Exodus 29:13

qualified for the due performance of his sacred functions. 3. That no man could enact just and equitable laws, which should have the prosperity of the community and the welfare of the individual continually in view, or could use the power confided to him only for the suppression of vice and the encouragement of virtue, but that man who was ever under the inspiration of the Almighty. Hence kings were inaugurated by anointing with oil. Two of these officers only exist in all civilized nations, the sacerdotal and regal; and in some countries the priest and king are still consecrated by anointing. In the Hebrew language משח mashach signifies to anoint, and משיח mashiach, the anointed person. But as no man was ever dignified by holding the three offices, so no person ever had the title mashiach, the anointed one, but Jesus the Christ. He alone is King of kings and Lord of lords: the king who governs the universe, and rules in the hearts of his followers; the prophet, to instruct men in the way wherein they should go; and the great high priest, to make atonement for their sins. Hence he is called the Messias, a corruption of the word המשיח hammashiach, The anointed One, in Hebrew; which gave birth to ὁ Χριστος, ho Christos, which has precisely the same signification in Greek. Of him, Melchizedek, Abraham, Aaron, David, and others were illustrious types. But none of these had the title of The Messiah, or The Anointed of God. This does, and ever will, belong exclusively to Jesus the Christ. Verse 10 Shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock - By this rite the animal was consecrated to God, and was then proper to be offered in sacrifice. Imposition of hands also signified that they offered the life of this animal as an atonement for their sins, and to redeem their lives from that death which, through their sinfulness, they had deserved. In the case of the sin-offering and trespass-offering, the person who brought the sacrifice placed his hands on the head of the animal between the horns, and confessed his sin over the sin-offering, and his trespass over the trespass-offering, saying, "I have sinned, I have done iniquity; I have trespassed, and have done thus and thus; and do return by repentance before thee, and with this I make atonement." Then the animal was considered as vicariously bearing the sins of the person who brought it - Exo 29:14 Verse 14 It is a sin-offering - See Clarke's note on Gen 4:7 ; See Clarke's note on Gen 13:13 ; See Clarke's note on Lev 7:1 , etc. Verse 18 It is a burnt-offering - See Clarke's note on Lev 7:1 , etc. Verse 19 The other ram - There were two rams brought on this occasion: one was for a burnt-offering, and was to be entirely consumed; the other was the ram of consecration, Exo 29:22 , איל מלאים eil milluim, the ram of filling up, because when a person was dedicated or consecrated to God, his hands were filled with some particular offering proper for the occasion, which he presented to God. Hence the word consecration signifies the filling up or filling the hands, some part of the sacrifice being put into the hands of such persons, denoting thereby that they had now a right to offer sacrifices and oblations to God. It seems in reference to this ancient mode of consecration, that in the Church of England, when a person is ordained priest, a Bible is put into his hands with these words, "Take thou authority to preach the word of God, etc. The filling the hands refers also to the presents which, in the eastern countries, every inferior was obliged to bring when brought into the presence of a superior. Thus the sacrifice was considered, not only as an atonement for sin, but also as a means of approach and as a present to Jehovah. Verse 20 Take of his blood - The putting the blood of the sacrifice on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, was doubtless intended to signify that they should dedicate all their faculties and powers to the service of God; their ears to the hearing and study of his law, their hands to diligence in the sacred ministry and to all acts of obedience, and their feet to walking in the way of God's precepts. And this sprinkling appears to have been used to teach them that they could neither hear, work, nor walk profitably, uprightly, and well-pleasing in the sight of God, without this application of the blood of the sacrifice. And as the blood of rams, bulls, and goats, could never take away sin, does not this prove to us that something infinitely better is shadowed out, and that we can do nothing holy and pure in the sight of a just and holy God, but through the blood of atonement? See Clarke's note on Exo 30:20 . Verse 22 The fat and the rump - The rump or tail of some of the eastern sheep is the best part of the animal, and is counted a great delicacy. They are also very large, some of them weighing from twelve to forty pounds' weight; "so that the owners," says Mr. Ludolf, in his History of Ethiopia, "are obliged to tie a little cart behind them, whereon they put the tail of the sheep, as well for the convenience of carriage, and to ease the poor creature, as to preserve the wool from dirt, and the tail from being torn among the bushes and stones." An engraving of this kind of sheep, his tall, cart, etc., may be seen at p. 53 of