Leviticus 10 (Part 6)

Leviticus 10 A. Leviticus sets forth the laws that governed the priesthood which sprang from Levi. B. Leviticus was Israel's order of divine service. HEB 9:1. C. Among other things, Leviticus provides us with principles and patterns of service to God, and is therefore profitable and educational. HEB 8:4-5; 2TI 3:16; ROM 15:4. 1. Baptized believers are a holy, royal priesthood of God's spiritual house, the church. 1PE 2:5, 9 c/w 1TI 3:15. 2. There is a limited correspondence between O.T. priests and N.T. ministers of Jesus Christ. 1CO 9:13-14. 3. N.T. priests function under the authority of Christ, Whose priesthood is superior to Levi. HEB 7:11. 4. Be mindful that we are N.T. priests governed by a body of law that transcends and abolishes the O.T. 2CO 3:13; EPH 2:15; HEB 7:12. 5. Whatever may be seen in Leviticus is subject to the superior N.T. revelation of Christ. 2PE 1:19; HEB 9:15-17. D. In preview, this chapter shows us (among other things): 1. God will be approached on His terms only. 2. the Lord will judge His people. 3. divine offices of appointment do not excuse sin by the officers. 4. obedience trumps sacrifice. 5. love of family must be subordinate to the love of God. 6. alcohol and ministry are a bad cocktail. 7. the Lord is tender and merciful. E. It will be helpful to remember the basic layout of the tabernacle (HEB 9:1-5) and that the layout and service of the tabernacle was a pattern of heavenly things. HEB 8:5. vs. 1-2. A. The priesthood belonged exclusively to Aaron and his posterity. EXO 29:9; NUM 3:10. B. Nadab and Abihu were Aaron's eldest sons (NUM 3:2-4) who were very recently consecrated to the priesthood (LEV 8). 1. Their family and official primacy did not insulate them against judgment for their sin. 2. They are part of a list of firsts that became lasts: Adam, Ishmael, Esau, Saul, natural Israel, etc. 3. The N.T. priesthood of believers is warned about the conditional nature of their inheritance. 1CO 5:9-13; ROM 11:22; REV 2:5. 4. N.T. ministers may through sin lose their inheritance and their office. TIT 1:7 c/w LUK 16:2; 1CO 9:27; ACT 1:20, 25. C. Nadab and Abihu attempted an unauthorized form of worship. It didn't take these freshly minted priests long to cease from “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught...” (TIT 1:9). 1. The phrase, “before the LORD” denotes worshipful approach to / appearance before God. EXO 23:17; 27:21. a. God must be worshipped in spirit and truth. JOH 4:23-24. b. God must be worshipped according to His order. 1CH 15:13; 1CO 11:1-2. c. Emphasizing judgment, mercy and faith does not excuse keeping the letter of God's law. MAT 23:23; 5:19. 2. They offered strange (foreign, alien) fire which he commanded them not. c/w EXO 30:7-9. Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 1a. The keeping of God's commandments requires no deviations from them. DEU 4:2. b. Therefore where God specifies the details of a thing, capricious deviations from the details constitute the breaking of a commandment. c. This principle invalidates and condemns will worship or the traditions of men which are strange or foreign elements that add to or diminish from God's specified order. MAR 7:13; COL 2:22-23. (1) Obedience trumps sacrifice. 1SAM 15:22; PRO 21:3. (2) The form is abominable without the godliness. EZE 8:11-12; 9:6. (3) False worship will sacrifice anything but its own ideas and sin. d. “Every part of the religion of God is Divine. He alone knew what he designed by its rites and ceremonies, for that which they prefigured - the whole economy of redemption by Christ - was conceived in his own mind, and was out of the reach of human wisdom and conjecture. He therefore who altered any part of this representative system, who omitted or added any thing, assumed a prerogative which belonged to God alone, and was certainly guilty of a very high offense against the wisdom, justice, and righteousness of his Maker. This appears to have been the sin of Nadab and Abihu, and this at once shows the reason why they were so severely punished. The most awful judgments are threatened against those who either add to, or take away from, the declarations of God.” (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible) 3. Heretofore, only Aaron had been authorized to burn incense before the LORD. EXO 30:7. a. This implied an intrusion into a restricted office. c/w 2CH 26:18. b. Willingness, diligence and opportunity did not justify them. c. Neither did the fact that they were in agreement. PRO 11:21. c. “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully” (2TI 2:5). d. How many men arrogate to themselves the peculiarities of the office of our High Priest Jesus Christ or presume to approach the Creator other than through Christ? JOH 10:1; 14:6. 