This document provides an overview of a sermon given at First Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi on November 12, 2017. The sermon discusses the biblical concept of the priesthood as established in Leviticus chapters 9 and 10, including God's ordination of Aaron and his sons as the first priests and their offering of sacrifices. It also examines the story of Nadab and Abihu being killed for offering "unauthorized fire" and defines a biblical theology of worship, emphasizing that worship must be in spirit and truth, with reverence and obedience to God.

1. Leviticus 9:15-24; 10:1-3
Set Apart
“The Priesthood”
November 12, 2017
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?
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3. The Glory of God!
https://forgodalmighty.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/cropped-sunset1.jpg

4. 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do
it all to the glory of God.
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5. November Memory Verse
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks
in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus for you.

6. Prayer Requests
•Recommendations for Pastor Search Committee to
Committee on Committees.
•Dr. Jason Allen as Interim Pastor.
•Christmas Party – December 7 at The Ivy.
•Carols by Candlelight December 14-17.

7. References
• MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville, TN:
Nelson Publishing, 1997).
• Unless otherwise stated, scriptures are quoted from the
NIV Bible.
• Rose Guide To The Tabernacle, (Carson, CA: Rose
Publishing, 2008).
• Levy, David, The Tabernacle: Shadows of the Almighty
(Bellmawr, NJ: The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, 1993).

8. Introduction to Leviticus 9 & 10
•Leviticus means “relating to the Levites.”
•Leviticus instructs the details of sacrifices and services
in the Tabernacle.
•Leviticus 1-7 describes the sacrificial offerings.
•Leviticus 8 is the ordination of Aaron and his sons.

9. Lesson Today
1. The concept and necessity of a Priesthood.
2. The ordination of Aaron and his sons.
3. The story of the first Sacrifice and Worship Service
at the Tent of Meeting.
4. Discuss the “Biblical Theology of Worship.”

10. The Setting for Leviticus 9 & 10

11. Definition of Priest
•Priest = “one who officiates.”
•Hebrew for priest = Kohen or Cohen.

12. The Concept of a Priesthood
• During the patriarchal period, the head of each household
functioned as a mediating priest on behalf of his family
(Abraham, Isaac, Jacob).
• Job and Noah offered sacrifices to God.
• The first-born son inherited this position.
• When Esau (first-born) sold his birthright, he also sold the
role of priesthood.

13. Israel’s Original Role
Exodus 19:5-6, 8a
5 Now if you (Israel) obey me fully and keep my
covenant, then out of all nations you will be my
treasured possession. Although the whole earth is
mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to
the Israelites."
8a The people all responded together, "We will do
everything the Lord has said."

14. The Concept of a Priesthood
• The plan was for all Israelites to be a “kingdom of priests.”
• As priests they would all be entitled to draw near to God in
worship and demonstrate His standard of holiness to the
world.
• Israel sinned against God by breaking the covenant, and
they forfeited the privilege of being a kingdom of priests.

15. God Chooses Aaron and sons as Priests
Exodus 28:1-3
1 "Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among
the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu,
Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.
2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give
him dignity and honor. 3 Tell all the skilled workers to
whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they
are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration,
so he may serve me as priest.

16. The Functions of Priests
1. The priests represented the people to God.
- Offered sacrifices from the people.
2. The priests represented God to the people.
- Teachers of the law.
- Blessed the people on behalf of God.

17. The Functions of Priests
3. The priests guarded God’s sanctuary and guarded
the people from the sanctuary.
‐ The Levites encamped around the Tabernacle.
‐ The priests protected the Tabernacle from
possible uncleanness of the people.
‐ They were in charge of transportation of the
Tabernacle.

19. The Function of the High Priest
1. The ultimate mediator between God and the Israelites.
2. Officiate and conduct certain ceremonies, especially the
Day of Atonement.
3. In charge of the entire priestly order and involved in
superintending the other priests and Levites.
4. The high priest had to live by stricter laws of purity.

