Translation & Sermon by
Nate Wilson for Christ The
· Last
week we looked at the first half of Leviticus chapter 10 with its historical
account of the dreadful wrath of God striking Nadab
and Abihu dead because they dishonored God in the
sight of all
· I had suggested last week that Nadab and Abihu might be in their 20’s, but subsequent discussion reminded me that their dad was over 83 years old (Ex. 7:7), so they were probably more like middle-aged men, at a time in life when men are often at the height of their careers and feel that they can take liberties.
· The key principle is in Lev. 10:3, where God is quoted as saying, ‘I will be treated as holy by the ones who come near me, and in front of all the people I will be honored.’
· So an old order of rebellion is cleared away by God’s judgment, and new priests are instituted: Eleazar and Ithamar, who will be faithful.
o We saw how Jesus fulfills this very principle, as the Levitical priests of His day rejected God’s Messiah (Ezekiel 22:26, Jer. 23:1-6, Mt. 24:2, Mal. 3:1) and therefore were replaced by God’s faithful Son, the priest of the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20).
o We also saw how Jesus fulfills the calling of the priests to abstain from alcohol while on duty so that He can make good judgment calls and can teach. Jesus indicated that He was having His last drink and entering priestly duty at the Last Supper in Matthew 26:29, and He continues His priestly duty now (interceding for us in Heaven and sending His spirit to judge and teach through us), and Jesus will come Himself to judge and teach in the last day.
· My main application last week was to call you to sincere and respectful worship of God and to encourage you to seek for your descendents also to be sincere and respectful toward God.
o “It is a dangerous thing, in the service of God, to decline from his own institutions; we have to do with a God who is wise to prescribe his own worship, just to require what he has prescribed, and powerful to revenge what he has not prescribed.” ~Bishop Hall, as quoted by Matthew Henry
· In the remainder of this chapter I see God giving Aaron a second chance after his failure and the failure of his eldest sons. (You could even say it was Aaron’s third chance if you count the golden calf incident). The striking thing is that there is even a second or third chance and that he is able to be faithful in it and find blessing for his nation in doing so. I see this demonstrated in two ways:
1. first in the extra affirmation Moses passes on to Aaron and Eleazar and Ithamar that they will be well-provided-for in terms of food and supplies as priests,
2. and second in the remarkable response that Aaron gives to Moses concerning an irregularity in the offering of his sacrifice.
So let’s continue the study of this chapter, picking up at verse 12, and looking at God’s promise of provision to Aaron’s family after the death of Nadab and Abihu:
12 Then Moses spoke to Aaron
and to Eleazar and to Ithamar
his remaining sons: “Y’all take the remainder of the grain-offering from
Yahweh’s burnt-offerings, and eat unleavened-bread beside the altar, for it is
a holy thing among holy things. 13 And you shall eat it in a holy place because
it is a statutory-right for you and a statutory-right for your sons from the
burnt-offerings of Yahweh, for thus I have been commanded. 14 Also, the breast
of the wave-offering and the thigh of the raised-offering y’all shall eat in a
clean place - you and your sons and your daughters with you, for it is a
statutory-right for you and a statutory-right for your children. It has been
given from the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the children of
· Aaron and his sons had just had a long day that was both physically and emotionally exhausting, and, probably out of grief, they had not eaten at the time they would normally have eaten. Now God and Moses recognize that Aaron and his sons were physically depleted. Their bodies needed sustenance, so Moses encourages them to eat some of the holy bread.
· Lev. 6:16 clarifies that this “remainder” that they were to eat was what was “left” after they had taken their memorial handful and burnt it on the altar as the priest’s tithe to God.
· This may well have been the offering of Nahshon, the representative of the tribe of Judah, who offered his offering first at the dedication of the altar, on the day the tabernacle was set up (Num. 7:1).
· Leviticus 6 had just instructed the priests to eat this portion of food in the courtyard of the tabernacle, and now we see where in the courtyard they were to eat it, namely “beside the altar,” which, incidentally, was where the ash pit was (Lev. 1:16, and 6:10).
