Levítico 9

Levítico 9

Gill - Aaron had blessed them before, but now both Moses and Aaron blessed them, atonement being made by the sacrifice of Christ, and law and justice thereby fully satisfied; Christ and the law agree together in the blessing of the Lord's people; way was hereby made for the communication of blessings to them, consistent with the law of God, and his holiness and justice, Galatians 3:10 The glory of the LORD appeared - The nature of this glorious manifestation is somewhat enigmatic. Why do I say that? First, recall that the Glory of the LORD was associated with the Cloud (which followed Israel in the desert as described below) that appeared after the completion of the Tent of Meeting, Moses recording… Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD (Shekinah) filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel. (Ex 40:34-38) So presumably the cloud was present over or associated with the Tent of Meeting. If so this begs the question of what was the nature of the glory of the LORD that appeared to Israel? John Gill and several other older commentators offer an intriguing interpretation of glory saying "some visible signs of His glory, some very great splendor or luster, or breaking forth of His glory or Christ, the glory of the Father, appeared in an human form, as a pledge of His future incarnation, when all the above sacrifices, which were types of Him, would have their accomplishment." Could Gill, et al, be correct? I cannot completely disagree, especially when Lev 9:4 clearly states "Jehovah will appear to you." In Lev 9:6 Moses adds "the glory of the LORD may appear to you." Jehovah and His glory are presented here as one and the same in these two passages. It is also interesting to note that the same verb translated appear (raah - 07200) in Lev 9:4,6 is also used in Genesis 18:1-2 where Moses records "Now the LORD appeared (raah) to him (Abraham) by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. And when he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw [them,] he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth." It follows that Jehovah appeared as a man Who later in this same section is identified by Moses as speaking to Abraham (Ge 18:13). So clearly Genesis 18 was a Theophany (most probably a Christophany or pre-incarnate appearance of Christ). And so it seems that it would not be totally unreasonable to interpret the appearance of the glory to the people of Israel in Leviticus 9 as the appearance of Jehovah Himself. And we know that even as the glory appeared before all the people in Leviticus 9, the Angel of the LORD also appeared before the entire nation of Israel, "the sons of Israel." in Judges 2:1-4 (note). However since Jehovah is not recorded as speaking (as He was in Genesis 18 and Judges 2), we are left with a question mark for now. This is one of those interesting Scriptures that we can all look forward to discussing with Moses and Aaron some day, asking them how was the glory of God manifested in Leviticus 9? Bush - The glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. That is, the visible sign of God’s glorious presence, indicated either by the fire mentioned in the next verse, or by the more luminous appearance of the cloudy pillar, as in Ex. 16:10, and 40:34, or by both. It was a token of God’s gracious acceptance of them and of their services, as in 1 Kings 8:10–12. The miraculous fire now sent forth from the divine presence, was, according to the Hebrews, kept alive upon the altar till the time of Solomon. Under the second temple, the Jews confess that the sacred fire was wanting. Rooker - The glory of the Lord is often associated with the cloud and the tabernacle, both of which intimated the presence of God among the people (Exod 16:10; Num 16:42; Exod 40:34–38; Num 9:15–23; 10:11–12). Manifestations of God’s glory demonstrate his desire to reveal himself and dwell among men. “God wishes to dwell with men, to have his reality and his splendor known to them.” The verb škn, “to dwell,” is sometimes used in connection with glory in reference to the tabernacle (Exod 24:16; Ps 26:8). The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exod 40:34–35) and the temple (1 Kgs 8:11), and one day in the future it will fill the whole earth (Ps 72:19; Isa 6:3; Pss 57:5; 108:5; 113:4). The manifestation of the glory of God throughout the whole earth in the future will represent a reconciliation of God and man, with life in the presence of God restored (Isa 40:5; 59:19; 60:1–22; 66:18–24). For David the revelation of the glory of God was an indication of the victory of the kingdom of God (see Num 14:21; Hab 2:14; Ps 72:19). The appearance of the Lord in glory was stated to be the goal of the inauguration ceremony in 9:4, 6. The Lord’s appearance was God’s stamp of approval upon Aaron’s benediction and upon the sacrificial complex just created. It may also be of significance that blessing follows the sacrifices made on behalf of the people. This illustrates the New Testament truth that every spiritual blessing comes to the Christian as a result of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross. (Ibid) Charles