Leviticus 9 - Guidelines for Worship

Chapter 9 is a milestone in the book of Leviticus. This chapter represents the inaugural episode of worship for the Israelites. Up to this point the sacrificial system had not been implemented. The first several chapters of the book supply the facts and need for certain types of sacrifices, all of which will be mentioned here in this chapter. Significantly though, the process had started with chapter 8 which laid out for us the consecration and ordination of the priests. In the end of that chapter we read “Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord had commanded through Moses” (8:36). We find here in the first verse of chapter 9 a mention of the eighth day (9:1). In 8:33 the Lord had commanded the priests not “go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled.” It is the very next day that we pick up our reading – now that the priests had been ordained corporate worship was to occur.

This brings us to perhaps the main theme of the chapter – worship. As we look at the entire chapter, remembering that this is the very first time the people had ever done this, we have laid out before us the Lord’s desired pattern for worship. This was how He wanted it done until the new covenant was ushered in, following the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Commentator Allen P. Ross, in his book Holiness to the Lord, summarized this idea well when he said that “this section records how the divinely instituted sacrificial worship was supposed to be carried out so that it would be blessed by God. In this premier service the culmination came in the appearance of the glory of the LORD in the sanctuary.” (pp. 218-219) Ross leads us to our next thought at the end that quote leading us all the way to verse 24 of chapter 9 where we read in the first part of the verse “then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar.” If the Lord had not been pleased with the sacrifice or had the children of Israel done it in a disobedient way, then the Lord would not have responded as He did.

As we start to explore this idea of worship we must observe, and make application in our lives today, that this is something that has always been an act of obedience. Think back to chapter 8 with the ordination of the priests and all the specifics that were to be done there. Obedience was key. It would then behoove us to take note and be instructed by the obedience of Aaron and the people now. Starting with verse 5 we see that the people went and retrieved the necessary items (which they had been told to get) and then in verse 8 we watch as Aaron walks in obedience before the Lord in offering up the sacrifices. When the people came to the courts of the Lord they had to do it properly. There was a time of intense preparation here and it all had to be done decently and in order. The question then arises: why did they have to do this decently and in order and be so exacting? The answer is found in a conditional promise in verses four and six – so that the LORD (and in verse six, the glory of the LORD) would appear. The people were going to know the presence of the Lord! Again, Ross: “if God did not make his presence known, worship was merely an empty ritual and would not last.” (ibid. p. 221) Could we not make similar conclusions and observations for our own lives today?

We say that we so desperately want to meet with the Lord on Sunday and to experience his divine presence amongst us as we corporately worship Him, yet can we really expect so great a joy if we are walking in disobedience? Can we expect these magnificent results if we have not methodically prepared ourselves as we have been instructed like as the children of Israel did before us in the manner in which they were instructed?

Note the order of the sacrifices laid out for us in chapter 9. To the priests first, instruction was given to make first a sin offering (or offering of purification) and then a burnt offering (v 2). We then see the people instructed to bring the necessary items for a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a peace offering (vv. 3-4). The priests then offered their sacrifices to atone for their own sins. We must pause here and reflect upon this for a moment.

The order was significant, yes. Notice that the sin offering was to be first. If we go back to chapter 4 we notice that the sin offering was for sins that were unintentional (4:2). This is instructive in and of itself. It reminds us of Job who said in Job 1:5 “when the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually” (emphasis mine). Sins that are not overtly known, that is the idea here. Then, once those have been taken care of there was to be a burnt offering. Again, we can look to the previous pages of the book to find instruction, specifically in chapter 1 where we read that the purpose of this was “to make atonement on his behalf” (v 4). The idea here is known sin. The same can be said of the offering of the people starting in 9:15, but the point here is that the priests had to offer up these offerings before they could offer up the offerings of the people.

It is a wonder that many pastors in the pulpits and many people in the churches expect that they will be able to intercede for others and to help them along spiritually when personal sins have not been dealt with.

