as the priest pro-tempore during the ordination, but he is also a man born under sin. This shows us the fallibility and temporary nature of the Aaronic priesthood. In type, we see only a shadow of the New covenant where the perfect Christ voluntarily gave His own perfect life. Thus, He is the Mediator of a better covenant.

^{15  (con’t)} Then he took the blood, and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger, and purified the altar.

This was directed in Exodus 29:12. Once the bull was bled out, it would be a confirmation of the death of the animal for “the life is in the blood” according to Leviticus 17:11. With this proof of the death of the substitute, then some of its blood was to be put on the horns of the altar with his finger.

The horns, or qarnoth, of the altar are the place of mercy and safe refuge. Further, horns are a symbol of strength. For the blood to be placed on them signified the granting of mercy and the allowance of safety from the wrath which had been transferred to the bull. As there are four horns pointing toward the four corners of the earth, it further symbolizes the power of the act to fully save and cleanse the sinner. David understood this when he wrote these words –

“I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
² The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:1, 2

Another point is that Moses is specifically told to apply the blood with his finger. The word etsbah, or finger, comes from another word, tsebah, which indicates dyed material and thus one gets the idea of grasping something. Therefore, the finger is that which accomplishes a task.

The creation is said to be the work of the Lord’s fingers in the 8th Psalm. Thus in this verse, the mercy, the refuge, and the remission of the sins is granted by God, but it is accomplished by the work of the mediator’s fingers. In the type we look forward to the Anti-type where the Lord is the Purifier. However, the blood is not only applied to the altar to expiate the sins of Aaron and his sons, but it is also to purify the altar itself. This is explained in Hebrews 9 –

“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22

^{15  (con’t)} And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.

The altar has already been consecrated by the sprinkling with anointing oil in verse 11. However, atonement still needed to be made for it because it was made by sinful hands. An inanimate object is not free from such defilement, and atonement was needed for it.

With the blood of the bull, the altar is now sanctified so that atonement can be made with it. This is only a shadow of Christ then. Unlike the altar which needed to be sanctified, Christ, the true Altar, sanctified Himself so that our lives as gifts to God might be acceptable to Him –

“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” John 17:18, 19

As astonishing as it may seem, everything has pointed to Christ. The altar points to Christ, the anointing oil pointed to Christ, the bull points to Christ, the shed blood points to Christ, Aaron is typical of Christ. Every detail, has – and continues to – point to Him. Each provides another aspect of His Person and His work.

¹⁶ Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar.

This was explained to Moses in Exodus 29:16. The symbolism of these fat parts has been explained in other offerings, but each points to Christ. They represent the abundance of the very deepest parts of Christ the Man. Fat is the abundance and health of life. The fat on the entrails represents the inner purity of Christ. The fatty lobe on the liver represents His emotions and feelings, and the two kidneys with their fat signify His mind and reasoning.

These were offered to the Lord by fire, burning as if incense as the word denotes, because they symbolize Christ’s most intimate aspects. They are the very substance of who He is, and are thus returned to the Lord by fire.

¹⁷ But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal, he burned with fire outside the camp,

The rest of the animal was taken outside the camp and burned with fire. Normally, unless the blood of the animal for a sin offering was sprinkled inside the holy place, the animal would be eaten by the priests. But, even though the bull’s blood was not taken there, nothing of it was to remain, and none of it was to be eaten. Moses was not a legally consecrated priest, and the animal was under a curse because of the sins of Aaron and his sons. Thus to eat it would be symbolic of them re-taking the sin into themselves.

Instead, it was to be returned to the old order of things where sin remained. In its place, those for whom the animal died would be reckoned under the new order of things. They would be new men with a symbolic new nature, cleansed from their defilement.

^17 (cont) as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The words are given to show complete obedience to the word of the Lord which was given to Moses on Mount Sinai for this ordination process. Every detail points to Christ, and so in order to show that the typology was adhered to, these words are now given.

The bull is slain, his blood poured out
The proof of the death is evident in the bowl of blood
But for that bull, don’t shed a tear or pout
Sin is atoned for by the crimson flood

There! On the cross of Calvary hangs a Man
For the sins of mankind, was shed His blood
We ask, “Can it truly atone for sin?” God says, “Yes, it can!”
And so we plunge ourselves ‘neath that crimson flood

And through His death, our High Priest He came to be
When He went behind the veil and presented His blood
He did this because of God’s love – for you and for me
And so let us tell the world of the marvelous crimson flood

II. The Ram for the Burnt Offering (Verses 18-21)

¹⁸ Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering.

Of the two rams for the ordination, one was selected as a burnt offering. This first one is now brought forward by Moses.

^18 (cont) And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

This was instructed in Exodus 29:15. As seen before, the placing of hands on the head of an animal for a burnt offering is not for confession of sin, but as a way of surrendering oneself wholly and completely to the Lord. Only after the atonement and purification can a person be considered as an acceptable offering to the Lord. In this, they are dedicating themselves as if being living sacrifices.

¹⁹ and Moses killed it. 

Verse 19 was instructed in Exodus 29:16. The Hebrew does not say “Moses.” Rather, it says “he killed it.” But, Exodus 29 specifically says Moses was to perform the task. Further, the next clause names Moses specifically. Therefore, like the bull of the sin offering, it is he who kills the ram, not Aaron. He is fulfilling the job of priest pro-temp ore during the ordination until it is over. Once complete, the tasks will, from that time on, belong to the line of Aaron alone.

^19 (cont) Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

Here it says “…and splashed Moses the blood.” The blood is not sprinkled, but cast forth upon the altar. It is symbolic of the complete and voluntary surrender of the priests to die while yet living. When we look at what has transpired so far, we see a logical order. The bull was sacrificed for sin. This is then followed by the ram which is in picture a complete surrender of the priests’ will to God. This follows with Paul’s words of Romans 6:7-11 –

“For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This ram then symbolizes what Paul calls in Romans a “living sacrifice” to God. It sounds contradictory – a living sacrifice – but it is pictured here in the death of this ram for the on-going consecration of Aaron and his sons.

²⁰ And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat.

This was instructed in Exodus 29:17. The dividing of the animal is to ensure that it will fully burn and nothing of it would be left. If it was not so divided, its legs would hang over the side and smolder, but not be consumed.

²¹ Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water.

The inner parts of the animal are washed in order to reflect the inner purity of Christ, in Whom there is no defilement. The legs are washed because they are the part of the animal which picks up worldly defilement as it walks. As Christ was without any such worldly defilement, the washing is done in anticipation of His perfect life, given over wholly to God. Each step is meticulously ordered and then performed in anticipation of Christ to come.

^{21 (con’t)} And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The entire ram was burnt right there on the altar. The expiation of sin is not needed as that was accomplished by the bull. Because of this, the animal is considered an acceptable substitute to be offered to the Lord on behalf of those it replaced. Such a burnt offering, without any associated defilement, represented Christ’s perfect self-sacrifice. For this reason, it was entirely acceptable to God.

