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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 29:1

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And this [is] the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,

1 3. Preparation of the offerings (cf. Lev 8:2).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The consecration of the priests. See the notes to Lev. 89.

Exo 29:4

Door of the tabernacle – Entrance of the tent. See Lev 8:3.

Exo 29:27

The waving was the more solemn process of the two: it was a movement several times repeated, while heaving was simply a lifting up once.

Exo 29:33

A stranger – One of another family, i. e. in this case, one not of the family of Aaron.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Exo 29:1-37

To minister unto Me in the priests office.

The consecration of priests

I. The priests were washed first.

1. Regeneration.

2. Remission of sin.

II. After being washed, the priests were clothed. We must have the fine linen of an inward sanctification, and the outer garment for glory and for beauty, of the imputed righteousness of Christ.

1. These garments were provided for them.

2. These garments formed a complete apparel.

3. These garments were very comely to look upon.

4. The dress provided was absolutely necessary to be worn.

III. These priests were anointed. Be filled with the Spirit. A man in Christ is fragrant with a holy perfume before the Lord, but out of Christ he is an unclean thing, and cannot approach the altar.

IV. They had next to share in the sin-offering. Lift your eyes to Jesus, your ransom and substitute.

V. After the sin-offering the consecrated ones went on to take their share in the burnt-offering. The sin-offering indicated Christ as bearing our sin, but the burnt-offering sets Him forth as presenting an acceptable offering unto the Lord.

VI. After the priests had seen for themselves the sin-offering and the burnt-offering, it was needful that they should partake of a third sacrifice, which was a peace-offering. This was shared between the Lord and the priest or offerer. Thus it was an open declaration of the communion which had been established between God and man, so that they ate together, rejoicing in the same offering.

Conclusion:

1. Do you and I offer sacrifice continually? Do we every day feel that our whole being is Holiness unto the Lord?

2. What have you to offer now? Bring continually of your–

(1) Substance.

(2) Talent.

(3) Influence. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER XXIX

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.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXIX

Verse 1. Take one young bullock] This consecration did not take place till after the erection of the tabernacle. See Le 8:9-14.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

1. hallow them, to minister unto mein the priest’s officeThe act of inaugurating the priests wasaccompanied by ceremonial solemnities well calculated not only tolead the people to entertain exalted views of the office, but toimpress those functionaries themselves with a profound sense of itsmagnitude and importance. In short, they were taught to know that theservice was for them as well as for the people; and every time theyengaged in a new performance of their duties, they were reminded oftheir personal interest in the worship, by being obliged to offer forthemselves, before they were qualified to offer as therepresentatives of the people.

this is the thing that thoushalt doSteps are taken at the beginning of a society, whichwould not be repeated when the social machine was in full motion; andMoses, at the opening of the tabernacle, was employed to dischargefunctions which in later periods would have been regarded assacrilege and punished with instant death. But he acted under thespecial directions of God.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them,…. To Aaron and his sons: to “hallow” them; to sanctify them, set them apart, and consecrate them:

to minister unto me in the priest’s office; for which the Lord had appointed them, to which he had chose, called, and separated them:

take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish; a young bullock was an heifer of three years old, according to Kimchi t, and such an one was used in sacrifice in former times, see

Ge 15:9 though Maimonides u says it was one of two years, and so Abendana w, whose words are,

“a bullock is a son of two years, and a ram is after he has entered into the second year thirty one days;”

and so Ben Gersom; the bullock was an emblem of the strength, laboriousness, and patience of Christ, and both of them being without blemish, were typical of his purity and perfection in his nature and life, and especially in his sacrifice.

t Comment. in Psal. lxix. 32. u Hilchot Zebachim, c. 1. sect. 14. w Not. in Miclol Yophi in loc.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Consecration of Aaron and his Sons through the anointing of their persons and the offering of sacrifices, the directions for which form the subject of vv. 1-35. This can only be fully understood in connection with the sacrificial law contained in Lev 1-7. It will be more advisable therefore to defer the examination of this ceremony till we come to Lev 8, where the consecration itself is described. The same may also be said of the expiation and anointing of the altar, which are commanded in Exo 29:36 and Exo 29:37, and carried out in Lev 8:11.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

The Consecration of the Priests.

B. C. 1491.

1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, 2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. 5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: 6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. 7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. 8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. 9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. 10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. 11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. 13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering. 15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. 16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. 17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. 18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. 20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. 22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: 23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: 24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. 25 And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. 27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: 28 And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD. 29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. 30 And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place. 31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. 34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. 36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

Here is, I. The law concerning the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priest’s office, which was to be done with a great deal of ceremony and solemnity, that they themselves might be duly affected with the greatness of the work to which they were called, and that the people also might learn to magnify the office and none might dare to invade it.

1. The ceremonies wherewith it was to be done were very fully and particularly appointed, because nothing of this kind had been done before, and because it was to be a statute for ever that the high priest should be thus inaugurated. Now,

(1.) The work to be done was the consecrating of the persons whom God had chosen to be priests, by which they devoted and gave up themselves to the service of God and God declared his acceptance of them; and the people were made to know that they glorified not themselves to be made priests, but were called of God,Heb 5:4; Heb 5:5. They were thus distinguished from common men, sequestered from common services, and set apart for God and an immediate attendance on him. Note, All that are to be employed for God are to be sanctified to him. The person must first be accepted, and then the performance. The Hebrew phrase for consecrating is filling the hand (v. 9): Thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and his sons, and the ram of consecration is the ram of fillings,Exo 29:22; Exo 29:26. The consecrating of them was the perfecting of them; Christ is said to be perfect or consecrated for evermore, Heb. vii. 28. Probably the phrase here is borrowed from the putting of the sacrifice into their hand, to be waved before the Lord, v. 24. But it intimates, [1.] That ministers have their hands full; they have no time to trifle, so great, so copious, so constant is their work. [2.] That they must have their hands filled. Of necessity they must have something to offer, and they cannot find it in themselves, it must be given them from above. They cannot fill the people’s hearts unless God fill their hands; to him therefore they must go, and receive from his fulness.

(2.) The person to do it was Moses, by God’s appointment. Though he was ordained for men, yet the people were not to consecrate him; Moses the servant of the Lord, and his agent herein, must do it. By God’s special appointment he now did the priest’s work, and therefore that which was the priest’s part of the sacrifice was here ordered to be his, v. 26.

(3.) The place was at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, v. 4. God was pleased to dwell in the tabernacle, the people attending in the courts, so that the door between the court and the tabernacle was the fittest place for those to be consecrated in who were to mediate between God and man, and to stand between both, and lay their hands (as it were) upon both. They were consecrated at the door, for they were to be door-keepers.

(4.) It was done with many ceremonies.

[1.] They were to be washed (v. 4), signifying that those must be clean who bear the vessels of the Lord, Isa. lii. 11. Those that would perfect holiness must cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit,2Co 7:1; Isa 1:16-18. They were now washed all over; but afterwards, when they went in to minister, they washed only their hands and feet (ch. xxx. 19); for he that is washed needs no more, John xiii. 10.

[2.] They were to be clothed with the holy garments (Exo 29:5; Exo 29:6; Exo 29:8; Exo 29:9), to signify that it was not sufficient for them to put away the pollutions of sin, but they must put on the graces of the Spirit, be clothed with righteousness, Ps. cxxxii. 9. They must be girded, as men prepared and strengthened for their work; and they must be robed and crowned, as men that counted their work and office their true honour.

[3.] The high priest was to be anointed with the holy anointing oil (v. 7), that the church might be filled and delighted with the sweet savour of his administrations (for ointment and perfume rejoice the heart), and in token of the pouring out of the Spirit upon him, to qualify him for his work. Brotherly love is compared to this oil with which Aaron was anointed, Ps. cxxxiii. 2. The inferior priests are said to be anointed (ch. xxx. 30), not on their heads, as the high priest (Lev. xxi. 10), the oil was only mingled with the blood that was sprinkled upon their garments.

[4.] Sacrifices were to be offered for them. The covenant of priesthood, as all other covenants, must be made by sacrifice.

First, There must be a sin-offering, to make atonement for them, v. 10-14. The law made those priests that had infirmity, and therefore they must first offer for their own sin, before they could make atonement for the people,Heb 7:27; Heb 7:28. They were to put their hand on the head of their sacrifice (v. 10), confessing that they deserved to die for their own sin, and desiring that the killing of the beast might expiate their guilt, and be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction. It was used as other sin-offerings were; only, whereas the flesh of other sin-offerings was eaten by the priests (Lev. x. 18), in token of the priest’s taking away the sin of the people, this was appointed to be all burnt without the camp (v. 14), to signify the imperfection of the legal dispensation (as the learned bishop Patrick notes); for the sins of the priests themselves could not be taken away by those sacrifices, but they must expect a better high priest and a better sacrifice.

Secondly, There must be a burnt-offering, a ram wholly burnt, to the honour of God, in token of the dedication of themselves wholly to God and to his service, as living sacrifices, kindled with the fire and ascending in the flame of holy love, v. 15-18. The sin-offering must first be offered and then the burnt-offering; for, till guilt be removed, no acceptable service can be performed, Isa. vi. 7.

Thirdly, There must be a peace-offering; it is called the ram of consecration, because there was more in this peculiar to the occasion than in the other two. In the burnt-offering God had the glory of their priesthood, in this they had the comfort of it; and, in token of a mutual covenant between God and them, 1. The blood of the sacrifice was divided between God and them (Exo 29:20; Exo 29:21); part of the blood was sprinkled upon the altar round about, and part put upon them, upon their bodies (v. 20), and upon their garments, v. 21. Thus the benefit of the expiation made by the sacrifice was applied and assured to them, and their whole selves from head to foot sanctified to the service of God. The blood was put upon the extreme parts of the body, to signify that it was all, as it were, enclosed and taken in for God, the tip of the ear and the great toe not excepted. We reckon that the blood and oil sprinkled upon garments spot and stain them; yet the holy oil, and the blood of the sacrifice, sprinkled upon their garments, must be looked upon as the greatest adorning imaginable to them, for they signified the blood of Christ, and the graces of the Spirit, which constitute and complete the beauty of holiness, and recommend us to God; we read of robes made white with the blood of the Lamb. 2. The flesh of the sacrifice, with the meat-offering annexed to it, was likewise divided between God and them, that (to speak with reverence) God and they might feast together, in token of friendship and fellowship. (1.) Part of it was to be first waved before the Lord, and then burnt upon the altar; part of the flesh (v. 22), part of the bread, for bread and flesh must go together (v. 23); these were first put into the hands of Aaron to be waved to and fro, in token of their being offered to God (who, though unseen, yet compasses us round on every side), and then they were to be burnt upon the altar (Exo 29:24; Exo 29:25), for the altar was to devour God’s part of the sacrifice. Thus God admitted Aaron and his sons to be his servants, and wait at his table, taking the mat of his altar from their hands. Here, in a parenthesis, as it were, comes in the law concerning the priests’ part of the peace-offerings afterwards, the breast and shoulder, which were now divided; Moses had the breast, and the shoulder was burnt on the altar with God’s part, v. 26-28. (2.) The other part, both of the flesh of the ram and of the bread, Aaron and his sons were to eat at the door of the tabernacle (v. 31-33), to signify that he called them not only servants but friends, John xv. 15. He supped with them, and they with him. Their eating of the things wherewith the atonement was made signified their receiving the atonement, as the expression is (Rom. v. 11), their thankful acceptance of the benefit of it, and their joyful communion with God thereupon, which was the true intent and meaning of a feast upon a sacrifice. If any of it was left, it must be burnt, that it might not be in any danger of putrefying, and to show that it was an extraordinary peace-offering.

2. The time that was to be spent in this consecration: Seven days shalt thou consecrate them, v. 35. Though all the ceremonies were performed on the first day, yet, (1.) They were not to look upon their consecration as completed till the seven days’ end, which put a solemnity upon their admission, and a distance between this and their former state, and obliged them to enter upon their work with a pause, giving them time to consider the weight and seriousness of it. This was to be observed in after-ages, v. 30. He that was to succeed Aaron in the high-priesthood must put on the holy garments seven days together, in token of a deliberate and gradual advance into his office, and that one sabbath might pass over him in his consecration. (2.) Every day of the seven, in this first consecration, a bullock was to be offered for a sin-offering (v. 36), which was to intimate to them, [1.] That it was of very great concern to them to get their sins pardoned, and that though atonement was made, and they had the comfort of it, yet they must still keep up a penitent sense of sin and often repeat the confession of it. [2.] That those sacrifices which were thus offered day by day to make atonement could not make the comers thereunto perfect, for then they would have ceased to be offered, as the apostle argues, Heb 10:1; Heb 10:2. They must therefore expect the bringing in of a better hope.

3. This consecration of the priests was a shadow of good things to come. (1.) Our Lord Jesus is the great high-priest of our profession, called of God to be so, consecrated for evermore, anointed with the Spirit above his fellows (whence he is called Messiah, the Christ), clothed with the holy garments, even with glory and beauty, sanctified by his own blood, not that of bullocks and rams (Heb. ix. 12), made perfect, or consecrated, through sufferings, Heb. ii. 10. Thus in him this was a perpetual statute, v. 9. (2.) All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet. ii. 5), washed in the blood of Christ, and so made to our God priests,Rev 1:5; Rev 1:6. They also are clothed with the beauty of holiness, and have received the anointing, 1 John ii. 27. Their hands are filled with work, to which they must continually attend; and it is through Christ, the great sacrifice, that they are dedicated to this service. His blood sprinkled upon the conscience purges it from dead works, that they may, as priests, serve the living God. The Spirit of God (as Ainsworth notes) is called the finger of God (Luke xi. 20, compared with Matt. xii. 28), and by him the merit of Christ is effectually applied to our souls, as here Moses with his finger was to put the blood upon Aaron. It is likewise intimated that gospel ministers are to be solemnly set apart to the work of the ministry with great deliberation and seriousness both in the ordainers and in the ordained, as those that are to be employed in a great work and entrusted with a great charge.

II. The consecration of the altar, which seems to have been coincident with that of the priests, and the sin-offerings which were offered every day for seven days together had reference to the altar as well as the priests, Exo 29:36; Exo 29:37. An atonement was made for the altar. Though that was not a subject capable of sin, nor, having never yet been used, could it be said to be polluted with the sins of the people, yet, since the fall, there can be no sanctification to God but there must first be an atonement for sin, which renders us both unworthy and unfit to be employed for God. The altar was also sanctified, not only set apart itself to a sacred use, but made so holy as to sanctify the gifts that were offered upon it, Matt. xxiii. 19. Christ is our altar; for our sakes he sanctified himself, that we and our performances might be sanctified and recommended to God, John xvii. 19.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

EXODUS – CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Verses 1-7:

Following the description of the priestly vestments, God gives the directions for the ceremony of consecration of the priests. This is in four parts:

I. The Sacrifice, verses 1-3; a young bullock, two unblemished rams, and unleavened cakes and wafers. These were to be offered “in the basket,” or in one offering.

2. The Ablution, verse 4; Aaron and his sons were to be washed, at the door of the tabernacle. It is uncertain as to whether the washing of consecration was of the entire body, or merely of the hands and feet. Since this was not a washing of cleansing, but of consecration, it is likely of the hands and feet only, see John 13:9, 10.

3. The Investiture, verses 5, 6; the garments described in Ex 28:1-39 were to be put upon Aaron. Nine stages of investiture were fulfilled: the putting on of: 1. The linen tunic; 2. the under-girdle; 3. the robe (tunic) of the ephod; 4. the ephod; 5. the “curious girdle” of the ephod; 6. the breastplate; 7 the Urim and Thummim into the breastplate; 8. the mitre; and 9. the gold crown or plate.

4. The Anointing, verse 7; with the “holy anointing oil,” Ex 25:6. Special anointing oil was poured on Aaron’s head. The formula for this oil is given in Ex 30:22-25. Ablution (washing) was a rite common to many religions. But anointing with oil was peculiar to the Mosaic system of worship. It applied to the ministry of priest,

prophet, and king, and also to the tabernacle and its furnishings. It signified the presence and power of the Holy Spirit upon the chosen one. In the Christian economy, anointing also plays a part, see Jas 5:14, 15. Jesus Himself is called “Christ” or “Messiah” or “The Anointed One,”- because He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power (Ac 10:38; Lu 4:16).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

1. And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them. Since I shall again repeat and more fully explain these things as they are written in Lev 9:0, in the history of the consecration of the tabernacle, it will be sufficient to give nothing more than a brief summary of them here; nor is it my custom to invent mysteries out of vague speculations, (174) such as may rather gratify than instruct my readers. First, since the whole human race is corrupt and infected with many impurities, so that his uncleanness prevents every single individual from having access to God, Moses, before he consecrates the priests, washes them by the sprinkling of water, in order that they may be no longer deemed to be of ordinary rank. Hence we gather that true purity and innocence, which was but typical in the Law, is found in Christ alone. “For such an high priest became us,” says the Apostle, “who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,” to present Himself before God for us. (Heb 7:26.) After they had been washed, God commands that they should be invested with the sacerdotal dress, according to their respective ranks: that the high priest should wear the ephod with the Urim and Thummim, and the mitre with the golden plate, on which shone forth “holiness to Jehovah;” and in the third place, He adds the anointing. This preparation was for the purpose of initiating them, before they performed the office of sacrificing; but it must be observed that, as to this first sacrifice, the duties which were afterwards transferred to Aaron were imposed upon Moses, as if he were the only priest; and, in point of fact, the temporal dignity which he afterwards resigned to his brother, was still in his own hands. What Moses introduces about the division of the victim, we shall more conveniently explain elsewhere, in treating of the offerings, which we have stated to be the third part of the legal worship.

(174) Probably the Fr., “ de speculations volantes,” suggests the right reading of the Lat. here, viz., alatis for aliis

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES.

Exo. 29:8. Thou shalt pour it] = veyatsakta from the verb yatsak, to profusely anoint, is the word employed in regard to the anointing of Aaron: but Mashach = to simply anoint is the word used in the case of his sons. Thus the difference in the terms employed indicate that God regarded the High priest with more honour than the other priests. And, as oil is the acknowledged symbol of health, strength, and beauty or purity, we have here an indication of the qualifications and graces which should distinguish the priesthood generally and the High Priest in particular.

Exo. 29:9. And thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons] is a free rendering of the words of the text: Umiletha yad Ahron veyad banav, literally, Thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons, with a reference, no doubt, to (Exo. 29:22-24). The things there enumerated are the various parts of the ram of consecration, besides several other accompaniments which Moses was commanded to place on the hands of Aaron and his sons, and by which evidently the propitiatory character of the priests office was indicated, as they were burnt before the Lord as an acceptable offering (Exo. 29:25). And, as in the act of consecration of the priests, they placed the gifts given to them by Moses upon the altar of the Lord, these may be regarded as characteristic of their office, and typified humility and devotedness.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 29:1-38

THE CONSECRATION OF AARON AS TYPICAL OF THE PRIESTLY CALLING OF CHRIST

We have shadowed forth here in the public appointment of Aaron some great truths concerning the Great High Priest, who has passed through the heavens.

I. The authority of His calling. No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron (Heb. 5:4). Aaron does not invest himself with the pontifical attire, and himself assume the priestly functions, but he receives these from the hands of Moses as the representative of God. So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten Thee (Heb. 5:5). Christ is ever careful to keep before us the Divine authority of His character, teachings, and priesthood. Thus with His character (Joh. 14:6-9). Thus with His works (Joh. 14:10-11). Thus with His doctrines (Joh. 7:16-18). Thus with His atonement (Rom. 3:25). There is Divine authority in the whole work of Jesus Christ; we see God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.

II. The glory of His character. In the first ceremony of the washing we have an anticipation of the purity of Christs nature, and in the robing and crowning of Aaron we behold, as in a glass, the moral loveliness and glory of the worlds everlasting Priest. Christs life was destitute of all the empty pomps of royalty. They that wear soft raiment are in kings houses: but how irresistible the moral glory of His spirit and work! What could I do more in royal robes, father, than in this plain garment? said Edward I. to a bishop who remonstrated with him on his attire as unkingly. The Jews saw Messiah destitute of all material, social, and political glory, and thus when they saw Him, there was no beauty that they should desire Him; but if they had regarded the moral grandeur of His spirit and work and doctrine, they would have felt that He needed no angels face, or transfigured robe, or golden crown. He was without sin, His holiness was intense and perpetual, and He is the most glorious Being in earth or heaven.

III. The fulness of His grace, Exo. 29:7. Oil was a type of reconciliation and peace, and the fact that it was poured on the head of the priest indicates the fulness of the grace imparted to the priest, and through him to Israel. This attains its highest meaning in Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:9.) Christ is full of truth and grace. In His reconciling character He can fill the individual soul with peace; and He can harmonise all the conflicting elements of the world, and fill the earth with peace. He giveth more grace.

IV. The efficacy of His atonement, Exo. 29:11Exo. 29:38. All that is said here of the purification of the priests, by blood and fire, is most significant of the fact that, through the atonement and spirit of Christ, humanity is fitted for intercourse with God. It was only when the animals had borne away the sin of the priests, and when their members and raiment had been purified by the sprinkled blood, that they are fitted to enter into the presence of God; and it is only as Christ atones for us by His death and purifies us by His Spirit, that we are worthy to see the face of God (Heb. 9:18-28).

HOLINESS AND SERVICE.Exo. 29:1-38

All these ceremonies attending the consecration of the priests are intended to teach the great lesson, that all who minister before God, that all who minister to God, must be holy. These ceremonies are not so many empty forms, intended merely to impress the people, but full of moral meaning.

I. The necessity of holiness in the service of God. Before the priests can minister before God there must be the washing, anointing, robingall significant of purification from sin and of the attainment of the beauty of holiness. The services of a priest not thus consecrated would have been rejected. All must be thus washed and beautified who would serve God in all generations. Without holiness of heartfor this is what the ceremonial holiness typifiesour virtues are unacceptable. Our righteousness is filthy rags. The patchwork garment of human fabrication will never do in place of that wedding robe of spiritual righteousness which God gives. Our work is unacceptable. No matter what our work may be, if it is not pure, it is rejected. It may be high work in the world, solemn work in the Church, but if it lack love and holiness it is vain. Our worship is (Isa. 1:10-16). Our gifts are (Isa. 1:10-16; 1Co. 13:1-4). Our services for others are. Holiness must be possessed by the priest before he can pray and offer for the people. Our virtues may be many, our work useful, our prayers eloquent, our gifts munificent, our services to our times liberal and salutary; but if in our heart there is selfishness, sensuality, sin, God will reject us. Be ye holy that bear the vessels of the Lord. We must be washed in the laver of regeneration, beautified by Gods righteousness, anointed by Gods grace, and then shall God be well pleased in us, and our ministrations for others shall be blessed. And this holiness must be complete and thorough. We feel this if we regard the blood-sprinkling upon the person and garments of the priests, Exo. 29:19-21. A part of the blood of the ram of consecration was sprinkled upon the ears of Aaron and his sons, to remind them always to listen to the commands of God; upon their hands, to enjoin the duty of activity and zeal in the service of God; and upon their feet, to symbolise their walking in the ways of the law.Kalisch. The hallowing of the whole personality and life. And we feel how necessary holiness is in the servants of God, and how thorough that holiness must be, when we read Exo. 29:35, that the ceremonies of consecration are to be repeated during seven days.

II. The source of this holiness. The whole ceremony attending the consecration of the priests teaches that the highest holiness is only realised in Christ. The sprinkling of the blood on the priest and on all his attire typifies this. Christ crucified alone creates in us a horror of sin; Christ alone bears our sin away; Christs grace alone cleanses us from the crimson stain (Heb. 9:11-15; 1Jn. 1:7). If we are to become a holy priesthood unto God, offering here the living sacrifices of an acceptable service, and at death entering into the Eternal presence, the dying love of Christ must kindle our love, and the righteousness which Christ died to maintain must adorn our nature and life. The theology of the Jewish Temple is full of purity by atonement; so is the theology of the primitive Christian Church; so is the theology of Heaven (Rev. 7:9-17).

THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN THE CHURCH.Exo. 29:38-46

We are instructed here concerning

I. The condition of the Divine Presence. God promises to dwell with Israel, and the stipulations which accompany this promise are full of instruction. God is not to dwell with Israel on the ground of their election. God had elected Israel to be the guardian of His Truth, and to accomplish certain great ends in the drama of history, but the presence of God with Israel is neither here nor anywhere else made to rest on the ground of this election. The continued presence of God with Israel is not guaranteed by the magnificence of the Tabernacle. God did not dwell in the Tabernacle because of its gold and scarlet, because of its rich draperies and gorgeous furniture. God will never dwell among us because of the richness or grandeur of a worldly sanctuary. The presence of God is not secured to Israel on the ground of their ecclesiastical polity. See that thou make it according to the pattern I showed thee in the mount. So Moses did: the whole Tabernacle and its furniture was according to the celestial pattern shown to the great lawgiver. But not on this ground was God to dwell with Israel. We may have our churches constructed on what we consider to be the scriptural pattern, on what may be a scriptural pattern, and yet God may deny us His presence. The grand condition is moral and spiritual. Everything must be holy. The priests must be holy, as we have already seen; and here again the demand is reiterated. Whosoever toucheth the altar must be holy, Exo. 29:37. No unclean individual was allowed to approach the altar; it does not mean, whatever has once touched the altar must be considered holy. And the altar, too, was to be most holy, Exo. 29:37. God dwelt with Israel on the ground of their moral purity, and for their lack of righteousness He deserted them. Gods presence is given still to such as seek Him with pure and penitent hearts. The sacrifices here mentioned symbolised the constant consecration of Israels life unto God, and only on this ground will God meet with and bless mankind. Purity is the sign of the true Church. Entirely, daily, permanently, must we yield ourselves to God, and then Gods face shall shine upon us as an unsetting sun.

II. The blessedness of the Divine Presence.

1. It is an enlightening Presence. Where I will meet you, to speak there to thee, Exo. 29:42. How truly blessed to have this communion with God! to have a certain spot where we are sure of special revelations of Gods heart and will! Not to have our imagination wandering through infinity, baffled by the vastness, but to be able to enter into our closet, and talk with God. God comes to the door of the Tabernacle to enlighten and bless the peopleHe will not hide Himself in the Holiest. If we come to God with pure and penitent hearts He will not hide Himself from us, but we shall see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2. It is a glorifying Presence. That it be hallowed by My glory, Exo. 29:43-44. The glory of gold and crimson was nothing, without the glory of the Divine Presence. Where God dwells He creates that fulness of purity and gladness which we call glory.

3. It is a redeeming Presence. Which brought them out of the land of Egypt, Exo. 29:46. And which, therefore, would deliver them from all other evils. Gods presence is a wall of fire.

4. It is an abiding Presence. That I may dwell among them, Exo. 29:45-46. Not only meet them, but dwell among them. Pleasures for evermore (Rev. 7:15-17).

ILLUSTRATIONS

BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON

Speech-Symbolism! Exo. 29:1-44.

