18 And he slaughtered the bullock and the ram of the sacrifice of peace-offering which was for the people. And Aaron's sons delivered to him the blood, and he sprinkled it on the altar round about;
For *he* is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of enclosure, having annulled the enmity in his flesh, the law of commandments in ordinances, that he might form the two in himself into one new man, making peace; and might reconcile both in one body to God by the cross, having by it slain the enmity; and, coming, he has preached the glad tidings of peace to you who [were] afar off, and [the glad tidings of] peace to those [who were] nigh.
And if his offering be a sacrifice of peace-offering, -- if he present [it] of the herd, whether a male or female, he shall present it without blemish before Jehovah. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and slaughter it at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood on the altar round about. And he shall present of the sacrifice of peace-offering an offering by fire to Jehovah; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys; and Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt-offering which [lieth] on the wood that is upon the fire: [it is] an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour. And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace-offering to Jehovah be of small cattle, male or female, he shall present it without blemish. If he present a sheep for his offering, then shall he present it before Jehovah, and shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and slaughter it before the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about. And he shall present of the sacrifice of peace-offering an offering by fire to Jehovah; the fat thereof, the whole fat tail, which he shall take off close by the backbone, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys; and the priest shall burn it on the altar: [it is] the food of the offering by fire to Jehovah. And if his offering be a goat, then he shall present it before Jehovah. And he shall lay his hand on the head of it, and slaughter it before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof on the altar round about. And he shall present thereof his offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah; the fat that covereth the inwards and all the fat that is on the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys; and the priest shall burn them on the altar: [it is] the food of the offering by fire for a sweet odour. All the fat [shall be] Jehovah's. [It is] an everlasting statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings: no fat and no blood shall ye eat.
And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offering, which [a man] shall present to Jehovah. If he present it for a thanksgiving, then he shall present with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and fine flour saturated with oil, cakes mingled with oil. Besides the cakes, he shall present his offering of leavened bread with the sacrifice of his peace-offering of thanksgiving. And of it he shall present one out of the whole offering as a heave-offering to Jehovah; to the priest that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offering, to him it shall belong. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offering of thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is presented; he shall not let any of it remain until the morning. And if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or voluntary, it shall be eaten the same day that he presented his sacrifice; on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten; and the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire. And if [any] of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offering be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, it shall not be reckoned to him that hath presented it; it shall be an unclean thing, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
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Commentary on Leviticus 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 9
Le 9:1-24. The Priests' Entry into Office.
1-7. Moses called … Take thee a young calf for a sin offering—The directions in these sacred things were still given by Moses, the circumstances being extraordinary. But he was only the medium of communicating the divine will to the newly made priests. The first of their official acts was the sacrifice of another sin offering to atone for the defects of the inauguration services; and yet that sacrifice did not consist of a bullock—the sacrifice appointed for some particular transgression, but of a calf, perhaps not without a significant reference to Aaron's sin in the golden calf [Ex 32:22-24]. Then followed a burnt offering, expressive of their voluntary and entire self-devotement to the divine service. The newly consecrated priests having done this on their own account, they were called to offer a sin offering and burnt offering for the people, ending the ceremonial by a peace offering, which was a sacred feast. This injunction, "to make atonement for himself and for the people" (Septuagint, "for thy family"), at the commencement of his sacred functions, furnishes a striking evidence of the divine origin of the Jewish system of worship. In all false or corrupt forms of religion, the studied policy has been to inspire the people with an idea of the sanctity of the priesthood as in point of purity and favor with the Divinity far above the level of other men. But among the Hebrews the priests were required to offer for the expiation of their own sins as well as the humblest of the people. This imperfection of Aaron's priesthood, however, does not extend to the gospel dispensation: for our great High Priest, who has entered for us into "the true tabernacle," "knew no sin" (Heb 10:10, 11).
8. Aaron … went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering—Whether it had been enjoined the first time, or was unavoidable from the divisions of the priestly labor not being as yet completely arranged, Aaron, assisted by his sons, appears to have slain the victims with his own hands, as well as gone through all the prescribed ritual at the altar.
17-21. meat offering … wave offering—It is observable that there is no notice taken of these in the offerings the priests made for themselves. They could not bear their own sins: and therefore, instead of eating any part of their own sin offering, as they were at liberty to do in the case of the people's offering, they had to carry the whole carcasses "without the camp and burn them with fire" [Ex 29:14; Le 4:12].
22. Aaron lifted up his hand … and blessed them—The pronouncing of a benediction on the people assembled in the court was a necessary part of the high priest's duty, and the formula in which it was to be given is described (Nu 6:23-27).
came down from offering—The altar was elevated above the level of the floor, and the ascent was by a gentle slope (Ex 20:26).
23. Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle—Moses, according to the divine instructions he had received, accompanied Aaron and his sons to initiate them into their sacred duties. Their previous occupations had detained them at the altar, and they now entered in company into the sacred edifice to bear the blood of the offerings within the sanctuary.
the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people—perhaps in a resplendent effulgence above the tabernacle as a fresh token of the divine acceptance of that newly established seat of His worship.
24. there came a fire out from … the Lord—A flame emanating from that resplendent light that filled the holy place flashed upon the brazen altar and kindled the sacrifices. This miraculous fire—for the descent of which the people had probably been prepared, and which the priests were enjoined never to let go out (Le 6:13)—was a sign, not only of the acceptance of the offerings and of the establishment of Aaron's authority, but of God's actual residence in that chosen dwelling-place. The moment the solemn though welcome spectacle was seen, a simultaneous shout of joy and gratitude burst from the assembled congregation, and in the attitude of profoundest reverence they worshipped "a present Deity."