And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down after the offering of the sin-offering, and the burnt-offering, and the peace-offering.
Leviticus 9 closes the seven days of setting Aaron apart as priest. This verse records the first thing he does for the people once every offering is on the altar. Two things stand out. He blesses only after the sacrifices are complete, and he blesses with lifted hands before coming down.
Writers who describe the bronze altar explain why a priest had to "come down" from it at all.
A slope of earth on its south side, instead of steps, gave the officiating priest the way up to do his work. So he must have stood above the offerer and the onlookers. That is why we read of Aaron coming down from the altar.
The order of events carries the lesson.
The moment Aaron had finished offering the sacrifices, he could bless the people. Until that moment he had never acted this way toward them. But once he had offered everything rightly, he did not wait a moment. This teaches us, as it taught them, the ground on which people can be blessed: the acceptance of the sacrifice. Apart from Christ's death, pictured in the offerings, this could not have happened. As soon as God has accepted the sacrifice, He can righteously bless.
The verse names sin offering, burnt offering and peace offerings together. Commentators read all three as pointing to one person and one death.
All these offerings foreshadow the one sacrifice of Christ. He was sin offering, burnt offering and peace offering alike. Indeed, He is the reality behind all the sacrifices found in Leviticus. … The Lord had completed the offering of His sacrifice, and His resurrection was the proof that God had accepted it. … On the foundation of His one, perfect and effective sacrifice, He had become the channel between the heart of God and His people for all the blessing He had secured by His death. God always blesses His people according to His own estimate of the value of the sacrifice of Christ.
The same gesture appears at the end of Luke's Gospel. One difference between the two scenes matters.
This principle still holds today: all blessing comes to us through Christ. Aaron also raised his hands to bless, but his hands had not been pierced. Those of the Lord Jesus had indeed been pierced, and that is how the disciples saw Him ascend.
In Luke's account: "And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:50–51, ESV).
The glory appears and fire falls later in the chapter. The blessing comes first.
On the strength of the completed offerings made on the altar, Aaron lifted up his hands and blessed the people. He did this before the glory of the Lord appeared, and before any visible sign that God had accepted them. Yet accepted they were, or he could not have blessed.
A second blessing follows. Moses and Aaron give it together after they come out of the tent. Writers read the pair as two stages.
First Aaron, standing by the sacrifice, blesses the people. Then Moses and Aaron go into the tabernacle, come out, and bless the people. That is, first Christ as Priest blesses them by virtue of the offered sacrifice. Then Christ as King and Priest goes in and hides Himself for a little while in the tabernacle, and then comes out and blesses the people in this twofold character.
Israel waits for that second blessing. Christians live in a different position while Christ is still in heaven.
Israel will not know that the sacrifice was accepted until Christ comes out as King. For us the Holy Spirit has come out while Christ is still in heaven. So we have the certainty of that acceptance in advance, and we are joined to Him there. This is what gives the Christian his proper character.
The day on which this happens carries meaning of its own.
In Leviticus 9 we have the eighth day. Aaron and his sons were to stand fully consecrated, and the glory of Jehovah appears. After the various offerings in their order, everything closes with a very striking scene. … The eighth day pictures the time of resurrection glory.
- Sacrifice first. Aaron blessed Israel only after he had made every offering. Acceptance of the sacrifice is the ground of all blessing.
- One sacrifice, three shadows. Sin offering, burnt offering and peace offerings all point to Christ. God blesses by His own estimate of that sacrifice's worth.
- Hands lifted. The gesture returns at Bethany. There the hands He raised over the disciples were pierced.
- Before the proof. The blessing came before the glory appeared. It was real because God accepted the offerings, not because the people could yet see it.
- Still to come. Moses and Aaron come out and bless again. Commentators read that as the day Christ appears as King and Priest. Israel waits for it; by the Spirit we hold its certainty now.
And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and came out and blessed the people; and the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the people.
