Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Leviticus 9:1) And it came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.
In the last post, Aaron and his sons had just finished seven days of their priestly consecration. On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel together.
(2) And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD."
Moses told Aaron to take for himself the animals which would be sacrifices for Aaron himself, to make atonement for his own sin. He was to take a young calf for a sin offering, which I have read Jewish writers have suggested was to remind him of the matter of the golden calf. He was also to take a ram for a burnt offering, both animals without blemish.
(3) “And to the children of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a kid of the goats for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering, (4) Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the LORD will appear to you.’”
Moses instructed Aaron, now as high priest, to speak to the children of Israel, telling them to take a goat kid for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year and without blemish, for a burnt offering. Additionally, they were to take a bull and a ram for peace offerings and a grain offering mixed with oil. Moses told Aaron that the Lord would appear to them that day.
(5) And they brought what Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation; and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.
Aaron and his sons and all the children of Israel brought the sacrifices Moses had instructed them to bring to the tabernacle. "All the congregation", which may mean the elders who had been called in verse 1 as representatives of all the congregation, drew near and stood before the Lord, before the tabernacle where God dwelt.
(6) And Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded you to do, and the glory of the LORD will appear to you.”
Moses told the people that what they had done in bringing the animals as he had commanded (verse 5) was actually what the Lord had commanded they do. Additionally, he told them the glory of the Lord would appear to them.
(7) And Moses said to Aaron, “Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and
your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.”
A lot of good stuff is packed into this verse! First Moses told Aaron to go to the altar and offer his own sin offering and burnt offering to make atonement for himself, and then for the people. A sinful man could not make atonement for another until he was pure from sin; that was a character only to be found in Christ, our great High Priest, the completely sinless one who could atone for and take away the sins of the people. It was pointed out by most all the old commentaries I read that this showed the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood that the high priest was obliged to make an expiation for his own sins before he could make one for the sins of the people. This was pointed out in Hebrews 7:27 when the apostle said that Jesus Christ "who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices,
first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once
for all when He offered up Himself." Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, suggested that Aaron's sin offering maybe wasn't so much a sacrifice for his own actual sins as it was a general acknowledgment of his sinful nature "and of his future duty to offer for his own sins and those of the people". I can see that as the scripture stated that Aaron was to offer his own sin offering and burnt offering and make atonement for himself "and for the people".
One more point in only the first part of this scripture was also made by Albert Barnes. He pointed out that Aaron was not required to make a peace offering for himself. He suggested it was enough that he should participate in the peace offerings of the consecration (Lev. 8:31), and in the two peace offerings about to be sacrificed for the people. After offering his own offerings, the second part of the verse states Aaron was to offer the offering of the people to make atonement for them. All this was as the Lord commanded.
(8) Aaron therefore went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
Aaron did as Moses told him and went to the altar, and he himself killed the calf for his own sin offering.
(9) And the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar.
Aaron's sons probably held the basins that collected the blood from the calf Aaron killed, and they brought the basins to Aaron. Aaron then dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and then poured out the blood at the base of the altar. This was just as Moses had done at his consecration in Leviticus 8:15.
(10) But the fat, the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Evidently, there is some controversy over this scripture because of what is said in a future verse, but for now with the information that is given, I will take this verse at face value, and say that Aaron took the fat, the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering calf and burned it on the altar as the Lord had told Moses he was to do.
(11) And the flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp.
Aaron took the flesh and the skin of the sacrifice and burned it outside the camp. This seems consistent with what the Lord had told Moses in Leviticus chapter 4 (verses 3 through 12) was to be done by an anointed priest who sinned. This was Aaron's sin offering.
(12) And he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar.
Next Aaron killed the ram that he had brought for a burnt offering (verse 2 above). His sons brought him the blood that had probably been collected in basins when he killed the ram, and he sprinkled it all around on the altar.
(13) And they presented the burnt offering to him, with its pieces and head, and he burned them on the altar.
This seems consistent with what Moses did with the ram of the burnt offering in Leviticus 8:20, except that Aaron's sons were assisting him and they were the ones who handed Aaron the pieces of the ram after it had been cut up, and he then burned them on the altar.
(14) And he washed the inwards and the legs, and burned them on the burnt offering on the altar.
Aaron washed the inwards and the legs of the ram and burned them on the altar, again consistent with what Moses had done in Leviticus 8:21.
(15) And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin, like the first one.
