Leviticus 9:1-21

2. THE ENTRANCE OF AARON AND HIS SONS ON THEIR OFFICE 9:1-24

a. THE PRESENTATION OF THE OFFERINGS 9:1-21

(1)

THE SIN OFFERING

(2)

BURNT OFFERING

(3)

MEAL OFFERING

(4)

PEACE OFFERING

TEXT 9:1-21

1

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 calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before Jehovah.

3

And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a he-goat for a sin-offering; and a calf and a lamb, both a year old, without blemish, for a burnt-offering;

4

and an ox and a ram for peace-offerings, to sacrifice before Jehovah; and a meal-offering mingled with oil: for to-day Jehovah appeareth unto you.

5

And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tent of meeting: and all the congregation drew near and stood before Jehovah.

6

And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah commanded that ye should do: and the glory of Jehovah shall appear unto you.

7

And Moses said unto Aaron, Draw near unto the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy burnt-offering, and make atonement for thyself, and for the people; and offer the oblation of the people, and make atonement for them; as Jehovah commanded.

8

So Aaron drew near unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin-offering, which was for himself.

9

And the sons of Aaron presented 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 base of the altar:

10

but the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul from the liver of the sin-offering, he burnt upon the altar; as Jehovah commanded Moses.

11

And the flesh and the skin he burnt with fire without the camp.

12

And he slew the burnt-offering; and Aaron's sons delivered unto him the blood, and he sprinkled it upon the altar round about.

13

And they delivered the burnt-offering unto him, piece by piece, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.

14

And he washed the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt-offering on the altar.

15

And he presented the people's oblation, and took the goat of the sin-offering which was for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.

16

And he presented the burnt-offering, and offered it according to the ordinance.

17

And he presented the meal-offering, and filled his hand therefrom, and burnt it upon the altar, besides the burnt-offering of the morning.

18

He slew also the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons delivered unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar roundabout.

19

and the fat of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul of 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 thigh Aaron waved for a wave-offering before Jehovah; as Moses commanded.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 9:1-21

167.

What is the purpose for this eight-day celebration? Or is it a celebration? Discuss.

168.

For whom was the calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering?

169.

For whom was the he-goat for a sin offering and the calf and the lamb for a burnt offering?

170.

An ox and a ram were to be used for a peace offering. Why this elaborate ceremony?

171.

What was involved in the appearance or the glory of Jehovah to His people?

172.

Hadn-'t Aaron already made a sin offering on his own behalf? Why another one? (Cf. Hebrews 10:1 ff.)

173.

Why no mention of entering the tabernacle to sprinkle the blood of the sin offering before the veil?

174.

Aaron's sons are assisting their father in the sacrifices. Any special reason for this?

175.

The fat was placed upon the breasts of the animal. Why? (Cf. Leviticus 9:20)

PARAPHRASE 9:1-21

On the eighth day (of the consecration ceremonies), Moses summoned Aaron and Aaron's sons and the elders of Israel, and told Aaron to take a bull calf from the herd for a sin offering, and a ram without bodily defect for a burnt offering, and to offer them before the Lord. And tell the people of Israel, Moses instructed, To select a male goat for their sin offering, also a yearling calf and a yearling lamb, all without bodily defect, for their burnt offering. In addition, the people are to bring to the Lord a peace offering sacrificean ox and a ram, and a grain offeringflour mingled with olive oil. For today, Moses said, Jehovah will appear to them. So they brought all these things to the entrance of the Tabernacle, as Moses had commanded, and the people came and stood there before the Lord. Moses told them, When you have followed the Lord's instructions, His glory will appear to you. Moses then told Aaron to proceed to the altar and to offer the sin offering and the burnt offering, making atonement for himself first, and then for the people, as the Lord had commanded. So Aaron went up to the altar and killed the calf as a sacrifice for his own sin; his sons caught the blood for him, and he dipped his finger in it and smeared it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest at the base of the altar. Then he burned upon the altar the fat, kidneys, and gall bladder from this sin offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses, but he burned the meat and hide outside the camp. Next he killed the burnt offering animal, and his sons caught the blood and he sprinkled it back and forth upon the altar; they brought the animal to him piece by piece, including the head, and he burned each part upon the altar. Then he washed the insides and the legs, and offered these also upon the altar as a burnt offering. Next he sacrificed the people's offering; he killed the goat and offered it in just the same way as he had the sin offering for himself. Thus he sacrificed their burnt offering to the Lord, in accordance with the instructions God had given. Then he presented the grain offering, taking a handful and burning it upon the altar in addition to the regular morning offering. Next he killed the ox and ramthe people's peace offering sacrifice; and Aaron's sons brought the blood to him and he sprinkled it back and forth upon the altar. Then he collected the fat of the ox and the ramthe fat from their tails and the fat covering the inner organsand the kidneys and gall bladders. The fat was placed upon the breasts of these animals, and Aaron burned it upon the altar; but he waved the breasts and right shoulders slowly before the Lord as a gesture of offering it to Him, just as Moses had commanded.

