Exodus 29

AND this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priests office. Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish See Exod. 12. 5. Mal. 1. 13, 14.;

And unleavened To show that the Priests should be, and that Christ really was, free from all malice and hypocrisie, both which are compared to leaven, Luk. 12. 1. 1 Cor. 5. 8. and that all the services offered to God by the Priests were to be pure and unmixed. bread, and cakes unleavened, tempered with oyl, and wafers unleavened, anointed with oil: of wheaten flower shalt thou make them.

And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them To the door of the Tabernacle, as it follows ver. 4. in the basket with the bullock and the two rams.

And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water Taken out of that laver, Exod. 30. 18. This signified the universal pollution of all men, and the absolute need they have of washing, especially when they are to draw nigh to God. And this outward washing was only typical of their spiritual washing by the blood and spirit of Christ in order to their acceptance with God..

And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breast-plate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod Not about the loins, but about the paps, or breast, as Christ and his ministers are represented, Rev. 1. 13. The linnen breeches are here omitted, because they were put on privately before they came to the door of the Tabernacle, where the other things were put on..

And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown (i. e.) The plate of gold, chap. 28. 36. as appears by comparing Lev. 8. 9. upon the mitre.

Then shalt thou take the anointing oyl, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him Which signified the gifts and graces of the holy ghost, wherewith Christ was, and the Priests ought to be, replenished. See Isa. 61. 1. 1 Ioh. 2. 27. But here ariseth a difficulty; for this anointing is sometimes spoken of, as peculiar to the Highpriest, as Lev. 21. 10. sometimes as common to all the Priests, Exod. 30. 30. and 40. 14, 15. which may be thus reconciled, The oil was sprinkled upon all the Priests and their right ears, thumbs and toes and their garments, ver. 20, 21. Lev. 8. 30. but it was poured out upon the head only of the High-priest, Psa. 133. 2. who herein was a type of Christ who was anointed above his fellows, Psal. 45. 7. Heb. 1. 9..

And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them:

And thou shalt gird them with girdles (Aaron and his sons) and put the bonnets on them: and the priests office shall be theirs, for a perpetual statute So long as the Iewish Pedagogy and Policy lasts.: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

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 To signify that they offered it for themselves and for their own sins, which the offerer performing this rite was to confess, Lev. 16. 21. that they acknowledged themselves to deserve that death which was inflicted upon this innocent creature for their sakes, and to testify their faith in the future sacrifice of Christ, upon whom their sins were to be laid, and by whose blood they were expiated, and that they humbly begged Gods mercy in pardoning their sins and accepting them to and in their holy office..

And thou Moses, who though no Priest yet for this time and occasion was called by God to this work. shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And thou shalt take of the bloud of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar Not of incense, as some would have it, but of the burnt-offerings, as may appear, 1. because it was that altar at the bottom whereof the bloud was to be poured, as it is here expressed: but that was not done at the altar of Incense, as is evident and confessed. Compare Lev. 16. 18, &c. 2. it was that altar, upon which the parts of the sacrifices were burnt, as it here follows ver. 13. for there is no distinction here between the two altars. It is true, in the following sin-offerings of the Priests the blood was put upon the horns of the altar of incense, Lev. 4. 7. But it must be considered, 1. that the blood was not poured out at the bottom of that altar. 2. because Aaron and his sons were not yet complete Priests, but private persons, and therefore did this at the same altar which the people used in their sin offerings, Lev. 4. 25, 30. with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.

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 The parts which in all sacrifices were burned unto God, Lev. 3. 3. and 4. 10. to signify either the mortification of their inward and most beloved lusts, or the dedication of the best of all sacrifices, and of their inward and best parts to God and his service., and burn them upon the altar.

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 To wit, for the high-priest, as is plain from the whole context and therefore ought to be burnt, by that law, Lev. 4. There was indeed a law, that that sin-offering, whose blood was not carried into the Tabernacle, which was the case here, should not be burnt, but eaten, Lev. 6. 30. and 10. 18. But that concerned the people, not the priests, who did not eat, but burn, their own sin-offerings, Leviticus 4. 3, 12..

