Leviticus 6

Laws relative to detention of property entrusted to the care of another, to robbery, and deceit, Lev 6:1 , Lev 6:2 ; finding of goods lost, keeping them from their owner, and swearing falsely, Lev 6:3 . Such a person shall not only restore what he has thus unlawfully gotten, but shall add a fifth part of the value of the property besides, Lev 6:4 , Lev 6:5 ; and bring a ram without blemish, for a trespass-offering to the Lord, Lev 6:6 , Lev 6:7 . Laws relative to the burnt-offering and the perpetual fire, Lev 6:8-13 . Law of the meat-offering, and who may lawfully eat of it, Lev 6:14-18 . Laws relative to the offerings of Aaron and his sons and their successors, on the day of their anointing, Lev 6:19-23 . Laws relative to the sin-offering, and those who might eat of it, Lev 6:24-30 . Verse 2 Lie unto his neighbor, etc. - This must refer to a case in which a person delivered his property to his neighbor to be preserved for him, and took no witness to attest the delivery of the goods; such a person therefore might deny that he had ever received such goods, for he who had deposited them with him could bring no proof of the delivery. On the other hand, a man might accuse his neighbor of detaining property which had never been confided to him, or, after having been confided, had been restored again; hence the law here is very cautious on these points: and because in many cases it was impossible to come at the whole truth without a direct revelation from God, which should in no common case be expected, the penalties are very moderate; for in such cases, even when guilt was discovered, the man might not be so criminal as appearances might intimate. See the law concerning this laid down and explained on Exo 22:7 (note), etc. Verse 3 Have found that which was lost - The Roman lawyers laid it down as a sound maxim of jurisprudence, "that he who found any property and applied it to his own use, should be considered as a thief whether he knew the owner or not; for in their view the crime was not lessened, supposing the finder was totally ignorant of the right owner." Qui alienum quid jacens lucri faciendi causa sustulit, furti obstringitur, sive scit, cujus sit, sive ignoravit; nihil enim ad furtum minuendum, facit, quod, cujus sit, ignoret - Digestor, lib. xlvii., Tit. ii., de furtis, Leg. xliii., sec. 4. On this subject every honest man must say, that the man who finds any lost property, and does not make all due inquiry to find out the owner, should, in sound policy, be treated as a thief. It is said of the Dyrbaeans, a people who inhabited the tract between Bactria and India, that if they met with any lost property, even on the public road, they never even touched it. This was actually the case in this kingdom in the time of Alfred the Great, about a. d. 888; so that golden bracelets hung up on the public roads were untouched by the finger of rapine. One of Solon's laws was, Take not up what you laid not down. How easy to act by this principle in case of finding lost property: "This is not mine, and it would be criminal to convert it to my use unless the owner be dead and his family extinct." When all due inquiry is made, if no owner can be found, the lost property may be legally considered to be the property of the finder. Verse 5 All that about which he hath sworn falsely - This supposes the case of a man who, being convicted by his own conscience, comes forward and confesses his sin. Restore it in the principal - The property itself if still remaining, or the full value of it, to which a fifth part more was to be added. Verse 6 With thy estimation - See Clarke's note on Lev 5:15 . Verse 8 And the Lord spake unto Moses - At this verse the Jews begin the 25th section of the law; and here, undoubtedly, the 6th chapter should commence, as the writer enters upon a new subject, and the preceding verses belong to the fifth chapter. The best edited Hebrew Bibles begin the 6th chapter at this verse. Verse 9 This is the law of the burnt-offering - This law properly refers to that burnt-offering which was daily made in what was termed the morning and evening sacrifice; and as he had explained the nature of this burnt-offering in general, with its necessary ceremonies, as far as the persons who brought them were concerned, he now takes up the same in relation to the priests who were to receive them from the hands of the offerer, and present them to the Lord on the altar of burnt-offerings. Because of the burning upon the altar all night - If the burnt-offering were put all upon the fire at once, it could not be burning all night. We may therefore reasonably conclude that the priests sat up by turns the whole night, and fed the fire with portions of this offering till the whole was consumed, which they would take care to lengthen out till the time of the morning sacrifice. The same we may suppose was done with the morning sacrifice; it was also consumed by piecemeal through the whole day, till the time of offering the evening sacrifice. Thus there was a continual offering by fire unto the Lord; and hence in Lev 6:13 it is said: The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar, it shall never go out. If at any time any extraordinary offerings were to be made, the daily sacrifice was consumed more speedily, in order to make room for such extra offerings. See more on this subject in Clarke's note on Lev 6:23 (note). The Hebrew doctors teach that no sacrifice was ever offered in the morning before the morning sacrifice; and none, the passover excepted, ever offered in the evening after the evening sacrifice; for all sacrifices were made by day-light. The fat seems to have been chiefly burned in the night season, for the greater light and convenience of keeping the fire alive, which could not be so easily done in the night as in the day time. Verse 11 And put on other garments - The priests approached the altar in their holiest garments; when carrying the ashes, etc., from the altar, they put on other garments, the holy garments being only used in the holy place. Clean place - A place where no dead carcasses, dung, or filth of any kind was laid; for the ashes were holy, as being the remains of the offerings made by fire unto the Lord. Verse 13 The fire shall ever be burning - See on Lev 6:9 (note) and Lev 6:20 (note). In imitation of this perpetual fire, the ancient Persian Magi, and their descendants the Parses, kept up a perpetual fire; the latter continue it to the present day. This is strictly enjoined in the Zend Avesta, which is a code of laws as sacred among them as the Pentateuch is among the Jews. A Sagnika Brahmin preserves the fire that was kindled at his investiture with the poita, and never suffers it to go out, using the same fire at his wedding and in all his burnt-offerings, till at length his body is burnt with it - Ward's Customs. Verse 14 The meat-offering - See Clarke on Lev 2:1 (note), etc. Verse 15 His handful of the flour - An omer of flour, which was the tenth part of an ephah, and equal to about three quarts of our measure, was the least quantity that could be offered even by the poorest sort, and this was generally accompanied with a log of oil, which was a little more than half a pint. This quantity both of flour and oil might be increased at pleasure, but no less could be offered. Verse 20 In the day when he is anointed - Not only in that day, but from that day forward, for this was to them and their successors a statute for ever. See Lev 6:22 . Verse 23 For every meat-offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt - Whatever the priest offered was wholly the Lord's, and therefore must be entirely consumed: the sacrifices of the common people were offered to the Lord, but the priests partook of them; and thus they who ministered at the altar were fed by the altar. Had the priests been permitted to live on their own offerings as they did on those of the people, it would have been as if they had offered nothing, as they would have taken again to themselves what they appeared to give unto the Lord. Theodoret says that this marked "the high perfection which God required in the ministers of his sanctuary," as his not eating of his own sin-offering supposes him to stand free from all sin; but a better reason is given by Mr. Ainsworth: "The people's meat-offering was eaten by the priests that made atonement for them, Lev 6:15 , Lev 6:16 , Lev 7:7 ; but because no priest, being a sinner, could make atonement for himself, therefore his meat-offering might not be eaten, but all burnt on the altar, to teach him to expect salvation, not by his legal service or works, but by Christ; for the eating of the sin-offering figured the bearing of the sinner's iniquity;" Lev 10:17 . Verse 25 In the place where the burnt-offering is killed, etc. - The place here referred to was the north side of the altar. See Lev 1:11 . Verse 26 The priest - shall eat it - From the expostulation of Moses with Aaron, Lev 10:17 , we learn that the priest, by eating the sin-offering of the people, was considered as bearing their sin, and typically removing it from them: and besides, this was a part of their maintenance, or what the Scripture calls their inheritance; see Eze 44:27-30 . This was afterwards greatly abused; for improper persons endeavored to get into the priest's office merely that they might get a secular provision, which is a horrible profanity in the sight of God. See 1Sam 2:36 ; Jer 23:12 ; Eze 34:2-4 ; and Hos 4:8 . Verse 27 Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy - The following note of Mr. Ainsworth is not less judicious than it is pious: - "All this rite was peculiar to the sin-offering, (whether it were that which was to be eaten, or that which was to be burnt), above all the other most holy things. As the sin-offering in special sort figured Christ, who was made sin for us, ( 2Cor 5:21 ), so this ordinance for all that touched the flesh of the sin-offering to be holy, the garments sprinkled with the blood to be washed, the vessels wherein the flesh was boiled to be broken, or scoured and rinsed - taught a holy use of this mystery of our redemption, whereof they that are made partakers ought to be washed, cleansed, and sanctified by the Spirit of God; that we possess our vessels in holiness and honor, and yield not our members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin," 1Thes 4:4 ; Rom 6:13 . Verse 28 The earthen vessel - shall be broken - Calmet states that this should be considered as implying the vessels brought by individuals to the court of the temple or tabernacle, and not of the vessels that belonged to the priests for the ordinary service. That the people dressed their sacrifices sometimes in the court of the tabernacle, he gathers from 1Sam 2:13 , 1Sam 2:14 , to which the reader is desired to refer. In addition to what has been already said on the different subjects in this chapter, it may be necessary to notice a few more particulars. The perpetual meat-offering, מנחה תמיד minchah tamid, Lev 6:20 , the perpetual fire, אש תמיד esh tamid, Lev 6:13 , and the perpetual burnt-offering, עלת תמיד olath tamid, Exo 29:42 , translated by the Septuagint θυσια διαπαντος, πυο διαπαντος, and ὁλοκαυτωσις and ὁλοκαυτωμα διαπαντος, all cast much light on Heb 7:25 , where it is said, Christ is able to save them to the uttermost (εις το παντελες, perpetually, to all intents and purposes) that come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth (παντοτε ζων, he is perpetually living) to make intercession for them; in which words there is a manifest allusion to the perpetual minchah, the perpetual fire, and the perpetual burnt-offering, mentioned here by Moses. As the minchah, or gratitude-offering should be perpetual, so our gratitude for the innumerable mercies of God should be perpetual. As the burnt-offering must be perpetual, so should the sacrifice of our blessed Lord be considered as a perpetual offering, that all men, in all ages, should come unto God through him who is ever living, in his sacrificial character, to make intercession for men; and who is therefore represented even in the heavens as the Lamb just slain, standing before the throne, Rev 5:6 ; Heb 10:19-22 . And as the fire on the altar must be perpetual, so should the influences of the Holy Spirit in every member of the Church, and the flame of pure devotion in the hearts of believers, be ever energetic and permanent. A continual sacrifice for continual successive generations of sinners was essentially necessary. Continual influences of the Holy Spirit on the souls of men were essentially necessary to apply and render effectual this atonement, to the salvation of the soul. And incessant gratitude for the ineffable love of God, manifested by his unspeakable gift, is surely required of all those who have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Reader, dost thou feel thy obligations to thy Maker? Does the perpetual fire burn on the altar of thy heart? Art thou ever looking unto Jesus, and beholding, by faith, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world? And dost thou feel the influences of his Spirit, at all times witnessing with thy spirit that thou art his child, and exciting thee to acts of gratitude and obedience? If not, of what benefit has the religion of Christ been to thee to the present day? Of a contrary state to that referred to above, it may be well said, This is not the way to heaven, for the way of life is above to the wise, that they may depart from the snares of death beneath. Arise, therefore, and shake thyself from the dust; and earnestly call upon the Lord thy God, that he may save thy soul, and that thou fall not into the bitter pains of an eternal death. Introduction The law of the trespass-

