Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Parallel Translations
-
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
-
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
-
(6-1) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
Cross-references
No cross-references for this verse.
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Hitherto we have had the instructions which Moses was…
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, Lev 6:9. 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.
Read full note →
I. The priest must take care of the ashes of the burnt-offering, that they be decently disposed of, Lev 6:10, Lev 6:11. 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 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 (Lev 6:9, Lev 6:12), and this express law is given: The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar, it shall never go out, Lev 6:13. 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 (Lev 6:9) 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 (Lev 9:24), 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 31:9, 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.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... It maybe after…
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... It maybe after some intermission, or pause made; for some here begin a new chapter, and indeed a new section here begins in the Hebrew copies:
saying; as follows:
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. And the Lord spake unto Moses] At…
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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Lev 6:8. The Lord spake unto Moses — Here…
Lev 6:8. The Lord spake unto Moses — Here begins a new subject, and if our Bibles were rightly divided, it ought to begin a new chapter, as in Junius and Tremellius, who join the first seven verses of this chapter to the former. Indeed, according to the Jewish division, the twenty-fifth section of the law begins here.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Special Instructions chiefly for the Priests
SECOND SECTION
Special Instructions chiefly for the Priests
Read full note →
Lev_6:8 to Lev_7:38
“Standing Sacrificial Rites and Duties—especially of the Priests.”—Lange
A.—FOR BURNT OFFERINGS
Lev_6:8-13
8, 9And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command1 Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It2 is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar [This, the burnt offering, shall be upon the hearth upon the altar3] all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. 10And the priest shall put on his4 linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put5 upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering [ashes to which the fire hath consumed the burnt offering6] on the altar, 11and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.7 12And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in [on] 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. 13The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
B.—FOR OBLATIONS (MEAT OFFERINGS). Lev_6:14-23
14And this is the law of the meat offering [oblation8]; the sons of Aaron shall offer9 it before the Lord, before the altar. 15And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering [oblation8], and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering [oblation8], and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord. 16And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with [om. with] unleavened bread [om. bread] shall it be eaten in the [a] holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the 17[om. the] congregation they shall eat it. It2 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. 18All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire: every one that [whatsoever10] toucheth them shall be holy.
19, 20And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the Lord in the day when Hebrews 11 is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for12 a meat offering [an oblation8] perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.13 21In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken [fried14], thou shalt bring it in: and the baken15 pieces15 of the meat offering [oblation8] shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the Lord. 22And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute forever unto the Lord; it shall be wholly burnt. 23For every meat-offering [oblation8] for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.
C—FOR SIN OFFERINGS. Lev_6:24-30
24And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 25Speak 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. 26The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the [a] holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the [om. the] congregation. 27Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou16 shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the [a] holy place. 28But 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. 29All the males among 30the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy. And [But] no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the [om. the] congregation to reconcile [make atonement17] withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.
Footnotes:
[1]Lev_6:9. צַו. The Sam. has צוי, a form which occurs in MSS. with the pointing צִַוִּי.
[2]Lev_6:9; Lev_6:17-18; Lev_6:22. הוא. The Sum. and many MSS. have the later form היא indicated by the Masoretic punctuation. This frequent variation will not hereafter be noticed. The conjectural emendation of Houbigant, הוי in the imperative, although expressing the sense, is unnecessary.
[3]Lev_6:9. The suggested translation is that given by most critics; of its general correctness there can be no doubt; but the sense of מוֹקְדָה (which occurs only here) may be either that of hearth, or of burning. The masculine form, מוֵֹקד (which is found only Psa_102:4 (3), and Isa_33:14), is translated in both ways in the A. V., but should have only the latter sense. The weight of authority as well as the context make hearth the preferable translation here. Knobel would make הוא the verb to be in the imperative; but this is not sufficiently supported.
[4]Lev_6:10. מִדּוֹ. For the suffix on a noun in the constr. Knobel refers to Lev_26:42; Exo_26:25; Jer_9:2 (Lev_8:23); 2Sa_22:33, however, reads מדי.
[5]Lev_6:10. The Sam. for יִלְבַּשׁ has יִהְיוּ as in Lev_16:4, which scarcely affects the sense.
[6]Lev_6:10. The propriety of this correction is obvious. Bp. Horsley’s emendation: take up the ashes of the fire which hath consumed—does violence to the Heb.
[7]Lev_6:11. The Vulg. has this curious addition: usque ad favillam consumi faciet.
[8]Lev_6:14, etc. מִנְחָה= oblation. See Lev_2:1, Text. and Gram. Note (2). The Sam. has here “the law of the oblation of the drink offerings,” whence the Vulg.: lex sacrificii et libamentorum.
[9]Lev_6:14. הַקְרֵב, Infin. Abs. as in Lev_2:6; Exo_13:3.
[10]Lev_6:18. כֹּל אֲשֶׁר might be understood either as every one that, as in the A. V., or as every thing that; but as the latter is the necessary translation of the exactly parallel clause in Lev_6:27 (as in the A. V.), it is better to keep it here also.
[11]Lev_6:20. The Syr. here has the plural.
[12]Lev_6:20. The prep. לְ, not in the Heb., is supplied by the Sam. and many MSS.
[13]Lev_6:20. The paraphrase of the Sam. בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם=between the evenings, expresses the connection of this oblation with the evening sacrifice.
[14]Lev_6:21. מֻרְבֶּכֶת a word of very doubtful meaning, but should certainly have the same translation as in Lev_7:12, where see note.
[15]Lev_6:21. תֻּפִינֵי, a word ἁπ. λέγ. to which different significations are attached according to its supposed derivation. Fürst, deriving it from תּוּף, gives the sense of the A. V. Gesenius also, deriving from אָפָה, gives the sense of cooked. Others derive it from an Arabic root, and give the meaning broken. So Targ. Onk. (which points תּוּפִינֵי) and the Sam.
[16]Lev_6:27. עָלֶיהָ תְּכַבֵּם. The sudden change of person, and the feminine suffix in reference to a masculine noun, are both avoided by the Sam. reading עליו יכבם.
[17]Lev_6:30. לְכַפֵר. There may be but little difference in the sense of the two renderings; but it is better to retain the same form always. Other instances of variation in the A. V. in Lev. are Lev_8:15 and Lev_16:20 only.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain ORDINANCES APPERTAINING TO THE PRIESTS, Lev_6:8-30.
ORDINANCES APPERTAINING TO THE PRIESTS, Lev_6:8-30.
