Levítico 9
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
Levítico 9
Spurgeon - The men who shall stand as courtiers in the palace of the living God are not distinguished by race, but by character; they are not Jews only, nor Gentiles only, nor any one branch of mankind peculiarly, but a people purified and made meet to dwell in the holy hill of the Lord. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?" It is uphill work for the creature to reach the Creator. Where is the mighty climber who can scale the towering heights? Nor is it height alone; it is glory too. Whose eye shall see the King in his beauty and dwell in his palace? In heaven He reigns most gloriously, Who shall be permitted to enter into His royal presence? God has made all, but He will not save all; there is a chosen company who shall have the singular honor of dwelling with Him in His high abode. These choice spirits desire to commune with God, and their wish shall be granted them. The solemn enquiry of the text is repeated in another form. Who shall be able to "stand" or continue there? He casts away the wicked, who then can abide in his house? Who is he that can gaze upon the Holy One, and can abide in the blaze of His glory? Certainly none may venture to commune with God upon the footing of the law, but grace can make us meet to behold the vision of the divine presence. The question before us is one which all should ask for themselves, and none should be at ease till they have received an answer of peace. With careful self-examination let us enquire, "Lord, is it I." "He that has clean hands." Outward, practical holiness is a very precious mark of grace. To wash in water with Pilate is nothing, but to wash in innocence is all-important. It is to be feared that many professors have perverted the doctrine of justification by faith in such a way as to treat good works with contempt; if so, they will receive everlasting contempt at the last great day. It is vain to prate of inward experience unless the daily life is free from impurity, dishonesty, violence, and oppression. Those who draw near to God must have "clean hands." What monarch would have servants with filthy hands to wait at his table? They who were ceremonially unclean could not enter into the Lord's house which was made with hands, much less shall the morally defiled be allowed to enjoy spiritual fellowship with a holy God. If our hands are now unclean, let us wash them in Jesu's precious blood, and so let us pray unto God, lifting up pure hands. But "clean hands" would not suffice, unless they were connected with "a pure heart." True religion is heart-work. We may wash the outside of the cup and the platter as long as we please; but if the inward parts be filthy, we are filthy altogether in the sight of God, for our hearts are more truly ourselves than our hands are. We may lose our hands and yet live, but we could not lose our heart and still live; the very life of our being lies in the inner nature, and hence the imperative need of purity within. There must be a work of grace in the core of the heart as well as in the palm of the hand, or our religion is a delusion. May God grant that our inward powers may be cleansed by the sanctifying Spirit, so that we may love holiness and abhor all sin. The pure in heart shall see God, all others are but blind bats; stone-blindness in the eyes arises from stone in the heart. Dirt in the heart throws dust in the eyes. The soul must be delivered from delighting in the groveling toys of earth; the man who is born for heaven "hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity." All men have their joys, by which their souls are lifted up; the worldling lifts up his soul in carnal delights, which are mere empty vanities; but the saint loves more substantial things; like Jehoshaphat, he is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He who is content with the husks will be reckoned with the swine. If we suck our consolation from the breasts of the world, we prove ourselves to be its home-born children. Does the world satisfy thee? Then thou hast thy reward and thy portion in this life; make much of it, for thou shalt know no other joy. "Nor sworn deceitfully." The saints are men of honor still. The Christian man's word is his only oath; but that is as good as twenty oaths of other men. False speaking will shut any man out of heaven, for a liar shall not enter into God's house, whatever may be his professions or doings (Rev 21:27, 22:15). God will have nothing to do with liars, except to cast them into the lake of fire (cp the first, preeminent liar, the Devil - Jn 8:44, Rev 20:10). Every liar is a child of the Devil (1Jn 3:8-10), and will be sent home to his father. A false declaration, a fraudulent statement, a cooked account, a slander, a lie—all these may suit the assembly of the ungodly, but are detested among true saints: how could they have fellowship with the God of truth, if they did not hate every false way? (Treasury of David—Psalm 24)
