In
this chapter is further represented to the prophet, in vision, I. The
division of the holy land, so much for the temple, and the priests that
attended the service of it (ver. 1-4), so much for the Levites (ver. 5), so
much for the city (ver. 6), so much for the prince, and the residue to the
people, ver. 7, 8. II. The ordinances of justice that were given both to
prince and people, ver. 9-12. III. The oblations they were to offer, and the
prince's part in those oblations, ver. 13-17. Particularly in the beginning
of the year (ver. 18-20) and in the passover, and the feast of tabernacles,
ver. 21-25. And all this seems to point at the new church-state that should
be set up under the gospel, which, both for extent and for purity, should
far exceed that of the Old Testament.
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The
Division of the Holy Land.
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B.
C. 574.
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1 Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the
land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD,
a holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five
and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten
thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round
about. 2 Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in
length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and
fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof. 3 And of this
measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the
breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the
most holy place. 4 The holy portion of the land
shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come
near to minister unto the LORD:
and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for the
sanctuary. 5 And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the
ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house,
have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers. 6 And
ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five
and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion:
it shall be for the whole house of Israel. 7 And a portion
shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the
oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city,
before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of
the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and
the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west
border unto the east border. 8 In the land shall be his
possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the
rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to
their tribes.
Directions are here given for the dividing of the land after their return to
it; and, God having warranted them to do it, would be an act of faith, and
not of folly, thus to divide it before they had it. And it would be welcome
news to the captives to hear that they should not only return to their own
land, but that, whereas they were now but few in number, they should increase
and multiply, so as to replenish it. But this never had its
accomplishment in the Jewish state after the return out of captivity, but
was to be fulfilled in the model of the Christian church, which was
perfectly new (as this division of the land was quite different from that in
Joshua's time) and much enlarged by the accession of the Gentiles to it; and
it will be perfected in the heavenly kingdom, of which the land of Canaan
had always been a type. Now, 1. Here is the portion of land assigned to the
sanctuary, in the midst of which the temple was to be built, with all
its courts and purlieus; the rest round about it was for the priests. This
is called (v. 1) an oblation to the Lord; for what is given in
works of piety, for the maintenance and support of the worship of God and
the advancement of religion, God accepts as given to him, if it be done with
a single eye. It is a holy portion of the land, which is to be set
out first, as the first-fruits that sanctify the lump. The
appropriating of lands for the support of religion and the ministry is an
act of piety that bids as fair for perpetuity, and the benefit of posterity,
as any. This holy portion of the land was to be measured, and the
borders of it fixed, that the sanctuary itself might not have more than its
share and in time engross the whole land. So far the lands of the church
shall extend and no further; as in our own kingdom donations to the church
were of old limited by the statute of mortmain. The lands here
allotted to the sanctuary were 25,000 reeds (so our translation makes
it, though some make them only cubits) in length, and 10,000 in
breadth-about eighty miles one way and thirty miles another way (say some);
twenty-five miles one way and ten miles the other way, so others. The
priests and Levites that were to come near to minister were to have their
dwellings in this portion of the land that was round about the
sanctuary, that they might be near their work; whereas by the distribution
of land in Joshua's time the cities of the priests and Levites were
dispersed all the nation over. This intimates that gospel ministers should
reside upon their charge; where their service lies there must they live. 2.
Next to the lands of the sanctuary the city-lands are assigned, in which the
holy city was to be built, and with the issues and profits of which the
citizens were to be maintained (v. 6): It shall be for the whole
house of Israel, not appropriated, as before, to one tribe or two, but
some of all the tribes shall dwell in the city, as we find they did, Neh. xi.