(1.) An eminent author says that language is the amber in which a thousand precious and subtile thoughts have been safely embedded and preserved. It has arrested ten thousand lightning flashes of genius, which, unless thus arrested and fixed, might have been as bright, but would have also been as quickly passing and perishing as the lightning.

(2.) Trench adds to this, that words convey the mental treasures of one period to the generations that follow; and, laden with their precious flight, they sail safely across the gulfs of time in which empires have suffered shipwreck, and the languages of common life have sunk into oblivion.

(3.) What, then, shall be said of speech which is not mans but Gods? What, then, shall be said of words in which the thoughts of God are embalmed? Sent safely across the yawning, surging gulfs of time, do they not invite our most searching investigation for our learning and comfort in matters of infinite importance and everlasting endurance?

Then be not like the hog that hath

A pearl at his desire,

And takes more pleasure in the trough

And wallowing in the mire.

Barker, 1594.

Priesthood-Consecration! Exo. 29:1. Edwards well says that mans redemption was a purpose before it was a fact. Hence the Son of God anticipated mans fall, and immediately on its occurrence, putting aside the gorgeous veil of His dwelling-place, descended to earth to promise deliverance. As Wallis remarks, from that time His atonement was prefigured by slaughtered victims, exhibited in prophetic types. The Redeemers sacrifice, therefore, has a retrospective as well as prospective value. He planted His cross between the two dispensations, throwing a radiance over the past and a splendour over the future. Thus He made its glory to glance on the two extremities of time, and set it forth as the centre of associated interest to the good both of heaven and earth.

The balm of life, the cure of woe,

The measure and the pledge of love,

The sinners refuge here below,

The angels theme in heaven above.

Kelley.

Ablutions and Oblations! Exo. 29:3-4.

(1.) The tabernacle, as Atwater remarks, is to be considered as the residence of the Divine King of Israel. The remembrance of this will aid in understanding some parts of the Jewish ritual that might otherwise be comparatively unintelligible. This explains the great importance attached to personal cleanliness and freedom from corporeal blemishes on the part of all the attendants of the sanctuary. Some of the sacrifices, such as the burnt-offerings, were forms of consecration to the service of the sovereignwhat in modern phraseology would be called homage.
(2.) Such purification we have in the case of Joseph entering Pharaohs presence, of Esther appearing before Ahasuerus, and of Daniel being presented to Nebuchadnezzar. The homage of offerings, when persons acknowledged themselves subjects to a king, is as common to-day in eastern countries as it has ever been from the most remote of historical periods. Hence the ideas were familiar to the Israelites who had just left Egypt.
(3.) But these priestly ablutions and oblations were deeply symbolical; not only as implying mans moral unfitness to serve Jehovah-King, but also as involving the prayer for Divine Grace, Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. The offerings are indicated in the Pauline entreaty: We beseech you, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Oh! cleanse my sordid soul within
By Thy Christs bloodthe bath of sin.

Wotton.

Aaronic Washing! Exo. 29:4.

(1.) Does this typify the Baptism of the Lord Jesus! Baptism was usually connected with confession of sin, both amongst the heathen and Hebrews. The washing was in itself a symbol of the desire to wash away the defilement of the soul. But Jesus knew no sin, though Aaron did. Nevertheless He offered Himself to God. His Baptism, symbolised by the Aaronic purification, was the purifying of Himself as the Priest and Victim.
(2.) In the upper room when He offered up His intercessory prayer, that God would accept Him in sacrifice for the sins of His people, He says, For their sakes I sanctify Myself. What Jesus spoke of the sanctifying of Himself, to be a holy priest and holy sacrifice, is amplified, says Geso in the Epistle to the Hebrews, to the effect that Jesus was both the offerer and offering.
(3.) The Baptismal rite was linked with the descent of the Holy Spirit. It was through the Eternal Spirit that He offered Himself without spot to God. Thus both priest and animal were washed to shadow forth the Baptism not only in Jordan waters but with the Holy Spirit. Having knelt in prayer on the bank to which He had returned from the shallow ford,

Lo! on a sudden the blue heavens were rent,
The Spirit descending in corporeal shape,
Dove-like, alighted on His sacred head,
A Dove of plumage whiter than the light.

Bickersteth.

Aaronic Associations! Exo. 29:5-6.

(1.) The Aaronic priesthood, as established and perpetuated for long ages in Israel, was in all its aspects and relations eminently symbolic and typical. The selection and consecration of the high priest, the manifold duties and functions of the high office, were all penetrated with spiritual significance. Not more saturated is our atmosphere with ozone, our ocean with salts, our flowers with sweet odours; than are the Aaronic associations with spiritual significations.

(2.) As a natural and inevitable result, names, titles, figures, and symbolic phrases derived therefrom, have been sown broadcast, over the entire area of our religious literature. As Thompson observes, the most precious and significant names and official titles bestowed upon our blessed Lord come to us without modification from this source. This we learn from the Epistle to the Hebrews.

Where high the heavenly temple stands,
The house of God not made with hands,
A great High Priest our nature wears
The Saviour of mankind appears.

Logan.

Priest-Anointing! Exo. 29:8.

(1.) Jenkyn says that the Agonistes in the Grecian Games anointed themselves with ointments in order to attain quickness, agility, and nimbleness of action; and this gave a grace and beauty to their various movements. Before they could attain this the ointment must have pervaded their frame and not glistened in superficial application.
(2.) In like manner, before the Church can acquire a grace in doing good, and in acting after the Spirit, the unction from the Holy One must penetrate all the muscles of its frame and all the members of its body. Thus the Spirit of Holiness gives to the Church an aptness and a grace in all its movements and efforts for the conversion of the world.

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire;
Thou the Anointing Spirit art,
Thou dost Thy sevenfold gifts impart.

1662.

Priesthood! Exo. 29:8-9.

(1.) The priests were types of Christ in reference to the freedom of access to God, which was allowed to them. They alone were permitted to enter the Tabernacle. Only to the High Priest was it lawful to go into the Holy of Holies, just as Christ our Mediator enters into the immediate presence of God.
(2.) The whole body of the people were required to keep themselves ceremonially pure. But in the case of the priesthood this was enjoined with special urgency, on the ground that Christ was literally without sin.

Holy Saviour, wash us hourly,

Sanctify us day by day;

Sorely we have need of cleansing,

Purge each stain of sin away.

Murray.

Sin-Offering! Exo. 29:10-14. There were three gateways which the Aaronic priesthood had to penetrate before they could minister in the presence of God. One was that of the Sin-offering, the gateway of confession of sin. Another was that of the Burnt-offering (Exo. 29:15-18), the gateway of profession of faith in Christ. The third was that of the Peace-offering (Exo. 29:19-21), the gateway of consecration, i.e., of self-dedication to God. These were the stepping-stones to acceptable ministry in the priesthood. When these steps had been ascendedwhen these gateways had been passed, the Meat-offering had then to be eaten, to signify

(1) a state of fellowship with God, and
(2) a resolution to bring forth fruit to God. Not less essential are these gateways to the Christian ministry, and to that universal ministry of Christians who are designated as kings and priests unto God.

Through death the world is raised above
Its alien curse and kindred dust;
We on the Cross read, God is just,
But in the offering, God is Love.

Punshon.

Midriff-Mystery! Exo. 29:13.

(1.) One of natures most painful and deadly maladies is cancer. If within reach of the surgeons knife and skill, an operation is performed for its excision. Often the physician fails to extract all the fibres; and to eradicate the roots left behind, he applies lunar caustic. But how many uncertainties surround this operation. The cancer may be beyond reach of his knife. It may be within reach, and yet the operation produce fatal results. The operation may only be partially successful and require burning. The application of caustic may not be successful in eliminating the residue.
(2.) The Divine Physician extracts the cancer in the human nature. Yet is He pleased to allow, for wise and loving purposes, part of it more or less to remain; and by successive operations of burning affliction and sorrow to eradicate it entirely. There are no possibilities of failure in His hands. He can reach every sin-cancer. Its excision is certain to be successful. The application of moral caustic never fails to achieve the desired results. The Christian is made wholemeet for the inheritance of the saints in light.

Pains furnace-heat within me quivers,

Gods breath upon the fire doth blow,

And all my heart in anguish shivers

And trembles at the fiery glow;

And yet I whisper, As God will!

And in His hottest fire hold still.

Sturm.

Burnt-Offering!. Exo. 29:15-18.

(1.) In nature, both with animals and plants, there are special characteristics for each species or form; and yet, the special characteristic of one species or form may be found more or less prominent in another species or form. The sea-anemone has its own peculiar feature of existence; nevertheless, that feature appears in other and more common existence. The Indian banyan has likewise its particular characteristic, which, however, presents itself in less prominence in another African tree.

(2.) In the Levitical sacrifices, substitution was the special idea implied in the sin-offering. Substitution was most fully shadowed forth in this sacrifice. Nevertheless, though dedication rose prominently to view in the burnt-offering, yet the substitution element existed largely in it. This element presents itself more clearly in the daily sacrifice of Exo. 29:38-42.

The blood which, as a priest, He bears

For sinners is His own;

The incense of His prayers and tears

Perfumes the Holy Throne.

Newton.

Sweet Savour! Exo. 29:18.

(1.) The curtains of Gods pavilion are here thrown back, and each attribute appears rejoicing in redemption. The animal is offered, and there is fragrance throughout heaven. This image is a bright jewel in the Bible treasury. It first flashed its beauty on Noahs sacrifice after the Flood. It appears again and again through the Patriarchal offerings and those of the Levitical priesthood; and all these are but satellites borrowing their beauties from the shining sun in Eph. 5:2 : Christ gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice unto God, for a sweet-smelling savour.

(2.) Just as one orb contains all lights, so this brief expression contains the whole purpose of redemption. The children of Israel were taught in twilight-rites the fulness of the work of Christ: It is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. This is the magnifying medium, through which we see that the dying of Jesus is the garden of Gods sweetest perfumes. His one sacrifice is eternal and unbounded fragrance.
(3.) If Christs sacrifice is richest odour to God, so ought it to be to man. The joy of God should be our joy. The refreshment of Gods heart should be the refreshment of every mans heart. The perfume which gratifies the spirit of God should perfume the spirit of each child of Adam. Mans every faculty should expand and revel in the Calvary oblation. His crucifixion should be the souls paradise of every spice and flower. His name should be as ointment poured forth. His sacrifice should smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia. He Himself should be as a bundle of myrrh, a cluster of camphire.

As myrrh new bleeding from the tree,

Such is a dying Christ to me;

And while He makes my soul His guest,

My bosom, Lord, shall be thy rest.

Ram-Rump! Exo. 29:22. Eastern sheep have much larger tails than those of our own land. The broad tailed sheep of Aleppo, Russell says, are known to have tails five pounds in weight. To prevent these being torn by thorns and thistles, the shepherds fasten thin boards underneath them. Some of these boards have wheels to facilitate the movements of the animal. The Abb Mariti, in his Travels through Cyprus. states that the flesh of these tails is juicy and tender. It is not however, eaten separately, but mixed with the lean of other portions. The fat is often used as butter. This explains the Levitical consumption by fire,

Priesthood-Purposes! Exo. 29:29. Almost everything connected with the Levitical priesthood was symbolic. There was a spiritual purpose in each separate act and fact. It is sufficient merely to mention such suggestive things as the mercy-seat covering the ark, in which was deposited the stone-engraved law, and on which the high priest sprinkled seven times the atoning blood. Then there were the cherubims, beneath whose outspread wings ascended the cloud of incensethe prayers of the saints perfumed by the infinite merits of the Great Mediator. How many delightful thoughts gather about it, as bees clustering around some odorous flower or luscious honeycomb! In how many humble prayers, in how many glad songs of praise, is it the central idea, as a sun serves for a centre of attraction to countless satellite-orbs of light and beauty! Thus the priesthood had its purpose. Acting out their sacred functions, they were continually revealing and visibly interpreting the deep mystery of available mediation between God and man.

I need Thee, precious Jesus!

For I am full of sin;

My soul is dark and guilty,

My heart is dead within.

Whitfield.

Atonement! Exo. 29:33.

(1.) All bloody sacrifices embodied in themselves the idea of expiation. This idea may have existed in the mind of the patriarchs only in a vague and indefinite shape, as marking the earliest stage in the development of the plan of redemption. It may have resembled the pencilled outline which the artist makes upon the canvass previous to his filling in with rainbow hues.
(2.) The patriarchs and priests of the Mosaic dispensation understood that in themselves sacrifices had no atoning power. They could atone for sin only as they were symbolicanticipatory of the real atonement afterwards effected by Christ. The idea which lies at the basis of atonement is that of covering. The sin atoned for is regarded as if no longer in existence.

(3.) This paved the way for reconciliationthat idea which occurs ten times in the Greek New Testament. In nine of these ten, the Greek is translated reconciliation; and in the tenth (Rom. 5:11) atonement, i.e., at-one-ment. The death of Christ makes a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for sin; and thus opens up a way for mans reconcilement to God.

No more need altar smoke, nor victim bleed;

Tis finished! the great mystery of love,

Ye sin-condemned, by this blood tis decreed

Ye stand absolved: Behold the curse removed!

Palmer.

Substitution-Shadows! Exo. 29:36.

(1.) The Messianic Substitutionary Sacrifice is the grandest and most distinctive thing in the Bible, for the sake of which, indeed, the Bible has been produced. Many regard it as a discord in natures harmonious anthem; clashing with the phenomena of the universe around us. But, as an earnest writer says, this is altogether a superficial view. Nature and human nature present certain aspects of atonement. And the substitution taught by the Aaronic offerings and rites is patent to the student in the laws of nature and human nature.
(2.) We see, writes an eloquent divine, the law of vicarious action at work in the plant yielding up its life in order that the animal may be nourished. We observe it in the sacrifice of the animal that the nobler life of man may be sustained. The doctrine of substitution pervades the whole science of chemistry, in which we find numerous examples of one element of congeners replacing another.
(3.) Thus nature, human nature, and the Mosaic sacrifices are in harmony in teaching each and all the great mystery of substitution. All three are like different aisles in the great cathedral, or different avenues in the vast forest, leading up to the Holy Placeto the central object of Calvary: He hath made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Him.

He seized our dreadful right, the load sustained;
And heaved the mountain from a guilty world.

Young.

Morning and Evening Watches! Exo. 29:39.

(1.) This continual burnt-offering, combining in itself to a considerable extent what belonged to the other sacrifices, might be regarded as embodying the general idea of sacrifice, and as in a sense representing the whole sacrificial institute.
(2.) On the same account Fairbairn says that it was a species of offering to be presented morning and evening in behalf of the whole covenant people; and which, especially during the night, was to be so slowly consumed that it might last till dawn.
(3) This contional burnt-offering, or perpetual sacrifice, symbolised the abiding sacrifice which the Lord Jesus presents before the heavenly Throne night and day, from morn till eve, and from eve to dawn of day. Faiths eye perceived this.

(4.) In a secondary sense, it signified also the morning and evening watches of Christian prayer. In Deu. 33:10, it says, They shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt sacrifices upon Thy altar. The incense is an emblem of daily prayer, morning and eveningof prayer without ceasing; and the accompanying burnt-offering indicated that in every incense-supplication was to be the Propitiation of Christ. The Sacrifice of Calvary should ever be mentioned in, should ever be associated with, the Christians morning and evening watches.

Here I would for ever stay,
Weep and gaze my soul away;
Thou art heaven on earth to me,

Lovely, mournful Calvary.

Montgomery.

Acceptable Service! Exo. 29:41.

(1.) Fragrance has a far-reaching power, a mysterious association with the deep and hidden things of the heart. Because of these virtues, many of the Bible images appeal to our sense of smell. No sense is more closely connected with the sphere of the soul. It is regarded as an important means of communication with heaven, and a direct avenue for the souls approach to the Father. The acceptance, says Macmillan, of mans offerings by God is usually represented in the anthropomorphisms of the Bible as finding its expression in the sense of smell.

(2.) The Apostle Paul, employing the same typical language, speaks of himself and the other Apostles as unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. The Psalms and the Prophetic writings are full of the most beautiful and expressive metaphors, applied to the most solemn persons and things, of sweet savours. The Song of Solomon is like an Oriental garden stocked with delicious, odorous flowers. But the sweet savour that is most acceptable is the offering by fire, i.e., the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus amid the fires of wrath.

The fragrance of which perfect sacrifice
Breathes infinite beatitude, and spans
The clouds of judgment with Eternal Light,

Burnt-Offering! Exo. 29:42. What is in a name? Words are but empty air; names are but the exterior and useless shell. The thing signified is the kernel. But this is a very inadequate statement. Language is far more than the mere vesture, or even the vehicle of thought. It is both parent and nurse of the thought. There is much in a name; most of all in those divinely given. Such are the words consecration, atonement, burnt-offering, wave-offering, &c., occurring in this chapter. They are our teachers and guides, without which we can make no valuable acquisition in the Pentateuch fields of spiritual knowledge. They are self-luminous lamps, hung around the infinite mystery of the invisible God, and penetrating the thick darkness in which He dwells, so far as mans feeble sight can pierce. Upon the glass of this lamp (burnt-offering) may be read letters, burnt in by the fiery process of inspiration, telling us that within the building over whose porch it bangs is a spiritual glory in the shape of the Atoning Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.

Nor can the type and symbol take away
The guilt, and for a broken law requite.
The cross unfolds the mystery, Jesus died;

The sinner lives; the Law is satisfied.

Conder.

Mediation-Meaning! Exo. 29:44.

(1.) Eastern nations, beyond all others, have recourse to mediation. It has been noticed that they seem incapable of transacting business without the intervention of a mediator. The buying of an ass, the renting of a house, the hiring of a servant, or the settling of a trifling dispute, cannot be achieved without mediation at the present day in the East. Yet it is not, as has been remarked, a modern fashion. It appears even in the early history of Abraham at Machpelah, and Joseph in the Egyptian dungeon.
(2.) Such being the custom in transacting temporal matters, it became the most natural thing in the world to resort to mediation in the affairs of the soul. Educated to mediation in things secular, the Israelites were the more prepared to accept mediation in things spiritual. The consciousness of sin would only intensify this feeling and desire to have a Mediator or Intercessor.

(3.) The priests in the Tabernacle stood in this relation officially and by Divine appointment. But even they could only mediate typically. Their mediation had a meaning in the future. Their sacrificial offerings were of no avail, except as they pointed to the one true Mediator, whose blood cleanseth from all sin.

See Aaron, Gods anointed priest,

Within the veil appear,

In robes of mystic meaning drest,

Presenting Israels prayer.

Newton.

Divine-Indwelling! Exo. 29:45. It is a remarkable coincidence that as here we have the sacrificial lambs connected with the Divine Presence in the Hebrew Church, so there is a similar conjunction of the two in Revelation 21. Whether we regard that chapter at a prophetic vision of the Millennial or Eternal Eras of the Church of Christ matters not. It is the Lamb of God who figures in it with His Bride; and afterwards comes a great voice proclaiming that the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them. Jehovah-Shammah, i.e., The Lord is there; because Jehovah-Tsidkenu, i.e., The Lord our Righteousness is there. As the Lord dwelt between the cherubims as long as the typical lambs were present in the Tabernacle services, so will He tabernacle where the Lamb of God is in heaven. Twice over in one verse is it here said that such shall be the bliss. Oh, amazing honours! The Tabernacle of God with men! We can picture the angelic myriads hovering on silvery pinions over the glowing scene, and exclaimingHow goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!

There, wrought with hands no temples rise,
For God Himself their place supplies;
Nor priests are needed in the abode

Where the whole hosts are priests to God.

Grinfield.

Presence-Purpose! Exo. 29:46.

(1.) Compare this chapter with Revelation 7, which has been sweetly designated as the Palace Beautiful. If Exo. 29:13-17 may be called by one the mirror set in the Christian Apocalypse, in which the Christian sees reflected his future character and condition; surely these verses from 36 to 46 may be equally well described as a mirror placed in the Mosaic Apocalypse, in which the Israelite was to behold reflected his future hope in Christ. If in Exodus 29 we have the ceremonial washing, so in Revelation 7 we are told that the myriad-throngs of white-robed beings have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. If in Exodus 29 we learn that this was by way of free approach to the throne of God within the Holy of Holies, so it is expressly declared that these bloodcleansed souls are in consequence before the throne. If in the significant speech of symbolic act and fact, Aaron and the priests and people sang, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, so it is the same song whose silent echoes down the ages are caught up in audible acclaim by the redeemed hosts. If in Exodus 29. Israel, through obedience to the Divine command, hoped for the Divine Presence with them in a land where neither hunger nor thirst should be their lot, so in Revelation 7 we are told that these redeemed ones, having been washed in the blood of the Lamb, are in their holy land enjoying the presence of God, and knowing nothing of the pangs of hunger or the tortures of thirst.

Now before the Throne of God,
Seald with His Eternal Name,
Clad in raiment pure and white,
Victor palms in every hand,
Through their great Redeemers might,
More than conquerors they stand.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

THE TEXT OF EXODUS
TRANSLATION

29 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priests office: take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, (2) and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened mingled with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of fine wheaten flour shalt thou make them. (3) And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. (4) And Aar-on and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tent of meeting, and shalt wash them with water. (5) And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aar-on the coat, and the robe of the eph-od, and the eph-od, and the breastplate, and gird him with the skilfully woven band of the eph-od; (6) and thou shalt set the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. (7) Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. (8) And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. (9) And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aar-on and his sons, and bind head-tires on them: and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aar-on and his sons.
(10) And thou shalt bring the bullock before the tent of meeting: and Aar-on and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bollock. (11) And thou shalt kill the bullock before Je-ho-vah, at the door of the tent of meeting. (12) And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger; and thou shalt pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. (13) And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul upon the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. (14) But the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering.
(15) Thou shalt also take the one ram; and Aar-on and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. (16) And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take its blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. (17) And thou shalt cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its inwards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head. (18) And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering unto Je-ho-vah; it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto Je-ho-vah.
(19) And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aar-on and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. (20) Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of its blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aar-on, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. (21) And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aar-on, 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 fat tail, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration), (23) and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before Je-ho-vah: (24) and thou shalt put the whole upon the hands of Aar-on, and upon the hands of his sons, and shalt wave them for a wave-offering before Je-ho-vah. (25) And thou shalt take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar upon the burnt-offering, for a sweet savor before Je-ho-vah: it is an offering made by fire unto Je-ho-vah.
(26) And thou shalt take the breast of Aar-ons ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave-offering before Je-ho-vah: and it shall be thy portion. (27) And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the thigh of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of consecration, even of that which is for Aar-on, and of that which is for his sons: (28) and it shall be for Aar-on and his sons as their portion for ever from the children of Is-ra-el; for it is a heave-offering: and it shall be a heave-offering from the children of Is-ra-el of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, even their heave-offering unto Je-ho-vah.

(29) And the holy garments of Aar-on shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them. (30) Seven days shall the son that is priest in his stead put them on, when he cometh into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.
(31) And thou shalt take the ram of consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place. (32) And Aar-on and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the tent of meeting. (33) And they shall eat those things wherewith atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. (34) And if aught of the flesh of the consecration, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

(35) And thus shalt thou do unto Aar-on, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. (36) And every day shalt thou offer the bullock of sin-offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou makest atonement for it; and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. (37) Seven days thou shalt make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it: and the altar shall be most holy; whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
(38) Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. (39) The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: (40) and with the one lamb a tenth part of an e-phah of fine flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering. (41) And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meal-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto Je-ho-vah. (42) It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before Je-ho-vah, where I will meet with you, to speak there unto thee. (43) And there I will meet with the children of Is-ra-el; and the Tent shall be sanctified by my glory. (44) And I will sanctify the tent of meeting, and the altar: Aar-on also and his sons will I sanctify, to minister to me in the priests office. (45) And I will dwell among the children of Is-ra-el, and will be their God. (46) And they shall know that I am Je-ho-vah their God, that brought them forth out of the land of E-gypt, that I might dwell among them: I am Je-ho-vah their God.

EXPLORING EXODUS: CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
QUESTIONS ANSWERABLE FROM THE BIBLE

After reading the chapter carefully, propose a very brief topic-title for it.

To whom are the commands of Exo. 29:1; Exo. 29:3; Exo. 29:5 addressed?

What items were to be collected for the consecration ritual? (Exo. 29:1-2)

Where was the consecration ritual to take place? (Exo. 29:4)

What was the first act in the priests consecration? (Exo. 29:4) Of what may this act have been a symbol? (Mat. 3:13; Joh. 17:19)

What did Moses put upon Aaron? (Exo. 29:5-6) Of what may this act have been a symbol? (Isa. 11:5; Isa. 63:1-2; Isa. 59:17; Rev. 1:13; Psa. 45:8)

With what was Aaron anointed? How? (Exo. 29:7; Psa. 133:2) Of what may Aarons anointing have been a symbol? (Act. 10:38; Psa. 45:7; Heb. 1:9; Mat. 3:16; Luk. 4:1; Luk. 4:14)

What garments were placed on Aarons sons? (Exo. 29:8-9)

How long was the priesthood to belong to Aarons family? (Exo. 29:9)

10.

What does the word consecrate mean? (Do some research on this.) (Exo. 29:9)

11.

For what type of an offering was the bull brought? (Exo. 29:10; Exo. 29:14; Compare Lev. 4:1-4)

12.

Upon which offerings did the priests lay their hands? (Exo. 29:10; Exo. 29:15; Exo. 29:19)

13.

For whose sin was the bull offered? (Exo. 29:10; Compare Heb. (Exo. 5:1-3.)

14.

Where was the blood of the bullock put and where was it poured out? (Exo. 29:12) (Where was the blood of sin-offerings usually put and poured out? Lev. 4:5-7)

15.

For what type of offering was the one ram offered? (Exo. 29:15; Exo. 29:18)

16.

How much of the ram was burned? (Exo. 29:18; Lev. 1:9)

17.

Where was the blood of the other ram placed? (Exo. 29:20).

What may the application of blood to Aarons ear, thumb, and toe have symbolized? (Compare Psa. 40:6-9; Heb. 10:5-10; Zec. 3:6-8)

18.

What designation (or descriptive name) is applied to the other ram? (Exo. 29:26; Exo. 29:31)

19.

What two things were sprinkled on the priests garments? Why? (Exo. 29:21)

20.

What was placed into the priests hands for a brief time? (Exo. 29:22-24) What motions did the priests make while holding these items? (Exo. 29:24)

21.

What part of the ram was to be saved for Aaron and his sons? (Exo. 29:26-28; Compare Lev. 7:32-34)

22.

What type of an offering was the portion reserved for Aaron and his sons said to have been? (Exo. 29:28; Compare Lev. 7:34)

23.

What was done with the high priests garments when he died? (Exo. 29:29)

24.

How long did a new priest wear his fathers garments? (Exo. 29:30)

25.

What type of sacrifice does the ram which the priests ate part of appear to have been? (Exo. 29:31-32; Compare Lev. 7:29-33)

26.