· Now, I have to wonder if there is some intentional parallelism between the sons of Aaron and the grain offering:
o Some of Aaron’s sons and some of the grain offering were burned,
o and then in v.12 the “remainder” of Aarons sons and the “remainder” of the grain offering alike are called in Hebrew a notar- (a remaining portion), that remained for earthly use.
o I’m not sure what the significance of that would be, but it seems intentional.
· The breast meat and the larger portions of grain were to feed all of the priest’s dependents.
o The Hebrew spells out that it is not only for the “sons” but also for the “daughters,”
o and the Septuagint interprets that as everyone in the “household,” which would include the wife and servants too, and I think that is the right interpretation,
o for it is not for all the daughters who had married and moved into other households, but only for the daughters and sons who were “with him” – still living in his household. (I think it was quite an oversight for the NIV to omit that prepositional phrase “with him” and “with you” in verses 14 & 15.)
· The word describing this “due” or “share” is the Hebrew word huq usually translated “ordinance” or “statute.” The emphasis, as it is repeated 4 times in verses 13 and 14, is that God has decreed that the priests have a right to a share in the food offering on the altar. It is to be a stable source of provision for the new priests, Eleazar and Ithimar, which no man can take away,
· “to be observed as long as the ceremonial law and Levitical priesthood lasted, even to the end of the Jewish age and economy, and the coming of the Messiah” ~John Gill
· The wrath of God against sin is – and should be – un-nerving to us erring humans, but God goes to the trouble of providing reassurance to the people who are trusting in His provision for salvation that He is not out to kill them and that they need not fear His wrath.
o “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”(Gen. 6:8, KJV) His trust in God led him to obey God by building the ark and getting into it when there was no natural reason to do so. And God protected and preserved the lives of Noah and his family through the flood which killed everyone else, then God put a rainbow in the sky to reassure Noah’s family that He would continue to honor His covenant to protect and care for those who continued to trust and obey God; they need not fear God’s wrath.
o Here in Leviticus, two men had just been struck dead by God, and their two brothers had reason to fear that they too would be rubbed out of the land of the living, but God had chosen to bless the house of Aaron, and He was done with wrath. Aaron and Eleazar and Ithamar trusted God and would honor Him, as their words and actions and descendents would prove in time to come. God wanted them to know that their lives would not be short, but that it was His intention to provide for their needs and protect their lives, so they need not be afraid of God’s wrath.
o Later on, Jesus’ disciples, after seeing sinners chastened by Jesus said, “Who then is able to be saved?” And, after looking at them, Jesus said, “According to humans, this is impossible, but according to God, all things are possible.” Then, in reply, Peter said to Him, “Look, we ourselves have left everything and followed You; what now will there be for us?” And Jesus said to him, “I’m telling you truly that y’all who followed me, when [things] begin again – whenever the Son of Man shall sit upon His throne of glory, even you yourselves will sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel... (Matt. 19:25-28, NAW). Jesus reassured His disciples who were following Him that they need not fear God’s disapproval – they would enjoy God’s favor and share His glory forever.
o You likewise, when you see fearsome catastrophes that snuff out the lives of many people or when you see death and disease steal the lives of people you love, and the anxiety comes over you, “I’m no better a person than they were. How close am I to being wiped out like so much dry eraser dust on a whiteboard? Is God close to the edge of being fed up with me? Is there any hope for my future?” Know this, dear brother or sister, that God doesn’t even remember what you did to offend Him anymore! (The LORD says in Jeremiah 31:34b “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." This is repeated in Heb. 8:12 and Heb 10:13 – He won’t even remember what He has forgiven!). God is not just waiting for you to do one more sin so He can smite you off the face of the earth. No! “The LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” (Isaiah 30:18, NASB)
· “Eleazar and Ithamar, don’t let my wrath shake you. Keep sincerely trying to honor me, and I will see to it that you live a long and prosperous life. See all this food that is yours! ‘And for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon...’ (Numbers 7:17). And tomorrow Nethanel will bring just as much food again! And the next day, Eliab is going to bring just as much food again. Don’t be afraid; you’re in good hands!”
o Psalm 91:1-9 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!’ For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place.” (NASB) Do you believe that? These promises are for you!
