[Leviticus 9] Initiating the Glory: God instructs that the morning and evening sacrifices begin on the eighth day. Eight is a number of new beginnings. The morning and evening sacrifices were offered continually as an expression of the mercies of God that are new every morning. When the offerings were made, the glory of God came. God’s glory is His weightiness. In Leviticus 9, we see the transaction of faith, that once initiated, will bring the manifestation of the glory of God in your life.
[Lev 9:1-24 KJV] 1 And it came to pass on the eighth day, [that] Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; 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. 3 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. 5 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. 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. 8 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. 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. 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. 22 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.
Remember that numbers and dates recorded in the Bible are seldom random. If God emphasizes the number 8 or a date of the 8th on the calendar, there is significance there that we can discern by studying the number itself. The Hebrew glyph for 8 is a pictogram of a fence, which in this case, represents the enclosure of the Tabernacle where the sacrifice God is commanding Moses regarding will be carried out. The number eight is a number that denotes covenant and new beginnings. When God established His covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, He instructed Abram to lay out the pieces of the sacrifice in a figure eight. The number eight shows up in many places that speak to us of its significance.
There are eight planets in our solar system.
Eight is the atomic number of oxygen. The New Testament word for “spirit” is Pneuma, signifying the Spirit of God.
While the Bible has 40 authors, only 8 of them wrote the New Testament.
In New Testament times, there were 8 watches in a day, 4 in the night, and 4 in the day.
Jesus showed Himself alive 8 times after His resurrection.
God saved 8 people in the Ark, thus giving them and the world a new beginning.
Jesus’ name in Greek sums the number 888.
There were other offerings made previously, but in this chapter, we see a distinctly separate and emphasized sin offering along with a peace offering. Aaron is instructed by Moses to take a calf for a sin offering. Again we are reminded that Aaron’s name means light-bringer, and as such, he is a type of Christ who is our High Priest as the writer of Hebrews tells us.
[Heb 7:26 KJV] 26 For such an high priest became us, [who is] holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
As Aaron is a high priest to the Israelites in the wilderness according to a Levitical order, so he represents Christ as a High Priest to the community of redeemed people after the order of Melchizedek. Thus in this picture, Jesus is both the officiating Priest of the sacrifice and the sacrifice itself. This sacrifice then is a picture of Jesus laying down His own life.
[Jhn 10:18 KJV] 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Along with the sin offering, Aaron is instructed to make as well a peace offering right along with the sin offering. The reason for the sin offering and the peace offering was preparation for “today the Lord will appear unto you.” There are six verses in the New Testament that refer explicitly to the “appearing” of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is always moving toward us, desiring to appear to us. We see here that there is a connection with the sacrifice dealing with sin and the covenantal peace offering establishing connection that is for the purpose of bringing about the manifestation of His glory in our midst and the culmination of God’s plan for man in the coming of Christ. How does God move toward us? He moves toward us with His voice, with His heart, and in His person. He wants to be experienced; He wants us to experience Him. The appearance of the Lord was preceded by sacrifice because God wanted them to know first that He was holy but also that He made preparation for them to see Him and live. God wants us to anticipate and not fear His appearing. Only the shed blood of His chosen sacrifice can comfort us and render us secure before Him.
The appearing of God or the coming of Christ is a much-maligned teaching in the body of Christ. It is often scorned, made the punchline of pulpit jokes, etc., which is totally contrary to what the scriptures speak to us of God’s heart in this matter. God invites us in His word to love His appearing:
[2Ti 4:8 KJV] 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
There is much controversy surrounding the concept of the coming of the Lord. Very little is said today regarding the coming of the Lord as a cause for rejoicing and hope. We are not to scorn His appearing; we are to love and anticipate and long for His appearing. His appearing is referred to by Paul in the book of Titus as our “blessed hope.”
[Tit 2:13 KJV] 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
In verse 6, the mention is made again of the Lord coming to the people as the point of this particular sacrifice. They are commanded to obey the instruction regarding the sacrifice, “and the glory of the Lord shall appear to you.” Notice that the sacrifice had to be made before the glory of God would appear. This all foreshadows the work of Christ in redemption. Jesus, as our High Priest, made the sacrifice of Himself, making it possible not only that His glory would appear TO us but also to reside IN us. Paul declared in Colossians that this one fact was the crown jewel of everything he preached in his lifetime:
[Col 1:26-27 KJV] 26 [Even] the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
In v. 9, Aaron, in giving the sacrifice, dipped his finger in the blood of the sacrificial animal and put it on the horns that were fashioned on the altar. Horns in the Bible represent power – putting blood on the horns of the altar speaks of the power of the blood of Christ shed on our behalf. The remainder of the blood was poured out at the bottom of the altar. These two ways of handling the blood speak of the power of the blood in the heavens and the fullness of the blood poured out in behalf of mankind to deal with their sin and give them access to God’s presence. The remainder of the sacrifice, specifically the flesh and the hide, was then taken outside the camp and burned. This is a picture of Jesus’ physical body taken outside the city of Jerusalem and crucified.
In v. 17, we see that all of this took place on the morning of the 8th day. There were morning sacrifices and evening sacrifices. These were carried out every single day. These sacrifices are a continual reminder of the shed blood of Christ. They were the inspiration for Jeremiah to write:
[Lam 3:21-23 KJV] 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 [It is of] the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 [They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness.
We see then that the hide and the flesh of the offering were burned without the camp. The kidneys and the liver were burned on the altar, but separately. The blood was applied to the horns of the altar and poured out under the altar. In v. 21, we see that the breast and the shoulder (representing the heart of God and the government of God) were taken and literally held in the priest’s hands and waved toward heaven. The wave offering always consisted of the breast and the right shoulder. The breast speaks to us of the nurture and love of God. The shoulder is His government and His power to save and deliver. Every part of the sacrifice and all sacrifices were a continuous reminder of God’s character and love. We are to “bring Him to remembrance” of our own consciousness of the love of God and the power of God on a daily basis.
So the sin offering was made, and the wave offering, acknowledging the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and His love and His power. What next? Before God’s glory appears, Aaron turns in a final act and blesses the people. Then after the blessing, God’s glory appeared. God told Abraham he would not only be blessed but that he would “be a blessing.” (Gen. 12:3). We hear much about the glory of God, and we want to see the glory of God come, but don’t forget that just as important as the sacrifice that serves to bring the glory, we must also bless not just ourselves but also the people. Jesus is not only our High Priest, but He also calls us priests and kings unto God. Like Abraham, you have a commandment to bless and power to bless. So before the glory came, Aaron blessed the people. When Aaron blessed the people, the glory appeared. Do you want a manifestation of the glory of God in your life? Then bless the people. God told Abraham he would be blessed and that he would “be a blessing.” Go out and be a blessing. God turned the captivity of Job when he “prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10).
When the glory of God came, it consumed what was upon the altar. What was upon the altar? The sacrificial animal that represented Christ. That is all that God will accept. We don’t offer God our works or our good intentions. The only thing that brings the glory is the sacrifice of Christ that we accept by faith. Our faith in the sacrifice of Christ, acknowledging it on a continual basis, brings the glory of God into manifestation in our lives.
