Leviticus 8; 9
Outline
8:1-5 | Preparation for ordination of Aaron & his sons
8:6-9 | Aaron & his sons are washed
8:10-13 | Moses anointed the tabernacle, the furniture,
Aaron & His sons, their garments
8:14-17 | Bull sacrifice – sin offering
8:18-21 | Ram sacrifice – burnt offering
8:22-29 | Ram sacrifice – ram of ordination
8:30 | Blood sprinkled on altar, Aaron & his sons, their garments
8:31-36 | Ordination meal
9:1-7 | Offering for the glory of the Lord to appear to the leaders
9:8-11 | Aaron offers the sacrifices
9:12-14 | Aaron sprinkles the blood around the altar
9:15-17 | People’s offering – sin offering
9:18-21 | People’s offering – peace offering
9:22-24 | Aaron blesses the people;
Moses & Aaron enter the tent of meeting;
the glory of the Lord appears and fire consumes the offerings
Reflections
The events in these two chapters takes place over the course of eight days during which Aaron and his sons—Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar—are consecrated or ordained as the priests for the nation.
Prior to serving they were washed and then new robes put on them signifying their new role as God’s priests to the people. Then a series of sacrifices were offered to atone for the sins of Aaron and his sons and to present them to the Lord for service, all done according to the directions given to the Lord initially in Exodus 29; 40.
At the same time Moses anointed the tabernacle and all its furnishings and utensils. In doing so Moses was sanctifying them, setting them apart, wholly dedicated to the services performed in the tabernacle. They were not to be used for any other uses.
On the 8th day after this ceremony, Moses instructed Aaron and his sons to offer sacrifices so that the glory of the Lord might appear and fill the tabernacle. This is a curious thing.
I did a search for the phrase “glory of the Lord” using the e-Sword software in the NASB text and found these results.
glory of the Lord — 37 verses, 38 matches
| Book | Verses | Matches | References | Event(s) or Circumstances |
| Exodus | 6 | 6 | 16:7, 10; 24:16-17; 40:34-35 | a) Provision of manna* b) Moses on Mt Sinai* c) Dedication of Tabernacle* |
| Leviticus | 2 | 2 | 9:6, 23 | Dedication of Tabernacle* |
| Numbers | 5 | 5 | 14:10, 21; 16:19, 42; 20:6 | a) Rebellion against God and Moses intercedes for the people* b) Korah’s rebellion* c) Death of Miriam* |
| 1 Kings | 1 | 1 | 8:11 | Dedication of Temple* |
| 2 Chronicles | 4 | 4 | 5:14; 7:1-3 | Dedication of Temple* |
| Psalms | 2 | 2 | 104:31; 138:5 | a) God’s care for His creation b) Kings will sing His praises |
| Isaiah | 4 | 4 | 35:2; 40:5; 58:8; 60:1 | a) Rejoicing at its revealing b) Will be revealed c) Will watch over the faithful d) Revealed through the Spirit |
| Ezekiel | 9 | 10 | 1:28; 3:12, 23; 10:4, 18; 11:23; 43:4-5; 44:4 | a) Ezekiel’s vision* b) Ezekiel is commissioned* c) Departing the Temple* d) Promises restoration* e & f) Ezekiel’s Temple* |
| Habakkuk | 1 | 1 | 2:14 | Earth is filled with knowledge of |
| Luke | 1 | 1 | 2:9 | Angel appears to Mary* |
| 2 Corinthians | 2 | 2 | 3:18; 8:19 | a) Christian are to reflect b) Shown in generosity |
“*“ indicates some kind of physical manifestation,
while the others are references to God’s might
Most of these references indicate some kind of physical manifestation of God’s presences was seen by those in eyeshot for the events. The references in Psalms, Isaiah, Habakkuk, and 2 Corinthians have more to do with God’s greatness being revealed through different events that would take place and not a physical manifestation of God’s presence.
The Habakkuk reference easily connects with what Paul was writing about in Romans 1-3. Paul is describing how all of creation is suffering under man’s sin and how God’s glory can be seen in creation if men and women would just look past the presuppositions of evolutionary science and look for His glory and handiwork. Habakkuk declares that the earth is full of the knowledge of God’s glory.
This is one of those things that we won’t really understand what exactly happens with the glory of the Lord appears, since it doesn’t seem to happen all that often, but I’m sure of one thing—we will know that it is the Lord. Jesus says that everyone will know when He returns. There will no longer be any doubt whether God is real; He’s NOT dead, as some would have you believe. Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons experienced this firsthand and yet Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, chose to not follow after God’s commands in the next chapter of Leviticus.
Leviticus_08-09_RL_ConsecrationOfAaronAndHisSons.pdf