· Now let’s move on to verse 16 and the remainder of the chapter, where I see a second instance of God blessing faithfulness when His people are willing to keep trusting and obeying Him after God has brought judgment upon sin.
16 Now, Moses searched and searched for the goat of the sin-offering, and see, it was burnt up! So he became angry at Eleazar and at Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, saying, 17 “Why didn’t y’all eat the sin-offering in the holy place, since it is a holy thing among holy things and it is what He gave to y’all to carry the iniquity of the congregation in order to make atonement over them before the face of Yahweh? 18 Its blood therefore was not brought inside to the holy place. Y’all really should have eaten it in the holy place just as I commanded!”
19 Then Aaron said to Moses, “So, today they offered their sin-offering and their whole-burnt-offering before the face of Yahweh, but these kind of things happened to me. Even had I eaten a sin-offering today, would it have been good in the eyes of Yahweh?”
20 And Moses listened, and it seemed good in his eyes.
· The final scene in this chapter is Moses, at the end of the day looking around for the goat.
o Maybe he was hoping to get something to eat, or maybe
o he was just checking up on his big brother to make sure Aaron did everything right.
· But Moses starts to panic when he realizes that Aaron and Eleazar and Ithamar burnt both sin-offering goats instead of burning one and eating the other (Lev. 9:15).
o “Oh no! I knew I couldn’t trust my brother to take over priestly duties for God! His sons botched it and died, and now God is going to strike Aaron dead too and leave me to have to do all the sacrificing by myself. I can’t afford to lose Aaron too! Aaron, why didn’t you eat that goat like I told you to? Don’t you realize how serious this is? Those goats are how we get everybody’s sins forgiven. You’ve messed it all up and threatened our whole nation with God’s wrath again!”
· Now there was indeed, meaningful symbolism in the priests eating the breast meat from the goat of the sin offering. Everything about the sacrifices was filled with symbolic meaning.
o Classic commentator John Gill explains: “by eating the sin offering, or sin itself, as it is in the original text, they made the sins of the people, for whom the offering was, in some sense their own; and they bore them, and made a typical atonement for them; in which they were types of Christ, who was made sin for his people, took their sins upon him, and by imputation they were made his own, and he ‘bore them in his own body on the tree,’ and made full satisfaction and atonement for them. Now since the eating of the sin offering of the people was of so great importance and consequence, the neglect of it by the priests was very blameworthy.”
· So why did Aaron and his sons fail to eat the meat? Why did they burn it instead?
o The Bible doesn’t say explicitly.
o It does not seem likely that Aaron forgot the order of the sacrifice.
o What seems more likely is that Aaron was too overcome with grief over the death of his sons to want to have a feast, so he burned it to keep the holy meat from being misused.
· But Moses starts storming around and griping at Aaron and Eleazar and Ithamar, and everybody is scared. Moses wasn’t the kind of person you wanted to cross; fire could come down out of heaven at any moment. I think Moses was upset because he himself was afraid of God’s wrath.
· Now Aaron does a very mature thing. He has truly come into his own as priest. The Holy Spirit represented in his anointing has truly come into him and given Him spiritual insight.
o He responds gently to his gifted little brother, reminding Moses that it is God’s opinion, not Moses’ command, which is ultimately what matters.
§ Commentator Albert Barnes expressed this sentiment with a paraphrase of Aaron’s response, “Could it have been well-pleasing to the Lord if those who have been so humbled, as I and my sons have been, by the sin of our relations and the divine judgment, had feasted on the most holy flesh of the sin-offering?” Would it be good in the sight of the LORD?
o Furthermore, Aaron recognizes in a very mature way the personal nature of God:
§ Yes, God made very specific rules and wanted things done in a certain way, but ultimately God sees our worship as a person does and not like a computer does.