I dare say that if the priests had not made purification for their own sins and had tried to make offerings for the people that they would have been struck dead. In fact, we will see a story of something very similar to this in chapter 10 with Nadab and Abihu – though with them it was not because they didn’t make atonement for their sin.

God is jealous for His worship. Jesus said to the woman at the well that “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Part of that truth is confession of sin. We are instructed to bring our sin before the Lord just as the children of Israel were. In 1 John we read that if we say we have no sin we are lying but that if we confess it there is forgiveness (paraphrase of 1 John 1:8-9). Elsewhere in passages such as Matthew 6 with the disciple’s prayer we see the Lord showing them in this model that one of the things they should pray for is forgiveness of sin (Matt 6:12).

Praise be to God that we no longer are required to abide by the Law for means of atonement because “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb 10:4). We have a more sure promise, Christ. “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified . . . now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin” (Heb 10:14, 18).

When these sacrifices in Leviticus 9 were offered and intercession was offered (cf. 9:22-23) an amazing thing took place. In verse 24 we read that “fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering . . .” God’s presence was with them. Ross made an apropos comment concerning this whole idea. “On the basis of the direct revelation in Lev. 9, people knew that the sanctuary was God’s dwelling place among them. Without this truth the Book of Leviticus loses its meaning (Ross p. 227).”

As we come before the Lord for the purpose of worship let us come with a repentant heart, acknowledging our sin before the Lord. Let us strive to know His commandments so that we may be obedient before Him in worship, for this is well-pleasing to Him. Then will we meet with the Lord. Then will we behold Him in His glory. And, then will we shout and fall on our faces (cf. Leviticus 9:24b).

“Lord, You are majestic and full of glory. Perfection is a thing that we strive for but will never attain, but it is what You are. You are holy and set apart from all sin. You are the God of love and have always delighted to dwell among Your people. Help us to realize that You still delight to dwell among Your people and that You still are jealous of our worship just as You were back in the days of Israel when You gave them these words. May we strive to know You, and may You open our eyes and grant us wisdom to see clearly what You require of us today. Do not grant us wisdom alone, but empower us to make the choice to be obedient in this area even if it means change and raised eyebrows. We care nothing of the thoughts of others, only that You would be pleased with us and that we would love You more.”

Leviticus 8

This chapter begins and ends with the speech of God. This has been noted in other places so it will not be necessary to rehearse the full implications and power of His spoken word, yet we must focus in on at least one aspect of the result of God’s speech, and that is obedience.

Not only does Leviticus 8 begin and end with the speech of God but nine other times it is mentioned directly (vv. 4, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, 34, and 35) and one time indirectly (in verse 31 when Moses tells Aaron and his sons to obey what he (that is, Moses) had commanded them, but even this is sandwiched in statements of the Lord’s imperatives). So, in all, 11, possibly 12 times we have reference to the speech of the Lord in 36 verses! That is almost one out of every three verses! It could have been said one time throughout the chapter that all of this was a command of the Lord and that would have been sufficient. Usually when the Scriptures reiterate something, it is not just for the sake of, to fill up space, but there is a definite purpose – an emphasis, to make a certain point. So, what is that point?

