EXPLORE THE TEXT

Offering Accepted (Leviticus 9:22-24)

Application Point:

Believers can respond to God’s forgiveness with worship.

22 Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them.
He came down after sacrificing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering.
23 Moses and Aaron then entered the tent of meeting.
When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
24 Fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar.
And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell facedown.

Key Truth

God’s holiness

This passage not only demonstrates God’s approval of the priesthood, but it also highlights His holiness.
This is true both in the awesome power of His glory (see v. 24)
and His affirmation of the blessing.
Holiness is the quality of being unique or set apart, and it serves as a unifying theme for Leviticus.
God can set apart people, places, and objects for His use.
In turn, these derive their holiness from Him.
But He is inherently holy because He is unique in every way.
He is matchless in attributes such as His supreme power, goodness and justice (moral purity), as well as His loving mercy.

Examine:

verses 22-24

22) Lifted up his hands:

Likely, a gesture of blessing the people, though raising hands also is commonly associated with prayer (Pss. 28:2; 141:2; Lam. 2:19; 3:41; 1 Tim. 2:8).

22) He came down:

Aaron’s coming down from the altar signifies that his work for the moment was done and that all the offerings had been made just as the Lord had commanded.
Since the altar was four and a half feet high (Ex. 27:1),
all the people who could see the altar would have watched the rituals.

23) Moses and Aaron then entered the tent of meeting:

Moses had been unable to enter the holy place after the cloud of God’s glory had filled the building (Ex. 40:35),
this would have been an enormous turn of events.

Scholars suggest that Aaron’s entry into the tabernacle with Moses affirmed his new role as high priest.
In the past, Moses had served as the primary mediator between the people and God.
Now, that responsibility was passing to Aaron.

23) The glory of the Lord appeared:

Here, God made Himself known at the nation’s initiation of the priesthood and the sacrificial system.
He approved both of the offerings that were presented and the men-especially Aaron-who were offering them.

24) Fire came down:

God’s glory appeared in fire as it had at Sinai (Ex. 19:18).

24) Shouted and fell facedown:

The people responded in worship with shouts and prostration.

• What is the significance of Aaron blessing the people?
• What did the presence of God’s glory indicate?
• What was the significance of fire? How did the people respond?

Discuss:

Highlight the role of Aaron in blessing the people and their response of worship toward God.

Ask:

• In what ways are you most likely to go through routines instead of worshiping sincerely? What can you do to avoid those spiritual traps? (PSG, p. 105)

Transition:

This was a key event in Israel’s history.
But, as often happened, it was followed up by an example of judgment.