We now come to what might be appropriately styled the priest’s rubric of sacrifice, or altar-book, in which his duties are minutely specified, in order that the ritual might be performed with the uniformity and decency becoming the majesty and holiness of Jehovah. In the best Hebrew Bibles chapter vi begins here.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain (1) The Burnt-Offering (8–13)
(1) The Burnt-Offering (8–13)
9. the burnt offering shall be on the hearth] It is clear that the Burnt-Offering must rest on the wood that is kindled in order to consume it, and that some further support for both is needed. In the description of the altar in Exo_27:1-8 no provision is made for a top on which the sacrifices can be placed, but an altar hearth (i.e. a place whereon the sacrifices are burnt) is mentioned in the description of Eze_43:13-17. A ‘hearth’ is a ‘place of burning’; if the Heb. word be so translated, or the rendering of R.V. mg., ‘on its firewood,’ be adopted, the passage adds nothing to the incomplete description of the altar in Exodus 27.
Read full note →
and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning thereon] i.e. on the hearth; for ‘thereon’ A.V. has ‘in it,’ referring to the altar, but the fire burns upon the altar (Lev_6:13); it is perhaps better to render by it, i.e. by that which is burnt. The meaning of the verse is: the Burnt-Offering shall remain in the place where it is burnt all night, and the fire of the altar shall be kept up by the wood and the material of the sacrifice.
The sacrifice is that enjoined in Exo_29:38-42, Num_28:3-8, which consisted of two lambs, the one offered in the morning, the other in the evening. It is here provided that the daily evening burnt sacrifice should be kept burning during the night until the priest kindled from it the wood for the morning burnt sacrifice. Thus by means of the two daily sacrifices (described in the singular as ‘a continual burnt offering,’ Num_28:6) a perpetual fire was kept burning on the altar. This double daily sacrifice is always described by Jewish tradition as the Tamid, i.e. the continual offering, and is the subject of a special section of the Mishna. Before the exile, as appears from 2Ki_16:15, a Burnt-Offering was brought only in the morning, and a minḥah or Meal-Offering in the evening; for the restored temple Ezek. prescribes a lamb with a Meal-Offering each morning but makes no provision for an evening sacrifice; even in Ezra’s time the pre-exilic custom of offering a minḥah for the evening oblation appears to be continued (Ezr_9:4-5). The Tamid, as prescribed Exodus 29 and Numbers 28, with the law for the maintenance of a continuous fire on the altar as here enjoined in Lev_6:9; Lev_6:12, is part of the Priestly Code, and was observed in the second temple from the time that the law which Ezra ‘brought before the congregation’ (Neh_8:2) was accepted by the people.
Chs. Lev_6:8 to Lev_7:38 [Heb_6:1-20; Heb_6:7]. The Second Part of the Law of Offerings
See the analysis of this portion in Appendix I (a) where are given reasons for concluding that this group of laws is not by the same hand as the first, and that they have been collected by one who may or may not be identical with the compiler of P, in order to supplement Lev_1:1 to Lev_6:7. In the main they are concerned with priestly duties and dues.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying.—This is…
(8) And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying.—This is the fourth instance in which this formula is used (see Lev_4:1; Lev_5:14; Lev_6:1) in Leviticus, and, as in the former passages, introduces a further communication to the Lawgiver. Hitherto the law pointed out to the people under what circumstances and how they are to bring their sacred oblations, now directions are given to the priests how to conduct the sacrificial service of the people.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The following section (Lev_6:8-30; Lev_7:1-38) is a supplement to…
The following section (Lev_6:8-30; Lev_7:1-38) is a supplement to chapter 1-6:7, containing the regulations addressed to the priests relating to the ritual of the several sacrifices. Verses 8-13 of chapter 6 contain the further ritual of the burnt sacrifice; verses 14-23, that of the meat offering; verses 24-30, that of the sin offerings; verses 1-6 of chapter 7, that of the trespass offering; verses 11-36, that of the peace offering; verses 7-10 declare the portion of the priests in all the offerings; verses 37, 38 conclude the section.
Vers. 8-13. (See note on Lev_1:3) The further ritual of the burnt offering is exhibited in the particular instance of the lamb sacrificed every evening. (Exo_29:33) In other cases the ritual was to be the same. Instead of It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, the reading should be, It, the burnt offering (viz. the evening sacrifice), shall burn upon the hearth upon the altar all night unto the Morning. the priest is to wear his priestly dress already appointed (Exo_28:40) which was a white linen garment, covering the whole person like a close-fitting English surplice, fastened by a sash while he is actually officiating at the altar; and thus vested, he is to remove from the altar the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering, or rather, as it would be better translated, the ashes to which the fire hath reduced the burnt offering, and put them beside the altar, that is, on the ash-heap to the east of the altar. On leaving the court of the tabernacle, he is to change his dress, and to carry the ashes of the sacrifice without the camp unto a clean place. The priest is also instructed to lay fresh wood on the altar fire every morning, in preparation for the morning sacrifice of the lamb. (Exo_29:38) The fat of the peace offerings, that is, the parts of the peace offerings that were burnt on the altar, were laid on the burnt offering. The altar fire was never to go out, because the daily sacrifices constantly burning on the altar symbolized the unceasing worship of God by Israel, and the gracious acceptance of Israel by God. The ever-burning sacrifice was the token of the people being in communion with God.
Read full note →
Vers. 8-30. The priests" ritual.
Hitherto the command had been, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them"; (Lev_1:2 Lev_4:2) Command Aaron and his sons;" the reason being that the injunctions which follow are specially addressed to the future priesthood.
I PRECISION OF THE POSITIVE RULES AND REGULATIONS GIVEN TO THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD. Nothing is left to the individual"s origination, all is ruled for him every act that he performs, and each word that he speaks; and any failure in the ritual vitiates the whole ceremony.
II CONTRAST IN THIS RESPECT WITH THE RITUAL OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. In the New Testament there are no such minute ritual regulations as in the Book of Leviticus. Search through the Gospels, and we find the principles of worship established. Search the Epistles, and we find order and uniformity in religious ministrations commanded, but no such specifications of manual acts as those given in the earlier dispensation.