The word for “burn” is qatar. It is the same word which is used time and again to point to Christ. It signifies making something fragrant through fire. The entire animal was such an offering. In picture, the ram here signifies the wholly–acceptable offering of Christ to God on behalf of Aaron and his sons. In the bull, He was seen as the sin offering which was burned outside the camp.

But in the ram, He is seen as the whole and complete perfection of every good deed, offered to God on the brazen altar. As the ram is given on behalf of the priests, it means that the execution of their tasks will be pleasing to God because of what the offering pictures; Christ’s work. In reality, what the priests do as they minister, is accepted because of the work of Another; because of Christ.

A sweet smelling aroma to the Lord
An offering made of our lives and our work
We shall be obedient to Him and to His word
No duty that is proper shall we set aside or shirk

As Christ our Lord gave Himself for us
We should also walk in love and so be a suitable offering
|Let us endeavor to follow our Lord Jesus
And act in emulation of His eternal proffering

Offering ourselves and our bodies as a living sacrifice
People living out our lives holy and acceptable to God
Because for our sins, Christ Jesus paid the price
And now it is our duty to be circumspect in this life we trod

III. The Second Ram (verses 22-29)

²² And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration.

The Hebrew says, “…the ram, the second.” This is then followed up with the words el ha’millium, the “ram [of] the consecration,” because in the acts associated with it, this portion of the consecration of Aaron and his sons will be complete.

The word millu, or consecration, comes from the word male, or “to fill.” Thus, we can call this “the ram of the filling.” If you can see it, there is now another picture of the work of Christ. For Aaron and His sons, there is first the atonement for sins, then the giving of the life over to God, and then the filling of the Spirit.

Although these three occur simultaneously in the believer, they are logically ordered in each of these three offerings. The consecration of Aaron and his sons is what occurs in each person who comes to Christ, pictured in each aspect of this rite of ordination.

^{22 (con’t)} Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

This ram is essentially a peace, or fellowship, offering, but because it is a part of the consecration, there is more to it than a normal peace offering. The laying of the hands on the head of the bull was for the transfer of sin. The laying on of hands for the first ram was as an offering of the individual wholly to the service of God. The laying of hands on this animal was to signify the receiving of the authority to serve. Each offering is logically noted, in order, to show the process of acceptable service to God.

²³ and Moses killed it. 

Again, Moses is not named in this clause, only in the next. But, it is Moses who accomplishes the task, and because it is Moses, the temporary nature of the Aaronic priesthood is once again highlighted. A fallen man cannot institute an infallible priesthood.

^{23 (con’t)} Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

The returning of the blood to Aaron signifies his acceptance as high priest and the granting of his authority as such. The blood symbolizes life. The shed blood thus symbolizes death. He now symbolically dies to self and henceforward is to live for God.

That each point of application is on the right side has meaning in and of itself. The right is the side of strength, blessing, authority, honor, judgment (in salvation), wisdom, cleansing, etc. Applying the blood to the right includes in some measure, each of these.

First, blood is applied to the tenuk, or lobe of the ear. This signifies obedience in the sense of spiritual hearing. He was to heed the Divine voice which would speak to him either through the law or though God’s prophets. He was to be consecrated to this hearing of the word, in the sense of applying it to his life.

Following this, it was to be applied to the bohen, or thumb, of the right hand. This word comes from a root which means “thick.” Therefore, it is the thick part of the hand, and thus the thumb. The fingers symbolize human activity. Here, the thumb represents the whole hand. His hand, thus meaning his spiritual activity, was to be set apart to God, to holiness, and to only that which was sanctified. He was to be a high priest ready to not only hear the Divine voice, but to respond to it through his daily activity.

Finally, the blood was to be applied to the bohen, or big toe, of his foot. It is the same word as thumb. As the big toe is the thick appendage, it received the application of blood as representative of the whole foot. It symbolized that he was to walk only in paths of holiness, directing his steps toward God in the race set before him.

This verse, with the three principle points of application, is explained by Paul in many different passages, but it is well summed up by him in Colossians 1 –

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (ear) 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, (toe) being fruitful in every good work (thumb) and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” Colossians 1:9-12

In the application of the blood to these three extremities, there is the sense that his entire life was to be enclosed in the service of God. From head to toe and from hand to foot, he was sanctified as an acceptable high priest. However, there is the truth that even with this application, he still couldn’t hear, understand, serve, or walk in a truly proper manner. And, as the blood did nothing but symbolize something else, it only looked forward in type and shadow.

As Aaron only pictured the true High Priest, Christ, then this is only a foreshadowing of the One who literally fulfilled these ancient images. The history of the Aaronic priesthood is one filled with fallible men who often made disastrous decisions. Christ, though, came as the more excellent priest with a more excellent ministry which is established on better promises.

²⁴ Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet.

The same procedures which picture the same things, were next followed for the sons. As Aaron pictures Christ, the High Priest, these sons of Aaron picture us, who follow Christ in the priestly duties of the church age.

^{24 (con’t)}And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.

All of the rest of the blood was scattered around the altar. The reason here is twofold. The first is an indication of the willingness of these men to perform their priestly duties, and the second is the acceptance of that willingness by God. They have had their sins atoned for, they have offered themselves up wholly to God, and now there is a joint acceptance of the duties.

²⁵ Then he took the fat and the fat tail, all the fat that was on the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh;

These special parts of the animal, which signify Christ’s most intimate aspects, meaning the very substance of who He is, are gathered together. Along with this is the shoq, or thigh. It comes from a word meaning “abundant.” Thus it is the abundant area of meat on an appendage. As it is the right thigh, it signifies the honorable side. In all, that which is abundant and most honorable is what is being seen here. But there is more to gather…

²⁶ and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord he took one unleavened cake, a cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer,

The three types of bread were minutely described in Exodus 29. Every detail of them pointed to Christ in an amazing fashion. If you don’t remember that sermon, there is today’s afternoon assignment for you. These also are gathered up…

^{26 (con’t)} and put them on the fat and on the right thigh;

All of the items mentioned in verses 24 & 25 are piled up on top of the right thigh. Unless one understood the symbolism, it would seem like a rather curious pile of meat, fat, and bread. But in short, it points to the abundance of Christ, the most intimate aspects of Christ, and the work of Christ, including His death on the cross.

²⁷ and he put all these in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord.

What is more accurate would be, “…and he put all these on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons.” The reason why is because of the type of ritual to be performed. Aaron and his sons were to open their hands and Moses would then put everything on their open hands. After that, they were to be waved as an offering.

The word is tenuphah, or “wave offering.” It comes from nuph, which means to wave, or to move to and fro. What would happen is that Moses would put his hands under theirs, and then make a waving motion together with them towards the four corners of the heavens, thus indicating that they were being offered to the omnipresent God. This literal filling of the hand is symbolic of the filling of the Spirit. This comes from the Person and work of Christ which is reflected in the various things piled up in their hands.