Thou shalt also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.

And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar Which signifies, that not only our persons, but our very Altars and Sacrifices and best services need the sprinkling of Christs blood upon them to render them acceptable to God..

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.

And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour Heb. A savour of rest, wherewith God will be well-pleased, and for which, as representing Christ who offered up himself, he will graciously accepte of the offerings of the priests for themselves and for the people., an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

And thou shalt take the other ram For a peace-offering. So here were all the three sorts of sacrifices, which were afterwards to be offered by them for the people.: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.

Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his bloud, and put it upon the tip of the right ear These parts are conscerated in the name and stead of all the rest, the ear, as the instrument of hearing and receiving the mind and will of God in all their sacred administrations and in their whole conversation; the hand and foot, as the instruments of action and execution of that which they hear and understand to be the mind of God. And the right parts are chosen, rather than the left, as being usually more vigorous and expeditious. And all these parts are sprinkled with this blood, to show the absolute necessity of Christs blood to qualifie them for an acceptable and successful discharge of their office. of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand These parts are conscerated in the name and stead of all the rest, the ear, as the instrument of hearing and receiving the mind and will of God in all their sacred administrations and in their whole conversation; the hand and foot, as the instruments of action and execution of that which they hear and understand to be the mind of God. And the right parts are chosen, rather than the left, as being usually more vigorous and expeditious. And all these parts are sprinkled with this blood, to show the absolute necessity of Christs blood to qualifie them for an acceptable and successful discharge of their office., and upon the great toe These parts are consecrated in the name and stead of all the rest, the ear, as the instrument of hearing and receiving the mind and will of God in all their sacred administrations and in their whole conversation; the hand and foot, as the instruments of action and execution of that which they hear and understand to be the mind of God. And the right parts are chosen, rather than the left, as being usually more vigorous and expeditious. And all these parts are sprinkled with this blood, to show the absolute necessity of Christs blood to qualifie them for an acceptable and successful discharge of their office. of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oyl, 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.

Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat, and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder: for it is a ram of consecration: s Of the Priests in their office. Therefore the right shoulder was burnt, which in other sacrifices was given to the Priest.

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.

And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons, and shalt wave them Either toss them from one hand to another, as giving all from themselves to God; or shake them to and fro, towards the several parts of the world, to note Gods dominion over all places and people, and the extent of that true and great sacrifice, represented in these types, to all. for a wave-offering before the LORD.

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.

And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aarons consecrations, and wave it for a wave-offering before the LORD, and it shall be thy part To wit, the breast alone, whereas both shoulder and breast were given to Aaron afterwards: the reason whereof might be, either because Moses was not a proper and complete Priest, as Aaron afterward was, but only appointed by God for this time to do that work: Or because now there were in a manner two Priests, the one consecrating, to wit, Moses, the other consecrated, to wit, Araon, and therefore these parts were divided, the breast given to the former to be eaten, the shoulder offered unto God for the latter, verse 22. he being not yet a perfect Priest and therefore not in a capacity of eating it.

And thou shalt sanctifie the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up This was done by throwing the parts upward and catching them again. of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons The words may be rendred thus, of which, breast and shoulder of the ram, shall be Aarons portion, and of which shall be the portion of his sons: So there is only an Ellipsis of the verb substantive, which is most common, and the Hebrew prefix Lamed designs a thing belonging to the person to whom that is prefixed, as it is in other like cases, as Gen. 40. 8. D... t. 1. 17. Psal. 47. 9.

And it shall be Aarons and his sons, by a statute for ever, from the children of Israel: for it is an heave-offering Under which is comprehended also the wave-offering, as plainly appears both from the context, and from the parity of reason, these offerings being of the same nature and designed for the same purpose.: and it shall be an heaveoffering from the children of Israel, of the sacrifice of their peace-offerings, even their heave-offering unto the LORD.

And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons (i. e.) His eldest sons successively. after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated By some other Priest, there being no other higher person who could do it, and therefore the necessity of it made it warrantable. in them.

