Commentary on Harmony of the Law Volume 1 Complete John Calvin (continued)
JOHN CALVIN
29. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
29. Ita sanctificabis ea, erunt sanctitas sanctitatum: quicquid tetigerit ea, sanctificabitur.
30. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
30. Aharon praeterea et filios ejus unges, et sanctificabis eos, ut sacerdotio fungantur mihi.
31. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.
31. Ad filios autem Israel loqueris, dicendo, Oleum unctionis sanctitatis erit hoc mihi per generationes vestras.
32. Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured; neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition
32. Super carnem hominis non ungent: neque compositioni ejus facietis similes: sanctum est, sanctum erit vobis. of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
33. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
33. Quisquis confecerit unguentum simile, et qui posuerit ex eo super extraneum, succidetur e populis suis.
23. Take thou also unto thee principal spices. Although the oil here treated of was not only destined for the anointing of the priests, but also of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, the altars, and all the vessels, yet no fitter place occurs for discussing the sacred unction, than by connecting it with the priesthood, on which it depends. First of all its composition is described, exquisite both in expensiveness and odor; that by its very excellence and costliness the Israelites may learn that no ordinary thing is represented by it; for we have already often seen that there had been set before this rude people a splendor in sacred symbols, which might affect their external senses, so as to uplift them as it were by steps to the knowledge of spiritual things. We must now see why the priest as well as all the vessels and the other parts of the tabernacle had need of anointing. I conclude that without controversy this oil mixed with precious perfumes was a type of the Holy Spirit; for the metaphor of anointing is everywhere met with, when HARMONY OF THE LAW · VOLUME 1 the prophets would commend the power, the effects, and the gifts of the Spirit. Nor is there any doubt but that God, by anointing kings, testified that He would endow them with the spirit of prudence, fortitude, clemency, and justice. Hence it is easily gathered that the tabernacle was sprinkled with oil, that the Israelites might learn that all the exercises of piety profited nothing without the secret operation of the Spirit. Nay, something more was shewn forth, viz., that the efficacy and grace of the Spirit existed and reigned in the truth of the shadows itself; and that whatever good was derived from them was applied by the gift of the same Spirit for the use of believers. In the altar, reconciliation was to be sought, that God might be propitious to them; but, as the Apostle testifies, the sacrifice of Christ's death would not otherwise have been efficacious to appease God, if He had not suffered by the Spirit, (Hebrews 9:14;) and how does its fruit now reach us, except because the same Spirit washes our souls with the blood, which once was shed, as Peter teaches us? (1 Peter 1:2.) Who now consecrates our prayers but the Spirit, who dictates the groans which cannot be uttered; and by whom we cry, Abba, Father? (Romans 8:15, 26.) Nay, whence comes the faith which admits us to a participation in the benefits of Christ, but from the same Spirit?
But we were especially to consider the anointing of the priest, who was sanctified by the Spirit of God for the performance of his office; thus, as Isaiah, in the person of Jesus Christ, declares that he was anointed with the spirit of prophecy, (Isaiah 61:1;) and David affirms the same of the royal spirit, (Psalm 45:7;) so Daniel is our best interpreter and witness how the sacerdotal unction was at length manifested (in Him 523 ), for when he says that the time, when by the death of Christ the prophecy shall be sealed up, was determined upon "to anoint the holy of holies," he plainly reminds us that the spiritual pattern, which answers to the visible sanctuary, is in Christ; so that believers may really feel that these shadows were not mere empty things. (Daniel 9:24.) We now perceive why Aaron was anointed, viz., because Christ was consecrated by the Holy Spirit to be the Mediator between God and man; and why the tabernacle and its vessels were sprinkled with the same oil, viz., because we are only made partakers of the holiness of Christ by the gift and operation of the Spirit. 524 Some translate it in the masculine gender, where of the vessels it is said, "whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy;" ver. 29: as if they were not to be touched by any but Added from Fr.
"Ou il est dit, Que tout ce que, etc., aucuns mettent legendre masculin, Celuy qui les sanctifiera;" where it is said, "Whatsoever," etc., some put the masculine gender, "He who shall sanctify them." This is the translation of LXX. and V.