III THE REASON OF THE DIFFERENCE. It is a higher and a nobler state to be allowed freely to apply a principle than to be bound down to a certain course by a definite and unchanging rule. The former is the conditions of sons, the latter of servants. "The servant knoweth not what his lord doeth." The Jew was in this position. He did not know what it was that he was representing and rehearsing in type. He must, therefore, be hedged about with rules, lest, in his darkness and ignorance, he should go astray and mar the lesson that he had unwittingly to teach. But "henceforth," says our Lord, "I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth, but I have called you friends." Accordingly, just as in matters of morals the principles contained in the Sermon on the Mount are given to Christians instead of bare negative or positive rules of conduct; so in matters of worship, certain principles are laid down as to the nature of true worship and how it is to be offered, (Joh_4:21-24) and a few general rules commending uniformity and order in public worship, (1Co_4:17 1Co_11:16 1Co_14:33, 1Co_14:40) and declaring its ends to be the edification of the people; (1Co_14:26) and then the work of composing its Liturgy and common prayers is delivered to the Church without any other restraint than that of embodying in them settled forms of administration of the two sacraments of Baptism (Mat_28:19) and of the Lord"s Supper, (Mat_26:26 Mar_14:22 Luk_22:19 1Co_11:26) using the Lord"s Prayer, (Luk_11:2) and of" asking" in the name of Jesus Christ. (Joh_16:24) Therefore, "it is not necessary "in the Christian Church, as it was in the Jewish Church, that "ceremonies be in all places one, and utterly like: for at all times they have been divers, and may be changed according to the diversities of countries, times, and men"s manners, so that nothing be ordained against God"s Word Every particular or national Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish, ceremonies or rites of the Church ordained only by man"s authority, so that all things be done to edifying" (Art. 34).
IV A PRECOMPOSED LITURGY IS NOT DISPLEASING TO GOD. However much the liberty of the Christian Church may in this respect be superior to Jewish bondage, yet it is evident from the Levitical laws and regulations that a prearranged and formal method of approaching God is in accordance with his will, as recorded in his holy Word.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Chapter Eph_4:30 1Th_5:19. We have here sundry sacrificial laws enabling us the better to understand the details of the preceding sacrifices; but the cardinal idea in them all, as we shall now see, is that which heads this homily, "Quench not the Spirit." And
I THE FIRE OF THE BURNT OFFERING WAS TO BE CAREFULLY PRESERVED, SO THAT IT SHOULD NEVER GO OUT. This necessitated a regular removal of the ashes to the clean place selected for their reception without the comp. These ashes represented what would not ascend in the fire, and were a fitting symbol of the dross and corruption which attaches to all human services. Everything which would prevent the fire from burning was to be removed. Now, we have already seen that the fire of the altar symbolizes the Holy Spirit. It is what came from God in the first instance, and what renders the sacrifice acceptable. Hence the lesson about the perpetuation of the altar-fire is to remove everything which would hinder or would quench the free action of the Spirit within us. The purer we try to be, the freer will the movements of the Holy Ghost be within us. On the other hand, negligence in life must interrupt the spiritual action. Let us diligently use every means, like the priest laying on the wood and clearing away the ashes from the altar, and the Holy Spirit as a fire within us will make us ardent and enthusiastic in the Divine life.
II NEW OBEDIENCE OUGHT TO BE AS HOLY IN OUR EYES AS ATONEMENT. This principle is symbolized for us in the details about the meat offering (verses 14-18). For the priests are not only to burn carefully the due proportion upon the altar, but also to prepare the remainder for themselves without leaven, and to regard it as a "holy of holies" ( vdqo), like the sin offering and the trespass offering. If, then, we saw reason to regard the meat offering as emphasizing the idea of consecrated life-work, this direction to the priests about regarding the meat offering as just as holy as the sin offering or trespass offering, embodies the idea that "new obedience" should be as holy in our eyes as "atonement." Now, there is no principle more likely to please the Holy Spirit, to foster his indwelling, and to maintain his reign. The whole Christian life is elevated in tone when this ideal is comprehended. The perfection of our Saviour"s atonement and righteousness is to be the model of our lives.
III A CLASS IS NEEDFUL WHOSE SELF-DENYING LIVES ARE ABOVE SUSPICION. This seems taught by the arrangement that the meat offering of the priests must be wholly burnt (verses 19-23). The life-work is to be all consecrated, all a dedicated thing. Never are the officers of God to be "off duty," "out of season" as well as "in season" should they serve God.
Now, the self-denial of a class of men, if realized, goes far to secure the continuance and blessing of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of self-denial this is the most important evidence of his work and the demonstration of this to men is a concomitant of his abiding.
It need hardly be observed it is so evident that Jesus, our Great High Priest, realized self-denial in all its fullness. He could say, as none other can, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work". (Joh_4:34) Every portion of our Lord"s life-work was laid upon the altar, permeated with the oil of the Spirit, and enveloped in the incense of prayer. It is for priestly believers to follow in his steps.
IV THE CONSECRATING POWER OF THE ATONING SACRIFICE SHOULD BE KEPT CONSTANTLY IN VIEW. In the remaining verses (verses 24-30), we have brought before us the intense holiness of the sin offering. It is to be regarded as a "holy of holies" ( vdqo). In ordinary cases the priest, is. to. eat. that which, remains, after God"s share has been offered on the altar, to sustain him in his atoning duties, and to sustain also his sense of consecration. In the more important cases, such as are referred to in Lev_4:1-21, the remainder of the animal was to be carried out to the clean place outside the camp, and burned there in the place of the ashes. Moreover, every person and thing which touched the flesh was thereby consecrated, So intensely holy was the atoning sacrifice, that it pervaded with its sanctifying power everything in contact with it.
That this is typical is clear. A similar but much more real consecration attaches to the atoning sacrifice of Christ. And this great truth must be kept in view if we would preserve the Spirit within us. To separate consecration from the atoning work of Jesus must ever be grieving to the Spirit, whose chief mission is to take of the things of Christ and show them unto men. (Joh_16:14, Joh_16:15) We have thus discovered in these miscellaneous laws what course we should follow, if the Spirit is not to be quenched within us but is to abide. We must diligently use the appointed means, we must have the highest possible ideal of a consecrated life, and we must give all honour to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. In such circumstances we shall retain, in large and abiding measure, the Holy Spirit within us. R.M.E.
HOMILIES BY J.A. MACDONALD Vers. 8-13. The law of the burnt offering.
With this paragraph the Jews begin the twenty-fifth section of the Law; and, as a new subject is here introduced, this ought to have been the commencement of the chapter. In some of the best editions of the Hebrew Bible, the paragraph preceding this is properly made the sequel of the fifth chapter, and the sixth commences with this. The burnt offering was treated of before, viz. in the first chapter, with more particular reference to ceremonies relating to those who brought it; here it is considered in relation to the priests who offered it. We have now to consider
I THE LAW OF THE BURNT OFFERING AS TO THE SACRIFICE. And we observe:
1. That the offering was ever upon the altar.
(1) The evening sacrifice was "burning upon the altar all night unto the morning." For the particular reference here is to the tally sacrifice of a lamb for the whole congregation.
