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The name of this week’s Parasha is Shemini, which means “Eighth”, and it takes us from Leviticus 9:1 through 11:47. Moses summoned Aaron, his sons, and the Israeli elders on the 8th day after the 7 days of ordination for Aaron and his sons were completed. Aaron was instructed to sacrifice for himself an unblemished bull calf for a sin offering, and an unblemished ram for a burnt offering to Adonai. The Israelis were instructed to offer God a male goat for a sin offering, an unblemished year-old calf and an unblemished year-old lamb for a burnt offering, an ox and a ram for a peace offering, along with a grain offering with oil.
These were brought to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the Jewish people stood nearby. They were told that God commanded these things, so that they would see His glory. With assistance from his sons, Aaron followed Moses’ instructions by offering the sin offering and burnt offering for himself, before presenting the other offerings for the Israelis. Once these were completed, Aaron blessed the Jewish people, and entered the Tent of Meeting with Moses. Upon exiting the Tent, Moses and Aaron blessed the Israelis, and Adonai’s glory was shown to the entire nation! When fire came from God’s presence, it caused the Jewish people to shout and fall on their faces.
In chapter 10, however, joy turned to tragedy, as Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered “strange fire” – meaning unauthorized sacrifices – and were killed by fire sent from Adonai’s presence. Moses informed Aaron that God’s holiness and honor must be respected, and Aaron said nothing. Moses instructed Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, to take the bodies outside the camp and they did so.
Nadab and Abihu’s sin was so serious that Moses warned Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar that they were not to mourn for them, or Adonai would be angry with the Israelis. However, their relatives and the entire community were permitted to publicly mourn their deaths. Aaron and his sons were told to remain in the Tent of Meeting or they would die, because Adonai’s anointing oil was still on them from their ordination as priests. They followed Moses’ instructions.
God warned Aaron that he and his sons must not consume alcohol when going into the Tent of Meeting, or they would die; this was to be an everlasting decree for future generations. Aaron and his descendants, the priests, would be responsible, not only to do what was pleasing to Adonai, but to teach His commandments to Israel. Intoxication clouds our judgment, and those who draw near to a holy God must do so with great care, and with all attention to detail.
Moses then gave Aaron and his sons instructions on identifying and eating their portions from the grain and peace offerings. When Moses discovered the goat for the sin offering had been burned and not eaten, he confronted Aaron’s sons about it. Aaron replied that they made their sacrifices to God, but he didn’t consume the sin offering because of what happened to him, and Moses accepted this explanation.
The parasha ends in chapter 11 with Adonai instructing Moses and Aaron which animals are clean and unclean, and the processes for restoring cleanliness after becoming unclean through contact with unclean animals. The designation of clean and unclean animals is also found in Deuteronomy 14:4-20. God’s holiness and the need for His people to be holy is emphasized towards the end of this chapter. Since God is holy, His people were to be holy and avoid any contact with unclean animals.
Parasha Shemini teaches us that living in holiness is what God expects of His people. The emphasis that God’s people live holy lives is affirmed throughout Scripture. God’s instructions must never be compromised or reinterpreted.
Unfortunately, Nadab and Abihu found this out the hard way: their disobedience in presenting unauthorized sacrifices cost them their lives and even their memory. We are told in 1 Chronicles 24 that they were without sons. Living according to Adonai’s standards brings blessings, while disobedience brings punishment and a curse, so let’s experience His blessings by living according to His standards!
The problem is, because of our sinful nature, holiness is something we are unable to attain by our own efforts. We see that because of his sins, Aaron needed to present sacrifices for himself before making sacrifices for the Jewish people, and every high priest from his lineage would be required to do the same – they all needed to atone for their own sins before offering atonement for others.
The good news is that we have a greater High Priest who has made the ultimate atonement for us – Messiah Yeshua, our holy, perfect and pure High Priest! The writer of the letter to the Messianic Jews (Hebrews) tells us that because Yeshua was without sin, He did not need to offer sacrifices for Himself, but provided the once-for-all-time sacrifice for our sins by offering His own life for our atonement – something that we could never do. So, let’s prove that we are His disciples by showing loyalty and complete obedience to Yeshua, for He is our righteousness!