Sermon # 24
Leviticus Sermons
Title: “On
The Eighth Day”
Text: Leviticus
9:1-10:7
Subject: Aaron,
His Sacrifices, and His Acceptance
Date: Sunday
Morning – January 13, 2002
Tape # W-79a
Reading: Psalm
67:1-7 & Hebrews 4:14-5:10
Introduction:
Try to imagine the
unimaginable. Suppose the Lord God in one swift burst of wrath and justice took
two of your sons (not rebel sons, but good, loyal, obedient sons) to hell
today; and then commanded you not to weep, or mourn, or show any indication of
sorrow for them.
Are you thinking –
“Impossible! God would never do such a thing. No one could be expected to
endure such a thing.” But that is exactly what happened to Aaron in Leviticus
10.
The text for my message
today is Leviticus 9:1-10:7. Before I am done I will show you why God killed
Aaron’s sons (Nadab and Abihu); and I hope you will see why those two young men
had to die and why Aaron could not weep for them.
You will recall that at the
end of chapter 8 God commanded Aaron and his sons to abide in the tabernacle
for seven days, until the days of their consecration were fulfilled. Chapter 9
begins “on the eighth day.”
(Lev
9:1) "And it came to pass on the
eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of
Israel."
The priests were now made perfect. The days of their consecration were ended. They were accepted as the priests of the Most High God. Being made perfect ceremonially, they could entered into the holy place before the holy Lord God as representatives of the people. As such, these priests are pictures of our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ who, when he was made perfect (complete), entered into heaven for us.
(Heb
5:9) "And being made perfect, he
became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
(Heb 9:12) "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
Moses,
Aaron’s four sons and the elders of Israel were special witnesses of these
things. They declared to the people that they may now approach the altar of God
with confidence of acceptance, because for Aaron is fully consecrated -- “made
perfect.”
In much
the same way witnesses of Christ’s completeness, perfection and acceptance as
our Great High Priest assure us of his acceptance with God. They proclaim, “Being
made perfect he has become the author of eternal salvation unto all men that
obey him” (Heb. 5:9). The Father bears witness of his acceptance.
·
At
His Baptism
·
On
the Holy Mount
·
By
His Resurrection
·
By
His Ascension and Exaltation
And, on
earth, saved sinners bear witness that we have seen and felt the power of his
priesthood. We have taken their sins to him, and received atonement from him.
Proposition: As Israel was assured of
acceptance at the altar of God because Aaron was accepted, so sinners coming to
God by Christ are assured of acceptance because Christ is accepted.
Divisions: Just keep your Bible
opened to Leviticus 9 and follow me through this chapter. I want to call your
attention to five things set before us in this passage. May God the Holy Spirit
who gave us this picture teach us its meaning.
1.
The
Sacrifices Presented (9:2-6)
2.
The
Sinless Priest (9:7-14)
3.
The
Sanctified People (9:15-21)
4.
The
Satisfaction Portrayed (9:22-24)
5.
The
Solemn Picture (10:1-7)
I. The Sacrifices Presented (9:2-6)
As you read this passage, you cannot avoid seeing how that in all things, while Aaron was a picture of Christ, great care was taken that the people understood that he was nothing more. – Everything about him and his work declared plainly that there must arise another, greater High Priest than Aaron, with a greater sacrifice than his.
A. Aaron’s Offering
Neither Aaron nor his sons
could approach God without a sacrifice, the very sacrifice God required. – If
we would draw near to and be accepted of God, we must have the Sacrifice he
requires, -- the blood of his own dear Son.
(Lev
9:2) "And he said unto Aaron, Take
thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without
blemish, and offer them before the LORD."
Aaron was himself a sinner. As such, he had to bring a sin
offering for himself. In doing
so, he was, like John the Baptist, “the voice of one crying” at the
altar, -- “Prepare the way of the Lord! I am not the Christ. There is One
coming after me who is preferred before me, One mightier than I, the latchet of
whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose! One who shall not need
daily, as I do, ‘to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for
the people’s’ (Heb. 7:27). -- That coming One is holy, harmless, undefiled,
and separate from sinners. He has know sin and needs no sacrifice for sin. He
shall be the Sacrifice!”
Perhaps there is another
picture here. – As Aaron first had to make atonement for his own sins (Lev. 16:11),
so the Lord Jesus Christ, our great Substitute, when he was made to be sin for
us, so thoroughly took our place and so completely took our sins as his own
that when he made atonement for us by the sacrifice of himself, he made
atonement for our sins which were made to be his own sins.
(Psa
40:12) "For innumerable evils have
compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not
able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart
faileth me."
(Psa
69:5) "O God, thou knowest my
foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee."
