Content:
- The High Priest
- Burnt Offering
- Grain Offering
- Sin Offering
- Guilt Offering
- Peace Offering
- Regulations on Animal Sacrifices
- The Begin of the Priests' Ministry
- The Death of Nadab and Abihu
- Rules for Priests
- Duties for Priests and Levites
- Rules for the Levites
- Offerings for Priests and Levites
- Tithes to the Levites
The High Priest
A High Priest is someone who represents others before God. A priest is a representative for others. The High Priest of Israel represents the people of the nation of Israel. But that's according to the Old Covenant. The High Priest in the Old Covenant is a shadow of the one to come, that is Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfills the role of High Priest in the New Covenant that has replaced the Old Covenant (Heb 3:1).
In the New Covenant, all Christian believers belong to a holy priesthood that offers spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet 2:5). It means we are set apart for God.
Aaron together with his sons; Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar , Ithamar; would serve God as priests
(Exo 28:1, Num 18:7). They should make sacred garments for Aaron to give him dignity and honor as High Priest
(Exo 28:2). They should do:
a breastpiece, an ephod,
a robe, a woven tunic,
a turban, and a sash for
Aaron and his sons, that they may serve God as priests.
(Exo 28:3–43, 39:1–31).
Aaron was the first High Priest, and his sons were priests. They received the priesthood as a gift (Num 18:7). In the New Covenant we also have gifts, see Spiritual Gifts. God’s gifts and his calling can never be withdrawn (Rom 11:29). This means that God doesn't take them away, when they have been given.
With that also goes responsibility. See also The High Priest in the Bible.
Burnt Offering
The Burnt Offering shall remain on the altar all night, until the morning, and the fire shall be kept burning on the altar. The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the
Burnt Offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. Then he shall take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. The fire on the altar must be kept burning. Every morning the priest should add wood and arrange the Burnt Offering on the fire and burn the fat from the Peace Offerings on it. (Lev 6:8–13).
That the fire on the altar must be kept burning is a picture how it should be in our lives, see Sanctification. Even the ashes are holy and handled accordingly.
Grain Offering
Aaron’s sons shall bring the Grain Offering before the Lord, in front of the altar. The priest shall take a handful of the finest flour and a little olive oil, together with all the incense of the Grain Offering, and burn it as a memorial portion on the altar.
Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it, but it's to be eaten unleavened in the sanctuary area; they shall eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. God had given it as their share of the Grain Offerings presented to him. As the Sin Offering
and the Guilt Offering, it's most holy. All the male descendants of Aaron may eat it. For all generations to come, it's his perpetual share of the Grain Offerings presented to the Lord. Whatever touches them will become holy. (Lev 6:14–18).
There is a Grain Offering that Aaron and his sons shall bring to the Lord on the day Aaron is anointed. The son who will succeed him as anointed priest should prepare it. It's the Lord’s perpetual share and must be completely burned.
(Lev 6:19–22).
Sin Offering
The Sin Offering must be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the Burnt Offering
is slaughtered; it's most holy. The priest who offers it shall eat it; it shall be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. Anything that touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, they must wash it in the sanctuary area. The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it's cooked in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water. Any male in a priest’s family may eat it; it's most holy. But any Sin Offering
whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the
Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up. (Lev 6:24–30).
The reason they have to wash it is because it has touched holy blood. The blood that has been sanctified at the sacrifice can't be mingled with that which is unholy. Holiness is a description of God, see God is holy in God's Attributes.
Guilt Offering
The Guilt Offering shall be slaughtered in the place where the Burnt Offering is slaughtered, and its blood shall be splashed on the sides of the altar. All its fat shall be offered. The priest should burn it on the altar as a Grain Offering. It's a
Guilt Offering. Any male in a priest’s family may eat it, but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it's most holy. The same law applies to both the Sin Offering and the Guilt Offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement for them. The priest who offers a Burnt Offering to anyone may keep its skin for himself. Every
Grain Offerings baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belong to the priest who offers it, and every Grain Offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs to all the sons of Aaron equally (Lev 7:1–10).
Peace Offering
If they offer a Peace Offering as an expression of thankfulness, they must offer with this offering bread made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in. Along with their Peace Offering of thanksgiving they shall present an offering with loaves of bread made with yeast. It belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the Peace Offering on the altar. The meat of their Peace Offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it's offered; they must not leave any of it until morning. (Lev 7:11–15).