the above work. Verse 23 And one loaf of bread - The bread of different kinds, (see Clarke on Exo 29:2 (note)), in this offering, seems to have been intended as a minchah, or offering of grateful acknowledgment for providential blessings. The essence of worship consisted in acknowledging God, 1. As the Creator, Governor, and Preserver of all things, and the Dispenser of every good and perfect gift. 2. As the Judge of men, the Punisher of sin, and he who alone could pardon it. The minchahs, heave-offerings, wave-offerings, and thank-offerings, referred to the first point. The burnt-offerings, sin-offerings, and sacrifices in general, referred to the second. Verse 24 For a wave-offering - See Clarke's note on Lev 7:1 etc., where an ample account of all the offerings, sacrifices, etc., under the Mosaic dispensation, and the reference they bore to the great sacrifice offered by Christ, is given in detail. Verse 25 Thou shalt receive them of their hands - Aaron and his sons are here considered merely as any common persons bringing an offering to God, and not having, as yet, any authority to present it themselves, but through the medium of a priest. Moses, therefore, was now to Aaron and his sons what they were afterwards to the children of Israel; and as the minister of God he now consecrates them to the sacred office, and presents their offerings to Jehovah. Verse 27 The breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering - As the wave-offering was agitated to and fro, and the heave-offering up and down, some have conceived that this twofold action represented the figure of the cross, on which the great Peace-offering between God and man was offered in the personal sacrifice of our blessed Redeemer. Had we authority for this conjecture, it would certainly cast much light on the meaning and intention of these offerings; and when the intelligent reader is informed that one of the most judicious critics in the whole republic of letters is the author of this conjecture, viz., Houbigant, he will treat it with respect. I shall here produce his own words on this verse: Hic distinguuntur, תנופה et תרומה, ut ejusdem oblationis caeremoniae duae. In תנופה significatur, moveri oblatam victimam huc et illuc, ad dextram et ad sinistram. In תרומה sursum tolli, et sublatam rursus deprimi; nam pluribus vicibus id fiebat. Rem sic interpretantur Judaei; et Christianos docent, quanquam id non agentes, sic adumbrari eam crucem, in quam generis humani victima illa pacifica sublata est, quam veteres victimae omnes praenunciabant. "The heave-offering and wave-offering, as two ceremonies in the same oblation, are here distinguished. The wave-offering implies that the victim was moved hither and thither, to the right hand and to the left; the heave-offering was lifted up and down, and this was done several times. In this way the Jews explain these things, and teach the Christians, that by these acts the cross was adumbrated, upon which that Peace-offering of the human race was lifted up which was prefigured by all the ancient victims." The breast and the shoulder, thus waved and heaved, were by this consecration appointed to be the priests' portion for ever; and this, as Mr. Ainsworth piously remarks, "taught the priests how, with all their heart and all their strength, they should give themselves unto the service of the Lord in his Church." Moses, as priest, received on this occasion the breast and the shoulder, which became afterwards the portion of the priests; see Exo 29:28 , and Lev 7:34 . It is worthy of remark, that although Moses himself had no consecration to the sacerdotal office, yet he acts here as high priest, consecrates a high priest, and receives the breast and the shoulder, which were the priests' portion! But Moses was an extraordinary messenger, and derived his authority, without the medium of rites or ceremonies, immediately from God himself. It does not appear that Christ either baptized the twelve apostles, or ordained them by imposition of hands; yet, from his own infinite sufficiency, he gave them authority both to baptize, and to lay on hands, in appointing others to the work of the sacred ministry. Exo 29:29 Verse 29 The holy garments - shall be his son's after him - These garments were to descend from father to son, and no new garments were to be made. Verse 30 Seven days - The priest in his consecration was to abide seven days and nights at the door of the tabernacle, keeping the Lord's watch. See Lev 8:33 , etc. The number seven is what is called among the Hebrews a number of perfection; and it is often used to denote the completion, accomplishment, fullness, or perfection of a thing, as this period contained the whole course of that time in which God created the world, and appointed the day of rest. As this act of consecration lasted seven days, it signified a perfect consecration: and intimated to the priest that his whole body and soul, his time and talents, should be devoted to the service of God and his people. The number seven, which was a sacred number among the Hebrews, was conveyed from them down to the Greeks by means of the Egyptian philosophy, from which they borrowed most of their mysteries; and it is most likely that the opinion which the Greeks give is the same that the original framers of the