Understanding the Book of Leviticus

LEVITICUS The Consecration of the Priesthood

Outline The Book of Leviticus LEVITICUS Basic Study Outline I. The laws of the sacrifices and offerings [Leviticus 1:1 - 7:38] II. The consecration of the priests [Leviticus 8:1 - 10:20] III. The consecration of the nation [Leviticus 11:1 - 27:34] We ll be here tonight The Consecration of the Priesthood

Priest, or Levite? The Book of Leviticus Understanding the difference between Levites and Priests Israel= the twelve sons of Jacob ( Israel [cp Gn 32:27-28]; Gn 29-30; 35:23-26): Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Dan Naphtali Gad Asher Issachar Zebulun Joseph Benjamin Levites = the sons of Levi [Numbers 3]: Observations: Every priest is a Levite; but not every Levite is a priest! The sons of Aaron are all priests (unless deformed) The High Priests are all taken from Aaron s first born (or at least from the oldest qualifying son) Gershon Kohath Merari Libni Shimei Mahli Mushi Amram Izehar Hebron Uzziel Aaron Moses Nadab Abihu Eleazar Ithamar High Priests Priests The Consecration of the Priesthood

Priest, or Levite? The Book of Leviticus Merarites: Levites Priests The tabernacle structure; the boards, bars pillars, sockets and all their utensils [Nm 3:35-37] Gershonites: The tabernacle itself; the coverings (tents), screens, hangings, and their cords [Nm 3:23-26] Moses, Aaron (& sons): Keeping charge of the sanctuary; to meet the needs of the children of Israel [Nm 3:38] N Kohathites: The tabernacle furnishings and utensils; the ark, table, lampstand, altars, utensils, veil [Nm 3:29-31] E The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Note the high level of preparationGod expects of His priests Several things needed in order to perform the priestly consecration: (1) Aaron and his sons (the priests, of course!), (2) The priestly garments (specifically made for them [Ex 28:1-43]), (3) The anointing oil (specifically made for this purpose [Ex 30:22-33]), (4) A bull (for a sin offering [Lev 4:1-12]), (5) Two rams (we ll learn their purposes later), (6) A basket of unleavened bread [Leviticus 8:1-2] In general, how prepared are we for what God has called us to be? Nadab and Abihu [Lev 10:1-3] participate in all of this ritual and then are not careful to glorify God in His holiness when they begin their holy ministry! The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Note the high level of preparationGod expects of His priests ...and the congregation was assembled... [8:3-4] - as noted in our previous study, this is notonly for Levites!! - Moses is carefullydoing as the Lord commanded him [4] Moses is a faithfulservant [cp Hb 3:2, 5] Moses is setting the example for the priests, acting as a type of interim priest until the Priesthood is officially established The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Note the high level of preparationGod expects of His priests ...and the congregation was assembled... [8:3-4] And Moses said to the congregation, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done. [8:5ff] - Moses is teaching both by word and by deed the Bible typically teaches us in two ways: command and example cp Luke s summary of this concept in Acts 1:1 here Moses will put into practice (giving example) what he learned to do from other texts (commands) [see Lev 1:2; 4:1; 7:37-38; etc] Of course, Moses himself is subject to the law once it is revealed! The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Note the high level of preparationGod expects of His priests ...and the congregation was assembled... [8:3-4] And Moses said to the congregation, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done. [8:5ff] Moses... washed (Aaron and his sons) with water... [8:6] - cleanliness is next to godliness [not a biblical proverb, but...] a need to keep the holy place clean and pure; sin contaminates consider the frequent mention of washings in the holy service: - Ex 19:10-11; 30:17-21; Eph 5:25-27; Titus 3:4-5; Heb 10:22; 1 Pet 3:21; etc The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Note the high level of preparationGod expects of His priests ...and the congregation was assembled... [8:3-4] And Moses said to the congregation, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done. [8:5ff] Moses... washed (Aaron and his sons) with water... [8:6] next, Moses dresses Aaron in the High Priest garments [8:7-9] Moses anoints the tabernacle and all that was in it [8:10-12] - this is done to consecrate them (make them holy, set apart) [11, 12] - cp the items consecrated: altar, utensils, basin, stand, Aaron! [11-12] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Note the high level of preparationGod expects of His priests ...and the congregation was assembled... [8:3-4] And Moses said to the congregation, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done. [8:5ff] Moses... washed (Aaron and his sons) with water... [8:6] next, Moses dresses Aaron in the High Priest garments [8:7-9] Moses anoints the tabernacle and all that was in it [8:10-12] The High Priest is an item of the tabernacle! He is not allowed a day off , even for a loved one who has died! [Lv 21:10-12] He is a true shadow of Jesus as our High Priest who ...always lives