COMMENT 9:1-21

Leviticus 9:1-5 This whole chapter concerns one subject: the entrance of Aaron and his sons into their work as priests. The eighth day, or as we would know it, the first day of the week is totally occupied with the many important opening ceremonies of this start of the Levitical priesthood. Keil and Delitzsch sum up these verses in a most meaningful manner: On the eighth day, i.e. on the day after the seven days-' consecration, Aaron and his sons entered upon their duties with a solemn sacrifice for themselves and the nation, to which the Lord had made Himself known by a special revelation of His glory, to bear solemn witness before the whole nation that their service at the altar was acceptable to Him, and to impress the divine seal of confirmation upon the consecration they had received. To this end Aaron and his sons were to bring to the front of the tabernacle a young calf as a sin offering for themselves, and a ram for a burnt offering; and the people were to bring through their elders a he-goat for a sin offering, a yearling calf and a yearling sheep for a burnt offering, and an ox and ram for a peace offering, together with a meal offering of meal mixed with oil; and the congregation (in the persons of the elders) was to stand there before Jehovah, i.e. to assemble together at the sanctuary for the solemn transaction. We are impressed again and again with the repetitious need to expiate the sins of both the priests and the people. Truly it was constantly necessary for Aaron to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 7:27) The trespass offering is not here represented because no specific trespass in either the things of God or man had been committed. Personal sin is admitted both individually and collectively in the sin offerings. A double burnt offering in the calf and lamb is to say in the most emphatic manner that they had confidence in God's forgiveness. The peace offering in its fullest form is to affirm strongly the complete peace and reconciliation they had found in God through the sacrifices. The meal offering mingled with oil represented the whole assembly and priests offered as a consecrated gift to God.

Leviticus 9:6-7 Moses addresses himself to the congregation and then to his brother, Aaron. He makes a promise to the assembly: When these sacrifices have been made you can confidently expect the glory of the Lord to appear unto you. We do not know all involved in the phrase the glory of the Lord. Other occasions for the use of this expression suggests a brightness or some other physical manifestation. Perhaps he is anticipating the fire from heaven found at the conclusion of this ceremony and this then is but a promise of that event.

Aaron is told plainly that the sacrifices for himself and the people will result in an atonement for both himself and the people. There was indeed the provision for at-one-ment in the sacrifices, but such an atonement must be repeated time and again. Our high priest offered Himself once and for all in an atonement that needs no repetition.

Leviticus 9:8-11 As soon as Aaron had slain his sin offering, his sons caught its blood in the bowls of the altar; and as each of the four stoodperhaps one at each corner of the altarAaron bent down and dipped his finger in their bowl of blood, and sprinkled the horns of the altar. Thus, the four horns were seen by the people wet with blood, a loud voice of atonement thereby ascending to heaven, crying, -Pardon to the guilty! For here is his penalty.-' Then Aaron emptied out of the bowls, and out of the body of the animal, the blood that remained, till a torrent of red crimson blood flowed round the altar's base. (Bonar)

Leviticus 9:12-14 All that is said about actual sacrificing through Leviticus 9:14 relates to Aaron and his need. Whatever actual animals were slain, were slain for Aaron. Perhaps such extensive sacrifices on behalf of the sin and need of the high priest was to create empathy between himself and his people. Did Aaron think of another calf, one of gold, as he sacrificed this one? Did he recall in tender memory the ram of Abraham as he offered the ram of the burnt offering?

In Leviticus 9:13 we have the first plain statement of what must have been true of every burnt offering; i.e. that the body of the animal was dismembered. (Cf. Leviticus 1:6; Leviticus 8:20.) We do not know why the pieces were given to him one at a time. In this action the import of the offering could be fully realized. We need to mark the fact that the fire was burning upon the altar and God accepted itwe say this here to offset the thought that the fire was kindled by God at the conclusion of this day's sacrifices. (Cf. Leviticus 9:24)

Leviticus 9:15-17 C. D. Ginsburg says: Being reconciled to God by the atoning sacrifice which he offered for his own share in the sin, Aaron now was qualified to offer the sin offering of the people. The manner of this sacrifice was identical to the one made for himself and in keeping with the instructions given earlier. (Cf. Leviticus 9:8; Leviticus 1:3 ff.) In Leviticus 9:15 we have the expression concerning the goat of the sin offeringhe offered it for sin. It is quite properly translated he made it sin; i.e. every such sacrifice had sin imputed to it. We think immediately of our Lord as described in 2 Corinthians 5:21, He (i.e. God) made Him sin for us. Jesus became our Great Sin Offering when He was slain for us; He was treated as if He were the sum total of all the sin of all time.

Exodus 29:30; Exodus 29:40 gives the instructions for the daily morning and evening sacrifices which were being offered each day. These special offerings did not pre-empt the need for the daily offerings. The actual beginning of the priestly functions of Aaron started with the morning sacrificethese were not superseded by the eight-day ceremonies.

This could remind us that we have a daily sacrifice to offer at the throne of grace that should take precedence over all special services we might hold. Indeed we cannot properly serve until we have been with Him in the daily course of worship.

Leviticus 9:18-19 We have made extensive comments on Leviticus 3:1 ff, all of which relate to the peace offering here made by Aaron for the people.

Leviticus 9:20-21 The breasts referred to in these verses are the breast of the bull and of the ram which have just been slain and dismembered for the peace offering. Are we to understand that since the Lord's portion has been laid upon these pieces they are especially honored or set-apart? The fat belongs to Godthe breasts belong to the priests, but first they belong to God. The holding up and waving before God suggests something of this thought.

FACT QUESTIONS 9:1-21

219.

What is the one subject discussed in this chapter?

220.

With what are we impressed again and again as we read of these sacrifices?

221.

Why no trespass offering in the eighth day service?

222.

Give the meaning of the four sacrifices to the occasion of their use.

223.

What did Moses have in mind when he promised to the people that the glory of the Lord would appear?

224.

Was there a real atonement in the sacrifices? Discuss.

225.

Show how Aaron's four sons assisted him.

226.

Why such extensive sacrifices on behalf of Aaron?

227.

Why dismember the animal for the burnt offering?

228.

What comparison to our Lord is found in the offering of the goat for a sin offering? Cf. Leviticus 9:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

229.

Show the relationship of the daily sacrifices with those of the eighth day.

230.

What use was made of the breasts of the ram and of the bull? Discuss.