What Moses is doing here is transferring his pro-tempore duties to Aaron. His muscular energy is causing them to perform their first priestly act. It is symbolic of the transfer of all of these aspects to the life of the believer. In Him, God accounts these things to us because of what He has done. In turn we offer them back to God…

²⁸ Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering. They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma. That was an offering made by fire to the Lord.

The items, waved by the strength of Moses, were then taken back by him as if Aaron and his sons were still common people making an offering to God. They are being endowed with priestly authority, but they are not yet fully installed. Until the completion of the rite, Moses would continue acting as a priest.

The wave offering being returned to the Lord as a burnt offering, and as a sweet aroma, was to signify the complete submission of themselves to the Lord. As each thing in their hands only symbolizes Christ, then the true and eternal priesthood, which these things foreshadow, are embodied in Him.

His work was found acceptable and through it, He obtained a more perfect priesthood and ministry than could ever have been obtained by mere fallible, fallen men and by the blood of bulls and goats. At Aaron’s ordination, God looked ahead to the ministry of Christ and He smelled a sweet savor only because of what it pictured, not because of the animal and bread burning there on the altar.

²⁹ And Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the Lord. It was Moses’ part of the ram of consecration, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The word “breast” is khazeh. It comes from khazah which means “to see” because it is the part that is most seen when looking at the front of the animal. That, in turn, comes from a root which indicates to gaze at, and to mentally perceive, such as a vision.

This particular part of the animal has a special significance, picturing Christ who is the Source of all mental perception and divine vision. It was to now be waved before the Lord. In the future, it will belong to Aaron and his sons, but for now, because Moses is the acting priest, it was assigned to him as his portion.

Accepted and ready to perform our tasks for the Lord
We gladly give ourselves for this wonderful duty
Sanctified and ready for service according to His word
Robed in garments of glory and of beauty

The sacrifice has been made, and we stand ready
The offering in our hands is waved before the Lord
With the Mediators’ hands below, our hands are steady
We are sanctified for service according to His word

We come before You, our great God
We offer our lives in Your service now and always
Grant us that we will be worthy in this life we trod
Never faltering throughout all of our days

IV. Seven Days He Shall Consecrate You (Verses 30-36)

³⁰ Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.

The wording is very distinct, u-min ha’dam asher al ha’mizbeakh – “and from the blood that is on the altar.” Despite what scholars say, this is not blood kept from before the blood was splashed and held for this purpose. Instead, Moses takes ram’s blood that had already been splashed on the altar. The amount isn’t what is important. Rather the fact that it had been splashed on the altar is what is.

There is a specific process here: 1) Slaughter; 2) Splash on the altar; 3) Take blood from the altar to use in sprinkling. It is a confirmation that not only had the blood of the ordination ram been applied to both priest and altar, but that it was then accepted by God and returned to them along with the anointing oil.

In picture, it is truly their “Pentecost moment.” They had been received as acceptable and they were symbolically endowed with that acceptance. No great amount of blood was necessary. In fact, if it was a heavy amount, it would literally stain the garments.

The word “sprinkle” here is correct. It is nazah. It indicates sprinkling for purification, cleansing, atonement, expiation, etc. In this case, it is for the sanctification of Aaron, his sons, and their garments. Only a small amount would be needed to symbolically confirm their consecration and acceptance for duty. This is reflected by Paul’s words of Romans 15 –

“Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:15, 16

It is the offering which is considered acceptable which is sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

³¹ And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’

The designated parts of the ram, along with the remainder of the three types of bread taken from the basket, were to be eaten by the door of the tent of meeting. As each of those types of bread individually pictured Christ, as did the ram, the meal is symbolically a partaking of His body. As He said in John, “My flesh is food indeed” (6:55), and “I am the Bread of life” (6:35).

The sharing of it between the Lord and Aaron and his sons is intended to solidify the bond between them. Christ, being He who unites the heavenly and the earthly as One. All during the week of ordination, they were being spiritually prepared for their lifelong duties as priests to the Lord.

³² What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire.

This is the same rule as the Passover. It was not to be eaten on the following day. As there were seven days of ordination, it would be inappropriate to accumulate leftovers from one day to the next. Food which had gone through the night was susceptible to corruption. This would be unacceptable to consume when considering God’s holy and incorruptible nature.

Further, it was exclusively to be eaten by the priests. If not, it was to be returned to the Lord by fire, not passed on to another. If another ate of it, it would diminish the entire ordination process because they were not so ordained. It would be, in essence, mixing the holy with the profane.

And finally, if something which was devoted to a sacred use was given to someone else, they could then use it as an object of superstitious worship, as if a talisman. Like the Passover which pictured Christ so well, no such thing was to happen to the holy food of the consecration which also pictures Him in every detail.

³³ And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended.

This translation implies that they are to be inside the holy place. This is incorrect. They are to station themselves in the courtyard where the sacrifices are made for seven days, and not leave that area. Each day, the same sacrificial ceremonies were to be repeated, but they did not enter the Holy Place to perform priestly duties as they were not yet installed. Those would have been performed by Moses during this period.

What is also obvious is that this is speaking of the conduct of their regular lives. There are obvious reasons why they would have to leave the area, reasons we’re all aware of. After those things were tended to, they were to return to their watch in the courtyard.

^{33 (con’t)} For seven days he shall consecrate you.

The words are an idiom. Literally, it says, “For seven days he will fill your hand.” The filling of the hand is the consecration. The time period is that which indicates spiritual perfection. The “he” here could be Moses speaking of himself in the third person, because he is the one who does the duties, or it could be referring to the Lord as the Provider. It is unsure which is being referred to.

³⁴ As he has done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to make atonement for you.

These words should probably be passive. Instead of “As he has done,” they should say, “As has been done.” It shows that the entire process which was accomplished on the first day was to be followed through for each day of the ordination. In being atoned for during all seven days, they were considered fully consecrated to then perform the holy duties of the priesthood. Furthermore, the altar was also atoned for during this seven-day period. Only when the seventh day of atonement was accomplished would it be considered most holy. From that time on, the sacrifices upon it would be restricted to only the ordained priests.

³⁵ Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.”

The words concerning “day and night” were not specifically stated before in Exodus 29. However, it is now made explicit that this is what is commanded. The word used to describe their time there is mishmereth. It indicates to keep watch, or to guard. Thus, it is the watch of the Lord. They were to carefully guard the instructions they had been given. Should they fail, death would be the result.

As this is a time of probation, they were expected to follow through with the commands precisely. If they could not, then neither could they be relied upon to perform the more vital functions which they would be responsible for when the altar and various offerings were deemed as most holy. And if they failed to properly perform those most holy duties, then their lives would be forfeit. Such disastrous results will be seen in just two chapters.

*³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.

The obedience of Aaron and his sons is highlighted, just as Moses’ obedience has been highlighted over the past many chapters. The ordination process is activated, and with the turn of a page, we will truly enter into the time of the Aaronic priesthood, a priesthood that would last from about 1445BC until 70AD when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. But, Daniel 9 tells us that there will be another temple, and the priesthood will be reactivated. This is an unfortunate step which must come to pass, despite the fact that the priesthood was annulled in the coming of Christ.

