What I Noticed Today (Leviticus 9-10)
Leviticus 9
Leviticus 9 describes the beginning of the priestly ministry of Aaron and his sons. The seven days of Aaron’s ordination were completed, and now on the eighth day, his focus shifted to carrying out his duties as the priest.
- Moses summoned Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel.
- He told Aaron to take a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering and present them to the Lord.
- The Israelites were to take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering; an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering; and the grain offering mixed with oil.
- Moses directed Aaron to come forward with the sin and burnt offering to make atonement for himself and the people of Israel. Then sacrifice the people’s offering to make atonement for them.
- So Aaron approached the altar and sacrificed the sin offering as the Lord had prescribed through Moses.
- Then Aaron sacrificed the burnt offering as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
- Aaron presented the people’s sin and burnt offerings according to the Lord’s instructions. Then he presented the grain offering and burned a portion of it on the altar.
- Finally, Aaron slaughtered the ox and the ram of the people’s fellowship offering just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
- When sin, burnt, and fellowship offerings had been completed, Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them.
- Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and when they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared over all the people.
- Fire came down from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering on the altar.
- When the people saw this, they fell facedown and worshiped the Lord.
Note: What a sight it must have been! The entire nation of several million people gathered around the tabernacle to witness these first sacrifices. As the sacrifices were completed, Aaron raises his arms up to God and blesses the people. At that point, the glory of God in the form of fire appeared to all the people. When they saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces!
Leviticus 10
Leviticus 10 describes the death of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, and regulations for the priests.
In verses 1-7, Nadab and Abihu violate God’s commands and are killed:
Note: It is unclear how much time had passed between the end of chapter 9 and the start of chapter 10. Regardless, it didn’t take long before sin entered into their lives.
- Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took a censer, put fire in it, and brought it before the Lord. They brought fire from an unholy place and brought it into a holy place.
Note: They had expressly violated God’s command that the fire is at the sanctuary altar.
- God punished them immediately by sending fire out and burning them to death.
- Moses sent, Mishael and Elzaphan (sons of Aaron’s uncle) to haul out the bodies of their dead cousins.
- Then Moses called to Aaron’s younger sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, and warned them not to mourn their brothers or they too would die. Aaron’s younger sons were quite careful to fulfill all of God’s commands exactly as they had been prescribed.
In verses 8-20, the Lord and Moses deliver regulations for the priests to Aaron:
- You are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or you will die.
- You must distinguish between clean and unclean, and teach all of the Lord’s statutes to the Israelites.
Note: Verses 8-11 record the only instance in which the Lord spoke directly to Aaron without using Moses as an intermediary.
- Moses told Aaron and his sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, to take the remaining grain offering and eat it before the Lord in a holy place because it is holy.
- Moses told Aaron his sons and daughters could eat the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the fellowship offering in a ceremonially clean place.
- At some point later that day, Moses confronted Aaron about why he had not fulfilled the requirements of the sin offering (eating the priest’s portion and sprinkling the blood on the altar).
- Aaron explained that given the events of the day, he didn’t feel that God would have approved if he had eaten the sin offering.
Note: It seems Aaron recognized that while he had not followed the letter of the law, he had followed the spirit of the law. Moses had looked on the outside, but God had looked at his heart.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- Man looks on the outside and tends to judge based on our outward appearance, but God knows our hearts!
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
