Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Ths Peace Offering of Ike Herd. LEVITICUS III, IV. Sin Offering for (he Priat, oflferlng of the Lord —Nothing sweet or sour waste be pounds and upwards. This species Is by far the most na« . merous in Arabia, Syria, and Palestine, and, forming probably a large portion in the fiocks of the Israelites, seems to have been the kind that usually bled on the Jewish altars. The extraordinary size and deliciousnesa of their tails give additional importance to this law. To command by an express law the tail of a British sneep lo offered. In the warm climates of the East leavened bread soon spoils, and hence It was regarded as the emblem of hypocrisy or corruption. Some, however, tiiink tliat the chief reason of the prohibition was that leaven and honey were used in tlie idolatrous rites of tlie heathen, la. tlie oblation of the first-fnilts—voluntary otlerings made by individuals out of their Increase, and leaven and honey miglit be used with these (ch. 23. 17 ; Numbers 15.
be ottered in sacriflce to God, might well surprise us; but the wonder ceases, when we are told of those broad-tailed Eastern sheep, and of the extreme delicacy of that part which was so particularly specified in the statute. [Paxton.] 1!J. If his offering be a goat—Whcttier this or any of the other two animals were chosen, the same general directions were to be followed in the ceremony of ottering. 17. ye eat neither fat nor blood—Tlie details given above distinctly define the fat in animals which was not to be eaten, so that all the rest, whatever adhered to other parts, or was Intermixed with them, might be used. The proiiibition of blood rested on a different foundation, being, intended to preserve their reverence for the Messiali, who was to shed His blood as an atoning sacrifice for the sius of the world. [Brown.]
20). Though presented at the altar, they were not consumed, but assigned by God for the use of the priests. 13. every . . . meat oflferlng shalt tliou season with salt The same reasons which led to the prohibition of leaven, recommended tlie use of salt—if the one soon putrefies, the other possesses a strongly preservative property, and hence it became an emblem of incorruption and purity, as well as of a perpetual covenant—a perfect reconciliation and lasting friendship. No injunction in tlie whole law was more sacredly observed than this application of salt; for besides other uses of it, tliat will be noticed elsewhere, it had a typical meaning referred to b our Lord concerning tlie ett'ect of the gospel on those who embrace
It (Mark 9. -19, 50); as when plentifully applied it preserves meat from spoiling, so will the gospel keep men frorn being corrupted l)y sin. And as salt was indispunsal)le to render sacrilices acceptable to God, so the Gospel brouglit home to tlie liearts of men by the Holy Ghost, is indispcnsablj' requisite to tlieir offering up of themselves living sacrifices. [Brown.] 14. a meat offering of thy flrst-frutts—From tlie mention of green ears, this seems to have been a voluntary offering before tlie harvest—tlie ears being prepared in the favourite way of Eastern peo-
CHAPTER IV.
Ver. 1,2. Sin Offering of Ignorance. 3. If a soul sliall sin througli Ignorance against any of tlie commandments of the Lord—a soul—an individual. All sins may be considered, in a certain sense, as committed " through Ignorance," error, or misapprehension of one"8 true interests. The sins, however, referred to in this law were unintentional violations of the ceremonial laws,— breaches made through haste, or inadvertency of some negative precepts, which, if done knowingly and wilfully, would Ijave involved a capital punishment, do against any of them—To bring out the meaning, it is necessary to supply, "he shall bring a sin offering."
ple, l)y parching them at the fire, and then beating tliem out for use. It was designed to be an early tribute of pious thankfulness for the earth's increase, a"ad it was offered according to tlie usual directions.
CHAPTER III.