4. The timing was wrong. a. Scripture speaks of “...the time of incense” (LUK 1:10). b. This incense was evidently not that which was to accompany the morning and evening sacrifice (EXO 29:38-39; 30:7-9 c/w LEV 9:17), nor that which was to be burned on the Day of Atonement. LEV 16:12-13. c. What Nadab and Abihu did here took place after the offerings that were made in LEV 9 but before the priests had partaken of the same. LEV 10:12-18. (1) Their addition implied that something else was needed between the sacrifice and the partaking of its benefits. Mind how this theme is substantially the same as the soteriology of Arminianism, Calvinism, Catholicism and Judaism. (2) The picture of Christ that God had designed was corrupted by Nadab and Abihu's insertion of their works! (3) How many people believe that Jesus Christ's partaking of the benefits of the sacrifice of Himself is denied him because of the lack of sinful man's input? AA. Some deny that He obtained eternal redemption for all that the Father had given Him to save. But see JOH 6:37-40; HEB 9:12. BB. Some say that He grieves over His sacrifice because of the lack of the sinner's input. But see ISA 53:11. Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 2CC. Some say that the lack of man's obedience has denied Christ David's throne which He was promised. But see ACT 2:29-36; REV 3:7. d. Under the N.T., we are not bound by calendar or clock rituals, but there is a sense in which timing is important as touching our divine service. (1) When it's time for church assembly, that's where we ought to be. (2) The time for the Lord's Supper is NOT the time for a carnal feast. 1CO 11:20-22. 5. Incense is associated with prayer. PSA 141:2 c/w REV 5:8; 8:3. a. Self-willed prayers, like Nadab and Abihu's incense, may well meet with judgment. PSA 78:29-31. b. Prayers offered according to God's will are blessed. 1JO 5:14-15. D. Nadab and Abihu “...died before the LORD” (v. 2). 1. This is the lot of the enemies of Christ: those who do not through Christ live in holiness and righteousness before the Lord will die in shame before the Lord. LUK 19:27. a. The promise to Abraham included holy, righteous living before God. LUK 1:74-75. b. God's election unto Christ's atoning blood alone provides this. EPH 1:3-7. 2. Relative to the tabernacle service, “before the LORD” may refer to: a. the immediate presence of God over the mercy seat in the holiest of all. EXO 16:33 c/w HEB 9:4. b. the holy place. LEV 16:12. c. the court before the sanctuary (holy place). LEV 1:5; 10:4. 3. Though the high priest alone had access to the holiest place to be before the Lord, yet others in their more distant service must deem themselves before the Lord. a. The doorkeeper was before the Lord and accordingly was blessed. PSA 84:10. b. The least esteemed in the church are before the Lord as much as are the highly esteemed. 1CO 6:4 c/w 1TH 5:12-13. c. Relief of the needy is before the Lord though it be done at home. 1TI 5:4; JAM 1:27. d. Our service in the church on earth is as much before the Lord as is the service of the church in heaven because of Christ's atonement. HEB 10:19-22; 12:22-24. E. “And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them...” (v. 2). 1. Their bodies were not consumed. vs. 4-5. 2. God is able to burn but not consume to get our attention. EXO 3:2-4. 3. God is also able to burn and consume which should really get our attention. 2KI 1:10. 4. Presumptuous sinners may expect “...a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries” (HEB 10:27). 