What was done with the bread which Moses brought? (Exo. 29:33; Exo. 29:2-3; Lev. 7:11-13)

27.

What was the law about strangers eating the priests food? (Exo. 29:33) What should this teach us about men taking the office and privileges of priesthood to themselves? (Heb. 5:4-6)

28.

Why did the priests eat the bread and flesh? (Exo. 29:33)

29.

What was done with leftover bread and flesh? (Exo. 29:34; Compare Exo. 12:10)

30.

For how long did the consecration ritual continue? (Exo. 29:35-36)

31.

What object was cleansed by the sin-offerings? (Exo. 29:36-37) Why should it need cleansing?

32.

Did touching the altar make whatever touched it holy? (Exo. 29:37; Compare Hag. 2:12) Is Exo. 29:37 b a simple statement 650 of fact, or is it a command of God to be obeyed?

33.

What was to be offered every day on the altar? (Exo. 29:38; Exo. 29:42)

34.

When were they to be offered? (Exo. 29:39; Exo. 29:41)

35.

What was offered along with the lambs? (Exo. 29:40)

36.

What did these daily offerings symbolize to us now living? (Exo. 29:42; Compare Heb. 9:24-26; Heb. 10:11-12; 1Jn. 1:7; 1Jn. 1:9; Joh. 1:29)

37.

Where did God meet with Israel? (Exo. 29:42-43; Exo. 25:21-22)

38.

What was the effect of Gods glory and presence on the tabernacle? (Exo. 29:43-44)

39.

What does sanctify mean? (Exo. 29:43-44)

40.

What two great promises did God give to Israel in Exo. 29:45? Compare Exo. 25:8; Gen. 19:5-6; Gen. 17:1; Eph. 3:17; Rev. 21:3.

41.

What was Israel to know? (Exo. 29:46; Exo. 6:7; Exo. 16:12) What would cause them to know this?

42.

How could Israels knowing that Jehovah was their God be BOTH a result of and a means of Gods dwelling among them? (Exo. 29:46)

43.

Why state at the close I am Jehovah their God? (Exo. 29:46)

Exodus 29 : CONSECRATION OF PRIESTS; CONTINUAL BURNT-OFFERING

CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS; Exo. 29:1-37.

Items used in the consecration; Exo. 29:1-3.

Priests washed (Exo. 29:4), clothed (Exo. 29:5-6; Exo. 29:8-9), and anointed (Exo. 29:7).

Bullock of sin-offering; Exo. 29:10-14.

Ram of burnt-offering; Exo. 29:15-18.

Ram of consecration; Exo. 29:19-28; Exo. 29:31-34. Priests garments inherited; Exo. 29:29-30.

Seven days of consecration; Exo. 29:35-37.

II.

CONTINUAL BURNT-OFFERING; Exo. 29:38-42

Offered twice each day; Exo. 29:38-41.

Offered with meal- and drink-offerings; Exo. 29:41.

Offered at the place God met with Israel; Exo. 29:42.

III.

GODS PRESENCE WITH ISRAEL; Exo. 29:43-46.

Sanctified the Tent; Exo. 29:43.

Sanctified the priests; Exo. 29:44.

Caused Israel to know the LORD; Exo. 29:45-46.

AARON, A TYPE OF CHRIST (our high priest)!

Aaron

Christ

SIMILARITIES

Called.

Exo. 29:4

Heb. 5:4-6; Joh. 10:18

Washed.

Exo. 29:4

Mat. 3:13-15

Clothed.

Exo. 29:5-6

Isa. 63:1-2; Rev. 1:13

Anointed.

Exo. 29:7

Heb. 1:9; Act. 10:38

Perpetual priest,

Exo. 29:9

Heb. 7:16-17

II.

DIFFERENCES

Christ needs no sacrifices for His own sins; Exo. 29:10; Exo. 29:15-16; Heb. 7:26-28.

Christ never dies; Exo. 29:29; Heb. 7:23-24.

Christ need not repeat His sacrifice daily; Exo. 29:38-39; Heb. 10:11-12.

AARONS SONS, A TYPE OF CHRISTIANS (as Priests)!

Aarons Sons

Christians

Called.

Exo. 29:4

1Pe. 2:9

Washed.

Exo. 29:4

Heb. 10:22; Tit. 3:5

Clothed.

Exo. 29:8-9

Rev. 3:18

Perpetual priests.

Exo. 29:9

Rev. 1:6

Offered sacrifices.

Exo. 29:10; Exo. 29:15; Exo. 29:19

Eph. 5:2

Consecrated in ear, thumb, and toe.

Exo. 29:20

Rom. 12:1

Made HOLY.

Exo. 29:21

1Pe. 1:16; 1Pe. 2:9

Sacrifices placed on hands.

Exo. 29:24

1Th. 2:4

Partook of the sacrifices.

Exo. 29:32

Heb. 13:10-12

THE CONTINUAL BURNT-OFFERING
(A type of the death of Christ)!

(Exo. 29:38-42)

Offered every day; Exo. 29:38-39. (Christs sacrifice in unfailingly available.)

Offered with enrichment (meal- and drink-offerings); Exo. 29:40-41. (Christs sacrifice is rich.)

Offered to create fellowship with God; Exo. 29:42. (Christs sacrifice brings fellowship with God. 1Jn. 1:3; 1Jn. 1:7)

GODS PRESENCE AMONG HIS PEOPLE (Exo. 29:43-46)

A sacrifice-bought presence; Exo. 29:42-43.

A sanctifying presence; Exo. 29:43-44. (Sanctifies the tabernacle, altar, and priests)

A steadfast presence; Exo. 29:45.

A knowledge-giving presence; Exo. 29:46.

EXPLORING EXODUS: NOTES ON CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

What is in Exodus twenty-nine?

The chapter deals with the consecration of Aaron as high priest and his sons as ordinary priests. The chapter closes with instructions about the every-day continual burnt-offerings (Exo. 29:38-46). We entitle the chapter CONSECRATION OF PRIESTS.

The chapter is of great value to us because it illustrates how Christ Jesus received His high-priesthood and how He functions as priest. Also it illustrates how we Christians have become priests and how we function as priests. In other words, the things related in this chapter are TYPES for our enlightenment.

The eternal application of Exodus twenty-nine lies in the fact that true priests must be cleansed, clothed, anointed, installed by sacrifice, and consecrated in ear and hand and foot (Exo. 29:20). Then and only then can they make sacrifices pleasing to God.

Exodus twenty-nine is very similar to Leviticus chapter eight.
Exodus twenty-nine is different in the character of its subject matter from the material in surrounding chapters. They deal with the materials and construction of the tabernacle, whereas this chapter deals with the ritual of consecration of priests and closes with the ritual of daily burnt-offerings. The insertion of this chapter gives purpose to the instructions about material things in the adjoining chapters.

Although chapter twenty-nine deals mainly with ceremonial instructions, the book of Exodus does not attempt to set forth a thorough description of the religious practices in Israel. Exodus sets forth just enough about the ceremonies to make the history it tells and the construction details it relates relevant and exciting. Exodus leaves to the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy the main body of data about Israels religious rituals.

Thus, allusions in Exodus twenty-nine to the sin-offering (Exo. 29:14; Exo. 29:36), the burnt-offering (Exo. 29:18; Exo. 29:25; Exo. 29:42), wave-offering (Exo. 29:41), drink-offering (Exo. 29:40), etc., can only be understood after a study of Leviticus 1-7.

What items were used in the priests consecration? (Exo. 29:1-3)

(1) A young bull (literally, one bull, a son of the cattle) for a sin-offering (Exo. 29:10; Exo. 29:14; Lev. 8:2); (2) two rams, one for a burnt-offering (Exo. 29:18) and the other for the ram of consecration (Exo. 29:22); (3) unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil (resembling pancakes, or tortillas, or Arab pita), and unleavened wafers anointed (spread) with oil (Exo. 29:32; Lev. 2:1). These bread items were all made of fine white flour and were all brought in one basket. The bread formed a meal-offering (also called a grain-offering, or cereal-offering, or meat-offering in KJV). See Lev. 6:19-23.

The exact significance of meal-offerings is in no place in scripture set forth specifically. It was always offered with the burnt-offerings and with the peace-offerings (Num. 15:4-10). Some have felt that it was a symbol of Christs human nature (Pink). Others (the author, for example) have felt it was a symbol of the people of God (who are often described as Gods good harvest of grain) presenting themselves to God, along with Christs presentation of Himself as our burnt-offering. In cases like this where the scriptures do not definitely inform us about things, we must avoid strong, dogmatic, divisive opinions.

What was the first act in the priests consecration? (Exo. 29:4; Exo. 40:12; Lev. 8:6)

They were washed with water. This was probably done at the laver (Exo. 30:17-20). This outward washing certainly is to be viewed as a symbol of their inner cleansing of mind and conscience. But it was also an essential act of obedience in bringing about this inner cleansing.

It is noteworthy that Christs washing (his baptism) was the first act as He began His ministry. (Mat. 3:13). However, unlike Aaron he did not need cleansing of soul; He was washed only to set us an example.

Aarons sons were washed as well as their father. The washing of the sons appears to be a type of the baptism of believers in Christ. Our baptism is both a symbol of the inward cleansing God gives, and an act of faith required by God to bring about the cleansing. See Tit. 3:5; Eph. 5:26; Heb. 10:22. As priests unto God our garments are washed in the blood of the lamb (Rev. 7:14).

What clothes were placed upon the priests? (Exo. 29:5-6; Exo. 29:8-9; Lev. 8:7-9; Lev. 8:13)

The same garments are mentioned here[407] that are described in chapter twenty-eight. The breeches of Exo. 28:42 are not mentioned in Exo. 29:5-6; Exo. 29:8-9, because the priests themselves put these on, and this passage lists only the garments which Moses placed on them.

[407] The RSV omits Aaron and his sons from Exo. 29:9, although it is in the Hebrew text. This omission does not change the meaning, but it probably should be retained because its presence reemphasizes the distinctive position of Aaron and his sons.

The Hebrew term for holy crown in Exo. 29:6 is nezer (meaning sprout, shoot, branch), whereas in Exo. 28:36 the golden plate in Hebrew is called tsits (meaning blossom, flower). The use of the two different terms for the golden plate on Aarons turban is hardly a proof for multiple or composite authorship of the two chapters. Two descriptive terms are frequently used to refer to the same object.

Lev. 8:8 mentions specifically that the Urim and Thummin were placed in the breastplate as they were clothed.

What was poured on Aarons head? (Exo. 29:7; Lev. 8:12)

The special anointing oil was poured upon him. The composition of this oil is described in Leviticus 24. It was a unique compound prepared exclusively for the purpose of anointing. It was composed of olive oil and several spices. It appears that only the high priest had the holy anointing oil poured on his head. Compare Psa. 133:2. However, Exo. 30:30 does indicate that his sons were also anointed. Perhaps their anointing consisted of that sprinkling of oil and blood referred to in Exo. 29:21, where the oil is said to have been sprinkled upon them and upon their garments.

The anointing of Aaron was a type of the anointing of Christ Jesus. The very word messiah (or Christ) means the anointed one. Immediately after Jesus baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power. See Act. 10:38; Psa. 45:7; Heb. 1:9; Luk. 3:22; Luk. 4:1; Luk. 4:14. These passages seem to indicate that the anointing oil was a symbol (or type) of the Holy Spirit.

Aarons sons were anointed as was Aaron himself. Similarly Christians are anointed with the Holy Spirit. (1Jn. 2:20; 1Jn. 2:27; 1Jn. 4:13). When we obey the gospel, and repent and are baptized, we receive Gods Spirit as a gift (Act. 5:32; Act. 2:38). We certainly are not anointed in the same degree that Christ was, but we all become partakers of the Holy Spirit.

The fact that Israels priests, kings, and prophets were anointed as part of their installation into office suggests that to do Gods work all human talents need the special touch of Gods Spirit.

How long was the priesthood to belong to Aarons family? (Exo. 29:9; Exo. 29:33; Num. 18:7)

The priesthood was given to them by a perpetual statute. (This may also be translated a statute for the distant future. See Harkavys Lexicon, under olam.)[408] Thus their priesthood was to be permanent as long as the statute (the law) was in effect.

[408] Olam is variously translated distant future, everlasting, eternity. It certainly does not always imply an endless eternity to come. For example, it is used in Deu. 15:17, where it clearly means only for life.

God later prophesied the appearance of another priest (referring to Christ Jesus who was to come), who would be of the order (or likeness) of Melchizedek (Psa. 110:4). The coming of a priest from an entirely different family and people certainly indicated that the law giving the priesthood to Aarons family by a perpetual statute was to be abolished (Heb. 7:11-18).

What does consecrate mean? (Exo. 29:9)

In the Hebrew language the words literally mean to fill the hand. This literal rendering is very suggestive and causes us to ponder the fact that Gods service should fill our hands, and also our minds, lips, etc.
Nevertheless, it seems that the expression fill the hands had lost much of its purely literal meaning and had become just a synonym for install or ordain. (Note the R.S.V. and New English Bible.)

What was the purpose of the sacrifice of the bull? (Exo. 29:10-14; Lev. 8:14-17)

It was to be a sin-offering (Exo. 29:14). The sin-offerings are described in Leviticus chapter four and Exo. 6:24-30. They were offered for sins done unintentionally and unawares. These sins might include violations of anything which Jehovah had commanded not to be done (Lev. 4:2).

When Aaron and his sons laid hands upon the bull before it was sacrificed, they were making an acknowledgement of their sins. As men compassed with infirmity they needed first to offer sacrifice for their own sins before they could offer for others. (Heb. 5:2; Heb. 7:27). Killing the bull was an admission, We deserve to die, but God in His grace accepts the death of this creature instead of my death.

Note that Aaron and his sons laid hands on all three of the offerings made during their consecration (Exo. 29:10; Exo. 29:15; Exo. 29:19). ALL the priests laid hands upon the bullock of the sin-offering.

The act of the priests in laying hands on the bull was like to our act of confessing, He (Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities (Isa. 53:5).

Moses himself killed the sin-offering. Priests did not usually have to kill the sacrifices themselves. (Lev. 1:5)

The application of the blood to the horns of the altar of burnt-offering suggests the POWER of the sacrifices. Compare Exo. 27:2.

The inwards of Exo. 29:13 are the entrails. The caul of the liver (Exo. 29:13) refers to fleshly tissues coupled with and round about the liver. The word translated caul literally refers to something which is left over or redundant. (R.S.V. renders it appendage of the liver.)

Burn them upon the altar (Exo. 29:13) literally reads make them smoke upon the altar. This expression is applied to burning a sacrifice or burning incense.

Parts of the bull of the sin-offering were burned upon the altar, and parts (the sin, flesh, dung) were burned outside the camp. The burning outside the camp hints that the animal had taken the sins of the offerer upon it in such a way that God viewed it as inappropriate for offering on the altar. Even sin that has been removed by sacrifice has an abhorrent quality about it. Compare Lev. 4:11; Heb. 13:2.

What was the purpose of the sacrifice of the first ram? (Exo. 29:15-18; Lev. 8:18-21)

It was to be a burnt offering unto Jehovah. Burnt-offerings are described in Leviticus chapter one and Exo. 6:8-12. The burnt-offering was a type of Christs death on the cross.

The fact that the WHOLE ram was burned has been interpreted to signify that the priests gave themselves completely to the Lord. Much more probably it signifies the TOTAL destruction due to sin and to the sinner. Burnt-offerings illustrate the utter destruction coming to the sinner in hell, and the total ruin endured by Christ when He died.

The numerous sacrifices of the law speak of many things of the holiness of God, of the sin of men, of the power in sacrifices, of the wickedness of sin, of Christ the lamb to come.[409]

[409] Ramm, op. cit., p. 168.

Sprinkling the blood about the altar (Exo. 29:16; Exo. 29:12) reminds us that Gods offerings must be made where God designates. It is the altar that makes a gift holy (Mat. 23:19). Unless brought to the altar, blood was just blood. Similarly, a change in our way of living, unless done with a recognition that Christ is our altar, does not make that change a repentance unto life.

The mention of a sweet savor (smell) reminds us of Noahs sacrifice (Gen. 8:2). A sweet savor does not necessarily suggest that the sacrifice smells like perfume. But is one that is agreeable to the Lord. Christ gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice unto God for a sweet-smelling savor. (Eph. 5:2)

10. Where was the blood of the second ram applied? (Exo. 29:19-21; Lev. 8:22-24; Lev. 8:30)

The blood of this ram was placed upon the priests upon the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the toe of the right foot. Also, the blood was sprinkled upon the altar round about (that is, all around it). Further, it was sprinkled upon the priests and their garments.

This second ram (compare Exo. 29:1; Exo. 29:15) is called the ram of consecration. (Note Exo. 29:22; Exo. 29:26.) Literally this would read, the ram of filling (the hands)! Compare Exo. 29:9. Its use was special and unique as a part of the priests consecration, even though it does seem to have been sort of a peace-offering. The peace-offering was the one offering partly eaten by the offerers. See Exo. 29:31-34; Lev. 7:15-17.

The application of blood to the priests ear, toe, and thumb suggests that his ears were to be consecrated to hearing Gods words, his feet to walking in Gods courts, and his hands to Gods works.

The blood on their ears also recalls to our minds that a slaves ear was bored if he wished to commit himself to perpetual service to his master (Exo. 21:6). The priest was committing himself to perpetual service to God.

The application of blood to both priest and altar suggests the close linkage of priests and sacrifice. Offering sacrifices was one of their primary duties. But sacrifice was also their only hope for personal acceptance before God. Similarly, we must preach Christ and Him crucified (1Co. 2:2); but we must recognize as we preach that the cross of Christ is our personal hope and glory (Gal. 6:14) and not just something which we preach to others.

The sprinkling of a mixture of blood and anointing oil (Exo. 29:21) upon the priests further links together the blood atonement and service to God. Heb. 9:22 tells us that all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission.

The sprinkling of the blood hallowed (made holy) both the priests and their garments (Exo. 29:21-33).

We need not be disturbed by the thought that sprinkling blood and oil upon the priests costly garments would spatter and befoul them. Some things are much more important than spotless tidiness! Also, not a large amount of oil and blood was sprinkled, probably only a few drops.

11.

What was placed upon the priests hands during their consecration? (Exo. 29:22-25; Lev. 8:25-29)

Several parts of the body of the ram of consecration and one piece of each of the various kinds of bread mentioned in Exo. 29:2 were placed upon the hands of Aaron and of his sons. These items were then waved before the face of the Lord. The verb shalt wave in Exo. 29:24 reads literally thou shalt wave, suggesting that Moses waved the flesh and the bread. However, Exo. 29:25 indicates that Moses did not take back the flesh and bread from the priests hands until after it had been waved. Obviously then the priests did the waving, and Moses himself only waved the flesh and bread in that he caused Aaron and his sons to wave it.

The act of placing parts of the offerings in the hands of the priests seems to symbolize and visualize the fact that they were being given the authority to handle sacred offerings and bring them before the Lord. In a similar way Christ has been fully qualified to bring our offering (Himself!) before God. (Heb. 5:8-9)

Possibly also the waving served to dramatize that the offering was to be seen and known by all men everywhere, and was offered to God, who is everywhere.

The movement indicated by waving was a horizontal motion. It may have been forward and back again, like the motion of sawing, as if extending the offering towards the altar. (Isa. 10:15 uses the verb nuph, translated to wave, to refer to the motion of sawing.) Also, the waving motion may have been a right-to-left motion, side to side, like the motions used in cutting with a sickle. (Nuph expresses this type of motion in Deu. 23:25 [Exo. 23:26 in Hebrews].) Wave is not necessarily thought of as being in contrast to heave (in Exo. 29:27), as if waving were horizontal motions and heaving were up-and-down motions. See Exo. 29:27.

The rump of Exo. 29:22 K.J.V. refers to the fat tail of the Oriental sheep. Their tails are thick, wide (often six inches or thereabouts), heavy, and full of fatty tissue.

12.

What was done with the breast of Aarons ram of consecration? (Exo. 29:26-28; Lev. 8:29)

The breast (meat from the lower abdomen) was waved by Moses before the Lord, and then it became Moses special portion for food. This breast of the wave-offering thereafter (after this one original priestly consecration) was to be the priests portion of sacrifices, along with the thigh (shoulder) of heave-offerings. See Lev. 10:15; Deu. 18:3. Also, peace-offerings were partly waved before the Lord, and, then the wave-breast of peace-offerings was reserved for the priests to eat. (Lev. 7:30)

The breast was given to Moses on this one occasion because he filled the office of priest for Aaron and his son during their consecration. But thereafter it was a part reserved for the priests food.

The term heave-offering (Exo. 29:28) (Heb. terumah) simply means an oblation or something offered to God or to the priests. The root of the word (rum, to be raised, to be high) suggests a raised position, but does not definitely state that it was handled with up-and-down motions during its presentation.

As Moses and Aaron received part of the meat brought to the altar for sacrifices as support for their priestly work, so also the Lord has commanded that those who now proclaim the gospel shall live by the support of those who hear the gospel. (1Co. 9:14)

Lev. 8:30 gives the instruction to sprinkle Aaron and his sons with blood and oil after the instructions about the wave-offering. Exo. 29:21 ff mentions the sprinkling before the instructions about the wave-offering. We need not assume from this (as Noth does. See op. cit., pp. 232-233) that Exodus contradicts Leviticus, or that there is indication of secondary additions to the Biblical text. We do not know exactly why there is the difference in order, but it is only a very slight difference. We doubt that this Biblical record of the priests consecration was recorded with such detail that it could function as a step-by-step procedure manual for repeating the ceremony.

13.

What was done with the high priests garments when he died? (Exo. 29:29-30)

They were passed on to his son after him, and the son was anointed in them and consecrated in them. God intended that there would ALWAYS be a qualified priest on the job to enable men to approach Him acceptably. Compare Heb. 7:23-25.

Num. 20:25-26 tells of the transfer of Aarons garments to his son Eleazar.

The new priest wore the robes of his father seven days at the start of his priestly career. These seven days correspond to the seven days that Aaron and his sons remained within the tent of meeting during their consecration. (Lev. 8:33; Lev. 8:35). Tent of meeting (KJV, tabernacle of the congregation) usually refers to the room called the Holy Place (Exo. 27:21).

Liberal critics generally assume (wrongly, we feel) that the instructions about the regalia of high priest were not formulated or put into practice until the post-exilic time after the Babylonian captivity, a thousand years after Moses time. This is surely NOT the way the Biblical text tells it.

14.

What was done with the flesh of the ram of consecration? (Exo. 29:31-34; Lev. 8:31-32)

Moses was to boil it in a holy place (not THE Holy Place), and Aaron and his sons were to eat it along with the bread (Exo. 29:2; Exo. 29:23) at the door of the tent of meeting (the Holy Place).

How meaningful it was that Aaron and his sons should EAT those things by which atonement (at-one-ment) was made for them, and by which they had been consecrated and sanctified! (Exo. 29:18; Exo. 29:25). Similarly, the sacrifice of Christ for us not only provides us forgiveness, but also sustains our spiritual life (Joh. 6:51).

Any bread or flesh which the priests did not eat was to be burned the next morning (Exo. 29:34). See notes on Exo. 12:20 for possible reasons for the destruction of leftover food.

Atonement in Exo. 29:33 (and elsewhere) refers to covering. The Hebrew verb translated make atonement (kaphar) is related to the word translated mercy-seat (kapporeth). This idea of atonement (covering) is very prominent in Gods covenant with Israel.

No stranger dared to eat the holy food specially reserved for Aaron and the priests. Stranger in Exo. 29:37 refers to anyone not of the family of Aaron.

15.

How long did the consecration ritual last? (Exo. 29:35; Lev. 8:33-36)

It lasted seven days and then on the eighth day Aaron and his sons, as newly consecrated priests, offered the first sacrifices themselves.

In their first sacrifices they offered a calf for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering (Lev. 9:1-2). It is very noticeable that after all the offerings Moses had made for Aaron and his sons that they themselves had to offer for themselves sin- and burnt-offerings (Lev. 9:7-8). Only then did they present the peoples offering (oblation Lev. 9:15). Truly the blood of bulls and goats could NOT take away sins (Heb. 10:4; Heb. 10:11).

The number seven frequently suggests completeness. Perhaps the seven-day stay in the tent of meeting points toward the completeness of the consecration of the priests.

16.

What sacrifices did Moses offer during the seven days of the priests consecration? (Exo. 29:36-37)

Every day of the seven he offered the bull of the sin-offering. (See Exo. 29:10; Exo. 29:14.) These particular offerings were made primarily to make atonement for the altar itself. Exo. 29:36 can be translated rather literally to read, And the bull of the sin-offering thou shalt offer daily for the atonement, and thou shalt purge (upon) the altar in thy making atonement for (or upon) it, and thou shalt anoint it to make it holy.

The result of these sacrifices was that the altar became MOST holy (literally, holy of holy things). Everyone touching the altar would be holy. Inasmuch as no one was to touch the altar except the priests (not even the Levites; see Num. 4:15), the statement about the altar making whoever touched it holy really only serves to intensify the holiness of the priests. Certainly lay persons did not become holy by touching the altar either intentionally or accidentally. Compare Exo. 30:29; Hag. 2:12.

Christ is our altar (Heb. 13:10-12). The sanctification of the altar at the tabernacle by Moses suggests that great significance is attached to Christs sanctifying himself unto Gods service. See Joh. 17:19.

17.

What was to be offered on the altar every day perpetually? (Exo. 29:38-42; Num. 28:3-8)

A continual burnt-offering was to be made daily throughout Israels generations, consisting of two yearling lambs, one offered each morning and one offered in the evening, (Literally, between the two evenings. See Exo. 12:6.)

Along with each burnt-offering a meal-offering was offered, consisting of a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil. Also, the fourth part of a hin of wine or a drink-offering was poured on the burnt-offering. See Num. 28:15; Exo. 27:20. One-fourth of a hin would be about a quart.

A tenth of an ephah of flour would be about three and a half pints. (The ephah itself is about three-fifths bushel.)

Offering these daily burnt-offerings constituted the major function of the brazen altar. Omission of these daily sacrifices was a matter of greatest consequence (Dan. 8:11).

The continual burnt-offerings seem to have symbolized the future death of Christ, that it would be a continuously effective sacrifice for us. As there was always a burnt-offering smouldering on the altar, so the death of Christ is a constantly available sacrifice for us.

Regarding the significance of the meal-offerings, see notes on Exo. 29:2-3. The significance of the drink-offering of wine is not explained in scripture. It certainly was an added enrichment of the sacrifice, and Paul compares his giving his own life to a drink-offering (Php. 2:17).

18.

Where would God meet with Israel? (Exo. 29:42-44)

God would meet with Israel at the door of the tent of meeting (the Holy place). For examples of God doing this, see Num. 12:5; Num. 14:10; Num. 16:19; Num. 16:42; Num. 20:6.

Note that God met with Israel and not just with the priests alone. Gods presence was for all.