(2) This was then followed by the corresponding morning sacrifice. This, together with the occasional sacrifices which were offered throughout the day, would keep the altar fully occupied until the evening.
(3) Thus there was kept up a constant "remembrance of sins" day by day, the year round, and "year by year continually." For the repetition of the sacrifices showed that "they could never take away sins." These could only be removed "through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once". (see Heb_10:1-10)
2. That the fire was kept ever burning.
(1) This was not common fire, but came forth from God. (see Lev_9:23, Lev_9:24) It was an emblem of the Holy Spirit; and sometimes represented his wrath, sometimes his love. (Isa_4:4 Mal_3:2, 3 Mat_3:11 Act_2:3, 4 Heb_10:26, 27 12:29)
(2) God commanded that it should "not be put out." He will consume with the fire of his wrath those who quench the fire of his love. Even if we be not always offering sacrifices, love must be kept always burning in the heart. (1Th_5:19 2Ti_1:6)
(3) The priests were instructed how they should keep it alive. They were to put on wood. On this to lay the burnt offering. So the Great Sacrifice was laid on the wood of the cross, when the fires of God"s wrath entered into his very soul. The fat of the peace offerings was placed on the burnt offering. So the fire was maintained. (see Isa_31:9) The fire was kept ever burning, to show that God"s wrath could never be quenched until the blood of Christ should quench it.
II THE LAW OF THE BURNT OFFERING AS TO THE PRIEST.
1. Aaron and his sons" together are addressed. Verse 9.
(1) The high priest of the Law was undoubtedly a type of the "Great High Priest of our profession." When Aaron, the high priest, is here mentioned with his sons, the priests, the suggestion is that in his absence they acted as his representatives in connection with the burnt offering. So here they also may be viewed as types of Christ.
(2) The sons of Aaron, in their character of ordinary priests, represent Christians. In what they did, therefore, there may have been a two- fold typical meaning.
2. They attended the altar in their holy garments.
(1) These were composed of white linen. "His linen garment, and his linen breeches". (Exo_28:40-43) They symbolized purity and righteousness. (Psa_132:9 Rev_3:4 Rev_7:13, 14 19:8)
(2) As types of Christ in offering up his own sacrifice of himself to God, they would shadow forth his righteousness. As typifying Christians, they would foreshow how we must be clothed with the "robe of righteousness and garment of salvation" through Christ"s merits, before our spiritual sacrifices can be accepted.
(3) Even when the priest took up the ashes from the consuming burnt offering to put them beside the altar, he wore his holy garments. This was proper, for the fire was still consuming the sacrifice. But,
3. He changed his garments to carry the ashes outside.
(1) He had to carry them forth without the comp. Was not Calvary this place of ashes? (comp. Lev_4:12 Heb_13:11, Heb_13:12)
(2) But they were to be laid in a "clean place." The tomb of Joseph was such a place. It had not been polluted by the touch of a dead body. (see Joh_19:41, Joh_19:42) Nor did the ashes of the world"s Great Burnt Offering pollute it. They were holy. Because he was the "Holy One" of God, his body "could not see corruption". (Act_2:31)
(3) The holy raiment was laid aside when this service was performed, to show that now, as far as the work of sacrifice was concerned, that was "finished" when Jesus expired upon the cross. Let us rejoice in an "eternal redemption," in an "everlasting salvation. J.A.M.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 8-13. Three principles of piety.
We gather from this clause
I THAT HOLINESS BECOMES THE HOUSE OF GOD. It seems generally agreed that the linen garments, in which the priests were to be robed when engaged in sacrificial acts (verse 10), signified the purity of heart which should characterize the worshipper of God. (see Exo_28:42 Eze_44:19) Certainly it is only the "pure in heart" who can hope to "see God," either by faith here or in beatific vision hereafter. (see Psa_93:5)
II THAT THERE IS NO DRUDGERY IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. Very homely and humble details of sacred work were to be done by the officiating priest. He was to be very careful as to the clothes he wore, changing them at regulated times (verses 10, 11); he was to "take up the ashes... and put them beside the altar" (verse 10), and to "carry forth the ashes without the camp," etc. (verse 11). These acts were mean enough in themselves. Elsewhere they would have been accounted menial, but in so sacred a service as the direct worship of Jehovah they acquired sanctity, and even dignity. They were solemn ceremonies, reverently performed. The slightest engagement in the worship of God deserves to be esteemed sacred. (Psa_84:10) Any humble deed done or simple word spoken,
(1) as in the presence of the observing and approving Master, or
(2) consciously and designedly for the glory of his name, or
(3) as unto one for whom he died and whom he loves, (Mat_10:40-42) rises to high rank in the esteem of Heaven. The cheerful, loving service of a Divine Redeemer does not contain one act of drudgery; it is all upon the high level of holy, happy, elevating service.
III THAT THERE MUST BE CONSTANCY IN OUR CONSECRATION TO GOD. "The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out" (verse 13). As soon as the victim was slain and his shed blood was sprinkled on the altar, there was forgiveness and acceptance, and the burning of the whole animal by the heaven-kindled fire indicated the accepted consecration of the offerer. When, therefore, the priest was instructed to keep the fire perpetually burning on the altar, it signified God"s readiness to receive the perpetual devotion of the Israelites themselves to him and to his service. To us the most instructive lesson it conveys is that we must keep steadily and unfailingly burning the fire of consecration in our hearts; that must "never go out.
1. The passions of youth must not be permitted to extinguish it.
2. Nor the toils and anxieties of our prime.
3. Nor the mysterious and perplexing troubles that, like whelming billows, (Psa_42:7) go over us.
4. Nor the distressing doubts which the enemies of the faith raise within us.
5. Nor the comforts and indulgences of prosperous periods in our life. It must be diligently and devoutly fed by
a. earnest thought meditation;
b. regular worship with the people of God;
c. steadfast Christian work; and
d. the private believing prayer which finds such utterance as this, "O thou who earnest from above!" etc. C.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD Vers. 8-30. Instructions on the offerings for the priests.
Verse 13, "The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
I THE PERPETUITY OF RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION.
1. As springing out of the relation between man and God, as underlying the whole of human existence. "In him we live, and move, and have our being.
2. The all-embracing love of God. The fire came originally from him, and must be kept up to betoken his ceaseless care of his creatures.
3. The positive expression of religious feeling can never be dispensed with, should be maintained in uninterrupted order.