5. An account like this one should get our attention, it happening so early in the history of the O.T. church. a. The account of Ananias and Sapphira toying with God in offerings should similarly get our attention. ACT 5:1-11. b. The account of the Corinthian church's toying with the service of Jesus Christ should also get our attention. 1CO 11:28-30. 6. “...let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire” (HEB 12:28-29). v. 3. A. Moses' words to Aaron began, “This is that the LORD spake...” 1. That which God has spoken is in all things for our comfort. ROM 15:4; 1TH 4:18. Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 32. For the humble heart, even difficult reminders of the will of God should be a comfort. 3. We do well to not argue with God but humbly submit to what He said should befall us. 1SAM 3:18; ISA 39:8. B. “...I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me...” c/w ISA 8:13. 1. Sanctification may refer to: a. being set apart religiously for an office or function. b. making a person holy, purified or freed from sin. c. consecrating a thing by setting it apart as holy or sacred. d. honoured as holy; having holiness ascribed to. 2. They had been sanctified (set apart religiously for an office or function) by God and were expected to approach him in kind. EXO 29:44 c/w EXO 19:22. 3. Drawing nigh unto God is preceded by submission to Him. JAM 4:7-8. 4. God is thus sanctified by our faith and obedience. NUM 20:12-13; ISA 5:16. a. The elect are sanctified by Christ and are therefore to sanctify themselves. HEB 10:10; 13:12 c/w 1TH 4:3-4. b. Ministers who are sanctified by ordination must be sanctified by separation from heresies and dishonour. 2TI 2:16-21. 5. Sanctifying God must begin in the heart. 1PE 3:15. 6. N.T. priests may thank Jesus Christ for being able to draw nigh to God in service in spite of their inadequacies. a. At Sinai, only the mediator and high priest could draw intimately nigh to God. EXO 19:21-24. b. In the tabernacle, only the high priest could draw intimately nigh to God on one day each year. HEB 9:7. c. Our Mediator and High Priest has opened up a way for us to draw intimately and continually nigh to God in a heavenly mount and tabernacle. HEB 7:19; 8:2; 10:19-22; 12:18-24. d. “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,” (HEB 2:11). 7. If God be not sanctified in His people's faith and obedience, He will be sanctified through His judgments. 1SAM 6:19-20; ACT 5:1-11. C. “...And Aaron held his peace.” c/w PSA 39:2, 9. 1. “...O man, who art thou that repliest against God?...” (ROM 9:20). 2. Aaron recognized that Moses had not killed the servants of the Lord. ct/w NUM 16:41. a. It is a common copout to blame ministerial leadership for troubles that disobedient men bring upon themselves. 1KI 18:17; 2KI 6:31; 2CO 6:12. b. “Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted” (PSA 107:17). 3. Aaron was not as Eli who honoured his sons above God. 1SAM 2:29. a. Israel had a law which required the family of an enticer to idolatry to be the first to stone him or her. DEU 13:6-11. b. The terms of discipleship to Christ forbid us from showing partiality to family before God. MAT 10:37. vs. 4-5. A. Their priestly garments did not protect them but rather became their body bags. B. The external trappings of religion without the substance avail nothing. ISA 1:11-15. 1. Circumcision avails nothing in justification (GAL 5:2-3) and is counted uncircumcision Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 4because of transgression. ROM 2:25. 2. Works without faith are as dead as faith without works. HEB 11:4 c/w 1JO 3:12. C. As the body of sacrificial beasts were disposed of without the camp (HEB 13:11), so the bodies of these men who were offered upon the altar of divine justice were carried out for disposal. vs. 6-7. A. Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar were forbidden to leave their duty to bury their dead or participate in the common mourning, “...lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people.” c/w JOS 22:20. B. Soon after this a law was given which regulated inferior priests' and the high priest's involvement in rites of mourning. LEV 21:1-11. C. For this situation neither the high priest nor the inferior priests were to bewail God's burning. 