The Aaronic priesthood came without an oath, and with certainty of its eventual end. It was performed by sinful men who needed to first sacrifice for themselves before they could sacrifice for those who came to them for mediation. On the other hand, the priesthood of Christ came with an oath, it is an eternal priesthood, and it is performed by the sinless Son of God who sacrificed Himself in order to forever purify those that come to God through Him.

There is an infinite difference between the two. It is one that allows all men to draw near to God in a close and personal way. The lesson of the Bible is that all men must come to God through a mediator. With the coming of Christ, we are shown that He is the one and only Mediator God accepts. All of these types and shadows were given to show us this truth.

Christ is the full and final fulfillment of them all. If you’re looking for a close and personal relationship with God, call on Christ, and He will lead you past the altar, through the door, and even through the veil to the very throne of God. And it is all available through simple faith.

Closing Verse: “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; ²⁷ who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.” Hebrews 7:26-28

Next Week: Leviticus 9:1-24 Cool things are ahead, it is true… (The Glory of the Lord Will Appear to You) (13^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood

And he brought the bull for the sin offering
Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands
On the head of the bull for the sin offering
And Moses killed it, according to the Lord’s plans

Then he took the blood
And put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger
And purified the altar
In his duties, he did not linger

And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, as the Lord did submit
And consecrated it, to make atonement for it

Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails
The fatty lobe attached to the liver too
And the two kidneys with their fat
And Moses burned them on the altar, as instructed to do 

But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal
He burned outside the camp with fire
As the Lord had commanded Moses
There outside was the burning pyre

And he brought the bull for the sin offering
Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands
On the head of the bull for the sin offering
And Moses killed it, according to the Lord’s plans

Then he took the blood
And put some on the horns
——–Of the altar all around with his finger
And purified the altar
Again, not letting his duties linger

And he poured the blood at the base of the altar
And consecrated it, to make atonement for it In this duty, he did not falter
Then he took all the fat that was on the entrails

The fatty lobe attached to the liver as well
And the two kidneys with their fat
And Moses burned them on the altar, as the Lord to him did tell

But the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its offal
He burned with fire outside the camp
As the Lord had commanded Moses
Surely in his duties, he got the approval stamp

Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering
And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head
Of the ram, and Moses killed it
Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar as the Lord said

And he cut the ram into pieces
And Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat too
Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water
And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar, as instructed to do

It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma
An offering made by fire to the Lord
As the Lord had commanded Moses
Yes, according to His word

And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration
Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands
On the head of the ram, and Moses killed it
According to the Lord’s preset plans

Also he took some of its blood
And put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, there he did it put
On the thumb of his right hand
And on the big toe of his right foot 

Then he brought Aaron’s sons
And Moses put some of the blood, as was meet
On the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands
And on the big toes of their right feet

And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar
In this task he was careful and did not falter

Then he took the fat and the fat tail
All the fat that was on the entrails, so he did do
The fatty lobe attached to the liver
The two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh too

And from the basket of unleavened bread
That was before the Lord he took one unleavened cake
A cake of bread anointed with oil, and one wafer
And put them on the fat and on the right thigh; a pile he did make

And he put all these in Aaron’s hands
And in his sons’ hands as well
And waved them as a wave offering before the Lord
As the Lord to him did tell 

Then Moses took them from their hands
And burned them on the altar, on the burnt offering
——-as per His word
They were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma
That was an offering made by fire to the Lord 

And Moses took the breast and waved it
As a wave offering before the Lord that day
It was Moses’ part of the ram of consecration
As the Lord had commanded Moses, as the Lord did say

Then Moses took some of the anointing oil
And some of the blood which was on the altar too
And sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons
And on the garments of his sons with him, so he did do

And he consecrated Aaron, his garments, his sons as well
And the garments of his sons with him, as the Lord to him did tell

And Moses said to Aaron and his sons
“Boil the flesh at the tabernacle of meeting’s door
And eat it there with the bread
That is in the basket of consecration offerings, for sure

As I commanded, saying; yes as I did submit
‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it

What remains of the flesh and of the bread
You shall burn with fire, just as the Lord has said

And you shall not go outside the door
Of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days
Until the days of your consecration are ended
For seven days he shall consecrate you, marvelous are His ways 

As he has done this day
So the Lord has commanded to do
And what is the reason for this rite?
To make atonement for you 

Therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting
Day and night for seven days, by and by
And keep the charge of the Lord
For so I have been commanded, so that you may not die

So Aaron and his sons did all the things, we understand
That the Lord had commanded by Moses’ hand

How amazing! Every detail gives us precious insights to delight
Things that provide our souls with surety
That through Christ’s work, all things have been made right
And that our future is secure, a Divine guarantee

Thank You, O God for these marvelous hints of Jesus
Written so long ago, and yet as new as the day before our eyes
They are an anchor for the expectant souls of each of us
As we wait upon His return; He our splendid Prize

And because of Him we shall for all eternity give You our praise
Yes, we shall hail You O God because of Jesus for eternal days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Leviticus 8:1-13
The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood, Part I

From time to time, people ask me about my credentials, usually about what denomination I am. I have no set answer for that. I usually say something like, I’m a Bible preacher. However, that just tells what I do, it doesn’t tell what brought me to this point.

I met the Lord in 2001. For the first two or so years after that, I read the Bible cover to cover about once a week. I never counted, but I read it at my store, and I was there about 70 hours a week. So unless someone walked in, that’s what I was doing. When I got home, I’d keep reading it. After I closed the store and went back into Wastewater, I kept reading it.

I also started answering Bible questions on the beach. You learn a lot more doing that, than you do just reading. When you’re put on the spot and look dumb, you determine not to do it again. Eventually, the county took over our wastewater plant, and I had no time for government employment.

And so I asked the preacher of the church I was at about what I needed to do in order to get ordained. He told me to get a Bible-college degree and he would ordain me. I did, and he didn’t. It wasn’t really his fault, but the story goes back to my beard. We’ll leave it at that.

After that, I called the pastor of Grace Baptist Church and he told me to come on over to Grace, let the congregation get to know me for a year, and then he and the deacons would determine if I was ordainable. I went, I was, and they did. After my year of probation, they held a pastor/deacon interrogation, going over the major points of theology, asking anything they wished on Bibliology, Theology Proper (including trinitarianism), Christology, Pneumatology, Angelology, Anthropology, Harmartiology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology. After that, I had to preach a sermon or two in front of the church. And then… the congregation voted on the matter. Apparently, the beard wasn’t an issue there. They approved it, and I was ordained on 24 January 2010. That’s it in a nutshell. Well, I did wear a suit, a tie, shoes, and a beard on the day I was ordained.