II The maintenance of worship is A DUTY WHICH IS DEVOLVED UPON CONSECRATED PERSONS, and their official position, in an especial manner. Vain to expect that the tire will not go out, unless appointed persons attend to it. Mere individualism is abuse of liberty, and ends in irreligious disorder and extinction of the fire of God"s house.
Priestcraft is no argument against a special ministry in the Church. All must help to maintain the fire, but some must take the command as addressed to them in a special manner. They must separate themselves to the work, both by appropriate manner of life and recognition of special duties. Religion is not only in temples, but if the fire goes out there, it will go out everywhere. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The law of the burnt-offering.
Lev_6:8-9
The law of the burnt-offering.
Read full note →
The law of the burnt-offering
The Holy One speaks again from the Holy Place. He now tells some of the more awful thoughts of His soul. His words reveal views of sin and righteousness that appear overwhelmingly awful to men. His eternal justice, flaming forth against all iniquity, is declared to Israel in the fire of the altar. This fire is never to be extinguished; for every one of His righteous judgments endureth for ever (Psa_119:160). It burns all night long--an emblem of the sleeplessness of hell, where they have no rest, day nor night--and of the ever-watchful eye of righteousness that looks down on this earth. Perhaps it was intended to exhibit two things:
1. The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, &c. (Rev_14:10, compared with verse 18). The whole camp saw this fire burning in the open court all night long. So shall you perish, might an Israelitish father say to his children, taking them to his tent door, and pointing them, in the gloom and silence of night, to the altar, So shall you perish, and be for ever in the flames, unless you repent!
2. It exhibited, also, the way of escape. See, there is a victim on the altar, on which these flames feed! Here is Christ in our room. His suffering, seen and accepted by the Father, was held forth continually to the faith of Israel, night and day. And upon that type, the pledge and token of the real sacrifice, did the eye of the Father delight to rest night and day. It pleased Him well to see His justice and His love thus met together there. And the man of Israel, who understood the type, slept in peace, sustained by this truth which the struggling rays from the altar gleamed into his tent. (A. A. Bonar.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command Aaron…
THE CONTINUAL BURNT OFFERING
Lev_6:8-13
Read full note →
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: the burnt offering shall be on the hearth, upon the altar all night unto the morning; and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning thereon. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh; and he shall take up the ashes whereto the fire hath consumed the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. And the fire upon the altar shall be kept burning thereon, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning: and he shall lay the burnt offering in order upon it, and shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually; it shall not go out."
Lev_6:8-13 we have a "law of the burnt offering" specially addressed to "Aaron and his sons," and designed to secure that the fire of the burnt offering should be continually ascending unto God. In chapter 1 we have the law regarding burnt offerings brought by the individual Israelite. But besides these it was ordered, Exo_29:38-46, that every morning and evening the priest should offer a lamb as a burnt offering for the whole people, -an offering which primarily symbolised the constant renewal of Israels consecration as "a kingdom of priests" unto the Lord. It is to this, the daily burnt offering, that this supplementary law of chapter 6 refers. All the regulations are intended to provide for the uninterrupted maintenance of this sacrificial fire: first, by the regular removal of the ashes which would else cover and smother the fire; and, secondly, by the supply of fuel. The removal of the ashes from the fire is a priestly function; hence it was ordained that the priest for this service put on his robes of office, "his linen garment and his linen breeches," and then take up the ashes from the altar, and lay them by the side of the altar. But as from time to time it would be necessary to remove them from this place quite without the tent, it was ordered that he should carry them forth "without the camp unto a clean place," that the sanctity of all connected with Jehovahs worship might never be lost sight of; though, as it was forbidden to wear the priestly garments except within the tent of meeting, the priest, when this service was performed, must "put on other garments," his ordinary, unofficial robes. The ashes being thus removed from the altar each morning, then the wood was put on, and the parts of the lamb laid in order upon it to be perfectly consumed. And whenever during the day anyone might bring a peace offering unto the Lord, on this ever-burning fire the priest was to place also the fat, the richest part, of the offering, and with it also the various individual burnt offerings and meal offerings of each day. And thus it was arranged by the law that, all day long, and all night long, the smoke of the burnt offering should be continually ascending unto the Lord.
The significance of this can hardly be missed. By this supplemental law which thus provided for "a continual burnt offering" to the Lord, it was first of all signified to Israel, and to us, that the consecration which the Lord so desires and requires from His people is not occasional, but continuous. As the priest, representing the nation, morning by morning cleared away the ashes which had else covered the flame and caused it to burn dull, and both morning by morning and evening by evening, laid a new victim on the altar, so will God have us do. Our self-consecration is not to be occasional, but continual and habitual. Each morning we should imitate the priest of old, in putting away all that might dull the flame of our devotion, and, morning by morning, when we arise, and evening by evening, when we retire, by a solemn act of self-consecration give ourselves anew unto the Lord. So shall the word in substance, thrice repeated, be fulfilled in us in its deepest, truest sense: "The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually: it shall not go out" (Lev_6:9, Lev_6:12-13).
But we must not forget that in this part of the law, as in all else, we are pointed to Christ. This ordinance of the continual burnt offering reminds us that Christ, as our burnt offering, continually offers Himself to God in self-consecration in our behalf. Very significant it is that the burnt offering stands in contrast in this respect with the sin offering. We never read of a continual sin offering; even the great annual sin offering of the day of atonement, which, like the daily burnt offering, had reference to the nation at large, was soon finished, and once for all. And it was so with reason; for in the nature of the case, our Lords offering of Himself for sin as an expiatory sacrifice was not and could not be a continuous act. But with His presentation of Himself unto God in full consecration of His person as our Burnt offering, it is different. Throughout the days of His humiliation this self offering of Himself to God continued; nor, indeed, can we say that it has yet ceased, or ever can cease. For still, as the High Priest of the heavenly sanctuary, He continually offers Himself as our Burnt offering in constantly renewed and constantly continued devotement of Himself to the Father to do His will.
In this ordinance of the daily burnt offering, ever ascending in the fire that never went out, the idea of the burnt sacrifice reaches its fullest expression, the type its most perfect development. And thus the law of the burnt offering leaves us in the presence of this holy vision: the greater than Aaron, in the heavenly place as our great Representative and Mediator, morning by morning, evening by evening, offering Himself unto the Father in the full self-devotement of His risen life unto God, as our "continual burnt offering." In this, let us rejoice and be at peace.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain Subdivision 2. (Lev 6:8-30; Lev 7:1-38.)
Subdivision 2. (Lev 6:8-30; Lev 7:1-38.)
The offerings in relation to priest and people.