1. They were not to uncover their heads. c/w EXO 29:6-9; LEV 21:5. 2. They were not to rend their clothes. c/w GEN 37:34. 3. They were not to leave the door of the tabernacle. c/w LEV 21:12. 4. The anointing oil of the LORD was upon them. EXO 30:30. D. This all may remind us that: 1. discipleship to Jesus Christ can require duty to overrule family and heart. LUK 9:59-60. 2. as N.T. priests, death of loved ones should not mean the same thing to us as it does to others. 1TH 4:13. 3. we dare not let God's judgments against those closest to us cause us to react in such a way as to call His judgments into question and so create trouble for other brethren. JOS 7:10. 4. as they were not to uncover their heads, neither should we in distress dishonour our submission to the headship of Christ. 1CO 11:3-5. 5. as they were not to rend their clothes, neither should we rend our garment of Christ when His judgments affect us. ROM 13:14. 6. as they were not to leave the door of the tabernacle, neither should we abandon the place of our worship when things go against us. HEB 10:25, 34-35; 12:16; LUK 9:62. 7. as long as we have the anointing oil of God's spirit (ISA 61:1 c/w LUK 4:18-19; ACT 10:38), we have a place and a duty (1JO 2:19-28). But woe betide the man that grieves or quenches the spirit! Compare “....lest ye die” with ROM 8:13. 8. our High Priest does not abandon His tabernacle or office to mourn the judgment of His sons. HEB 10:26-30; 2CO 2:15-16. E. “...And they did according to the word of Moses” (v. 7). 1. The consequences of not doing the word of Moses were painfully clear to them. 2. They did not reject their family member's words from God because he was of their family. 3. They were as the Thessalonian believers. 1TH 2:13. vs. 8-11. A. As God spake directly to Job after Elihu (JOB 38:1), He here speaks directly to Aaron after Moses. 1. It is a great comfort to faithful ministers when the Lord backs them up. MAT 17:5; ACT 13:45-49. 2. By God speaking directly to Aaron, this warning could certainly not be construed as the uncharitable surmising of an over-righteous brother. c/w MAT 13:57. 3. NOTE: The N.T. differs from the O.T. in that God has spoken unto us by His Son. HEB 1:1-2. a. The Son is God (HEB 1:8) and therefore God has spoken to us more directly. b. As such, we are under weightier responsibility than O.T. saints in many respects. Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 5HEB 2:1-3; 12:24-25; 10:28-29. B. Nadab and Abihu had exercised very poor judgment in their offering of strange fire. 1. They died because of a lack of discernment. c/w 1CO 11:29. 2. It was therefore appropriate to warn the priests about mingling the judgment-impairing properties of wine and strong drink with the solemn duties of the house of God. c/w EZE 44:21. 3. Isaiah reproved the priests for such. ISA 28:7. C. Scripture takes particular notice of the impairing properties of intoxicants. PRO 20:1; 23:29-32. 1. Excess drink (EPH 5:18) breaks down inhibitions and causes one to do what he otherwise would restrain himself from doing. PRO 23:33; HAB 2:15. 2. Excess drink destabilizes and numbs the nervous system out of its natural power to hinder us from hurtful actions. PRO 23:34-35. 3. Of special concern for the priests was the fact that they were responsible for the law's utility in Israel. a. They were the ordained teachers of the law. DEU 33:8-11; MAL 2:7. b. They were also involved in the application of the law as judges. DEU 17:8-9; 18:16-17; 21:5. c. Express warning is given to those who are in such authority to not let their judgment be clouded by wine or strong drink. PRO 31:4-5; ISA 5:22-23; ISA 28:7. d. N.T. ministers are similarly instructed to not be given to wine but rather to be sober. TIT 1:7-9. e. N.T. saints in general are to be defined by sobriety lest they invite God's judgment for the lack of their own good judgment. 1TH 5:5-8; LUK 21:34; 1PE 4:7. f. The spirit of a sound mind (2TI 1:7) is needed for sound judgment, not one clouded by drink. 