§ With a computer, everything has to be perfect or it doesn’t work, but with a person, the relationship and the intent of the heart can be taken into account.
§ Aaron believes that God is a person, not a slot machine.
§ A couple of weeks ago, I tried to contact Ft. Riley’s public affairs office because I had heard that a retired general who is a believer and who had been invited to speak at a voluntary-attendance prayer breakfast at the chapel on post had been un-invited from ever speaking at Ft. Riley again following complaints from a group of atheists who had heard that he was coming to speak. So I went to the Ft. Riley website and filled out the little message box on the “Contact us” page and pressed “send,” but it returned a page that said something like, “Unable to send; Captcha information not valid.” Apparently the person who had programmed that web form had intended to include a verification mechanism for users to type in some letters and numbers copied from a certain graphic to prove we’re not robots, but then the programmer had forgotten to put the graphic and the textbox on the webpage (or had failed to make it compatible with my browser), so the computer was waiting for me to fill in text in a textbox that was not even on the web page. Because of that one glitch, I was not able to send my message. But God isn’t like that. He sees my heart and knows what I’m trying to do. And when I don’t have all the right words, His Spirit fills in all the blanks I’m missing[1].
o In addition to seeing that God’s opinion matters more than man’s and that God is personal, Aaron has also grasped that if the sacrifice itself is about God’s mercy, then he can trust in God’s mercy to set things right even after he has tried his best and failed to get everything perfect.
§ I like to sing hymns of praise to God, but I’m always going to hit some sour notes.
§ I might be praying along and trip up over a word, or I might even pray something that is not His will.
§ I may misunderstand something in His word and might even teach that mistaken view to someone else.
§ I may have a hard time loving certain people at church.
§ I’m not trying to do all those things wrong, but, I have messed up in every one of these ways, and I’m reminded every time that it is not my service that makes me right with God but God’s mercy that makes me right with Him.
§ As Aaron said, “Things like this happen. My sons flagrantly violated Your worship standards and got burnt to a crisp by the fire of the Lord, and I had to watch my cousins drag the smoking bodies of my sons away, never to be seen again, and I had to keep on offering the day’s sacrifices. I just didn’t feel like eating. I threw my food on top of everything else on the altar and just let it burn. But I trust that God understands me and has already accepted me because His wrath against sin fell upon my sacrifice instead of upon me, and it’s going to be all right. Moses, your opinion is important, but ultimately, it’s God’s opinion that matters and I am going to trust Him and throw myself upon His mercy.
§ Ultimately it’s not whether I did everything right but whether God wants to show mercy. Didn’t God Himself tell Moses that on the mountain? ‘I will be gracious to whoever I want to be gracious to, and I will have compassion on whoever I want to have compassion on.’ (Exodus 33:19, NAW)
§ As the Apostle Paul put it, “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy’” (Romans 9:16, NKJV).
§ “‘I will trust in the mercies of my God’ (Ps. 52:8, NKJV), and there I rest my case.”
· When Moses heard that, he backed down. He realized Aaron had what it took to be high priest after all.
· Now, that is not to say that it is o.k. to be sloppy and careless and negligent in worshipping God; our respect and gratitude for God drives us to give Him our best,
· but ultimately it is not the quality of our work and worship that makes us right with God, it is God who makes us right with God, and when we trust Him to make us right, He makes us right.
o The Apostle Paul makes a big deal of this in Romans 4:3-5 “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (NKJV).
o “Our unfitness for duty, when it is natural and not sinful, will have great allowances made for it; and God will have mercy and not sacrifice.” ~Matthew Henry
· In the New Testament we see this same principle at work: God is still holy, and the wages of sin are still death, but God shows mercy to those who fail yet who try again to trust in His mercy.
o In our New Testament reading before the sermon (Acts 5:3-10), we heard the account of Peter with Ananias and Saphirah. The standard of God’s holiness and perfect accordance with absolute truth in front of the whole church was so important that God struck that man and his wife dead for merely reporting an exaggerated percentage of what they were giving in their offering to the church.