God had promised to commune (talk) with Israel from above the mercy-seat on the ark (Exo. 25:22). But because almost no one entered the room where the ark was, God revealed his presence at a nearby place where people could come, at the door of the Tent.

Gods presence sanctified (made holy) the tent and the altar.

God describes his presence as my glory. This refers to the cloud described in Exo. 40:34 ff.

Gods presence among His people is precious! Rev. 21:3 promises, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them.

In Exo. 29:43 a subject must be supplied for the verb shall be sanctified. The King James and American Standard versions supply the word Tent (or tabernacle), and this appears to be correct. Exo. 29:44 appears to contain a statement parallel to Exo. 29:43, and Exo. 29:44 definitely mentions the Tent. R.S.V. renders the subject of the verb in Exo. 29:43 indefinitely: It shall be sanctified by my glory. To us this seems unnecessarily vague, even though the Hebrew text does not actually state the subject. (Note that Tent is in italics, which indicates that it is not actually in the Hebrew text.)

19.

Who would dwell amongst Israel? (Exo. 29:45)

God himself would dwell among them and be their God. See Exo. 25:8; Exo. 19:5. Exo. 6:7 : I will be to you a God. Gen. 17:7 : And I will establish my covenant between thee and thee and thy seed after thee . . . to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. Gods promise to dwell with Israel (in Exo. 29:45) is a fulfillment of promises given as far back as the time of Abraham six hundred years earlier.

20.

What would Israel come to know because of Gods presence among them? (Exo. 29:46)

Israel would know that He was Jehovah their God! Over and over again in Exodus God had stated that this was His great purpose that they would know that He was JEHOVAH. See Exo. 6:7 notes.

Sadly we must state that in spite of all of Gods deliverances for Israel and the wonders He did among them, many Israelites never really learned that God was the LORD. Therefore, when later tests came upon them, they failed to trust God.
Note that the continuation of Gods dwelling among Israel was conditioned upon their realizing that He was the Lord.

God closed the instructions about the priests consecration and the daily burnt offerings by asserting, I am Jehovah their God. This same declaration is found in many other passages. See Lev. 18:2; Lev. 18:4; Lev. 18:6; Lev. 18:21; Lev. 18:20. The fact that God is the LORD Jehovah is all the authorization that God needed for Him to command Israel or anyone else.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

XXIX.
THE FORM OF CONSECRATION FOR THE PRIESTS.

(1) This is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them.The consecration of the priests had been commanded in the preceding chapter (Exo. 28:41). The method of it is now laid down. It consists of five things :(1) Ablution (Exo. 29:4); (2) Investiture (Exo. 29:5-9); (3) Chrism, or anointing (Exo. 29:7); (4) Sacrifice (Exo. 29:10-23); and (5) Filling the hand (Exo. 29:24). All of these were symbolical acts, typical of things spiritualablution, of the putting away of impurity; investiture, of being clothed with holiness; unction, of the giving of Divine grace, &c.; the entire consecration forming an acted parable, very suggestive and full of instruction to such as understood its meaning.

Take one young bullock.The first thing to be done was to prepare the victims which would be needed, and to have them ready against the time when they would be required for sacrifice.

Without blemish.Heb., perfect (See Note 1 on Exo. 12:5.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

1. To hallow them To consecrate and set them apart to minister unto Jehovah in the priest’s office. It was a solemn and appropriate ordination, and adapted to deepen in the minds of all the holy and responsible nature of their work in the sanctuary .

Bullock two rams The purpose of these is detailed in great fulness in Exo 29:10-28, and the corresponding passages in Leviticus 8.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Sanctifying Of the Priests and The Anointing of Aaron ( Exo 29:1-37 ).

In Exo 28:41 Moses was to anoint the priests, and consecrate and sanctify them for their ministry in the priest’s office. How this was to be done is now described. The procedures were complicated, for they had to deal with all aspects of their purification and dedication.

In the beginning the priesthood was intended to be limited to the family of Aaron. But as with many institutions its perameters would be expanded by misuse, which is evidence of the failure of Israel to be faithful to the covenant. Slackness in observing an ordinance is not necessarily evidence that it does not exist. See:

Jdg 17:5, where it is specifically stated that Micah is doing what is right in his own eyes.

1Sa 7:1, where the Ark was stored in the house of Abinadab, and his son was ‘sanctified’ in order to ‘keep the Ark of Yahweh’, although Abinadab may have been of the priestly line, which may be why his house was selected for the safe keeping of the Ark, and the purpose there was that the Ark would be protected, not used.

2Sa 8:18, where David’s sons are called ‘priests’, but as these were David’s sons they may in fact have been priests of the order of Melchizedek (Psa 110:4), the ancient Jerusalem priesthood, now non-sacrificing.

1Ki 4:5, where Zabud is called a ‘priest’, but Zabud was a ‘priest’ as ‘ the king’s friend’, an official title, and he too may have been a priest after the order of Melchizedek, or the title may have here another meaning as king’s representative, for Zadok and Abiathar have already been declared to be the official priests of the line of Aaron.

The first part of the chapter may be analysed as follows:

a The preparation of all the offerings to make the priests holy (Exo 29:1-3).

b The preparation of Aaron and his sons by washing with water (Exo 29:4).

c The robing of Aaron followed by his anointing with oil (Exo 29:5-7).

d The robing of Aaron’s sons (Exo 29:8-9).

e The offering of an ox bull for a purification for sin offering (Exo 29:10-14).

e The offering of the first ram as a whole burnt offering (Exo 29:15-18).

e The offering of the second ram, the ram of consecration, with its grain offerings (Exo 29:19-25).

d The provision of wave offerings and contribution offerings for Aaron and his sons (Exo 29:26-28).

c Provision for the passing on of Aaron’s holy garments (Exo 29:29-30).

b Aaron and his sons to partake of the ram of consecration (Exo 29:31-34).

a The seven day ceremony of consecration (Exo 29:35-37).

This is then followed by provision for Israel’s future blessing.

Provisions concerning the daily whole burnt offerings offered at the door of the Tabernacle of Meeting where Yahweh will meet with Moses and speak with him (Exo 29:38-42).

Yahweh will meet with the children of Israel and sanctify the door of the Tabernacle of Meeting by His glory, the Sanctuary itself and the altar, and Aaron and his sons as priests (Exo 29:43-44).

Yahweh will dwell among His people and they will know that He is their deliverer from Egypt and is Yahweh their God (Exo 29:45-46).

The Consecration of the Priests ( Exo 29:1-37 ).

Preparations For The Making Holy of the Priests ( Exo 29:1-3 ).

Exo 29:1 a

“And this is the thing that you shall do to them to sanctify them to minister to me in the priest’s office.”

The process of ‘sanctification’, that is, their cleansing and purifying and their setting apart to Yahweh as ‘holy’ will now be described.

Exo 29:1-3

“Take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour. And you shall put them in one basket, and bring them in the basket with the bullock and the two rams.”

The procedures that follow are to include a bullock, two unblemished rams, and unleavened bread, cakes and wafers made of wheat flour which have been mingled or anointed with oil. All but the bullock and the two rams are to be put in a basket. Then he is to bring them to the Tent of Meeting for the sanctification ceremony.

We note that the rams have to be unblemished (see Mal 1:6-14). Nothing that is less than perfect can be offered to Yahweh. The bread, cakes and wafers have to be unleavened, that is, no corrupting influence must have been involved in their making. The oil is probably an indication of their being ‘anointed’, that is, wholly set apart for the service of Yahweh. Bread and cakes could be mingled with the oil, but the wafers had to be made without oil and it was therefore poured on them.

The word for ‘bring’ includes the idea of offering. This is probably to be seen as an initial ‘offering’ of them to Yahweh prior to their use.

The young bullock is for a purification for sin offering, one ram for a whole burnt offering, and the other is a ‘ram of consecration’. The bread and cakes are for meal offerings.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons Exo 29:1-35 describes the lengthy consecration that Aaron and his sons were to partake of in order to prepare them for the service of the priesthood.

Exo 29:4 “wash them with water” – Comments – This act of washing foreshadowed the New Testament act of water baptism. The total washing only took place once. Later, the priest only had to wash his hands and feet (Exo 30:20-21).

Exo 30:20-21, “When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”

Exo 29:12 “pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar” Comments – Why would the blood be poured beside the altar? Note:

Lev 17:11-14, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood . And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.”

Deu 12:16, “Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.”

Eze 24:7-8, “For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust; That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.”

Exo 29:27 “the heave offering” – Comments – The first mention of the heave offering is found in Exo 29:27. The word “heave” means to lift with great effort. It refers to the fact that this offering is lifted, or heaved, from the altar, and is waved before the Lord. It is the shoulder of the ram that is lifted up and waved in the heave offering.

Lev 7:34, “For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Exo 24:9 to Exo 31:18 Instructions to Build Tabernacle (Ceremonial Law) In Exo 24:9 to Exo 31:18 God instructs Moses on the details of the building of the Tabernacle. In the description of the building of the articles, the Lord begins with those of the inner sanctuary, the ark of the covenant and mercy seat, then the altar of incense, followed by the table of showbread and the candlestick. Thus, the construction of these articles are arranged in a logical order, from the innermost sanctuary to the outermost. Perhaps one reason for this order is the fact that the order of the erection of the Tabernacle begins with the innermost articles and expands outward to the hangings of the outer court, as described in Exo 40:1-33. Thus, the order of the construction of the Tabernacle follows the order of its erection.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Instructions Concerning the Building of the Tabernacle – In Exo 25:1 to Exo 31:18 the Lord gives Moses instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle and its articles, as well as the priestly garments. According to Heb 8:5, the Lord showed to Moses this pattern visually, probably while he was on the Mount, for God told Moses to make everything according to the pattern that He showed Moses on the mount. The Lord revealed it to him audibly as recorded in this section of the book of Exodus.

Heb 8:5, “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount .’

It is important to note that God gave Moses general instructions on the building of this Tabernacle and of the making of the priestly garments. But God left it up to the creativity of the craftsmen, being inspired under their anointing, to design the details of each item they made. In the same way, God will give us instructions for our lives, but He often allows us to make the decisions about many of the details as we are inspired by the Holy Spirit each day.

Here is a proposed outline of Exo 25:1 to Exo 31:18:

The Offerings for the Sanctuary Exo 25:1-9 The Furniture of the Tabernacle Exo 25:10-40 The Ark of the Covenant, Mercy Seat & Cherubim Exo 25:10-22 The Table of Shewbread & its Accessories Exo 25:23-30 The Candlestick Exo 25:31-39 Concluding Statement Exo 25:40 The Building to House the Articles of the Tabernacle Exo 26:1-37 The Altar of Burnt Offering Exo 27:1-8 The Court of the Tabernacle Exo 27:9-19 The Care of the Lampstand Exo 27:20-21 The Garments for the Priesthood Exo 28:1-43 Introduction Exo 28:1-4 The Ephod Exo 28:5-14 The Breastplate of Judgment Exo 28:15-30 The Robe, Mitre, Girdle & Linen Breeches Exo 28:31-42 Concluding Statement Exo 28:43 The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons Exo 29:1-35 The Consecration & Service of the Burnt Altar Exo 29:36-46 The Altar of Incense Exo 30:1-10 The Ransom Money Exo 30:11-16 The Bronze Laver Exo 30:17-21 The Holy Anointing Oil Exo 30:22-33 The Incense Exo 30:34-38 The Appointment of Craftsmen Exo 31:1-11

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Order of Consecration

v. 1. And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto Me in the priest’s office; this was the order of consecration which was to be in force for all times in the Jewish Church: Take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, free from sickness and any physical defects,

v. 2. and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened, tempered with oil, olive-oil being mixed in when the dough was prepared, and wafers unleavened, very thin, cracker like sacrificial cakes, anointed with oil; of wheaten flour shalt thou make them, a specification which should be noted very carefully.

v. 3. And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams, the meal-offering, or bloodless offering, being represented as well as the burnt offering.

v. 4. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, apparently inside the entrance of the court, and shalt wash them with water, the external cleansing symbolizing the inner purification; for only he that is hallowed inwardly is fit for holy service.

v. 5. And thou shalt take the garments, which the Lord had described in detail Exodus 28, and put upon Aaron the coat, the long robe of white byssus, and the robe of the ephod, the hyacinth-colored garment that reached to the knees, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod;

v. 6. and thou shalt put the miter upon his head, and put the holy crown, the diadem of holiness inscribed to the Lord, upon the miter, Exo 28:36.

v. 7. Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him, this form of induction into office being used not only in the case of the high priest, but also in that of prophets and kings. The oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who alone is able to sanctify man and prepare him properly for the service of the Sanctuary.

v. 8. And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them, the characteristic white byssus garments of the common priests.

v. 9. And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons; for in this one article of dress the likeness between the ordinary priests and the high priest was shown, both classes using an embroidered girdle wrought in the four colors of the Sanctuary, and put the bonnets on them, bind the miter on Aaron and the caps on his sons. And the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. And thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons, literally, fill their hands, invest them with the dignity and the obligations of their office.

v. 10. And thou shalt cause a bullock, the sacrificial animal mentioned above, to be brought before the Tabernacle of the Congregation; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock, in a gesture symbolizing the transfer of their own sins and guilt to the sacrificial animal, for, indeed, it was necessary that their own sins be expiated before they could offer sacrifice for the sins of the people.

v. 11. And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord, by the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, inside the entrance of the court.

v. 12. And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, smear it upon these peculiar projections of the large altar before the Holy Place, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar, the blood of the animal thus offered to the Lord taking, in a symbolic manner, the place of the sinner’s blood.

v. 13. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, that is found in the abdominal cavity, and the caul that is above the liver, the fatty gathering between the liver and the duodenum, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar, the rich bloom of life falling to Jehovah as His part.

v. 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; the complete destruction probably represented the sinner’s complete break with his past life.

v. 15. Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram, as in the case of the bullock, v. 10.

v. 16. And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar, as a token of complete surrender to the Lord.

v. 17. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, dissect it according to the rules of the craft, and wash the inwards of him and his legs, that is, the thighs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head, the head forming the center of the pile.

v. 18. And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar, after the removal of the skin and the unclean parts; it is a burnt offering unto the Lord; it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. An odor of pleasantness was this fire-offering unto Jehovah, because it signified that the priests were dedicating themselves with body and soul to the service of the Lord.

v. 19. And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram, as before.

v. 20. Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, that is, upon the ear-lap, next to the opening, and upon the thumb of their right hand and upon the great toe of their right foot, the gestures conveying the duties of obedience, of willing work, and of a walk according to the precepts of God’s holy Law, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

v. 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.

v. 22. Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, the heavy tail of fat which is a characteristic of the sheep referred to, and the fat that covereth the inwards, the fat of the abdominal net, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder, “these parts representing the vigor of life, its comfort, and its conscientiousness,” and the shoulder-piece being included here, though it otherwise belonged to the priests, for a special reason; for it is a ram of consecration. The priests here voluntarily returned to Jehovah a part of the emoluments belonging to them.

v. 23. And one loaf of bread and one cake of oiled bread and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord, vv. 2 and 3; Lev 8:26;

v. 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, moving them up and down, and back and forth, in token of their voluntary surrender to the Lord.

v. 25. And thou, Moses, shalt receive them of their hands, the gifts of Israel and of Israel’s priests, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor before the Lord; it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord, this sacrifice indicating an important part of the priests’ work.

v. 26. And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, of the sacrifice of fullness, and wave it for a wave-offering before the Lord; and it shall be thy part, as the prince and leader of the people.

v. 27. And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, the former being merely moved back and forth in the gesture of giving, while the latter was also lifted up high to indicate the willing surrender to Jehovah, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons; for it seems that all the rest of the body went with the thigh, as the priests’ part.

v. 28. And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute forever from the children of Israel; for it is an heave-offering; and it shall be an heave-offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace-offerings, even their heave-offering unto the Lord. These parts were taken from the peace-offerings and the heave-offerings of the children of Israel, lifted off to be given to the priests. This signified in general that the priests were to be nourished from the sacrifices of Israel, even as the Lord has now ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel.

v. 29. And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them, the office of high priest being hereditary in Aaron’s family.

v. 30. And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, just as it was done in the consecration of Aaron, Lev 8:35, when he cometh into the Tabernacle of the Congregation to minister in the Holy Place. Aaron was a type of the true High Priest, Jesus Christ, who was anointed with the Holy Ghost without measure, as the true Mediator between God and sinful mankind. The sons of Aaron are types of the believers of the New Testament, who have been made priests before God and the Father and serve Him in holiness and righteousness, as it pleases Him.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

Exo 29:1-37

THE CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS. From the description of the priestly attire, the Divine Law-giver passed to the form of priestly consecration, whereof investiture in the “holy garments” was a part. The ceremony of consecration was to consist of four things:

1. Ablution;

2. Investiture;

3. Chrism or Anointing with oil; and

4. Sacrifice.

In the directions given, we have, first, the preparation of the offerings (Exo 29:1-3); secondly, directions for the ablutions (Exo 29:4); thirdly, directions for the investiture of Aaron (Exo 29:5, Exo 29:6), of his sons (Exo 29:8, Exo 29:9); fourthly, directions for the anointing (Exo 29:7); and fifthly, directions as to the mode in which the sacrifices should be offered and disposed of (Exo 29:10-34). A command is then given that the ceremonies should be repeated every day for a week (Exo 29:35); and another, that the altar should receive consecration at the same time as the priests (Exo 29:36, Exo 29:37). Additional light is thrown on most of these matters by the account contained in Leviticus (Lev 8:1-36.), of the manner in which Moses carried oat the directions here given to him.

Exo 29:1

This is the thing that thou shalt do to themi.e; “This is the ceremonial that thou shalt use on the occasion.” There is a tacit reference to Exo 28:41, which had announced that the priests were to be consecrated. Take one young bullock. The offerings were to be provided beforehand, so as to be in readiness when the investiture and anointing were over. Hence they are mentioned first. Rams without blemish. Literally “perfect.” On the offence to God of offering him blemished offerings, see Mal 1:6-14.

Exo 29:2

Unleavened bread was regarded as purer than leavened, since fermentation is a sort of corruption. See the comment on Exo 12:15. Cakes tempered with oil. Literally, “mixed with oil,” i.e; having oil as one of their ingredients, in contrast with the wafers, which had oil poured over them.

Exo 29:3

Thou shalt bring them in the basket. Rather, “Thou shalt offer them.” A preliminary offering of the animals and of the “meat-offerings,” in the lump seems to be intended. This, apparently, preceded the ablution.

Exo 29:4

The Ablution.

Unto the door of the tabernacle. The great laver was to be placed between the entrance to the tabernacle and the altar of burnt-offering (Exo 30:18). It was to this probably that Aaron and his sons were to be brought. Its main purpose was to be a lustral vessel, placed ready for the various ablutions which the law required (Exo 30:19-21). Thou . shalt wash them with water. Ablutions were an important part of the ceremonial of almost all ancient religions. In Egypt, the priests were compelled to wash themselves from head to foot in cold water twice every day, and twice every night (Herod. 2.37). In the religion of Zoroaster frequent washing with water was prescribed for many kinds of impurity. The Greeks were particularly addicted to ceremonies of which ablution formed a part; and it is to Rome that we are indebted both for the word and for the idea of “lustration.” It is a true instinct which has taught men the analogy between physical and moral purity, and led them to typify the removal of spiritual, by the cleansing from physical, defilement. The religion given at Sinai set a stamp of approval in many points on what may be called “the religion of nature;” and among them on this. Ablutions were required of the priests, not only at consecration, but every time that they entered the tabernacle, or sacrificed on the altar of burnt-offering (Exo 30:20). Washing was a main feature in the cleansing of leprosy (Le 13:54, 58) and of the leper. (Le Exo 14:8). It was also employed for the purification of many minor defilements (Le 11:25; Exo 15:5; Exo 17:15, etc.). At what date it first came into use in the admission of proselytes is uncertain. Whether the washing of consecration extended to the whole body, or was limited to the hands and feet, is also a point on which critics have disagreed, but one of no great importance. (See Joh 13:9, Joh 13:10.)

Exo 29:5, Exo 29:6

The Investiture of Aaron.

Exo 29:5

Thou shalt take the garments. The directions, as here given, are incomplete, and not quite in the right order. In the LXX. they are still more incomplete. For the full process of investiture, we mast look to Le Exo 8:7-9. There we find that the process included nine acts.

1. The putting on of the linen tunic.

2. The girding with the under-girdle.

3. The putting on of the robe of the ephod.

4. The putting on of the ephod.

5. The girding with the curious girdle of the ephod.

6. The putting on of the breast-plate.

7. The putting into the breast-plate of the Urim and Thummim.

8. The putting on of the mitre.

9. The affixing to the mitre of the golden plate.

The second and seventh are omitted here; and the order of the fifth and sixth is inverted.

Exo 29:6

The holy crown. The plate of gold with its blue ribbon, or lace, formed a species of diadem, such as in the East seems to have been always regarded as the special emblem of royalty. An ornament of the kind seems to have been introduced into Egypt by Khuenaten or Amenophis IV. It marked the royal character of the high priest, who, as the main type of Christ in the Mosaic law, was bound to be “Prophet, Priest, and King.” (Compare Le Exo 8:9.)

Exo 29:7

The Chrism or Anointing.

The anointing oil had been mentioned previously in Exo 25:6, when “spices” had been required from the congregation to form a portion of it. Its composition is given in Exo 30:23-25; a passage from which we gather that it was exceedingly rich and costly. And pour it upon his head. Compare Psa 133:2. While ablution is a rite common to many religions, the religious use of unction is peculiar to the Mosaic and the Christian. In the Mosaic it was applied to initiate into their office the prophet, the priest, and the king. In Christianity it was originally a rite by which sick persons were miraculously cured (Jas 5:14, Jas 5:15), from which use it was afterwards extended by ecclesiastical authority to other important ceremonies. The typical meaning under Christianity is clear; the oil represents the Holy Spirit, and the anointing the outpouring of that Spirit on those who are the objects of it. Christ himself obtained his title of Christ (or Messiah), because he was “anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power” (Act 10:38). Under Mosaism this idea was, at most, latent. Unction was understood to mark

(1) Dignity, because the olive was the first of trees (Jdg 9:9); and

(2) Continuance, because oil preserves things for a long time from corruption. Unction with the holy oil of the sanctuary no doubt further signified consecration to God’s service. It was applied not only to the priests, but to the tabernacle, the ark, the table of shew-bread with its vessels, the seven branched candlestick, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering, and the laver, all of which thereupon became “most holy” (Exo 30:26-29).

Exo 29:8, Exo 29:9

The Investiture of Aaron‘s sons.

Exo 29:8

Thou shalt bring his sons. See Exo 29:4. They were to be brought to the door of the tabernacle. Put coats upon them. The investiture of the high priest consisted of nine acts (see the comment on Exo 29:5); that of the ordinary priests of three only.

1. The putting on of the linen tunics.

2. The girding with the girdles.

3. The putting on of the cap.

They do not seem to have been anointed, as Aaron was, by having the holy oil poured upon their heads, but only by having some of it sprinkled upon their garments (Exo 29:21; Le Exo 8:30).

Exo 29:9

The bonnets. Rather “caps.” There is no article. Thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. Literally, “Thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons.” Installation in an office was usually effected among the Eastern nations by putting into the hand of the official the insignia which marked his functions. In this particular case certain portions of the offerings were used as the insignia. See Exo 29:24.

Exo 29:10-34

The Consecration Offerings.

Exo 29:10

Thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought. Rather, “the bullock,”i.e; “the bullock mentioned in Exo 29:1, which was to be made ready before the ceremonies commenced.” Aaron and his sons were to put their hands upon the head of the bullock, in order to identify themselves with it, and transfer to it the guilt of their own sins and imperfections, since it was to be a “sin-offering” (Exo 29:14; compare Le Exo 4:4).

Exo 29:12

Thou shalt take of the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar. The virtue of the altar was regarded as residing especially in its horns. Here expiation was obtained by the blood”which is the life “of the victim being first smeared upon the four horns, and then the remainder poured out at the altar’s base. Such was the usual practice with “sin-offerings” (Le Exo 4:7) whereof this was to be the first example.

Exo 29:13

Thou shalt take all the fat, etc. Among all nations who have offered sacrifices, it has been very usual to select certain parts of the victim only for burning upon the altar, and to dispose otherwise of the remainder. The Greeks commonly burnt on the altar the thighs and the fat only. The Romans burnt certain parts of the intestines only, and called them prosecta, prosiciae, or ablegmina. In Egypt, according to Herodotus, the greater part of the body was burnt; but the head, the neck, the shoulders, and the lower part of the legs, as well as the paunch, were reserved and not burnt (Herod. 2.40). The fat was generally regarded as the best part of the offering, and most acceptable to the gods. This was probably on account of its burning with a bright flame and helping to consume the rest of the offering. The caul that is above the liver. Probably the membrane which covers the upper part of the liver, sometimes called “the small omentum.” (reticulum jecoris, Vulg.)

Exo 29:14

The flesh shalt thou burn with fire without the camp. Such was the rule with sin-offerings generally (Le Exo 4:11, Exo 4:12). The curse of sin which was on them, made them unfit for food and even unworthy of burial within the camp. On the symbolism of the burial, see Heb 13:11-13. His dung. That which the bowels contained at the time of death.

Exo 29:15

One ram. Literally “the one ram”i.e; “one of the two rams mentioned in Exo 29:1. Put their hands. Here, again, the object was to identify themselves with the victim, and make it their representative; though now, as the ram was to be a burnt offering, self-sacrifice, rather than expiation, was the leading thought.

Exo 29:16

Thou shalt take his blood and sprinkle it. Rather, “and cast it.” The blood was to be thrown from a basin, not sprinkled with the hand or with hyssop. Rabbinical tradition says that it was so cast at two of the corners, and thus moistened all the four sides. This was regarded as casting it “on the altar round about.”

Exo 29:17

Thou shalt cut the ram in pieces. Literally, “into its pieces,” which Kalisch supposes to mean “into its natural limbs.” Egyptian sculptures show us animals thus cut up, and offered at sacrificial feasts to ancestors. Wash its inwardsi.e; its “intestines”probably the stomach and bowels only. Its legs. The lower joints of the leg, with the foot, to which it was likely that dust might attach. Put them unto his piecesi.e; “replace them after washing with the other pieces,” or joints, into which the animal had been cut.

Exo 29:18

Thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar. This became the general law of the burnt-offering (Le Exo 1:9, Exo 1:13, Exo 1:17). It indicated that self-sacrifice was wholly acceptable to God; whereas in sin-offerings there was a taint of evil which rendered all but certain parts of the victim unacceptable (Exo 29:14). A sweet savour. This is not to be understood in the coarse sense in which heathen writers used similar expressions, meaning by them (as it would seem) that the gods were really pleased with the odour of sacrifices. No candid mind can ascribe to the Hebrews such anthropomorphism. Evidently no more is meant than that the offering would be pleasing to God. See Gen 8:21; Le Gen 1:9, Gen 1:13, Gen 1:17, etc.