4. Wine and strong drink are Christian liberties, even as they were liberties under the Law. DEU 14:26; EPH 5:18. a. Mind that all Christian liberties are governed by the greater laws of Christ. GAL 5:13; ROM 14:21; 1CO 6:12. b. Licitus perimus omnes – These lawful things undo us. 5. Unlike John the Baptist to whom wine or strong drink were forbidden, Jesus Christ drank and so was falsely accused of being a winebibber. LUK 1:15 c/w MAT 11:18-19. a. By Paul's instruction in 1CO 11, the fruit of the vine that pertains to the Lord's Supper was an intoxicant. 1CO 11:1-2, 20-25. b. As Aaron the high priest was not to drink wine in the earthly tabernacle, so Christ will refrain from wine until He exits the heavenly tabernacle. LUK 22:18. vs. 12-15. A. These verses show that the work of the Lord's house must go on in spite of affliction or loss. ACT 5:12-14; HEB 10:33-35. 1. Jonah's duty remained after his chastening. JON 3:1-2. 2. Timothy's afflictions were to be endured as part of his ministry. 2TI 4:5. B. Instruction is here given to the remaining priests to partake of their portion of the meat offering and the peace offering (the latter involving the wave breast and heave shoulder). 1. God's provision for His ministers by congregational sacrifices here corresponds with N.T. saints supporting their ministers. 1CO 9:7-14 c/w HEB 13:16; PHIL 4:18. Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 6a. In bringing his sacrifice to God's altar, the O.T. worshipper was offering “...unto the LORD...” (LEV 2:1), “...before the LORD, before his altar” (LEV 6:14). b. Those priests “...which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar” (1CO 9:13). Both the altar and the ministers were God's receivers. 2. Mind that these offerings set forth sacrifice and benefit. 3. For the priests to not partake of the benefits of sacrifice would have been disobedience and a callous indifference to what was provided for them. So we are instructed to: a. always be rejoicing in view of Christ's atonement, even when difficult. 1PE 4:12-13; ROM 5:11; PHIL 4:4. b. not receive the grace of God in vain. 2CO 6:1; GAL 5:1; 2PE 1:4-9. c. not tread underfoot our Lord Jesus Christ. HEB 10:28-29. C. Note some distinctions between these offerings and their attendant benefits. 1. The meat offering's portion was only for males and was to be eaten in the holy place (the court of the tabernacle of the congregation). v. 13 c/w LEV 6:16. 2. The wave breast and heave shoulder were to be eaten in a clean place by males and females of the priest's family. v. 14 c/w NUM 18:11-13. 3. Therefore the priests were to recognize that there were specific and general benefits that accrued to the sacrifices and distinguish between them. 4. Recall that the O.T. order of service spoke of heavenly things, of Christ, His person and sacrifice, the benefits thereof, and principles for our service who spiritually partake of Him. a. Christ provides general benefits for all His priests, male or female. GAL 3:27-28; 1CO 12:13. b. Christ provides specific benefits amongst His priests. (1) All are not given the same gifts or offices. ROM 12:4-8; 1CO 12:28-31. (2) The bishoprick is only for certain men . 1TI 2:12; 3:2-7. (3) Only men are to speak out in the church assembly. 1CO 14:34-35; 1TI 2:11. (4) Women are to speak and teach in other venues. TIT 2:3-5. (5) Only certain widows qualify for church relief. 1TI 5:3-16. (6) Discernment is obviously still needed in regards to the benefits of sacrifice. (7) Compare “...for so I am commanded” (v. 13) with 1CO 14:37. 5. Aaronic priests who partake of an earthly altar have no right to eat of our Altar. HEB 13:9-10. D. Consider the following about the meat offering. LEV 2:1-16; 6:14-18. 1. meat: Food in general; anything used as nourishment for men or animals; usually, solid food, in contradistinction to drink. 2. The meat offering was to be of fine (Finished, consummate in quality; of superior quality, choice of its kind) flour. 3. It had to be offered with oil and frankincense. 4. It was presented to God through the mediation of the priest. 5. It had to be offered before the LORD, that is, the altar where God met with Israel. LEV 6:14; EXO 29:42-43. 6. The portion burned upon the altar was called a memorial. 7. It was “...a thing most holy...” (LEV 2:10). 