3-35. Sin Offering for the Priest. 3. If the priest that Is anointed do sin—i. e., the high priest, in whom, considering his cliaracter as typical mediator, aud his exalted ofiice, the people had the deepest interest ; and wliose transgression of any part of tlie Divine law, there-
Ver. 1-17. The Peace Offering of the Herd. 1. if
Ills oblation be a sacriflce of peace oflering, &c. "peace" being used in Scripture to denote prosperity and happiness generally, a peace offering was a voluntary tribute of gratitude for health or other benefits. In this view it was eucharistic, being a token of thanksgiving for benefits Ulready received, or it was sometimes votive, presented in prayer for benefits wished for in future, of the herd—This kind of offering being of a festive character, either male or female, if without blemish, might be used, as both of them were equally good for food, and, if the circumstances of the offerer allowed It, it might be a calf. 2. he shall lay his hand upon the liead of his offering —Having performed tills significant act, he killed it before the door of the tabernacle, and the priests sprinkled the blood round about upon the altar. 3. he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering—The peace offering differed from the oblations formerly mentioned in tills respect: that while the burnt offering was wholly consumed on the altar, and the free-will offering was partly consumed and partly assigned to the priests ; in this offering the fat alone was burnt, only a small part was allotted to the priests, while the rest was granted to the offerer and his friends, thus forming a sacred feast of which the Lord, His priests and people conjointly partook, and which was symbolical of the spiritual feast, the sacred communion which, through Christ, the great peace offering, believers enjoy. (See further on chs. 19., 22.) the fat that covereth the Inwards—t. e., the web-work that presents itself first to the eye on opening the belly of a cow. the fat . . . npon the Inwards—adhering to the intestines, but easily removable from them; or, according to some, that which was next the ventricle. 4-11. the two kidneys ... of the Hock . . . the whole rump—There fore, whether done unconsciously or heedlessly, was a very serious offence, both as regarded himself individually, and the influence of his example. He Is the person principally meant, though the common order of the priesthood was included, accorfling to tlie sin of the people i. e., bring guilt on the people. He was to take a young bullock (the age and sex being expressly mentioned), and having killed it according to the form prescribed for tlie burnt offerings, he was to take it into the holy place, and sprinkle the atoning blood seven times before the veil, and tip with the crimson fluid the horns of the golden altar of incense, on his way to the court of the priests,—a solemn ceremonial appointed only for very grave and heinous offences, ^nd which betokened thathia sin, though done in ignorance, had vitiated all his services; nor could any official duty he engaged in be beneficial either tohimself or the people, unless it were atoned for by blood. 11. the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh—In ordinary circumstances, these were perquisites of the priests. But in the expiation necessary for a sin of the high priest's, after the fat of the sacriflce was offered on the altar, the carcass was carried without the camp, in order that the total combustion of it in the place of ashes might the more strikingly Indicate the enormity of the transgression, and the horror with which he regarded It
(cf. Hebrews 13. 12, 13). 13. If the whole congregation of Israel sin through Ignorance—In consequence of some culpable neglect or misapprehension of the law.thfi people might contract national guilt, and national expiation was necessary. The same sacriflce was to be offered as In the former case, but with this difference in the ceremonial, that the elders or heads of the tribes, as repre» senting the people, and being the principal aggressors in misleading the congregation, laid their hands on the head of the victim. The priest then took the blood into the holy place, where, after dipping his finger in it sevea 75
Is, In Eastern countries, a species of sheep the tails of which are not less than four feet and a half in length. These tails are of a substance between fat and marrow. A sheep of this kind weighs sixty or seventy English IKiUuds weight, of which the tail usually weighs fifteen
Trespass Offering for Stvearing. LEVITICUS V, VI. LavB of Ihe Burnt Offering, go through certain observances. 6-14. he shall bring his trespass o4fering unto the Lord for his sins which he hath sinned—A trespass offering differed from a sin olfering in the following respects—that it was appointed for persons who had either done evil unwittingly, or wsr<» in doubt as to their own criminally; or felt themselves in such a special situation as required sacrifices of that kind. [Brown.] The trespass ottering appointed in such case.s was a female lamb or kid; if unable to make such an offering, he might bring a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons,—the one to be ottered for a sin ottering, the other fora burntottering; or if even Wai was beyond his ability, the law would be satisfied with the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour without oil or frankincense. 15, IB. siu tikrough ignorance, in tlic holy things of the Lord. &c. —This is a case of sacrilege committed ignorantly, either in not paying the full dueof tithes, first-fruits, and similar tribute in eating of meats, which belonged to the priests alone,—or he was required, along with the restitution in money, the amount of which was to be determined by the priest, to offer a ram for a trespass offering, as soon as he came to the knowledge of his involuntary fraud. H-19. Ifa soul siu . . . thonglk he wist It not, yet he is guilty —This also refers to holy things, and it ditt'ers from the preceding in being one of the doubtful cases, i. e., where conscience suspects,- though the understanding be in doubt whether criminality or sin has been committed. The Jewish rabbis give as an example, the case of a person w'ho, knowing that "the fat of the inwards" is not to be eaten, religiously abstained from the use of it ; but should a dish happen to have been at table in which he liad reason to suspect some portion of that meat was intermingled, and he had, inadvertently, partaken of that unlawful viand, he was bound to bring a ram as a trespass ottering. These provisions were all designed to impress the conscience with the sense of responsibility to God, and keep alive on the hearts of the people a salutary fear of doing any secret wrong.
