Leviticus - Chapters 8-10

In Leviticus chapters 8-10, Aaron and his sons are ordained as priests. The offering and consecration rituals are described in detail. The priests are anointed and the items used for sacrifice are consecrated. Moses presents sin offerings and burnt offerings. The priests are instructed to distinguish between the holy and the common, and to teach the Israelites God's decrees. Two of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, offer unauthorized fire before the Lord and are consumed by fire. Aaron and his other sons are not allowed to mourn their deaths. The priests are warned not to drink wine or fermented drink before entering the tent of meeting. The lesson highlights the importance of following the Lord's commands and recognizing the difference between the holy and the common. Christian leaders are especially warned to honor God's ways. The message encourages believers to know their calling and gifts from God and to obey His voice. I'm Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at cab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we're covering chapters 8-10 of Leviticus, which teach us about the ordination service of Aaron as high priest and his sons as priests, then the start of their ministry, and finally the death of two of Aaron's sons because they did not honor the Lord with their service. The ending verses of chapter 7 give a good overview of what has been covered so far in Leviticus 37 and 38 read, These then are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the fellowship offering which the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord in the desert of Sinai. When I first read that I thought, what is the ordination offering? Then I realized that the ordination offering was coming in chapter 8. Just in these two verses we see that the Lord was the initiator, Moses was the mediator for and to the Israelites, the Lord was specific with his regulations on how to approach him, and one of the reasons for these strict regulations is because God is holy and that is something to be taken seriously since we are not holy. These offerings allowed the people to come before the Lord. After the offerings and how to do them were explained, then Aaron and the priests had to be set apart in order to do the work of the Lord. The people came together during this ceremony. The priests were washed and then dressed in the clothing prepared just for them. They were anointed with the special oil that was just for them. Not only did the priests get anointed, but all the items used for sacrifice. They were all consecrated. Then Moses presented the sin offering first. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the bull's head, chapter 8 verse 14, and Moses slaughtered the animal. The sin offering made atonement for the priests and the flesh was burnt outside the camp. Then Moses presented a ram for the burnt offering. Then Moses presented a second ram and this ram was for the ordination sacrifice. It was this ram that Moses put some of the blood on the priest's right ear, right thumb, and big toe, their right foot. It reminded them that from their head to their toe they were consecrated to the Lord. In chapter 8 verse 26 it reads, Then from the basket of bread made without yeast, which was before the Lord, he took a cake of bread, one made with oil, and a wafer. He put these on the fat portions and on the right thigh. This was the bread in the holy place of the tabernacle, which represented the twelve tribes of Israel. This became a wave offering before the Lord, and then it was burnt along with the burnt offering. After that Moses took blood from the sacrifice as well as the anointing oil and sprinkled it upon Aaron the high priest and all his sons who were priests, and on all their garments. They were to remain at the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days for their ordination. Then verses 34 through 36 read, What has been done today was commanded by the Lord to make atonement for you. You must stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and do what the Lord requires so you will not die, for this is what I have been commanded. So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses. Chapter 9 begins, On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. Now Aaron and his sons again had to give a bull for their sin offering and a ram for the burnt offering. Then they were to give a fellowship offering and a grain offering mixed with oil. Because verse 4b says, For today the Lord will appear to you. In verse 6 it goes even further and says, So that the glory of the Lord may appear to you. These priests had to first give offerings for their sin before they could give offerings to cover the sins of the people or atonement for the people. Chapter 9 verses 22 through 24 read, Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them, and having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering, he stepped down. Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord, and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face down. The fire did not come from heaven, it came out from the presence of the Lord, which now dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. Chapter 10 starts with a tragedy. Verses 1 through 3 say, Aaron's son Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord, and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Moses then said to Aaron, This is what the Lord spoke of when he said, Among those who approach me I will show myself holy. In the sight of all the people I will be honored. Aaron remained silent. Moses called for their uncle to come and remove the bodies still in their priestly tunics and take them outside the camp. Aaron had two more sons who were ordained as priests, Eleazar and Ithamar, and they were warned to not mourn the death of their brothers, and they were not to leave their post, otherwise they would also die. Yet the Lord allowed the Israelite community to mourn. The priests, however, were to continue their duties. In verses 9 through 11 of chapter 10 they say, Then the Lord said to Aaron, You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink when you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses. They then were to eat from the remainder of the offering because this was the fellowship offering. When Moses asked especially about the meat from the sin offering, he learned that Aaron and his sons burnt it all instead of eating it. Aaron replied to Moses, Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, but such things as this have happened to me. Would the Lord have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today? When Moses heard this, he was satisfied. In this lesson, fire came from the presence of the Lord two times. The first consumed the offering which was acceptable to the Lord, and the second consumed two priests who were not acceptable to the Lord. They disobeyed the Lord's ways of doing things. They did their own thing. They offered to the Lord unauthorized fire, and the Lord's holy fire consumed them. This is a warning especially for Christian leaders to follow the Lord's commands and as spiritual leaders before the people, Moses, Aaron, and his other two sons were not to mourn the death of their family members because God is holy and just and his ways are to be honored by the leaders of the congregation. We also see there is a difference between the holy and the common, the unclean and the clean. The thing that separated Aaron and his sons from the rest of the people was God's calling, God's equipping, and his atoning sacrifice that the Lord provided. Ladies, if you have asked the Lord Jesus to forgive you of your sin and enter your life, you also have received the atoning sacrifice of Christ's blood. You have been called by the Lord, and he is equipping you for your service, whatever that may be. As we saw with the building of the tabernacle, God equips people with different gifts. Do you know what yours are? Do you know what he has called you to do? Remember as a child of God, you are no longer common, but holy. You are no longer unclean, but clean. If you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart and go your own way like Nadab and Abihu, instead let us be women who hear the Lord and obey. Until next time, and thanks so much for listening.