idea had. That there was some mystical idea attached to it, is evident from its being made the number of perfection among the Hebrews. Philo and Josephus say that the Essenes, an ancient sect of the Jews, held it sacred "because it results from the side of a square added to those of a triangle." But what meaning does this convey? A triangle, or triad, according to the Pythagoreans, who borrowed their systems from the Egyptians, who borrowed from the Jews, was the emblem of wisdom, as consisting of beginning (Monad), middle (Duad), and end (Triad itself); so wisdom consists of three parts - experience of the past, attention to the present, and judgment of the future. It is also the most penetrating of all forms, as being the shape of the wedge; and indestructibility is essential to it, as a triangle can never be destroyed. From those three properties it was the emblem of spirit. The square, solid, and tetrad, by the same system were interchangeable signs. Now a square is the representation of a solid or matter, and thus the number seven contains within itself the properties of both the triangle or solid, and the square or tetrad, i.e., is all emblem of body and spirit; comprehends both the intellectual and natural world; embraces the idea of God, the chief of spirits or essences; and all nature, the result of his power; thus a very fit emblem of perfection. It is perhaps in this way that we must explain what Cicero, Tusc. Quest., lib. i., cap. 10, says of the number seven, where he calls it the knot and cement of all things; as being that by which the natural and spiritual world are comprehended in one idea. Thus the ancient philosophers spoke of numbers, themselves being the best judges of their own meaning. Verse 33 But a stranger shall not eat thereof - That is, no person who was not of the family of Aaron - no Israelite, and not even a Levite. Verse 34 Burn the remainder with fire - Common, voluntary, and peace-offerings, might be eaten even on the second day; see Lev 7:16 ; Lev 19:5 , Lev 19:6 . But this being a peculiar consecration, in order to qualify a person to offer sacrifices for sin, like that great sacrifice, the paschal lamb, that typified the atonement made by Christ, none of it was to be left till the morning lest putrefaction should commence, which would be utterly improper in a sacrifice that was to make expiation for sin, and bring the soul into a state of holiness and perfection with God. See Clarke's note on Exo 12:10 . Verse 36 Thou shalt cleanse the altar - The altar was to be sanctified for seven days; and it is likely that on each day, previously to the consecration service, the altar was wiped clean, and the former day's ashes, etc., removed. Verse 37 Whatsoever touches the altar shall be holy - To this our Lord refers Mat 23:19 , where he says the altar sanctifies the gift; and this may be understood as implying that whatever was laid on the altar became the Lord's property, and must be wholly devoted to sacred uses, for in no other sense could such things be sanctified by touching the altar. Verse 39 One lamb thou shalt offer in the morning - These two lambs, one in the morning, and the other in the evening, were generally termed the morning and evening daily sacrifices, and were offered from the time of their settlement in the promised land to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. The use of these sacrifices according to the Jews was this: "The morning sacrifice made atonement for the sins committed in the night, and the evening sacrifice expiated the sins committed during the day." Verse 40 A tenth deal of flour - Deal signifies a part, from the Anglo-Saxon word, to divide; hence, a part, a portion taken from the whole. From Num 28:5 we learn that this tenth deal was the tenth part of an ephah, which constituted what is called an omer. See Exo 16:36 ; and see Clarke's note on Exo 16:16 of the same chapter, where an account is given of different measures of capacity among the Hebrews. The omer contained about three quarts English. The fourth part of a hin - The hin contained one gallon and two pints. The fourth part of this was about one quart and a half of a pint. Drink-offering - A libation poured out before the Lord. See its meaning, Lev 7:1 , etc. Verse 43 There I will meet with the children of Israel - See Clarke's note on Exo 25:22 . Verse 44 I will sanctify - both Aaron and his sons - So we find the sanctification by Moses according to the Divine institution was only symbolical; and that Aaron and his sons must be sanctified, i.e., made holy, by God himself before they could officiate in holy things. From this, as well as from many other things mentioned in the sacred writings, we may safely infer that no designation by man only is sufficient to qualify any person to fill the office of a minister of the sanctuary. The approbation and consecration of man have both their propriety and use, but must never be made substitutes for the unction and inspiration of the Almighty. Let holy men ordain, but let God sanctify; then we may expect that his Church shall be built up on its most holy faith. Verse 45 I will dwell among the children of Israel - This is the great charter of the people of God, both under the Old and New Testaments; see Exo 25:8 ; Lev 26:11 , Lev 26:12 ; 2Cor 