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Aaron Waited Seven Days Before God Let Him Touch the Altar

Moses anointed Aaron as High Priest and then told him he could not serve for seven days. He sat at the door of the Tabernacle and watched.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Dressed and Waiting
  2. What Moses Was Worried About
  3. The First Day Aaron Could Serve
  4. The Cost of Impatience

Dressed and Waiting

Aaron was dressed. Moses had done everything the Lord commanded: the sacred linen tunic, the ephod, the breastplate with its twelve stones, the turban, the golden plate on the forehead inscribed with Holy to the Lord. He had poured the anointing oil on Aaron's head. He had dressed Aaron's sons in their vestments. He had performed every preparation in front of the whole assembly of Israel. Aaron was the High Priest of the people. And then Moses told him: remain at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days. Do not leave. Do not touch the altar. Wait.

Seven days. A full week of sitting at the door of a sacred space he was not yet permitted to enter in his priestly capacity, watching Moses perform the functions that were about to become his.

What Moses Was Worried About

The waiting was not arbitrary. Moses was worried about the gifts. The Tabernacle had been built from donations - gold and silver and copper and fine linen and skins and oil and spices contributed by the whole Israelite community over the course of the construction campaign. Generous giving, freely offered. But Moses knew what human beings are like when a communal project is under way. Some of what had been donated might have been given under social pressure, brought in public and contributed because refusing in front of one's neighbors was impossible. Some might have been taken from others, redistributed through the economy of a wilderness camp in ways no one had tracked carefully. Some might be tainted in ways that left no visible mark.

A sin offering at the opening of the priestly service was not merely ritual piety. It was an act of moral accounting, a request to God to purify what the community had built from any contamination that had entered it without anyone's full awareness. The seven days of waiting were preparation for that accounting, a period in which the space was being made ready not just physically but in its standing before heaven.

The First Day Aaron Could Serve

On the eighth day, Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel and said: this is the day the Lord will appear to you. Aaron came near the altar, offered his sin offering and his burnt offering, and the divine fire descended and consumed the offering on the altar. All the people saw it and shouted and fell on their faces.

The week of waiting had been the preparation for this moment. Aaron had been consecrated for seven days in a kind of suspended state, dressed for a role he could not yet perform, present at the Tabernacle in his full regalia but without the authority to act in it. When the eighth day came and the fire fell and the people shouted, the waiting was completed and the service had begun.

The Cost of Impatience

The tradition that preserved this account also preserved what came immediately after it. Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took fire pans and put strange fire in them - fire that had not been commanded, fire from a source other than the altar flame - and brought it before the Lord. The fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them and they died before the Lord.

Moses told Aaron: this is what the Lord meant when he said among those who are near to me I will be sanctified. Aaron held his peace. He did not weep, at least not in front of the camp. He had just watched his sons die for touching the sacred space in a way that had not been authorized. He had spent seven days being trained in the exactness of what that space required. He held his peace.

AaronMosesTabernaclePriesthoodJasherBen SiraNadab Abihu
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From the tradition

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Jasher 83Book of Jasher

The familiar version gives us about the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, and even receiving the Ten Commandments. But what about the nitty-gritty details of setting up their new life, their new relationship with God? The Book of Jasher offers a fascinating glimpse into that pivotal time.

Chapter 83 dives right in. It's the 23rd day of the twelfth month, and Moses is hard at work. He's dressing Aaron and his sons in their priestly garments, anointing them, and performing all the rituals that God commanded. For seven days, they're stationed at the door of the mishkan, the tabernacle, following instructions to the letter.

Then comes a huge moment. On the first day of the first month, in the second year after leaving Egypt, the sanctuary is erected! Moses sets up all the furniture, meticulously arranging everything as God instructed. This is a big deal – a tangible sign of God’s presence among them.

Almost immediately, tragedy strikes. Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, offer "strange fire" before the Lord – fire that He hadn't commanded. And a fire comes forth and consumes them. It's a stark reminder of the seriousness of this new covenant.

After this somber event, the princes of Israel begin bringing their offerings for the dedication of the altar. Each prince offers for one day, over twelve days. The offerings are precisely described – silver chargers, silver bowls, gold spoons filled with incense, bullocks, rams, lambs, and goats. It's a meticulously orchestrated display of devotion.

Then, on the thirteenth day of the month, Moses commands the observance of Pesach (Passover), Passover. They celebrate it on the fourteenth, just as God commanded. It's another important step in solidifying their identity and remembering their liberation.

The Book of Jasher then shifts gears. In the second month, God commands Moses to number the people. A census is taken – all the males from twenty years old and upward are counted. The Levites are counted separately. We get a sense of the sheer scale of this nation on the move.

Things seem to be settling. The mishkan is built, the priesthood established, the people counted. But the journey is far from over. The cloud, which guides them, lifts from the tabernacle, and they set off from the wilderness of Sinai.

Soon, trouble brews. The people complain about the lack of meat, provoking God's anger. He gives them meat for a month, but then strikes them with a great slaughter. The place is named Kibroth Hattaavah – "graves of craving" – a chilling reminder of the consequences of their discontent.

