Today we begin Leviticus Chapter 9.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here.
For the King James version, click here.
As in previous chapters of Leviticus, we’re going to encounter many sacrificial rituals in this chapter.
However, as I mentioned in my last post, rather than focusing on the many details of the rites and rituals, I want to dig beneath the surface in order to unearth the variety of God-principles which we can apply to our lives today.
“What are these rituals meant to teach us today?” is the question we should be asking ourselves as we study Leviticus, and trust me, there is a treasure trove of rich teachings and principles just waiting to be uncovered for our modern day application.
Leviticus chapter 9 is pivotal because it is in this chapter where the consecration of the priesthood and the Tabernacle will come to a conclusion.
From here on out, Moses will begin to fade into the background as the Levitical priests assume their duties.
The ordination period has being going on for a period of exactly one week.
This means that the EXACT SAME SERIES OF RITUAL PROCEDURES were repeated each day for 7 days.
And I remind you that at this stage it is Moses, NOT Aaron, who is still officiating.
Until the consecration is completed, Aaron and his sons are not permitted to begin their duties as priests.
In terms of his mediating role, Moses is a quite unique and interesting character.
It would appear that Moses had two roles as a mediator.
He mediated between YHVH and the common people AND he mediated between YHVH and the priesthood.
Consider the fact that when Joshua took over after Moses’ death, he did NOT inherit Moses’ position as a mediator between God and the people.
The Lord made it clear that whenever Moses spoke, his words carried with them the very authority of the Almighty Himself.
Is it any wonder that Jews to this day revere Moses so greatly?!
Of course, not everything Moses spoke during the 40-year wilderness sojourn is recorded in the Bible.
Actually, the truth be told, probably precious few of Moses’ words are actually recorded and out of that which is recorded not everything he said is prefaced with the words “and the Lord instructed Moses”.
Moses didn’t necessarily receive a direct revelation or command from the Lord every time he faced a difficult situation he had to deal with.
Sometimes Moses acted on direct and specific orders from YHVH, but other times he acted based on his own knowledge of the instructions and principles the Lord had taught him up on the mountain.
A good majority of the time Moses exercised his own judgement, and God backed him on this saying that the people were to accept Moses’ rulings on matters as coming from God Himself.
Besides Moses, there is only one other person who spoke with such awesome authority and whose very words were to be taken as proceeding directly from the mouth of YHVH Himself.
Of course I’m talking about Yeshua.
Yeshua was not only a Mediator but also the “lamb of God who would be slain for the sins of the world”.
Having said that, let’s not forget to give Moses his due credit.
Besides Yeshua, among Bible characters, the authority and power that YHVH bestowed on him is unparalleled.
For sure, there is no one to compare him to in the Old Testament.
There is a great lesson from Moses’ ministry that we should all take to heart.
The lesson is this.
Sometimes the Lord will give us specific instructions on how to deal with certain issues in our lives.
But more often than not, He will leave it up to us to exercise our own free will and judgement on matters.
YHVH has given us His Torah or Teachings.
We are expected to learn them so that we will be able to choose wisely and correctly and effectively carry out His will on earth as it is in Heaven.
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