Leviticus 9:24

And there came a fire out from before the Lord,.... Either from heaven, or from the holy of holies, where was the symbol of the divine Presence, and Jehovah had now took up his residence: and

And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

There came a fire, in token of God’ s acceptation and approbation of the priesthood now instituted, and the sacrifices now offered, and consequently of others of the like nature. See the like instances, 13:19,20 . And this fire now given was to be carefully kept, and not suffered to go out, , and therefore was carried in a peculiar vessel in their journeys in the wilderness. From before the Lord; or, from the face or presence of the Lord; i.e. from the place where God was in a special manner present: either, 1. From heaven, as , which is oft called God’ s dwelling-place, as . Or, 2. From the holy of holies, where also God is said to dwell, . And what is done before the ark is said to be done before God, as ,10 16:1, &c. And this may seem more probable by comparing this with . They shouted; as wondering at, rejoicing in, and blessing God for this wonderful and gracious discovery of himself, and of his favour to them therein.

Leviticus 9:24 And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: [which] when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.Ver. 24. They shouted, and fell on their faces.] The consideration of God’ s gracious acceptation of us in Christ should make us to lift many a humble, joyful, and thankful heart to God.

(24) And there came a fire.—As a further indication of His acceptance of all the forementioned rites, the Lord sent forth from the luminous cloud flashes of fire, which, on this occasion, suddenly consumed in the sight of the people the victims that ordinarily continued smouldering on the altar all the day and all the night. In this manner God afterwards testified His acceptance of the sacrifice of Gideon (Judges 6:20-21), of Elijah, (1 Kings 18:28), and of the sacrifices of Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:1-2). Tradition assures us that the sacred fire which thus issued forth from the immediate presence of God continued to be nourished on the altar with the fuel especially provided by the congregation, and constituted the perpetual fire. (See Leviticus 6:13.) They shouted, and fell on their faces.—On seeing these visible tokens of the Divine acceptance of the services, the people expressed their thankfulness in the same manner as they showed it on a similar occasion. Thus we are told—“When all the sons of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord shone upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever” (2 Chronicles 27:3).

Verse 24. When all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.] 1. The miracle was done in such a way as gave the fullest conviction to the people of its reality. 2. They exulted in the thought that the God of almighty power and energy had taken up his abode among them. 3. They prostrated themselves in his presence, thereby intimating the deep sense they had of HIS goodness, of their unworthiness, and of the obligation they were under to live in subjection to his authority, and obedience to his will. - This celestial fire was carefully preserved among the Israelites till the time of Solomon, when it was renewed, and continued among them till the Babylonish captivity. This Divine fire was the emblem of the Holy Spirit. And as no sacrifice could be acceptable to God which was not salted, i. e., seasoned and rendered pleasing, by this fire, as our Lord says, Mr 9:49, so no soul can offer acceptable sacrifices to God, but through the influences of the Divine Spirit. Hence the promise of the Spirit under the emblem of fire, Matthew 3:11, and its actual descent in this similitude on the day of pentecost, Acts 2:3-4. THE most remarkable circumstance in this chapter is the manifestation of the presence of God, and the consuming of the victims by the miraculous fire. We have already seen that the chief design of these sacrificial rites was to obtain reconciliation to God, that the Divine Presence might dwell and be manifested among them. To encourage the people to make the necessary preparations, to offer the sacrifices in a proper spirit, and to expect especial mercies from the hand of God, Moses promises, Leviticus 9:4, that the Lord would appear unto them on the morrow, and that his glory should appear, Leviticus 9:6. In hope or expectation of this, the priest, the elders, and the people purified themselves by offering the different sacrifices which God had appointed; and when this was done God did appear, and gave the fullest proofs of his approbation, by miraculously consuming the sacrifices which were prepared on the occasion. Does not St. John evidently refer to these circumstances, 1 John 3:2-3: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; and every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure." This manifestation of God in the tabernacle was a type of his presence, first, in the Church militant on earth; and secondly, in the Church triumphant in heaven. They who expect to have the presence of God here, must propitiate his throne of justice by the only available sacrifice; they who wish to enjoy everlasting felicity, must be purified from all unrighteousness, for without holiness none can see the Lord. If we hope to see him as he is, we must resemble him.

24. A second blessing follows after Moses and Aaron come out from the temple. God’s approval is signified, for His servant has returned from His presence with gifts of grace for His people. It is further signified by the appearance of the glory of the Lord (cp. Leviticus 9:4; Leviticus 9:6), and the fire from before the Lord which consumes the Burnt-Offering and the fat. Similar manifestations of approval are recorded in Judges 6:21; 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Chronicles 21:26. In 2 Chronicles 7:1 the fire comes down from heaven. 24 a is perhaps an interpolation. In Leviticus 9:13; Leviticus 9:16 (cp. Leviticus 8:20) the ‘fat’ is not mentioned in connexion with the Burnt-Offerings, while it is stated (Leviticus 9:13) that Aaron burnt the pieces one by one. Moreover, the sacrifice was already ended (Leviticus 9:22), so that there is difficulty in supposing the fat and burnt-offering to be still upon the altar. Perhaps the LXX.’s ‘offered’ and ‘put’ for ‘burnt’ in Leviticus 9:13; Leviticus 9:17; Leviticus 9:20 may be influenced by this consideration. This is, however, a somewhat precarious deduction.

The very ancient Jewish tradition has been widely adopted that the sacred fire of the altar originated in this divine act, and that it was afterward preserved on the altar of the tabernacle until the

24. There came a fire out from before the Lord — This supernatural fire was the divine ratification of the priesthood, and acceptance of their first offering.