Exo 29:19

The other ram. Compare Exo 29:15; and see also Exo 29:1 and Exo 29:3, where two rams had been mentioned. This second ram is called, “the ram of consecration” in Exo 29:22, and again in Le Exo 8:22. It was “by far the most peculiar part of the whole ceremony” (S. Clark). It must be viewed as a “peace-offering” (Le Exo 3:1-17), but one of a peculiar character. The application of the blood to the persons of the priests was altogether unique, and most significant. It was the crowning act of consecration, and implied the complete dedication of their life and of all their powers to the service of the Almighty.

Exo 29:20

The victim having been offered and accepted, its blood had a sanctifying power. Placed upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, it sanctified that organ, which was to be ever open to the Divine voice; placed upon the thumb of their right hand, it sanctified their ministerial actions; placed upon the great toe of their right foot, it sanctified their whole walk in life, their “going out,” and their “coming in.” The consecrated life of the victim which they had offered “was given back to them, in order that it might be devoted to the service of the Lord.”

Exo 29:21

Thou shalt take of the blood and of the anointing oil. Apparently, this is the only unction that the ordinary priests were to receive. (Compare Le Exo 8:30.) The mixture of the blood with the oil is unusual, and presents some difficulties; but perhaps it is best to view it as symbolising the intimate union which exists between justification and sanctificationthe atoning blood, and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. And sprinkle it. The verb is different from that used in Exo 29:16, and is rightly rendered, “sprinkle.” He shall be hallowed and his garments. As the garments shared in the sprinkling, they shared also, so far as was possible, in the consecration. It was hence especially that they became “holy garments.”

Exo 29:22

The rump. Rather, “the tail.” Oriental sheep have very commonly a broad fat tail, which weighs from six to twenty pounds, and is sometimes laid upon a little cart with two wheels, which the sheep drags after it. There is no doubt that a “tail” of this kind is here meant. The caul. Rather, “the membrane.” See the comment on Exo 29:13. The right shoulder. Or “leg,” according to some. The difference is not important.

Exo 29:23

One cake of oiled breadi.e; one of the “unleavened cakes tempered with oil,” mentioned in Exo 29:2. Out of the basket of the unleavened bread. See Exo 29:3.

Exo 29:24

Thou shalt put all in the hands, or “on the hands.” The offerings were to be laid first, on the hands of Aaron, and then on those of his sons, which were to support them; while Moses, putting his hands under theirs, made a waving motion with them towards the four corners of the heavens, to indicate that the gifts were offered to the omnipresent God. This process was that “filling of the hand,” by which the actual installation in office took place. Moses, by the act, transferred the priestly functions, which he had hitherto exercised, to his brother and his brother’s descendants. He made them by his muscular energy perform their first priestly act.

Exo 29:25

Thou shalt receive them at their hands and burn them. Moses was still to continue the priestly acts, and to complete the peace-offering by burning the selected parts (Exo 29:22) on the brazen altar. (See Le Exo 3:3-5.)

Exo 29:26

Thou shalt take the breast. Henceforth Aaron and his sons were to have the breast of all wave-offerings (Le 7:31-34); but on this occasion, as Moses officiated, the breast was to be his.

Exo 29:27, Exo 29:28

A short digression is here made, from this particular offering, to all future offerings for consecration. For the future both the breast and the right shoulder are to belong to the priests. The shoulder, moreover, is to be “heaved,” and only the breast “waved; . heaving” being a single lifting up of the offering towards heaven, while” waving” was a repeated movement in a horizontal direction. Wave and heave offerings are always connected with the portions of the priests, or with things dedicated to God’s service. (See Exo 25:2; Exo 35:22, Exo 35:24; Exo 38:24, Exo 38:29; Le 7:30-34; Num 18:11, Num 18:19, Num 18:24, etc.)

Exo 29:29, Exo 29:30

Here we have a second digression, also concerning future consecrations. The holy garments made for Aaron were to be preserved after his death, and used at the consecration of each successive high priest, who was to be anointed and consecrated in them, and to wear them for seven days from the time that he entered upon his office. Eleazar’s investment in them is mentioned (Num 20:28); but not that of any later high priest.

Exo 29:31

The ram of consecrationi.e; the part of the ram that was left and had not been burnt (Exo 29:25). Seethe his flesh in the holy place. This was understood to mean boiling at the door of the tabernacle (Le Exo 8:31). A sacrificial meal followed on every peace-offering, in which the offerers participated. (See above, Exo 18:12.)

Exo 29:32

The bread that is in the basketi.e; the loaf, cake, and wafer which still remained in the basket after one of each had been subtracted (see Exo 29:23, and compare Exo 29:2, Exo 29:3).

Exo 29:33

They shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made. An atoning force pervaded all sacrifice. Sin-offerings were wholly expiatory; burnt-offerings and peace-offerings partially so (Le Exo 1:4). A stranger shall not eat thereof. “A stranger” in this place does not mean a foreigner, but anyone who is not a priest.

Exo 29:34

Thou shalt burn the remainder with fire. Compare above, Exo 12:10.

Exo 29:35-37

The repetition of the ceremonial, and the consecration of the altar.

Exo 29:35

Seven days shalt thou consecrate them. The repetition of the ceremony seven times on seven separate days seems to be intended. Thus was an ideal completeness given to it. Compare the seven days’ compassing around of Jericho (Jos 6:3, Jos 6:4,), the seven washings in Jordan by Naaman (2Ki 5:14), the seven ascents to the top of Carmel by the servant of Elijah (1Ki 18:43, 1Ki 18:44), etc.

Exo 29:36

Thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it. Rather, “thou shelf purify the altar by making an atonement for it.” The sin-offering for the altar was the same bullock which served for Aaron and his sons. Its virtue was applied to the altar by smearing the blood upon its horns and pouring the remainder at its base (Exo 29:12). See Le Exo 8:15 :”And Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it.” And thou shalt anoint it. In his execution of these directions, Moses separated the anointing of the altar from the cleansing, placing it even before the anointing of Aaron. He anointed it by sprinkling the holy oil upon it seven times (Le Exo 8:11).

Exo 29:37

Seven days shalt thou make an atonement. All the ceremonial was to be repeated seven times, not only the atonement for the altar (Le 8:33). An altar most holy. Literally, “holiness of holinesses,” as in Exo 40:10. Whatever toucheth the altar shall be holy. Rather, “must be holy.” Nothing that is not holy must touch it (Kalisch).

HOMILETICS

Exo 29:1-37

The Consecration of the first High Priest.

Aaron may be viewed as either

(1) a type of Christ, or

(2) a pattern to all ministers who shall come after him.

I. AS A TYPE OF CHRIST, he typifies especially Christ’s priestly character.

(1) Christ “glorified not himself to be made an high priest” (Heb 5:5), but was appointed by his Father, when he sware to him, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psa 110:4). So Aaron took not the honour of the high priesthood to himself (Heb 5:4), but was chosen by God (Exo 28:1-38), and invested with his office by Moses (Le Exo 8:6 -36).

(2) Christ was “the Messiah”the anointed oneanointed with that profusion and abundance, with which none other ever was or will be for “God gave not the Spirit unto him by measure” (Joh 3:34). Aaron received the holy oil in profusion, by pouring. “The precious ointment ran down upon his beard”nay, “went down to the skirts of his clothing” (Psa 133:2).

(3) Christ was at once priest and king”born king of the Jews” (Mat 2:2); crucified as “king of the Jews” (Mat 27:37); crowned by the soldiers in mockery (Mat 27:29); founder of an imperishable “kingdom” in reality. Aaron, in his capacity of priest, wore a diadem, a “holy crown” (Exo 29:6; Le Exo 8:9), and may thus be regarded as having had committed to him “a royal priesthood.”

(4) Christ has “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hid away () in him” (Col 2:3), and could freely declare the will of God to man. Aaron had the precious Urim and Thummim hid away in the folds of his breast-plate, and by their means could obtain a knowledge of God’s will in any practical matter. Lastly,

(5) Christ is the great mediator between God and man, the one and only man who can intercede for his brethren effectually, who can make real atonement for their sins, and reconcile them to his Father. Aaron’s special office was to make continual atonement for all the sins of the people by such sacrifices as were appointed by the law, to intercede for his brethren with God continually, and to be a mediator between them and him, representative of the true mediator.

II. AS A PATTERN TO MINISTERS, Aaron is

(1) solemnly called by God and set apart for his high office.

(2) Prepared for it by an ablution, which typifies the removal of all impurity.

(3) Invested with it by a human authority, viz; Moses.

(4) Required on all occasions of its exercise to wear robes of office.

(5) Anointed with a holy oil, typical of the graces of the Holy Spirit.

(6) Appointed to minister continually before God in the tabernacle of the congregation.

(7) Appointed to resolve doubts by declaring God’s will in difficult cases which should be brought before him.

(8) Required to bear upon his brow, in the sight of all men, a profession of “Holiness to the Lord.” The official Aaron is thus, in numerous respects, a pattern and example to alleven Christian ministers; but the personal Aaron is, on the contrary, rather a warning. The weakness which allowed the worship of the golden calf, and the presumption which led to “murmuring against Moses” (Num 20:10-12) indicate a character which, if it had some virtues, had many and very serious defects.

HOMILIES BY J. ORR

Exo 29:1-33

The rites of consecration for the priesthood.

The next portion of the Divine directions relates to the formal investiture of Aaron and his sons with the priests’ office. This was to be made the occasion of a solemn and imposing ceremonial. “The rites of consecration proclaimed the necessity of holinessa holiness not their own, but imputed to them by the grace of God; and following upon this, and flowing from the same source, a plentiful endowment of gifts for their sacred office, with the manifest seal of heaven’s fellowship and approval” (Fairbairn). We may view the inaugurative ceremonies as having reference

I. TO THE PRIESTHOOD, IN THE SIMPLEST IDEA OF IT (Exo 29:4-10). Aaron and his sons were to be

1. Washed with watersymbol of purification from all uncleanness (Exo 29:4).

2. Clothed with the holy garmentswhich robing was the real installation. Aaron was to be first robed (Exo 29:6, Exo 29:7), afterwards his sons (Exo 29:8, Exo 29:9).

3. Anointedsymbol of the abundant communication of Divine influences (Exo 29:7). The anointing took place immediately after investiture. See exposition. Nothing could be simpler than these introductory ceremonies, which yet, in connection with the symbolism of the dress, meant a great deal. They “filled the hand” of the priest with his office (Exo 29:9), declared the need of holiness in the discharge of his duties, and conveyed to him the gifts of heavenly grace necessary fir their right performance. So Christ “glorified not himself to be made an high priest” (Heb 5:5), but was formally installed in his office by the Father; was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb 7:26); and is endued above measure with the Spirit (Joh 3:34).

II. TO THE PRIESTHOOD, AS HELD BY SINFUL MEN (Exo 29:10-15). The direct installation to the priesthood is followed by ceremonies having reference to the personal sinfulness of the holders of the office. The tact could not be overlooked that the law was making men priests that had infirmity (Heb 7:28). Themselves sinful, Aaron and his sons were not as yet fit to transact with God as mediators for others. The true High Priest, having no sin, laboured under no disqualification of this kind (Heb 7:27); but it was different with priests “taken from among men” (Heb 5:1). They needed to have sacrifices offered for themselves. “This, therefore, was what was next provided; and through an entire series of sacrifices and offerings they were conducted as from the depths of guilt and condemnation to what indicated their possession of a state “of blessed peace and most friendly intercourse with God” (Fairbairn). The sacrifices were threea sin-offering (Exo 29:10-15); a burnt-offering (Exo 29:15-19); and a peace-offering (Exo 29:19-22); and these sacrifices, with the accompanying ceremonies, were to be repeated on seven successive days (Exo 29:35). The altar, as defiled by the sin of those officiating at it, was likewise to be cleansed by the blood of the sin-offering (Exo 29:36, Exo 29:37). This is the first appearance of the sin-offering in the law.

III. TO QUALIFICATIONS, DUTIES, AND EMOLUMENTS (Exo 29:15-38). The sin-offering had especially to do with the removal of guilt. The second sacrificethe burnt-offeringdenoted the duty of unconditional and entire surrender to Jehovah. The third”the ram of consecration” (Exo 29:22)was that by which the newly-made priests were wholly put into the functions and rights of their office.

1. The ram’s blood was significantly applied to different members of the person (Exo 29:20). It was put upon the tip of the right eat’, upon the thumb of the right hand, and upon the great toe of the right foot, of Aaron and of his sons. This denoted, of course, entire dedication of the person to God’s service, in hearing, in acting, and in the daily walk. It beautifully symbolises, not only the perfect consecration of him whose meat it was to do his Father’s will (Joh 4:34), but the completeness of devotion which ought to characterise each of his disciples, who also are priests to God.

2. The priests were sprinkled with the ram’s blood and oil mingled (Exo 29:21). This symbolised the new life of God, in which the priest was “henceforth to move and have his being, in conjunction with the Spirit, on whose softening, penetrating, invigorating influence all powers and movements of that Divine life depend” (Fairbairn).

3. The portions of the sacrifice which belonged to God, with a loaf, cake, and wafer, of the meat offeringsymbolic of fruitfulness in good workswere next to be placed on the priests’ hands, and waved before the Lord (Exo 29:24). This signified,

(1) “The conveyal of the function which belongs to the priest to offer the fat pieces of God’s altar; and

(2) the infeoffment of the priests with the gilt, which they receive in future for their service, but which they must now give over to Jehovah, because they are not yet fully dedicated, and therefore cannot yet themselves act as priests” (Oehler). The conclusion of the ceremony was a sacrificial meal, indicative of restored fellowship, and happy communion with God (Exo 29:31-35). Exo 29:29, Exo 29:30, provide for the handing down of the high priest’s office to Aaron’s sons. The priesthood continued till superseded by that of the greater Priest “after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 7:1-28.).J.O.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Exo 29:1-2. This is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them The consecration or setting apart of Aaron and his sons for the priest’s office, with its various and solemn ceremonies, is described in this chapter. The providing the animals, &c. for sacrifice, is enjoined first, that they might be in readiness; though several things were to be done previous to the sacrifices themselves. Of these we shall speak in their order. See Leviticus 8. They are to provide for the sacrifice, (Exo 29:2.) 1st, bread simply unleavened; 2nd, bread unleavened, tempered or mixed with oil; and, 3rdly, bread unleavened, but anointed or covered over with oil after the baking: but what was the reason of this distinction, we presume not to guess.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

3. The Consecration of the Priests. Exo 29:1-36

The direction here given for the actual consecration of the priests is not carried out till Leviticus 8-10. This raises two questions: First, why does not the execution of the precept, as of all the preceding ones, follow in Exodus, where it might be regarded as simply omitted in Exodus 39? Secondly, why nevertheless are the calling and investment of the priests, which have been heretofore considered, described in Exodus? As to the first question, we see from Exodus 40 that even the sanctuary had to be erected and arranged, and consecrated by the first-fruits of the offerings, not by Aaron, but by Moses, the royal prophet himself, just as he had also called and invested, or prepared, the priests. For the tabernacle was designed in a universal sense for Jehovah as presiding over all three forms of revelation, the prophetic, the ritual or Levitical, and the princely or royal, i.e., Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; but the initiative belonged to the prophetic office. This relation would have been wholly altered if the actual consecration of the priests had preceded the erection of the tabernacle. Thus is answered also the second question, why the actual consecration of the priests is prescribed so early? The answer lies in the fact that the priesthood has a more universal significance than the merely ritual one. In relation to the prophetic office the priesthood has to represent symbolically religious ideas in itself, in its clothing, and in its functions; in relation to the ritual worship, however, it has not only to symbolize the ethical ideas of sacrifice, but also to conduct the educational training of the people of Israelin the Middle Ages of the Old Testamentby means of the sacrificial service and the administration of the laws of purification; but in relation to the politico-theocratic side of the theocracy, the high-priest carries on his breast, for times of exigency, the oracular Urim and Thummim, which make good the temporary failure of the prophetic word and the royal government; and the Levites as bearers of the ark of the covenant have to attend to the banners of the host of the Lord. But since nevertheless the sacrificial worship is the chief vocation of the priests, the actual consecration of the priests serves to introduce the sacrificial system as developed in Leviticus.Keil finds it most suitable to his purpose not to explain the consecration of the priests till Leviticus 8. On this point, however, Knobel has yielded to the requirements of the text.

The preparation of the offerings which Aaron and his sons are to bring, Exo 29:1-3. The three fundamental forms of offering, already involved in the Paschal rites, are here indicated by the animals specified in the command: (1) The bullock is appointed for a sin-offering, the great sin-offering such as the guilty priest has to bring according to Leviticus 4; in this sin-offering the more specific sin-offering, the trespass-offering and the sin-offering of a lower grade, are implicitly included. The first ram is then made the centre of all the offerings. (2) The burnt-offering has likewise its ramifications, viz., in the morning and evening sacrifices, in daily offerings, in offerings for the Sabbath and feast-days, according to Numbers 28. The other ram is designed for an offering of abundance or heave-offering of the priests from the peace-offerings of the children of Israel, i.e., it is the peace- or thank-offering of the priest, who has no property or means of earning it, and whose hands must therefore be filled by the congregation with a heave-offering or sacred tribute which is regarded as a surplus from the peace-offerings of the people. (3) The peace-offering also is subdivided into three parts: the thank-offering, the vow, and the free-will offering (Leviticus 7). A basket holds the three principal forms of the meal-offering or bloodless offering, as originally connected with the burnt-offering. The principal material of the three kinds of baked articles is wheat flour, prepared in three ways, but always unleavened. The bread and the cake are mixed with oil; but the wafer or flat cake is to be smeared with oil (on the preparation of them vid. Lev 2:4 sqq.). The meal-offering is subdivided still further into the meal-offering in the narrow sense, the drink-offering, and the offering of baken flour and of roasted fruits, and is to be as scrupulously supplemented with salt, oil, and frankincense, as it is to be kept free from honey and leaven, the last being excepted in case of the feast of harvest; on which point more hereafter.

The washing and the investment. Moses has to bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent, i.e., into the court, and there administer to them a symbolic ablution. It is an interpolated notion of Keils, that Moses had them wash themselves; and he also misconceives the symbolic nature of the initiatory act, when he says: without doubt the whole body, not only the hands and feet. Were they to bathe themselves, or at any rate exhibit themselves naked, in the presence of the assembled congregation in the court? The washing is the symbolic expression of purification from the stains and defilement incurred in real life, whilst the sacrifices removed not only the daily weaknesses, but also the guilt of life down to its foundation in the sinful nature; vid. Joh 13:10. In the description of the investment every article is specially mentioned, and its import emphasized.

The unction. As the clothes symbolize the burden and the dignity of office, so the anointing with oil, profusely poured out on the high-priests head, symbolizes the promises of official grace, of endowment with the Spirit of God. The anointing of Aarons sons is not here treated of, as Keil assumes. Nor in Lev 8:10, where yet further on reference is made to a sprinkling of the sons of Aaron with the blood of the ram of consecration and with anointing oil, in connection with the sprinkling of their father, Exo 29:30. It is also a strange notion of Keils (II. p. 337) that the vessels of the sanctuary were by the sprinkling made media and vessels of the blessings of grace and salvation.

Still harsher seems Keils explanation of the notion of sanctifying. Even of the altar of burnt-offering, he says: To sanctify means not merely to set apart to sacred uses, but to endow or fill with powers from Gods sanctifying Spirit. Here is not only all distinction between the O. and N. Testaments obliterated, but also all distinction between the altar and the priest, to say nothing of the distinction between the different altars.

The investiture of Aaron and his sons as priests, Exo 29:8-9. The characteristic garment of the common priest is the white wrought coat, and with it the girdle of the coat, of embroidered work ornamented with the four colors of the sanctuary, and the white cap of the priest. In the girdle is exhibited the likeness of the common priest to the high-priest; in the white coat and the conical cap1 is exhibited the likeness of the high-priest to the common priest. The dress in which, according to Lev 16:4, the high-priest is to enter the Holy of holies is even inferior to that of the common priest. And though Aaron is distinguished by having the high-priestly unction, yet at the sacrifice by which lie is purified and consecrated he must be associated with his sons. Also his hands must be filled together with those of his sons. [Fill the hands ofthe literal translation of the Hebrew phrase rendered in A. V. consecrate, e. g., Exo 28:41]. For the poor priest has nothing of his own; the congregation must provide for him, and, first of all, even the sacrificial gifts which he needs to offer. Thus then the hands of him and his sons are filled, they being declared to be the owners of the objects of sacrifice. And so Aaron does not make himself a priest. Moses, the servant of God, commissioned by Jehovah, must consecrate him to the office. The prophet stands as high priest over against the candidate for the priesthood; the future high-priest stands over against the prophetical Levite almost in the attitude of a layman.

The bullock for the sin-offering, Exo 29:10-14. Not every sacrifice is a confession of mortal guilt; but every sacrifice is a confession of such a culpability of the life as makes it unable, in real spirituality, to satisfy the righteousness of God; for which reason the symbolic representation of satisfaction by means of sacrifice is introduced,sacrifice as a confession of guilt, as a longing after willingness to surrender ones self to the divine judgment, as a prayer for pardon, and as a vow. But as soon as the congregation of God is organized as symbolically holy, sacrifices assume a threefold purpose. (1) As national offerings, they assume the form of the discharge of a legal obligation, the expiation of a violated national law; and in this sense they may also be said to work justification. (2) As Mosaic offerings, they become a symbolic expression of moral offences against the law, and of the need of expiatory surrender. (3) As the continuation and symbolic expression of the Abrahamic faith, they become a typical adumbration of the absolute realization of the sacrificial idea in the future kingdom of the Messiah. vid. Comm. on Genesis, pp. 256, 470.

In the act of laying his hand on the victim the offerer confesses as his own the debt of guilt which the animal pays for him as his symbolic substitute. The loss of the animal, the animals innocence, its dying pain, form in their union an emphatic expression of his condition; the animal symbolically takes the place of his life. In all cases he lays symbolically his guilt and his deficiencies upon the animaleven in the case of the peace-offering. The hand in this connection is the symbolic and mystical conductor of the souls life; as in other cases, of its spiritual fulness, so here, of its defects and need of expiation.

The killing of the animal is done by Moses before the Lord, i. e., before the door of the tabernacle. But even the sin-offering is not the symbol of a death-sentence, but the expiation of a guilt which would have led to death if it had not been atoned for before the gracious Jehovah. For a known mortal sin (Num 15:30) is not expiated by offerings, but is punished with death; it makes the sinner a hherem. The system of sacrificial expiation in general is instituted only for sins committed in weakness (Lev 4:2; Lev 4:27). Hence the sin-offering is composed of different elements. First, the offering of blood. Without the shedding of blood there is no expiation (Heb 9:22); it designates the deathly earnestness, the death-defying courage, by means of which all the disorders of the religious and moral nature are rectified. A part of the blood of the sin-offering is put on the horns of the altar, thus perfecting the sinners refuge: the greater part of it is poured out at the base of the altar; i. e., submission to the judgment of God constitutes expiation. It is an incorrect representation of Keils that, whereas, according to the general rule for the sin-offerings whose flesh was burned outside of the camp, the blood was brought into the holy place itself (Lev 6:23 [30]), it is here only put on the altar of burnt-offering, in order to give this sin-offering the character of a consecratory offering. This is contradicted by Lev 4:7; Lev 4:18; Lev 4:25; Lev 4:30. The blood was always poured out at the foot of the altar of burnt-offering, while only a little of it comes into the holy place, especially upon the horns of the altar of incense, vid. Lev 4:7 sqq. The difference, therefore, can be only that here the blood of sprinkling was put upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and it is to be remarked that nothing has yet been said of the altar of incense.And the fat. The bloom of life, even in the case of the tragically guilty,that which is deposited on his entrails, his physical nature, on his liver or on his nobler affections, on his reins, which through their effects might symbolize the conscience (Psa 16:7),this falls to Jehovah as His part; that it has ministered to Him in His actual government of men, is expressed by their being offered to Him in fire on the altar. Thus one feature of the burnt-offering belongs also to the sin-offering. The fat of the offering, or the bloom of life, all falls to Jehovah as His part (Lev 4:31; Lev 4:35). But the sin-offering has also one feature that belongs to the hherem: the flesh, skin, and dung of the sin-offering are burnt outside before the camp; they are given back to the old earth of the old man as a symbol of the sinners outward mode of life.It is a burnt-offering, Exo 29:15-18. The first ram denotes the offering up to Jehovah of the whole conduct of life, not through death, but in life itself (Rom 12:1). Here the blood is sprinkled round about on the altar: this expresses ones complete, voluntary surrender, and readiness to die while yet living. The whole ram (after the removal of the skin and the unclean parts) is cut in pieces and burnt upon the altar together with the inwards and thighs; it all goes up in the fire of that gracious sovereignty which saves while it judges; and surely such an offering of life is a sweet savor, a fire-offering to Jehovah. The other ram, designed as an offering of consecration, or as Aarons peace-offering, or as a welfare offering (Exo 29:19-28), is likewise offered in accordance with its design. The blood, or the readiness for death, is first of all put upon the ear-lap of Aaron and his sons: obedience, as spiritual hearing, is the first duty, especially of the priests. Next, the hand, as symbolizing human activity, is specially consecrated by being sprinkled with blood; finally, the great toe of the right foot, as symbolizing the walk of life in general. After this the blood, which in this case also is sprinkled around the altar, in order to express the most complete surrender, is taken again in part from the altar, and together with some of the anointing oil is sprinkled upon Aaron and his clothes, and on his sons and their clothes. Devotion to God and to a spiritual life is to consecrate, first of all, the priests character, but also their official life. Next follows the burnt-offering as a factor in the consecratory offering of the priests. Together with the fat already specified, the rams tail also and the kidneys themselves are devoted to the fire; i.e., the vigor of life, comfort, and conscientiousness are consecrated to God, being united with a part of the meal-offering, closely related as it is to the peace-offering, viz., with three different articles from the basket. These sacrificial gifts, however, are not at once burnt up. It must be made evident that they are offerings of the priests; hence they are laid upon their hands. But, together with their hands, they are waved, i.e., moved to and fro. What does that mean? It costs labor, a struggle, a shaking loose, before the priests are ready voluntarily to give back their emoluments, their fulness, to Jehovah; as history teaches. All the more then what is really offered is a sweet savor before the Lord, a fire-offering to Him. But now Moses himself gets his part of the priestly offering, the breast of the ram. History also amply proves that this part of the fulness of the sacerdotal revenue that is given back to the prophet and prince, to the spiritual and political life in the theocracy, must be waved, must be shaken loose. The thigh, however, falls to Aaron and his sons; in this connection the waving is less prominent than the heaving, or is altogether given up. As nothing is said of the disposition of other parts of the ram, it is probable that the neck and head were joined with the breast for Moses, and that all the rest of the body went with the thigh. In this sense the heave-offerings were to revert to Jehovah; they are taken away from the peace-offerings and heave-offerings of the children of Israel, and He gives them to His priests. vid. also Exo 29:32.

