Lev 9:22-25. The Very First “Service”.

 

“Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes”. ROMANS 6:13 

This portion of the Torah, that I read last week at services, is called שמיני “shmini”, which means “eighth”.   It tells the order of the very first Jewish service.  Ever.  Every Jewish and Christian service ever held is the great-great grandchild of this one.   Worth a look?

God was going to raise Aaron and his sons up as a priesthood, priests from the hood ;-), and He had a plan for changing them from the spiritual slobs they were into actual “priests”.   Transformation, God you have my attention! The year is 1145.   Just within the past couple of months, Aaron was displaying his unfitness as a leader, carefully at work building the golden calf!   How is a person like that changed into a priest, a cohen, a heart set apart for God?   

First, God tells Aaron and his sons to sequester themselves inside the “ohel moed”, the tent of meeting.   It’s not a tent to have a meeting in, it’s a place to meet God.   It’s small, only about twice the size of my living room.   Then, on the eight day (“shmini”) something special was going to happen.  

God was going to have a service. It had an order to it, we sometimes call it an “order of service”.   You recognize our service:  we say a blessing, the Shema (Dt 6:4) and the V’ahavta (Dt 6:5-9), we have worship in music, and offering is given, we have the reading from the Torah, a message, another blessing (the Aaronic benediction, Num 6:24) to end it.  Maybe yours is different, but I bet it has similar parts to it.  

THIS service had many of those components.  

It starts with a message.   (at the beginning!).    Lev 9.22 gets translated that Aaron “lifted his hands”.   We don’t know what that blessing was, but I am willing to be it included direction, imparted words to be remember.  It was a message of transformation, a starting point for new life, not a stodgy benediction.   This was a nation of slaves, beaten, burdened, and now dusty travelers.   Aaron gave a MESSAGE OF BLESSING. 

A sacrifice was made, an offering for sin, and for peace.   After Aaron blesses the people (the very first Aaronic benediction!), something unfamiliar to use takes place:  he and Moses disappear into the Tent of Meeting and everyone is left standing, waiting.  What will happen next, anticipation builds.   When they come out of the tent, the whole thing goes off script:  the k’vod adonai, the PRESENCE OF GOD appears and “EVERYONE sees it!”.   An actual fire comes down from God and consumes (eats) the offering.  

Then something happens that should be familiar to us:  It is most often translated that “they shouted” after they saw the presence of God.   But the word יראנו “yeranu”, future tense of רן “rahn” is a flowery or archaic word for “SING”.  They SANG!   Psalm 95 “come let us sing” is “lechu n’rahn”.    Then it all busted loose, they fell on their faces, overcome.  THAT my friends is a service.  

But why do we call it a “service”?   Because we are there to serve God.   Not to be “ministered to” or “fed” as is often said.   “Worship” is the act of us, putting ourselves to the side and being a priest, and praising, saying good about God, thanking God.    Sometimes people say “the worship was good today”, or “I like the way that person worships”

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וַיִּשָּׂ֨א אַהֲרֹ֧ן אֶת־יָדָ֛ו אֶל־הָעָ֖ם וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֑ם וַיֵּ֗רֶד מֵעֲשֹׂ֧ת הַֽחַטָּ֛את וְהָעֹלָ֖ה וְהַשְּׁלָמִֽים׃ 

נשא to bear, to carry; to deliver (a speech, address, prayer); to suffer, to tolerate

Aaron lifted his hands (נישא - also means to give an address…used as often that way in scripture) toward the people and blessed them; and he stepped down after offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the offering of well-being.

וַיָּבֹ֨א מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְאַהֲרֹן֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וַיֵּ֣צְא֔וּ וַֽיְבָרְכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיֵּרָ֥א כְבוֹד־יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־כׇּל־הָעָֽם׃ 

ירא - רנן - cry out, a ringing cry of exultation 

Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the Presence of יהוה appeared to all the people.

וַתֵּ֤צֵא אֵשׁ֙ מִלִּפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ אֶת־הָעֹלָ֖ה וְאֶת־הַחֲלָבִ֑ים וַיַּ֤רְא כׇּל־הָעָם֙ וַיָּרֹ֔נּוּ וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃ 

Fire came forth from before יהוה and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted (“sang”), and fell on their faces.

Shmini

Lev 9:1

וַיְהִי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י קָרָ֣א מֹשֶׁ֔ה לְאַהֲרֹ֖ן וּלְבָנָ֑יו וּלְזִקְנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