times, he sprinkled the drops seven times before tlie veil, —this done, he returned to the court of llie priests, and ascending the altar, put some portion upon its horns; then he poured it out at the foot of the altar. The fat was the only part of the animal which was ottered on the altar for the carcass, with its appurtenances and oltals, ^j'as carried without the camp, into the place where the ashes ireie deposited, and there consumed with tire. H-i-'^G, When a rwler liath sinned, and done somewhat througli ignorance against any of the coinniandluents—Whatever was the form of government, the king, judge, or subordinate, was the party concerned in tliis law. The trespass of such a civil functionary being less serious in its character and consequences than that ei tlier of the high priest or the congregation, a sin ottering of Inferior value was required—"a kid of the goats;" and neither was the blood carried into the sanctuary, but applied only to the altar of burnt ot Tering, nor was tlie carcass taken without the camp, it was eaten by the priestsin-waiting. 37-34. if any one of tlie common people gin through Ignorance—In this case the expiatory otlering appointed was a female kid, or a ewe lamb without blemisli ; and the ceremonies were exactly the same as those observed in the case of the ofl'ending ruler. In these two latter instances, the blood of the sin ottering v.'as applied to the altar of burnt olfering—the place where bloody sacrifices were appointed to be immolated. But thy transgression of a high priest, or of the whole congregation, entailing a general taint on the ritual of the ta'oernacle, and vitiating its .services, required a further oxpiation ; and therefore, in these cases, the blood of the sin ottering was applied to the altar of incense. 35. it shall be forgiven him—None of these sacrifices possessed an.v intrinsic value sufficient to fi'ce the conscience of the sinner from the pollution of guilt, or to obtain his pardun from God; but they gave a formal deliverance from a secular penalty (Hebrews 9. 13, H); and they were figurative representations of the full and perfect sin offering which was to be made by Christ.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTEE V.
Ver. 1-7. Trespass Offering for Sins Done Wittingly. 'Z. If a soul sin, and commit a ti-espasa against the Lord—This law the record of which should have been joined with the previous chapter, was given concerning things stolen, fraudulently gotten, or wrongfully kept. The otfender was enjoined to make restitution of the articles to the rightful owner, along with a
Ver. 1. Trespass Offerings for Concf;aling KnowI,EDGE. 1. if a soul . . . hear the voice of swearing—or, according to some, "the words of adjuration." A proclamation was issued calling any one who could give information, to come before the court and Ijcar testimony to the guilt of a criminal, and the manner in whicli witnesses were interrogated in the .Jewish coui ts of justice was not by swearing them directly, but adjuring thorn l)y reading tiie words of an oath: "the voice of swearing." The ottence, then, for the expiation of whlcli this law provides, was that of a person who neglected or .avoided the opportunity of lodging the information which it was in his power to communicate.
fifth part out of his own possessions. But it was not enough thus to rejialr the Injury done to a neighbour and to .society; he was required to bring a trespass olfering, as a token of sorrow and penitence for having hurt the cause of religion and of Go<l. That trespass ofl'ering was a rani without blemish, which was to be made on tjie altar of burnt ott'erings, and the llesh belonged to the priests. Tills penalty was equivalent to a mitigated line, but being associated with a sacred duty, the form in which the line was Inflicted served the Important purpo.se of rousing attention to the claims and reviving a sense of responsibility to (iod.