Read full note →
But we have now to look at their relations to the priests and people, especially to the former. The laws here fall into six sections; the offerings in general taking their place much as before, except that the meal-offering for the high-priest takes here the one occupied by the peace-offering, and the peace-offering itself has the last place, as bringing before us that communion with God in which we find the rightful effect and conclusion of the whole.
1. The burnt-offering comes first, then, in order; and it is to be always upon the altar, an abiding testimony to Israel’s acceptance with God. Typically even, this was only imperfectly attained in their case by lengthening out the morning and evening sacrifice, so as to merge them, as it were, in one. For us it is simple that the one offering abides before God continually, and we abide in the value of it, without possibility of change.
Absolutely necessary as the sin-offering is, and the only thing that can open the holiest, yet how different is the ordinance as to it! Except some special sin of the whole congregation called for it, there was but one sin-offering for all Israel on the day of atonement once a year. Nor, as we have seen, does it seem ever to have been voluntarily offered, or multiplied as the burnt- and peace-offerings might be, to any extent.
It was the duty of the priest to keep the burnt-offering with its sweet savor going up to God. The true sacrifice needs not this continual service; and yet it does not follow that there is nothing that answers now to this priestly work. God delights to have us remind Him (though He can never forget it,) of the work of His dear Son, and that we have here our occupation, and live in the fragrance of His acceptance. This is really the foundation of all practical holiness, as it is of rest and satisfaction to the soul. Christ is our righteousness before God: we are accepted in the Beloved; in Christ we are as Christ, even in this world. Here the perpetual sunshine settles down on us: it is the true Beulah land for the saint, where the birds sing ever, and the heart goes forth in perpetual melody. "There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us!" Here it is ever lifted up, for God turns not His back upon His Son: this day knows no decline. Well may our relation to the offerings begin with this transcendent blessedness!
2. Then we come to the meal-offering, -Christ personally enjoyed, the food of the priests of God. Here is full communion, the memorial for God, the rest for Aaron and his sons. But it can only be eaten in a holy place -in the court of the tent of meeting, where the fine linen of practical righteousness shuts us in from the world. Whatever is put in contact with this becomes holy, whatever we can connect with Christ finds indeed, thus, that He is sanctification; what cannot is leaven, and to be excluded.
3. What is the meal-offering of the high-priest in the day of his anointing, and which (like the burnt-offering,) is to be wholly burned, not partaken of? If we go back to the time of Christ’s anointing, when at His baptism by John the Father’s voice proclaimed His delight in His beloved Son, the gift of the Spirit was the seal of the perfection so declared. But to what did it testify? To the preciousness of thirty years of human life which in the inspired history has, it may be said, no place. What it was to God He testifies; He had lived in it to God in the common toil of men -a life of which it is natural to ask, Why should it be hidden from us? Gospels of the Infancy have been imagined even, to fill the gap and satisfy the need, but have only proved their absolute incompetency. It remains, and for us will remain, until we hear it perhaps in the speech of heaven, absolutely hidden, a meal-offering to God alone. If this be the true interpretation, as it seems, then we can understand why it is made with oil, but not anointed; and we realize the opposition of the world to Him, even before He came openly forward as God’s Sent One in it. Half offered in the morning, half at night, it may show us His abiding perfectness all through, whether in sunshine or in shadow: things that test us equally, yet in such different ways, in Him bore equal witness to unchangeable goodness. Could these thirty wondrous years go without notice in these types? Yet it is here only, -nowhere if not here, -we seem to find it.
4. Where the sin-offering was not wholly burned, it was eaten by the priest, -the priest who offered it, and who typifies Christ Himself, sharing it with the priestly family. The eating has the same significance as elsewhere: it is the entering into that which makes atonement for God, hence of necessity into the sin itself as before Him. In Christ it was necessarily found when "bearing our sins in His own body on the tree," and in this way was part of the atonement itself, as Lev 10:17 indicates; but the fact that the priests could as a whole partake of it shows that it is not to be limited to this. Daniel confessing his sin and the sin of his people was surely eating the sin-offering; and just such identification of ourselves with the sins of God’s saints is a great need for all of us: a realization which the knowledge of the cross that we have as Christians will intensify, not in any wise lessen. Alas! the slight knowledge of God’s grace may indeed allow a light treatment of sin, perhaps also a bitter judgment of it: a real eating of the sin-offering makes one as serious as tender: who can harshly judge when Christ has borne the judgment? who can treat lightly what brought Him to the cross?
Nothing could be holier than the sin-offering; and as in the previous case of the meal-offering, every thing brought into connection with it becomes holy. Imputed sin is not imparted sin. There is, indeed, in the case of the red heifer (Num 19:1-22), what seems to argue this, but even in this case the ritual as a whole shows this not to be really so. And here the treatment of the vessels in which the flesh had been boiled was not because of their having been defiled, but that the holy food should not be mixed in any way afterward with common food. "It was possible to prevent this desecration, in the case of copper vessels, by a thorough cleansing; but not so with earthen vessels, which absorb the fat, so that it cannot be removed by washing. The latter, therefore, were to be broken in pieces, -
i.e., thoroughly destroyed." (Keil.) This minute care as to the type should surely teach us how separate from every other thing is the work of the cross. Death there was not as death elsewhere: Christ was no mere martyr. To mix this wondrous work for God and men with any other thing whatever is but to degrade and desecrate it.
5. In the law of the trespass-offering we have supplied what with all the other offerings comes into the first part, -the direction as to the killing, the sprinkling of the blood, and the burning of the fat. They were left out before, as it seems, to fix our attention upon the specific character of the trespass-offering as restitution. Here, in what is indeed (what the whole book of Leviticus is often called) the "priests’ guide-book," they are taught that for restitution there must be true sacrificial atonement: in government, God’s nature must be declared; and this we see the gospels maintain so fully, -that what is in Leviticus absolutely distinctive of the sin-offering is in Matthew as much given as in Mark, so that it is even difficult to distinguish between them.
6. Lastly, the peace-offering fills the sixth place here. It is that which, in the bringing together God and man whom sin has sundered, displays His victory over it. There are three subsections here, the two last plainly marked out, in a way we have seen before, by their being distinct communications from Jehovah. In the first part, we find, in type, through the work of atonement, God and man at one, -peace which is not merely peace, but much more. In the second, we have reiterated the prohibition of eating fat and blood. In the third, we have the priest’s portion in the offering.