Levítico 9
Spurgeon - He longed not so much to see the sanctuary as to see his God; he looked through the veil of ceremonies to the invisible One. Often had his heart been gladdened by communion with God in the outward ordinances, and for this great blessing he sighs again; as well he might, for it is the weightiest of all earth's sorrows for a Christian man to lose the conscious presence of his covenant God. He remembers and mentions the two attributes which had most impressed themselves upon his mind when he had been rapt in adoration in the holy place; upon these his mind had dwelt in the preceding Psalm, and the savor of that contemplation is evidently upon his heart when in the wilderness: these he desires to behold again in the place of his banishment. It is a precious thought that the divine power and glory are not confined in their manifestation to any places or localities; they are to be heard above the roaring of the sea, seen amid the glare of the tempest, felt in the forest and the prairie, and enjoyed wherever there is a heart that longs and thirsts to behold them. Our misery is that we thirst so little for these sublime things, and so much for the mocking trifles of time and sense. We are in very truth always in a weary land, for this is not our rest; and it is marvelous that believers do not more continuously thirst after their portion far beyond the river where they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; but shall see the face of their God, and his name shall be in their foreheads. David did not thirst for water or any earthly thing, but only for spiritual manifestations. The sight of God was enough for him, but nothing short of that would content him. How great a friend is he, the very sight of whom is consolation. Oh, my soul, imitate the psalmist, and let all thy desires ascend towards the highest good; longing here to see God, and having no higher joy even for eternity. (Amen) Glory (03519)(kabod) from the conveys the basic of that which is heavy or weighty, and which is most often used figuratively. In English we hear that someone's opinion "carries a lot of weight" which indicate that the person is important or influential. When we refer to someone as a "heavyweight," we mean that they possess power, prominence, or stature. Here we are speaking of course of God Who is "heavy," in the sense that He is powerful, and is worthy of honor, respect, and obedience. The Septuagint translates the Hebrew word kabod with doxa, which in simple terms means a proper opinion of something. So when we "glorify" God, we give a proper opinion of Who He is. In the present context, the visual manifestation of God is referred to as kabod (doxa) and gives the Israelites a proper opinion of Who God is. Merrill on the Hebrew word kabod - Most often, however, it is used to indicate God's manifest presence and power (e.g., "King of Glory" - Ps 24:7-10) and therefore is sometimes used as a synonym of the Hebrew term for holiness. Collins notes that Kabod Yahweh is a technical term and caution must be exercised in how much of the verb is read into it, and, in fact, it must be only the sense of "honorable" that is included (Collins, NIDOTTE, 2:584). It is first used with relation to God in Exod. 16. It is next used when Moses ascended Mount Sinai (Ex 24). Since "the glory of the LORD" refers primarily to the presence of God, which could be accompanied by visible manifestations, it is not surprising that it is often associated with fire (Ex 24:16-17) or at least with cloud or smoke (Ex 40:34; Isa 6:3-4). Perhaps unexpectedly, given the emphasis of Leviticus, the noun occurs only twice in the book, here and in Lev 9:23 (the verb form also appears in Lev 10:3). It occurs in this chapter detailing a historical event, the beginning of the priests' ministry. In a broader sense, the end of all the ritual was the proper worship of God but such external conformity did not ensure God's presence. It did, however, remove the obstacles of human sin that might prevent God's glory from being seen if He so chose to manifest His glory. Lev 9:23 is the only mention of the appearance of the glory of the LORD to the people between Exodus 40 (at the erection of the tabernacle) and Numbers 9 (which describes how the cloud moved with the tabernacle in the wilderness). Here the appearing of God's glory as it came out from within the tabernacle and consumed the burnt offering and fat portions signified God's acceptance of the worship of His people and the commitment to bless them as requested by Aaron and Moses. Lev 10:3 uses the Niphal or intensive stem of the verb form meaning "honored or glorified." Despite over 300 occurrences of the verb kabod and its derivatives in the OT, this is the only use in Leviticus of the verb with its meaning of glory or honor. This is unexpected since many occurrences of the manifestation of God's glory have to do with the tabernacle (e.g., Exod. 16:10; 40:34). But Leviticus focuses on the details of the sacrificial system and the separation that must be recognized between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean. It is only in the context of the historical narrative concerning the inauguration of the priestly ministry that in Leviticus. God's glory is manifested. God is the glorious one who is to be honored. His Son will also bear this glory as recorded in John 1:14, "we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (Ibid) Commanded you to do… LORD may appear - There is a simple but profound principle here - if we expect to experience the presence of the LORD (Coram Deo = Latin phrase for "in the presence of God" summarizing the idea of saints living in the presence of, under the authority of, and to the honor and glory of God) in our life, we need to obey what He commands. We need to confess when we sin. In fact, we need to confess daily (Why daily? Because in 1Jn 1:9-note "confess" is in the present tense which speaks of ongoing confession, not as ritual of course, but as prompted by the the Spirit Who convicts us of sin). There is a beautiful New Testament parallel… “He who has (present tense) My commandments and keeps (obeys - present tense - speaks of direction, not perfection for no man other than Jesus could obey God perfectly) them, he (ekeinos is emphatic = the idea is this one alone, he alone) it is who loves (present tense = continually, as his abiding attitudes and actions. Don't just say you love Him. Show it by obeying!) Me (Jn 14:15); and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose (emphanizo = literally make visible = not that we will literally see Jesus now but figuratively, of Jesus' self-revelation inwardly communicated and this in turn speaks of His Spirit Who indwells each believer. Is this promise somewhat "mystical?" To be sure, but it is still true!) Myself to him.” (John 14:21) Leviticus 9:7 Moses then said to Aaron, "Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as the LORD has commanded." Verse 7. Then Moses said to Aaron, Draw near to the altar and offer your sin-offering and your rededication-offering and make covering for yourself and for the people, and make the offering of the people and cover over them as Jehovah has commanded. Offer your sin offering: Lev 9:2 Lev 4:3,20 Lev 8:34 1Sa 3:14 Heb 5:3 7:27,28 9:7 offer: Lev 4:16-20 Heb 5:1 Leviticus 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries ATONEMENT FOR AARON THEN THE PEOPLE Moses then said to Aaron - Here we see the "baton" passed from Moses to Aaron, who thereafter would be the high priest for the people. Hyatt - Moses then commanded Aaron to proceed with the offerings in order to “make covering” for himself and for the people (concerning the significance of covering over them, see comments on Lev. 1:4 in MESSAGE 1 under the heading to cover over him). The words “and for the people” must refer to the covering that was to come from the offerings of the people, not from those of the priests. The sins of the priests did not make the people guilty (see comments on Lev. 4:3 in MESSAGE under the heading so as to harm the people), and the offerings of the priests did not provide covering for the people (refer again to comments on Lev. 1:4, as cited above”). They gained covering from their sins through offering their own offerings. Come near (07126)(qarab) means to draw near or approach, literally coming physically closer to the altar. See depiction of the Tent of Meeting - note the altar to which Moses refers is called "the brazen altar" in this diagram - Schematic Diagram of The Tabernacle. Moses' invitation for sinners to draw near through the atoning sacrifices is a clear foreshadowing of the once for all atoning sacrifice of our Great High Priest which beckons us now to draw near to God, doing so even with boldness and confidence have confessed and repented of our sins. The Septuagint supports this thought, for it uses the verb proserchomai to translate qarab. Proserchomai is used frequently in the book of Hebrews to speak of drawing near to God on the basis of the mediatorial, priestly work of the Son. For example, in Hebrews 4:16 the writer exhorts us "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16-note) As New Testament believers in Yeshua, we are encouraged to draw near because we have a High Priest, as the writer has just explained… Since then we have a Great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as [we are, yet] without sin. (Heb 4:14-15-note) Proserchomai is also used in Heb 10:22 again exhorting us to draw near because of the finished work of Christ, our High Priest Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since [we have] a Great Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [clean] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb 10:19-22-note) Bush - Go unto the altar and offer, &c. These further prescribed offerings, so immediately succeeding those which had been offered at the consecration, show very forcibly the consciousness which even the holiest and most accepted persons ought to entertain of their own sinfulness. Those who are holy by office are still to know and confess that they are sinners by nature, even as others. Baker observes that "The center of attention of this chapter is the altar, the focus of the rituals (Lev 9:7–14, 17–20) and the place of the fiery appearance of God himself (Lev 9:24). (Cornerstone Commentary) CLEAN PRIESTS THEN CLEAN PEOPLE Rooker comments on your (Aaron's) sin offering - The sin offering focuses again on the priests’ sinfulness, since this offering was not given for a specific sin according to the instructions of Leviticus 4 but for the general depravity of God’s servants. (Leviticus- An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture) Sin offering (02403)(chattat/chattath) is a main Hebrew word for sin but also is used as here for sin offering. In Ex 29:14 we see that chattat/chattath can refer not only to sin but also to the sin offering. This latter meaning takes on special significance in Leviticus 16 which describes in detail the annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), chattat is used 8 times to describe the sin offering (Lev 16:3, 5-6, 9, 11, 15,25, 27-note). How fascinating that the same word chattat describes not only the problem but also the remedy for the problem. Indeed, it was the blood of the sin offering that brought atonement (Lev 16:6,11,27-note)! Mounce writes that this "has profound implications for understanding Paul’s statement in 2Cor 5:21-note, that the One Who knew no sin was made sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Did Jesus become sin, or did He become a sin offering? Given Paul’s thorough acquaintance with the OT, perhaps both are implied." (Ed comment: See Ro 8:3-note = "in the likeness of sinful flesh and [as an offering] for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh") Burnt offering (05930)('olah from 'alah = to ascend and thus the picture of going up in smoke) refers to a whole burnt offering (one which goes up in smoke), which was voluntary, was understood as a sacrificial gift to God, resulting in a pleasing aroma acceptable to Jehovah (Lev 1:9). The presenter laid hands on the sacrifice which many feel signifies they saw the animal sacrifice as their substitute. The blood was sprinkled on the altar (Lev 1:6) When this offering was properly carried out (including a right heart attitude not just a "going through the motions," [which was not pleasing to God - Jer 6:20, Jer 7:21, 23, 24, see David - Ps 51:16-17-note] not just an external "work," but an internal submission and obedience to Jehovah), they made atonement and were acceptable before Jehovah. The total burning indicated (or should have indicated) total consecration of the presenter's heart and soul and life to Jehovah. Make atonement (forgive, appease) (03722)(kapar) means to make atonement, to make reconciliation (to reconcile), to purge, to make propitiation (to propitiate), to pacify, to cancel. There are two main ideas regarding the meaning of kapar - (1) Kapar means to cover over sin (2) A number of resources however favor the idea that kapar means to wipe away. Make atonement for yourself - Both high priest and people had to be atoned for in the Old Testament sacrificial system. Not even the officer who officiated at the altar was exempt. (See the contrast with our Great High Priest Christ Jesus in Heb 9:11-14-note) Aaron was a high priest but "he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself." (Heb 5:2-3-note) Jesus brings in a better priesthood than Aaron's, for Jesus was a "high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself." (Heb 7:26-27-note) "And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD." (Heb 10:11-12-note) John Butler - "The fact that they had to offer sacrifices for themselves shows the inferiority of the law to grace. Under grace Christ “needeth not … as those high priests [under the law], to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s” (Hebrews 7:27). Christ was sinless and needed no sacrifices for His sins." (Analytical Bible Expositor) POSB - God had promised to meet His people, to reveal Himself and give them a deep sense of His presence. But before God could reveal Himself, the people had to prepare to meet Him. God does not meet with a people until their hearts and lives are cleansed from sin. No person can experience the fulness of God's presence if there is sin in his life. God grants the fulness of God's presence only to those who are pure and clean, who have been forgiven their sins through the sacrificial substitute. The importance of being cleansed from sin is seen in this one fact: the priests had been offering sacrifice after sacrifice for seven full days during their ordination service. Yet here they were again on the very next day, during their very first worship service, being commanded to offer the substitute sacrifice for themselves. The sinfulness of man and the polluting, contaminating power of sin are seen in this command. The point is clear: the believer must walk in open confession before God. A continual cleansing from sin is needed, the cleansing that comes through the Lamb of God. Leviticus 9:8 So Aaron came near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself. Verses 8. And Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin-offering that was for himself. Lev 1:4,5 4:4,29 Leviticus 9 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE IRONY: OFFER A CALF (NOT A GOLDEN CALF!) So - This signifies immediate obedience to the instructions from Moses. No questions about why this way, why now, etc. Simple obedience, which is always the way to blessing and fulness of joy. Hyatt - Aaron officiated over the offering and killed the calf of the sin-offering. The next verse shows that he offered it in behalf of himself and his sons. The first offerings handled by the new priests were their own offerings. The chief reason was to set an example. As they offered their offerings, they showed that they believed in and were ready to practice the ceremonies they were leading the people to practice. However, they surely had a sincere need to offer a sin-offering. They too were sinners, and their offering showed that they repented of their sins. Though they had offered a sin-offering each day for seven days, new sins entered their lives daily; and anyone in the service of Jehovah needed to receive a new cleansing from sin each day. Aaron came near to the altar - He drew nigh to the structure which foreshadowed the great "altar" upon which the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29) would be sacrificed as the consummate sin offering. As noted from Lev 9:9, Aaron's sons were with him, but here they Bush- Aaron therefore went unto the altar. These being the first offerings that were ever offered by the Levitical priesthood, according to the newly enacted law of sacrifices, the manner of offering them is particularly related, that it might appear how exactly they agreed with the institution. Aaron was first required to make expiation for himself, that he might thereby be qualified to do it for the people. And slew the calf. This often implies no more than ordered, procured, or superintended the slaying. See Note on Lev. 1:5. But in the present instance it is not unreasonable to suppose that Aaron performed the slaughter in person. Slaughtered the calf - A graphic picture of the costliness of the payment for sin! What an incredible picture of the grace and forgiveness of our Holy God! Recall Aaron's "offering" of another "calf" - Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us a god (the people got out of Egypt but couldn't get Egypt out of their hearts! Are we ever like them? Do we hold on to a few trinkets from this fallen world? I am convicted once again as I write!) who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt (Wow! This is what opened the Red Sea? This is what slaughtered the first born of Egypt? etc, When a person is deceived, the truth is they really don't even realize they are deceived! Believers are not immune to the deceptiveness of sin - see discussion of Heb 3:13-note).” Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD (Talk about syncretistic confusion!).” (Ex 32:1-5) Comment: One wonders what went through the minds of the people who saw Aaron "offer" a golden calf not that long ago? Interesting! Slaughtered (07819)(shachat) means to slaughter, kill, slay and is used in both ancient and modern Hebrew. Swanson notes that shachat means "to take the life of a creature, implying the object being killed offers little or no resistance as in a battle or contest." Special uses of shachat refer to "beaten gold" in in 1Ki 10:16-17and 2Chr 9:15-16. Sin offering (02403)(chattat/chattath) is a main Hebrew word for sin but also is used as here for sin offering. (Lev 9:2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 15, 22) For himself - Aaron was a sinner and needed atonement. In offering this sacrifice for himself, he identified with the people. Pastors may be (should be - "by the will of God" - cp Paul's call 2Ti 1:1) called by God, but they are still sinners before God and in need of forgiveness as much as are those to whom they minister. Dear pastor/teacher, do you bring your daily "sin offering" to Jehovah, that you might minister to God's people with clean hands and a pure heart? Rooker adds that "As in all the various arenas of the service of God, those who are nearest to Him and carry the heaviest burden of spiritual responsibility are subject to the greatest temptations and may, more easily than others, bring dishonor to His name." (NAC) Warren