2,3. Touching any Tiiimg Unclean. 2. if a soul touch any unclean thing—A person who, unknown to himself at the time, came in contact with an.v tiling unclean, and either neglected the requisite ceremonies of puriflcation, or engiiged In the services of religionwhile under tlie taint of cer"^jnonial defilement, niiglit be afterwards convinced tliat hs had committed an ottence.
S-I'!. TiiF, Law of ruv. Burnt Offering. «. Command Aiiroik anil Ills sons, siiying, This . . . law of the burnt ofl'ering—In this passage Moses received Instructions to be delivered to the priests respecting their official duties, and first the burnt offering— //eftrej;,', "a sacrifice, which went up In smoke." The dail.v service consisted of two lambs, one ottered In the morning at sunrise, the other In the evening, wlien the da.v began to decline. Bolli of them w<u-e consumed on the altar by means of a blow lire, before which tlie pieces of the sacrifice were so placedthat they fed It all night. At all events, the observance of this dail.v sacrifice on the altar of burnt olfering was a dally exiiresslon of national repentance and faith. Tlie lire tluit consumed these .sacritices had been kindled from heaven at the con.secralloii of I he taliernaclo, and to keep It from being extinguished, and the .sacritlceu from being burned with common fire, strict lnjun<'llon» are here given respecting not only the removal of lUe
4-19. Fob SWICAHING. 4. if a soul swear—a rash oat h, without duly considering the nature an<l consequences of the oath, perhiips Inconsiderately binding himself to do anything wrong, or neglected to perlbrm a vow to do something good. In all sucli cases a iierson might have t ransgres.sod one of the Divine <-oiiimaiidments anwittlngly, and have been afterwards brouglit to a tsenso of his delinquency. 5. it shall I>c, when he vhnll be guilty , . . that he shall canfexs that lie hatit slniied in tliat thing—make a voluntary acknowledgment of his sin from the iinpu!s<! of his own conscience, and before it come to tlie knowledge of the world. A jirevious discovery might have subjected lilm to some degree of punishment from which his spontaneous coiifesslon released him, but still ho was considered gullt.v of trespass, lo explute which ne wa« obliged by the ceremonial law to
Lav) of the Trespass Offering. LEVITICUS VII, VIII. Oumecration of Aaron and his Sona.
common at feasts. 15-17. the flesh of the sacrifice of his pence offerings . . . shall be eaten the same day that it is offered-The flesh of the sacrifices was eaten on the day of the offering or on the day following. But If any part of it remained till the third day, it wasj instead of being made use of, to be burned with fire. In the East, butcher-meat is generally eaten the day it is killed, and ashes, bat the approaching near to the fire-place in garments tliat were not officially " holy."
The Law of the Meat Offering. 14. thl» Is tlie law of tlie meat offerlMg—Though this was a provision for the priests and their I'amilies, it was to be regarded as "most holy;" and the way in which it was prepared was, ou any meat offerings being presented, the priest carried them to the altar, and taking a handful from each of them as an oblation, salted and burnt it on the altar ; the residue became the property of the priests, and was the food of those whose duty it was to attend on the service. They themselves as well as the vessels from which they ate were typically holy, and they were not at liberty to partake of the meat offering while they laboured under any ceremonial defilement.
it is rarely kept a second day, so tliatas a prohibition was issued against any of the fiesh in the peace offerings being used on the third day, it has been thought, not witliout reason, that this injunction must have been given to prevent a superstitious notion arising that there was some virtue or holiness belonging to it. 18. If any of tho flesh of the sacrifice . . . be eaten at all on tite third day, It shall not be accepted, neither . . , iiiipnted—
19-23. The High Priest's Meat Offering. 30. This the sacrifice will not be acceptable to God nor protitable to him tliat offers it. 30. cut off from his people—j. e., excluded from the privileges of an Israelite—lie under a sentence of excommunication. 31. abominable unclear thing— Some copies of the Bible read, "any reptile." 33-37. Ye shall eat no manner of fat—See on ch. 3. 17.