6:16 ; Rev 21:3 . God dwells Among them: he is ever to be found in his Church to enlighten, quicken, comfort, and support it; to dispense the light of life by the preaching of his word, and the influences of his Spirit for the conviction and conversion of sinners. And he dwells In those who believe; and this is the very tenor of the New Covenant which God promised to make with the house of Israel; see Jer 31:31-34 ; Eze 37:24-28 ; Heb 8:7-12 ; and 2Cor 6:16 . And because God had promised to dwell in all his genuine followers, hence the frequent reference to this covenant and its privileges in the New Testament. And hence it is so frequently and strongly asserted that every believer is a habitation of God through the Spirit, Eph 2:22 . That the Spirit of God witnesses with their spirits that they are the children of God, Rom 8:16 . That the Spirit of Christ in their hearts enables them to call God their Father, Gal 4:6 . And that if any man have not this Spirit, he is none of his, Rom 8:9 , etc. And hence St. Paul states this to be the sum and substance of apostolical preaching, and the riches of the glory of the mystery of the Gospel among the Gentiles, viz., Christ In you the hope of glory; whom, says he, we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect In Christ Jesus; Col 1:27 , Col 1:28 . Verse 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God - That is, They shall acknowledge God, and their infinite obligations to him. In a multitude of places in Scripture the word know should be thus understood. That I may dwell among them - For without this acknowledgment and consequent dependence on and gratitude and obedience to God, they could not expect him to dwell among them. By dwelling among the people God shows that he would be a continual resident in their houses and in their hearts; that he would be their God - the sole object of their religious worship, to whom they should turn and on whom they should trust in all difficulties and distresses; and that he would be to them all that the Creator could be to his creatures. That in consequence they should have a full conviction of his presence and blessing, and a consciousness that He was their God, and that they were his people. Thus then God dwells among men that they may know him; and they must know him that he may continue to dwell among them. He who does not experimentally know God, cannot have him as an indwelling Savior; and he who does not continue to know - to acknowledge, love, and obey him, cannot retain him as his Preserver and Sanctifier. From the beginning of the world, the salvation of the souls of men necessarily implied the indwelling influences of God. Reader, hast thou this salvation? This alone will support thee in all thy travels in this wilderness, comfort thee in death, and give thee boldness in the day of judgment. "He," says an old writer, "who has pardon may look his judge in the face." Introduction The altar of burnt incense, Exo 30:1 . Dimensions, Exo 30:2 . Golden crown, Exo 30:3 . Rings and staves, Exo 30:4 , Exo 30:5 . Where placed, Exo 30:6 , Exo 30:7 . Use, Exo 30:8-10 . The ransom price of half a shekel, Exo 30:11-13 . Who were to pay it, Exo 30:14 . The rich and the poor to pay alike, Exo 30:15 . The use to which it was applied, Exo 30:16 . The brazen laver, and its uses, Exo 30:17-21 . The holy anointing oil, and its component parts, Exo 30:22-25 . To be applied to the tabernacle, ark, golden table, candlestick, altar of burnt-offerings, and the laver, Exo 30:26-29 . And to Aaron and his sons, Exo 30:30 . Never to be applied to any other uses, and none like it ever to be made, Exo 30:31-33 . The perfume, and how made, Exo 30:34 , Exo 30:35 . Its use, Exo 30:36 . Nothing similar to it ever to be made, Exo 30:37 , Exo 30:38 . Verse 1 Altar to burn incense - The Samaritan omits the ten first verses of this chapter, because it inserts them after Exo 26:32 (note). Shittim wood - The same of which the preceding articles were made, because it was abundant in those parts, and because it was very durable; hence everywhere the Septuagint translation, which was made in Egypt, renders the original by ξυλον ασηπτον, incorruptible wood. Verse 2 Four-square - That is, on the upper or under surface, as it showed four equal sides; but it was twice as high as it was broad, being twenty-one inches broad, and three feet six inches high. It was called, not only the altar of incense, but also the golden altar, Num 4:11 . For the crown, horns, staves, etc., see on the altar of burnt-offering, Exo 27:1 (note), etc. Verse 6 Before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony - These words in the original are supposed to be a repetition, by mistake, of the preceding clause; the word הפרכת happarocheth, the veil, being corrupted by interchanging two letters into הכפרת haccapporeth, the mercy-seat; and this, as Dr. Kennicott observes, places the altar of incense before the mercy-seat, and consequently In the holy of holies! Now this could not be, as the altar of incense was attended every day, and the holy of holies entered only once in the year. The five words which appear to be a repetition are wanting in twenty-six of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and in the Samaritan. The verse reads better without them, and is more