If the Peace Offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice should be eaten on the same day they offer it, but anything left over can be eaten the next day. Any meat of the sacrifice left over until the third day must be burned. If any meat of the Peace Offering is eaten on the third day, the person who offered it would not be accepted. It would not be reckoned to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it would be held responsible. (Lev 7:16–18).
Meat that touches something ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up. As for other meats, anyone who is ceremonially clean may eat them.
If anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the Peace Offering, he must be cut off from his people. Anyone who touches anything unclean and then eats any of the meat of the Peace Offering must be cut off from his people. (Lev 7:19–21).
God provides for the priests (Lev 7:28–36, 1 Cor 9:13).
Regulations on Animal Sacrifices
If any of them, whether an Israelite or a foreigner who lives in Israel, gives a gift as a Burnt Offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, they must present a male without blemish from the cattle, the sheep or goats so that it can be received on their behalf. They must not bring anything that has a defect, as it won't be accepted on their behalf. When someone from the herd or flock brings a
Peace Offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable. They may, however, present an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted as a free will, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. When a calf, lamb, or goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. Beginning on the eighth day, it would be acceptable as a
Grain Offering presented to the Lord. When they sacrifice a Peace Offering to the Lord, it must be eaten on the same day. They must not profane God's holy name, for he must be recognized as holy by the Israelites. (Lev 22:17–33).
The Begin of the Priests' Ministry
Aaron and his sons were ordained priests for seven days (Exo 29:35, 44b).
Afterwards they performed their first offerings. Aaron took a bull calf for his
Sin Offering and a ram for his Burnt Offering, both without blemish. The Israelites took a male goat for a Sin Offering, a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without blemish, for a Burnt Offering, and an ox and a ram for a Peace Offering to sacrifice with a Grain Offering. They brought it to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the entire assembly came near. (Lev 9:1–6).
Aaron came to the altar and sacrificed their Sin Offering and Burnt Offering and made atonement for himself and the people (Lev 9:7):
Aaron first slaughtered the calf as a Sin Offering for himself. His sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the blood he poured out at the foot of the altar. On the altar he burned the fat from the Sin Offering. He burned the rest outside the camp. Then he slaughtered the Burnt Offering. His sons handed him the blood, and he splashed it on the sides of the altar. They handed him the Burnt Offering piece by piece, and he burned them on the altar. (Lev 9:8–14).
Aaron then brought the offering that was for the people. He took the goat for the people’s Sin Offering and slaughtered it and offered it as a Sin Offering. He brought the Burnt Offering and offered it in the prescribed manner. He also brought with him Grain Offering, took a handful of it and burned it on the altar besides the morning’s Burnt Offering. He slaughtered the ox and the ram as Peace Offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood, and he splashed it on the sides of the altar. Aaron burned the fat portions of the ox and the ram on the altar. Aaron waved
parts of them before the Lord as a Wave Offering. Then Aaron lifted up his hands to the people and blessed them. And after offering the Sin Offering, the Burnt Offering, and the Peace Offering, he stepped down. (Lev 9:15–22).
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. Fire came out of the Lord's presence and consumed the Burnt Offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell on their faces. (Lev 9:23–24).
Aaron and his sons were appointed to serve as priests; anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death (Num 3:10).
The Death of Nadab and Abihu
Whenever God does a powerful work, it's always a possibility for those involved in that work to begin to take credit of it and think they are something. This happened
Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons:
Nadab and Abihu took their censers and set fire to them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his commandment. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. (Lev 10:1–2, Num 26:61).
Nadab and Abihu decided by themselves, completely on their own, without any purpose, to approach God. This was mishandling due to the following:
- They used unauthorized fire and brought it to the Most Holy Place
(Exo 30:9, 34–38). It wasn't taken from the Altar of Sacrifice. - They didn't consult their father Aaron or Moses before doing so.
- They didn't try to follow the words of God that they had heard from Moses.
him he would be proved holy; in the sight of all men he would be honored. Aaron
remained silent. Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and told them to carry their cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary. They were still buried in their tunics outside the camp. Then Moses said to Aaron, and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar that they shouldn't let their hair be unkempt and not tear their clothes, otherwise they would die and the Lord would be angry with the whole community. But their relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn over them whom the Lord had destroyed by fire. They shouldn't leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or they would die, for the Lord’s anointing oil was upon them. So they did. (Lev 10:3–7).