(1) As has just been said, peace with God is never merely peace. God can never be simply not at variance with His creatures; there is in His nature no indifference, no neutrality; what He is He is with His whole heart, and, of all things, He nauseates lukewarmness. So to be at peace with Him is to have His love poured out upon us, -it is to be brought into His banqueting-house, and to be made to sit at His table: and thus it is pictured here. The peace-offering is the only one in which the offerer himself partakes of his own offering, and this partaking shows him not only brought into a place of acceptance, but in heart reconciled and brought nigh. That which has satisfied God satisfies him also: peace has become communion.
There are three characteristics of the peace-offering here, -a thanksgiving, a vow, and a free-will offering. It is strange that there should be contention among the commentators as to the meaning of these, as also that by some the higher character should be ascribed to the first, when the law itself so plainly decides otherwise. The "thanksgiving" is plainly the acknowledgment of some special blessing from God, while the "free-will" offering, on the contrary, supposes that nothing of this kind had roused the heart to remembrance: it needed nothing; as where one walks with God, and finds Him ever before him, walks in His light, rejoicing ever in Himself. It is clear which is the higher state implied, and which therefore is the higher character of offering. As to the vow, it is not so plain at first why it should be higher. The vow is supplicatory, was often dictated by the pressure of circumstances, is in the text distinguished from free-will offerings. Yet as addressed to Jehovah, the expression of confidence in Him in trial, He rates it higher than the simple thanksgiving. And this is evident, if we could not at all account for it, by the fact that, in the case of this as of the free-will offering, the flesh might be eaten the day after as well as the day of the sacrifice, typically implying more energy for sustained communion than in the thanksgiving-offering. On the third day even here, whatever remained was to be burned in the fire; and if eaten, it would be pollution. The contact with uncleanness also, if one went on with what expressed communion with God, would be grievous sin, as connecting His table with it. Reconciliation with God means holiness of life.
(2) The fat and the blood God claimed for Himself; and there was need to insist upon this where the people were thus encouraged to draw near to God. Man soon mistakes familiarity for nearness: God has therefore to insist afresh upon what is His due being rendered to Him. Life, as expressed in the blood, was His; and the fat, the will and energy of the life, was to be consecrated to Him alone. Good and needful it is, at the table of the Lord, to recognize that it is the Lord’s: "the shout of a King is among them" must be characteristic always of the people of God. And so speak the dimensions of the eternal city, every way a 12, -the length and breadth and height of it equal.
(3) Lastly, we have the priests’ portion of the peace-offering. The offering priest we necessarily recognize as Christ. The wave-breast belongs to Aaron and his sons; for we are, as priests, able to enter into and partake of the affections of His heart. The shoulder is His alone, for His alone is the power by which all things are sustained in blessing. With this the law of the peace-offering ends.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 6. The Laws of the Offerings
6. The Laws of the Offerings
CHAPTERS 6:8-7:38
Read full note →
1. The law of the burnt offering (Lev 6:8-13)
2. The law of the meal offering (Lev 6:14-18)
3. The offering of the high priest (Lev 6:19-23)
4. The law of the sin offering (Lev 6:24-30)
5. The law of the trespass offering (Lev 7:1-10)
6. The law of the sacrifice of the peace offerings (Lev 7:11-38)
After Jehovah had given to Moses by direct communication the different offerings, in what they were to consist, and how they were to be brought, different laws concerning these offerings were added by Jehovah. They are mostly addressed to Aaron and his sons (Lev 6:8; Lev 6:14; Lev 6:19; Lev 6:24). They acquaint us therefore with the relation of the priest to the offerings. In the law of the trespass and peace offerings we do not find an address to Aaron and his sons. The proper way to study the offerings is to consider first what is said in the beginning of Leviticus and then to read the laws of the offerings in connection with each to learn their relation to the priest and the people.
The Law of Burnt Offering--It was the duty of the priest to keep the burnt offering upon the altar and the fire of the altar had to be kept burning in it. It is especially stated that the burnt offering shall be upon the hearth upon the altar all night unto the morning. This continual burnt offering with the fire, which never went out, is the type of Christ, who continually offers Himself to God and in whom all believers have the assurance of their full acceptance. It was different with the sin offering; there could not be a continuous sin offering, for Christ giving Himself as an expiatory sacrifice cannot be a continuous act. But it is different with the burnt offering. While on earth He ever presented Himself before God and the fire of His devotion never went out. And thus He continues in the heavenly sanctuary, appearing in the presence of God for us. This never ceases. It is morning by morning, evening by evening. And how blessed that the night is mentioned! The night is the present age; and it will be followed by the morning, when the day dawns. What comfort is here provided for us! While we are down here in the wilderness, tested, tried, failing and stumbling our perfect burnt offering is ever present with God and the sweet savour arises from it. By it we are kept, though we are a sinning people. It has also a blessed meaning for Israel. This is Israel’s night. By the burnt offering sacrifice even Israel is kept during the dark night of their unbelief for the blessing which shall surely come in the morning, when He is revealed again. Then they will behold Him as their burnt offering, whom they had despised and rejected during the night of wandering and tribulation; then they will confess their sin and acknowledge He was bruised on account of their iniquities.
But while this is the blessed meaning of the burnt offering for the believer and for repenting and believing Israel, for the unbeliever there is another fire which will never go out. And we must see the practical application as well. This blessed continual burnt offering must lead His believing people to give themselves continually and manifest their devotion in practical holiness. “God delights to have us remind Him (though He can never forget it) of the work of His dear Son, and that we have here our occupation and live in the fragrance of His acceptance. This is really the foundation of all practical holiness, as it is of rest and satisfaction to the soul. Christ is our righteousness before God; we are accepted in the Beloved; in Christ we are as Christ, even in this world. Here the perpetual sunshine settles down on us; it is the true Beulah land for the saint, where the birds sing ever and the heart goes forth in perpetual melody” (Numerical Bible). Our answer to the continuous burnt offering in our behalf must be a life of devotion to God. Space forbids to follow the equally precious application of the other priestly actions.
The Law of the Meal Offering--As we learned in connection with the second chapter, the meal offering foreshadows Christ on earth, that blessed and holy life which was lived here in entire devotion. The principal thing here is that Aaron and his sons, the priests, were to eat of it. God had His portion in it, but the priests were to share it. All believers are priests in Christ, and as such have this precious food to enjoy. That food is Christ, and that means communion with God. To enjoy Christ, feed on Him, the bread come down from heaven; to meditate upon all His loveliness and grace, is our blessed privilege, who are brought into His fellowship. Note that it says “it shall be eaten unleavened in a holy place.” This means that only in the place of separation, where grace has put us, can we enjoy this feast. The feeding on the meal offering will keep us in the sanctuary in His presence.
