Leviticus Chapter 9

LEVITICUS 

CHAPTER

 9

1. On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2. He said to Aaron, "Take a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 9 verses 1 and 2)

When considering that the priests were called by God and offered to Him by the community, therefore that same community was also required to make a relative offering. In practise when youths are called for the celibate life as priests or community life as monks or sisters, the laity are requested to offer their prayers for those being consecrated to God as a means of spiritual support for their life of service to God and the community.

3. And say to the people of Israel, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering; a calf and a lamb, yearlings without blemish for a burnt offering; 4. and an ox and a ram for an offering of well-being to sacrifice before the LORD; and a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the LORD will appear to you.'

(Leviticus chapter 9 verses 3 to 4)



In order to be worthy to welcome the presence of God, His people were to prepare a particular offering. Likewise before being present for the sacrificial offering of the Eucharist we are also to prepare ourselves by confessing our sins. During our moments of prayer the presence of God is also present therefore as in this moment of reflection we are going to raise this prayer to God for we are also in His presence. I invite you to click on the following link and join me in the following prayer:-


We bring a sacrifice of praise



5.They brought what Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting; and the whole congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 9 verse 5)


Oh God my Father how loving You are, when we start growing in our relationship You permit us to venture deeper in our relationship with You on a more deep and intimate level. I also pray for this gift of more intimacy with You. I pray to be emptied from my sinful self and become filled with You. I crave for more of You in my life for I am still a sinner.


6. And Moses said, "This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you." 7.Then Moses said to Aaron, "Draw near to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burn offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and sacrifice the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as the LORD has commanded."

(Leviticus chapter 9 verses 6 to 7)


Aaron who was now the  new High Priest was instructed by Moses according to Your command to offer the first sacrificial offering which on comparison was like our 'Mass' or 'breaking of bread' which is celebrated on behalf of the celebrant meaning the priest and also on behalf of the community as a sacrifice of atonement. During Mass the Priest in the Roman Catholic Church does the same thing. Your body and blood as in the passion was the sacrifice of sacrifices that were offered for the redemption of our sins.


8. Aaron drew near to the altar, and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself.

(Leviticus chapter 9 verse 8)


As Aaron drew close to the altar to offer his sacrifice, You oh God would like to draw us to the altar of Your love. You strongly desire relationship with us, during which we can offer our happiness and even our moments of unhappiness. God wants us to place before Him all our plans, wishes and desires, and wait on Him in a spirit of faith and in His good time God always in some way or another always answers our prayers in abundance. However we are to be humble enough to place our trust in Him and most important to rely on Him. God is a loving father and as a parent He knows what we need before we even think of it on the short term and or even on the long term.



9. The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; and the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. 10. But the fat. the kidneys, and the appendage of the liver from the sin offering he turned into smoke on the altar as the LORD commanded Moses; 11. and the flesh and the skin he burned with fire outside the camp

(Leviticus chapter 9 verses 9 to 11)



As in the case of the priest during mass Aaron purified himself and also the altar before continuing with the process of offering the the sin offering to You. Oh how nice it would be if our souls were always in a state of purity a haven in which You can dwell. As in confession the priest absolves us of our sins and they are no more as in the offering of Aaron because they are turned into smoke, however although we are absolved of our sins, we are still to be accountable for them when we appear before You oh God who loves the sinner but not our sins.


 12. Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. Aaron's sons brought him the blood, and he dashed it against all sides of the altar. 13. And they brought him the burnt offering piece by piece, and the head, which he turned into smoke on the altar, with the burnt offering, turned them into smoke on the altar.

(Leviticus chapter 3 verses 12 to 13)


When performing this rite Aaron was purifying the altar by dashing the blood around the altar. Oh God every day of my life I offer You my thoughts and even my feelings as one whole offering. May You bless and consecrate my soul and even those of others who make part of my outer and inner circles. I offer You my work place where every day I offer You my day of work of service to You and the community. May my offering oh God be pleasing to You. Amen.



14. He washed the entrails and the legs and, with the burnt offering turned them into smoke on the altar. 15. Next he he presented the people's offering. He took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people, and slaughtered it, and presented it as a sin offering like the first one. 16. He presented the burnt offering, and sacrificed it according to regulation. 17. He presented the grain offering, and taking a handful of it, he turned it into smoke on the altar, in addition to the burnt offering of the morning.

(Leviticus chapter 9 verses 14 to 17)


After Aaron had offered his own sin offering he offered a sacrificial offering on behalf of the people. Thus in this way both Aaron his sons and the people and also ourselves accept ourselves as being sinners in need of redemption which make us part and shareholders of both Your passion as sinners and more the redemption of our sins as Your sons and daughters. As humans or Christians if we do not experience tribulations in this life we cannot experience Your Salvation, because we can only be saved by Your cross, and passion which led to our salvation. A simple analogy is that of the egg and the chicken. Without an egg no chicken can be born and without a chicken to lay the egg, there can be no egg, therefore without tribulation that is accepted as being according to Your will, there can be no salvation, because if we do not accept persecution and tribulation according to Your will we would become desperate and may even contemplate suicide or end up to be very sad and depressed.


