OVERVIEW:
Restating of the sacrifices in a new order and with an additional offering; Aaron and his sons consecrated for and instituted in service to God.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
We can be certain that our omniscient God doesn’t suffer from short-term memory loss. When God repeats Himself, start digging because you’re standing on buried treasure! In chapters 6 and 7, God repeats the discussion concerning the sacrifices/offerings that He just talked about in chapters 1–5. But notice something interesting in these two chapters. The offerings/sacrifices are listed in the following order: burnt, meat, peace, sin, and trespass. This order shows God’s transcendence toward man through the person of Jesus Christ: Jesus voluntarily offered (burnt offering) His sinless life (meat offering) to reconcile (peace offering) God and man by atoning for man’s sin (sin and trespass offerings).
As the sacrifices are listed again, in chapters 6 and 7, notice that this time they are listed in a new order, and with the addition of another sacrifice: burnt, meat, priest’s (new), sin, trespass and peace. The addition of this new sacrifice, and in this new order, reveals that man’s ascension toward God is only through Jesus Christ, the great High Priest. It is no accident that the priest’s offering serves as a bridge between the burnt and meat offerings, and the sin and trespass offerings, because the Bible teaches us that, “…there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all…” (1st Timothy 2:5-6a) Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only bridge to God!
Notice also that the last offering listed in this new order is the peace offering, teaching us that peace is the result of our Lord Jesus Christ standing in the gap between God and man. Romans 5:1 teaches us that, “…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” and Ephesians 2:14 says, “For he (Christ) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (sin!) between us“.
Then, also notice, that the fire of the altar was forbidden to go out. Chapter 6 and verse 13 says: “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” This signifies that because of Christ’s sacrifice for us, our God is always ready, willing, and waiting for us to enter into His presence. Psalm 86:5 declares, “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” Let’s join Paul, in 2nd Corinthians 9:15 in declaring, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” Amen!
Once the path to God has been established and clearly marked (chapters 1–7), God prepares His children for consecration to His service and to experience His glorious presence. Chapters 8 and 9 show us the consecration of the priests in preparation for God’s glorious presence.
Be aware of several other key things we glean from the book of Leviticus:
First: “all priests are Levites, but not all Levites are priests.” You may need to read that again to get your head wrapped around it! Only Aaron’s sons could become priests. In other words, you had to be born a priest. This pictures the New Testament truth that only those who have been born-again into the family of the great High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, can serve and worship God as priests. (2nd Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6)
Secondly: only the high priest wears the “holy crown” (Leviticus 8:9), teaching us that there is only one High Priest who is also a King, our Lord Jesus Christ, and only He holds the place of preeminence, both in the universe and in our lives. (Colossians 1:18)
Thirdly: when Aaron and his sons were consecrated for service to God, blood was placed upon their right ear lobes, right thumbs, and right toes, symbolizing that all of their strength (denoted by the right side) was devoted to hearing and obeying God’s HOLY WORD, carrying out God’s HOLY WORK and continuing in a HOLY WALK. That threefold devotion is what our Lord also desires of us as New Testament priests! (Colossians 1:10)
Lastly: in chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, Aaron makes atonement for himself and the people as a prerequisite to God’s glory descending upon the tabernacle, picturing the fact that atonement necessarily precedes God’s presence. Unless we are in a right relationship with God, completely consecrated to Him, we will never experience the glory of His presence in our lives. (Leviticus 9:24)
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
As our MEDIATOR and HIGH PRIEST who intercedes before God on our behalf –Leviticus 9:7–24 (1st Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:22–26)