to make intercession [Heb 7:22-25] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Note the high level of preparationGod expects of His priests ...and the congregation was assembled... [8:3-4] And Moses said to the congregation, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done. [8:5ff] Moses... washed (Aaron and his sons) with water... [8:6] next, Moses dresses Aaron in the High Priest garments [8:7-9] Moses anoints the tabernacle and all that was in it [8:10-12] Moses then dresses Aaron s sons; they are not anointed [8:13] - note this specific distinction is given of the Christ [Hb 1:8-9 (Ps 45:6-7)] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Leviticus 8:14-32 -Sin offering, burnt offering, ram of ordination Then he brought the bull of the sin offering... [8:14-17] - Moses follows exactly the instructions from Leviticus 4:3-12 in this specific case Moses acts as High Priest; there isn t one yet the blood would be taken into the sanctuary, sprinkled on the veil and on the incense altar, as well as poured out at the base of the sacrificial altar [this is all written in a very abbreviated form here] everything except the blood and fat is burned outside the camp, just as expected for a High Priest s offering [Lv 4:11-12] This is yet another shadow of the High Priestly offering of Jesus as the Christ! [Heb 13:10-13] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Leviticus 8:14-32 -Sin offering, burnt offering, ram of ordination Then he brought the bull of the sin offering... [8:14-17] Then he presentedthe ram of the burnt offering... [8:18-21] - here we have corban again; this ram is a holocaust offering Moses here carefully follows all the instructions given in Lev 1:10-13 The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Leviticus 8:14-32 -Sin offering, burnt offering, ram of ordination Then he brought the bull of the sin offering... [8:14-17] Then he presentedthe ram of the burnt offering... [8:18-21] Then he presentedthe other ram...of ordination [8:22-30] - the term corban is used again; this ram is for consecration depending on your translation, ordination or consecration it is a specializedpeace offering (used only for priestly consecration) - Moses follows the instructions from Lev 3:6-11 and Lev 7:28-36: peace offerings require eating the meat in fellowship with God [note the instructions in 8:31-32] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Leviticus 8:14-32 -Sin offering, burnt offering, ram of ordination Then he brought the bull of the sin offering... [8:14-17] Then he presentedthe ram of the burnt offering... [8:18-21] Then he presentedthe other ram...of ordination [8:22-30] Notice the order of the offerings as they are presented in typical form here: The SIN offering is typically first: sin must be removed to approach God! Then a BURNT offering: a gift representing the offerer s complete devotion Finally, a PEACE offering: a gift requesting fellowshipwith or thanking God The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 The Ram of Ordination : a specialized Peace Offering First on Aaron as High Priest, then on his sons: - tip of right ear - tip of right thumb - tip of right toe This is a special offering, unique to the priestly consecration, though it follows the prescribed order of the peace offerings. In this special case, BEFORE Moses pours out the blood at the base of the altar (as would be the normal command) he takes some of it and places it in a special way on Aaron and on his sons It is possible that the ears, hands, and feet of the priests represent their hearing, doing, and going Oh, be careful little eyes what you see Basin of the ram s blood Priestly Images borrowed from: https://trivialcontemplations.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/leviticus-fields-beasts-and-fabrics-nothing-to-do-with-purity/ The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Leviticus 8:14-32 -Sin offering, burnt offering, ram of ordination Leviticus 8:33-36 - And you shall not go outside...for seven days... ...until the days of your ordination are completed [8:33] - the entire process would take seven days the priests would not be consecrated ( ordained ) until the process had been completed fully in compliance with God s instructions As has been done today... [34-35] - Moses would perform these same rites for them every day for seven days! (these are allthe various sacrifices; a thorough training for the priests) The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Leviticus 8:14-32 -Sin offering, burnt offering, ram of ordination Leviticus 8:33-36 - And you shall not go outside...for seven days... ...until the days of your ordination are completed [8:33] - the entire process would take seven days - if they do not finish the entire process (by leaving the court of the sanctuary, for example), they will die! [8:35] they must be sanctified (ordained, consecrated) if they are to enter the presence of God and perform the holy rites before Him! Are we allowing Him to sanctify us as we serve before Him? One day we will stand in His very presence! [Rm 12:1-2; 6:19, 22; Hb 12:14; 2 Pe 3:11; 2 Co 6:16-7:1] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Consecrating Aaron and His Sons Leviticus 8:1-36 