8. It was an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 9. It was a sweet savour unto the LORD. 10. It was a returning to the LORD a portion of what He had provided. c/w 1CH 29:14. 11. It must not have in it any leaven or honey (both cause fermentation). Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 712. All of the frankincense was to be burned upon the altar. 13. The offering had to be seasoned with salt. a. Salt has preservative qualities. b. This salt was termed, “...the salt of the covenant of thy God” (LEV 2:13). c. A covenant of salt is forever. NUM 18:19; 2CH 13:5. d. The worshipper's covenant relationship with God was suggested here. 14. Mind how this sets forth Christ Who completes all that this meat offering foreshadowed. JER 33:14-18; HEB 10:1 c/w 9:11. a. Christ is the offerer and the offering, priest and sacrifice. HEB 8:3; 7:27. b. His meat offering was His obedience unto death. JOH 4:34 c/w PHIL 2:8; JOH 6:51. c. His offering of Himself was the sweet smelling savour unto God. EPH 5:2. d. Like the fine flour, Christ is of superior quality, being the consummate Man. PSA 45:2; EPH 4:13; JOH 1:14. e. As the meat offering was made with oil, so Christ was filled with the Spirit by which He offered Himself to God. JOH 3:34; HEB 9:14. f. He is “...a thing most holy...” See LUK 1:35. g. As the meat offering was to be free of leaven or honey, so Christ was free of anything that hints at corruption. HEB 7:26. (1) Leaven represents corruption in doctrine and practice. MAT 16:6-12; LUK 12:1; 1CO 5:6-8; GAL 5:7-9. (2) By contrast, unleavened bread speaks of sincerity and truth (1CO 5:8) which defines Christ. JOH 14:6; 1PE 2:22. h. The frankincense suggests the fragrance of Christ Godward. 2CO 2:15; JOH 6:38. (1) ALL the frankincense was offered to God. LEV 2:16. (2) Christ did everything to please God. JOH 8:29; ROM 15:3. i. The salt of the covenant points to Christ Who is the surety of God's everlasting covenant with His people. HEB 7:21-22; 9:15; 13:20. j. Christ was an offering made by fire unto the Lord in that He suffered God's wrath for us. EZE 22:31; PSA 88:16; 22:14. k. As the priest made sacrifice with the expectation of benefit for himself, so Christ endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. HEB 12:2. 15. The meat offering also directs us in principles of service to God. EPH 5:1-2. a. Remember that the offering was made unto the LORD. (1) Our walking in love is an offering of ourselves to God. MAR 12:28-34. (2) Giving ourselves in service to others must be subordinate to giving ourselves FIRST to God. 2CO 8:5. (3) We were created for God's pleasure above all else. REV 4:11; COL 3:22-23. b. Our service to God is a memorial. ACT 10:4; HEB 6:10. c. Our offerings are an odor of sweet smell. PHIL 4:14-18. d. Our offerings are rendered before the Lord at God's appointed place. 1TH 1:3; 1PE 2:5; 1TI 3:15. e. Our offerings are made through the mediation of Jesus Christ our Priest. 1PE 2:5; HEB 13:15-16. f. We must have the oil of the Holy Spirit in order for our offerings to be acceptable to God. ROM 8:6-9; 15:16. g. We must purge ourselves of corrupting leaven in conduct and creed, striving for Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 8sincerity and truth. 1CO 5:8. h. We are to have salt in ourselves. MAR 9:49-50; COL 4:6. (1) As salt is antithetical to corruption, so we should abstain from corrupt lusts which war against the soul and the church's peace. EPH 4:22; JAM 4:1 c/w 1PE 2:11. (2) Speech seasoned with salt is speech that is not corrupt. EPH 4:29. E. The priests were also to partake of the wave breast and heave shoulder offering. vs. 14-15. 1. The first wave offering pertained to the consecration of the Aaronic priesthood. EXO 29:24. a. All was put into the priests' hands. b. Christ is our consecrated High Priest into Whose hands all was given. HEB 7:28; MAT 11:27; JOH 3:35; 5:22, 26-27; 13:3; 17:2; MAT 28:18. 2. These wave breasts and heave shoulders were “...given out of the sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel” (v. 14) as the priest's portion. LEV 7:34-35. a. These were to supply for all of the priest's family; none that were clean were excepted. NUM 18:11. b. Christ our Priest is our peace offering Whose righteousness makes clean and Whose sacrifice provides for all the elect family. ISA 53:5; EPH 2:13-15; COL 2:20; REV 19:8. c. It is HIS peace of which believers in practice partake through faith. JOH 14:1, 27; 16:33; PHIL 4:6-7. 