is the oiferliig of Aaron, and of Ills sons—The dally meat offering of the high priest; for though his sons are mentioned along with him, it was probably only those of his descendants who succeeded him in that high oflice that are meant. It was to be offered one half of it in the morning, and the other half in the evening—being daily
28-38. The Priests' Portion. 39. He tliat offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the Lord—la order to show that the sacrifice was voluntary, the offerer was required to bring it with his own hands to the priest. The breast having been waved to and fro in a solemn manner as devoted to God, was made over to the priests laid by tlie ministering priest on the altar of burnt offering, where, being dedicated to God, it was wholly consumed. This was designed to keep him and the other attendant priests in constant remembrance, that though they were typically expiating the sins of the people, their own persons and services could meet with acceptance only through faith, which required to be daily nourished and strengthened from above.
it was assigned to the use of their order generally, but the right shoulder was the perquisite of the officiating priest. 35-38. This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron—These ver.ses contain a general summing up of the laws which regulate the privileges and duties of the priests. The word "anointing" Is often used as synonymous with "office" or "dignity." So that the "portion of the anointing of Aaron" probably means the provision made for the maintenance of the high priest, and the numerous body of functionaries which composed' the sacerdotal order, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the Lord, &c. i. e., from the day they approached the Lord in the duties of their ministry.
21-30. The Law of the Sin Offering. 35. Tlils is the law of the sin offering—It was slain, and the fat and inwards, after being washed and salted, were burnt upon the altar. But the rest of the carcass belonged to the official lag priest. He and his family might feast upon it only, however, within the precincts of the tabernacle; and none else were allowed to partake of it but the members of a priestly family—and not even they, if under any ceremonial defilement. The fiesh on all occasions was boiled or sodden, with the exception of the paschal lamb, which was roasted; and if an earthen vessel had been nsed, it being porous, and likely to imbibe some of the liquid particles, it was to be broken; if a metallic pan had been used it was to be scoured and washed with the greatest care, not because the vessels had been defiled, but the reverse—because the fiesh of the sin offering having been boiled in them, those vessels were now too sacred
CHAPTER VIII.
Ver. 1-36. Moses Consecrateth Aaron and his Sons. 3. Take Aaron and his gong—The consecration of Aaroa and his sons had been ordered long before (Exodus 21).), but it is now described with all the details of the ceremonial, as it was gone through after the tabernacle was completed, and the regulations for the various sacrifices enacted. 3-5. gather thou all the congreg.-ition together, &c.—It was manifestly expedient for the Israelfor ordinary use. The design of all these minute ceremonies was to Impress the minds, both of priests and people, with a sense of the evil nature of sin, and the care they should take to prevent the least taint of its impuriitish people to be satisfied that Aaron's appointment to the high dignity of the priesthood was not a personal intrusion, nor a family arrangement between him and Moses; and nothing, therefore, could be a more prudent or necessary measure, for impressing a profound conviction of the Divine origin and authority of the priestly Institution, than to summon a general assembly of the people, and in their presence perform the solemn ceremonies of inauguration, which had been prescribed by Divine authority. 0. Moses . . . washed them with water—At consecration they were subjected to entire ablution, though on ordinary occasions they were required, before entering on their duties, only to wash their hands and feet. This symbolical ablution was designed to teach them the necessity of Inwanl jnirity, and the imperative obligation on those who bore the vessels and conducted the services of the sanctuary to be holy. 7-9. he put upon him the coat, and girded Ikim with the girdle—The splendour of the official vostnienls, together with the gorgeous tiara of the high prii st, was intended, doubtless. In the first Instmce, to produce in the minds of the people a high respect for the luiiiisti'rs of ties clinging to them.
CHAPTER VII.