20. The High Priest Vestments

22. Introduction to Leviticus 9
• The Tabernacle had been assembled by Moses (Ex. 40).
• Leviticus 1-7 describes the required offerings – (Burnt,
Grain, Fellowship, Sin and Guilt Offerings).
• Leviticus 8 describes the ordination ceremony of Aaron
(High Priest) and his sons (Priests).
• One duty of the Priests was to make sure that the fire in
the altar must never go out (Lev. 6:12).

24. Aaron & sons preparing for the priesthood
Leviticus 8:33-34
33 Do not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting for
seven days, until the days of your ordination are
completed, for your ordination will last seven days.
34 What has been done today was commanded by the
Lord to make atonement for you.

25. Aaron & sons preparing for the priesthood
Leviticus 8:35-36
35 You must stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting
day and night for seven days and do what the Lord
requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have
been commanded." 36 So Aaron and his sons did
everything the Lord commanded through Moses.

26. Leviticus 9:1-4
1 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons
and the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, "Take a bull calf
for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering, both
without defect, and present them before the Lord. 3 Then
say to the Israelites: 'Take a male goat for a sin offering, a
calf and a lamb —both a year old and without defect—for a
burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for a fellowship
offering to sacrifice before the Lord, together with a grain
offering mixed with olive oil. For today the Lord will appear
to you.'"

27. Leviticus 9:5-6
5 They took the things Moses commanded to the front
of the tent of meeting, and the entire assembly came
near and stood before the Lord. 6 Then Moses said,
"This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so
that the glory of the Lord may appear to you."

28. Leviticus 9:15-17
15 Aaron then brought the offering that was for the
people. He took the goat for the people's sin offering
and slaughtered it and offered it for a sin offering as he
did with the first one.
16 He brought the burnt offering and offered it in the
prescribed way. 17 He also brought the grain offering,
took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in
addition to the morning's burnt offering.

29. Leviticus 9:18-21
18 He slaughtered the ox and the ram as the fellowship
offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood,
and he splashed it against the sides of the altar. 19 But
the fat portions of the ox and the ram—the fat tail, the
layer of fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver—
20 these they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron
burned the fat on the altar. 21 Aaron waved the breasts
and the right thigh before the Lord as a wave offering,
as Moses commanded.

30. Leviticus 9:22
22 Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and
blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering,
the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he
stepped down.

31. Leviticus 9:23-24
23 Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting.
When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory
of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from
the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering
and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people
saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
• God accepts the sacrifice made for the Israelites by
consuming the offering.
• This is the fire that the priests were to keep burning 24
hours a day.

33. Leviticus 10 – “A Strange Fire”

34. Leviticus 10:1-2
1 Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put
fire in them and added incense; and they offered
unauthorized (strange) fire before the Lord, contrary to
his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of
the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the
Lord.

35. Leviticus 10:3
3 Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord
spoke of when he said:
"'Among those who approach me
I will be proved (show myself) holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.'"
Aaron remained silent.

36. Leviticus 10:4-5
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of
Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Come here;
carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the
front of the sanctuary." 5 So they came and carried
them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses
ordered.

37. Leviticus 10:8-11
8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 "Drink no wine
or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go
into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a
statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are
to distinguish between the holy and the common, and
between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to
teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord
has spoken to them by Moses."

38. What did Nadab and Abihu do wrong?
•Offered “unauthorized (strange) fire” before the Lord.
•? The fire was not taken from the altar as prescribed.
•? Added incense to the censers.
•? They were possibly drunk while serving as priests.
•God considered it very offensive.

39. A 2nd Look
Leviticus 10:3
3 Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke of
when he said:
"'Among those who approach me
I will be proved (show myself) holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.'"
Aaron remained silent.

40. God has clearly prescribed how we should
worship Him in the Bible.
•A “biblical theology of worship.”
•Worship is determined by God Himself.
•Hebrews 12:28-29
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that
cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship
God acceptably with reverence and awe (godly fear),
29 for our "God is a consuming fire."
•Reverence and Awe (godly fear).