Chapter 8 deals with worship, and specifically, those who are to lead in worship, Aaron and his sons (the Levites). We see the first command given in verses 2 and 3 where we read “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” One of the first observations that we could make is that it is somewhat obvious what is about to occur – Aaron and his sons were to be anointed with oil, that is to say, set apart or consecrated for their service to the Lord. Without jumping ahead too much, one must wonder at the fact that God did not just give the list of necessary items and say “okay, go for it!” Hopefully a thought like that would make one cringe, for we know that is not how the Lord has chosen to reveal Himself through the Scriptures. God doesn’t leave us wondering, especially when it comes to the area of worship. There are areas in our lives today where we cannot look to a single solitary imperative (as we wish we could) that says “thou shalt do such and such,” or “thou shalt not do such and such,” but we see here that God was (and may I submit, still is) very particular about our worship of Him. Notice secondly the location of this service of dedication and consecration. This was to take place at the tent of meeting, or the tabernacle. In this particular time, when God was working with His people in a way far different from today, the tabernacle was where God dwelt with His people. The Israelites did not have the Holy Spirit tabernacling within them permanently as we do today. Thus it is significant that it would be here. Also, the tabernacle was not only the place where God came and dwelt among the people, but also it was where the people worshipped. This draws our attention to another fact, namely that this service of consecration was not a private one. Notice that verse 3 indicates an assembly of the entire congregation of Israel. When a man today is called of the Lord to preach the Word and to enter into that particular service he is ordained in the sight of God and before the people of the church. The analogy breaks down here because the people of Israel did not have a say in the matter, whereas today the congregation would agree or not that the hand of the Lord is on this person (though it does seem pretty obvious here that the hand of the Lord was involved with the consecration of Aaron and his sons).

Following this first command we see obedience – “so Moses did just as the Lord commanded him” (v 4). Obedience is key. Not only do we see that the order to follow is of the Lord but that everything that was done was in obedience. It is almost two sides of the same coin here. On the one hand we see the Lord commanding, showing that it is not up to man how we conduct ourselves before the Lord in worship (which is an extremely important principle), yet on the other hand we see that Moses did all these things, just as the Lord had commanded him – obedience. The two are inseparable. Now it becomes easy to note the following: in each of the sections of this chapter (each one dealing with certain aspects – i.e. the dressing of the men, the slaughter of the animals, the anointing with oil, etc.) we see a series of events described in great detail. We must remember that these things are not just happening as the events happened to unfold. At the end of each of the aforementioned sections we are reminded that it was the Lord who specifically ordered these events.

Take the first section for instance, in verses 6-9. Do you think that Moses just decided that Aaron and his sons needed a bath? Or what about the order of their clothing? They quite possibly could have put it on a different way. The point here is that the Lord even had words to say about how they prepared themselves for the anointing!

What do we learn from this (and all the other sections in this chapter)? That the Lord is particular about His worship and that we must obey down to the last detail, as much as has been revealed and commanded of us – there is no option!

“Lord, you are great God, and greatly to be praised. You are jealous about Your worship and command us, Your servants, to worship You in spirit and in truth. We confess to You that we do not fully know how to worship You in this way. In some ways we would love to have a manual of explicit detail like the one here which You gave to Your people so long ago, but we do not have such an item. Yet Lord, You have given us the Word of Life, and in it are principles to live by and principles about You and Your magnificent character. Open the eyes of our understanding so that our lives would be more pleasing to You in every aspect!”

Leviticus 6:8-7:38

In this passage of Scripture the focus shifts to the priest and the offering. How should the priest come to the altar? What should he wear? How does one dispose of the ashes that would necessarily accrue after a number of sacrifices? What does a priest do if, in the process of slaughtering an animal for sacrifice, blood is splashed on his garment? If you are burning the carcasses of animals on the altar how do you ensure that they are completely burned up? What are the rules concerning the fires on the altar? If the priests are doing all this work, when do they get to eat? What do they get to eat? These and even more questions are answered in great detail in this passage.

First, let us notice the authority behind these commands. In 6:8 we read that “the LORD spoke to Moses.” This is significant and has far reaching implications; however, the thing that we want to focus on now is the word ‘spoke.’ God’s speech is an interesting thing in Scripture. With His speech all the world that we now dwell in and enjoy came about. With His speech came man from the dust He had created. With His speech was the world to be declared good and likewise, with His speech was the world to be declared cursed. A covenant that would span the epochs of time was made and has been kept by His Word. With the speech of God did the Roman mob fall down to the ground when confronting Jesus (cf. John 18:6). The redemptive act on the cross was declared to be completed by three words (cf. John 19:30), and by His speech we have hope of His return (cf. Revelation 22:12). The point of all this is that God’s speech carries with it tremendous authority and all that He says we should do. We need no logic or any such thing to justify obedience to God’s commandments. We see hints of it here in this passage and then elsewhere that there were certain animals that were unclean. Why were they unclean? For no other reason than that God declared them to be. Some would argue that the animals on the unclean list (i.e. with split hooves) actually pose health problems. There could be some veracity to that, but the question should then be asked, why is it then that in the book of Acts 10:11-16 these animals that were once unclean are now clean? Did they change? No! The only answer is that it is God’s speech that makes a thing so. This concept is so very important as we look into this passage concerning the sacrifice.