o But think about it, why was it that Peter and not Judas was the one taking accounts in the early church? Judas was the one with the experience as treasurer, not Peter.
o But Judas wasn’t around. He had hung himself when he realized how foolish he had been to betray Jesus.
o Peter, on the other hand, had failed in close-to the same way. He had denied that he even knew Jesus. Yet here he is boldly proclaiming God’s judgment, and after God’s judgment falls on Ananias and Saphira, he still has the confidence to keep leading Christian worship services right on the patio of the temple itself (Acts 5:12-16), performing miracles like healing the lame man (Acts 3).
· What made the difference between those who fell and quit, and those who fell but got back up again? I suggest it was their faith in God.
o Judas trusted in his own wits to take care of himself:
§ He stole from the disciples because He didn’t trust God to provide for Himself.
§ He schemed with the Pharisees because He didn’t trust Jesus to make good on His promises.
§ And when Judas realized he couldn’t even help himself, he gave up.
o Peter, on the other hand, in his own bumbling way, was trusting Jesus:
§ He believed that if Jesus could walk on water and invite him out there on the lake for a walk, then it was worth a try!
§ He believed that
if Jesus said the only way to pay their taxes was to go find the fish in
§ And if Jesus said, “Father forgive them,” then he really was forgiven.
§ And if Jesus said, “Feed my sheep,” Jesus really trusted him to take leadership in the church.
o Likewise with Aaron,
§ if God really is a person who is characterized by mercy, then he could throw himself - and his whole nation - upon the mercy of God and trust that God would indeed come through with mercy... and it didn’t matter what Moses or anybody else thought.
§ And if God had called him and his sons to make atonement through animal sacrifices to avert God’s wrath upon the nation of Israel, then, even if his first sons crashed and burned, he could still stand before God and minister with the rest of his sons without worrying what God thought of their past performance. He could trust that God would bless their work and provide for their family forever into the future.
o I’m using examples with men, but throughout the scriptures we also see women who failed but who got back up again and trusted God and were blessed: Sarah... Bathsheeba... Jesus’ friend Mary...
· How about you? Will you throw yourself upon the mercy of God and leave your regrets and doubts behind and trust God to bless you and provide for you as you move forward in obedience to Him?
When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but
does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out
text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a
wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline
it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the
grammar form of the original Hebrew, I use strikeout. And when a version
omits a word which is in the Hebrew text, I insert an X. (Sometimes I will
place the X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English
translation is singular.) I have also tried to use colors to help the reader
see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more
than two different translations of a given word. Hebrew text that is colored
purple matches the Dead Sea Scrolls, and variants between the DSS and the MT
are noted in endnotes with the following exceptions: When a holem
pointing in the MT is represented in the DSS by a vav
or a hireq pointing in the MT is represented
in the DSS by a yod (the corresponding
consonantal representation of the same vowel) or when the tetragrammaton
is spelled with paleo Hebrew letters, I did not
record it a variant.