Text Verse: “Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.” Psalm 132:9

We have already gone through all of the advanced details for the ordination of Aaron and his sons. Those sermons though had to be taken along with everything else concerning the sanctuary and all of its implements. Everything is tied together, and they form a united whole.

Even in today’s sermon, we cannot escape going back and picking out some of the details from the past. It’s simply not possible without missing a ton of the symbolism of what lies ahead for us. The verses in this chapter lack much of the detail that was given. Even though we will go back to form a broad brushstroke of Christ and His work, we will leave far more out than we will include.

There is just enough added so that you can be reminded that everything about this ordination process is, in type and picture, looking forward to Christ. The details are logical, orderly, and they add in some new information as well. More than anything, the order of what is stated, and the dignity of how everything is accomplished, is what we are to focus on today.

The Lord had called, and now the calling was being acted upon. Time and again in this chapter, the words “as the Lord commanded” are stated. There is a set procedure which He laid out, and that set procedure will be followed carefully. The importance of this is because of the typology. In order for the type to reflect the Anti-type, everything had to be exact.

Now, as we look back on these things, we can clearly see Christ revealed in them. In turn, we are given the surety that our hopes are placed in the right basket. The word we have been given is sure, the hope that we possess is well-grounded, and therefore the things which are promised to us, but are yet future, are certain to come to pass.

It’s all to be found in His… wait a minute! Just so you know, Aaron did have a beard as was the custom for all men in Israel. That too is to be found in His superior word, and so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Gathering at the Door of the Tent of Meeting (verses 1-5)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

This is the customary set of words which indicate that a new train of thought is being introduced. In this case, it introduces a section which will last all the way through until verse 10:8. Until then, the ordination of Aaron and his sons will be highlighted in detail.

This ordination process follows directly from the instructions given to Moses concerning the making of the priestly garments in Exodus 28, and the instructions given for the ordination process in Exodus 29. And then, some instructions for what should be done in the official duties of the priest were given in Exodus 30. What was instructed then will be complied with now. At least this is so up to a point. In chapter 10, there will be a deviation from the instructions, and that deviation will result in death.

What is interesting, is that the ordination process that we will now see was directed to be accomplished in Exodus 40 as that book closed out. However, before actually accomplishing it, the Lord first explained the different types of sacrifices that would be handled by the priests. This is what we have seen for the past seven chapters. Only now, after giving those minute instructions, are the priests ready to be installed in their special priestly office.

It would make no sense to ordain priests for the office, and only then explain to them the procedures for the various sacrifices that they needed to perform. Everything is precise, logical, and perfectly laid out. Each step leads to the next, just as one would expect from an instruction manual for putting together a complicated piece of machinery.

² “Take Aaron and his sons with him,

These words once again confirm what has already been seen earlier in Exodus. Aaron was not chosen by Moses because they were brothers, but rather Aaron was chosen by the Lord, and the Lord is now directing the ordination of the one he previously chose. It is intended to negate any feelings of favoritism by the other Israelites. Unfortunately, it is something that won’t actually occur until the Lord has to defend His choice at the expense of the lives of those who rebel against His decision.

^2 (con’t) and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

The description for the garments was given in Exodus 28; those for the anointing oil in Exodus 30, and the requirement for the bull, the rams, and the bread was given in Exodus 29. In the Hebrew, several definite articles are used to indicate that these things are to comply with what was stated in those chapters. These things were minutely described, and so what was described is now expected to be brought forth. The words are very precise because the typology of Christ is not to be deviated from.

³ and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”

The words here indicate at least the elders of the assembly who represented their tribes. This is explicitly noted in 9:1. The elders of Israel represented the children of Israel. The size of the courtyard would not allow even a small portion of the people to meet in this location, and so their designated representatives would be witnesses. Any others who could fit in probably did, and it is only speculation, but possible, that others went up on the surrounding hillsides to witness the marvelous spectacle.

The “door” being specified is intended to prefigure Christ. There is the altar where the sacrifices will be made, there is the laver where the water for the washing will come from, but the door alone is specified. Jesus said, “I am the Door.” He is the door to the tent of meeting, or the spot where communion with God takes place. The wording is carefully given to show us what is on God’s mind. Even 1500 years before the coming of Christ, the ordination is shouting out what God would do through Him.

⁴ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

The Bible is replete with words like this. For Moses, it is a phrase commonly spoken of him. He was commanded by the Lord to follow certain procedures, and the Bible then notes his obedience to those commands. The same Bible exists today, and the question is, “Would the words recorded about you say the same thing, or would they say that you failed to do as the word of God spoke?”

When Moses did fail to do as instructed, it cost him dearly. That is coming up in the book of Numbers, and to this day his error is recorded for us to, hopefully, learn from. Your life is being recorded as well, and at some point, you will have to stand before the Lord and give an account for your actions. It is hoped that you won’t be ashamed at the time of your trial.

^4 (con’t) And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

It is a public consecration, and this for a couple of reasons. The first has already been explained, which is to show that Aaron was not simply selected by Moses because he was Moses’ brother, but rather it was because the Lord had selected him.

Secondly, because it was public, the people would then be, through their witnessing of the consecration, agreeing to the mediation of Aaron and his sons on their behalf. However many could fit into the courtyard would do so, and as the consecration went on for an entire week, people could come and go, allowing many to witness this national rite of ordination.

⁵ And Moses said to the congregation, “This is what the Lord commanded to be done.”

His words here sum up all of what he was presented while on Mount Sinai concerning the ordination process. He presented this to the people as the command of the Lord. As a congregation, they are now summoned together to perform that same word of the Lord which He had commanded.

Beautiful garments, so rich and glorious
To adorn the high priest of Israel
But they only point to our Lord victorious
In every detail there is a story to tell

In them we see His beauty, His splendor and glory
In them we see His work accomplished on behalf of us
Yes, in every detail there is a marvelous story
About the coming Christ; our Lord Jesus

And they tell yet more; that of which He does even now
They tell of His work interceding to the Father for us
For to Him God did all high priestly duties endow
Yes, He stands before His Father, our great Lord Jesus

II. The Consecration – Clothing and Anointing (verses 6-13)

⁶ Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.

As part of the ordination process, Moses is to wash Aaron and his sons with water. This implies an entire washing of their bodies. At this strategic place, just between where the people were allowed to come, and the entrance to the place where the Lord dwelt, they were to be prepared for being acceptable to enter His presence.

The people being witnesses of this part of the process was intended to show them that they remained unclean and unacceptable to enter where their King was. Only those chosen and properly prepared could do so. After this full washing of their bodies, the laver will be used differently. This was seen in Exodus 30 –

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁸ “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, ¹⁹ for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. ²⁰ When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. ²¹ So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.” Exodus 30:17-21

Each step, in both ordination and in daily duties, they are being progressively instructed in the holiness of God and the need to be pure and undefiled as they approach Him on behalf of the people. This washing pictures the total cleansing of the priests. In Aaron’s case, as the high priest, it symbolizes Christ’s perfect purity as our High Priest. It points to His baptism before He entered into His public service in order to fulfill all righteousness. For the sons of Aaron, it pictures those who follow Christ and are purified by His work. This is seen in John 13 where Christ said this –

“He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” John 13:10

John uses two different words there. One signifies a full bathing, the second indicates a lesser washing. Through Christ’s work, we are completely cleaned. We stand justified and free of guilt. However, we also continue to go through a process of sanctification where we need to be purified from time to time.

