LEVITICUS 9
The “eighth day” is the beginning of a new period, but looked at as in relation to the seven preceding days. It has in view the appearing of Jehovah and [p. 103] His glory (verses 4, 6, 23). All that goes on during this present period has in view “the world to come”, when the glory of God will appear publicly, and “all the house of Israel” will come under priestly blessing. The answer to the offerings in this chapter is the grace that will be brought to the people of God at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1: 13). All the blessing of God is coming out in its fulness; His glory will appear publicly; His acceptance of the offering of Christ will be publicly known and delighted in.
The scene at the end of this chapter is, typically, the public appearance in this world of the glory of Jehovah, and His grace and blessing as founded on, and as the adequate answer to; the sin-offering, the burnt-offering, the oblation, and the peace-offering. In the early chapters of this book we have seen in type how God is exercising His saints, individually and collectively, at the present time in the apprehension and appreciation of Christ in these varied characters. But what a joy to know that the value of Christ in all these different aspects is to be publicly known in this world, and is to have its public answer in blessing here, and in the out-shining of all that God is in supreme and infinite grace!
It is here that Aaron appears for the first time as an offering priest. So that what is before us in this chapter is Christ Himself as offering, and the wonderful result of His offering in the appearance of the glory of God. Indeed, we see here “the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these” (1 Peter 1: 11). The peculiar character of the present moment lies in the fact that it anticipates spiritually, and in the way of testimony, what will be publicly known when Christ appears. To speak in the language [p. 104] of this type, the sacrifices have been offered, and Moses and Aaron have gone in, but they have not yet come out. The time of the public blessing of the house of Israel, and of men universally, has not yet come. Christ has not yet come out, but another divine Person, the Holy Spirit, has come out — though unseen and unknown by men — to empower the priestly company here to make known in the way of testimony the glory of God in grace. The gospel is the answer now to the precious value of the sacrifice of Christ. It is the appearing in testimony of all that God is as made known in grace and blessing on the ground of the death of Christ. So that while this chapter looks on to the time when the results of the death of Christ will be known in public and universal blessing, when Christ as King and Priest will appear again, it also speaks of what is now here consequent upon the coming of the Spirit. At the present time the gospel is the fruit and answer to the offering of Christ; the glory of God in grace appears in it.
Aaron offers for himself and for the people (verse 7). That indicates typically that Christ is with God now, not only on the ground of His Personal title, but on the ground of His death. On the ground of His Personal title He could be there alone, but we could not be with Him. But He is there on the ground that He has been once offered; He has died to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and to establish the will of God; He has brought all His infinite perfections into the place of sin and death. “By his own blood” He “has entered in once for all into the holy of holies, having found an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9: 12). That is, He has taken His place as Man with God on the same ground as is available for all His people. If [p. 105] He is with God as having offered Himself, it is the same ground on which we can be with God. If He had only entered in in His Personal perfection each one of us would have to say, “I cannot be with Him”. But if He is there as having been offered I say, “Blessed be God! on that ground I can be there too”. He loves, as the true Aaron, to be with God on ground which is available “for the people” also.
In this chapter Aaron presents all the offerings and then he blesses the people. That was the attitude of Christ when He rose from the dead. The sacrificial work was over, and in resurrection He “lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them”. He went to heaven with hands uplifted in blessing (Luke 24: 50, 51). The result of the offering and sacrifice is widely extended blessing. We see that in Psalm 22 where we get first, “My brethren ... the congregation” — the assembly as answering to Aaron’s sons; then “the great congregation” — speaking of “the whole house of Israel”; and finally “all the ends of the earth”.
It is of much interest to see how “the sons of Aaron” appear in this chapter as presenting the blood to Aaron, and delivering the burnt-offering to him. They are sympathetic with all that he does, and, we might say, co-operating with him in it. It suggests the assembly as a company with understanding of the necessity for Christ offering Himself, and who are intelligent as to His offering, and as to the fruit of it. Before the moment when the public result of that offering will fill the world with blessing at the “appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2: 13), the assembly is in accord with Christ as to His offering work, and as to all that will [p. 106] result from it in the blessing of Israel and of all the ends of the earth. This makes the priestly company evangelical today, as being in sympathetic accord with the true Aaron. The glory of God in grace is appearing now in the testimony of the glad tidings, and the priestly company is in accord with it. The offering of Christ has secured that the glory of God can shine out in grace, and man can be blessed in a way that is commensurate with that glory. It is a marvellous thing to preach the gospel, for it is a setting forth of the glory of God in grace. Many preachers weaken their testimony by dwelling almost exclusively on the benefit of man. The true evangelical testimony is “Behold your God!” (Isaiah 35: 4; Isaiah 40: 9). The true evangelist serves in a priestly spirit (see Romans 15: 16); he considers for God. If there were more fidelity in keeping the charge (Leviticus 8: 35) there would be a more powerful and spiritual setting forth of the gospel. There would be more accord with Christ as to the testimony of grace. What is the present attitude of Christ? It is set forth in verse 22. The offering work is finished, and the true Aaron has hands uplifted in blessing. All may come under those Priestly hands; all may be blessed according to the delight and glory of God as secured by the offering of Christ in its varied aspects.
Then He has gone in as Lord and Priest. This chapter says nothing of what He does within. That is the assembly’s secret as identified with Him within! But another divine Person has come out to be the power of the present testimony of grace. See 1 Peter 1: 12. God’s glory in blessing will shine forth in the world to come to the ends of the earth: but it is shining forth today in the testimony of His grace by [p. 107] the Holy Spirit. Christ is the true Moses in Romans 5 — the Mediator through whom all God’s blessing comes to men; He is the true Aaron in Hebrews 9 — the “high priest of the good things to come”; things which have come now spiritually. He will come forth in manifested glory and blessing very soon.
“We look for Thine appearing,
Thy presence here to bless!”
It will be publicly and universally known then that His offering has been accepted, and that on the ground of it the glory of God can appear and cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. But in the meantime the Holy Spirit has come down and rested on men as cloven tongues of fire to give a powerful voice in this world to the glory of God in grace. The blessing of God for men today is according to the value of the Person and offering of Christ.
These precious types are full of instruction, but Christianity transcends even what is so wondrously pictured here. For the consecrated company today are not only entrusted with the holy “charge” at the entrance of the tent — their testimony here to what will soon be in display — but they are privileged to go in even to the holy of holies, to know in the greatest nearness to God the blessedness of Christ as His Resource for the bringing to pass of His will and glory in the whole moral universe.