Leviticus 9

The Lord Accepts Aaron's Offering

1 ¹On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel,

2 and he said to Aaron, ²"Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and ³a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.

3 And say to the people of Israel, ⁴'Take a male 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 the LORD, and ⁵a grain offering mixed with oil, for ⁶today the LORD will appear to you.'"

5 And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.

6 And Moses said, "This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you."

7 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Draw near to the altar and ⁷offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and ⁸make atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded."

8 So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

9 ⁹And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and ¹⁰put it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar.

10 ¹¹But the fat and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, ¹²as the LORD commanded Moses.

11 ¹³The flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp.

12 Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he ¹⁴threw it against the sides of the altar.

13 ¹⁵And they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar.

14 ¹⁶And he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

15 ¹⁷Then he presented the people's offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and ¹⁸offered it as a sin offering, ¹⁹like the first one.

16 And he presented the burnt offering and offered it ²⁰according to the ²¹rule.

17 And he presented the ²²grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, ²³besides the burnt offering of the morning.

18 Then he killed the ox and the ram, ²⁴the sacrifice of peace offerings for the people. And Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar.

19 But the fat pieces of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail and that which covers ²⁵the entrails and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver--

20 they put the fat pieces on the breasts, ²⁶and he burned the fat pieces on the altar,

21 but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved ²⁷for a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses commanded.

22 Then Aaron ²⁸lifted up his hands toward the people and ²⁹blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.

23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and ³⁰the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.

24 And ³¹fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, ³²they shouted and ³³fell on their faces.

Leviticus 9 Commentary

Chapter 9

The first offerings of Aaron for himself and the people. (1-21) Moses and Aaron bless the people, Fire cometh upon the altar from the Lord. (22-24)

Verses 1-21 These many sacrifices, which were all done away by the death of Christ, teach us that our best services need washing in his blood, and that the guilt of our best sacrifices needs to be done away by one more pure and more noble than they. Let us be thankful that we have such a High Priest. The priests had not a day's respite from service allowed. God's spiritual priests have constant work, which the duty of every day requires; they that would give up their account with joy, must redeem time. The glory of God appeared in the sight of the people, and owned what they had done. We are not now to expect such appearances, but God draws nigh to those who draw nigh to him, and the offerings of faith are acceptable to him; though the sacrifices being spiritual, the tokens of the acceptance are spiritual likewise. When Aaron had done all that was to be done about the sacrifices, he lifted up his hands towards the people, and blessed them. Aaron could but crave a blessing, God alone can command it.

Verses 22-24 When the solemnity was finished, and the blessing pronounced, God testified his acceptance. There came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed the sacrifice. This fire might justly have fastened upon the people, and have consumed them for their sins; but its consuming the sacrifice signified God's acceptance of it, as an atonement for the sinner. This also was a figure of good things to come. The Spirit descended upon the apostles in fire. And the descent of this holy fire into our souls, to kindle in them pious and devout affections toward God, and such a holy zeal as burns up the flesh and the lusts of it, is a certain token of God's gracious acceptance of our persons and performances. Nothing goes to God, but what comes from him. We must have grace, that holy fire, from the God of grace, else we cannot serve him acceptably, ( Hebrews 12:28 ) . The people were affected with this discovery of God's glory and grace. They received it with the highest joy; triumphing in the assurance given them that they had God nigh unto them. And with the lowest reverence; humbly adoring the majesty of that God, who vouchsafed thus to manifest himself to them. That is a sinful fear of God, which drives us from him; a gracious fear makes us bow before him.

Cross References

• 1. Ezekiel 43:27
• 2. Leviticus 4:3; Leviticus 8:14; Exodus 29:1
• 3. Leviticus 8:18
• 4. Leviticus 4:23; [Ezra 6:17]
• 5. ver. 17; Leviticus 2:4
• 6. ver. 6, 23; Exodus 29:43
• 7. Leviticus 4:3; Hebrews 5:1-3; Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 9:7
• 8. Leviticus 4:16, 20
• 9. Leviticus 4:6; Leviticus 8:15
• 10. See Leviticus 4:7
• 11. Leviticus 8:16
• 12. Leviticus 4:8
• 13. Leviticus 4:11, 12; Leviticus 8:17
• 14. Leviticus 1:5; Leviticus 8:19
• 15. Leviticus 8:20
• 16. Leviticus 8:21
• 17. ver. 3, 7; Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 5:3
• 18. See Leviticus 6:26
• 19. ver. 8
• 20. Leviticus 1:3, 10
• 21. Leviticus 5:10
• 22. ver. 4; Leviticus 2:1, 2
• 23. Exodus 29:38, 39
• 24. Leviticus 3:1, 12, 16
• 25. Leviticus 3:3, 9, 14; Leviticus 4:8; Leviticus 7:3
• 26. Leviticus 3:5, 16
• 27. Exodus 29:24, 26; See Leviticus 7:30-34
• 28. [Luke 24:50]
• 29. Deuteronomy 21:5; See Numbers 6:23-27
• 30. ver. 4, 6
• 31. [Judges 6:21; Judges 13:19, 20; 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1]
• 32. [Ezra 3:11]
• 33. [1 Kings 18:39; 2 Chronicles 7:3]

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 9

Aaron and his sons, being consecrated to and invested with the priest's office, are called upon to the exercise of it, to offer a sin offering and a burnt offering for themselves, and all sorts of offerings, a sin offering, a burnt offering, peace offerings, and a meat offering, for the people; and a promise is made for their encouragement, that the glory of the Lord would appear to them, Le 9:1-7 and which were in their course accordingly offered; first, Aaron's sin offering for himself, Le 9:8-11 then his burnt offering, Le 9:12-14 after that the several offerings of the people before mentioned, Le 9:15-21 when Aaron and Moses blessed the people, the one as soon as he had done offering, and both together when they came out of the tabernacle, Le 9:22,23 upon which a fire came forth from the Lord, and consumed the burnt offering upon the altar, Le 9:24.