Leviticus 9:1

The Bible says in Leviticus 9:1-4, “And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;[2] And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.[3] And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;[4] Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you.” The key phrase of this passage is the last phrase of verse 4: “to day the LORD will appear unto you.” What does it take to be able to be in the presence of the Lord? It takes one thing: the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is holy and we are sinners. And so the sin problem must be taken care of in order to meet Jesus and to have a relationship with God. Of course, the blood of animals as we see in this passage and have seen over and over in the book of Leviticus were symbolic of the precious blood of Christ that would be shed for the sins of the world. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Are you ready for the day when you will appear in the presence of the Lord? Your sin problem needs to be taken care of. Turn to Jesus for forgiveness while there is time.

The Bible says in Leviticus 9:5-7, “And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.[6] And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you.[7] And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.” Of course, the book of Leviticus is part of the law. The law of the Old Testament is all about commandments and people obeying those commandments. The word “commanded” is found in each of these three verses. The New Testament is all about the fact that we have all failed to obey the commandments, and so we are called to a better covenant: to believe on Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. Of course, God knew that He would send His Son to die for our sins, and therefore, God gave these requirements to constantly sacrifice animals to symbolize what Jesus Himself would one day do when Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice to take away the sins of the world.

What the next verses show is that Aaron and the people did exactly as God commanded them, but only for a little while. The Bible says in Leviticus 9:8-21, “Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.[9] And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:[10] But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses.[11] And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.[12] And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.[13] And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.[14] And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.[15] And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.[16] And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.[17] And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.[18] He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,[19] And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:[20] And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar:[21] And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD; as Moses commanded.”

The next verses show what happened as a result of this faithful obedience. The law worked fine as long as there was obedience, but there was only judgment once the people failed and disobeyed. It says in Leviticus 9:22-24, “And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.[23] And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.[24] And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” The Israelites did what God commanded them, and so it says in Leviticus 9V23, “and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.” The very presence of God came down from heaven and “appeared” to the people. That must have been amazing. Most of us will not see the glory of God until we get to heaven. Jesus was probably doing all these miracles at the beginning of giving the covenant of the law in order to emphasize the greatness of the covenant and the importance of keeping it. Jesus did the same thing at the beginning of the giving of the New Covenant too. In verse 24 it says that “a fire out from before the LORD” and “when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” They were astounded, they were amazed, and they were full of wonder. But it did not last. Of course, the Israelites were not able to continue keeping the law, and eventually the glory of God departed them. Notice that it says in Romans 10:13, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We all have that problem. Thank God that Jesus has the answer. It says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Bible says in Leviticus 10:1-3, “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.[2] And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.[3] Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.” What Nadab and Abihu did is called “strange fire.” It is the same as false doctrine because it is not what God said to do. It was also rebellion because they heard the commandments about sacrifices that God gave to all the Israelites. But this is the time of the law, and the penalty for disobedience was death. That is the curse of the law and the terror of the law. That is why it says in verse 2, “And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” Christians are told in Galatians 3:10, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” We should be very glad that we do not live under the law, but under the grace of God that is in Christ Jesus.

The Bible says in Leviticus 10:4-11, “And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.[5] So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.[6] And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.[7] And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.[8] And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,[9] Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:[10] And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;[11] And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.” Notice verse six that says, “Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die.” God gave tremendous detail in all of the hundreds of commandments in the law: even as we read here, the men were told how to dress. If they did not dress the way that God told them to dress, then they would “die.” Death was the penalty for not obeying God’s commandments. The creature ought to obey the Creator. That is the natural order of things. Of course, once again we see that the Law was very strict.

Notice in verse seven that their movements were restricted because “the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.” The anointing oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Christians have the Holy Spirit, and thus the Spirit should guide us to where we can live holy lives. Be careful where you go in this world. There are unholy places of temptation. Do not go to those places. Make sure you are led of the Spirit.

In verse nine God said, “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die.” “Wine” is used in two different contexts in the Bible. Sometimes it is used to refer to the fruit of the vine before fermentation: grape juice; and sometimes “wine” is used to refer to the fruit of the vine after fermentation such that it has an alcoholic content: wine. The context of the passage where it is used indicates which one is being talked about. In a passage like this where wine is condemned with “strong drink,” it makes it easy to know. Why are alcoholic beverages condemned in this passage? The law is all about behavior: having the right behavior. Alcohol affects the mind and thus affects the behavior. Everyone knows this. To have the best chance at obeying God’s commands, we need our every faculty.

The Bible says in Leviticus 10:12-20, “And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy:[13] And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire: for so I am commanded.[14] And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel.[15] The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded.[16] And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying,[17] Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?[18] Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.[19] And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD?[20] And when Moses heard that, he was content.” This is an interesting passage because Aaron did not do exactly what Moses had commanded. First we see the commandments of Moses here. Verses 10 through 15 are all about Aaron and his sons making sure to eat part of these sacrifices. That was very clear. But Moses came and saw that everything was burnt up, and so Moses thought that these two sons of Aaron had disobeyed. What cleared the matter up was that Aaron took responsibility for it. Aaron was the high priest. That gave Aaron a tremendous amount of authority. That is why Aaron’s rod budded and bore fruit as described in Numbers chapter seventeen. God chose Aaron and God gave authority to Aaron in the matters having to do with the priestly duties. Therefore, if Aaron wanted to change some procedure in the sanctuary, he had the authority to do that. Once Aaron took responsibility and gave his explanation, it says in verse 20 that “when Moses heard that, he was content.” Make sure you give the proper authority to the preacher. Do not oppose him. Help the preacher that God has called. Submit to his authority.

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