41. Why is God a “consuming fire?”
•Deut. 4:23-24
23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord
your God that he made with you; do not make for
yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord
your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a
consuming fire, a jealous God.
•God will not share His glory with worthless idols.
•God’s holiness separates Him from sinful man.
•Sin is an offense to God’s holiness.

42. Biblical Words for “Worship” – Translated from
the Greek & Hebrew
• Latreuo’ = “to serve”
• Used 21 times in NT
• Therapeuo = “therapy, healing”
• Proskuneo’ = “paying homage”
• 1 Cor. 14:25
• Sebazomai = “to render religious honor”
• Rom. 1:25

43. Biblical Words for “Worship” – Translated from
the Greek & Hebrew
•Sebomai = “to revere or adore”
• Acts 16:14
•Shakhah = “to bow down”
• OT Hebrew
•Proskhuneo = “to kiss toward (reverence)”
• NT Hebrew

44. Quote by Os Guinness
“The modern world has scrambled things so badly that
today we worship our work, we work at our play and
we play at our worship.”

45. What is the meaning of Christian worship?
• John 4:24 NKJV
24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship
in spirit and truth.”
• “in spirit” = born again believer with presence of Holy
Spirit, Christ centered mind, open and repentant heart.
• Galatians 4:6 NKJV
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
• “in truth” = worshipping as a response to God’s Word.

46. Worship must be based on truth.
• John 4:24 NIV
24 “God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit
and in truth.”
• Biblical Worship must be based on accurate knowledge of
God as He is revealed in Scripture.
• The “prescriptive principle of worship” follows what is
prescribed and described in the Bible as acceptable in a
worship service.
• Each denomination has variations.

47. Worship must be with reverence
• Jesus’ example using the parable of the Pharisee and the
Tax Collector in the Temple Luke 18:9-14.
• Pharisee – prayed in pride – “Thank you that I am not like
this tax collector!”
• Tax Collector – prayed in humility “God, be merciful to me
a sinner.”
• Luke 18:14b
14b “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled,
and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

48. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18:9-12
9 To some who were confident of their own
righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus
told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to
pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The
Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you
that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers,
adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice
a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

49. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18:13-14
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would
not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and
said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went
home justified before God. For all those who exalt
themselves will be humbled, and those who humble
themselves will be exalted.”

50. Biblical Theology of Worship – Your Heart
• Worship involves more than the externals.
• Isaiah 29:13
13 The Lord says:
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught."
• True worship involves the heart and not just going through the
motions.

51. Biblical Theology of Worship – A Change of
Heart
• A biblical theology of worship will result in worship that
produces a change of heart.
• Worship of God should propel us to greater obedience
• John 14:23-24
23 "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my
Father will love him, and we will come to him and make
our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not
keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine
but the Father's who sent me."

52. Paul describes True Worship for Us
Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of
God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then
you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—
his good, pleasing and perfect will.

53. Worship is a Lifestyle, Not a Moment in Time
•1 Cor. 10:31
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do
it all for the glory of God.
•True worship is constant, inner praise to the God of
Scripture, expressed in prayer, in song, in service, in
giving, and in living.

54. Revelation 4:8
8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was
covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day
and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”

55. Revelation 4:9-11
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks
to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and
ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits
on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever.
They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”

57. Next Sunday
Leviticus 16:3-10; 29-10
Set Free
“The Day of Atonement”
Dr. Bill Boteler
November 19, 2017
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

58. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life.”
John 14:6
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.”

59. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life
to pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death
explained in Revelation 21:8.

60. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Revelation 21:8
8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers,
the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the
idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake
of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us.

61. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 6:23b
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7
7 “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be
their God and they will be my children.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be victorious.

62. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 10:9-10
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith
and are saved.
Romans 10:13
13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.”

63. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Have questions or would like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900
or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/