Law of the Trespass-Offering. ( b. c. 1490.) 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord , and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; 3 Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. 6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord , a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: 7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord : and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein. This is the latter part of the law of the trespass-offering: the former part, which concerned trespasses about holy things, we had in the close of the foregoing chapter; this concerns trespasses in common things. Observe here, I. The trespass supposed, v. 2, 3 . Though all the instances relate to our neighbour, yet it is called a trespass against the Lord, because, though the injury be done immediately to our neighbour, yet an affront is thereby given to his Maker and our Master. He that speaks evil of his brother is said to speak evil of the law, and consequently of the Law-maker, Jam. iv. 11 . Though the person injured be ever so mean and despicable, and every way our inferior, yet the injury reflects upon that God who has made the command of loving our neighbour second to that of loving himself. The trespasses specified are, 1. Denying a trust: If a man lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or, which is worse, which was lent him for his use. If we claim that as our own which is only borrowed, left in our custody, or committed to our care, this is a trespass against the Lord, who, for the benefit of human society, will have property and truth maintained. 2. Defrauding a partner: If a man lie in fellowship, claiming a sole interest in that wherein he has but a joint-interest. 3. Disowning a manifest wrong: If a man has the front to lie in a thing taken away by violence, which ordinarily cannot be hid. 4. Deceiving in commerce, or, as some think, by false accusation; if a man have deceitfully oppressed his neighbour, as some read it, either withholding what is due or extorting what is not. 5. Detaining what is found, and denying it ( v. 3 ); if a man have found that which was lost, he must not call it his own presently, but endeavour to find out the owner, to whom it must be returned; this is doing as we would be done by: but he that lies concerning it, that falsely says he knows nothing of it, especially if he back this lie with a false oath, trespasseth against the Lord, who to every thing that is said is a witness, but in an oath he is the party appealed to, and highly affronted when he is called to witness to a lie. II. The trespass-offering appointed. 1. In the day of his trespass-offering he must make satisfaction to his brother. This must be first done if thy brother hath aught against thee: Because he hath sinned and is guilty, ( v. 4, 5 ), that is, is convicted of his guilt by his own conscience, and is touched with remorse for it; seeing himself guilty before God, let him faithfully restore all that he has got by fraud or oppression, with a fifth part added, to make amends to the owner for the loss and trouble he had sustained in the mean time; let him account both for debt and damages. Note, Where wrong has been done restitution must be made; and till it is made to the utmost of our power, or an equivalent accepted by the person wronged, we cannot have the comfort of the forgiveness of the sin; for the keeping of what is unjustly got avows the taking, and both together make but one continued act of unrighteousness. To repent is to undo what we have done amiss, which (whatever we pretend) we cannot be said to do till we restore what has been got by it, as Zaccheus ( Luke xix. 8 ), and make satisfaction for the wrong done. 2. He must then come and offer his gift, must bring his trespass-offering to the Lord whom he had offended; and the priest must make an atonement for him, v. 6, 7 . This trespass-offering could not, of itself, make satisfaction for sin, nor reconciliation between God and the sinner, but as it signified the atonement that was to be made by our Lord Jesus, when he should make his soul an offering or sin, a trespass-offering; it is the same word that is here used, Isa. liii. 10 . The trespasses here mentioned are trespasses still against the law of Christ, which insists as much upon justice and truth as ever the law of nature or the law of Moses did; and though now we may have them pardoned without a trespass-offering, yet not without true repentance, restitution, reformation, and a humble faith in the righteousness of Christ: and, if any make the more bold with these sins because they are not now put to the expense of a trespass-offering for them, they turn the grace of God into wantonness, and so bring upon themselves a swift destruction. The Lord is the avenger of all such, 1 Thess. iv. 6 .