This is pictured in the priest’s need to wash their hands and their feet as they ministered to the Lord. These external washings signify the universal corruption of man and our need for external purification. The water pictures the spiritual regeneration which occurs when we are set apart by Christ.

Only after the washing was accomplished were the garments then put on them. In the case of Aaron, his garments are emblematic of the divine work of Christ. He will next have seven articles placed upon Him – a tunic, a sash, a robe, an ephod, a breastplate, and a turban. Each represents an aspect of Christ’s work. Together, they form a picture of Christ, the Prophet, Priest, and King who is completely distinct and set apart from all others.

In the case of Aaron and his sons though, the cleansing now gives clear symbolic significance. It is to demonstrate, in type and shadow, that cleansing from sin must precede being clothed in righteousness and the anointing of the Spirit. Without being first cleansed, no person can draw near to God or be shown His favor through the sealing of the Spirit.

⁷ And he put the tunic on him,

The kethoneth, or tunic was first mentioned in Exodus 28:4, where it was called a “skillfully woven tunic.” It was mentioned again in Exodus 28:39 where it was said to be made of fine linen thread. An unusual Hebrew word, shabats, was used to describe it. That word means that it was made of a checkered weaving pattern, thus indicating something set or fixed. Flavius Josephus said that it was, “a tunic circumscribing or closely encompassing the body, and having tight sleeves for the arms.”

This garment pictures Christ’s righteousness which is checkered into His being. It is set and unchanging. As it is the garment closest to the body of Aaron, it is typical of Christ’s righteousness that literally adorns Him; it being an essential part of His very nature. As it will protrude out on both of his arms and from under his robe, it is a symbol of the always-evident righteousness of Christ. Even during His last moments before the crucifixion, Pilate proclaimed this aspect of Him –

“I have found no fault in this Man.” Luke 23:14

^7 (con’t) girded him with the sash,

This avnet, or girdle, was also mentioned in the same two verses of Exodus 24. It is a belt or a sash that is worn at the waist and was said to be made of “woven work.” Later, in Exodus 39, it was said to be “of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver.” What is unusual is that it was probably not visible at all as it would be under the other garments. And yet, the instructions were specific concerning its weaving. This hidden sash is reflective of Christ’s divine majesty as is seen in Psalm 93 –

“The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord is clothed,
He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.” Psalm 93:1

^7 (con’t) clothed him with the robe,

The meil, or robe, is a type of tunic which would reach from neck all the way down to somewhere around the knees; some believe even as far as to the feet. It was thought to be a completely seamless garment as can be inferred from Exodus 39:22 –

“He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.”

The term “woven work” implies a seamless garment. However, Flavius Josephus explicitly documents this fact in his commentary on the priestly garments. He says that “the coat did not consist of two parts, nor was it sewed upon the shoulder, nor on the side, but was one long piece of woven work.” This robe is further described in Exodus 28 with these words –

“There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear.” Exodus 28:31

It would have a hole for the head to go through and it had no sleeves. Therefore, the top portion of it would be mostly covered by the ephod and the breastplate which go over it. However, the lower part was fully visible. The plain blue would be a beautiful contrast to the variegated ephod and the gleaming breastplate.

This blue signifies the law, especially in adherence to it. In a type of Christ, this blue robe signifies that Christ Jesus is the embodiment of the law. In Exodus 28, it was described with a word, kalil, translated as “all,” as in “all of blue.” That comes from the verb kalal, which means to complete or make perfect. Thus the robe was entirely made of only this blue. It is indicative of Christ who perfectly fulfilled the law, completing it on our behalf. He is literally “robed” in the completion of the law. Also, as the robe was seamless, it points to John’s words about Jesus on the cross –

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece.” John 19:23

Shortly after this occurred, John records Jesus’ dying words, “It is finished.” The robe which Aaron is being clothed in now in Leviticus was merely a picture of Christ embodying the law, fulfilling it, and finishing it for us. However, before He died, something else was recorded about Christ’s tunic. Despite dividing His other garments, the value of His tunic led them to say –

“Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” John 19:24

In contrast to this, in Matthew 26:65, the high priest of Israel tore his clothes during Jesus’ trial. This was in direct violation of the Law of Moses. In Leviticus 21 it says –

“He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes;” Leviticus 21:10

In the treatment of these two garments, there is seen an ending of the old order of things. The Law of Moses was ended in Christ’s work and the New Covenant was established in His blood. The note of keeping the high priest’s robe from tearing was given as a contrasting picture of the true High Priest’s garment not being torn.

But, the recording of the high priest tearing his garment signifies the ending of that priesthood. That Christ’s garment wasn’t torn, and yet His body was, signifies the introduction of the New. In describing this robe in Exodus, a very rare word, takharah, was used to describe the hem around the neck. The word comes from the verb kharah, which means “to burn with anger.” In this, the symbolism is obvious; the anger of the Lord at the sin of man is what was on display there at the cross. The penalty for that sin was the tearing of Christ’s body, the true robe of humanity.

^7 (con’t) and put the ephod on him;

The materials for the ephod were described in Exodus 28:5-8 –

“They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, ⁶ and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked. ⁷ It shall have two shoulder straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together. ⁸ And the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen.”

The ephod is a sleeveless garment, like a waistcoat. It was made of the same colors as the veil of the tabernacle, but with the addition of gold thread added into it. The colors used in it indicate divinity/royalty for the gold, the law for the blue; royalty for the purple – which is a combination of blue and red; war, blood, and judgment for the red; and righteousness for the woven linen.

This ephod will bear the breastplate which will next be placed over it, just as the Ark bore the Mercy Seat. Though the Ark was described first, it is the Mercy Seat which crowns the Ark. The Ark embodies the law, thus the Old Covenant, while the Mercy Seat pictures the satisfaction of the law through the shedding of blood.

The same is true with the ephod and the breastplate. On the ephod will be two stones with the names of the children of Israel engraved on them. Thus it signifies the high priest’s role to bear the sufferings and labors of his people. On the breastplate will be twelve stones which will be engraved with the names of the children of Israel. This then signifies that the high priest sympathizes with his people as an intercessor before God. In both, the work of Christ is seen. First He bore our burdens, and then He became our intercessor. This is the reason for the order of each description. Marvelous wisdom is seen even in the order of how each thing is described to Moses.

^7 (con’t) and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod, and with it tied the ephod on him.

This is the last time that the kheshev, or “band,” is to be seen in Scripture. It has only been used in connection with the ephod. It is the band or belt which would keep the two lower parts of the ephod held close to the body. This particular band was made with the same materials as the ephod itself.

