God draws nigh to those who draw nigh to Him in the appointed way – the offering of faith in His Son,
the Great Sacrifice being acceptable to Him.
Leviticus 1
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.
Leviticus 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Leviticus 9:1-21 – Aaron’s Offerings for Himself and the People
In the concluding verses of Leviticus 8 we read of Aaron and his sons feeding together on the flesh of the consecration-offering; and that for seven days, during which time they were not permitted to leave the Tabernacle—a striking figure of the present position of our Lord and His own, during this dispensation, shut in with God, and awaiting the manifestation of His glory.
May not this eighth day, on which the glory of the Lord appeared, be an emblem of that bright millennial morning when the congregation of Israel shall behold the true Priest issuing from the sanctuary, where He is now hidden from the eyes of men; and with Him, when He is manifested, we shall be manifested also, “the companions of His retirement, and the happy participators of His glory?” Oh, that none of us may miss that share in His epiphany, and that now our life may be hidden with Christ in glory! See Colossians 3:1-4. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Leviticus 9:22-24 – A Deed that Turned Joy into Grief
There was a double blessing. First, Aaron blessed the people when he stood against the altar, Leviticus 9:22, and afterward, when he came out of the Tabernacle, Leviticus 9:23. We find here the analogue of the double blessing which our Lord gives His own. When He came from offering His supreme sacrifice on Calvary, which was burned-offering, peace-offering, sin- and trespass-offerings combined, He blessed His own. We are told that as He blessed them He was borne upward to heaven, Luke 24:51; but we expect another blessing from Him, when He shall come forth out of the heavenly Temple and extend His hands in benediction, using perhaps the very words of the ancient benediction. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Leviticus 9:22 – Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them.
The eighth day is evidently the type of the bright millennial morning. During the present age we are hidden with Christ in God; the world knoweth us not, as it knew Him not; our hopes, and joys, and aims, are largely secret. But the day is not far distant when He shall be manifested, and then we shall be manifested with Him in glory. That group of priests, following the high priest out from the recesses of the Holy Place, is a picture of the Second Advent, when Christ and His own shall come forth to bless the world. When Jesus was parted in the Ascension from His disciples, He was in the act of blessing them; and in that attitude He will return. Who can doubt that all through the intervening ages those blessed hands have still been outstretched, that heart ever going forth, in blessing.
What a Savior is ours! In Him are combined meekness that bears all insult and hatred, and mercy that retaliates on wrong-doing in ministries of love. He fulfills his own idea of blessing those that hate, and praying for those that despitefully use. How truly can it be said of Him, as of Archbishop Ussher, that to do him a wrong is to make him your friend for ever!
Let us imitate Him in this, and let the going forth of our lives be one incessant stream of benediction to men, until they shall fall on their faces and acknowledge the overwhelming power of love. But in order to this we must be much in company with our blessed Lord; gazing on His face we shall reflect His likeness; the lineaments of the Divine beauty shall pass into our life, and light it up with a loveliness which is not of earth. Thus shall we bring glory to our God. —Our Daily Homily