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LXX |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
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12 Καὶ εἶπεν Μωυσῆς πρὸς Ααρων καὶ πρὸς Ελεαζαρ καὶ X Ιθαμαρ τοὺς υἱοὺς [Ααρων] τοὺς καταλειφθέντας Λάβετε τὴν θυσίαν τὴν καταλειφθεῖσαν ἀπὸ τῶν καρπωμάτων κυρίου καὶ φάγεσθε ἄζυμα παρὰ τὸ θυσιαστήριον· X ἅγια ἁγίων ἐστίν. |
12 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat [it] without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy: |
12 Then Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar his remaining sons: “Y’all take the remainder of the grain-offering from Yahweh’s burnt-offerings, and eat unleavened-bread beside the altar[a], for it is a holy thing among holy things. |
12
וַיְדַבֵּרPiI3ms
מֹשֶׁה[b]
אֶל-אַהֲרֹן
וְאֶל
אֶלְעָזָר וְאֶל-אִיתָמָר
בָּנָיו הַנּוֹתָרִים
קְחוּ
אֶת-הַמִּנְחָה
הַנּוֹתֶרֶתNiPtcfs
מֵאִשֵּׁי
יְהוָה
וְאִכְלוּהָQMmp מַצּוֹת
אֵצֶל
הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
כִּי קֹדֶשׁ
קָדָשִׁים
הִוא: |
|
13
καὶ φάγεσθε αὐτὴν ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ· νόμιμον γάρ σοί ἐστιν καὶ νόμιμον τοῖς υἱοῖς σου τοῦτο ἀπὸ τῶν καρπωμάτων κυρίου· οὕτω γὰρ ἐντέταλ |
13 And ye shall eat it in [the] holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire: for so I am commanded. |
13 And you shall eat it in a holy place because it is a statutory-right for you and a statutory-right for your sons from the burnt-offerings of Yahweh, for thus I have been commanded. |
13
וַאֲכַלְתֶּםQwcp2mp אֹתָהּ בְּמָקוֹם
קָדֹשׁ כִּי חָקְךָ
וְחָק-בָּנֶיךָ
הִוא
מֵאִשֵּׁי
יְהוָה
כִּי-כֵן צֻוֵּיתִיPuP1cs: |
|
14
καὶ τὸ στηθύνιον τοῦ ἀφορίσματος καὶ τὸν βραχίονα τοῦ ἀφαιρέματος φάγεσθε ἐν τόπῳ |
14
And the wave breast and heave |
14
Also, the breast of the wave-offering and the thigh of the raised-offering
y’all shall eat in a clean place - you and your sons and your daughters[c] with you, for it is a statutory-right for
you and a statutory-right for your children. It has been given from
the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the children of |
14
וְאֵת חֲזֵה הַתְּנוּפָה
וְאֵת שׁוֹק
הַתְּרוּמָה
תֹּאכְלוּ QM2mp
בְּמָקוֹם
טָהוֹר
אַתָּה וּבָנֶיךָ
וּבְנֹתֶיךָ
אִתָּךְ
כִּי-חָקְךָ
וְחָק-בָּנֶיךָ
נִתְּנוּNiP3cs
מִזִּבְחֵי
שַׁלְמֵי בְּנֵי
יִשְׂרָאֵל: |
|
15 τὸν βραχίονα τοῦ ἀφαιρέματος καὶ τὸ στηθύνιον τοῦ ἀφορίσματος ἐπὶ τῶν καρπωμάτων τῶν στεάτων προσοίσουσιν, ἀφόρισμα ἀφορίσαι ἔναντι κυρίου· καὶ ἔσται σοὶ καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς σου καὶ ταῖς θυγατράσιν σου μετὰ σοῦ νόμιμον αἰώνιον, ὃν τρόπον συνέταξεν κύριος [τῷ Μωυσῇ].
