Seeing the Glory of the Lord

Seeing the Glory of the Lord

Leviticus 9

Growing up outside Chicago, the spring was the best. The winters were cold, dark, and windy, but the start of spring began to give a little hope that the bitter, bone chilling cold would soon cease. The spring also meant another Chicago Cubs baseball season would begin. Everyday after school I would walk home, throw my backpack on the ground, turn on WGN, and hope to catch the last few innings of the Cubs 1:20 pm start. I loved watching Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Rick Sutcliffe, and Mark Grace. Tuning in to watch my mediocre Cubs was my daily spring and summer ritual. And as much as I enjoyed watching my Cubs at home on WGN, there was nothing like going to the historic confines of Wrigley field.

We would drive to the train station and take the Skokie swift downtown to Addison street. We would talk a few blocks to the stadium, go through the turnstiles and head up the tunnel. As a kid, walking up the tunnel for the first time to see the freshly cut grace, the old scoreboard, and those white and blue pinstripes, was a kid’s dream. Eddie Vedder, of Pearl Jam fame and avid Cubs fan, wrote in his Cubs classic song All the Way,

Don't let anyone say that it's just a game

For I've seen other teams and it's never the same

When you're born in Chicago you're blessed and you're healed

The first time you walk into Wrigley Field

There is something special when you walk through the tunnel and you stare at that field for the first time. It is the culmination of a little boy’s hope and dreams to experience the sights and the sounds, the exhilarating joy of being in the presence of what you love. 

I hope we all have had those moments. Those moments when hopes are realized, when dreams become a reality. Holding your long awaited child after years of infertility, walking across the stage finally getting your degree, or ringing the bell for your last cancer treatment. There is a different kind of joy and exhilaration, a different level of emotion when you finally experience something you have been longing for. The joy of a young boy in the Chicago suburbs seeing the glory of Wrigley Field for the first time is similar to Leviticus 9. Yet it is similar only in type not in degree. The joy of Leviticus 9 is a joy that is of a different degree that the smaller earthly joys the Lord allows for his people. The joy of Leviticus 9 is a completely different kind of joy. It is the joy of seeing the glory of the Lord as a forgiven sinner. And all other joys cannot compare to it!

Leviticus 9 is the climax of the tension developed at the end of Exodus 40 when the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, but no one could enter it. As Leviticus begins with Moses, the servant of God, along with all the people, outside of the Tabernacle, separate from God’s presence, unable to see and experience God’s glory. In Leviticus 1-7, God provides detailed instruction of the necessary sacrifices to enter the tabernacle, in Leviticus 8, he provides the necessary priests to perform the sacrifices, and in Leviticus 9, he provides himself. Leviticus 9 is the beginning of joy for the people of God. We will divide this chapter into two headings. 

The Hope of the Promise Made

Leviticus 9 begins after the seven days of ordination of Aaron and his sons to serve as priests for Israel, but it begins with the announcement of hope. Leviticus 9:1,

On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel,

Remember how the Lord established the priesthood with seven acts of Moses each signified with the refrain, “And Moses did as the Lord commanded him,” seen in 8:4, 8:9, 8:13, 8:17, 8:21, 8:29, and 8:36. The seven acts in Leviticus 8 are meant to remind the reader of the 7 acts of speech in Genesis 1. God flashing lights showing he is creating a new place, a new Eden, for his people to be in his presence. Don’t miss the significance of Leviticus 9:1 beginning, “On the eighth day.” It is not merely a time reference but an announcement that God is doing something new and glorious for his people.

And then in a moment of divine irony, God speaks to Aaron asking him to start his duties as the high priest by taking a calf and sacrificing it to the Lord. Leviticus 9:1–4,

On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel, and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. And say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil, for today the LORD will appear to you.’” 

The Lord is incredibly kind to Aaron. For the worst moment of his life, his worst sin, his worst failure, as God tells Aaron to take that calf, he is being reminded of his worst moment when he made the golden calf leading the people of God to bow down and worship a false god. But God is not reminding him only of his failure, but he is showing him that despite his failure God will appear to him. The calf he made was an idol of rebellion and now the calf will be a symbol of redemption and atonement allowing him to stand in the presence of God. 

Beloved, we are all sinners and all have done things we regret. And those regrets, those sins, the worst moments of our lives, can only be atoned by a sacrifice. You cannot erase your mistakes by good behavior. You cannot erase your sins by not doing them any more. Your sins, your worst sins, must be atoned by sacrifice. And God is making that promise to Aaron in Leviticus 9. God is saying to Aaron, take the calf, the ram, the goat and the lamb, and offer them to the Lord for today the Lord will appear to you.” God is inviting into his presence through sacrifice. God is a God of redemption. Beloved, do not allow your past sins to be that which defines you. Allow the redemption from those past sins to be what defines you. 

As Aaron and his sons were preparing to offer the sacrifices before the Lord, the whole congregation gathering and Moses gives the big promise of the chapter, Leviticus 9:5–7,

And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. And Moses said, “This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.” Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.” 