1, 2. The portion for the city was fully as long, but only half as broad, as
that for the sanctuary; for the city was enriched by trade and therefore had
the less need of lands. 3. The next allotment after the church-lands and the
city-lands is of the crown-lands, v. 7, 8. Here is no admeasurement
of these, but they are said to lie on the one side and on the other side
of the church-lands and city-lands, to intimate that the prince with his
wealth and power was to be a protection to both. Some make the prince's
share equal to the church's and city's share both together; others make it
to be a thirteenth part of the rest of the land, the other twelve parts
being for the twelve tribes. The prince that attends continually to the
administration of public affairs must have wherewithal to support his
dignity, and have abundance, that he may not be in temptation to oppress the
people, which yet with many does not prevent that; but the grace of God
shall prevent it, for it is promised here, My princes shall no more
oppress my people; for God will make the officers peace and the exactors
righteousness. Notwithstanding this, we find that after the return of
the Jews to their own land the princes were complained of for their
exactions. But Nehemiah was one that did not do as the former governors,
and yet kept a handsome court, Neh. v. 15, 18. But so much is said of the
prince in this mystical holy state, to intimate that in the gospel-church
magistrates should be as nursing fathers to it and Christian princes
its patrons and protectors; and the holy religion they profess, as far as
they are subject to the power of it, will restrain them from oppressing
God's people, because they are more his people than theirs. 4. The rest of
the lands were to be distributed to the people according to their tribes,
who had reason to think themselves well settled, when they had both the testimony
of Israel and the throne of judgment so near them.
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Rules
of Justice.
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B.
C. 574.
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9 Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and
execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith
the Lord GOD.
10 Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.
11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain
the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: the
measure thereof shall be after the homer. 12 And the shekel shall
be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen
shekels, shall be your maneh.
We have here some general rules of justice laid down both for prince and
people, the rules of distributive and commutative justice; for godliness
without honesty is but a form of godliness, will neither please God nor
avail to the benefit of any people. Be it therefore enacted, by the
authority of the church's King and God, 1. That princes do not oppress
their subjects, but duly and faithfully administer justice among them (v.
9): "Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel! that you have been
oppressive to the people and have enriched yourselves by spoil and violence,
that you have so long fleeced the flock instead of feeding them, and
henceforward do so no more." Note, Even princes and great men that have
long done amiss must at length think it time, high time, to reform and
amend; for no prescription will justify a wrong. Instead of saying that they
have been long accustomed to oppress, and therefore may persist in it, for
the custom will bear them out, they should say that they have been long
accustomed to it and therefore, as here, Let the time pass suffice,
and let them now remove violence and spoil; let them drop wrongful
demands, cancel wrongful usages, and turn out those from employments under
them that do violence. Let them take away their exactions, ease their
subjects of those taxes which they find lie heavily upon them, and let them execute
judgment and justice according to the law, as the duty of their place
requires. Note, All princes, but especially the princes of Israel, are
concerned to do justice; for of their people God says, They are my people,
and they in a special manner rule for God. 2. That one neighbour do
not cheat another in commerce (v. 10): You shall have just
balances, in which to weigh both money and goods, a just ephah
for dry measure of corn and flour, a just bath for the measure of
liquids, wine, and oil; and the ephah and bath shall be one
measure, the tenth part of a chomer, or cor, v. 11.
So that the ephah and bath contained (as the learned Dr. Cumberland has
computed) seven wine gallons and four pints, and something more. An omer was
but the tenth part of an ephah (Exod. xvi. 36) and the one hundredth part of
a chomer, or homer, and contained about six pints. The shekel
is here settled (v. 13); it is twenty jerahs, just half a Roman
ounce, in our money 2s. 4 1/4d. and almost the eighth part of
a farthing, as the aforesaid learned man exactly computes it. By the shekels
the maneh, or pound, was reckoned, which, when it was set for a mere
weight (says bishop Cumberland), without respect to coinage, contained just
100 shekels, as appears by comparing 1 Kings x. 17, where it is said three manehs,
or pounds, of gold, went to one shield, with the parallel place, 2
Chron. ix. 16, where it is said 300 shekels of gold went to one shield.
But when the maneh is set for a sum of money or coin it contains but
sixty shekels, as appears here, where twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels,
and fifteen shekels, which in all make sixty, shall be the maneh. But
it is thus reckoned because they had one piece of money that weighed twenty
shekels, another twenty-five, another fifteen, all of which made up one
pound, as a learned writer here observes. Note, It concerns God's Israel to
be very honest and just in all their dealings, very punctual and exact in
rendering to all their due, and very cautious to do wrong to none, because
otherwise they spoil the acceptableness of their profession with God and the
reputation of it before men.
