The Appearance of the Sh’khinah Glory
9: 22-24
The appearance of the Sh’khinah glory DIG: Why was it necessary to have a mediator? Who is our mediator today? What does the fact that the bronze altar was heaped with offerings point to? What is important about Moses and Aaron coming out of the Sanctuary? What is the priestly blessing intended to do? What was the reaction of the people to the Sh’khinah?
REFLECT: The bible says, “For there is one mediator between God and mankind, the man Messiah Yeshua (First Timothy 2:5). When was the last time you felt especially in need of your Mediator? How did He help you through that time? How has He helped you since? When was your “tongues of fire” moment? How do you remember it? How can you help others?
Then the Sh’khinah glory of ADONAI appeared to all the people.
In order for the ritual to be properly presented to ADONAI (to see link click Be – The Offerings for the People of Isra’el), there had to be a mediator. And so the next step in the working out of the pattern of worship, before the Sh’khinah glory appeared, was the necessary work of the high priest. The bronze altar was heaped with purification, the burnt, and peace offerings. In the sequence of events recorded for this inaugural service (see Bb – The Beginning of the Priestly Service), Aaron came down from the bronze altar, raised his hands toward the people, and blessed them (9:22).136
The priestly benediction: Then Moses and Aaron went together into the Holy Place to apply the blood on the gold altar of incense (see the commentary on Exodus Fp – Altar of Incense in the Sanctuary: Christ, Our Advocate with the Father), and to pray for YHVH to fulfill His promise to bless the people by appearing to them. Then they both came out and Aaron blessed the people (9:23). If we weren’t paying attention, it would be easy to miss the significance of that achievement. The priesthood and the sacrifices were a success! The proof is that Moses and Aaron were able to enter into the Sanctuary. They were able to draw near, entering into the very Presence of ADONAI. It was the first time anyone had been able to enter the Sanctuary since Exodus 40:34-35. Now we read that Moshe and Aaron entered the Sanctuary, emerged from it and again blessed the children of Isra’el.
This is known as the Aaronic Priestly Blessing. It was, and is, intended to put the Name of ADONAI upon the people of Isra’el. Traditionally, the priests blessed the people every morning after morning burnt offerings at the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). When recited, the priest raised his hands with the palms facing outward and the thumbs of his outspread hands touching. The four fingers on each hand are split into two sets of two fingers each (thus forming the letter Shin, an emblem for Shaddai).137 ADONAI said to Moshe, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and tell them that this is how you are to bless the people of Isra’el: you are to say to them, ‘May ADONAI bless you and keep you. May ADONAI make His face shine on you and show you His favor. May ADONAI lift up His face toward you and give you peace’ (Numbers 6:22-26).”
This blessing is known by three different names, It is called the “Priestly Blessing” because the priesthood was commanded to bless Isra’el with it. Each day, following the daily, continual burnt offering, the priests would recite this blessing over the Israelites. It is also called duchaning (the going up to the platform) because in Temple times, the priests would first ascend to a platform (duchan) before conferring the blessing. The third name by which this blessing is called is “the lifting of the hands” because in Temple times, the priests would lift up their hands and make the sign of the Hebrew letter shin with their fingers (made famous by Spock on Star Trek). The shin is an accepted Jewish abbreviation for the Name of God. This was practiced in Temple times to fulfill the commandment: In this way they are to put My name on the people of Isra’el, so that I will bless them (Numbers 6:27).138
The appearance of the Sh’khinah glory: The Aaronic blessing was immediately followed by a startling manifestation of the presence of ADONAI. Then the Sh’khinah glory of ADONAI appeared to all the people (see the commentary on Isaiah Ju – The Glory of the LORD Rises Upon You)! Fire came forth from the presence of ADONAI, consuming the burnt offering and the fat on the altar (9:24a). In consuming the sacrifices, YHVH signaled His approval. He had brought Isra’el near. Their korbanot (things brought near) had been accepted. Fire shot out from inside the Sanctuary and consumed the heap of sacrifices that Aaron and his sons had laid upon the bronze altar.139
Dear Heavenly Father, You are the Light of the world! Your glory is magnificent! Someday soon, all who love You, will live with You in Your eternal home in heaven (John 14:1-3). I thank You so much for all it cost You, the great pain and shame of my redemption, by Yeshua’s death and resurrection. I desire to live as a bright light for You, shining out by my acts of love that tell others of Your holy love and also of Your righteous judgment for those who love themselves as more than they love You. And the testimony is this – that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life; the one who does not have Ben-Elohim does not have life (First John 5:11-12). You are my joy! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen
When all the people saw it. When the Hebrew text tells us that all the people saw it (9:24b), the Hebrew idiom means the vast majority, not necessarily every single individual. Nevertheless, the fire was such that it made an impression on the whole nation. It was not a little fire. Nor could it have been merely a fire on the bronze altar if all the people saw it. It had to be visible even on its way down from the LORD in order for a gathering of some two million to have seen it.
They shouted (Hebrew: vaiyaronnu) for joy (9:24c): Then we are told that the people sang a glad song. The root of the Hebrew word in this text is ranan. It is used elsewhere to signify ringing cries, especially in prayers and joy. Targum Onkelos rendered it, “and they praised.” Putting it all together, it seems that when all the people saw the Sh’khinah and the fire, they shouted a great noise of praise and worship, a sound of joy.
No matter when God’s fire came down from heaven to consume an offering it always had the same reactions from the people. And fell (Hebrew: vaiyippelu) on their faces to worship the LORD in reverence and awe (9:24d). They worshiped with the same fervency as when they first came out of Egypt. It truly was a time of national unity in their devotion to the God who redeemed them and entered into a personal relationship with them. Between the Sh’khinah and blessing, the children of Isra’el must have felt so accepted and intimate with the LORD. God was dwelling with His people, and His people had access to His Presence.
The goal which ADONAI set for Isra’el in the words: Let them build Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8) was achieved at last. The appearance of the Sh’khinah glory within the Sanctuary and descent of the heavenly fire were the culmination of the miraculous events signaling that intimacy had been established between the nation of Isra’el and her God. The supreme dignity of Isra’el as the chosen people was being confirmed by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jaob Himself.
Tongues of fire: There was another time in Isra’el’s history when fire came down from ADONAI in a miraculous way. The instance is recorded in Acts Chapter 2 (see the commentary on Acts Al – The Ruach Ha’Kodesh Comes at Shavu’ot). And it happened when the people of Isra’el were worshiping at the Temple – also offering the prescribed sacrifices! The fire on that day was the visible manifestation of the coming Spirit of God to empower the Jewish believers in Yeshua to share the Good News of Messiah with thousands of other Jews who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Shavu’ot from all over the Diaspora. As a result, because Ha’Shem gave the Jewish believers a supernatural spiritual gift to speak the languages of the worshipers from all over the world, about 3,000 Jewish people came to have their sins atoned for by trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. On that occasion, as in Leviticus Chapter 9, fire miraculously came from the LORD, there was atonement for sins, and great blessing came upon the people of Isra’el.
It would have been wonderful to write at this point, “and they lived happily ever after.” But as the text indicates, it was not meant to be In fact, some commentators say that right from the beginning of this parashah (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Af – Parashah) we have a hint that it was not all going to be singing and rejoicing from then until eternity. The midrash speaks of this when it says, “Whenever the words vayehi bimei (literally, now it came about (as seen in Leviticus 9:1), or and it came to pass in the days of) are used in Scripture, there is misfortune connected to it (Vayikra Rabba 11.7). Sadly, such is the case here in Leviticus (see Bh – The Death of Nadab and Abihu).140
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