A week of consecration ends here. The offerings are done, Moses and Aaron go inside the tent, and the nation waits. Commentators read the scene as a small picture of Christ's work: the sacrifice offered, the Priest out of sight, then a public appearing.
The date matters. Seven days of consecration are over. This is the eighth.
Here we have an "eighth day" scene — a scene of resurrection glory. Aaron had offered the sacrifice. Then he lifted up his hands and blessed the people as priest. Then Moses and Aaron withdraw into the tabernacle and disappear, while the whole assembly waits outside. Finally Moses and Aaron come out and bless the people. They represent Christ in His double character as Priest and King. The glory appears in all its splendour, the fire consumes the sacrifice, and the whole congregation falls face down in worship before the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
Earlier in the chapter Aaron blesses alone. Here Moses goes in with him: rule and priesthood together.
First the high priest blesses alone. This comes at the close of the consecration, and it rests on the value of all the sacrifices. Then Moses and Aaron go into the tabernacle. This is a picture of the full character of Christ, where governing authority and priesthood come together. Now Christ acts only as priest. Later He will take the kingdom, and He will continue as priest. It foreshadows the day of the Lord, when every eye will see the Lord Jesus in glory, and He will be a priest upon His throne.
The verse has two movements: going in, then coming out. Commentators see two stages of Christ's work, with the present time in between.
First there is Christ as Priest, blessing them on the ground of the offered sacrifice. Then there is Christ as King and Priest, going in and hiding Himself for a little in the tabernacle. Then He comes out and blesses the people in this twofold character. This will take place at the coming of Jesus. Then everyone will see that the sacrifice was accepted, and the glory of Jehovah will appear to the people. Through that they become true worshippers.
Scripture says nothing about what the two men did inside. The people received a blessing carried out to them from a place they could not see.
For the moment Israel's high priest and king were hidden from view. What happened inside the sanctuary we do not know. The record mentions no act that Aaron and Moses performed in the presence of Jehovah. Our thoughts are to stay fixed on what took place in the court of the tabernacle. When Moses and Aaron came out from Jehovah's presence, "they blessed the people." This was the blessing of both priest and king, drawn from the hidden resources of the sanctuary. It pictured the blessing that Christ, the Priest and King, will bring to Israel. He is now in heaven, and He will come out for their sake.
Israel waited outside with no proof that God had received the offering. Believers today stand on different ground, because the Holy Spirit has come down.
As High Priest, Christ has gone up within the veil (which is indeed torn). He has finished the work for His friends, and He waits for the right moment to put down His enemies. Until He comes out, the Jews do not know that the offering is accepted. Here are the king and priest, represented by Moses and Aaron (Lev. 9:23), but they stand outside until His coming out... The Holy Spirit is sent down to make us know it is accepted. Such is the place the church has — those who trusted in Christ beforehand while He is unseen in heaven.
One writer counts three appearings of Christ: one finished, one going on now, one still ahead.
Three times Scripture speaks of the Lord appearing, and each time means something different. He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. That is past. He appears in the presence of God for us now. That is present. He will appear again, apart from sin, to bring salvation. That is future. We already have the gain of the first two. For the last one we are waiting... So Christ has lifted up His hands and blessed the people after His great sacrifice. With hands uplifted He has gone into heaven (Luke 24:50). We wait for the moment when He shall appear to bless His people on the ground of the acceptance of His offering.
- Sacrifice first. The blessing comes only after the offerings are complete. Nothing is said over the people until the work is done.
- Then hiddenness. Moses and Aaron go inside and vanish. The people wait in the court — the picture of Christ now out of view in heaven.
- Then blessing. They bring blessing out of the sanctuary, King and Priest together — the double character Christ will hold when He takes the kingdom.
- Then glory. The glory shown to all is the public proof that God accepted the sacrifice. Israel cannot know it until the Priest comes out.
- Meanwhile, certainty. Believers do not wait outside for that proof. The Holy Spirit has come down to tell us the sacrifice is accepted while Christ is still inside.