The people did not want to see the glory of the Lord at Sinai because they were terrified of his presence. The cloud of glory fell on Sinai and the people were terrified. Even after Moses was hidden in the cleft of the rock and the glory of the Lord passed by him, Moses came off the moment with a glorying face, and the people would get near him. The people did not want to get the glory of the Lord because they were afraid. And they should have been afraid because they were sinners, but God is promising them to see his glory only after their sins have been atoned. Notice verse 6, “This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.” Aaron and his sons must do as the Lord commanded so that the glory of the Lord may appear. And what is the thing? It is to make atonement for himself and for the people. God is making a way for the glory of the Lord to appear to sinners. He is making a way for God’s people to enter his presence. 

The whole congregation gathered in hope of the promise made by God to see the glory of the Lord. And in order to see the glory, Aaron had to do what God had commanded. Leviticus 9:8–21,

So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. And 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 poured out the blood at the base of the altar. But the fat and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses. The flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp.

Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron’s sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. And they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar. And he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

Then he presented the people’s offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and offered it as a sin offering, like the first one. And he presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the rule. And he presented the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.

Then he killed the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings for the people. And Aaron’s sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. But the fat pieces of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail and that which covers the entrails and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver—they put the fat pieces on the breasts, and he burned the fat pieces on the altar, but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses commanded. 

Aaron offered the sacrifices for himself and for all the people. “This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” And Aaron did, “as Moses commanded,” and because he did thing which God commanded, he and the people had atonement from their sins through the shedding of blood. God makes a promise and God keeps his promise. 

The Joy of the Promise Kept

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They did not do as the Lord commanded and therefore were removed from God's presence, cast out of the garden. Genesis 3:22–24,

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. 

The cherubim and a flaming sword turned every way so there was no way anyone was getting back into the garden. They were cast out of the garden to the east. The tabernacle also faced the east so when the people came from the east to the west, it was a sign of God’s people turning from their rebellion and sin to do what the Lord commanded unlike Adam and Eve. And on the eighth day, the first day after the seven days of ordination, Aaron offered sacrifices of atonement for the people of God and all the people gathered at the tent of meeting waiting to see the glory of the Lord. And Leviticus 9:22-24 is the culmination and return of God’s people to his presence. What was lost in Genesis 3 has been regained, in part, in Leviticus 9. It is hard to adequately explain how important Leviticus 9:22-24 is in God’s story of redemption. Sinful people are not allowed back into God’s presence. Leviticus 9:22–24

Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people after the sacrifices were made for their atonement and blessed them. The blessing of God is the goal of life. Aaron lifted his hands and blessed the people, and when Aaron blessed them, this blessing was coming from God. It most likely the words we read in Numbers 6:22–27,

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” 

The Lord puts his name on the people and blesses them with his presence. Imagine gathering around the entrance of the tabernacle. People who had known slavery and oppression. People who have known the bitter agony of sin and rebellion. People who have felt isolated, alone, and under the heavy weight of condemnation. And on that day, Aaron lifted up his hands in place of the Lord for the Lord and blessed Israel with the words of the Lord. And in verse 23, we see the culmination of all that Leviticus has been building towards, “And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting.” They are no longer on the outside of God’s presence but they have come from the east through the sacrifice of blood and now are able to re-enter into the presence of God as the people of God. Leviticus 9:23,

And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 

The glory of their covenanting keeping God appeared to all the people. The hope of the promise made of hope has become the joy of the promise kept. 

What did they see? We can’t be certain but the Bible gives us hints. Exodus 24:17

Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 

Exodus 40:34; 38 

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle…For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

The glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. As one scholar notes, “The God of the mountain had become the God of the tent in their very midst.”

And after the blessing and the announcement of the glory of the Lord, the people see the visible fire sent from heaven consume the burnt offering. Leviticus 9:24,

And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Gordon Wehnam notes, 

 On three other occasions God showed his approval of a burnt offering by sending heavenly fire to burn it up: when the birth of Samson was announced to Manoah and his wife (Judg. 13:15ff.), when Solomon dedicated the temple (2 Chr. 7:1ff.), and when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 K. 18:38ff.).

And if you look at each of those moments, you see a similar response, the worshippers fall to the ground and worship. Mark Rooker adds,

When the glory of the Lord appeared, the people responded with joy and bowed down to worship the Lord.It is significant that the first occurrence of the word “joy” in the Bible is in this context. The combination of worship with joy on this preeminent occasion and the frequent employment of the root rānan (“give a ringing cry”) in response to God indicates that the highest mood of the Old Testament religion was one of joy.

What could be a better response to knowing that your sins are forgiven and you are able to enter the presence of a holy God. The joy of a 10 year old boy walking up the tunnel of Wrigley Field pales in comparison to a wretched rebellious vile sinner being forgiven by the awesome Almighty God of the Universe. There is nothing like this joy. Do you have his joy? Have you forgotten this joy? 

Israel gathered at the entrance of the tent of the meeting and they saw the glory of the Lord. The Tabernacle replaced Eden where God’s people came into God’s presence. Today we do not go to the Tabernacle to see the glory of the Lord but we see the Glory of the Lord in the one who tabernacled among us. John 1:14–18,

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. 

Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, became flesh and dwelt or tabernacled, among us. And now, in the person of Jesus Christ, we have seen the glory of God. We could not see the Father, but now through Jesus Christ, we see and experience the glory of God. Our salvation does not come through the sacrifice of bulls or goats, but through the precious blood of the lamb. Jesus came from the Father and perfectly did the thing that the Lord commanded. Jesus made atonement for our sins and the sins of everyone who would repent and believe. Jesus went to the cross and shed his blood. He was dead and buried but God raised him from the dead. And when he went to the Father, he sent the Holy Spirit to be with us so we could also experience the inexpressible joy of our salvation. 1 Peter 1:8–9

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

Now, everyone has the opportunity to experience the joy of salvation through repentance of sins and faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

God wants the world to experience the blessing of God. The blessing of God is not merely good health or the money to pay your bills, the true blessing of God is his presence. This is what we all should want most in life. We should not live for his blessings (plural), in his gifts, but the blessing (singular) of his presence. Leviticus 9 shows all the people of God gathering at the entrance of the tent of meeting to experience the blessing of God in seeing this glory. Beloved, we should want the same. For this is what the Lord Jesus prayed before his sacrifice for us. John 17:24

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 

The only way to see the glory of the Lord is the same today as it was in Leviticus 9. We need atonement. We need to be forgiven from our sins so that we can enter the presence of God and see his glory. The Lord Jesus wanted us to see the glory of the Father so he came to show us the glory of the Father through life, his death, his resurrection and ascension. And when we repent of our sins, we experience his glory by his Spirit who lives with us. 

Friend, if you are a non-Christian, you need atonement. You need someone to die for your sins. And this is what Jesus offers you. He offers you himself. He offers you the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3–6

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

If you do not be blinded by the lies of the age thinking that there is another way. There is no other way to enter the presence of God but through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

One day everyone will see the glory of God, but it will either be with shouts of joy like we see in Leviticus 9 or it will be shouts of terror when sinful people without atonement enter his presence. Being called to the boss’ office for a promotion is much different than being called to be dismissed. One day, all of us will be called to the throne room of God and it will either be for our promotion to glory or to be dismissed to hell. Joy or terror awaits every single person on the planet. Everyone will see the glory of the Lord, but only those who have atonement will experience joy. 

Friends, Jesus wants people to experience the glory of God. It is why he came to dwell among us. He came to die, to be our atoning sacrifice, so that you could have joy and enter the presence of God. You can be redeemed like Aaron, who once bowed down to false gods, and be welcomed into his presence. It does not matter how many sins you have or how horrible those sins are, if you have the atoning sacrifice of Christ, he nails them, not in part but the whole to the cross you bear them no more. I pray if you know that you do not have atonement, forgiveness of your sins through the blood of the Lamb of God, I pray today you would repent and turn to Christ and be forgiven. 

About a year ago, Pastor Daniel and I flew to Chicago to watch the Cubs play the Dodgers in Wrigley field. I was able to share the glory of Wrigley Field with my friend. It was a moment of great joy. But that joy pales in comparison to the joy of sharing and seeing in the glory of God together in the church. Each week I get to gather with Pastor Daniel and all the saints of Park Baptist Church to see, savor and sing of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And what we do each and every week is merely a foretaste, an appetizer to the main course, of the glory we will experience in heaven. Revelation 21:22–23,

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 

Leviticus 9 is showing how God is recreating a place for his people to be in his presence. And Leviticus 9 is merely another step on God’s staircase of redemption leading us to that heavenly city where we no longer hope for but live forever in the joy of the glory of God. Beloved, as we think about the glory of God and as we see a glimpse of his glory when we gather, it should cause our hearts to rejoice with inexpressible joy. 

But beloved, there are many in this world who have yet to experience and see the light of glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Revelation 21:22–23;27

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb…But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

Beloved, those who are unclean, who have no atonement, cannot enter God’s presence. Those whose lives are marked by uncleanness, by lust and lies, by greed and gluttony, by those who do acts that are detestable and dishonor God. Beloved, we can raise our fists against them and shout at them for their sin, or we point them to the Lamb of God who takes away all and every sin through his atoning sacrifice. 

Aaron prayed and blessed the people before the sacrifice, foreshadowing another high priest who would pray before his sacrifice. The Lord Jesus prayed, John 17:22–24,

The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 

The heart of the Lord Jesus is that the church would be one, that church would see the glory of Jesus so that the world would know that Jesus was sent to love and save them through his atoning sacrifice. Beloved, Jesus doesn’t only want his people to see his glory, but he wants the world to see it and believe and have joy. 

When you are a child, you are satisfied to see glory by yourself, but as you grow and mature, you are not satisfied until you share that glory with those you love. Beloved, I pray as a church we would share the heart of Jesus in seeing the glory of God together and sharing it with all the world so that they too can have an atoning sacrifice and experience joy when they see the glory of the Lord. We want the world to know the joy of having their names written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

Lets Pray..

 To our God be the glory, to our God be praise

He alone, the name above all names

I will boast ever only in the Lord, my God

For I know His glory is my good