The prerogatives of the priests, Exo 29:29-35 (vid. also Exo 29:28.) In the foregoing verse the reversion of the greater part of the consecratory offering to the priest is designated as also belonging to the sacerdotal prerogatives. It is the central item in his revenue, the particulars of which are specified afterwards. In what now follows the hereditary prerogatives of the priests are first named. The sacerdotal dignity of Aaron passes over, with its symbol, the sacred garments, to his sons, according to the right of primogeniture of course, and gives them a right to the anointing and to the filling of the hands. The rite of consecration is to last seven days. During this time Aaron and his sons live on the offering of consecration in the court; their food is exclusively sacred food belonging to priests and to festivals; hence what is left over is burnt. Furthermore one bullock a day is slaughtered as a sinoffering.

4. The Sanctification of the Altar. Exo 29:36-46

The consecration of the priests is accompanied by that of the altar. When Moses brings the sin-offering for the priests, he at the same time makes atonement for the altar, which, although holy in itself, was built by sinful men, and in a symbolic sense is to be cleansed from defilement. (vid. Keil on Lev 8:15) [who explains the ceremonial uncleanness of the altar as caused by the sinfulness of the officiating priests]. But as yet there can be no reference to this source of impurity; for in that case how could the priests ever make atonement for the altar? It was to be consecrated by two acts: negatively, by the atonement, positively, by the anointment. The anointment of the altar can signify only that it is to be dedicated exclusively to the spiritual life, to the spiritual object of the altar service. At the same time the altar is declared to be designed for permanent use. Two yearling lambs are offered each day, one in the morning, the other at evening, i.e., in their tender youth the people of God are to dedicate themselves to Jehovah, not only for the life of the day, but also for that of the night. The meal-offering, like the sacrifice, is the same for the morning as for the evening. The tenth part (of an ephah), or the issaron (an omer), as a measure of grain or flour is variously reckoned (vid. Knobel, p. 295): probably, according to Knobel, somewhat more than a Dresden measure, or 2 Dresden pounds.2 The oil with which the flour is mingled is to be obtained by pounding. In the case of no other offering is beaten oil prescribed (Knobel). The hin, as a liquid measure, is the sixth part of a bath, and contains 12 logs, reckoned by Thenius (Studien und Kritiken, 1846) as equivalent to 3 Dresden cans [such a can containing about 71 cubic inches, or about 1 English quart]. The wheat symbolizes vital force, or even fat; the wine always symbolizes joy. This burnt-offering is the whole-offering, signifying that the life all goes up in self-surrender to Jehovah; hence also this will be responded to by a complete self-communication of Jehovah, a revelation of His glory, this itself having been in fact the cause of Israels self-surrender or holiness (Exo 29:43-44). The text plainly distinguishes a higher kind of sanctification from the symbolic one of the law, which proceeds from man. That higher sanctification is to proceed from Jehovah Himself. The place of the offering is to be sanctified by the glory of Jehovah; in particular, the tent, the altar, the high-priest and his sons. The aim of this institution points on into the N. T. and the Apocalypse: Jehovah desires to dwell in the midst of Israel and to be the God of His people.

Footnotes:

[1][This can refer only to the material of the cap, not its form. At least, the head-gear of the high-priest is always called by a different name () from that of the common priest (). The former is commonly (also by Lange) called a turban, and therefore can hardly be conceived as conical.Tr.]

[2][According to Smiths Bible Dictionary, Art. Weights and Measures, probably a little less than two quarts. But Josephus makes it about twice as much.Tr.].

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

H.The vision or the ideal of the tabernacle. The ordering of the ark and of the house of the covenant; of the living presence of the law and of the dwelling-place of the law-giver

Exodus 25-31

I. Contributions for the Building. Preliminary Condition

1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart 3[whose heart maketh him willing] ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats hair, 5And rams skins dyed red, and badgers [seals] skins, and shittim [acacia] wood, 6Oil for the light, spices for anointing [the anointing] oil, and for sweet [the sweet] incense, 7Onyx stones, and stones to be set in [set, for] the ephod, and in [for] the breast-plate. 8And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. 9According to all that I shew thee, after [thee,] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments [furniture] thereof, even so shall ye make it.

II. The Structure itself. The Place of Worship
1. The Ark

10And they shall make an ark of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown [moulding] of gold round about. 12And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners [feet] thereof; and two rings shall be in [on] the one side of it, and two rings in [on] the other side of it. 13And thou shalt make staves of shittim 14[acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them [to bear the ark with]. 15The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18And thou shalt make two cherubims [cherubim] of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them in [at] the two ends of the mercy-seat. 19And make one cherub on [at] the one end, and the other cherub on [at] the other end: even of [of one piece with] the mercy-seat1 shall ye make the cherubims [cherubim] on [at] the two ends thereof. 20And the cherubims [cherubim] shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces shall look [with their faces] one to another: toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubims [cherubim] be. 21And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubims [cherubim] which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

2. The Table

23Thou shalt also make a table of shittim [acacia] wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 24And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown [moulding] of gold round about. 25And thou shalt make unto it a border of an [a] hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown [moulding] to the border thereof round about. 26And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in [on] the four 27corners that are on [belong to] the four feet thereof. Over against [Close by] the border shall the rings be for places of [for] the staves to bear the table. 28And thou shalt make the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. 29And thou shalt make the dishes [plates] thereof, and spoons [the cups] thereof, and covers [the flagons] thereof, and bowls [the bowls] thereof, to cover [pour out] withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. 30And thou shalt set upon the table shew-bread before me alway.

3. The Candlestick

31And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers shall be of the same [of beaten work shall be made the candlestick, its base and its shaft: its cups, its knobs, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it].2 32And six branches shall come out [coming out] of the sides of it: three branches of the candlestick out of the one side [one side of it], and three branches of the candlestick 33out of the other side [side of it]: Three bowls [cups] made like unto almonds [almond-blossoms] with a knop and a flower in one branch [in one branch, a knob and a flower]; and three bowls [cups] made like almonds [almond-blossoms] in the other branch, with [branch,] a knop [knob] and a flower: so in 34[for] the six branches that come out of the candlestick. And in the candlestick shall be four bowls [cups] made like unto almonds, with [almond-blossoms,] their 35[its] knops [knobs] and their [its] flowers. And there shall be a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], and a knop [knob] under two branches of the same [of one piece with it], according to [for] the six branches that proceed 36[come] out of the candlestick. Their knops [knobs] and their branches shall be of the same [of one piece with it]: all it [all of it] shall be one beaten work of pure gold. 37And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof; and they shall light [set up] the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. 38And the tongs [snuffers] 39thereof, and the snuff-dishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure 40gold shall he make it [shall it be made], with all these vessels [instruments]. And look [see] that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

4. The Dwelling (the Tent)

Exo 26:1. Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of [curtains: of] fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with [scarlet, with] cherubims [cherubim] of cunning work [the work of a skilful weaver] shalt thou make them. 2The length of one [each] curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain four cubits: and every one of the 3[all the] curtains shall have one measure. The five [Five of the] curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other [the other] five curtains shall be coupled one to another. 4And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one [first] curtain from the selvedge [at the border] in the coupling [the set of curtains]; and likewise shalt thou make in [so shalt thou do with] the uttermost edge of another curtain [the edge of the outmost curtain] in the coupling of the second [in the second set of curtains]. 5Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second [in the second set of curtains]; that the loops may take hold one of [the loops shall be opposite one to] another. 6And thou shalt make fifty taches [clasps] of gold, and couple the curtains together [one to another] with the taches [clasps]; and it shall be one tabernacle [the tabernacle shall be one]. 7And thou shalt make curtains of goats hair to be a [for a] covering [tent] upon [over] the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. 8The length of one [each] curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one [each] curtain four cubits: and [cubits:] the eleven curtains shall be all of [shall have] one measure. 9And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double [fold together] the sixth curtain in the forefront [front] of the tabernacle [tent]. 10And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling [first set of curtains], and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second 11[is the second set]. And thou shalt make fifty taches [clasps] of brass, and put the taches [clasps] into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may [and it shall] be one. 12And the remnant [excess] that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the back-side [back] of the 13tabernacle. And a [the] cubit on the one side, and a [the] cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it [tent,] shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it. 14And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers skins [of seal-skins above]. 15And thou shalt make boards 16[the boards] for the tabernacle of shittim [acacia] wood standing up. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one 17[each] board. Two tenons shall there be in one [each] board, set in order one against [equally distant from one] another: thus shalt thou make for [do unto] all the boards of the tabernacle. 18And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on [for] the south side southward. 19And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his [its] two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his [its] two tenons. 20And for the second side of the tabernacle on [for] the north side there shall be twenty boards: 21And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 22And for the sides [rear] of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. 23And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides [in the rear]. 24And they shall be coupled together [be double] beneath, and they shall be coupled together3 above the head of it unto one ring [and together they shall be whole up to the top of it, unto the first ring]: 25thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. And they [there] shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board. 26And thou shalt make bars of shittim [acacia] wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 27And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides [the rear] westward. 28And the middle bar in the midst [middle] of the boards shall reach [pass through] from end to end. 29And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: 30and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. And thou shalt rear [set] up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was [hath been] shewed thee in the mount.

5. The Veil

31And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims [linen: with cherubim, the work of a skilful workman] shall it be made. 32And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim [acacia] wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon four sockets of silExo Exo 25:33 And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches [clasps], that thou mayest bring [and shalt bring] in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy [the holy of holies]. 34And thou shalt put the mercy-seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place [holy of holies]. 35And thou shalt set the table without the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side. 36And thou shalt make an hanging [a screen] for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needle-work 37[the work of the embroiderer]. And thou shalt make for the hanging [screen] five pillars of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold; and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

6. The Altar of Burnt-offering

Chap. Exo 27:1 And thou shalt make an [the] altar of shittim [acacia] wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be four-square: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his [its] horns shall be of the same [of one piece with it]: 3and thou shalt overlay it with brass. And thou shalt make his [its] pans [pots] to receive his [to take away its] ashes, and his [its] shovels, and his [its] basins, and his [its] fleshhooks, and his [its] firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass [copper]. 4And thou shalt make for it a grate [grating] of network of brass [copper]; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen [copper] rings in 5[on] the four corners thereof. And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath [below, under the ledge of the altar], that the net may be even to the midst [and the net shall reach up to the middle] of the altar. 6And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with brass [copper]. 7And the staves [staves thereof] shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it [in bearing it]. 8Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was [hath been] shewed thee in the mount; so shall they make it.

7. The Court

9And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine-twined linen of an hundred [linen a hundred] cubits long for one side: 10And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass [copper]; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] shall be of silExo Exo 25:11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred [hangings a hundred] cubits long, and his [its] twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass 12[copper]; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [rods] of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits [hangings fiftycubits long]: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits [Fifteen cubits of hangings shall be on one side of the gate]: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits [fifteen cubits of hangings]: their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging [a screen] of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen, wrought with needle-work [linen, embroidered work]: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. 17All the pillars round about the court [of the court round about] shall be filleted with silver [joined with rods of silver]; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass [copper]. 18The length of the court shall be an [a] hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty everywhere, and the height five cubits, of fine-twined linen, and their sockets of brass [copper]. 19All the vessels [furniture] of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court shall be of brass [copper].

III. The Persons and Things occupying the Building. The Ritual Worship
1. The Oil for the Lamp

20And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten [beaten olive oil] for the light, to cause the [a] lamp to burn always [continually]. 21In the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order [trim] it from evening to morning before Jehovah: it shall be a statute forever unto [throughout] their generations on the behalf of [on the part of] the children of Israel.

2. The Clothing of the Priest and of his Sacerdotal Assistants

Exo 28:1 And take thou [bring thou near] unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priests office [that he may be a priest unto me], even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aarons sons. 2And thou shalt make holy [sacred] garments for Aaron thy brother for glory [honor] and for beauty. 3And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted [all the skilful-hearted], whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom [skill], that they may make Aarons garments to consecrate [sanctify] him, that he may minister unto me in the priests office [that Hebrews 4 may be a priest unto me]. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered [checkered] coat, a mitre [turban], and a girdle: and they shall make holy [sacred] garments for Aaron thy brother, and [and for] his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priests office 5[that he may be a priest unto me]. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 6And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine-twined linen, with cunning work [linen, the work of askilful weaver]. 7It shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at [have two shoulder-pieces joined to] the two edges thereof: and so it [and it] shall be joined together. 8And the curious girdle of the ephod [the embroidered belt for girding it], which is upon it, shall be of the same [same piece], according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen. 9And thou shalt take two onyx stones and grave [engrave] on them the names of the children of Israel: 10Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest [and thenames of the six remaining ones] on the other stone, according to their birth. 11With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with [according to] the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set [inclosed] in ouches [settings] of gold. 12And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod for stones of memorial unto [as memorial stones for] the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial. 13And thou shalt make ouches [settings] of gold; 14And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them [pure gold; like cords shalt thou make them, of wreathen work]: and fasten [and thou shalt put] the wreathen chains to the ouches 15[on the settings]. And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment, with cunning work [the work of a skilful weaver]; after [like] the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt 16 thou make it. Four square it shall be being doubled [It shall be square and double]; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. 17And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be [stones: a row of sardius, topaz, and emerald shall be] the first row. 18And the second row shall be an emerald, [carbuncle], a sapphire, and a diamond. 19And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 20And the fourth row a beryl [chrysolite], and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall set in gold in their inclosings. 21And the stones shall be with [according to] the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like [names: like] the engravings of a signet; every [signet, every] one with [accordingto] his name shall they be according to [be for] the twelve tribes. 22And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate chains at the ends [like cords] of wreathen work of pure gold. 23And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breast-plate. 24And thou shalt put the two wreathen 25chains of gold in [on] the two rings which are on the ends of the breast-plate. And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches [put on the two settings], and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it [onthe front of it]. 26And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breast-plate, in [on] the border thereof which is in [toward] 27the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides [shoulder-pieces] of the ephod underneath, toward [on] the fore-part thereof, over against [close by] the other coupling [the coupling] thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod [the embroidered belt of theephod]. 28And they shall bind the breast-plate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace [cord] of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle [the embroidered belt] of the ephod, and that the breast-plate be not loosed from the ephod. 29And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breast-plate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before Jehovah continually. 30And thou shalt put in the breast-plate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aarons heart, when he goeth in before Jehovah: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually. 31And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof [And its opening for the head shall be in the middle of it]: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it [its opening], as it were the hole 33of an habergeon [like the opening of a coat of mail], that it be not rent. And beneath upon [And upon] the hem of it [its skirts] thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem [skirts] thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem [skirts] of the robe round about. 35And it shall be upon Aaron to minister [for ministering]: and his sound [the sound thereof] shall be heard when he goeth in unto [goeth into] the holy place before Jehovah, and when he cometh out, that he die not. 36And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave [engrave] upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH. 37And thou shalt put it on a blue lace [cord], that it may be [and it shall be] upon the mitre [turban]; upon the forefront [front] of the mitre 38[turban] it shall be. And it shall be upon Aarons forehead, that Aaron may [and Aaron shall] bear the iniquity of the holy [sacred] things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy [sacred] gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah. 39And thou shalt embroider [weave] the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre [turban] of fine linen, and thou shalt make the [a] girdle of needle-work [embroidered work]. 40And for Aarons sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets [caps] shalt thou make for them, for glory [honor] and for beauty. 41And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate [ordain] them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priests office [and they shall be priests unto me]. 42And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their [the flesh of their] nakedness; from the loins even unto [loins unto] the thighs they shall reach: 43And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto [come into] the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his [and unto his] seed after him.

3. The Consecration of the Priests

Exo 29:1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priests office [to be priests unto me]: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, 2and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered [mingled] with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 3And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. 4And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and shalt wash them with water. 5And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breast-plate, and gird him with the curious girdle [embroidered belt] of the ephod. 6And thou shalt put the mitre [turban] upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre [turban]. 7Then shalt thou [And thou shalt] take the anointing oil, and pour itupon his head, and anoint him. 8And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. 9And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets [bind caps] on them: and the priests office [priesthood] shall be theirs for [by] a perpetual statute: 10and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought [bring the bullock] before the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. 11And thou shalt kill the bullock before Jehovah, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]. 12And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom [at the base] of the altar. 13And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above [lobe above] the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, and burn themupon the altar. 14But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering. 15Thou shalt also take one [the one] ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put [lay] their hands upon the head of the ram. 16And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. 17And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him [his inwards], and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. 18And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering unto Jehovah: it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 19And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put [lay] their hands upon the head of the ram. 20Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21And 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. 22Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump [the fat tail], and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above [lobe of] the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: 23And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before Jehovah: 24And thou shalt put all [the whole] in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah. 25And thou shalt receive [take] them of [from] their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a [upon the] burnt-offering, for a sweet savor before Jehovah: it is an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 26And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aarons consecration [of Aarons ram of consecration], and wave it for [as] a wave-offering before Jehovah: and it shall be thy part. 27And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the [of] consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: 28And it shall be Aarons and his sons by a statute for ever from the children of Israel; for it is an [a] heave-offering: and it shall be an [a] heave-offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their [Israel of their] peace-offerings,even their heave-offering unto Jehovah. 29And the holy garments of Aaron shall be 30his sons after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days [Seven days shall he of his sons who is priest in his stead put them on], when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] to minister in the holy place. 31And thou shalt take the ram of the [of] consecration, and seethe [boil] his flesh in the 32[a] holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tentof meeting]. 33And they shall eat those things wherewith the [wherewith] atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat thereof, 34because they are holy. And if aught of the flesh of the consecrations [consecration], or of the bread, remain unto [until] the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron and to his sons, according to all things which [all that] I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.

4. Consecration and Design of the Altar of Burnt-offering

36And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin-offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an [by making] atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 37Seven days thou shalt make an [make] atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever 38toucheth the altar shall be holy. Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs of the first year [a year old] day by day continually. 39The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: 40And with the one lamb a tenth deal [part] of flour mingled with the fourth part of an [a] hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an [a] hin of wine for a drink-offering. 41And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat-offering of [shalt offer with it the same meal-offering as in] the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof [and the same drink-offering], for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire [a fire-offering] unto Jehovah. 42This shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] before Jehovah; where I will meet [meet with] you, to speak there unto thee. 43And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle [and it] shall be sanctified by my glory. 44And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priests office 45[to be priests unto me]. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may [might] dwell among them: I am Jehovah their God.

5. The Altar of Incense

Exo 30:1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim 2[acacia] wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; four-square shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same [of one piece with it]. 3And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto [for] it a crown of gold round about. 4And two golden rings shalt thou make to [for] it under the crown of it, by the two corners [upon the two flanks] thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal [with]. 5And thou shalt make the staves of shittim [acacia] wood, and overlay them with gold. 6And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. 7And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth [trimmeth] the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 8And when Aaron lighteth [setteth up] the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it [burn it], a perpetual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. 9Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-sacrifice [burnt-offering], nor meat-offering [meal-offering]; neither shall ye pour [and ye shall pour no] drink-offering thereon. 10And Aaron shall make an [make] atonement upon [for] the horns of it once in a [the] year with the blood of the sin-offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon [for] it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto Jehovah.

6. The Contributions for the Sanctuary (Poll-tax)

11And Jehovah spake unto Moses saying, 12When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after [according to] their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto Jehovah, when thou numberest them; that there be [maybe] no plague among them, when thou numberest them. 13This they shall give, every one that passeth among [over unto] them that are numbered, half a shekel after [according to] the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs): an [a] half shekel shall be the offering of [unto] Jehovah. 14Every one that passeth among [over unto] them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto Jehovah [Jehovahs offering]. 15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a [the half] shekel, when they give an offering unto Jehovah [give Jehovahs offering], to make an [make] atonement for your souls. 16And thou shalt take the atonement money of [from] the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting]; that it may be [and it shall be] a memorial unto [for] the children of Israel before Jehovah, to make an [make] atonement for your souls.

7. The Laver

17And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 18Thou shalt also make a laver of brass [copper], and his foot also of brass [its base of copper], to wash withal [in]: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting] and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat [from it]: 20When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire [afire-offering] unto Jehovah: 21So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

8. The holy Anointing Oil

22Moreover Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 23Take thou also unto thee principal spices [the chief spices], of pure [flowing] myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 24And of cassia five hundred shekels, after [accordingto] the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an [olive oil a] hin: 25And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment [a holy anointing oil], an ointment compound [compounded] after the art of the apothecary [a perfumed ointment, the work of theperfumer]: it shall be an [a] holy anointing oil. 26And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith [therewith the tent of meeting], and the ark of the testimony, 27And the table and all his vessels [its furniture], and the candlestick and his vessels [its furniture] and the altar of incense, 28And the altar of burnt-offering with all his vessels [its furniture], and the laver and his foot [its base]. 29And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever [whosoever] toucheth them shall be holy. 30And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priests office [to be priests unto me]. 31And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an [a] holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. 32Upon mans flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it [and ye shall make none like it with its33proportions]: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even [he shall] be cut off from his people.

9. The Incense

34And Jehovah said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight [an equal part]: 35And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection, after the art of the apothecary, tempered together [make of it an incense, a perfume, thework of the perfumer, salted], pure, and holy: 36And thou shalt beat some of it very small [it fine], and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. 37And as for the perfume [And the incense] which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to [for] yourselves according to the composition [with its proportions]: it shall be unto thee holy for [unto] Jehovah. 38Whosoever shall make [make any] like unto that, to smell thereto [thereof], shall even [he shall] be cut off from his people.

IV. The Architects. The Master-workman Bezaleel and his Vocation. Sacred Art

Exo 31:1, And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner [kinds] of workmanship, 4To devise cunning [skilful] works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass [copper], 5And in cutting of stones, to set them [stones for setting], and in carving of timber, to work in all manner [kinds] of workmanship. 6And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they make all that I have commanded thee: 7The tabernacle of the congregation [tent of meeting], and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle [tent], 8And the table and his [its] furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his [its] furniture, and the altar of incense, 9And the altar of burnt-offering with all his [its] furniture, and the laver and his foot [its base], 10And the cloths [garments] of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priests office [aspriests], 11And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

V. The Condition of the Vitality of the Ritual. The Sabbath

12And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah that doth sanctify you. 14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore [And ye shall keep the sabbath]; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth [profaneth] it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15Six days may work be done; but in [on] the seventh is the [a] sabbath of rest, holy to Jehovah: whosoever doeth any work in [on] the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations for [as] a perpetual 17covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing [speaking] with him upon mount Sinai, two [the two] tables of [of the] testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

[Exo 25:19. , etc. Literally, From the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim. This is understood by some to mean: rising up from the mercy-seat. But the simple hardly conveys that notion; it has, perhaps, somewhat of its original import, part, so that the direction is to make the cherubim a part of the mercy-seat, i.e., of one piece with it.Tr.]

[Exo 25:31. The change proposed in the punctuation is one required by the Masoretic accentuation, as well as by the sense, though adopted by only a few commentators (Knobel, Do Wette, Bunsen). When it is said, its base and its shaft, etc., shall be made of the same, the question arises, the same with what? For the several specifications include the whole of the candlestick. The direction thus would be to make all the several parts of the candlestick of the same piece with the candlestickwhich is senseless.Tr.]

[Exo 26:24. The A. V. rendering (favored also by Kalisch, Gesenius, Glaire, De Wette, Frst, and Canon Cook) assumes to be a contracted form of . But it is singular (if this is the case) that both forms should occur in the same verse, and more singular still that there should be the same conjunction of the two forms in the parallel passage Exo 36:29. So long as at the best the obscurity of the description is not relieved by such an assumption, it seems much more reasonable to take in its natural sense of perfect, whole, and elucidate the meaning, if possible, on that assumption.Tr.]

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

The origin of the tabernacle is twice recorded in Exodus: first, (considered from its divine side) as a command of God, or (considered from its human side) as a vision or ideal (the tabernacle which God showed Moses on the mount), 2531; secondly, as the historical fact of the execution of the building of the work commanded by Jehovah, but interrupted by the history of the golden calf, 3540.
The tabernacle is not merely a place of worship; but, as being the house of the ark of the covenant or of the tables of the law, and as being the house of the Lord of the covenant who manifests Himself in the Holy of holies, it is first of all the centre of the whole legislation and the residence of the lawgiver Himself, who holds sway between the cherubim over His law, and will not let it become a dead ordinance, but makes sure that from out of the Holy of holies it shall grow into a living power. Hence, therefore, the history of this institution properly stands in Exodus, not in Leviticus. Jehovah has redeemed His people out of the house of bondage, and brought them to His holy house, which is at once palace, temple, and court-house, or public gathering-placethe house in which Jehovah meets with His people.

The tabernacle has been called a nomadic temple. It is indeed the preliminary form of the temple, but itself continued, after the people ceased their wanderings, for a long time to change its location in Israel until Solomons temple was built. As the prototype and opposite of garish heathen temples; as the historical model of the Israelitish temple in its three principal historical forms (temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod); as the religious model, or outline, the type of Christian places of worship; and as the symbol of the proportions of the kingdom of God, both outwardly and inwardly considered; accordingly, as the fundamental form of every real sanctuary, the tabernacle preserves an imperishable significancealmost more significant in its naked simplicity than with its ornamentation and wealth. When the outward glory of the temple is gone, God will rebuild the tabernacle of David (Amo 9:11-12).

The tabernacle as Moses idea, which indeed he owes to divine revelation, characterizes Moses as also a great and original man in Hebrew art. Bezaleel was only the artist or master-workman who carried out the idea, working according to Moses plan; and even Michel Angelo, who chiselled the figure of Moses, worked, as architect, according to the theocratic outline which had been introduced into the world through Moses.
Of the numerous treatises on this sanctuary comp. besides Bhr (Symbolik des mosaischen Kultus I. p. 53 sqq.) and Keil (Bibl. Archologie 1, 17 sqq.), especially Leyrer in Herzogs Real-Encyklopdie, Art. Stiftshtte, which gives a condensed view of all the opinions and conjectures which have been propounded respecting its structure and significance. The latest monograms are: Wilh. Neumann, Die Stiftshtte in Bild und Wort gezeichnet, Gotha, 1861 (rich in fantastic hypotheses derived from the discoveries at Nineveh), and C. J. Riggenbach, Die mosaische Stiftshtte mit drei lithogr. Tafeln. (Basel, 18624). Vid. Knobel, Commentary, pp. 249257. Popper, Der biblische Bericht ber die Stiftshtte, etc. (Leipzig, 1862). Wangemann, Die Bedeutung der Stiftshtte. Wissenschaftlicher Vortrag, etc. (Berlin, 1866). Also Winers Reallexicon and Zellers Biblisches Wrterbuch. [To these may be added, besides Smiths Bible Dictionary and Kittos Cyclopedia, Kurtz, Sacrificial Offerings of the O. T.; Haneberg, Die religisen Alterthmer der Bibel (Munich, 1869); T. O. Paine, Solomons Temple (Boston, H. H. & T. W. Carter, 1870); and E. E. Atwater, History and Significance of the Sacred Tabernacle of the Hebrews (Dodd & Mead, New York, 1875).Tr.]