It is believed to have been sewn onto the ephod at one point, and then it could be wrapped around the body and secured by strings, or a button or some other way. Its use is seen at the time of the ordination of Aaron here in Leviticus 8.

The idea of this band pictures “readiness for service.” Despite being the high priest, Aaron was to be a servant of the people, mediating for them. Being girded and ready for service is a theme seen numerous times in the Bible, and it was something which Christ Himself did not draw away from, but rather embraced. We read about His being girded to serve in John 13 –

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, ⁴ rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ⁵ After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” John 13:3-5

The gold which was woven into this belt anticipated the divine intervention of Christ for us. This is seen in Revelation 1:13 –

“…and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.”

Aaron, wearing this ephod and band, was a type of Christ. The particular materials in them symbolize the services which Christ now renders to us as our human/divine Mediator. Though ascended to heaven, the book of Hebrews says that He is there in the presence of God making intercession for us.

⁸ Then he put the breastplate on him,

The instructions for the, khoshen, or breastplate are found in Exodus 28:15-30. Its full name is the breastplate of judgment. It took an entire sermon to describe the marvelous things which are seen in that particular item, and so if you want to know the symbolism, or if you have forgotten it, you will need to take the afternoon off from sports and watch it. There you will see such marvelous pictures of Christ that you simply won’t believe it.

^8 (con’t) and he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate.

The Urim and Thummim are described in Exodus 28:30. They are two of the most enigmatic items to be seen in all of the things associated with the sanctuary and the rites which accompany it. Urim is the plural of the word uwr, or “fire.” It means “lights.” Thummim is the plural of the word tom, or “integrity.” It means “perfections” or “that which is blameless or innocent.” Together, they are literally translated “Lights and Perfections.”

Interestingly, it was Moses who deposited the tablets of the Testimony into the Ark of the Covenant, and it is also Moses who places the Urim and Thummim into the breastplate for Aaron. Moses, or “He who draws out,” is the one who puts the items in. A direct tie is being made between the Ark and its two stone tablets and the breastplate and these two stones. What the Urim and Thummim actually did, what they were, or how they were used is unknown. But we do know that they were used for inquiring of God. This is seen, for example, in Ezra 2:62, 63 –

“These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. ⁶³ And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.”

Both the stone tablets and the Urim and Thummin gave forth the word of the Lord. And both the Ark and the Breastplate were containers for that word. In both cases, Moses was the one who placed the stones into their containers.

As I said, Urim means “Lights.” Numerous times in the Bible, the law of the Lord, the word of the Lord, or the judgments of the Lord are said to be light. I’ll cite three examples of this –

“For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” Proverbs 6:23

“Listen to Me, My people;
And give ear to Me, O My nation:
For law will proceed from Me,
And I will make My justice rest
As a light of the peoples.” Isaiah 51:4

“Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

Next, Thummim comes from the word tom. This corresponds to the adjective tamim or “perfections,” and thus being blameless. This is seen in the following two verses –

“As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” Psalm 18:30

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7

In these, and other examples, we can find that the law of the Lord is what is pictured in the Urim and Thummim. And so it has the same meaning as the tablets within the Ark. Christ fulfilled the law and it was secreted away under the mercy seat. He thus embodies the law and His blood covers the sins of the law for His people.

In placing the Urim and Thummin within the Breastplate of Judgment, it signifies that our faith in His work is what justifies us. If we need to consult God, we do it through Christ. Matthew Henry gives a splendid analogy of these things –

“Now, Christ is our Oracle. By him God, in these last days, makes known himself and his mind to us, … He is the true Light, the faithful Witness, the Truth itself, and from him we receive the Spirit of Truth, who leads into all truth.” Matthew Henry

The truly amazing thing about this is that such minute detail was given for things that were to remain completely unseen, and yet they perfectly describe what Christ has done for us. In Christ, we are safe, we are secure, and we are so forever.

⁹ And he put the turban on his head.

The mitsnepheth, or turban, was also made of the fine woven linen like the tunic which was first put on Aaron. It again reflects Christ’s absolute righteousness. It is what crowns Him and it defines His very character. Together, this tunic and turban symbolize Christ’s pure and unsullied life and authority.

^9 (con’t) Also on the turban, on its front, he put the golden plate, the holy crown,

This golden plate, here called “the holy crown,” was described in Exodus 28 with these words –

“You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet:

HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

³⁷ And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸ So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.” Exodus 28:36-38

The word translated as “plate” is tsiyts. It signifies a flower or a blossom. Along with that, a new descriptor is given here in Leviticus with the words nezer ha’kodesh, or “crown the holy.” The word nezer, being introduced here, signifies something set apart. It is this golden plate, placed on his forehead, which is the identifying mark of his separation from all others. It pictures the royal kingship of Christ. Unlike Israel which had offices of king and priest which were not to be intermingled, Christ is the fulfillment of them both. This is explicitly stated by the prophet Zechariah concerning the coming Messiah –

“Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying:

“Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!
From His place He shall branch out,
And He shall build the temple of the Lord;
¹³ Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord.
He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.'” Zechariah 6:11-13

The special word used to describe this plate, tsiyts, speaks of Christ’s Human and Divine natures. The pure gold represents His pure divinity, but that it is a flower speaks of His humanity. This is seen where the same word speaks of the fading glory of man –

“The voice said, ‘Cry out!’
And he said, ‘What shall I cry?’

‘All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.'” Isaiah 40:6

Unlike fallen man though, Christ is the unfading flower who stepped out of heaven to restore us to that same beautiful state.

The engraving of HOLINESS TO THE LORD on this plate signifies the perfection of Christ. It is He who is the true Mediator for God’s people. It is He who makes our offerings acceptable to God once again, and it is He who restores us – fully and completely – to our heavenly Father.

That there were two words on the engraving also signifies His Divine/Human nature – qodesh Yehovah. The 8 letters signify the new beginnings which are found in Christ Jesus. In fact, the name JESUS in Greek, IESOUS, is numerically equal to 888. Thus He is the ultimate example of the New Beginning for fallen man.

The blue cord which tied the plate to the turban signifies the law as fulfilled which ties the divine Lord to His intercessory role as our high priest. It is He who is the bridge between the infinite Father and finite us.

The specific naming of the placement of the plate on the forehead of the high priest is to show both the place of conscience and of identification. The duality is seen in that He is first conscious of those He ministers for, meaning us. And He is also conscious of His rightful place before His Father.

Secondly, it reveals His priestly identity presented before us and which comes from His Father. It is He who bore our iniquities at the cross, and it is He who still makes our sin-filled lives acceptable as HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Only through Him can we be considered acceptable to God. This is actually realized on the very last page of the Bible with these marvelous words –

“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. ⁴ They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:3, 4

It is this nezer ha’kodesh, or Holy Crown, which in typology is seen to be Christ who is the King/Priest who is set apart by God from among the sons of men.

^9 (con’t) as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The clothing of Aaron as the high priest is now complete. In order to show that it was done in accord with the word of the Lord, this clause is now stated. What was commanded has been performed.

