Leviticus Chapter 9
Aaron and his sons had just spent an entire week being consecrated (set apart) for service as priests to the Lord. Now on this eighth day they will once again offer sacrifice for their own sins in front of the whole congregation of Israel, and they will offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. On the first day of priestly responsibilities of offering sacrifices for the people, something remarkable was about to occur. The glory of the Lord showed up in a fearsome way.
We might think how could there possibly have been more sins to be confessed by Aaron and his sons when they had spent an entire week confessing and consecrating themselves to the Lord. But humans are sinners, that is our nature. We fail God every single day. This illustrates our own need to bring our confessions of sin to the Lord daily. And we have the assurance that He will forgive us for each and every shortcoming.
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Let's Reflect
1. You may be like me and have difficulty remembering what each of the different sacrifices were for. That doesn’t mean we should excuse ourselves from reading this portion of scripture. What we need to lean into is the mercy of God. None of us deserve the forgiveness of God. And yet here we find Aaron being forgiven, the man who constructed a golden calf for the Israelites to worship. And God still guided this man to be the spiritual leader that He saw Aaron to be since the beginning. What did God promise would happen once they offered these sacrifices?
2. Aaron was instructed to first offer sacrifices for his own sins and then he would be ready to offer sacrifices for whom?
3. According to verse 15 what type of sacrifice was first offered for the people when Aaron sacrificed a goat and grain offering?
4. After that first offering and then the peace offering, what did Aaron do when he raised his arms up?
5. What appeared before all the people of Israel to see?
6. What happened to the offering that would have normally been left to slowly burn?
7. How did the people respond?
Devotionals