The Offering of the High Priest--Distinct from the general meal offering is that meal offering which the high priest had to bring on the day of his anointing. This had to be wholly burned unto Jehovah. No priest was permitted to taste this and partake of it. It had to be offered half of it in the morning and half of it at night. There is another distinction. Oil was mixed with it, but oil was not poured upon it. We saw what the oil mixed with the fine flour meant, and that the pouring of the oil upon the fine flour typified the Holy Spirit as He came upon Christ at His baptism. Now inasmuch as this pouring of the oil is omitted here, this meal offering seems to typify the blessed life of our Lord before His public ministry began. The hidden years, as we term them, were yielded completely to God, and as the Holy Spirit has not given us a record of those years we cannot feed on them. This, no doubt, is the typical meaning of this special meal offering of the high priest “on the day of his anointing.”
The Law of the Sin Offering--This law contains interesting details concerning the sin offering. It had to be killed in the place where the burnt offering was killed. The priest that offered it for sin had to eat it, and he typifies Christ. This means His identification with sinners, when in our stead He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. But the priests also could eat of it. The work of atonement, the sin-bearing, no fellow priest could share with Him. He alone could do this great work. Nevertheless we eat of the sin offering if we identify ourselves in humiliation and confession with the sins and failures of the saints of God. The holiness of the sin offering is especially emphasized. It is called “most holy.” The earthen vessel in which it was boiled had to be broken and the brazen pot had to be scoured and rinsed. This typifies the unique and most precious, as well as holy character, of the great work accomplished by the sin bearer on the cross.
The Law of the Trespass Offering--This also is called “most holy.” Here the killing of the sacrifice, the sprinkling of the blood, the presentation of the fat, etc., and the burning upon the altar, omitted in chapters 5:14-6:7, are now commanded. Restitution is the prominent thing at the first mention of the trespass offering. It reveals the joy of God in what has been accomplished by Christ in His redemption work. But restitution must rest for a foundation upon atonement. This is now therefore brought out in the law of the trespass offering.
The Law of the Peace Offering--But one more remains. We discover that the peace offering is removed out of its connection. The order in the beginning of Leviticus is: burnt offering, meal offering, peace offering, sin offering, and trespass offering. The first three were the “sweet savour offerings.” The third sweet savour offering, the peace offering, is put last in the laws of the offering. The peace offering represents the blessed results of the work of Him, who has made peace in the blood of His cross, in whom all who believe are justified and have peace with God. And the first thing mentioned is most blessed and intimate communion and enjoyment with thanksgiving. The pierced cakes, unleavened mingled with oil, etc., typify Christ. In this blessed feast Christ, as everywhere, has the preeminent place. The enjoyment of peace and its resulting communion is impossible apart from Christ. We must ever let the Holy Spirit remind us of what He is and what He has done for us. But what does it mean that the Israelite had to bring an offering of leavened bread with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for “thanksgiving”? Leaven was forbidden at Passover, in the meal offering, because it is the type of evil. Here and in the two loaves of the Feast of Weeks it was not only permitted, but commanded. In Christ there was no leaven; but in His saints, though made nigh by blood, there is still leaven, the corruption of the old nature. How harmonious with the teaching of the New Testament! We leave this to our readers to follow with prayer, searching, and, we trust, exercise of soul.
Rich and full is indeed this portion, the concluding section; one feels like touching upon every detail and meditate on these precious pictures, foreshadowing our blessings and privileges in Christ.
We must pass all these riches by, but pray that His Spirit may open up the mines of divine wisdom and comfort to every child of God. But one more phrase we mention. The priests had their portion in the peace offering. The priest, who burns the fat upon the altar represents Christ. Aaron and his sons received the breast of the sacrifice. The shoulder of the peace offering belonged to the priest for an heave offering. Like Aaron and his sons, priests of God, we can feast upon the breast, the type of His love, and thus enjoy His affections. The shoulder is the seat of power. And power belongs to Him alone, who loveth us and hath washed us from our sins in His own blood and hath made us priests and kings. May this first part of Leviticus (so often ignored) become a source of much joy and blessing to His people. The few hints we could give will, under God, show the way how these types should be studied.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Of Burnt Offerings
Of Burnt Offerings
v. 8. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Read full note →
v. 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. All the paragraphs following contain special instructions for the priests with regard to the various offerings. The first paragraph relates to the daily burnt offering of a lamb at evening and in the morning, which was made at the cost of the entire congregation. Cf Exo 29:38; Num 28:3. "The slow fire of the evening sacrifice was to be so arranged as to last until the morning; that of the morning sacrifice was ordinarily added to by other offerings, or if not, could easily be made to last through the much shorter interval until the evening. The evening sacrifice is naturally mentioned first because, in the Hebrew division of time, this was the beginning of the day. "
v. 10. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, Exo 28:40, and his linen breeches shall be put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar; the sacrifices having been turned to ashes in the burning, the officiating priest was to remove all these ashes; and he shall put them beside the altar, a special place being provided for that purpose on the east side of the court.
v. 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. This duty was afterward performed by such members of the priestly family as were excluded from officiating at the altar by some bodily defect, Lev 21:16-23. During the wilderness journey some clean place outside of the camp could be used for the ashes from the altar of burnt offering; when the sanctuary of the Lord was in the Temple at Jerusalem, a place outside of the city was chosen.
v. 12. And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out, even when there were no sacrifices to be burned; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, build up a great, glowing fire from the embers that had kept the fire going during the night, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn there on the fat of the peace-offerings, Leviticus 3.
v. 13. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. It signified the continual, uninterrupted fellowship of the children of Israel with the covenant God. In the heart of the Christians the flame of love toward God should burn at all times with unabated vigor, until the worshiper passes from believing to seeing.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Command Aaron and…
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law
This has a quotation within a quotation. A direct quotation can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and told him to command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law" (See:Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)
Read full note →
must be on the hearth of the altar
"must be on top of the altar"
the fire of the altar will be kept burning
This can be translated in active form. AT: "you must keep the fire of the altar burning" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Yahweh
Moses
command
Aaron
law, laws
burnt offering
altar
fire
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 6:8–7:38 The regulations in 1:2–6:7 include instructions for both…
6:8–7:38 The regulations in 1:2–6:7 include instructions for both priest and layperson. This section adds detail regarding the rights and obligations of the officiating priest. Because the tribe of Levi had been allotted no land for farming (Deut 18:1; Josh 13:14, 33), priests depended on the offering system for their income. The concern was that priests be adequately provided for. Like many human institutions, this system was eventually abused (1 Sam 2:12-25; Hos 4:8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.