I. General view of the ideal plan of the building. Exo 25:1 to Exo 31:11

External Prerequisites. Building Materials. Assessments for the Building. Exo 25:1-9.

a. The Divine Side of the Dwelling

1. The Ark of the Covenant, with the Mercy-seat and the Cherubim, as the chief thing in the whole Building, Exo 25:10-22. Object of it: the continual, living Revelation of God. Exo 25:22. The Holy of Holies.

2. The Table of Shew-bread (of Communion with God, consecrated to God, Exo 25:30), and the Candlestick with its Appurtenances (the Divine Illumination in accordance with the Ideal, Exo 25:40), Exo 25:23-40.

3. The Sanctuary. Divine and Human. The Tent, or the Dwelling itself, Exo 26:1-30. Conformed to the Ideal, Exo 26:30.

4. The Veil to distinguish and divide the Holy of Holies from the Sanctuary, Exo 26:31-37.

b. The Human Side of the Dwelling

1. The Altar of Burnt-offering. Chap. Exo 27:1-8. Conformed to the Ideal, Exo 27:8.

2. The Court, Exo 27:9-19.

c. Functions Connected with the Building

1. Bringing of the holy Oil, and the Preparation of the Candlestick, Exo 27:20-21.

2. Equipment of the Priest, the High priest and his Assistants, Exo 28:1-43. Object of it, Exo 28:35; Exo 28:43.

3. Consecration of the Priests and the Sacrificial Functions of the Priest, Exo 29:1-46. Object, Exo 29:43-46.

4. Altar of Incense, and its Use, Exo 30:1-10.

5. Assessment for the Sanctuary as a Continual Memorial for the People, Exo 30:11-16.

6. The Brazen Laver in the Court for the Priests to wash from, Exo 30:17-21.

7. The Anointing of the Holy Things. The most holy Ointment, Exo 30:22-33.

8. The Most Holy Incense, Exo 30:34-38.

d. The Master-workmen

Exo 31:1-11.

*****Conclusion.The fundamental condition on which the meeting between Jehovah and His people ideally rests: the Sabbath, Exo 31:12-17. The addition of the Directions concerning the Tabernacle to the completed written Law, Exo 31:18.

II. General view of the actual construction of the building

Foundation: The Sabbath as Prerequisite to the Tabernacle. Exo 35:1-3 (Exo 31:14-17).

1. The Assessments for the Building, and the Preparation of the Material made under the direction of the Master-workmen, Exo 35:4 to Exo 36:7 (Exo 25:1-9; Exo 31:1-11).

2. The Work on the Dwelling, Exo 36:8-38 (Exo 26:1-37).

3. The Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy-seat, and the Cherubim, Exo 37:1-9 (Exo 25:10-22).

4. The Table, with its Appurtenances, Exo 37:10-16 (Exo 25:23-30).

5. The Candlestick, Exo 37:17-24 (Exo 25:31-40).

6. The Altar of Incense, the Incense, and the Anointing Oil, Exo 37:25-29 (Exo 30:1-10; Exo 30:23-38).

7. The Altar of Burnt-offering, Exo 38:1-7 (Exo 27:1-8).

8. The Brazen Laver, and the Court, Exo 38:8-20 (Exo 27:9-19).

9. The Reckoning of the Material used, Exo 38:21-31.

10. The official Garments of the Priests, Exo 39:1-31 (Exo 28:1-43). The Consecration of the Priests, and the Ordinance of the Sacrifices, Exo 29:1-46.

11. The Presentation of the Constituent Parts of the Dwelling, Exo 39:32-43.

12. The Erection of the Dwelling, and the Heavenly Consecration of it by means of the Pillar of Cloud and Fire, the Sign of the Veiled Presence of the Glory of the Lord, chap. 40.

Knobel calls attention to the exact reckoning in Exo 38:21 sqq. and the extraordinary circumstantiality and diffuseness which is found in no other narrator to the same degree. So extended a repetition does not occur elsewhere in all the Old Testament. As to the diffuseness, the O. T. everywhere gives details when the sanctuary is concerned, as becomes the symbolical significance of the sanctuary and the religious spirit of the Israelites, vid. 1 Samuel 4-7; 1Ki 5:1 to 1Ki 9:15; 2 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 2-7; Ezekiel 40-47; the whole of Haggai; Zechariah 3, 4. It is taken for granted that here in every individual feature there is to be recognized the reflection of a religious thought. As to the repetition, however, stress is to be laid on the general consciousness of connection between ideal and real worship, as well as the special consciousness that the real tabernacle was built exactly according to the idea of it. Moreover, the second account is not a mere repetition of the first. In the presentation of the idea, the master-workmen come at the end; in the narrative of the actual erection of the building, at the beginning,quite in accordance with the relations of real life. In the execution of the work of the tabernacle the sacerdotal garments are described, and even the calculation of the cost of the buildingthe church account, so to speak. So the denunciation of a severe penalty on the manufacture, for private use, of the holy anointing oil and of the incense, is one of the means used to prevent the profanation of a legally prescribed system of worship. Even the hinderance in the execution of the work prescribed in the mount, occasioned by the golden calf, is not without meaning. How often it is a golden calf which hinders the execution of pure ideal ecclesiastical conceptions! Here, however, is everywhere manifested this feature of revelation, that the idea must become fact, and that the fact must answer to the idea.

We make five general divisions in the things commanded: I. The Prerequisitethe Materials. II. The Precept concerning the Structure itself. III. The Persons and Things occupying the Building. IV. The Architects and their Work. V. The Condition of the Vitality of the Institutionthe Sabbath.

Footnotes:

[1][Exo 25:19. , etc. Literally, From the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim. This is understood by some to mean: rising up from the mercy-seat. But the simple hardly conveys that notion; it has, perhaps, somewhat of its original import, part, so that the direction is to make the cherubim a part of the mercy-seat, i.e., of one piece with it.Tr.]

[2][Exo 25:31. The change proposed in the punctuation is one required by the Masoretic accentuation, as well as by the sense, though adopted by only a few commentators (Knobel, Do Wette, Bunsen). When it is said, its base and its shaft, etc., shall be made of the same, the question arises, the same with what? For the several specifications include the whole of the candlestick. The direction thus would be to make all the several parts of the candlestick of the same piece with the candlestickwhich is senseless.Tr.]

[3][Exo 26:24. The A. V. rendering (favored also by Kalisch, Gesenius, Glaire, De Wette, Frst, and Canon Cook) assumes to be a contracted form of . But it is singular (if this is the case) that both forms should occur in the same verse, and more singular still that there should be the same conjunction of the two forms in the parallel passage Exo 36:29. So long as at the best the obscurity of the description is not relieved by such an assumption, it seems much more reasonable to take in its natural sense of perfect, whole, and elucidate the meaning, if possible, on that assumption.Tr.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

The same interesting subject is continued through this chapter. Here are four more particular objects taken notice of. The first, of the consecration of the Priests. The second, is that of the consecration of the altar. The third, of the daily sacrifice: and the fourth, God’s promise that his presence and his blessing should be with the people, in their tabernacle service.

Exo 29:1

Lev 8:2 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Exo 29:45

So long as there is in man’s heart one fibre to vibrate at the sound of what is just and true and honourable, so long as the instinctively pure soul prefers purity to life, so long as friends of truth are to be found who are ready to sacrifice their peace in the cause of science, friends of righteousness ready to devote themselves to holy and useful works of mercy, womanly hearts to love whatsoever is good, beautiful, and pure, and artists to express it by sound and colour and words of inspiration so long God will dwell within us.

Renan on Spinoza.

References. XXX. 1. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Exodus, etc., p. 159. XXX. 1-4. W. Garrett Horder, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lii. 1897, p. 330. XXX. 7, 8. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxix. No. 1710. XXX. 11, 12, 15. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. ii. p. 361. XXX. 11-16. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvii. No. 1581. J. Hammond, What Shall I Give for My Life? A Sermon for the Census.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

The Shedding of Blood

Exo 29:12

What a violent transition! We have been reading, up to this account, language of a very different kind. We have been reading of gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, rams’-skins and badgers’-skins, and acacia wood; we have been reading of oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense; also of onyx, and all manner of precious stones, of rings of gold, of the cherub on the one end and the cherub on the other end of the mercy seat, and the cherubims stretching forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces looking one to another and now, suddenly, violently, we are told to “take of the blood of the bullock.” There has been no speech about blood hitherto. We have read of the garments of the priests, of the pomegranates, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem of the sacerdotal robe, and bells of gold between them round about; we have read of the blue lace, and of the mitre, and of the embroidered fine linen; but now we read of the bullock’s blood blood upon the horns of the altar.

“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 ( Exo 29:21 ).

Sanctified by blood! Hallowed by blood of beasts! Have we fallen from some high level? Are we now upon lines lying far below the altitude upon which our imagination has folded its mighty wings? How has modern piety commented upon this blood-shedding? In some, such language as this: “Is it to be believed that a God of love and pity would take delight in such offerings as are described in the ritual of the Jews? Is he a God taking delight in the shedding of blood, morning, noon, and night? Is that not a degrading view of God to think of him in any way participating in sacrifices so brutal and shocking? Ought we not to get rid of the word blood? Is it not a vulgar term? Does it not turn the mind in downward and debasing directions? Surely the mere reading of the ritual shocks the moral sense and distresses the imagination.” So much for the spurious piety which has mistaken the point of view and utterly misinterpreted the whole thing. It is shocking to have to do with people who do not see the meanings of things, who continually make mistakes in the very act of priding themselves upon being correct. They want religion but a certain kind and form of religion. They are shocked by the idea of idolatry, forgetting that they themselves are idolaters in worshipping only their own conceptions of what God requires, or might be supposed to require, at the hands of his creatures. The people who would get rid of the word blood would though they do not see it get rid of the word sin. They are not safe teachers; they are superficial commentators upon the dark mystery of human nature and the bright mystery of Divine love. My contention will be that without the word blood, as it is here found, the whole ritual would be a sham and a mockery, as without the sun the whole day would be dark and cold. But for the blood, the tabernacle would be an affair simply of filigree and upholstery, a conception too pretty to be Divine, too mechanical to have any relation to the Infinite; this would be the frivolity of a god, it is redeemed from frivolity by blood. Hitherto the people have been happily eager to give blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, and precious stones, even a sardius, a topaz, a carbuncle, an emerald, a sapphire, a diamond, a ligure, an agate, an amethyst, a beryl, an onyx, a jasper; “Take them all, with pleasure!” So you might, and miss the point Divine. All this initial contribution has a meaning far beyond. Having presented all these things so beauteous, so rich, so valuable, further claim is made upon the donors: now yourselves. That was the early and necessary method of spiritual education. The method is now reversed; but we must be just to history in not forcing open the pages that are closed; we must patiently and critically read the exact line to which we have come in the light of its own time. Mark the Divine wisdom: “Make me a tabernacle.” “With pleasure,” said Israel, in the wilderness. “Give me gold and precious stones, purple, and scarlet, and blue, and fine twined linen.” “Yes,” was the gracious reply “certainly.” Does God want such decoration? such gilding, and painting, and colouring? Not he except educationally, preparatorily. The meaner gift having been laid down, and laid down with some grace of generosity, the great claim is asserted in some such words as these: “You have given the donation, now give the donor.” Many of us are pleased with the tabernacle as a beautiful creation; so many of us are pleased with life as an opportunity of enjoyment, education, and progress, the reciprocation of courtesies, civilities which make life really worth living within a narrow sense. If we have advanced only so far, we have not begun to live. We do not know the meaning of life until we know the meaning of death. We have built a beautiful tabernacle; we have spared nothing of purple and blue, and fine twined linen, and all manner of precious stones, and laces, and beautiful things; how is it that he does not come who alone can make the house livingly beautiful? Because the blood has not been shed. All this life-building is a trick, a gorgeous ceremonial, a subtle piece of self-adulation; God will come by way of death, sacrifice, agony. Yes, death. This is the hard lesson; the preacher cannot teach it in words delicate enough, sufficiently pungent, graphic, palpitating with the blood of his own sacrifice. This is the reason that we have a tabernacle without a God: a beautifully-built creed without blood, or fire, or incense; this is the reason that the tabernacle is rotting. The Church has lost in proportion as it has lost the right conception of blood the one thing for which it was created. Christianity is no longer an agony; it is a controversy, a speculation, one philosophy amongst other philosophies; but its specialty its Cross is lost. Until we believe this we shall die a base death not a death that has life coming after it to seal it as a sacrifice a death without a resurrection. We are shocked by the idea of blood. Some ministers are afraid of the term; they speak of love, not of blood, as if blood did not include love and more. love at its highest point the point of agony, sacrifice. So the church is empty, the altar is abandoned, the tabernacle is a beautiful nonentity, a marvel in upholstery, a marvel in atheism. Churches can never live without the blood. We all know how easy it is to debase that term, to vulgarise it and make it shocking by narrow and imperfect interpretations. It requires but a dull fancy to turn that term to vulgar uses so as to offend the nostril and distress certain imperfectly trained faculties of our nature.

But we must ascend to heroic heights, and take heroic measures, and stand where base definitions can never come, and speak of blood shed before the foundation of the world the platform of vulgarity, the world that has made vulgarity possible. This blood was shed before the world was made, a Divine refinement, an infinite tabernacle in an infinite eternity. By whom are we to be led? by the people who are easily shocked? by people of perverted and enfeebled taste and faculty? by persons who have no broad conceptions who are afraid that words may be mistaken? or by another quality of soul? The one would lead us in the direction of small moralities, little marvels in behaviour, small successes in excellent behaviour which might be measured by a school prize. The other will lead us into prayer equal to violence that takes heaven’s gate by storm, and into heroism that counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. The Church has outlived itself because it has lost the profound conception of God in its creation and purpose. Only a return to God’s idea can mean a true revival of piety. A revival is not an excitement of emotion, a momentary influence operating upon our sentimental nature; a great revival profound as truth, lofty as Divine perfectness, happy as the bliss of heaven, can only come out of grand realisations of Divine ideas, knowledge that does not sparkle and crackle in dying flame, but glows in eternal ardour. We can only live as we live in God.

You say that you object to the term blood. What do you mean by that term? There is your mistake. You see only the red stream, the panting, quaking beast that dies under its throat-wound. No wonder you are shocked. You are looking in the wrong direction, rather you are not truly looking at all. The ritual must be taken in its symbolic sense. What then does the shedding of blood signify? death? No, there is no death in shedding of blood, as understood in its highest interpretation in connection with this old ritual. What then did the shedding of blood signify? It signified the giving of life; the very opposite thought to that which ruled your thinking and debased your imagination. This is a symbolic act. The blood is taken and put upon the horns of the altar, and upon the garments of the priest, and upon the vessels of the sanctuary, and it is a blood of sprinkling by which the whole multitude is at least representatively sprinkled, and the meaning is we pour out our life in one libation of love; it is thine, thou Giver of all existence. If we have been looking down at some poor beast dying, no wonder our Christian thinking has been driven away into dark corners and unworthy refuges. We should have been looking in the other direction, the outflowing blood and outflowing life; the man standing over the red stream saying, “Lord, this is what I would daily do; give back the life to the Lifegiver; have no life of my own, except as it is re-given to me by the God to whom I dedicate it.”

Looked at physically, the spectacle is revolting; looked at symbolically, it is full of poetry, theology, beneficence. It is the one thing we needed to express a feeling for which there was no adequate articulation. We have given the blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; we have not spared the precious cut stones, and the gold, and silver, and brass; but still we felt an aching as of a pain for which no words could be found. We were not satisfied after we had built the tabernacle, even according to the lines of the Divine specification; we walked around it, we ventured here and there to touch it with almost worshipping fingers; but still something was wanting; we knew not what it was, it required the refinement of God to introduce the term blood into such eloquence and beauty so ineffable; but, having been introduced, our souls felt the completeness of the harmony; the measure was massive, solid, full, and we are resting in God’s arrangement. Have we not even now some experience of that kind? We feel that we have done much, and yet there is a twitch at the heart, which being interpreted means: You have not done the one thing which gives value and meaning to all the other. What then is wanted? blood. The blood is the life not blood-letting in some brutal sense, but life-shedding, life-giving, life-worshipping, every pulse bearing the legend “I am not my own; I am bought with a price.”

But was there not a burning, as well as a shedding of blood? There was. What does the burning symbolise? Destruction of the flesh. Fire is the true and never-failing disinfectant. Chemists have devised many disinfectants of more or less questionable efficacy and utility, but fire never fails. What does that smoking heap mean? It means that all about me that is fleshly, impure, earthly, unworthy is being consumed. We want such sanitary arrangements. This is the Divine sanitation, not an offering of life and allowing the dead carcase to rot and scatter pestilence in the air; but a blood-oblation: the life given and the mean part handed over to fire to be turned into aspiration the only form in which the flesh can pray.

In interpreting these ancient pages, events must never be judged out of their own time. We cannot understand the early books unless we exclude from our imagination every other book we have read. A great organist has said that, in coming to an instrument he has never tried, his first object is to forget every organ he has previously played upon; the new instrument must stand upon its own merits and neither be elevated nor depressed by memories connected with other instruments. It is even so we must read the early books of the Bible. When we read Genesis we must not know that Exodus was ever written; when we read Exodus we must have no idea that it is followed by Leviticus. Only in this way can we be just to the Divine method of revelation and to God’s way of educating the human family. We shall thus be for the moment shocked by this word blood. It comes in amidst such a blaze of jewellery and such a consciousness of wealth in all directions which import civilisation, culture, luxury, even to redundance.

Whilst we have to read an event in the light of its own time, we ought not to suppose that any event is final. The caution must be exercised at the one end as certainly as at the other. We are not, therefore, yet prepared for final judgments because we have not the complete evidence before us. We must read on, and on, patiently, carefully, with all the restfulness of a judicial criticism; and we must add to that the singular power which is called imagination, not as some fancy it: a base faculty that fancies things that have no existence, but the higher faculty that multiplies, that brings things into aggregation, that catches the projections of shadow and suggestive meaning amounting to an unwritten Apocalypse of viols and trumpets, and lightnings and thunderings, and beasts joining and swelling the hallelujahs of the heavens.

To what then does this “blood” point? It points, like John the Baptist, to One who is walking, and it says, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.” He could not have been slain openly one day sooner. It is in vain for us to ask why Jesus Christ did not come in Exodus or Leviticus. We must leave some room for God in his own universe. We must rest in the faith that there is an appointed time to man, to God, to the kingdom Divine, to the truth infinite, for revelation, incarnation, operation. The world needed all its school days to prepare for this high learning. Now the blood of no bullock is to be shed, or goat, or lamb; no ritual is to be performed. There is one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus. “Ye are come… to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” It is now our blood that has to be poured out; in other words, our life that has to be shed in daily libation. The blood of Atonement has been shed by the Son of God. He is the Propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world, a great mystery because a great love; a great agony because of great sin; a great death the greatest of deaths, yea, the death of the Son of God. In order that we might never penally die, we are to die in Christ and to rise in Christ. If I cannot understand the Atonement, I cannot understand the apostacy; if I do not understand God, it is because I do not understand myself. If I could understand the sin, I could understand the mercy. It is not for me yet to understand: my attitude is this none happier can I have till the vail drops and the clouds depart “Lord, I believe: help thou mine unbelief.”

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

The Priest and His Consecration

Exodus 29-30

We now study the consecration of the priest himself. Strange if God has constructed a tabernacle, given a specification for an ark, detailed the shape and colour of the priestly robes, and omitted to say anything about the priest himself. Let us see how the case stands both historically and spiritually.

We have already seen that the priest did not officially appoint himself; in no sense did he rush into the priest’s office; nay, more, at the very time of his appointment to the sacerdotal function he was absolutely unaware that the dignity was about to be conferred upon him. This we saw in our comment upon the twenty-eighth chapter and the first verse: “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” His sons were also appointed to the same high dignity. There is nothing in this appointment that should startle students of history. It is an appointment which is taking place every day in every circle and department of progressive human life. God appoints all men to their places. The conferring of honour is an expression of the Divine sovereignty. We do not know for what purpose we have come into the world until that purpose is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. That we have come for some purpose is a thought which should make us sober, watchful, expectant; that should touch our every thought with the solemnity and urgency of prayer. The uppermost question should be, “Lord, what was I made for? What is the fire which burns upon the altar of my life?” You, it may be, have been called to be great intercessors, having power Divinely given to hold the Almighty in long converse about human life, human sin, and human destiny, and may have the wondrous faculty which is best expressed to the dulness of our minds by the act of turning back the Divine purpose, when it is one of destruction, and begetting in the Divine mind a purpose of clemency and mercy. These things are of course, in the very necessity of the Deity; but our relation to them is sometimes best expressed by an accommodation of language which permits the Almighty to be represented as if he had been overthrown by human plea, and turned to more compassionate moods by human intercession. Others have been consecrated poets, painters, preachers, tradesmen; but every man is consecrated in the Divine purpose. We can have nothing common or unclean; nothing secular; nothing that is disregarded by the Almighty. If he thought it worth while to make us, he suffers no loss of dignity by appointing us, directing us, taking care of the life which he filled with the pulses of eternity. How we fall into recklessness, and fear, and many a snare by the evil thought that the Almighty had no purpose in making us, has never spoken of us in the radiant cloud which he has gathered around him like the walls of a sanctuary, but has left us poor, blind, homeless orphans without centre, outside the infinite gravitation which binds the universe to his heart You mock God by such wildness of conception. He gathereth the lambs in his bosom. The very hairs of your head are all numbered. There are vessels of honour and vessels of inferiority, but the great house is our Father’s, and every one of us has a place in it and an appointment to fulfil, and blessed is he who with loving obedience and consent falls into the rhythm of the Divine movement, singing morning, noon, and night, “Not my will, but thine be done.” Then is life a revolution round the eternal throne, and every life an opportunity for reflecting the Divine lustre upon lives that may be below it. There is a heredity of a spiritual kind, a succession priestly, artistic, philanthropic, evangelistic. Men are set in bands, classes, groups, why not say they are fashioned into constellations? every great grouping of stellar light and beauty having its appointed place, and though all the constellations fly so fast their wings never overlap, and there is no tumult in the infinite hurrying. We are called to this place because to this faith. To realise it is to be calm to seize that doctrine is to have bread to eat at all seasons, and a vision of heaven even when the darkness of the night is sevenfold.

A very solemn view of life is presented by this incident. Aaron was unaware what was passing in the cloud. Our life is being secretly planned for us. Up in the cloud the Lord is talking about his children on the earth. He is naming them by name, appointing coats and garments, ephods, crowns, mitres, and functions of usefulness and dignity for them. We cannot hear the converse, but we are the subjects of the marvellous talk. What is to become of the old man, and the little child, and the traveller whose journey will be done tomorrow, and the warrior who lifts his great sword for the last stroke in the Master’s name? We are being spoken of. Said One: “I go to prepare a place for you.” God would seem to have but one thought: love to man, redemption of the creature who bears his likeness. Wait until you get the message from the mount. We may begin to feel, before we hear the actual words, that we are about to be called to some great destiny, there are premonitions. Some of us have experienced almost miracles of prescience; we have felt the inspiration before it has fully seized us. Blessed are those servants who rise morning by morning expecting the day’s message for the day’s own work. Let your attitude be one of expectancy, and let the expectancy be like a prayer that pierces without violating the sacred cloud.

Notice, in the next place, the most important thought that has yet come before us. The consecration of the priest is identified with what we may imperfectly describe as the creation of sin. Mark, not the commission of sin with that we have been but too familiar; but its Divine creation. That is a startling term, but my meaning of it is justified by the Bible itself. A time had come in human history when actions had to be spiritually defined, classified, and set in a new relation towards the personality and government of God. This will throw light upon many a mystery in the book of Genesis. In Genesis there was no sin as we now understand that pregnant term. That is a key to the Divine administration in the book of Genesis. Murder in the days of Cain and murder after the giving of the law were two different things. If we omit to use that all-opening key we shall feel ourselves in the book of Genesis in the midst of confusion which defies settlement into order. You blame Jacob for coveting the birthright of Esau, forgetting that there was no covetousness when Jacob did so. Covetousness, in the now legal sense of the term, was an after-creation. We must not take back with us sentiment which has been established and cultivated by the law into the book of Genesis, and judge antediluvian and patriarchal times by a standard of which they knew nothing. To get a right seizure of the genius of the book of Genesis, you must in mind detach that book from all the other books, and read only according to the immediate light of the particular time. It was bad for Cain to commit murder it would be unpardonable for us to commit it. God did not treat the murderer Cain as he would treat a murderer of the present day. What was punished in those ancient times was the broad and vulgar crime about whose horribleness there could be no doubt, and the punishment was as broad as the crime. The two must be studied in their relation and harmony. How did God punish antediluvian and patriarchal crime? By floods of water, by tempests of fire. Wondrous is the adjustment of the answer to the aggravation! Deceit, covetousness, self-seeking, meanness, lying, and many other vices, had not in the book of Genesis been defined, and consequently were looked upon in many cases as necessary weapons of defence. The word kill would, in its highest sense, have to be explained to the persons to whom it was addressed. The word lying or falsehood would have to be expatiated upon and made clear, by expository and illustrative remark, to the individuals who first heard the word. They lied that they might win; they employed deceit as they would employ a weapon of defence, or an instrument of assault, a shield, or a spear. There is what may be called a chronological morality in the sense which is now present to our minds: hence the wondrous speech of Christ “It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you,” that is the sum total of my meaning. After this interview upon the mountain, all human actions received a new definition. The spiritual element was introduced. Murder, incest, violence, rudeness of behaviour all these are left behind among the vulgarities of the age to which they first belonged. But now we begin to come into the heart, into the innermost places of the thought, yea, before the thought has shaped itself into expressibleness, criticism Divine is brought to bear upon it, and so brought that the trembling, fearing heart exclaims, “Thy word is exceeding powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow.” This is the meaning of development. That great process can never be got rid of; it is the central line in revelation as it is in nature. The apostolic argument goes wholly in this direction. Look at Rom 4:15 : “Where no law is, there is no transgression.” Where was the law in many a case which has startled and confounded us in the book of Genesis? There was no law as that term is now understood. With this view accords the testimony of 1Jn 3:4 : “Sin is the transgression of the law.” But the Apostle Paul has just said, “Where no law is, there is no transgression.” See how this is confirmed by Rom 3:20 : “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” The most distinctively illustrative statement upon the matter is made by the Apostle Paul in Rom 7:7 this expresses the whole thought: “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” So then the law created sin in its legal and spiritual sense. Until the law is revealed to a man he does not know precisely what he is doing in the judgment of God. He must learn what life is; he must have revelations addressed to him upon morality, even though he be prepared to resent the notion of revelation upon transcendental spiritual realities.

