Leviticus 9:1-7: a reflection

1On the eighth day, Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; 2and he said to Aaron, “Take a calf from the herd for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without defect, and offer them before the LORD. 3You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both a year old, without defect, for a burnt offering; 4and a bull and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meal offering mixed with oil: for today the LORD appears to you.’” 5They brought what Moses commanded before the Tent of Meeting. All the congregation came near and stood before the LORD. 6Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded that you should do; and the LORD’s glory shall appear to you.” 7Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar, and offer your sin offering, and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself, and for the people; and offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded.”

As Aaron begins his priestly ministry, Moses instructs him first to make atonement for his own sin, before he makes atonement for the people. Draw near to the altar, Moses says to Aaron, and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Before Aaron could minister on behalf of the people, he had first to deal with his own sin, offering a sin offering for himself. The one who would make atonement for others was himself a sinner in need of atonement, and had to receive it first. This shows the humility of the servant who must deal with his own sin before ministering to others. The minister must deal with his own sin first. Those who would help others with their sin need atonement themselves. Aaron made atonement for himself before for the people. The servant of God is a sinner needing grace too.

Notice the order Moses gives Aaron: first make atonement for yourself, then for the people. Aaron was to be the priest, the one who would mediate between God and the people, making atonement for their sins. But before he could do this, he had first to deal with his own sin; he too was a sinner, in need of atonement, and had to offer a sin offering for himself first. This is a humbling and important truth. The one who would minister to others in their sin is not above them, sinless, but is himself a sinner in need of the same grace. Aaron could not make atonement for others while ignoring his own need for it; he had to receive atonement himself first. This holds a lesson for all who would help others in their sin and need, who would minister, teach, correct, or guide. We are not above those we would help; we are fellow sinners, in need of the same grace we would offer others. We do well to deal humbly with our own sin, receiving God's grace ourselves, before or as we seek to help others with theirs, not setting ourselves above them but standing alongside them as those who need the same mercy. This points, too, to Christ, our great high priest, who alone had no sin of his own, and so could make atonement for us without needing it himself. Deal humbly with your own sin before ministering to others. Those who help others are fellow sinners needing the same grace. Do not set yourself above those you would help; you need grace too. Christ alone needed no atonement, and so could atone for us.

That is worth taking to heart, for those who would minister to others in their sin are themselves sinners needing the same grace, and we do well to deal humbly with our own sin, as Aaron made atonement for himself before for the people. We can set ourselves above those we would help, as though we were sinless and they the sinners; but Aaron, the priest, had to make atonement for his own sin first. We need the same grace we offer. When you seek to help others with their sin, deal humbly with your own first, standing alongside them as one who needs the same mercy. Deal humbly with your own sin, receiving God's grace yourself, as you seek to help others with theirs, not setting yourself above them but standing alongside them as a fellow sinner needing the same mercy, as Moses instructed Aaron, before he could make atonement for the people, first to make atonement for his own sin, offering a sin offering for himself; for Aaron, who would be the priest mediating between God and the people and making atonement for their sins, had first to deal with his own sin, since he too was a sinner in need of atonement, which is a humbling and important truth, that the one who would minister to others in their sin is not above them, sinless, but is himself a fellow sinner needing the same grace, so that Aaron could not make atonement for others while ignoring his own need for it but had to receive it himself first, which holds a lesson for all who would help, teach, correct, or guide others, since we are not above those we would help but are fellow sinners needing the same grace, so that we do well to deal humbly with our own sin and receive God's grace ourselves, standing alongside those we would help rather than above them, which points too to Christ, our great high priest, who alone had no sin of his own and so could make atonement for us without needing it himself.

Lord, as Aaron begins his priestly ministry, Moses instructs him first to make atonement for his own sin, before he makes atonement for the people. Draw near to the altar, Moses says to Aaron, and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Before Aaron could minister on behalf of the people, he had first to deal with his own sin, offering a sin offering for himself. The one who would make atonement for others was himself a sinner in need of atonement, and had to receive it first. This shows the humility of the servant who must deal with his own sin before ministering to others. Show me the order Moses gives Aaron: first make atonement for yourself, then for the people. Aaron was to be the priest, mediating between you and the people; but before he could do this, he had first to deal with his own sin. He too was a sinner, in need of atonement. This is a humbling and important truth. The one who would minister to others in their sin is not above them, sinless, but is himself a sinner in need of the same grace. This holds a lesson for me, whenever I would help others in their sin and need, whenever I would minister, teach, correct, or guide. I am not above those I would help; I am a fellow sinner, in need of the same grace I would offer others. I do well to deal humbly with my own sin, receiving your grace myself, before or as I seek to help others with theirs. This points, too, to Christ, our great high priest, who alone had no sin of his own, and so could make atonement for us without needing it himself. Take that to my heart, for those who would minister to others are themselves sinners needing the same grace. When I seek to help others with their sin, keep me from setting myself above them; help me deal humbly with my own sin first, Lord, standing alongside them as one who needs the same mercy, and give thanks for Christ, who alone needed no atonement yet made atonement for me.