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Oblations
Enjoined.
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B.
C. 574.
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13 This is the oblation that ye shall
offer; the sixth part of an ephah of a homer of wheat, and ye shall give the
sixth part of an ephah of a homer of barley: 14 Concerning the
ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a
bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are
a homer: 15 And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred,
out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt
offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith
the Lord GOD.
16 All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in
Israel. 17 And it shall be the prince's part to give
burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and
in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of
Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the
burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the
house of Israel. 18 Thus saith the Lord GOD;
In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt
take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:
19 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it
upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the
altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. 20 And
so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that
erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the
house. 21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of
the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened
bread shall be eaten. 22 And upon that day shall the prince
prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for
a sin offering. 23 And seven days of the feast he shall prepare
a burnt offering to the LORD,
seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a
kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. 24 And he
shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a
ram, and a hin of oil for an ephah. 25 In the seventh month,
in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the
seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering,
and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.
Having laid down the rules of the righteousness toward men, which is really
a branch off true religion, he comes next to give some directions for their
religion towards God, which is a branch of universal righteousness.
I. It is required that they offer an oblation to the Lord out of what they
have (v. 13): All the people of the land must give an
oblation, v. 16. As God's tenants, they must pay a quitrent to their
great landlord. They had offered an oblation out of their real estates (v.
1), a holy portion of their land; now they are directed to offer an
oblation out of their personal estates, their goods and chattels, as an
acknowledgement of their receivings from him, their dependence on him, and
their obligations to him. Note, Whatever our substance is we must honour God
with it, by giving him his dues out of it. Not that God has need of or may
be benefited by any thing that we can give him, Ps. l. 9. No; it is but an oblation;
we only offer it to him; the benefit of it returns back to ourselves,
to his poor, who, as our neighbours, are ourselves, or to his ministers who
serve continually for our good.
II. The proportion of this oblation is here determined, which was not done
by the law of Moses. No mention is made of the title, but only of this
oblation. And the quantum of this is thus settled:-- 1. Out of their
corn they were to offer a sixtieth part; out of every homer of wheat and
barley, which contained ten ephahs, they were to offer the sixth part of
one ephah, which was a sixtieth part of the whole, v. 13. 2. Out of
their oil (and probably their wine too) they were to offer a hundredth part,
for this oblation; out of every cor, or homer, which contained ten baths
they were to offer the tenth part of one bath, v. 14. This was given
to the altar; for in every meat-offering there was flour mingled with
oil. 3. Out of their flocks they were to give one lamb out of
200; that was the smallest proportion of all, v. 15. But it must be out
of the fat pastures of Israel. They must not offer to God that which was
taken up from the common, but the fattest and best they had, for burnt-offerings
and peace-offerings: the former were offered for the giving of glory
to God, the latter for the fetching in of mercy, grace, and peace, from God,
and in our spiritual sacrifices these are our two great errands at the
throne of grace; but, in order to the acceptance of both, these sacrifices
were to make reconciliation for them. Christ is our sacrifice of
atonement, by whom reconciliation is made, and to him we must have an eye in
our sacrifices of acknowledgment.
III. This oblation must be given for the prince in Israel, v.
16. Some read it to the prince, and understand it of Christ, who is
indeed the prince in Israel, to whom we must offer our oblations, and into
whose hands we must put them, to be presented to the Father. Or, They shall
give it with the prince; every private person shall bring his
oblation, to be offered with that of the prince; for it follows (v.
17). It shall be the prince's part to provide all the offerings, to
make reconciliation for the house of Israel. The people were to bring
their oblations to him according to the foregoing rules, and he was to bring
them to the sanctuary, and to make up what fell short out of his own. Note,
It is the duty of rulers to take care of religion, and to see that the
duties of it be regularly and carefully performed by those under their
charge, and that nothing be wanting that is requisite thereto: the
magistrate is the keeper of both tables; and it is a happy thing when those
that are above others in power and dignity go before them in the service of
God.
