Ceremonies to be used in consecrating Aaron and his sons, 1–3. They are to be washed, 4. Aaron is to be clothed with the holy vestments, 5, 6; to be anointed, 7. His sons to be clothed and girded, 8, 9. They are to offer a bullock for a sin-offering, 10-14; and a ram for a burnt-offering, 15-18; and a second ram for a consecration-offering, 19-22. A loaf, a cake, and a wafer or thin cake, for a wave-offering, 23-25. The breast of the wave-offering and the shoulder of the heave-offering to be sanctified, 26–28. Aaron's vestments to descend to his son, who shall succeed him, 29, 30. Aaron and his sons to eat the flesh of the ram of consecration, 31, 32. No stranger to eat of it, 33. Nothing of it to be left till the morning, but to be burnt with fire, 34. Seven days to be employed in consecrating Aaron and his sons, 35-37. Two lambs, one for the morning and the other for the evening sacrifice, to be offered continually, 38-42. God promises to sanctify Israel with his glory, and. to dwell among them, 43–46.

A bullock for a sin-offering,

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EXODUS.

and a ram for a burnt-offering.

8 And thou shalt bring his fat that is upon them, and burn An. Exod. Isr. 1. sons, and put coats upon them. them upon the altar. 9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.

11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon P the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.

13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the

Lev. viii. 13.

fill the hand of.

Heb. bind.

Num. xviii. 7.- Heb.

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14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering. 15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall "put their hands upon the head of the ram.

t

16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.

17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and ▾ unto his head.

18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram:

It seemeth by anatomy and the Hebrew doctors, to be the Chap. xxviii. 41; Lev. viii. 22; Heb. vii. | midriff.- Lev. iv. 11, 12, 21; Heb. xiii. 11.- - Lev. viii. 28.- n Lev. i. 4; viii. 14. Lev. viii. 15.18.—P Chap. xxvii. u Lev. i. 4-9.- -▾ Or, upon.— Gen. viii. 21.- Ver. 2; xxx. 2.- Lev. iii. 3.

3; Lev. viii. 22.

W

God, and was then proper to be offered in sacrifice.
Imposition of hands also signified that they offered the
life of this animal as an atonement for their sins, and
to redeem their lives from that death which, through
their sinfulness, they had deserved. In the case of
the sin-offering and trespass-offering, the person who
brought the sacrifice placed his hands on the head of
the animal between the horns, and confessed his sin
over the sin-offering, and his trespass over the trespass-
offering, saying, "I have sinned, I have done iniquity;
I have trespassed, and have done thus and thus; and do
return by repentance before thee, and with this I make
atonement." Then the animal was considered as vica-
riously bearing the sins of the person who brought it.

Verse 14. It is a sin-offering.] See the notes on
Gen. iv. 7; xiii. 13; Lev. vii. 1, &c.
Verse 18. It is a burnt-offering] See the note on
Lev. vii. 1, &c.

influenced, and directed by the Spirit of grace and holiness. Hence the priest was anointed, to signify his being Divinely qualified for the due performance of his sacred functions. 3. That no man could enact just and equitable laws, which should have the prosperity of the community and the welfare of the individual continually in view, or could use the power confided to him only for the suppression of vice and the encouragement of virtue, but that man who was ever under the inspiration of the Almighty. Hence kings were inaugurated by anointing with oil. Two of these offices only exist in all civilized nations, the sacerdotal and regal; and in some countries the priest and king are still consecrated by anointing. In the Hebrew language no mashach signifies to anoint, and non mashiach, the anointed person. But as no man was ever dignified by holding the three offices, so no person ever had the title mashiach, the anointed one, but Jesus the Christ. He alone is King of kings and Lord of Verse 19. The other ram] There were two rams lords the king who governs the universe, and rules brought on this occasion: one was for a burnt-offering, in the hearts of his followers; the prophet, to instruct and was to be entirely consumed; the other was the men in the way wherein they should go; and the great ram of consecration, ver. 22, □'x4 4x eil milluim, high priest, to make atonement for their sins. Hence the ram of filling up, because when a person was dedihe is called the Messias, a corruption of the word cated or consecrated to God, his hands were filled with hammashiach, THE anointed ONE, in Hebrew; some particular offering proper for the occasion, which which gave birth to ỏ Xploros, ho Christos, which has he presented to God. Hence the word consecration precisely the same signification in Greek. Of him, Mel-signifies the filling up or filling the hands, some part chizedek, Abraham, Aaron, David, and others were of the sacrifice being put into the hands of such perillustrious types. But none of these had the title of THE sons, denoting thereby that they had now a right to MESSIAH, OF THE ANOINTED of God. This does, and offer sacrifices and oblations to God. It seems in ever will, belong exclusively to JESUS the CHRIST. reference to this ancient mode of consecration, that in the Church of England, when a person is ordained priest, a Bible is put into his hands with these words, ( 30 )

Verse 10. Shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.] By this rite the animal was consecrated to

The ram of consecration,

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CHAP. XXIX.