18. He slaughtered the ox and the ram as a sacrifice of well-being for the people. Aaron's sons brought him the blood which he dashed against all sides of the altar; 19. and the fat of the ox and of the ram-the broad tile, the fat that covers the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the appendage of the liver. 20. They first laid the fat on the breasts, and the fat was turned into smoke on the altar; 21. and the breasts and the right thigh Aaron raised as an elevation offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded.

(Leviticus chapter 9 verses 18 to 21)


When offering our day to You oh God it is nice to offer You nothing but the best, however You love us so much that You even accept our shortcomings. However it is nice to offer You the best of our day and all that we do throughout our day.


22. Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them; and he came down after sacrificing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the offering of well-being. 23. Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and then came out and blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24. Fire came out from the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

(Leviticus chapter 9 verses 22 to 24)


Now that the people had been purified and blessed by means of the sacrificial offerings they were ready to appear in Your presence, however this was so strong that they could not bear it so much that they fell on their faces.

I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:


Oh God may we all humble ourselves before You in Your Holy Presence. May You always dwell in our hearts forever. May all that I do and all that I say be an offering to You. May You accept me as I am and give me the faith and grace to be better. I offer You every second of my life as a living sacrifice  I also offer You my family each and every one, so that You will bless us and keep us under Your protection. Amen

Leviticus Chapter 8

LEVITICUS

 CHAPTER 

8

1. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2. Take Aaron and his sons with him, the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull of sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; 3. and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 4. And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 5. Moses said to the congregation. "This is what the LORD has commanded to be done."

(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 1 to 5)



The first four verses of the eighth chapter of the book of Leviticus explains the preparation that God had planned for the priestly ordination of Aaron and his sons. This can be compared to how a candidate chosen to be a priest is prepared. In order to have an idea of this preparatory phase please click on the following link:-


The rite of ordination



6. Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward, and washed them with water.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 6)


As in the ordination of a priest the candidates for the priesthood are brought forward. They were given to society by God as a gift, and that same society in name of God offers these chosen people to God in obedience to His holy will. During the time of our baptism this rite is repeated because our parents also present us before God, You oh God who gave us as a gift to our parents.



7. He put the tunic on him, fastened the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him. He then put the decorated band of the ephod around him, tying the ephod to him with it. 8. He placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9.And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden ornament, the holy crown, as the LORD commanded Moses.


(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 7 to 9)




With reference to verses 7 to 9 please click on the following link for a reminder of the mentioned garments. Our source gives a very detailed example of each of the mentioned parts.



As Christians we are members of the universal priesthood of our God and His Son Jesus Christ. Although we are not all clothed with special garments as in the case of priests, we are clothed with Holy presence of the Holy Spirit of God and also protected by the Armour of the Holy Spirit. In order to reflect on these gifts please click on the following link:- Gifts of the Holy Spirit


10. Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.


(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 10)


Moses took the oil and consecrated the tabernacle that was in it. The tabernacle is the table were the offerings were offered. Our work place is also the tabernacle where we offer our daily work, even if you are a housewife your work is also offered as an important offering. God consecrates us and our work as an offering therefore both are dedicated to Him.


11. He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its base, to consecrate them. 

(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 11)


As in the time of Aaron when God gave the command to have the altar and its utensils consecrated during out at the time of ordination the altar is also consecrated as in the following video clip which is to be stopped at 0:29


Consecration of altar during ordination


12. He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to consecrate him.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 12)


When comparing this verse to as applied in the ordination of a priest according to the rite used by the Roman Catholic Church we find that according to this rite the consecrated oil is poured on to the hands instead of on to the head. Please refer to the following link and move the timer to 01.54 in order to move to this particular feature of this video clip.


The anointing of the priest 01.54


13. And Moses brought forward Aaron's sons, and clothed them with tunics, and fastened sashes around them, and tied headdresses on them, as the LORD commanded Moses.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 13)



In the case of the ordination of priests in the Roman Catholic Church the new priests are also clothed with special tunics made specifically for that occasion as in the following video clip which it is best to have it paused at 0:14 in order to view this part of the rite.


Dressing up the priest during ordination 0:14


14. He led forward the bull of sin offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bull of sin offering, 15. and it was slaughtered Moses took the blood and with his finger put some on each of the horns of the altar; then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. Thus he consecrated it, to make atonement for it


(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 14 to 15)


As in the case of the ordination of priests the bishops lay their hands on the new priests as in the following link:-


Please click on the following link and pause it at 1.24

Laying of hands


16. Moses took all the fat that was around the entrails, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and turned them into smoke on the altar. 17. But the bull itself, its skin and flesh and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the LORD commanded Moses.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 16 to 17)


When we present our sins before God and the priest during confession he absolves us of our sins and totally destroys them as in the example of the smoke, however we are spared only are sins are taken away.