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15 The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fatx, to wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded. |
15 They shall bring the thigh of the raised-offering and the breast of the wave-offering on top of the burnt offerings of the fats to wave as a wave-offering before the face of Yahweh, and it will belong to you and to your children with you as a lasting statutory right just as Yahweh commanded.” |
15
שׁוֹק
הַתְּרוּמָה
וַחֲזֵה הַתְּנוּפָה
עַל
אִשֵּׁי
הַחֲלָבִים
יָבִיאוּHiI3mp
לְהָנִיףHiN תְּנוּפָה
לִפְנֵי יְהוָה
וְהָיָה QWcp3ms לְךָ
וּלְבָנֶיךָ[d] אִתְּךָ לְחָק-עוֹלָם
כַּאֲשֶׁר
צִוָּה
PiP3ms יְהוָה: |
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LXX |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
|
16Καὶ τὸν χίμαρον [τὸν περὶ] τῆς ἁμαρτίας ζητῶν ἐξεζήτησεν Μωυσῆς, καὶ ὅδε ἐνεπεπύριστο· καὶ ἐθυμώθη Μωυσῆς ἐπὶ Ελεαζαρ καὶ X Ιθαμαρ τοὺς υἱοὺς Ααρων τοὺς καταλελειμμένους λέγων |
16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and X Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying, |
16 Now, Moses searched and searched for the goat of the sin-offering, and see, it was burnt up! So he became angry at Eleazar and at Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, saying, [e] |
16 וְאֵת
שְׂעִיר
הַחַטָּאת
דָּרֹשׁQN דָּרַשׁQP מֹשֶׁה
וְהִנֵּה
שֹׂרָףPuP וַיִּקְצֹףQI עַל-אֶלְעָזָר וְעַל-אִיתָמָר
בְּנֵי
אַהֲרֹן
הַנּוֹתָרִםNPTmp לֵאמֹר: |
|
17 Διὰ τί οὐκ ἐφάγετε τὸ περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ; ὅτι γὰρ ἅγια ἁγίων ἐστίν, τοῦτο ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν [φαγεῖν], ἵνα ἀφέλητε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τῆς συναγωγῆς [καὶ] ἐξιλάσησθε περὶ αὐτῶν ἔναντι κυρίου· |
17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it X you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? |
17 “Why didn’t y’all eat the sin-offering in the holy place, since it is a holy thing among holy things and it is what He gave to y’all to carry the iniquity of the congregation[f] in order to make atonement over them before the face of Yahweh? |
17
מַדּוּעַ
לֹא-אֲכַלְתֶּםQP2p אֶת-הַחַטָּאת
בִּמְקוֹם
הַקֹּדֶשׁ
כִּי קֹדֶשׁ
קָדָשִׁים
הִוא[g]
וְאֹתָהּ
נָתַןQP לָכֶם
לָשֵׂאתQN(nsa) אֶת-עֲוֹן
הָעֵדָה
לְכַפֵּרPiN עֲלֵיהֶם
לִפְנֵי
יְהוָה: |
|
18
οὐ
γὰρ εἰσήχθη τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον· κατὰ πρόσωπον ἔσω φάγεσθε αὐτὸ ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ,
ὃν
τρόπον [μοι] συνέταξ |
18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded. |
18 Its blood therefore was not brought inside to the holy place. Y’all really should have eaten it in the holy place just as I commanded!” |
18 הֵן לֹא-הוּבָאHoP אֶת-דָּמָהּ
אֶל-הַקֹּדֶשׁ
פְּנִימָה
אָכוֹלQN תֹּאכְלוּQI2p אֹתָהּ
בַּקֹּדֶשׁ
כַּאֲשֶׁר
צִוֵּיתִיPiP : |
|
19 καὶ ἐλάλησεν Ααρων πρὸς Μωυσῆν [λέγων] Εἰ σήμερον προσαγειόχασιν τὰ περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ ὁλοκαυτώματα αὐτῶν ἔναντι κυρίου, καὶ συμβέβηκέν μοι ταῦτα· καὶ φάγομαι τὰ περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας σήμερον, μὴ ἀρεστὸν ἔσται X X κυρίῳ; |
19 And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten [the] sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD? |
19 Then Aaron said to Moses, “So, today they offered their sin-offering and their whole-burnt-offering before the face of Yahweh, but these kind of things happened to me. Even had I eaten a sin-offering today, would it have been good in the eyes of Yahweh?” |
19
וַיְדַבֵּר
אַהֲרֹן
אֶל-מֹשֶׁה
הֵן הַיּוֹם
הִקְרִיבוּ
אֶת-חַטָּאתָם
וְאֶת-עֹלָתָם
לִפְנֵי
יְהוָה
וַתִּקְרֶאנָהQI3fp אֹתִי
כָּאֵלֶּה
וְאָכַלְתִּיQP חַטָּאת
הַיּוֹם הַיִּיטַבQI3s בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה:
|
|
20 καὶ ἤκουσεν Μωυσῆς, καὶ ἤρεσεν αὐτῷ X X. |
20 And when Moses heard that, he was content X X. |
20 And Moses listened and it seemed good in his eyes. |
20וַיִּשְׁמַעQI מֹשֶׁה
וַיִּיטַבQI בְּעֵינָיו:
פ |
[1] Romans 8:26 “In the same way the Spirit also
helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit
Himself intercedes for us with groanings too
deep for words” (NASB)