¹⁰ Also Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.

After the clothing of the high priest, but before his personal anointing, the tabernacle is next anointed. The word for “anoint” is mashakh, which means to anoint by smearing. This is the first time that the mishkan, or tabernacle, is mentioned in the book of Leviticus. Until this point, the structure has been called ohel moed, or “tent of meeting.” Now the specific tabernacle, which is under the external tent, is mentioned by name.

The anointing oil is described in Exodus 30:22-38, every minute detail of which points to Christ. Those verses also took an entire sermon to explain. Again, if you didn’t see that sermon, or if you don’t remember its details, you can catch up on it this afternoon. In short, it signifies the presence of the Spirit, in and through the work of Christ. But such a brief explanation does disservice to the majesty of what is seen in the details. You really should check them out. It is this marvelous presence of the Spirit, symbolized by the anointing oil, that is used to anoint the tabernacle and all of the furniture contained within it.

¹¹ He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times,

This is speaking of the brazen altar where the sacrifices were to be burned. The golden altar of incense, being within the tabernacle, was already anointed. Now, a seven-fold nazah, or sprinkling of the oil is made on the brazen altar. This seven-fold sprinkling has never been noted before in any of the instructions. It is a special procedure that thus signifies the presence of the seven-fold Spirit of the Lord as is seen in Isaiah 11 –

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
² The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:1, 2

This altar is being distinguished by this special seven-fold sprinkling. It is the number of spiritual perfection, and so the sprinkling forms a connection between the offeror and the One to whom the offerings are made. They form a covenantal bond between both which is only a shadow of the bond that now exists between God and His people because of the sacrifice of Christ.

^{11 (con’t)} anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its base, to consecrate them. 

A different word is now used, returning again to mashakh, or smear, of verse 10. The utensils of the altar, as well as the laver and its base, are all anointed in the same manner as the tabernacle and everything in it. As before, the anointing of these items signifies the presence of the Spirit in what each item pictures.

In this verse, we can see the extremely high importance placed upon the altar. It is the only item which received the seven-fold sprinkling of the oil. And when the blood of a sacrifice is carried into the holy or most holy place and sprinkled seven times, it is because the animal first died at the north side of this altar.

This particular and special sprinkling points directly to the work of Christ who is the only true, final, and complete Sacrifice for the sins of man. It is what brings about full atonement and peace with God, and thus it is what provides access to the Spirit of God. The details of this Brazen Altar, which will help you to understand the significance of this seven-fold sprinkling, are found in Exodus 27:1-8, be sure to watch that sermon this afternoon as well.

¹² And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

Only after the anointing of the items meant for ministry to the Lord is the high priest who ministers to the Lord then anointed. The anointing oil is poured out onto his head in order to mashakh, or anoint, him. It is the basis for the word mashiakh, or “messiah.” This was to, as it says, “consecrate him.” The word means to set apart. He is the one who is set apart from his brethren by the anointing. Thus, in type, he prefigures Christ the Messiah who was spoken of by Isaiah –

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” Isaiah 61:1

*¹³ Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons and put tunics on them, girded them with sashes, and put hats on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Our verses today end with these words. The instructions for these tunics, sashes, and hats was given in Exodus 28:40 –

“For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty.”

The tunics and the sashes for Aaron’s sons were to be white. There was nothing else noticeable about them. The instructions are simple and without any special detail. The verb for making the tunics was asah instead of shabats which identified Aaron’s tunic. The garments of the sons were simple, plain pristine white, and yet they were distinct from all people around them.

The word for “hat” is migbaoth. This is the last of just four times it is seen in Scripture, and it is used only in reference to these caps for the sons of Aaron. It is from the same root as gibah or “hills” and gabia or “cups.” Hence, they are caps which fit the head.

It might seem remarkable that plain white garments would be described as “for glory and for beauty,” but white symbolizes righteousness. At times in the Bible, Christ’s garments, or those of angels, are said to be white. The glory and the beauty then is reflective of that which is of God – His righteousness.

These white tunics, sashes, and hats picture those who are in Christ, adorned with His righteousness because of His work. It is He who has brought many sons to glory through His work.

The hats, as I said, are the special word migbaoth. which is from the same root as gibah or “hills,” and gabia or “cups.” Both words are tied directly to the Aramaic word Gabbatha, the place where Christ was judged before Pilate. The symbolism is beautiful. The sons of Aaron are types of the sons of God and priests of the Lord Jesus who are granted that status as the helmet of salvation upon their head because of the judgment rendered on Him at Gabbatha.

The statement that the garments of the sons of Aaron were “for glory and for beauty” was the same statement made for the making of the garments of Aaron. In other words, because of the work of Christ, His priests now bear the same glory and beauty as He before the Father. Think of it! Imagine what we have been granted!

As we are at the end of our verses today, I’d like to take just a final moment to explain again, as I do each week, why all of this detail is important to you. If you have never called on Jesus, these things may not make sense, but they are all looking forward for a reason.

Closing Verse: When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” John 19:13, 14

Next Week: Leviticus 8:14-36 In these, there is great stuff for you… (The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood, Part II) (12^th Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Consecration of the Aaronic Priesthood

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying
These are the words He was relaying

Take Aaron and his sons with him
And the garments, the anointing oil too
A bull as the sin offering
Two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; so you shall do 

And gather all the congregation together for sure
At the tabernacle of meeting’s door

So Moses did as the Lord commanded him
And the congregation was gathered together as one
At the door of the tabernacle of meeting
And Moses said to the congregation
——–“This is what the Lord commanded to be done”

Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons
And washed them with water; yes, he washed these ones

And he put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash
Clothed him with the robe, and put on him the ephod
And he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod
And with it tied the ephod on him, as he was previously showed

Then he put the breastplate on him, as the Lord did state
And he put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastplate 

And he put the turban on his head
Also on the front of the turban too
He put the golden plate, the holy crown
As the Lord had commanded Moses to do

Also Moses took the anointing oil
And anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it
And consecrated them
As the Lord to him did submit

He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times
Anointed the altar and all its utensils as well
And the laver and its base, to consecrate them
As the Lord to him did tell

And he poured some of the anointing oil, as the Lord did state
On Aaron’s head and anointed him; him to consecrate

Then Moses brought Aaron’s sons
And put tunics on them, girded them with sashes
And put hats on them, as the Lord had commanded Moses
He crossed all T’s, dotted all I’s, and didn’t miss any dashes

How amazing! Every detail gives us precious insights to delight
Things that provide our souls with surety
That through Christ’s work, all things have been made right
And that our future is secure, a Divine guarantee

Thank You, O God for these marvelous hints of Jesus
Written so long ago, and yet as new as the day before our eyes
They are an anchor for the expectant souls of each of us
As we wait upon His return; He our splendid prize

And because of Him we shall for all eternity give You our praise
Yes, we shall hail You O God because of Jesus for eternal days

Hallelujah and Amen…