B. The People’s
Sacrifices
(Lev
9:3-4) "And unto the children of
Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering;
and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a
burnt offering; (4) Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to
sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the
LORD will appear unto you."
The people had to bring all
the offerings required in the law, except the trespass offering. They diod not
have to bring that on this occasion because they had not yet trespassed the
holy things in the worship of the Lord (Lev. 5:15).
1.
First
and foremost is the sin offering, “a kid of the goats,” bearing all
their sin and guilt by imputation.
2.
They
also brought a twofold burnt offering, “a calf and a lamb, both of the first
year and without blemish,” to show their faith in Christ, represented in
both the sin offering and the burnt offering.
3.
Next,
the peace-offering, in its fullest form was brought, “a bullock and a ram,”
portraying the complete peace bestowed and reconciliation to God by the
sacrifice of Christ, the sin offering and the burnt offering.
4.
Last,
they brought “the meat offering, mingled with oil,” by which they
declared their own consecration to God by blood atonement and holy anointing.
Now, look at the promise given at the end of verse 4. “For
today the Lord will appear unto
you!” – God’s way to us and our way to him is exactly the same. We
come to him by the blood of Christ; and he comes to us by the blood! It is as
if Moses had said, “Come to
God with the blood that has been shed for you this day; and the invisible God,
whom no man hath seen nor can see, will this day shall the Lord appear unto
you!” – Blessed good news for sinners who know themselves far off from God!
C. Standing Before the
Lord
(Lev
9:5-6) "And they brought that which
Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the
congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. (6) And Moses said,
This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the
glory of the LORD shall appear unto you."
Now watch this. -- The
congregation gathered in front of the tabernacle, with their offerings, and “stood
before the Lord.” Then Moses
said to them, “This thing which the Lord commanded you to do, do (see the
original), and in so doing, expect that the glory of the Lord shall appear unto
you!”
In
verse 4 we saw that the Lord appears as our God, reconciled and gracious, when
we come to him trusting Christ. Here he tells us to expect it! Yes, believing
sinners have every reason to expect God to appear to them and for them as they
come to him by faith in Christ. – I call you this day to come to God by
faith in his Son, declaring that he will be found of all who so seek him. Come
to God trusting Christ and expect him to be gracious to you. That is not
presumption, but faith!
II. The Sinless Priest (9:7-14)
Aaron is again presented to
us as one who needs atonement, always reminding those even in the earliest days
of Judaism that he was but a type of him that was to come.
(Lev
9:7) "And Moses said unto Aaron,
Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make
an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the
people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded."
(Lev
9:8-14) "Aaron therefore went unto
the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
(9) And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his
finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured
out the blood at the bottom of the altar: (10) But the fat, and the
kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the
altar; as the LORD commanded Moses. (11) And the flesh and the hide he
burnt with fire without the camp. (12) And he slew the burnt offering;
and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about
upon the altar. (13) And they presented the burnt offering unto him,
with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.
(14) And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon
the burnt offering on the altar."
Behold, a greater than Aaron
is here!
-- He who is our Great High Priest before God must be without sin. Therefore
Aaron first makes atonement for himself, then for the people. The Lord Jesus
Christ is an effectual High Priest because he is a sinless, everlasting High
Priest.
(Heb
7:24-28) "But this man, because
he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. (25) Wherefore he
is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them. (26) For such an high priest
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and
made higher than the heavens; (27) Who needeth not daily, as those high
priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the
people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. (28) For the
law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath,
which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for
evermore."
III. The Sanctified People (9:15-21)
Here is Aaron representing
the people of Israel, bring their sacrifices to God, sacrifices by which they
were sanctified and accepted as God’s holy ones.
(Lev
9:15-21) "And he brought the
people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the
people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first. (16) And he
brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner. (17) And
he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon
the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning. (18) He slew also
the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was
for the people: and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he
sprinkled upon the altar round about, (19) And the fat of the bullock
and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the
kidneys, and the caul above the liver: (20) And they put the fat
upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar: (21) And the
breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before
the LORD; as Moses commanded."
We have seen these
sacrifices and their significance before. In short, they speak of complete
reconciliation and devotion to God by blood atonement. But, let’s look at the
sin offering and the language used in verse 15 closely.
(Lev
9:15) "And he brought the people's
offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people,
and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first."
The
language used here is remarkable and instructive. The words “offered it for
sin” might be better translated, “sinned it,” or, “He made it sin.” The sin
offering was that offering that distinctly had sin imputed to it. The idea
seems to be that Aaron put the sins of the people on this innocent victim until
he made it to be the whole mass of their sins. The victim was made to be the
sinner and made to receive and bear all the penalty their sins deserved.
I
have no doubt at all that this is precisely what both Isaiah and Paul had in
their minds as they declared to us the great work of Christ upon the cross,
when he was made to be sin for us.
