Leviticus 9

The Priests Begin Their Ministry

1 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for your sin offering^[a] and a ram for your burnt offering, both without defect, and present them before the LORD.

3 Then say to the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb—both a year old and without defect—for a burnt offering,

4 and an ox^[b] and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the LORD, together with a grain offering mixed with olive oil. For today the LORD will appear to you.’ ”

5 They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the LORD.

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

7 Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.”

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

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

10 On the altar he burned the fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, as the LORD commanded Moses;

11 the flesh and the hide he burned up outside the camp.

12 Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. His sons handed him the blood, and he splashed it against the sides of the altar.

13 They handed him the burnt offering piece by piece, including the head, and he burned them on the altar.

14 He washed the internal organs and the legs and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.

15 Aaron then brought the offering that was for the people. He took the goat for the people’s sin offering and slaughtered it and offered it for a sin offering as he did with the first one.

16 He brought the burnt offering and offered it in the prescribed way.

17 He also brought the grain offering, took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning’s burnt offering.

18 He slaughtered the ox and the ram as the fellowship offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood, and he splashed it against the sides of the altar.

19 But the fat portions of the ox and the ram—the fat tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver—

20 these they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the altar.

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

22 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.

23 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.

24 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 facedown.

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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.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 32

1. Ezekiel 43:27
2. S Leviticus 4:15
3. S Leviticus 4:3
4. ver 15; Leviticus 10:16
5. ver 8
6. S Leviticus 4:32
7. Leviticus 4:10
8. S Exodus 32:6
9. Exodus 29:43
10. S Exodus 16:7; ver 23; Exodus 24:16
11. Leviticus 16:6
12. S Exodus 30:10; Hebrews 5:1,3; Hebrews 7:27
13. Leviticus 4:1-12; Leviticus 10:19
14. ver 12,18
15. S Exodus 29:12; Leviticus 4:7
16. Ezekiel 43:20
17. S Leviticus 4:11
18. S Leviticus 4:12">Leviticus 4:12; Leviticus 4:12">Leviticus 4:12; Leviticus 8:17
19. Leviticus 10:19
20. S ver 9
21. S Leviticus 1:8
22. S Leviticus 1:9
23. Leviticus 4:27-31
24. Leviticus 1:1-13
25. Leviticus 2:1-2; Leviticus 3:5
26. Leviticus 3:1-11
27. S Exodus 29:24,26; Leviticus 7:30-34
28. S Genesis 48:20; S Exodus 39:43; Numbers 6:23; Deuteronomy 21:5; Luke 24:50
29. S Exodus 40:2
30. S Exodus 24:16; ver 6
31. S Exodus 19:18; Judges 6:21; Judges 13:20; 2 Chronicles 7:1
32. 1 Kings 18:39

Footnotes 2

[a]. Or "purification offering" ; here and throughout this chapter
[b]. The Hebrew word can refer to either male or female; also in verses 18 and 19.

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.