From there, they travel to Hazeroth. And even within Moses's own family, discord arises. Miriam speaks against Moses, and she's struck with leprosy, becoming "white as snow." She's confined outside the camp for seven days, until she's healed. Even those closest to God are not immune to the consequences of their actions.

Finally, they arrive at the edge of the wilderness of Paran. God commands Moses to send twelve men, one from each tribe, to explore the land of Canaan. They search the land for forty days and return. Ten of the men bring back an evil report, saying the land is too dangerous, that it "consumes its inhabitants."

But Joshua and Caleb see things differently. "The land is exceedingly good," they declare. "If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us to this land and give it to us, for it is a land flowing with milk and honey."

But the people listen to the ten who spread fear. God hears their murmurings and is angered. He swears that none of that generation, except for Caleb and Joshua, will see the Promised Land. They will wander in the wilderness for forty years, until that generation dies out.

And so, the chapter ends with the Israelites dwelling in the wilderness of Paran, their future uncertain, their journey far from over.

What strikes me most about this chapter is the constant tension between divine promise and human failing. The meticulous detail of the rituals, the census, the offerings – it all speaks to a desire for order, for connection with God. But then, almost immediately, comes the complaining, the disobedience, the doubt. It's a very human story, isn't it? Even when faced with the miraculous, with the very presence of God, we still struggle with our own limitations, our own fears. And perhaps that's the most enduring lesson of all.

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Jasher 82Book of Jasher

Book of Jasher turns to Moses and Mount Sinai's Transgression.

The story picks up right after the Israelites leave Rephidim. They arrive in the Sinai wilderness in the third month after their exodus from Egypt. It's a significant arrival, marking a pivotal point in their journey, a time ripe for revelation and covenant.

At this very moment, Reuel, Moses' father-in-law, also known as Jethro in other traditions, arrives with Moses’ wife, Zipporah, and their two sons. He’d heard about the miracles God performed in delivering the Israelites from Egypt. According to Jasher, Reuel and his family stayed with the Israelites for quite some time, and from that day forward, Reuel became a believer in God.

Then comes the big moment: the giving of the Ten Commandments on the sixth day of that third month. The text emphasizes that "all Israel heard all these commandments" and rejoiced greatly. The glory of God rested upon Mount Sinai, and Moses ascended the mountain to receive further instructions.

For forty days and forty nights, Moses remained on the mount, fasting and receiving divine teachings. God instructed him in statutes and judgments meant to guide the Israelites. And, of course, God inscribed the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone, which he intended to give to Moses.

But… while Moses is up on the mountain, something terrible is brewing down below.

The Israelites, seeing that Moses was taking a long time to come down, became restless and fearful. They gathered around Aaron and demanded a new god, saying, "As for this man Moses, we know not what has become of him." Talk about impatience!

Aaron, fearing the people, succumbed to their demands. He instructed them to bring him gold, which he then fashioned into a molten calf. This is, of course, the infamous Golden Calf incident.

Before Moses even descended the mountain, God knew what was happening. He told Moses, "Get thee down, for thy people… have corrupted themselves. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have bowed down to it." God, understandably, was furious and threatened to destroy them.

But Moses, ever the intercessor, pleaded with God on behalf of the people. He reminded God of His promises and His reputation. It's a powerful scene of Moses acting as a mediator between God and his people.

Moses finally descends the mountain, holding the two tablets of stone. When he sees the Golden Calf and the people’s idolatry, his anger blazes, and he shatters the tablets at the foot of the mountain. He then destroys the calf, grinding it into dust, mixing it with water, and making the Israelites drink it. A harsh but symbolic act of purification.

About three thousand people died by the swords of each other for their involvement in creating the calf. A devastating consequence of their actions.

The next day, Moses tells the people he will go back up to God, hoping to atone for their sins. He spends another forty days and forty nights with God, entreating Him on behalf of the Israelites. And God, hearing Moses' prayer, relents.

God instructs Moses to hew two new stone tablets, upon which He will rewrite the Ten Commandments. Moses does as he's told, ascends Mount Sinai again, and God inscribes the commandments anew.

Moses remains on the mountain for yet another forty days and forty nights! This time, God instructs him further in statutes and judgments and commands him to have the Israelites build a Mishkan (מִשְׁכָּן), a sanctuary, so that God's name might dwell among them. God even shows him a detailed vision of the sanctuary and all its vessels.

Finally, after this third set of forty days, Moses descends the mountain with the new tablets. He shares all the words of God with the Israelites, teaching them the laws, statutes, and judgments he had learned. He tells them about the sanctuary they are to build.

The people, filled with renewed zeal, rejoice at God's words and pledge to obey. They rise up as one and generously offer materials for the construction of the sanctuary – gold, silver, brass, and everything needed for its service. Skilled artisans come forward and begin to build the sanctuary according to the divine design.

The construction of the sanctuary is completed in just five months. The Israelites present it and all its furnishings to Moses, who confirms that it is built exactly as God had commanded. Moses then blesses the people.

What strikes me most about this chapter is the sheer rollercoaster of emotions. From the joy of receiving the commandments to the despair of the Golden Calf, to the renewed hope and dedication in building the sanctuary. It’s a very human story, full of mistakes, repentance, and ultimately, a renewed commitment to the divine. It reminds us that even after great spiritual highs, there will be challenges, but also opportunities for growth and repair.

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