Ver. 1-27. The Law ok the Trespass Offering. 1. Ijtkewtse this Is the law of the trespass oiferlng;—This chapter is a continuation of the laws that were to regulate the duty of the priests respecting the trespass offerings. The same regulations obtained in this case as in the burnt offerings—part was to be consumed on the altar, while the other part was a perquisite of the priests—some fell exclusively to the officiating minister, and was the fee for his services; others were the common share of all the priestly order, who lived upon them as their provision,.•xnd whose meetings at a common table would tend to promote brotherly harmony and friendship. 8. the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath oflered—All the flesh and the fat of the burnt offerings being consumed, nothing remained to the priest but the skin. It ha.s been thought that this was a patriarchal usage. Incorporated with the Mosaic law, and that the right of the sacrlrtcer to the skin of the victim was transmitted from the example of Adam (see on Genesis <3. 21). 11-14. this Is the law of the sacrlreligion; and In the next, from the predominant use of linen, to Inculcate upon Aaron and his sons the duty of maintaining unspotted righteousness in their charactem and lives. 10-13. took the anointing oil, &c.—which was designed to Intimate, that persons who acted aa flce of peale ofl Terlngs — Besides the usual accompaniments of other sacrifices, leavened bread was offered with the peace off'erlnga, as a tbanksglvlDg, such bread being
The Priests' Entry into Office. LEVITICUS IX, X. Nadab and Abihxi Burnt.
the ascent was by a gentle slope (Exodus 20.28). 23. nioses and Aaron went into the tabernacle—Moses, according to the Divine Instructions he had received, accompanied Aaron and his sons to initiate them into their sacred duties. Their previous occupations ha<l detained them at the altar, apd they now entered in company into the sacred edifice to bear the blood of the offerings within the sanctuary, the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people—perhaps in a resplendent effulgence above the tabernacle as a fresh token of the Divine acceptance of that newly-established seat of His worship. 84:. there came a Are out from . . . the Lord —A flame emanating from that resplendent light that filled the holy place flashed upon the brazen altar and kindled the sacrifices. This miraculous flre—for the descent of which the people had probably been prepared, and which the priests were enjoined never to let go out (ch. 6. 13)—was a sign, not only of the acceptance of the offerings and of the establishment of Aaron's authority, but of God's actual residence In that chosen dwellingplace. The moment the solemn though welcome speoleaders in the solemn services of worship should have the unction of the Holy One both In His gifts and graces. 14-17. brought the bollock for the sin offering, &c. A timely expression of their sense of unworthlness— uublic and solemn confession of their personal sins, and a transference of their guilt to the typical victim. 18-31. brought the ram, <&c.—as a token of their entire dedication to the service of God. itii~30. brought the other ram, &c.—After the sin offering and burnt offering had been presented on their behalf, this was their peace offering, by which they declared the pleasui-e which they felt in entering upon the service of God, and being brought into close communion with him as the ministers of His sanctuary, together with their confident reliance on His grace to help them in all their sacred duties. 33. ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, &c.—Aft€r all these preliminaries, they had still to undergo a week's probation in tlie court of the tabernacle before they obtained permission to enter Into the interior of the sacred building. During the whole of that period the same sacrificial rites were observed as on the first day, and they were expressly admonished that the smallest breach of any of the appointed observances would lead to the certain forfeiture of their lives..
tiicle was seen, a simultaneous shout of joy and gratitude burst from the assembled congregation, and in the attitude of profoundest reverence they worshipped "a present Deity."
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
Ver. 1-20. Nadab and Abihu Burnt. 1. the sons of Aaron, &c.—If tills incident occurred at the solemn period of the consecrating and dedicating the altar, these young men assumed an oftlce which had been committed to Moses ; or if it were some time after, it was an encroachment on duties which devolved on their father alone as the higli priest. But the oflence was of a far more aggravated nature than such a mere Informality would imply.