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20 Then shalt thou kill the 23 And one loaf of bread, An. Exod. Isr. 1. ram, and take of his blood, and and one cake of oiled bread, and An. Exod. Isr. 1. one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread, that is before the LORD: 24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons: and shalt wave them for a wave-offering before the LORD.

put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their fight foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:

25 d And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt-offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave-offering before the LORD: and fit shall be thy part.

27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heaveoffering, which is waved, and which is heaved

y Chap. xxx. 25, 31; Lev. viii. 30.— Ver. 1'; Heb. ix. 22. Lev. viii. 28.- e Lev. viii. 29.
a Lev. viii. 26.— b Heb. shake to and fro.-
- Lev. vii. 30.

"Take thou authority to preach the word of God," &c.
The filling the hands refers also to the presents which,
in the eastern countries, every inferior was obliged to
bring when brought into the presence of a superior.
Thus the sacrifice was considered, not only as an
atonement for sin, but also as a means of approach and
as a present to Jehovah.

Verse 20. Take of his blood] The putting the blood of the sacrifice on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, was doubtless intended to signify that they should dedicate all their faculties and powers to the service of God; their ears to the hearing and study of his law, their hands to diligence in the sacred ministry and to all acts of obedience, and their feet to walking in the way of God's precepts. And this sprinkling appears to have been used to teach them that they could neither hear, work, nor walk profitably, uprightly, and well-pleasing in the sight of God, without this application of the blood of the sacrifice. And as the blood of rams, bulls, and goats, could never take away sin, does not this prove to us that something infinitely better is shadowed out, and that we can do nothing holy and pure in the sight of a just and holy God, but through the blood of atonement? See on chap. xxx. 20. Verse 22. The fat and the rump] The rump or tail of some of the eastern sheep is the best part of the animal, and is counted a great delicacy. They are also very large, some of them weighing from twelve to forty pounds' weight; "so that the owners," says Mr. Ludolf, in his History of Ethiopia," are obliged to tie a little cart behind them, whereon they put the tail of the sheep, as well for the convenience of carriage, and to ease the poor creature, as to preserve the wool from dirt, and the tail from being torn among the bushes and stones." An engraving of this kind

Psa. xcix. 6.

Lev.

vii. 31, 34; Num. xviii. 11, 18; Deut. xviii. 3. of sheep, his tail, cart, &c., may be seen at p. 53 of the above work.

Verse 23. And one loaf of bread] The bread of different kinds, (see on ver. 2,) in this offering, seems to have been intended as a minchah, or offering of grateful acknowledgment for providential blessings. The essence of worship consisted in acknowledging God, 1. As the Creator, Governor, and Preserver of all things, and the Dispenser of every good and perfect gift. 2. As the Judge of men, the Punisher of sin, and he who alone could pardon it. The minchahs, heaveofferings, wave-offerings, and thank-offerings, referred to the first point. The burnt-offerings, sin-offerings, and sacrifices in general, referred to the second.

Verse 24. For a wave-offering] See the notes on Lev. vii., where an ample account of all the offerings, sacrifices, &c., under the Mosaic dispensation, and the reference they bore to the great sacrifice offered by Christ, is given in detail.

Verse 25. Thou shalt receive them of their hands] Aaron and his sons are here considered merely as any common persons bringing an offering to God, and not having, as yet, any authority to present it themselves, but through the medium of a priest. Moses, therefore, was now to Aaron and his sons what they were afterwards to the children of Israel; and as the minister of God he now consecrates them to the sacred office, and presents their offerings, to Jehovah.

Verse 27. The breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering] As the wave-offering was agitated to and fro, and the heave-offering up and down, some have conceived that this twofold action represented the figure of the cross, on which the great Peace-offering between God and man was offered in the personal sacrifice of our blessed Redeemer. Had we authority for this conjecture, it would certainly

Aaron's garments to

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up, of the ram of the consecration, | be his sons' after him, to be An. Exod. Isr. 1. even of that which is for Aaron, anointed therein, and to be con- An. Exod. Isr. 1. and of that which is for his sons: secrated in them. 28 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever, from the children of Israel: for it is a heave-offering: and it shall be a heave-offering from the children of Israel, of the sacrifice of their peace-offerings, even their heave-offering unto the LORD.

30 And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.

31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy

29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall place.
Num. Heb. he of his sons.-

b Lev. x. 15.- Lev. vii. 34.