Then the Lord told Aaron that he and his sons must not drink wine or other fermented drink when they enter the Tent of Meeting, or they would die.
This is a lasting ordinance for future generations, so that they can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, so they can teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord had given them through Moses. Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons; Eleazar and Ithamar, to take the
Grain Offering that was left over, prepared without yeast and presented to the Lord, and eat it beside the altar, for it is most holy. They should do so in the sanctuary area, for it's their share and their sons’ share of the Grain Offerings presented to the Lord. They and their sons and daughters may eat parts of it in a ceremonially clean place. They had been given to them and their children as their share of the Israelites’ Peace Offering. Some of it must be brought with the fat portions of the
Grain Offerings, to be waved before the Lord as a Wave Offering. This would be the perpetual share for them and their children. (Lev 10:8–15).
When Moses inquired about the goat of the Sin Offering and found that it had been burned, he became angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked them why they didn’t eat the Sin Offering in the sanctuary area. It is most holy; it was given to them to remove the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord. Because its blood wasn't taken into the
Holy Place, they should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area. Aaron answered Moses that today they had sacrificed their Sin Offering and their Burnt Offering
before the Lord, and Moses knew what had happened to him. He asked Moses if the Lord would have been pleased if he had eaten the Sin Offering today. When Moses heard this, he was pleased. (Lev 10:16–20).
Sometimes human needs superseded the specifics of the Law. They couldn't eat part of the Sin Offering as they were to, because of their broken hearts after the death of Nadab and Abihu. God in his mercy understood and accepted this. Mercy triumphs over rules and regulations.
Rules for Priests
A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, except for a close relative. Priests must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God. The high priest must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes. He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced from her husband, because priests are holy to their God. The woman he marries must be a virgin. He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people. No one who has a defect may come near to offer his God's food. (Lev 21).
The priests must treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, so they don't profane his holy name. If any of their descendants are ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings like the Israelites
consecrate unto the Lord, that person must be cut off from his presence. If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin disease or a bodily discharge, he must not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. He also becomes unclean if he touches anything that is defiled by a corpse or is touched by anyone who has an emission of semen, or if he touches any crawling thing that makes him unclean, or anyone who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. Whoever touches such a thing would be unclean until the evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed in water. When the sun goes down he will be clean, and then he can eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food. He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals and thus become unclean through it.
No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired servant eat it. But if a priest buys a slave for money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food. Whoever accidentally eats a sacred offering must compensate the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value. The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the Lord by allowing them to eat the sacred offerings and thus bring upon them guilt that requires payment. (Lev 22:1–16).
There are severe limitations and strict rules for the priests on how to approach the Lord in the Old Covenant. The reason is that God is holy and must be treated as a holy God. The priests, especially the High Priest, are a foreshadow of Jesus Christ. This is why the High Priest must be clean, because he is an image of the sinless Christ. Jesus is our High Priest and we belong to the New Covenant. After the resurrection of Jesus, Jesus entered God's Throne in Heaven and poured out his own blood for our sins, see The Resurrection of Jesus.
As Christians, we have been purified by the blood of Jesus Christ. God sees us, the body of Christ (= the bride of Christ), through the blood of the Lamb of God.
Duties for Priests and Levites
The Lord told Aaron that he, his sons, and his family would bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, and he and his sons alone would bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood. They would bring the
tribe of Levi with them to join them and assist them when Aaron and his sons minister before the Tent of Meeting. They were to be responsible before God and perform all the duties of the tent, but the Levites weren't allowed to go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and Aaron would die. They were to go with Aaron and be responsible for the care of the Tent of Meeting, all the work of the tent, and no one else was allowed to come near where they were.
Aaron was to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that God's wrath wouldn't fall upon the Israelites again. God himself had chosen his fellow
Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to Aaron, dedicated to the Lord to carry out the work of the Tent of Meeting. But only Aaron and his sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. God gave Aaron the office of priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who came near the sanctuary was to be put to death. (Num 18:1–7).
Rules for the Levites
The Levites were appointed to be in charge of the Tabernacle, over all its furnishings and and all that belonged to it. They were to carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings; they would take care of it and encamp around it. Whenever the Tabernacle was to be moved, the Levites were to take it down, and whenever the Tabernacle was to be set up, the Levites were to do it. Anyone else who approached it would be put to death. The Levites should set up their tents around the Tabernacle so that that God's wrath wouldn't fall upon the Israelite community. The Levites were responsible for the care of the Tabernacle.