Ver. 1-24. The Triests' Entry into Office. 1, 2. Moses called . . , Take thee a young calf for a sin offering—The directions in these sacred things were still given by Moses, the circumstances being extraordinary. But lie was only the medium of communicating the Divine will to the newly-made priests. The first of their official acts was the sacrifice of anotlier sin ollering to atone for the defects of the inauguration services; and yet tliat sacrifice did not consist of a bullock—the sacri-
It consisted not only in their venturing unauthorized to perform the incense service,—the highest and most solemn of Uie priestly oflices,—not only in their engaging together in a work, which was the duty only of one, l)ut hntlieir presnming to Intrude into the holy of holies, to which access was denied to all but the high priest a' me. In this i-espect, "they offered strange flre before the Lord;" they were guilty of a presumptuous and unwarranted Intrusion into a sacred of Hce which did not belong to them. But their ofi'ence was more aggravated still; for instead of taking the flre which was put into their censers from tlie brazen altiir, they seem to have been content with coinniou fire, and thus perpetrated an act, which considering the descent of the miraculous flre they had so recently witnessed, and the solemn obligation under which they were laid to make use of that which was specially appropriated to the service of the altars, they betrayed a carelessness, an Irreverence, a want of faith, most surprising and lamentable, A precedent of such evil fice appointed for some particular transgression; but of a calf, perhaps, not without a significant reference to Aaron's sin in the golden calf. Then followed a burnt offering, expressive of their voluntary and entire selfdevotement to the Divine service. The newly consecrated priests having done this on tlieir own account, were called to offer a sin offering and burnt offering for tlie people: ending the ceremonial by a peace offering, whicli was a sacred feast. This injunction " to make an atonement for himself and for the people" (Scptttagint, " for tliy family") at the commencement of his sacred functions, furnishes a striking evidence of the Divine origin of tlie Jewish system of worsliip. In all false or corrupt forms of religion, tlio studied policy has been to Inspire tlie people with an Idea of the sanctity of the priesthood as. In point of purity and favour with the Divinity, far above the level of other men. But among the Hebrews the priests were required to offer for the expiation of their sins as well as the huinlilest of the people. This imperfection of Aaron's priesthood, however, does not extend to tlie gospel dispensation: for our great High Priest, wlio has entered for us into " tlie true tabernacle," " knew no sin" (Hebrews 10.10, II). 8, Aaron . . . went unto tlte altar, •tnd view tlie calf of the sin ofl'ering—Whether it had been enjoined tlie first time, or It was unavoidable from the divisions of the priestly labour not being us yet coinple Uly arranged, Aaron, assisted by his sons, appears to have slnln the victims with his own hands, as well as gone through all the prescribed ritual at the altar. 17-'^I. meat off'ering . . . wave offering—It Is observable that there Is no notice taken of these In the olfcrlngs the priests made for themselves. They could not bear their own sins: and therefore. Instead of eating any part of their own sin offering, as they were at lll)erty to do In the case of the people's ol Ferlng, they had to carry the whole carcasses "without the camp and burn them with teiiilency was dangerous, and It was imperatively necessary, therefore, as well for the priests themselves as for the sacred things, that a marked expression of the Divine displeasure should bo given for doing tliat which " (Jod eoiiiniaiidcd them not." a. there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them—rather, Uilleil them; for
It appears (u. 5) that neither their bodies nor their robes were consumed. The expression, " from the Lord," Indicates that this flre Issued from the most holy place; and
In the destruction of these two young jirlcsts by the Infliction of an awful judgment, the wisdom of God observed the same course, In repressing the first Instance of contempt for sacred things, as he did at the conimenceiiKMit of the (;hristlan dispensation (Acts .5. 1-11). 3. Moses snid . . . This Is It that the Lord spoke ... I will be sanctified In them that come nigh lue—"They that come iiigh me," points, In this passage, directly to the priests; and they had received repeated and solemn warnings as to the cautious and reverent manner of their approach Into the Divine presence (KxoduR I!). 22; lire." 'i'i. Aaron lifted up his hand . . . and bleitscd— The pronouncing of a benediction on the people assembled In the court was a necessary part of the high priest's
2!). 41; ch. 8. .T)). Aaron held his peace-The loss of i wo sons In so suilden and awful a manner was a calumny overwhelming to parental feelings. But the pious 1 1 '^''*^ iluty, and the formula In which It was to be given Is deiicrlbev. (Numbers 6. 2.'i-27). came down from offering— The altar wus elevated above the level of the floor, and 78
Indulged lu no vehomeut ebullition of complaint, u»d