(Isa
53:4-6) "Surely he hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted. (5) But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon
him; and with his stripes we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all."
(Isa
53:10) "Yet it pleased the LORD to
bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an
offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand."
(2
Cor 5:21) "For he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him."
Our
great Sin-offering, the Lord Jesus Christ, when slain for us, was treated as if
he were the very reservoir of sin. All the curse that we deserved, the curse
that flows in countless floods of wrath over man fell on him, and fell on him
all at once! Thus, the Father made him to be sin for us and made him to be the
curse for us!
Aaron presented the people
and God accepted them for his sake. -- Our Lord Jesus Christ has presented us, and God
accepts us for his sake! In him sinners who deserve his wrath are restored and
brought into fellowship with God in perfect reconciliation! By all these
things, we are told two great things.
1.
“There
is forgiveness with thee!”
2.
“Without
shedding of blood is no remission!”
Now, look at verses 22-24
and behold…
IV. The Satisfaction Portrayed.
Here’s the result of it all.
– Mercy and truth are met together! Righteousness and peace have kissed each
other! Justice is satisfied! Sin is pardoned! All God’s wrath is clean gone
forever!
(Lev
9:22-24) "And Aaron lifted up his
hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the
sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. (23) And Moses
and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and
blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.
(24) And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the
altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw,
they shouted, and fell on their faces."
A.
Aaron came down from the place of sacrifice, and lifted up his hands,
hands that were that day made wet with blood, and blessed the people for whom
sacrifice had been made.
Turn with me to Luke 24, and let’s see if we can find the fulfillment of this.
(Luke
24:50-53) "And he led them out as
far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. (51) And
it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up
into heaven. (52) And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem
with great joy: (53) And were continually in the temple, praising and
blessing God. Amen."
B.
Then, Aaron and Moses went back into the tabernacle.
(Heb
9:11-12) "But Christ being come an
high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; (12) Neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
(Heb 9:24) "For Christ is not entered into the
holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:"
C.
Next, late in the evening of the 8th day, Aaron and Moses
came out and blessed the people.
(Heb
9:26-28) "For then must he often
have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (27) And
as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (28) So
Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for
him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
D.
“And the glory of the Lord
appeared!”
E.
When the glory of the Lord appeared, fire came out from the Lord and
consumed the sacrifice. – “Our God is a consuming fire!”
·
Either
the Sinner,
·
Or
the Sin-offering!
·
Satisfaction
Made!
F.
When the people saw this, they shouted and fell on their faces.
(Rev
19:1-6) "And after these things I
heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and
glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: (2) For true and
righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which
did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his
servants at her hand. (3) And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke
rose up for ever and ever. (4) And the four and twenty elders and the
four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen;
Alleluia. (5) And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our
God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. (6) And
I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth."
Read the first seven verses of chapter 10 and pay close attention to…
V. The Solemn Picture.
This is what I want you to see.
You cannot come to God in any other way, upon any other grounds. If you offer
the strange fire of another sacrifice, the Lord God will destroy you with that
same fire of strict justice that consumed his Son at Calvary.
(Lev
10:1-7) "And Nadab and Abihu, the
sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put
incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded
them not. (2) And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them,
and they died before the LORD. (3) Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is
it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh
me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
(4) And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of
Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the
sanctuary out of the camp. (5) So they went near, and carried them in
their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. (6) And Moses said unto
Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads,
neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the
people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning
which the LORD hath kindled. (7) And ye shall not go out from the door
of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of
the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses."
Application:
Come to God. Come now to
God, by the merits of Christ, by the merit of his blood, trusting this Great
High Priest.
(Heb
4:16) "Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need."
(Heb
7:25) "Wherefore he is able also
to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them."
(1
John 2:1-2) "My little children,
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world."
This great, glorious High
Priest will…
·
Perfect
that which concerns us!
·
Put
the bread on the golden table, that we may never want better angel’s food.
·
Pour
in daily the olive oil, that the lamps of his golden candlesticks may never be
dim in this dark, gloomy world.
·
Present
his incense with every prayer of ours, with every groan, with every sigh of
broken, contrite sinners pouring out their hearts to him!
·
And
soon, very soon, he will come forth again, perhaps before any of us sleep with
our fathers! He will come forth to bless us, and to receive the shout of
multitudes of adoring saved sinners, confessing that he is Lord alone!
(Rev
4:10-11) "The four and twenty
elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth
for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, (11) Thou
art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
(Rev
5:9-14) "And they sung a new song,
saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation; (10) And hast made us unto our God
kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. (11) And I beheld,
and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and
the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands; (12) Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honour, and glory, and blessing. (13) And every creature which is in heaven,
and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that
are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto
him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (14) And
the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and
worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever."
Amen.