Num. xx. 26, 28.)

xviii. 8; xxxv. 25, cast much light on the meaning and intention of these offerings; and when the intelligent reader is informed that one of the most judicious critics in the whole republic of letters is the author of this conjecture, viz., Houbigant, he will treat it with respect. I shall here produce his own words on this verse: Hic distinguuntur, et, ut ejusdem oblationis cæremonia duæ. In significatur, moveri oblatam victimam huc et illue, ad dextram et ad sinistram. In sursum tolli, et sublatam rursus deprimi; nam pluribus vicibus id fiebat. Rem sic interpretantur Judæi; et Christianos docent, quanquam id non agentes, sic adumbrari eam crucem, in quam generis humani victima illa pacifica sublata est, quam veteres victimæ omnes prænunciabant. "The heave-offering and waveoffering, as two ceremonies in the same oblation, are here distinguished. The wave-offering implies that the victim was moved hither and thither, to the right hand and to the left; the heave-offering was lifted up and down, and this was done several times. In this way the Jews explain these things, and teach the Christians, that by these acts the cross was adumbrated, upon which that Peace-offering of the human race was lifted up which was prefigured by all the ancient victims."

Num. xx. 28. Lev. viii. 35; ix 1, 8.-P Lev. viii. 31. cration was to abide seven days and nights at the door of the tabernacle, keeping the Lord's watch. See Lev. viii. 33, &c. The number seven is what is called among the Hebrews a number of perfection; and it is often used to denote the completion, accomplishment, fulness, or perfection of a thing, as this period contained the whole course of that time in which God created the world, and appointed the day of rest. As this act of consecration lasted seven days, it signified a perfect consecration; and intimated to the priest that his whole body and soul, his time and talents, should be devoted to the service of God and his people.

The number seven, which was a sacred number among the Hebrews, was conveyed from them down to the Greeks by means of the Egyptian philosophy, from which they borrowed most of their mysteries; and it is most likely that the opinion which the Greeks give is the same that the original framers of the idea had. That there was some mystical idea attached to it, is evident from its being made the number of perfection among the Hebrews. Philo and Josephus say. that the Essenes, an ancient sect of the Jews, held it sacred" because it results from the side of a square added to those of a triangle." But what meaning does this convey ? A triangle, or triad, according to the Pythagoreans, who borrowed their systems from the Egyptians, who borrowed from the Jews, was the emblem of wisdom, as consisting of beginning (Monad,) middle (Duad,) and end (Triad itself;) so wisdom consists of three parts-experience of the past, attention to the present, and judgment of the future. It is also the most penetrating of all forms, as being the shape of the wedge; and indestructibility is essential to it, as a triangle can never be destroyed. From those three properties it was the emblem of spirit. The square, solid, and tetrad, by the same system were interchangeable signs. Now a square is the representation of a solid or matter, and thus the number seven contains within itself the properties of both the triangle or solid, and the square or tetrad, i. e., is an emblem of body and spirit; comprehends both the intellectual and natural world; embraces the idea of GoD, the chief of spirits or essences; and all nature, the result of his power; thus a very fit emblem of perfection. It is perhaps in this way that we must Verse 29. The holy garments-shall be his sons' explain what CICERO, Tusc. Quest, lib. i., cap. 10, after him] These garments were to descend from says of the number seven, where he calls it the knot father to son, and no new garments were to be made. and cement of all things; as being that by which the Verse 30. Seven days] The priest in his conse-natural and spiritual world are comprehended in one

The breast and the shoulder, thus waved and heaved, were by this consecration appointed to be the priests' portion for ever; and this, as Mr. Ainsworth piously remarks," taught the priests how, with all their heart and all their strength, they should give themselves unto the service of the Lord in his Church." Moses, as priest, received on this occasion the breast and the shoulder, which became afterwards the portion of the priests; see ver. 28, and Lev. vii. 34. It is worthy of remark, that although Moses himself had no consecration to the sacerdotal office, yet he acts here as high priest, consecrates a high priest, and receives the breast and the shoulder, which were the priests' portion! But Moses was an extraordinary messenger, and derived his authority, without the medium of rites or ceremonies, immediately from God himself. It does not appear that Christ either baptized the twelve apostles, or ordained them by imposition of hands; yet, from his own infinite sufficiency, he gave them authority both to baptize, and to lay on hands, in appointing others to the work of the sacred ministry.

32 And Aaron and his sons it shall be an altar most holy : An. Exod. Isr. 1. shall eat the flesh of the ram, [ whatsoever toucheth the altar An. Exod. Isr. 1. and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Verse 37. Whatsoever touches the altar shall be holy.] To this our Lord réfers Matt. xxiii. 19, where he says the altar sanctifies the gift; and this may be understood as implying that whatever was laid on the altar became the Lord's property, and must be wholly | Israel]