And that son that is priest in his stead, shall put them on seven days For so long the solemnity of the consecration lasted, ver. 35. when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation, to minister in the holy place Both that strictly so called, and in the most holy place: for as none could go into the most holy place except the High-Priest, so there were some things to be done in the holy place, which none but he could do. See Levit. 4. 7, 8..

And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place In the Court-yard at the door of the Tabernacle, where it was both boiled and eaten, as appears from this and the next verse, and from Levit. 8. 31. And part of this was eaten by the person or persons that brought the offering, though they were of the people, who were not admitted into any other Holy place but this..

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.

And they shall eat those things (i. e.) The remainders of the oblations mentioned verse 32. wherewith the atonement was made to consecrate, and to sanctifie them: but a stranger (i. e.) One who is not of the Priestly race, whereas in other peace-offerings the offerer did eat a part. shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.

And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder According to the Law of all Peace-offerings, except those which were vows or voluntary offerings, Levit. 7. 16, 17. which these were not, compare Exod. 12. 10. with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

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.

And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin-offering for atonement As well for the Priests, as for the Altar, both which as they were or might be polluted, so they needed the sprinkling of this blood to sanctifie them, to show that all persons and things were fitted for Gods service and accepted by him only for and thorough the blood of Christ.: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctifie it.

Seven days thou shalt make an atonement, for the altar, and sanctifie it: and it shall be an altar most holy As appears from the following reason, because it was not only holy in it self, but by its touch communicated a legal Holiness to other things.: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy This may be understood either 1. Of persons, as a caution that none should touch the Altar but holy and consecrated persons. Or rather 2. Of things, yet not of all things, for polluted things were not made holy by the touch of holy things, which is affirmed Hagga. 2. 12. but of things belonging to the Altar of offerings which by Gods appointment were to be offered, which were sanctified by being laid upon this Altar, and therefore the Altar was greater and more holy than the gift, as our blessed Saviour notes, Matth. 23. 19..

Now this is that which thou shalt offer This is the chief end and use of this Altar, though it served also for other sacrifices. upon the altar, two lambs of the first year day by day continually To show partly, that men do daily contract new defilement, and daily need new pardons; and partly that God is not only to be Worshipped upon Sabbath-days and other set and solemn times, but every day.,

The one lamb thou shalt offer in the mornning Which two seasons were selected, as most commodious, that men might both begin and end their worldly actions and businesses with God, and might see their need of Gods assistance and blessing in all their concerns and the justness of giving him the praise and glory of all., and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even Which two seasons were selected, as most commodious, that men might both begin and end their worldly actions and businesses with God, and might see their need of Gods assistance and blessing in all their concerns and the justness of giving him the praise and glory of all..

And with the one lamb a tenth-deal The tenth part of an Ephah, as is evident from Numb. 28. 5. which is an Omer, Exod. 16. 36. of flour, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin An Hin was a measure for liquid things, as the Ephah was for dry things, containing six pints of our measure. of wine, for a drink-offering.

And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meatoffering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

This shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD where Either 1. At which door, for there the Lord stood and talked with Moses, Exod. 33. 9, 10. Or rather 2. In which Tabernacle, to wit in the innermost part of it, because that was the principal place where God did ordinarily reside and meet with his people, Exod. 30. 6. Levit 16. 2. whereas God met but once at the door of the Tabernacle, and that with Moses only, not with the people, with whom he is said to meet in this place, verse 43. Adde to this, that the place where God meets them is the same place which is sanctified by his glory, and that was the Tabernacle, verse 43. as it is expressed in our Translation, and sufficiently implyed in the Hebrew, by a common Ellipsis of the pronoun it, i. e. that place where I meet with you, to wit, the Tabernacle, shall be, &c. I will meet you, to speak there unto you.

And there I will meet with the children of Israel: and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory (i. e.) By my glorious presence and appearance, of which see Exod. 40. 34. 35. Levit. 9. 24..

And I will sanctifie the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctifie also both Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the Priests office.

And I will dwell By my special grace, and favour, and blessing, for by his essence he fills all places. amongst the children of Israel, and will be their God.

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 amongst them: I am the LORD their God.