Year of the Bible: Part Three of Twelve Exemplo

Aaron's Other Sons.

Following the death of Nadab and Abihu, we have to imagine that the Priests may have been a bit scared to serve in the sanctuary. Seeing the bodies on the sanctuary floor made them all check their hearts to ensure they were doing things correctly!

The IVP Bible Background Commentary helps us understand what happened after Nadab and Abihu died in the sanctuary. It explains that Moses gave the priests instructions on eating the leftovers from the fire offerings and the sin offering. He was pretty mad when he found out they had incinerated all of it!

Here is a little context: the purification offering was believed to absorb the impurities that it was offered to cleanse. It was common for the priests to eat part of the offering, symbolizing that holiness (the priest) swallowed up the impurity (sin). When a significant amount of impurity (sin) was absorbed, like on the Day of Atonement, it was common to burn the entire offering to get rid of the impurity. But, in the instance we study today, the occasion was one where the priests should have eaten some of the sin offerings.

Aaron explained to Moses that the death of his sons in the sanctuary might have increased the amount of impurity the sin offering had absorbed. He explained that the priests feared eating a portion of it would have been lethal to them! Aaron and his surviving sons either feared eating the remains would kill them or did not feel worthy of eating the meat of the sin offering. Moses accepted that explanation and noted the priest's fearful caution or shame.

Notes in the Baker Illustrated Bible tell us that priests participated in the role of God, who forgives guilt when He extends mercy to sinners. The fact that Jesus bore the responsibility for our sins as our priest and died for those sins as our sacrificial victim, combining the two roles in himself, proves that He died as our substitute. The sin offering was a substitute for the death that should have followed each sin committed by the people.

So, we conclude that Jesus was the sin offering (his body on the cross) and the one who swallowed up the impurity of our sin as a priest would have done.

Question: Now that you have the information in this lesson, do you understand the cross more completely? Jesus was both priest and offering in one act.

Prayer Focus: Moses got angry at the Priests for misunderstanding the commands about the sin offerings, and he listened to Aaron's explanation and accepted it.

Take some time to talk to God about times you have not done what He asked you to do. If shame is lingering, take time to lay that at the feet of Jesus and allow forgiveness to come to you!

Take some time today to think about how Jesus became the sacrifice and also was the priest who offered himself on the cross to cleanse our sins. It's pretty mind-blowing to meditate on the dual role He accepted on the cross for us!