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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Leviticus 10:8 - 10:20
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Instructions To The Priests
v. 8. And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, He now addressed Himself directly to the high priest to let him know His will,
v. 9. Do not drink wine nor strong drink, the latter being a very strongly intoxicating beverage made from barley, dates, and honey, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go in to the Tabernacle of the Congregation, when engaged in the duties of the priesthood, lest ye die; it shall be a statute forever through out your generations; it was practically equivalent to absolute prohibition in the case of Aaron and his sons, for they must have been on duty continually, especially in the early days: later the priests were on duty in the Sanctuary only a short time during the year;
v. 10. and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; their minds had to be clear for the many cases which required careful distinguishing;
v. 11. and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses. The priests were at the same time the teachers of the people, and their minds did not dare to be befuddled with the fumes of intoxicating liquors while they mere engaged in the discharge of their duties.
v. 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, only a handful having been offered, Lev_9:17, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy. It was used as food for the priests in a place provided for that purpose in the court.
v. 13. And ye shall eat it in the Holy Place, because it is thy due; it was a fee which was intended for the sustenance of the priests while they were on duty in the Sanctuary, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire; for so I am commanded.
v. 14. And the wave-breast and heave-shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou and thy sons and thy daughters with thee; for they be thy due and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the children of Israel. This was the portion set aside for the priests and their families, fees or emoluments, a part of the salary, and this holy meal could be eaten outside of the court, in some clean place.
v. 15. The heave-shoulder and the wave-breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave-offering before the Lord; and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a statute forever, as the Lord hath commanded, Lev_7:31-34.
v. 16. And Moses diligently sought the go at of the sin-offering, for since its blood had been poured out at the altar of burnt offering, its flesh, being a sin-offering, should have been eaten by the priests in the Holy Place, and, behold, it was burned; and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron, which were left alive, saying,
v. 17. Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the Holy Place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make an atonement for them before the Lord? The priests, being mediators of the people in offering the sacrifices, were bound to follow the ritual in all its details, and the eating of the flesh was an essential part of this service.
v. 18. Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the Holy Place, to the altar of incense, as it was described Lev_4:1-21; ye should indeed have eaten it in the Holy Place, as I commanded. Having undertaken the atonement for the people, the responsibility for the sins and that of carrying out every single precept of the sacrifice rested upon them.
v. 19. And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin-offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, the priests had made these offerings for themselves; and such things have befallen me, in being bereft of two of his sons; and if I had eaten the sin-offering today, should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord? The fearful accident which had happened had made Aaron and his remaining sons incapable of and unfit for eating. Cf Hos_9:4.
v. 20. And when Moses heard that, he was content, literally, "it was good in his eyes," he was satisfied that no disregard of the Lord's precepts was intended, that the circumstances warranted Aaron and his sons in acting as they did. The law of love is the highest law and supersedes all others. It was so in the Old Testament, as it is in the New, that God desired mercy rather than sacrifice.