Leviticus 8: The First Sacrifices Offered

In Leviticus 8, we see the first sacrifices offered as Aaron and his sons begin the process of being consecrated as priests. I've been having a bit of trouble finding what to say about this passage, but I'll share what I've got.

The scene depicted is, I think, a momentous occasion since chapter 8 marks the beginning of the actual implementation of the full OT law. Moses acts as the priest for Aaron and his sons, with the whole congregation of Israel as witness. Moses offers a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a priestly consecration offering, consecrates much of the temple equipment, the priestly clothing, and puts blood on the right earlobe, right thumb, and right big toe of Aaron and his sons. All this is carried out at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to remain in the entrance, day and night, for seven days with the same sacrifices being repeated each day. At the end of seven days they will have been consecrated as priests. At the very end of the chapter Aaron and his sons are warned to do everything exactly as they are commanded throughout the ceremony so that they do not die.

Such as they are, I have several questions about this passage. Why do all the procedures take place at the entrance to the tent of meeting? Why does all of Israel stand as witness? Why does the consecration take seven days?  And why are the consequences for disobeying so harsh? I will say something about each question in turn.

On question one. I had not thought about the name, 'tent of meeting,' until today, but it is clearly referring to a place where people are able to meet God. That's (supposedly) why people go there and would want to go there. Also, as I have mentioned earlier, priests are meant to be mediators between God and the people, offering a means of atonement so that a relationship can be restored. Thus, it makes perfect sense that the Priests' consecration, and the sacrifices in general, would take place at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priests' job is keep the entrance open. So their work must take place primarily at the boarder between the holy place where one can meet God, and the common place where one normally lives. The priests are consecrated in the entrance, first, so that they may enter the tent of meeting, and second, so that they can allow others to enter. As with my last post, I have not gone back to peruse Exodus to see what kinds of restrictions there are on entering the tent of meeting, but even if people are allowed in without offering sacrifices first, I don't think the symbolic importance of the location of the sacrifices would be compromised.

On question two. As an initial observation, witnesses are always nice at formal proceedings since it makes them more official. Also, public transparency is nice since it helps guard against foul play. On a more symbolic level, having all of Israel present communicates that they are involved in the system. Their presence matters and is useful, and is a reminder that the sacrifices are being made available primarily for their benefit. So it would make sense to have them present at the enactment of the law. As a side note, it is interesting how publicly inclusive the OT law is toward the common population. Everyone is supposed to know the law and have access to it, everyone is supposed to be involved, and God is obviously interested in the welfare of the general populace and of regular individuals. I'm not sure what other religious systems were like at the time, but while there is hierarchy in the Jewish system, I do not see strong overtones of elitism.

On question three. I'm not entirely sure why the consecration ceremony lasts seven days. The obvious connection I'm inclined to make is with creation, which also took seven days, but I'm not sure how strong the connection is. There are certainly some nice symbolic parallels that can be made, for instance, that through the law God is creating a new system intended to restore at least one aspect of the brokenness of the first general creation. So there seem to be elements of creation and progress toward relationship in the sacrificial system, but like I say, I'm not sure how strong the parallel to Genesis really is. Beyond this potential connection, I have no idea why the ceremony might have lasted seven days.

On question four. The fact that the stakes are so high (do things right or you die) in the consecration processes seems to signify pretty clearly the importance of what is happening. God takes the law very seriously. The priests are meant to be His agents mediating His holy law for the people, so it is unacceptable to have them treating their job lightly. God's holiness is not a trivial matter. Plus, if the law God has given really is the way for the people to make atonement to God and to reestablish a relationship with Him, it should be enormously encouraging to them that God takes the law seriously. This means that He is very serious about establishing and maintaining a relationship with the people, and about making sure they can always return to Him.

If I am perfectly honest, I feel like I have barely begun to scratch the surface of this chapter. If you have further ideas about what's going on, I would love to hear them! Have a wonderful day, and God bless!