If a soul sin - This sin, though directly committed against man, is emphatically said to be done against the Lord, not only in general, for so every sin against man is also against the Lord, but in a special sense, because this was a violation of human society, whereof God is the author, and president, and defender: and because it was a secret sin, of which God alone was the witness and judge: and because God's name was abused in it by perjury. To keep - In trust. Or in fellowship - Heb. Or in putting of the hand: that is, commerce or fellowship in trading, which is very usual when one man puts any thing into another's hand, not to keep it, but to improve it for the common benefit of them both, in which cases of partnership it is easy for one to deceive the other, and therefore provision is made against it. And this is called a putting of the hand, because such agreements used to be confirmed by giving or joining their hands together. By violence - Secretly; for he seems to speak here of such sins as could not be proved by witness. Or hath deceived - Got any thing from him by calumny, or fraud, or circumvention; so the word signifies.

Swear falsely - His oath being required, seeing there was no other way of discovery left.

Is guilty - This guilt being manifested by his voluntary confession upon remorse, whereby he reapeth this benefit, that he only restores the principal with the addition of a fifth part; whereas if he were convicted of his fault, he was to pay double, Exo 22:9 .

In the day - It must not be delayed, but restitution to man must accompany repentance towards God. Wherever wrong has been done, restitution must be made, and till it is made to the utmost of our power we cannot look for forgiveness; for the keeping of what is unjustly got, avows the taking: And both together make but one continued act of unrighteousness.