[a] Lev. 6:16 clarifies that this remainder that they
were to eat was what was left after they had taken their memorial handful and
burnt it on the altar as the priest’s tithe to God. Leviticus 6 had just said
to eat it in the courtyard of the tabernacle, and this states where in the
courtyard they were to eat it, namely “beside the altar,” which, incidentally,
was where the ash pit was (Lev. 1:16, and 6:10). I have to wonder if there is
some intentional parallelism between the sons of Aaron and the grain offering:
Some of Aaron’s sons and some of the grain offering were burned. The remainder
of Aarons sons and the remainder of the grain offering alike are called in
Hebrew a notar- (a remaining portion),
and both of whom part were burned and another part
[b] The Cairo Geniza
substitutes the word ‘LORD’ for Moses. Moses faithfulness to pass along to
Aaron what God said would make the practical upshot the same, but if it were
the original wording, it would be hard to explain why it’s not in the LXX or
the Samaritan Pentateuch, so I suspect the
[c] The breast meat and the larger portions of grain were
to feed all of the priest’s dependents. The Hebrew spells out that it is not
only for the “sons” but also for the “daughters,” and the Septuagint interprets
that as everyone in the “household,” which would include the wife and servants
too, and I think that is the right interpretation, for it is not for all the daughters
who had married and moved into other households, but only for the daughters and
sons who were “with him” – still living in his household. (It was quite an
oversight for the NIV to omit that prepositional phrase “with him” and “with
you” in verses 14 & 15.) The word describing this “due” or “share” is the
Hebrew word usually translated “ordinance/statute,” the emphasis as it is
repeated 4 times in verses 13 and 14 is that God has decreed that the priests
have a right to a share in the food offering on the altar. It is to be a stable
source of food for them, which no man can take away.
[d] The S.P. and the LXX add “and your daughters” (as it
is in v.14), but the DSS do not support the presence of that extra word, so I’m
not inclined to add it. This doesn’t change the meaning, however, because
“sons” can also mean “children [including daughters].”
[e] Aaron does a very mature thing. He has truly come
into his own as priest. He responds gently to his gifted little brother,
reminding Moses that it is God’s opinion, not Moses’ command which is
ultimately what matters. Furthermore, Aaron recognizes the personal nature of
God, yes God made very specific rules and wanted things done a certain way, but
ultimately God sees our worship as a person and not like a computer. With a
computer, everything has to be perfect or it doesn’t work, but with a person,
the relationship and the intent of the heart can be taken into account.
Thirdly, Aaron has grasped that if the sacrifice itself is about God’s mercy,
then he can trust in God’s mercy to set things right even after he has tried
his best and failed to get everything perfect. Ultimately it’s not whether I
did everything right but whether God wants to show mercy. (Exodus 33:19, Romans
9:16, Psalm 52:8, Romans 4:3-5) “Our unfitness for duty, when it is natural and
not sinful, will have great allowances made for it; and God will have mercy and
not sacrifice.” ~Matthew Henry
[f] Gill: “by eating the sin offering, or sin itself, as
it is in the original text, they made the sins of the people, for whom the
offering was, in some sense their own; and they bore them, and made a typical
atonement for them; in which they were types of Christ, who was made sin for
his people, took their sins upon him, and by imputation they were made his own,
and he bore them in his own body on the tree, and made full satisfaction and
atonement for them. Now since the eating of the sin offering of the people was
of so great importance and consequence, the neglect of it by the priests was
very blameworthy.”
[g]
[h] Not even the Vulgate follows the Septuagint’s
variation from the MT here, but as usual, the faithfulness of Moses to pass
along what the LORD commanded him makes the practical upshot the same.