Leviticus 8:1-13 - This is the thing that the LORD has commanded... Leviticus 8:14-32 -Sin offering, burnt offering, ram of ordination Leviticus 8:33-36 - And you shall not go outside...for seven days... ...until the days of your ordination are completed [8:33] - the entire process would take seven days - if they do not finish the entire process (by leaving the court of the sanctuary, for example), they will die! [8:35] - And Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD commanded by Moses [8:36; of course they did!]; this text is meant to show that they were duly ordained The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] - again there is a great amount of preparation needed: (1) For Aaron, a bull calf (sin offering) and a ram (burnt offering) (2) For the people: a male goat (sin offering [atypical]), a yearling calf and yearling lamb (burnt offerings), an ox and a ram (peace offerings), and a grain offering mixed with oil (cp Lev 2) [Leviticus 9:1-4] - the reason for this: ...today the LORD will appearto you [4-6] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] - the calf for the sin offering [8-11] it is quite typical that the sin offering should be first this offering follows exactly what is taught in Leviticus 4:3-12 the sons of Aaron (the regular priests) are also performing their part of the service now, tending to the blood and the altar [v9] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] - the calf for the sin offering [8-11] - then the ram for the burnt offering [12-14] it is quite typical that the burnt offering should be next this offering follows exactly what is taught in Leviticus 1:3-12 the sons of Aaron (the regular priests) perform their part of this service, tending to the animal s flesh, blood, and the altar [vv12-13] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] Aaron then handles the offerings for the people [9:15-21] - first, the male goat for the sin offering [15] it is typical that their sin offering should befirst the animal for this offering is atypical (typically a bullfor the whole congregation); even so, it is handled like the first one , which is to say it also follows Leviticus 4:13-21 [the typical rule for sin offerings] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] Aaron then handles the offerings for the people [9:15-21] - first, the male goat for the sin offering [15] - next, thecalf and the ram for a burnt offering [16] though two animals are used, the offering is otherwise typical, according to the rule [which is found in Leviticus 1:3-9, 10-13] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] Aaron then handles the offerings for the people [9:15-21] - first, the male goat for the sin offering [15] - next, thecalf and the ram for a burnt offering [16] - then, the grain offering [17] these always accompany burnt offerings (see Num 15:1-13), though not always specifically mentioned; their rule is found in Lev 2:1-3 The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] Aaron then handles the offerings for the people [9:15-21] - first, the male goat for the sin offering [15] - next, thecalf and the ram for a burnt offering [16] - then, the grain offering [17] - finally, the ox and the ram for a peace offering [18-21] these include wave offerings as food for the priests [Lev 7:28-36] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] Aaron then handles the offerings for the people [9:15-21] Aaron lifted up his hands...and blessed them... [9:22] - this priestlyblessingis likely the one found in Num 6:22-27: The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] Aaron then handles the offerings for the people [9:15-21] Aaron lifted up his hands...and blessed them... [9:22] Moses and Aaron enter the tabernacle together, then come out and bless the people [9:23; Moses lastact as priest ] - the first response of the LORD is that His Glory appears to all the people, just as He had promised! [cp 9:4, 6] The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] Aaron then handles the offerings for the people [9:15-21] Aaron lifted up his hands...and blessed them... [9:22] Moses and Aaron enter the tabernacle together, then come out and bless the people [9:23; Moses lastact as priest ] And fire came out from before the LORD... [9:24] - God s second response was to accept their offerings! The Consecration of the Priesthood

Aaron Begins his Priestly Duties Leviticus 9:1-24 Leviticus 9 - On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons... after a full week of practical instruction, Moses hands all the priestly service to Aaron; the elders and people watch [9:1-7] Aaron first offers the sacrifices for himself [9:8-14] Aaron then handles the offerings for the people [9:15-21] Aaron lifted up his hands...and blessed them... [9:22] Moses and Aaron enter the tabernacle together, then come out and bless the people [9:23; Moses lastact as priest ] And fire came out from before the LORD... [9:24] The people shouted and fell on their faces ; worshipis always the proper response when we are faced with the glory of God! The Consecration of the Priesthood

LEVITICUS You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy - Leviticus 19:2 Leviticus teaches us that God sanctifies His servants!