Law of the Burnt-Offering. ( b. c. 1490.) 8 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 9 Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. 10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. 11 And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. 12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. Hitherto we have had the instructions which Moses was directed to give to the people concerning the sacrifices; but here begin the instructions he was to give to the priests; he must command Aaron and his sons, v. 9 . The priests were rulers in the house of God, but these rulers must be ruled; and those that had the command of others must themselves be commanded. Let ministers remember that not only commissions, but commands, were given to Aaron and his sons, who must be in subjection to them. In these verses we have the law of the burnt-offering, as far as it was the peculiar care of the priests. The daily sacrifice of a lamb, which was offered morning and evening for the whole congregation, is here chiefly referred to. I. The priest must take care of the ashes of the burnt-offering, that they be decently disposed of, v. 10, 11 . He must clear the altar of them every morning, and put them on the east side of the altar, which was furthest from the sanctuary; this he must do in his linen garment, which he always wore when he did any service at the altar; and then he must shift himself, and put on other garments, either such as were his common wear, or (as some think) other priestly garments less honourable, and must carry the ashes into a clean place without the camp. Now, 1. God would have this done, for the honour of his altar and the sacrifices that were burnt upon it. Even the ashes of the sacrifices must be preserved, to testify the regard God had to it; by the burnt-offering he was honoured, and therefore thus it was honoured. And some think that this care which was taken of the ashes of the sacrifice typified the burial of our Saviour; his dead body (the ashes of his sacrifice) was carefully laid up in a garden, in a new sepulchre, which was a clean place. It was also requisite that the altar should be kept as clean as might be; the fire upon it would burn the better, and it is decent in a house to have a clean fire-side. 2. God would have the priests themselves to keep it so, to teach them and us to stoop to the meanest services for the honour of God and of his altar. The priest himself must not only kindle the fire, but clean the hearth, and carry out the ashes. God's servants must think nothing below them but sin. II. The priest must take care of the fire upon the altar, that it be kept always burning. This is much insisted on here ( v. 9 , 12 ), and this express law is given: The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar, it shall never go out, v. 13 . We may suppose that no day passed without some extraordinary sacrifices, which were always offered between the morning and evening lamb; so that from morning to night the fire on the altar was kept up of course. But to preserve it all night unto the morning ( v. 9 ) required some care. Those that keep good houses never let their kitchen fire go out; therefore God would thus give an instance of his good house-keeping. The first fire upon the altar came from heaven ( ch. ix. 24 ), so that by keeping that up continually with a constant supply of fuel all their sacrifices throughout all their generations might be said to be consumed with that fire from heaven, in token of God's acceptance. If, through carelessness, they should ever let it go out, they could not expect to have it so kindled again. Accordingly the Jews tell us that the fire never did go out upon the altar, till the captivity in Babylon. This is referred to Isa. xxxi. 9 , where God is said to have his fire in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. By this law we are taught to keep up in our minds a constant disposition to all acts of piety and devotion, an habitual affection to divine things, so as to be always ready to every good word and work. We must not only not quench the Spirit, but we must stir up the gift that is in us. Though we be not always sacrificing, yet we must keep the fire of holy love always burning; and thus we must pray always.

And the Lord spake - Hitherto he hath prescribed the sacrifices themselves; now he comes to the manner of them. The burnt - offering - The daily one, which Exo 29:38 , Num 28:3, as the following words shew. This was to be so managed and laid on piece after piece, that the fire might be constantly maintained by it. The morning burnt - offerings were to be kept burning all the day from morning to night also; but he mentions not that, because there was such a constant succession of sacrifices in the day - time that there needed no law for feeding and keeping in the fire then; the only danger was for the night, when other sacrifices were not offered, but only the evening burnt - offering, which if it had been consumed quickly, as the morning burnt - offering was, there had been danger of the going out of that fire, which they were commanded diligently and constantly to keep in.

The ashes which the fire hath consumed - That is, the wood consumed into ashes.

Other garments - Because this was no sacred, but a common work. A clean place - Where no dung or filth was laid. The priest himself was to do all this. God's servants must think nothing below them but sin.

It shall not be put out - The fire coming down from heaven, was to be perpetually preserved, and not suffered to go out, partly that there might be no occasion or temptation to offer strange fire; and partly to teach them whence they were to expect the acceptance of all their sacrifices, even from the divine mercy, signified by the fire that came down from heaven which was an usual token of God's favourable acceptance. Every morning - Though the evening also be doubtless intended, yet the morning is only mentioned, because then the altar was cleansed, and the ashes taken away, and a new fire made. Thereon - Upon the burnt - offering, which thereby would be sooner consumed, that the way might be made for other sacrifices.