consistent with the rest of the account. Verse 7 When he dresseth the lamps - Prepares the wicks, and puts in fresh oil for the evening. Shall burn incense upon it - Where so many sacrifices were offered it was essentially necessary to have some pleasing perfume to counteract the disagreeable smells that must have arisen from the slaughter of so many animals, the sprinkling of so much blood, and the burning of so much flesh, etc. The perfume that was to be burnt on this altar is described Exo 30:34 . No blood was ever sprinkled on this altar, except on the day of general expiation, which happened only once in the year, Exo 30:10 . But the perfume was necessary in every part of the tabernacle and its environs. Verse 9 No strange incense - None made in any other way. Nor burnt-sacrifice - It should be an altar for incense, and for no other use. Verse 10 An atonement - once in a year - On the tenth day of the seventh month. See Lev 16:18 (note), etc., and the notes there. See Clarke on Lev 16:21 (note), etc. Verse 12 Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul - This was a very important ordinance, and should be seriously considered. See Exo 30:13 (note). V

1491.) 1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, 2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. 5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: 6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. 7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. 8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. 9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. 10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. 11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord , by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. 13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering. 15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. 16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. 17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. 18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the Lord : it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord . 19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. 20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. 22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: 23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord : 24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the Lord . 25 And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the Lord : it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord . 26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord : and it shall be thy part. 27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: 28 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the Lord . 29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. 30 And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place. 31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. 34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. 36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. Here is, I. The law concerning the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priest's office, which was to be done with a great deal of ceremony and solemnity, that they themselves might be duly affected with the greatness of the work to which they were called, and that the people also might learn to magnify the office and none might dare to invade it. 1. The ceremonies wherewith it was to be done were very fully and particularly appointed, because nothing of this kind had been done before, and because it was to be a statute for ever that the high priest should be thus inaugurated. Now, (1.) The work to be done was the consecrating of the persons whom God had chosen to be priests, by which they devoted and gave up themselves to the service of God and God declared his acceptance of them; and the people were made to know that they glorified not themselves to be made priests, but were called of God, Heb. v. 4, 5 . They were thus distinguished from common men, sequestered from common services, and set apart for God and an immediate attendance on him. Note, All that are to be employed for God are to be sanctified to him. The person must first be accepted, and then the performance. The Hebrew phrase for consecrating is filling the hand ( v. 9 ): Thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and his sons, and the ram of consecration is the ram of fillings, v. 22 , 26 . The consecrating of them was the perfecting of them; Christ is said to be perfect or consecrated for evermore, Heb. vii. 28 . Probably the phrase here is borrowed from the putting of the sacrifice into their hand, to be waved before the Lord, v. 24 . But it intimates, [1.] That ministers have their hands full; they have no time to trifle, so great, so copious, so constant is their work. [2.] That they must have their hands filled. Of necessity they must have something to offer, and they cannot find it in themselves, it must be given them from above. They cannot fill the people's hearts unless God fill their hands; to him therefore they must go, and receive from his fulness. (2.) The person to do it was Moses, by God's appointment. Though he was ordained for men, yet the people were not to consecrate him; Moses the servant of the Lord, and his agent