Secondly, we notice that the altar is a sacred and holy place. This is made evident to us by the commands given to the priests concerning their clothes. We see two simple things here concerning this. One is the idea of modesty. In verse 10 of Lev. 6 we read that he is “to put on undergarments next to his flesh.” What would be the result of disobedience to this command? Exodus 28:42-43 answers this question and states “you shall make for them linen breeches to cover their bare flesh; they shall reach from the loins even to the thighs. They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur guilt and die.” There is much that could be said about modesty, but suffice it to say that from this verse it is abundantly clear that this issue is important to the Lord. I have found myself thinking ‘what does the Lord care, He created us and knows us inside and out?’ We are not talking about immodesty from a sensual standpoint in worship for these priests were only with men in this part of the tabernacle and, in addition to that, they were wearing long robes – but the Lord would be able to see and did not want to! Modesty is important, not just before others, but before the Lord and most especially in worship. The idea of their clothing brings us to the second idea which is that even their garments were sanctified for worship that is, set apart. When it came time to take the ashes of the burnt offering outside to the designated area the clothing that he was wearing was to be shed and others were to be donned (cf. 6:11)

Next, we see the manner and nature of the sacrifice. This was to be done completely. The fire was never to go out on the altar so that all of the animal would be consumed. Specific instructions were laid out concerning what parts of the animal should be offered like what to do with the fat and refuse and other such things. We even see here what to do concerning the grain offerings. God leaves no question in the mind of the readers how He wants even this offering accomplished, down to the detail of how stirred up the mixture should be (cf. 6:21; 7:12)!

Then our attention is drawn to the priests and their food and sustenance. They were able to eat things that were left over and other parts of the animal that the Lord did not require for sacrifice. Yet, even limitations were put on them. They could not eat the blood (cf. 7:26-27), on some animals, the fat was forbidden (cf. 7:23-24). Even the means of cooking their meat was laid out for them in 7:9 – oven, pan, or griddle.

There is more that could be described, however, one last thing will be drawn to our attention today, and that is at the end of chapter 7, verses 37-38, particularly in the first part of verse 38 where we read, “which the LORD commanded Moses at Mount Sinai in the day that He commanded the sons of Israel to present their offerings to the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai.” This is significant for the reason that we find the time frame in which this was all given, ‘in the day.’ Sometimes we start something without all the details that we need and will try and figure all those out later as time permits, but this is not how the Lord operates. We must understand as we are reading this that the people had not yet started the sacrifices. God spared no details, as is evident from above, for He wanted it done correctly the first time. Many applications could be derived from this for today but time does not permit. One thing to think about though – how do we worship the Lord today? Do we just go and do what we have always done, and then when we run into a problem at that time try and figure it out. We do not live under the Mosaic Law and the Levitical sacrificial customs but our God has not changed in His character. He still has high standards for our worship of Him and we must diligently seek to know and understand them if we are to worship Him in truth.

“Lord, You are the God of detail and perfection. All that is good and holy is from You. Everything that I need in the world today to live and to live acceptably before you has been given to me in Your Word. I have seen that Your Word is powerful, specific, and binding. Cause me to walk in obedience before You today, out of love and out of a sincere desire to please you!”