18. Then he brought forward the ram of burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19. and it was slaughtered. Moses dashed the blood against all sides of the altar. 20. The ram was cut into its parts, and Moses turned into smoke the head and the parts and the suet. 21. And after the entrails and the legs were washed with water, Moses turned into smoke the whole ram on the altar: it was a burnt offering for a pleasing odor; an offering by fire to the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.


(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 18 to 21)


Oh God thank You for sparing the sinner but condemning the sin. As in the case of the sin offering offered i n name of Aaron and his sons the ram was offered instead of them. You love us so much that You chose to become the ram offering on our behalf. On reflecting oh God the sacrificial offerings were cleansed with water before being offered to You. During confession we are given the absolution thus cleansed of our sins, before we are able to receive You again in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Moreover in the very beginning of the rite of Holy Eucharist we are also commonly forgiven of our sins, so that we will be ready and worthy to participate in the sacrifice on the altar.



22. Then he brought forward the second ram, the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23. and it was slaughtered. Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 22 to 23)


As Moses consecrated the altar by placing drops of blood on its horns, Moses consecrated the toes and ears of Aaron and his sons, so that they they could listen to God's will and walk according to the ways that God had planned for them. Oh God I also pray to You to consecrate not only my ears and toes but all my being so that I will be purified in both mind, body and soul so that I can be entirely open to listen and fulfill your will now and forever.


24. After Aaron's sons were brought forward, Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet; and Moses dashed the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar. 


(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 24)



Now that Aaron and his sons had been cleansed and purified with the blood of the sacrifice that was also used on the horns of the altar they were one with God and the altar on which the sacrifices were offered. They were totally dedicated to the service of the priesthood.



25. He took the fat the broad tail, all the fat that was around the entrails, the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat-and the right thigh. 26. From the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD, he took one cake of unleavened bread, one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. 27. He placed all these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and raised them as an elevation offering before the LORD.


(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 25 to 27)


What is holy and spiritual oh God supersedes all that is material and worldly. Moses consecrated the worldly offerings that of the appendage and internal parts of the offering and consecrated it made it more worthy by adding to it the cakes of bread and oil wafers that were placed before You as one whole offering.


28. Then Moses took them from their hands and turned them into smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to to the LORD.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 28)


Oh God I pray that when I appear before You I will bring with me a worthy offering of a life, instead of one filled with sins and complaints. May our offerings be of praise and positive acts of love and charity towards both self and others.


29. Moses took the breast and raised it as an elevation offering before the LORD, it was Moses' portion of the ram of ordination as the LORD commanded Moses.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 29)


Of all my body oh God I would like to offer You my brain, eyes and heart. I offer them to You so that You can purify them and consecrate them so that they will be of super good use in the spreading of the Good News. May they help me to set a good example both in deeds and in words amen.



30. Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his vestments, and also on his sons and their vestments. Thus he consecrated Aaron and their vestments, and also his sons and their vestments.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verse 30)


Now that Moses had applied this rite of purification he consecrated both the altar and also its users, namely Aaron and his sons, who now became one with the altar.



31. And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, "Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I was commanded. 'Aaron and his sons shall eat it' 32. and what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn with fire.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 31 to 32)



The sacrificial offering was to be consumed totally and nothing was and could have been consumed by non consecrated people. This is the same for the Eucharist and wine that are turned into your blood and body and can only be consumed by the priest or celebrant. The laity ourselves consume Your body only in the form of the Eucharist and not drink through the consecrated chalice.



33. You shall not go outside of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day when your period of ordination is completed. For it will take seven days to ordain you; 34 as has been done today, the LORD has commanded to be done to make atonement for you.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 33 to 34)



In order to remain focused on You oh God during this time of preparation for ordination which can be compared to the novitiate in a community life as in the case of monk and others who live this way of life, it was required that the candidates spend a year in a place where the person can contemplate on one's spiritual life and the future life of ordination and consecration of one's life to God.



35. You shall remain at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, keeping the LORD'S charge so that you do not die; for so I am commanded." 36. Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD commanded through Moses.

(Leviticus chapter 8 verses 35 to 36)



Oh God my Father I would like to end this chapter with the following prayer:


Oh God may we all stay in waiting for Your visitation. May we always be in a state of being able to welcome You in our lives. May our focus be always on You and not on the ways of the World. May our lives be consecrated to You and Your service. Please show us the areas of need so with an open heart filled with joy we can respond to the needs of those in need of our help amen Oh God almighty I offer You my daughter Maria whom you invited to be Your own, whom You gave her the opportunity to rake part in the sacrifice of the Eucharist and accept You in the tabernacle of her heart forever. Amen