herein, must do it. By God's special appointment he now did the priest's work, and therefore that which was the priest's part of the sacrifice was here ordered to be his, v. 26 . (3.) The place was at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, v. 4 . God was pleased to dwell in the tabernacle, the people attending in the courts, so that the door between the court and the tabernacle was the fittest place for those to be consecrated in who were to mediate between God and man, and to stand between both, and lay their hands (as it were) upon both. They were consecrated at the door, for they were to be door-keepers. (4.) It was done with many ceremonies. [1.] They were to be washed ( v. 4 ), signifying that those must be clean who bear the vessels of the Lord, Isa. lii. 11 . Those that would perfect holiness must cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, 2 Cor. vii. 1 ; Isa. i. 16-18 . They were now washed all over; but afterwards, when they went in to minister, they washed only their hands and feet ( ch. xxx. 19 ); for he that is washed needs no more, John xiii. 10 . [2.] They were to be clothed with the holy garments ( v. 5, 6 , 8 , 9 ), to signify that it was not sufficient for them to put away the pollutions of sin, but they must put on the graces of the Spirit, be clothed with righteousness, Ps. cxxxii. 9 . They must be girded, as men prepared and strengthened for their work; and they must be robed and crowned, as men that counted their work and office their true honour. [3.] The high priest was to be anointed with the holy anointing oil ( v. 7 ), that the church might be filled and delighted with the sweet savour of his administrations (for ointment and perfume rejoice the heart ), and in token of the pouring out of the Spirit upon him, to qualify him for his work. Brotherly love is compared to this oil with which Aaron was anointed, Ps. cxxxiii. 2 . The inferior priests are said to be anointed ( ch. xxx. 30 ), not on their heads, as the high priest ( Lev. xxi. 10 ), the oil was only mingled with the blood that was sprinkled upon their garments. [4.] Sacrifices were to be offered for them. The covenant of priesthood, as all other covenants, must be made by sacrifice. First, There must be a sin-offering, to make atonement for them, v. 10-14 . The law made those priests that had infirmity, and therefore they must first offer for their own sin, before they could make atonement for the people, Heb. vii. 27, 28 . They were to put their hand on the head of their sacrifice ( v. 10 ), confessing that they deserved to die for their own sin, and desiring that the killing of the beast might expiate their guilt, and be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction. It was used as other sin-offerings were; only, whereas the flesh of other sin-offerings was eaten by the priests ( Lev. x. 18 ), in token of the priest's taking away the sin of the people, this was appointed to be all burnt without the camp ( v. 14 ), to signify the imperfection of the legal dispensation (as the learned bishop Patrick notes); for the sins of the priests themselves could not be taken away by those sacrifices, but they must expect a better high priest and a better sacrifice. Secondly, There must be a burnt-offering, a ram wholly burnt, to the honour of God, in token of the dedication of themselves wholly to God and to his service, as living sacrifices, kindled with the fire and ascending in the flame of holy love, v. 15-18 . The sin-offering must first be offered and then the burnt-offering; for, till guilt be removed, no acceptable service can be performed, Isa. vi. 7 . Thirdly, There must be a peace-offering; it is called the ram of consecration, because there was more in this peculiar to the occasion than in the other two. In the burnt-offering God had the glory of their priesthood, in this they had the comfort of it; and, in token of a mutual covenant between God and them, 1. The blood of the sacrifice was divided between God and them ( v. 20, 21 ); part of the blood was sprinkled upon the altar round about, and part put upon them, upon their bodies ( v. 20 ), and upon their garments, v. 21 . Thus the benefit of the expiation made by the sacrifice was applied and assured to them, and their whole selves from head to foot sanctified to the service of God. The blood was put upon the extreme parts of the body, to signify that it was all, as it were, enclosed and taken in for God, the tip of the ear and the great toe not excepted. We reckon that the blood and oil sprinkled upon garments spot and stain them; yet the holy oil, and the blood of the sacrifice, sprinkled upon their garments, must be looked upon as the greatest adorning imaginable to them, for they signified the blood of Christ, and the graces of the Spirit, which constitute and complete the beauty of holiness, and recommend us to God; we read of robes made white with the blood of the Lamb. 2. The flesh of the sacrifice, with the meat-offering annexed to it, was likewise divided between God and them, that (to speak with reverence) God and they might feast together, in token of friendship and fellowship. (1.) Part of it was to be first waved before the Lord, and then burnt upon the altar; part of the flesh ( v. 22 ), part of the bread, for bread and flesh must