3. Consider these definitions: a. wave: A motion to and fro of the hand or of something held in the hand, used as a signal or as an expressive sign. b. heave: (vb). To lift, raise, bear up. c. heave: (noun) An act of heaving, in various senses; a lift; an effort to lift or move something, a push, shove, pressure; a swelling or rising up; rhythmical rising (and falling), as of waves, the breast, etc.; the utterance of a sigh, etc. with a deep breath. d. The image of the motions involved in the wave breast and heave shoulder do remind one of a cross. e. Christ was “...set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against” (LUK 2:34). (1) His death was signified by a lifting up. JOH 12:32-33. (2) His soul was buffeted to and fro between the will to avoid suffering and the will to submit to the Father (JOH 12:27; MAT 26:39-44), between the faithful promises of the Father and the agony of being forsaken by Him. ACT 2:27; MAT 27:46. (3) His sacrifice was also His satisfying food. JOH 4:34; ISA 53:11-12. vs. 16-20. A. Here we have a deficiency in the order of service covered by mercy, a very high law which rejoices against judgment. MAT 23:23; 12:7 c/w HOS 6:6; JAM 2:13. 1. Moses here became angry with cause (MAT 5:22) though otherwise meekest of men. NUM 12:3. 2. Yet in consideration of Aaron's explanation and the burden he was bearing, Moses shows that “...a brother is born for adversity” (PRO 17:17). B. In this situation, the sin offering was consumed but the priest received no benefit from it. Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 91. Inasmuch as such offerings were designed to set forth Christ, this again distorts the picture of full salvation and satisfaction in the offering up of Christ for our sins. ct/w ISA 53:11. 2. As seen earlier in the study, such a deficiency in this offering pictorially suggests that God's church of priests may assume their partaking of Christ is a “take it or leave it” proposition. C. This goat of the sin offering was that which had just been ordered and offered for the people. LEV 9:3, 15. D. In this sin offering, the priest was supposed to partake of that which typically held the sins of the people. 1. In so doing, the priests were essentially partaking of the peoples' sins; they were to “...bear the iniquity of the congregation” (v. 17). 2. This again was meant to set forth Christ Who was made sin for us and bore our iniquities. 2CO 5:21; 1PE 2:24. E. Moses' reproof of Aaron's sons was owing to the fact that the law concerning sin offerings had been previously given: “...as I commanded” (v. 18). c/w LEV 6:26. 1. Christ similarly gave His church commandments that they were expected to keep. MAT 28:19-20. 2. It is by the keeping of His commandments that we show we truly love one another and truly love God. 1JO 5:2-3. 3. Given the massive reduction of the number and complexity of church ceremony under Christ, it may indeed be said “...his commandments are not grievous” (1JO 5:3). F. The law of the sin offering may be found in LEV 6:24-30. 1. NOTE: all sin offerings were not the same; they varied according to the need, the circumstance and the order of God. 2. It was to be killed where the burnt offering was killed (LEV 6:25) which was on the north side of the altar. LEV 1:11. a. Directionally, this offering was heaven-ward. ISA 14:13. b. As the priest in his ministrations advanced through the tabernacle from east to west, this offering would have been on his right. c. Mind how much of salvation is associated with the right side. LEV 8:23-24; MAT 26:64; 25:34. 3. Only in those sin offerings where the blood was brought into the holy place was the sin offering not to be eaten by the priest; the body of the sacrifice was to be burnt without the camp. LEV 6:30; 16:27-28. a. By contrast, Christ partakes of His sin offering benefit in the holy place of the heavenly tabernacle where His blood was taken, thus showing the superiority of His priesthood and sacrifice. b. Our spiritual partaking of Christ can only be according to the blood taken into the holy place made without hands! 4. The distinction between the sin offerings where the priests were or were not to partake of the sacrifice as their benefit underscores the greatness of the N.T. priesthood's partaking of the sacrifice. HEB 13:10-11. a. Heb 13:10 “We have an altar,.... By which is meant, not the cross of Christ, on which he was crucified; nor the Lord's table, where his flesh and blood are presented to faith, as food, though not offered; but Christ himself, who is altar, sacrifice, and priest; he was typified by the altar of the burnt offering, and the sacrifice that was offered upon it; the altar was made of Shittim wood, and covered with brass, denoting the incorruptibleness, duration, and strength of Christ: the Leviticus 10 10-30-11 Page 10horns of it, at the four corners, were for refuge; whoever fled to it, and laid hold on them, were safe; so Christ is a refuge to his people, that come from the four corners of the earth; and who believe in him, and lay hold on him, are preserved and protected by his power and grace: the use of it was for sacrifice to be offered upon it; which being a male, without blemish, and wholly burnt with fire, was a sweet savour to God; and which was typical of Christ's human nature, offered on the altar of his divine nature; which was pure and holy, suffered the fire of divine wrath, and was for a sweet smelling savour to God: this altar was but one, and most holy, and sanctified what was put upon it; all which is true of Christ: now this altar the saints have, and have a right to eat of it; even all Christ's friends and beloved ones; all that are made priests unto God by him; all that know him, believe in him, have a spiritual discerning of him, and hunger and thirst after him:” (John Gill) b. Heb 13:11 “For the bodies of those beasts - Though in making covenants, and in some victims offered according to the law, the flesh of the sacrifice was eaten by the offerers; yet the flesh of the sin-offering might no man eat: when the blood was sprinkled before the holy place to make an atonement for their souls, the skins, flesh, entrails, etc., were carried without the camp, and there entirely consumed by fire; and this entire consumption, according to the opinion of some, was intended to show that sin was not pardoned by such offerings. For, as eating the other sacrifices intimated they were made partakers of the benefits procured by those sacrifices, so, not being permitted to eat of the sin-offering proved that they had no benefit from it, and that they must look to the Christ, whose sacrifice is pointed out, that they might receive that real pardon of sin which the shedding of his blood could alone procure. While, therefore, they continued offering those sacrifices, and refused to acknowledge the Christ, they had no right to any of the blessings procured by him, and it is evident they could have no benefit from their own. (Adam Clarke) c. In Christ's sin offering is both that which satisfies God's justice and that which satisfies man's need. G. Mind that in this sin offering both the altar and the priest were partakers. c/w 1CO 9:13. 1. The altar sanctifies the gift. MAT 23:19. a. Christ sanctified Himself. JOH 17:19. b. In His deity, He wrote the Scriptures which dictated the details of His sacrifice and was therefore also sanctified in this sense. 1TI 4:5 c/w 1CO 15:3. c. The Sanctifier and the sanctified are all of one. HEB 2:11. 2. We grasp and maintain our joint partaking of Christ and His benefits by continuing stedfast in faith and acceptance of both His crown and His cross. 1CO 10:17; HEB 3:14; 1PE 4:13; 5:1. H. Aaron's explanation of his reluctance to eat the sin offering when his heart and spirit were so afflicted satisfied Moses. vs. 19-20. 1. God looks for willing, cheerful sacrifice and service. EXO 25:2; DEU 12:7; 2CO 8:12; 9:7. 2. Mourner's bread was deemed polluted. HOS 9:4; MAL 3:14. I. The events of this chapter were occasioned by very tight restrictions on the offering of incense but the O.T. record later hinted at a superior spiritual worship where incense might be universally offered and accepted. EZE 41:22; MAL 1:11.