Then Aaron brought the people's offering as described in verse 3 above, and took the goat which was the people's sin offering, and killed it as he had done with his own sin offering.
(16) And he brought the burnt offering and offered it according to the prescribed manner.
Next Aaron brought the people's burnt offering, a calf and a lamb of the first year (verse 3 above), and offered that offering in the prescribed manner, as commanded in other instances regarding a burnt sacrifice (verses 12-14 above, Lev. 1:3-9, Lev. 8:18-21).
(17) And he brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning.
Aaron then took the grain offering mixed with oil from verse 4 above, took a handful, and burned it on the altar. This was to be offered "besides the burnt sacrifice of the morning", which was daily offered first (Exodus 29:42).
(18) He also killed the bull and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people; and Aaron's sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar,
Aaron also killed the bull and the ram which were for the people's peace offerings (verse 4 above), and his sons presented to him the blood from those animals that was probably collected in vessels while they were being killed. Aaron sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.
(19) And the fat of the bull and the ram, the rump, what covers the inwards, the kidneys, and the caul above the liver; (20) And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burned the fat on the altar; (21) And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses commanded.
The fat of the bull and the ram, including the kidneys, the caul above the liver, and the fat tail of the ram, they put upon the breasts of the animals. Aaron burned the fat on the altar after having waved it upon the breasts. The breasts and the right shoulders of the bull and the ram Aaron waved for a wave offering before the Lord, just as Moses had instructed him to do.
(22) And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and
came down from offering of the sin offering, the burnt offering, and
peace offerings.
After offering the sacrifices for he himself and for the people, Aaron turned toward the people and lifted up his hand or hands toward them and blessed them. He then came down from the altar.
(23) And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out and blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.
Then Moses and Aaron both went into the tabernacle and they came out and both blessed the people; Aaron having already blessed them once, now blessed them along with Moses. The glory of the Lord, some visible sign of His glory, appeared to all the people, just as Moses had told them would happen in verse 6 above.
(24) And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar; when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
A fire came out from before the Lord, probably from that visible sign of His glory, and immediately consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted in joy and probably awe, and fell on their faces in reverence and humility. This scripture is the one that caused controversy and seemed to contradict verse 10 (and again in verses 13-20), where it was said that Aaron burned "the fat, the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering" on the altar, and now scripture said that fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. There was even conjecture that Moses and Aaron remained in the tabernacle until the evening sacrifice, of which there is no mention. I see no problem with the way it was written. As activity continued after verse 10, and nothing was said to the effect of the offering being totally consumed before anything else happened, everything seems perfectly in order. Aaron placed the things on the altar and began burning them, and moved on. When the Lord's fire came down, it totally consumed the offerings on the altar, a manifest token of God's acceptance of their service and sacrifice. Regardless of what was on the altar and what time it occurred, it was totally apparent to the people that God's fire consumed their offerings, indicating His pleasure and acceptance of them. Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, put it this way, "It signified the turning away of God's wrath from them. God's wrath is a consuming fire; this fire might justly have fastened upon the people, and consumed them for their sins; but its fastening upon the sacrifice, and consuming that, signified God's acceptance of that as an atonement for the sinner."
I believe I touched on the fact before that Jewish tradition held that the sacred fire of the altar originated in this divine act, and that it was afterward preserved on the altar of the tabernacle (Lev. 6:13): "The fire shall ever be burning on the altar; it shall never go out." However, scripture shows that fire was started in a natural way, unless you believe what some commentators try to make a case for, that the sacrifices from verses 10 through 20 were only placed in order on the altar, and not actually burned. I see no reason not to take scripture at its face value. Aaron was doing exactly what had been commanded he do, and the fire from the Lord totally consumed whatever was on the altar at the time, and from that time on, that fire from heaven was never allowed to go out. John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, adds that it (the fire) "therefore was carried in a peculiar vessel in their journeys in the wilderness". I suppose I will learn more about that when that occurs in scripture.
Matthew Henry went as far to say that the fire took possession of the altar went it came out from the Lord and consumed what was on the altar. This fire represented the Spirit of God which would dwell with the people and be carefully preserved and not allowed to go out. It was a picture of the coming Spirit of fire that descended on the apostles in Acts 2:3, and that which was promised by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11, when he said the One coming after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew Henry wrote of the descent of holy fire into our souls "to kindle in them pious and devout affections towards God". Additionally, as a fire, it "burns up the flesh and the lusts of it".