Leviticus 6:1-7

The law for guilt offerings was laid out for the reader in chapter 5. What is so very interesting here, in this section, is that the process is clarified. Chapter 5 talked of what specific animals were to be used for the guilt offerings, preferably a female goat or female lamb (5:6), but if the person could not afford that, then he could bring either two turtledoves or two young (look into the significance of young here (rather than a more mature one, and for that matter, why isn’t young a qualifier for the turtledove?)) pigeons (5:7); and, furthermore, if he couldn’t even afford that then he was to bring flour as an offering (5:11). It seems that the above mentioned sacrifices were for a specific category of unintentional sin (see verses 5:1-4).

Then if the sin was unintentional but was against the Lord’s holy things then the sacrifice was a ram without defect (5:15). Furthermore, any other unintentional sin, it seems, (that didn’t otherwise fall into the category of the verse 1-4) must also be atoned for by means of a ram.

What is interesting to note (which will lead to the verses for today) is that starting back with 5:5, then 5:16, and 5:17 there is something more than just the sacrifice mentioned – guilt and consequences. In 5:5 acknowledgment is made of sin – how could a person come to seek forgiveness (in the OT this process was accomplished by obedience in bringing a sacrifice and today I can go directly to the throne of God (cf. Heb 4:16)) if he did not first acknowledge his sin? I could stop and meditate on this for quite some time. How often have I found myself going through the motions of prayer, and possibly even asking forgiveness without truly agreeing with the Lord about my sin? Then in 5:16 the notable phrase “he shall make restitution for that which he has sinned against the holy thing, and shall add to it a fifth part.” Though this part of the law is coming later, (the restitution of goods plus the addition of goods because of the sin) the point here is that part of coming before the Lord to confess sin is making that sin right. It is only after the person has done this that the priest offers up the sacrifice! Without trying to allegorize it, and without having studied out the ministry of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ the Righteous who has passed into the heavens and even makes intercession on our behalf according to the will of the Father, could it be that there is some application to the believer today? We know that the sacrifices which the Lord is looking for are a broken spirit and a contrite heart (cf. Psalm 51:17) yet are these even possible without first agreeing with God regarding our sin (that it is a grievous thing to Him) and doing what we can to make it right? Only then can these acceptable sacrifices be offered. Then we come to verse 17 of chapter 5 which carries with it the same idea, with perhaps further ramifications: “though he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment.” The idea here is much the same as in 5:5, and 16 but could carry with it the idea that just because you have made things right, acknowledged your sin and brought your offering does not guarantee the removal of consequences that your sinful action has brought about. Are you forgiven? Absolutely, however, depending on the nature of the sin, those consequences could haunt a person for the rest of their life!

Enter Leviticus 6:1-7. This now takes little space, for the foundational principles were laid out above. Here, the ideas from the preceding chapter are spelled out with detailed (though arguably non-exhaustively) examples. Verses 2-5 talk of specific sins and the idea behind all of them, in view of the upcoming sacrifice for the sin, is restitution. Restitution is key – the idea of payment, or rather repayment with additional funds (pay what you took plus . . .). Only then can verses 6-7 happen; he brings his sacrifice to the priest and the priest shall make atonement for him.

What an exhausting process! Sin is a nasty thing with terrible consequences, but there is hope. At the end of 6:7 we find this glorious ray of light: “he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt.” In light of this gem we are reminded of the wonderful forgiving nature of our compassionate God as detailed in Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Our loving Father is not looking to beat us over the head with our sin. He will not keep bringing it up. However, in light of these Scriptures, it is probably safe to say that if we come and ask for forgiveness and have not followed these guidelines (confession and restitution) then we don’t have the assurance of Psalm 103:12.

“Lord, search my heart. You know my very frame. You alone know what so easily besets me. What evil lurks in the dark recesses of my heart is known fully by You. May You find within me humility, genuine confession, and repentance. No matter the cost, strengthen me to walk uprightly before you and have a conscience void of offense before You and before men. Thank you for the shed blood of the perfect sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ, through whom I have eternal life!”