E
X O D U S
CHAP. XXIX.
Particular
orders are given in this chapter, I. Concerning the consecration of the
priests, and the sanctification of the altar, ver. 1-37. II. Concerning the
daily sacrifice, ver. 38-41. To which gracious promises are annexed that God
would own and bless them in all their services, ver. 42, &c.
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The
Consecration of the Priests.
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B.
C. 1491.
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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 the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day
continually. 39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and
the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: 40 And with the one lamb
a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil;
and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according
to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering
thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD:
where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. 43 And there I
will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be
sanctified by my glory. 44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of
the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons,
to minister to me in the priest's office. 45 And I will dwell
among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46 And they
shall know that I am the LORD
their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell
among them: I am the LORD
their God.
In this paragraph we have,
I. The daily service appointed. A lamb was to be offered upon the altar every
morning, and a lamb every evening, each with a meat-offering, both made by
fire, as a continual burnt-offering throughout their generations, v.
38-41. Whether there were any other sacrifices to be offered or not, these
were sure to be offered, at the public charge, for the benefit and comfort of
all Israel, to make atonement for their daily sins, and to be an
acknowledgement to God of their daily mercies. This was that which the duty
of every day required. The taking away of this daily sacrifice by
Antiochus, for so many evenings and mornings, was that great calamity of the
church which was foretold, Dan. viii. 11. Note, 1. This typified the continual
intercession which Christ ever lives to make, in virtue of his satisfaction,
for the continual sanctification of his church: though he offered himself once
for all, yet that one offering thus becomes a continual offering. 2. This
teaches us to offer up to God the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise
every day, morning and evening, in humble acknowledgement of our dependence
upon him and our obligations to him. Our daily devotions must be looked upon
as the most needful of our daily works and the most pleasant of our daily
comforts. Whatever business we have, this must never be omitted, either
morning or evening; prayer-time must be kept up as duly as meat-time. The
daily sacrifices were as the daily meals in God's house, and therefore they
were always attended with bread and wine. Those starve their own souls that
keep not up a constant attendance on
the throne of grace.
II. Great and precious promises made of God's favour to
Israel
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and the tokens of his special presence with them, while they thus kept up his
institutions among them. He speaks as one well pleased with the appointment of
the daily sacrifice; for, before he proceeds to the other appointments that
follow, he interposes these promises. It is constancy in religion that brings
in the comfort of it. He promises, 1. That he would keep up communion with
them; that he would not only meet Moses, and speak to him, but that he would meet
the children of Israel, (v. 43), to accept the daily sacrifices
offered up on their behalf. Note, God will not fail to give those the meeting
who diligently and conscientiously attend upon him in the ordinances of his
own appointment. 2. That he would own his own institutions, the tabernacle,
the altar, the priesthood (v. 43, 44); he would take possession of that
which was consecrated to him. Note, What is sanctified to the glory of God
shall be sanctified by his glory. If we do our part, God will do his, and will
mark and fit that for himself which is in sincerity given up to him. 3. That
he would reside among them as God in covenant with them, and would give them
sure and comfortable tokens of his peculiar favour to them, and his special
presence with them (v. 45, 46): I will dwell among the children of
Israel. Note, Where God sets up the tabernacle of his ordinances he will
himself dwell. Lo, I am with you always, Matt. xxviii. 20. Those that
abide in God's house shall have God to abide with them. I will be their
God, and they shall know that I am so. Note, Those are truly happy that
have a covenant-interest in God as theirs and the comfortable evidence of that
interest. If we have this, we have enough, and need no more to make us happy.
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