(Num 1:50–53, 3:5–9, Deu 18:6–8).
The Levites were ceremonially cleansed (Num 8:5–22). Male Levites 25 years of age or older should come to participate in the work of Tent of Meeting, but at the age of 50 they must retire from their regular service (Num 8:23–26).
The Israelites who lived under the Old Covenant couldn't approach God, because God is a consuming fire (Deu 4:24, 9:3). We are all sinners, and sinners can't approach a holy God. This isn't the case in the New Covenant. Our sins have been dealt with by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. In the New Covenant we can enter God's presence anytime we want. We come then by the blood of Jesus Christ, and not by our own merits.
Offerings for Priests and Levites
Then the Lord told Aaron that he had put him in charge of the offerings presented to God. All the holy offerings the Israelites gave to God, he gave to Aaron and his sons as their portion, their perpetual share. They were to have the part of the most holy offerings that was kept from the fire. Of all the gifts that they brought to God as most holy offerings, reserved from the fire, whether they were Grain Offerings,
Sin Offerings, or Guilt Offerings, that part belonged to Aaron and his sons. They should eat it as something most holy; every male should eat it. They must regard it as holy. Whatever was set aside from the gifts of all the Wave Offerings were also theirs. God gave this to Aaron and his sons and daughters as their perpetual share. Anyone in their household who was ceremonially clean may eat it. God gave them all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain that the Israelites gave the Lord as the first-fruits of their harvest. All the first-fruits of the land that the people brought to the Lord would be theirs. Anyone in their household who was ceremonially clean may eat it. Everything in Israel that was devoted to the Lord was theirs. The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, offered to the Lord was theirs. But they must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. When they were a month old, they must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver. But they must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they were holy. They shall splash their blood on the altar and burn their fat as Grain Offering. Their meat was to be theirs, just as the breast of the Wave Offering were theirs. Whatever was set aside from the holy offerings that the Israelites brought to the Lord, God gave to Aaron and his sons and daughters as their perpetual share. It was an everlasting Covenant of Salt before the Lord for both Aaron and his offspring. The Lord told Aaron that he would have no inheritance in their land, and that Aaron would have no share among them; the Lord was their share and their inheritance among the Israelites.
(Num 18:8–20, Deu 18:3–5).
The parts of the offerings that weren't burned went to the priests and their families, and often also to the Levites (Deu 18:1b).
Tithes to the Levites
God gave the Levites the levitical tithe in Israel as their inheritance in exchange for the work they do in serving at the Tent of Meeting.
See this explained in The Book of Malachi.
The rest of the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they would bear the consequences of their sin and would die. It was the Levites who were to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for all the offenses the people committed against it. This was a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They would have no inheritance among the Israelites, the God of Israel was their inheritance (Deu 10:8–9, 18:1–2, Joshua 13:14, 33, 18:7a). God gave to the Levites as their inheritance the levitical tithe which the Israelites presented as offerings to the Lord. That's why God said of them that they would have no inheritance among the Israelites. The Lord told Moses, to speak to the Levites and tell them that when they received from the Israelites the tithe God gave them as their inheritance, they must present a tenth of this tithe as an offering to the Lord. Their offering would be reckoned to them as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the wine press. In this way they would also present an offering to the Lord of all the tithes they received from the Israelites. Of these tithes they must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. They must present the best and holiest part of all that is given to them as the Lord's portion. Moses would tell the Levites that when they presented the best, it would be reckoned to them as the product of the threshing floor or wine press. They and their households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it's their wages for their work at the Tent of Meeting. By presenting the best part of it, they won't be guilty in this matter; then they won't defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and they won't die.
(Lev 27:30–32, Num 18:21–32, Deu 14:22–29, 26:12–15).
The Levites were also given cities to live in from the inheritance the Israelites were to possess. And also pasturelands around the cities for the cattle they own and all their other animals. Six of the cities would be cities of refuge where a person who has killed someone could flee. In addition, they received 42 other cities. In all, they received 48 cities, along with their pasturelands. The cities they received, were to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe; many cities from a tribe that had many, but few from one that had few. (Num 35:1–8, Joshua 14:4b, 21:1–42).
The cities that the Levites received could be small villages seen from our perspective.
For information how it is in the New Covenant, see Jesus and the Law.
For all parts, see Moses; Part 1: Introduction.