Thus should we keep the fire of holy love ever burning in our hearts.

Law of the Meat-Offering. ( b. c. 1490.) 14 And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord , before the altar. 15 And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord . 16 And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. 17 It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. 18 All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy. 19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 20 This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the Lord in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night. 21 In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken, thou shalt bring it in: and the baken pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the Lord . 22 And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever unto the Lord ; it shall be wholly burnt. 23 For every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten. The meat-offering was either that which was offered by the people or that by the priests at their consecration. Now, I. As to the common meat-offering, 1. Only a handful of it was to be burnt upon the altar; all the rest was allowed to the priests for their food. The law of the burnt-offerings was such as imposed upon the priests a great deal of care and work, but allowed them little profit; for the flesh was wholly burnt, and the priests had nothing but the skin. But to make them amends the greatest part of the meat-offering was their own. The burning of a handful of it upon the altar ( v. 15 ) was ordered before, ch. ii. 2 , 9 . Here the remainder of it is consigned to the priests, the servants of God's house: I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings, v. 17 . Note, (1.) It is the will of God that his ministers should be well provided for with food convenient; and what is given to them he accepts as offered to himself, if it be done with a single eye. (2.) All Christians, being spiritual priests, do themselves share in the spiritual sacrifices they offer. It is not God that is the gainer by them; the handful burnt upon the altar was not worth speaking of, in comparison with the priests' share; we ourselves are the gainers by our religious services. Let God have all the frankincense, and the priests shall have the flour and the oil; what we give to God the praise and glory of we may take to ourselves the comfort and benefit of. 2. The laws concerning the eating of it were, (1.) That it must be eaten unleavened, v. 16 . What was offered to God must have no leaven in it, and the priests must have it as the altar had it, and no otherwise. Thus must we keep the feasts of the Lord with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (2.) It must be eaten in the court of the tabernacle (here called the holy place ), in some room prepared by the side of the court for this purpose. It was a great crime to carry any of it out of the court. The very eating of it was a sacred rite, by which they were to honour God, and therefore it must be done in a religious manner, and with a holy reverence, which was preserved by confining it to the holy place. (3.) The males only must eat of it, v. 18 . Of the less holy things, as the first-fruits and tithes, and the shoulder and breasts of the peace-offerings, the daughters of the priests might eat, for they might be carried out of the court; but this was of the most holy things, which being to be eaten only in the tabernacle, the sons of Aaron only might eat of it. (4.) The priests only that were clean might eat of it: Every one that toucheth them shall be holy, v. 18 . Holy things for holy persons. Some read it, Every thing that toucheth it shall be holy: Al the furniture of the table on which these holy things were eaten must be appropriated to that use only, and never after used as common things. II. As to the consecration meat-offering, which was offered for the priests themselves, it was to be wholly burnt, and none of it eaten, v. 23 . It comes in here as an exception to the foregoing law. It should seem that this law concerning the meat-offering of initiation did not only oblige the high priest to offer it, and on that day only that he was anointed, and so for his successors in the day they were anointed; but the Jewish writers say that by this law every priest, on the day he first entered upon his ministry, was bound to offer this meat-offering,—that the high priest was bound to offer it every day of his life, from the day in which he was anointed,—and that it was to be offered besides the meat-offering that attended the morning and evening sacrifice, because it is said here to be a meat-offering perpetual, v. 20 . Josephus says, "The high priest sacrificed twice every day at his own charges, and this was his sacrifice." Note, Those whom God has advanced above others in dignity and power ought to consider that he expects more from them than from others, and should attend to every intimation of service to be done for him. The meat-offering of the priest was to be baked as if it were to be eaten, and yet it must be wholly burnt. Though the priest that ministered was to be paid for serving the people, yet there was no reason that he should be paid for serving the high priest, who was the father of the family of the priests, and whom therefore any priest should take a pleasure in serving gratis. Nor was it fit that the priests should eat of the offerings of a priest; for as the sins of the people were typically transferred to the priests, which was signified by their eating of their offerings ( Hos. iv. 8 ), so the sins of the priests must be typically transferred to the altar, which therefore must eat up all their offerings. We are all undone, both ministers and people, if we must bear our own iniquity; nor could we have had any comfort or hope if God had not laid on his dear Son the iniquity of us all, and he is both the priest and the altar.

Of the meal - offering - Of that which was offered alone, and that by any of the people, not by the priest, for then it must have been all burnt. This law before delivered, is here repeated for the sake of some additions made to it.

His sons - The males only might eat these, because they were most holy things; whereas the daughters of Aaron might eat other holy things. In the court - In some special room appointed for that purpose. The reason why this was to be eaten only by holy persons, and that in an holy place, is given Lev 6:17 , because it is most holy.

It - That part which remains to the priest; for the part offered to God seems not to have been baked at all.

Every one - That is, none should touch, or eat them, but consecrated persons, priests, or their sons.

When he is anointed - For high - priest for he only of all the priests was to be anointed in future ages. This law of his consecration was delivered before, and is here repeated because of some additions made to it. Perpetual - Whensoever any of them shall be so anointed. At night - Or, in the evening; the one to be annexed to the morning - sacrifice, the other to the evening - sacrifice, over and besides that meal - offering which every day was to be added to the daily morning and evening sacrifices.

Thou - Who art so anointed and consecrated.

It shall not be eaten - No part of it shall be eaten by the priest, as it was when the offering was for the people. The reason of the difference is, partly because when he offered it for the people, he was to have some recompence for his pains; partly to signify the imperfection of the Levitical priest, who could not bear their own iniquity; for the priest's eating part of the people's sacrifices did signify his typical bearing of the people's iniquity; and partly to teach the priests and ministers of God, that it is their duty to serve God with singleness of heart, and to be content with God's honour though they have no present advantage by it.

Law of the Sin-Offering. ( b. c. 1490.) 24 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 25 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the Lord : it is most holy. 26 The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. 27 Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place. 28 But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. 29 All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy. 30 And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire. We have here so much of the law of the sin-offering as did peculiarly concern the priests that offered it. As, 1. That it must be killed in the place where the burnt-offering was killed ( v. 25 ), that is, on the north side of the altar ( ch. i. 11 ), which, some think typified the crucifying of Christ on mount Calvary, which was on the north side of Jerusalem. 2. That the priest who offered it for the sinner was (with his sons, or other priests, v. 29 ) to eat the flesh of it, after the blood and fat had been offered to God, in the court of the tabernacle, v. 26 . Hereby they were to bear the iniquity of the congregation, as it is explained, ch. x. 17 . 3. The blood of the sin-offering was with great reverence to be washed out of the clothes on which it happened to light ( v. 27 ), which signified the awful regard we ought to have to the blood of Christ, not counting it a common thing; that blood must be sprinkled on the conscience, not on the raiment. 4. The vessel in which the flesh of the sin-offering was boiled must be broken if it were an earthen one, and, if a brazen one, well washed, v. 28 . This intimated that the defilement was not wholly taken away by the offering, but did rather cleave to it, such was the weakness and deficiency of those sacrifices; but the blood of Christ thoroughly cleanses from all sin, and after it there needs no cleansing. 5. That all this must be understood of the common sin-offerings, not of those for the priest, or the body of the congregation, either occasional, or stated upon the day of atonement; for it had been before ordained, and was now ratified, that if the blood of the offering was brought into the holy place, as it was in those extraordinary cases, the flesh was not to be eaten, but burnt without the camp, v. 30 . Hence the apostle infers the advantage we have under the gospel above what they had under the law; for though the blood of Christ was brought into the tabernacle, to reconcile within the holy place, yet we have a right by faith to eat of the altar ( Heb. xiii. 10-12 ), and so to take the comfort of the great propitiation.

For sin - For the sins of the rulers, or of the people, or any of them, but not for the sins of the priests; for then its blood was brought into the tabernacle, and therefore it might not be eaten.

Upon any garment - Upon the priest's garment; for it was he only that sprinkled it, and in so doing he might easily sprinkle his garments. In the holy place - Partly out of reverence to the blood of sacrifices, which hereby was kept from a profane or common touch; and partly that such garments might be decent, and fit for sacred administrations.

Broken - Because being full of pores, the liquor in which it was sodden might easily sink into it, whereby it was ceremonially holy, and therefore was broken, lest afterwards it should be abused to common uses. Rinsed - And not broken, as being of considerable value, which therefore God would not have unnecessarily wasted. And this being of a more solid substance than an earthen vessel, was not so apt to drink in the moisture.