go together ( v. 23 ); these were first put into the hands of Aaron to be waved to and fro, in token of their being offered to God (who, though unseen, yet compasses us round on every side), and then they were to be burnt upon the altar ( v. 24, 25 ), for the altar was to devour God's part of the sacrifice. Thus God admitted Aaron and his sons to be his servants, and wait at his table, taking the mat of his altar from their hands. Here, in a parenthesis, as it were, comes in the law concerning the priests' part of the peace-offerings afterwards, the breast and shoulder, which were now divided; Moses had the breast, and the shoulder was burnt on the altar with God's part, v. 26-28 . (2.) The other part, both of the flesh of the ram and of the bread, Aaron and his sons were to eat at the door of the tabernacle ( v. 31-33 ), to signify that he called them not only servants but friends, John xv. 15 . He supped with them, and they with him. Their eating of the things wherewith the atonement was made signified their receiving the atonement, as the expression is ( Rom. v. 11 ), their thankful acceptance of the benefit of it, and their joyful communion with God thereupon, which was the true intent and meaning of a feast upon a sacrifice. If any of it was left, it must be burnt, that it might not be in any danger of putrefying, and to show that it was an extraordinary peace-offering. 2. The time that was to be spent in this consecration: Seven days shalt thou consecrate them, v. 35 . Though all the ceremonies were performed on the first day, yet, (1.) They were not to look upon their consecration as completed till the seven days' end, which put a solemnity upon their admission, and a distance between this and their former state, and obliged them to enter upon their work with a pause, giving them time to consider the weight and seriousness of it. This was to be observed in after-ages, v. 30 . He that was to succeed Aaron in the high-priesthood must put on the holy garments seven days together, in token of a deliberate and gradual advance into his office, and that one sabbath might pass over him in his consecration. (2.) Every day of the seven, in this first consecration, a bullock was to be offered for a sin-offering ( v. 36 ), which was to intimate to them, [1.] That it was of very great concern to them to get their sins pardoned, and that though atonement was made, and they had the comfort of it, yet they must still keep up a penitent sense of sin and often repeat the confession of it. [2.] That those sacrifices which were thus offered day by day to make atonement could not make the comers thereunto perfect, for then they would have ceased to be offered, as the apostle argues, Heb. x. 1, 2 . They must therefore expect the bringing in of a better hope. 3. This consecration of the priests was a shadow of good things to come. (1.) Our Lord Jesus is the great high-priest of our profession, called of God to be so, consecrated for evermore, anointed with the Spirit above his fellows (whence he is called Messiah, the Christ ), clothed with the holy garments, even with glory and beauty, sanctified by his own blood, not that of bullocks and rams ( Heb. ix. 12 ), made perfect, or consecrated, through sufferings, Heb. ii. 10 . Thus in him this was a perpetual statute, v. 9 . (2.) All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices ( 1 Pet. ii. 5 ), washed in the blood of Christ, and so made to our God priests, Rev. i. 5, 6 . They also are clothed with the beauty of holiness, and have received the anointing, 1 John ii. 27 . Their hands are filled with work, to which they must continually attend; and it is through Christ, the great sacrifice, that they are dedicated to this service. His blood sprinkled upon the conscience purges it from dead works, that they may, as priests, serve the living God. The Spirit of God (as Ainsworth notes) is called the finger of God ( Luke xi. 20 , compared with Matt. xii. 28 ), and by him the merit of Christ is effectually applied to our souls, as here Moses with his finger was to put the blood upon Aaron. It is likewise intimated that gospel ministers are to be solemnly set apart to the work of the ministry with great deliberation and seriousness both in the ordainers and in the ordained, as those that are to be employed in a great work and entrusted with a great charge. II. The consecration of the altar, which seems to have been coincident with that of the priests, and the sin-offerings which were offered every day for seven days together had reference to the altar as well as the priests, v. 36, 37 . An atonement was made for the altar. Though that was not a subject capable of sin, nor, having never yet been used, could it be said to be polluted with the sins of the people, yet, since the fall, there can be no sanctification to God but there must first be an atonement for sin, which renders us both unworthy and unfit to be employed for God. The altar was also sanctified, not only set apart itself to a sacred use, but made so holy as to sanctify the gifts that were offered upon it, Matt. xxiii. 19 . Christ is our altar; for our sakes he sanctified himself, that we and our performances might be sanctified and recommended to God, John xvii. 19 . 38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon