Leviticus 9

1 After the ordination ceremony, on the eighth day, Moses called together Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

2 He said to Aaron, “Take a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defects, and present them to the LORD .

3 Then tell the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and take a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without defects, for a burnt offering.

4 Also take a bull and a ram for a peace offering and flour moistened with olive oil for a grain offering. Present all these offerings to the LORD because the LORD will appear to you today.’”

5 So the people presented all these things at the entrance of the Tabernacle, just as Moses had commanded. Then the whole community came forward and stood before the LORD .

6 And Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded you to do so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”

7 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself and the people. Then present the offerings of the people to purify them, making them right with the LORD, just as he has commanded.”

8 So Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself.

9 His sons brought him the blood, and he dipped his finger in it and put it on the horns of the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

10 Then he burned on the altar the fat, the kidneys, and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

11 The meat and the hide, however, he burned outside the camp.

12 Next Aaron slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all sides of the altar.

13 Then they handed him each piece of the burnt offering, including the head, and he burned them on the altar.

14 Then he washed the internal organs and the legs and burned them on the altar along with the rest of the burnt offering.

15 Next Aaron presented the offerings of the people. He slaughtered the people’s goat and presented it as an offering for their sin, just as he had first done with the offering for his own sin.

16 Then he presented the burnt offering and sacrificed it in the prescribed way.

17 He also presented the grain offering, burning a handful of the flour mixture on the altar, in addition to the regular burnt offering for the morning.

18 Then Aaron slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people’s peace offering. His sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it against all sides of the altar.

19 Then he took the fat of the bull and the ram—the fat of the broad tail and from around the internal organs—along with the kidneys and the long lobes of the livers.

20 He placed these fat portions on top of the breasts of these animals and burned them on the altar.

21 Aaron then lifted up the breasts and right thighs as a special offering to the LORD, just as Moses had commanded.

22 After that, Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped down from the altar.

23 Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people again, and the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole community.

24 Fire blazed forth from the LORD ’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground.

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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or cow; also in 9:18, 19 .
• [b]. Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 9:23 .
• [c]. Or to make atonement for them.

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.