IV. Some particular solemnities are here appointed.
1. Here is one in the beginning of the year, which seems to be altogether
new, and not instituted by the law of Moses; it is the annual solemnity of
cleansing the sanctuary. (1.) On the first day of the first month
(upon new-year's day) they were to offer a sacrifice for the cleansing of
the sanctuary (v. 18), that is, to make atonement for the
iniquity of the holy things the year past, that they might bring none of the
guilt of them into the services of the new year, and to implore grace for
the preventing of that iniquity, and for the better performance of the
service of the sanctuary the ensuing year. And, in token of this, the blood
of this sin-offering was to be put upon the posts of the gate of
the inner court (v. 19), to signify that by it atonement was
intended to be made for the sins of all the servants that attended that
house, priests, Levites, and people, even the sins that were found in all
their services. Note, Even sanctuaries on earth need cleansing, frequent
cleansing; that above needs none. Those what worship God together should
often join in renewing their repentance for their manifold defects, and
applying the blood of Christ for the pardon of them, and in renewing their
covenants to be more careful for the future; and it is very seasonable to
begin the year with this work, as Hezekiah did when it had been long
neglected, 2 Chron. xxix. 17. They were here appointed to cleanse the
sanctuary upon the first day of the month, because on the fourteenth day
of the month they were to eat the passover, an ordinance which, of
all Old-Testament institutions, had most in it of Christ and gospel grace,
and therefore it was very fit that they should begin to prepare for it a
fortnight before by cleansing the sanctuary. (2.) This sacrifice was to be
repeated on the seventh day of the first month, v. 20. And
then it was intended to make atonement for every one that errs, and for
him that is simple. Note, He that sins errs and is simple; he
mistakes, he goes out of the way, and shows himself to be foolish and
unwise. But here it is spoken of those sins which are committed through
ignorance, mistake, or inadvertency, whether by any of the priests, or of
the Levites, or of the people. Sacrifices were appointed to atone for such
sins as men were surprised into, or did before they were aware, which they
would not have done if they had known and remembered aright, which they were
overtaken in, and for which, afterwards, they condemn themselves. But for
presumptuous sins, committed with a high hand, there was no sacrifice
appointed, Num. xv. 30. By these repeated sacrifices you shall reconcile
the house, that is, God will be reconciled to it, and continue the
tokens of his presence in it, and will let it alone this year also.
2. The passover was to be religiously observed at the time appointed, v.
21. Christ is our passover, that is sacrificed for us. We
celebrate the memorial of that sacrifice and feast upon it, triumphing in
our deliverance out of the Egyptian slavery of sin and our preservation from
the sword of the destroying angel, the sword of divine justice, in the
Lord's supper, which is our passover-feast, as the whole Christian life is,
and must be, the feast of unleavened bread. It is here appointed that the
prince shall prepare a sin-offering, to be offered for himself and
the people, a bullock on the first day (v. 22) and a kid
of the goats every other day (v. 23), to teach us, in all our
attendance upon God for communion with him, to have an eye to the great
sin-offering, by which transgression was finished and an everlasting
righteousness brought in. On every day of the feast there was to be a burnt-offering,
purely for the honour of God, of no less than seven bullocks and seven rams,
with their meat-offering, which were wholly consumed upon the altar, and yet
no waste, v. 23, 24.
3. The feast of tabernacles; that is spoken of next (v. 25), and
there is no mention of the feast of pentecost, which came between that of
the passover and that of tabernacles. Orders are here given (above what were
given by the law of Moses) for the same sacrifices to be offered during the
seven days of the passover. See the deficiency of the legal sacrifices for
sin; they were therefore often repeated, not only every year, but every
feast, every day of the feast, because they could not make the comers
thereunto perfect, Heb. x. 1, 3. See the necessity of our frequently
repeating the same religious exercises. Though the sacrifice of atonement is
offered once for all, yet the sacrifices of acknowledgement, that of
a broken heart, that of a thankful heart, those spiritual sacrifices which
are acceptable to God through Christ Jesus, must be every day offered. We
should, as here, fall into a method of holy duties, and keep to it.