Mark how the history accumulates, how grandly it masses itself into unity and significance. The moment when sin was enlarged and defined and made matter of law, a new agency was needed. Up to this time there has been no priest, as that term is historically understood. There was a marvellous Figure, half-God, half-man, a Symbol rather than a person, that seemed to point to mysteries yet to be revealed himself the greatest of mysteries, for that Melchisedec had no beginning and no end, neither father nor mother, neither beginning of days nor end of life. But now we come into concrete instances, and out of our own ranks is a man selected who was to be separate from us legally and functionally for ever. Is this poetry to be lost upon us? Is this sublime development to draw up out of our view without leaving its appropriate impression, infinite in meaning and in solemnity? These are the lines which prove the inspiration of the Scriptures. A new definition of life, action or conduct, is made up in the mount, and let us suppose there is no action upon the earth to correspond with it, not “What an oversight!” but “What an offence!” would then be our exclamation. But as God becomes narrower in his judgments, more penetrating, more critical, more discriminating, he adapts himself to the new morality, the more spiritual conception and criticism of conduct. Grace and Law were both in the mount, even Moses and the Lamb were both there! Then came the mystery of sacrifice, blood, expiation, atonement, daily sacrifice, continual shedding of blood, piercing criticism into every action of the human life, a great tumult, an infinite mystery charged with intolerable pain.

Before the law was made known to the people the atonement was provided for sin. Behold, then, the goodness of God! Whilst the people were at the base of the mountain, not knowing what was being done, an atonement was being provided for the sin which would follow upon a revelation of the more critical and spiritual law. Is there any line in all the holy testimony which enlarges this thought and glorifies it? Verily there is: “The Lamb was slain from before the foundation of the world.” The Atonement was not an after-thought, a mere expedient devised in reply to a set of circumstances which the Divine omniscience had not foreseen. Before the sin was committed, the Cross was erected; before the sinner had defied his Maker, his Maker had become the sinner’s Saviour. Who can outrun the love of God? “Where sin abounds, grace doth much more abound.” Sin is not an accident something that has come into the universe without being expected. It was foreseen from the beginning; Grace was ahead of it, and God will overthrow it Instead of being surprised into despair by our sin, let us be surprised into praise by God’s prevenient love.

In the Christian dispensation both the law and the priesthood are abolished. Sinai is but a hill left for the tourist, as the brazen serpent is but Nehushtan, a piece of brass intended to be used for common purposes, and the mantle of Elijah is now but a perished rag. We have come to another point in the Divine development of events; now we have new heavens and a new earth. “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” “We are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” That is the Christian position. “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We, too, have a Divinely-appointed Priest “No man taketh this honour unto himself but he that was called of God, as was Aaron; so also Christ glorified not himself to be made an highpriest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” There is one Mediator between God and man. The Aaronic thought is completed in the Christly intercession. We now come not to man, but to God through the appointed way. Jesus Christ is Priest, Jesus Christ is Advocate. “This Man, because he continueth for ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.” From the beginning to the end the line is one heightening, broadening, glorifying, until it is lost in the ineffable lustre of the upper kingdoms.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XXV

THE FEAST OF THE COVENANT, THE ASCENT OF MOSES AND JOSHUA INTO THE MOUNTAIN, THE BREACH OF THE COVENANT, THE COVENANT RESTORED BUT MODIFIED

Exo 24:9-34:35

1. What is this lesson and its outline?

Ans. The lesson is from Exo 24:9 to the end of that chapter, with a mere glance at the next seven chapters, 25-31, and then 32; it covers three full chapters, nearly all of another chapter, and a glance at seven other chapters. I will explain to you about that glance as we go along.

The outline of the lesson is:

The Feast of the Covenant, Exo 24:9-11 .

The Ascent of Moses and Joshua into the Mountain, Why and How Long, Exo 24:12-31:18 .

The Breach of the Covenant, Exo 22:1-6 .

The Covenant Restored but Modified, Exo 32:1-34:35 .

We commence at the first item of the outline, viz.:

The Feast of the Covenant. That part of the lesson is Exo 24 and commences at Exo 24:9-11 . Let us read that: “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu [two sons of Aaron], and seventy of the elders of Israel [and we learn from Exo 24:17 that Joshua, the minister or servant of Moses, was along. That makes seventy-five persons [: and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very heaven for clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: and they beheld God and did eat and drink.” That is the feast of the covenant.

2. What of the custom after ratifying a covenant and an example from Genesis?

Ans. Nearly always just after a covenant was ratified the parties to the covenant partook together of a meal to show their fraternity and communion. The Genesis example you will find where Laban and Jacob made a covenant. The covenant is prepared, they agree to enter into a covenant, they put up a token of the covenant, they build an altar, they make sacrifices, they ratify the covenant in the blood of that sacrifice. Then they sit down and eat a meal together, which is the feast of the covenant. You will find all of that in the Genesis account of Laban and Jacob. So here a covenant having been proposed, an agreement to enter into it made, a preparation for it, the terms of the covenant given as stated in their threefold characters, that covenant carefully read, an altar erected, sacrifices offered, the blood of the covenant sprinkled upon the altar and upon the people, and so ratified, then follows this feast of the covenant.

3. What are the provisions used at the feast in such cases?

Ans. The provisions are the bodies of the peace offering. There are two offerings, viz.: the burnt offering, which has to be burned up, then the eucharistic or thank offering. That thank offering furnishes the material of the feast after the covenant is ratified.

4. Who was the representative at this feast with God and a New Testament analogy?

Ans. The representatives here are: First, Moses, then his servant Joshua, his army chief; second, the high priest and his two sons that is five; and third, the seventy elders of Israel. All Israel did not meet God and partake of a feast, but the representatives of Israel in the persons of Moses, Joshua, Aaron and his two sons, and the seventy elders, who meet God and partake of this feast. Now the New Testament analogy is that the Lord’s Supper which was to memorialize the sacrifice of Christ was participated in by representatives of the church, the apostles. The apostles were there, but not there as individuals. They represented the church just as they represented the church in receiving the Commission, so that it was simply a church observance even at the time of its institution.

5. What of the communion in this feast and the New Testaments analogy?

Ans. The communion is not the communion between Moses, Aaron, and the elders, that is, it is not a communion with each other, but it is a communion with God, and the New Testament analogy is as Paul expresses in his first letter to the Corinthians: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion, or participation, of the blood of Christ?” and yet how often people misrepresent the idea of that communion, as when A, B, and C commune together to show their fellowship for each other, or a man’s communing to show his fellowship for his wife. The word means “participation” and the one in whom is the participation is God: “The loaf which we bless, is it not a participation, the communion of the body of Jesus?” So here these representatives of all Israel communed with God a little way up the mountain, not far.

6. The record says that they saw God. What kind of a sight of God did they see, and what other cases in the Old and New Testaments?

Ans. They did not see any form or likeness of God. Moses is very careful to say that “no man can see God and live.” He is careful to say in Deu 4 that at Sinai they saw no similitude or likeness. Now, in Isa 6 he (Isaiah) sees God as they saw him, that is, he sees the throne; he sees the pavement; he sees a great many things about the throne, the angels, the cherubim and the seraphim, but he doesn’t see any likeness of God, though he hears God talking. Precisely so you find it in Eze 1 . He sees the chariot of God, four cherubim, their wheels, their wings, and their faces looking every way, but he doesn’t see the One in the chariot, and so it is in Rev 4 where John is caught up to heaven and he sees the very same thing, this very pavement, and the throne, the cherubim, the angels round about the throne, and he sees something that represents the Holy Spirit, and he sees something that represents Jesus Christ, a precious stone which represents God, but he doesn’t see God.

7. Apply this thought to transubstantiation and consubstantiation in our feast, as the Romanists and Luther taught.

Ans. The Romanist says, “This is the very body and the very blood of Christ; you can see it and you can taste it.” And the consubstantiation advocate, Luther, says, “The bread is not the body of Christ and the wine is not the blood of Christ, but Christ is there this way: You take a knife and put it in the fire and take it out of the fire when it is red hot, and you have the same metal, but you have something there that was not there before, viz.: heat, you can touch it and feel the effect of that heat burning.” You can take cognizance of that kind of a presence, but in this analogous communication with God they saw no similitude, no form.

8. Explain that part of the feast where it is said that “God laid not his hand on the elders of Israel, though they saw him.”

Ans. It means that God did not slay them. The declaration is often made, “Whoever sees God shall die.” They can’t bear the sight of God. But the kind of a sight of God that these people saw, they were able to see without having the hand of God laid on them, and what a beautiful lesson! Before the covenant was made, when the trumpet sounded and the darkness came and the earth quaked and the lightning flashed, and that strange, awful voice speaking the ten words, the people were scared almost to death; they wanted a mediator, somebody to come between them and that awful Being. But knowing that a covenant had been established and had been ratified by the blood of a substitute, they can see God in the sacrifice of the substitute and not die; see him in perfect peace, just as you, before you are converted, look upon God as distant and unapproachable, but after you see him in Christ in the covenant, the terror of God is taken away and you can sit there just as if eating a meal with a friend.

9. Give again a complete outline of the covenant.

Ans. The complete outline of the covenant is:

(1) God’s proposition of a covenant and their agreement to enter into a covenant;

(2) Their preparation for the covenant;

(3) The three great terms of the covenant;

(4) The ratification of the covenant;

(5) The feast that follows the covenant. Will you keep that in mind? You need to be drilled on that every now and then, so that when anybody asks you where there can be found a copy of the Sinai covenant and all the parts of it, you can answer: “It commences with Exo 19 , and closes with Exo 24 .” That is the whole thing in all its parts.

The Ascent of Moses into the Mount, Why and How Long? This is the second item of the outline. That is found immediately after what we have been discussing, commencing at Exo 24:12 . “And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there”: that means, Moses, you are to be there quite awhile; “and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.” And Moses rose up, and his servant Joshua; and Moses went up into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the midst of the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.” Now here are the questions on that:

10. Why is Moses, after the covenant is ratified and the feast is held, taken up into the mount? (He and Joshua alone go).

Ans. He is carried up to receive the same law which had been spoken orally, now in writing “which I have written.” And what he went up particularly to get was the two tables or the Ten Commandments, and in God’s own handwriting that he might keep them as a witness. “The tables of the Testimony” is the name of them. Moses wrote a copy that the people learned, but that particular copy was God’s own autograph. That was put up and preserved as “tables of the testimony.”

11. What is the meaning of “tables of stone,” “the law,” and “the commandment”?

Ans. The tables of stone I have just described. But what was the law that Moses goes up after? You would miss that if you had to answer it off-hand, and the commentators all miss it. They don’t get in a thousand miles of it. You will find that it was what he received when he went up there a special law, and that special law was that the sabbath, God’s sabbath, should be the sign of the covenant. You find that at the end of this section that we are now on. So the law he went after was the law of the sign. Then what was the commandment he went after? The Commandments are all given in seven chapters (25-32) and every one of them touches the law of the altar. We will glance at the outline of that directly.

12. Why were these tables of testimony and this sign of the covenant and these laws concerning the altar given to Moses?

Ans. The lesson says, “That thou mayest teach them.”

13. Who was to represent Moses in the camp while he was absent in the mount?

Ans. Aaron and Hur.

14. What reminder of a New Testament incident is in these words of Moses: “Tarry ye here for us until we come again”?

Ans. It is Jesus in Gethsemane, when he let the representatives stop, and said, “Stay here while I go yonder and pray.”

15. What was the visible token that God was present with Moses, and why that token?

Ans. Exo 24:16-17 : “And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it and the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” Now, why is that last word, or clause, “In the eyes of the children of Israel”? That was a token to them not to get impatient. “When you begin to say, ‘Moses stays a long time,’ you look up there at that cloud on top of that mountain, how exceedingly glorious it is, you may know that Moses is right in that cloud communing with God.”

16. How long was Moses up there in that cloud before God spoke to him, and why did he speak to him on the particular day that he did?

Ans. Moses was up there six days. God called him up there: “Don’t you get impatient. Here is the test of your faith. You wait. I have called you up here, to have an interview and to receive certain things, and you wait; be patient.” Now on the seventh day, that is, the sabbath, which was the sign of the covenant, God spoke.

17. How long was Moses in the mount, and what is the New Testament parallel?

Ans. Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights, and the New Testament parallel is that after Christ was sacrificed for the ratification of the covenant and they had eaten the feast of the covenant and Christ was risen from the dead, he remains with them forty days, instructing them. That is just exactly what God is doing with Moses. Just as Jesus uses forty days after his sacrifice in careful instruction of his disciples, so God after this sacrifice and ratification of the covenant, takes Moses up into that mountain for forty days of continued explanation.

18. Give, for the present, a mere summary of what Moses received on the mount, set forth in the seven chapters, 25-31.

Ans. Just now all we want is a summary and the reason we don’t want to go into the details is that we take that up in the next chapter in connection with what follows. But all you want to know now is the outline. The outline is:

(1) He received the tables of the testimony;

(2) He received the law of the sign;

(3) He received the commandments as follows:

(a) The commandment upon the people to furnish voluntary offerings for what was to be made;

(b) The making of the ark with the mercy seat on it where God was to be met; the making of a tabernacle for the shewbread; the making of the candlestick; the making of a tabernacle or tent with its subdivisions and its marvelous veil between the divisions; and the court and the oil that was to supply the lampstand or candlestick;

(d) The law of the consecration of Aaron to the office of high priest;

(e) The law of the consecration of the altar by which approach to God was to be made;

(f) The law of the daily sacrifice;

(g) The law of the golden altar, or the altar of incense, and bow it is to be offered. Incense is to be offered twice a day just like the lamp is to be lit twice a day and the sacrifice is to be offered twice a day in the morning Aaron goes to trim the lamps as the morning offering and the ascent of the morning cloud of incense representing the going up of the prayers of God’s people, and in the afternoon he goes to light the lamp, and there is the evening sacrifice and the going up of the incense;

(h) The atonement or ransom money and what that signifies;

(i) The laver, that was to be between the altar and the mercy seat, and what it was to be used for;

(j) The marvelous recipe of the anointing oil that was to be poured upon the head of a prophet or a priest or a king or a sacrifice;

(k) The perfume that was to be put at the place of entrance, indicating that they were to meet the fragrance of God right at the threshold of entrance or approach to him;

(l) The inspiration of the artificers of all this work. Just as an apostle was inspired to do his work, so certain men were here named that were inspired to do this work called for in all these things;

(m) That sabbath for a sign which I have already mentioned.

The Breach of the Covenant. This is the third item. Where do you find that breach of the covenant? In chapter 32. We are coming to awful things now. The most interesting thing in the Old Testament: “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow shall be a feast to Jehovah. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”

19. Give the seven elements of this breach of the covenant.

Ans.

(1) The rejection of Moses and of God and a demand for other gods to be made: “Make us gods.”

(2) This god, of course, being man made, was an idol.

(3) The form of the god was the Egyptian god, Apis, calf or ox, the Egyptian god that died of the murrain through one of the miracles of Moses.

(4) They built an altar of worship and of sacrifice.

(5) They offered both burnt and peace offerings.

(6) They had a feast to follow this covenant they were making with this new god, and,

(7) Stripping off their clothes, naked, they go into a drunken orgy and practice all of the beastly and infamous lusts that characterized that worship in Egypt and in other idol worshiping countries. Paul says, “The people sat down to eat and rose up to play,” and then adds, “Be ye not fornicators and adulterers as they were.”

20. What was God’s announcement to Moses and what were the purposes announced concerning Israel and the raising up of a new people?

Ans. God saw that breach of the covenant that had just been made. The answer is this, commencing with Exo 32:7 : “The Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and have said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and now, behold it is a stiffnecked people: now therefore let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” That is the terrible announcement. They have broken the covenant. “I will instantly destroy them; I will raise up a new people from Moses. He will be the basis of the new people.” Now before they get out of this trouble there will be four intercessions of Moses.

21. What was the first intercession of Moses and its result?

Ans. I quote it, commencing at Exo 32:11 : “And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swearest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.” So the first thing was to stop instant destruction of that people. The result: “And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” He didn’t kill them right then, but he at least suspended that terrible bolt of divine wrath that was about to fall upon them.

22. What did Moses and Joshua see on their return to the camp?

Ans. All the above happened before Moses came down from the mount. Joshua says, “I hear a great shout down in the camp. There must be an army or there must be a battle.” Moses says, “No, that is not the shout, neither of men on the battlefield, nor of men crying for mercy. That is the shout of singing; those people are singing down there.” And they came down and saw that calf; they saw their naked and beastly orgies; they saw the whole hideous sin which the people had committed.

23. What was the first token that the covenant was broken?

Ans. Moses took the tables of the testimony and broke them all to pieces right in the sight of the people. “You do not need these tokens any more. I have brought you in the handwriting of God the witness of the covenant; you broke it; let the token be broken.”

24. What, in order, are the other things done in that camp by Moses when he got down there?

Ans. Moses was not a man to go down there and hold his finger in his mouth. When he sees that thing he is stirred. Let us see now what, in order, were the things that he did. First, he took that calf and burned it until it pulverized; then he mingled the ashes of it in water and made the people drink it. Second, he shook his finger in the face of Aaron and said, “What have these people done unto you that you led them into this sin? I went up in that mountain to meet God; I left you as my representative. Now what have these people ever done to you that you should lead them into this?” And Aaron pleads the baby act if ever a man did in the world. He says, “Well, they they they said, ‘Make us a god,’ and I told them to bring me the earrings and I put the earrings into the fire and there came out this calf; the fire did it.” An old father who, when his boy came home disappointed and broken in health and knowing nothing, after several years away at school, said, “All that money I put into the fire of education and there came out this calf.” Third, Moses said unto them in the camp, while naked and half drunk they stood before him not daring to open their lips, “Whoso is on the Lord’s side, let him stand by me. I am going to draw a line. Somebody in this great camp surely is on the Lord’s side.” And the Levites came. You remember when Jacob pronounced the prophecy of blessing on his children he gave a big slice to Levi. When Moses goes to pronounce a blessing he is going to pronounce a great honor on Levi, and he is going to assign as a reason what Levi does this day. That whole tribe lined up on the side of Moses. They didn’t stand up there just as a show. “Now, if you are on the Lord’s side, draw your swords and wade into that crowd. Don’t stop if it is your brother, or father, or mother, no matter how close kin to you. There must be a penalty inflicted for this awful sin,” and Levi pitched in and slew three thousand. Fourth, he began to take steps toward saving those people from temporal and eternal destruction, and that brings us to the next question:

25. What was the second intercession of Moses and God’s reply?

Ans. Moses said, “You have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord: peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.” Now you come to the next intercession of Moses: “And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said [and this is the greatest piece of intercession that ever took place on earth except in the case of Christ], Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” Only one other man ever said anything like that, and concerning this same stiffnecked people, and that was Paul, “I could wish myself accursed from Christ for my brethren’s sake.” Moses, in other words, offered himself as a substitute for the people: “Don’t, don’t destroy them! Destroy me!” It was a grand proposition. Now, what did God say to that intercession? “The Lord said to Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me,, him will I blot out of my book. I will not blot you out for them. The soul that sinneth it shall die. Therefore now go, lead these people unto the place of which I have spoken unto them; behold mine angel shall go before thee; nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.”

26. What of the effect of this upon the people?

Ans. They mourned and laid aside their ornaments and did not put them on from Mount Horeb onward.

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

XXVII

THE TABERNACLE

Exodus 25-31; Exodus 35-40

This chapter covers thirteen chapters of Exodus, and, of course, I can only touch them in places. These chapters are 25-31; 35-40.

1. Was there a temporary tent before this tabernacle was built?

Ans. You will find in Exo 33:7-11 , that there was a temporary tent and on one occasion it was moved outside of the camp.

2. What were the names of the tabernacle and the reasons therefore?

Ans. First, the “tabernacle of testimony, or witness,” Exo 38:21 ; Num 17:7-8 . Those two names mean the same thing. The tabernacle of testimony, or of witness; and the reason of this is that this tent was the depository of the testimonials; anything that was to be kept for a testimony was to be kept in this tent; for example, in it were the tables of testimony or God’s autograph on the two tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments. That copy was kept as a witness; then in it was the book of the covenant, that is, those chapters, Exo 19:1-24:9 . That part is called the book of the covenant. That was in Moses’ handwriting. Then there were the records made by Moses, that is, the Pentateuch, the entire Pentateuch was put in the tent and kept in there; then Aaron’s rod that budded was put in there and a pot of the manna and later the brazen serpent that Moses erected. All of these were memorials. Now the tent that held these testimonials was called the tabernacle of the witness, or the testimony. That accounts for one of its names.

Next name, it is called the “temple of the Lord.” You will find this name in 1Sa 1:9 , and 1Sa 3:3 ; the reason of that name is that there God was approached and propitiated and worshiped and that gave the name “temple.”

The third name is the “house of the Lord,” because he occupied it. He was the dweller in it. As a Shekinah he dwelt in there symbolically between the Cherubim on the mercy seat and hence it was called the “house of the Lord.”

The fourth name is “sanctuary,” that is on account of its holiness. It was holy unto God; the most holy place, the holy place and the whole ground, or campus, was set apart to sacred purposes, hence, the sanctuary.

The fifth name for it was the “holy oracles”; that applied, of course, only to what is called the “most holy place”; that is very frequently in the Bible called the oracle of the temple, the most holy place. It is so called in Psa 28:2 , and in 1Ki 6:5 . Now, it obtained this name because there God spoke. An oracle is to give an answer to questions propounded. There God spoke, and it was also called the oracle, because in it were kept the written words of God, the place of the oracle; the book of the Pentateuch was kept in there. Now, the references here are very numerous on this oracle question. In 2Sa 16:23 ; in Act 7:38 , and in Rom 3:2 are some references to this most holy place as the oracle: “What advantage then hath the Jew? Much every way, but chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God.” There the oracles mean the same thing as the Bible, that is, as their Bible grew in volume it was kept in that place; that was the oracle for their Bible.

Now, I repeat the names of this tabernacle: (1) The tabernacle of the testimony, or witness; (2) the temple of the Lord; (3) the tabernacle is called the house of the Lord; (4) the sanctuary; (5) the oracle.

3. What can you say about the pattern of this tabernacle?

Ans. It was God’s pattern, copy, shadow, or type of a true sanctuary in heaven, that is, there is in heaven a true sanctuary, a true holy place, a most holy place, and as the poet Campbell says, “Coming events cast their shadows before,” so that reality in heaven casts its shadow before in the form of this copy or type. And when the real thing came of course the shadow disappeared. Anyone walking from a light casts his shadow before him, and the shadow will get to an object first; now when the substance gets there, the shadow is gone. I give you some very particular references on this word pattern, what it means and about God’s being the author of it. He furnishes the complete plan and every detail of the specifications. Not only for this sanctuary but for its successor, the Temple, and for the Temple’s successor, the church on earth, and for its successor, the church in glory. I give you some scriptures in point: Exo 25:40 ; Exo 26:33 ; Exo 27:9 ; Exo 39:32 ; Act 7:44 ; Heb 8:2 ; Heb 8:5 ; Heb 10:1 .

All of those refer to this sanctuary that Moses built as having been made according to a pattern which God furnished. Moses was commanded to see to it that everything be made according to the pattern. Now to give you an illustration that will come more nearly home to you, I got an architect to draw me a plan of a house to live in near the Seminary in Fort Worth. He drew four floors, that is, four floor plans; two side elevations, a front and a rear elevation; then a long list of specifications as to material, how that material was to be used, and the bill of the lumber, and of the brick and of the stone, and everything in it was put down. Now when I went to let that contract the contractor entered into a contract to build it according to the plans and specifications. If he had varied a hair’s breadth from what that architect put down, I could have held him liable.

I make this remark to you in order to correct some loose thoughts. People that insist upon sticking to God’s plans and specifications on the tabernacle and on the Temple, will deny that he has any plans and specifications on their successor, the church, and that nearly anything will do for a church, and that they can put things in nearly any sort of an order; they can commence with communion on the outside before a man is ever converted, and as a means to conversion; they can baptize him before he is converted, or they can dispense with it altogether. It is one of the most appalling signs of the times, that there is such looseness with reference to God’s positive institutions. It is a thousand times more important that the church be strictly continued and followed in all God’s plans and specifications than it was with this tabernacle, and yet there was not one-eighth of an inch variation in the measurements of this tabernacle. You may settle it that God is a God of order and not of confusion. This tells us here about certain tables and it tells us how those tables were to be constructed, and what was to go on them, and just where they must put them and just how they were to use them. Some people take the table of the church and put it outdoors and just call up Tom) Dick, and Harry to come and partake; a thing that you wouldn’t dare to do in my house; you couldn’t say where my table should be put. I do that. We certainly ought to allow God the same privilege about his table. You could not invite guests to my house, to dine; I must do that. We ought to allow God that privilege. You are the judge of what you put on your table, and we should let the Lord tell us what to put on his table. Then don’t go and invent a hundred things to tack onto what God has specified.

4. What were the materials of this sanctuary and their value?

Ans. There are eight kinds of materials specified. I will commence with the costliest. There are quite a number of very precious stones, jewels, some of them of exceeding great value and beauty. They are enumerated. The next was gold. The pattern tells you just exactly what gold must be put in it. Some of it was simply threads of gold. The gold must be beaten out very thin and then cut into the finest threads of gold and work these threads into the cloth. And the plans must not be varied from by one single thread of that battered gold.

Then the next material used was silver. It specifies in every particular where that silver was to be used. And the next was brass, and then it tells just what should be made of brass, whether the outside mold, or the brazen altar, or some brazen socket in which a pole or post rested.

The fifth material was the acacia wood, very common in that wilderness, and it was a very hard wood, hence exceedingly durable for building purposes of any kind. Now, it is a notable fact that this old tent had a good deal of acacia wood in it in certain places; it was existing up to the time that Solomon built the Temple, all the posts around it, all of acacia wood. When I read about it I am reminded of what a little boy in North Texas said with reference to bois d’arc. He said a bois d’arc fence would last through two eternities; that he and his daddy had tried it several times. In other words, it doesn’t wear out at all and it doesn’t rot. I know a bois d’arc fence now that is ninety-one years old, and it is just as sound as a silver dollar. So that acacia was the kind of wood to be used. The wood that went into the ark of the covenant consisted of a base of wood and then there was a covering of gold, and the wooden base of that ark was there in that Temple nearly a thousand years later when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple. I mention that to show you how much better it was for those people to follow God’s specifications about the wood. Suppose they had put in something that would have rotted in about two years.

The sixth element of material was the various kinds of cloth. This cloth would either be what is called fine twined linen, finished linen made out of the flax, or it was a coarse cloth made of goat’s hair or it was woolen cloth, or it was made out of skins what is called badgers’ skins, though probably not badgers’. It was more likely to have been the skins of sea animals and that skin was impervious to water when the animal was in the water, and remained impervious to water. They needed cloths for all things, for the girdles, and for the different classes of garments that are specified and for the veils. The seventh element of material was olive oil, pure beaten olive oil. That was to be for the lamps, and the eighth and last specification of the material was spices, perfumes that were to be for anointing. For instance he gives a prescription of the holy anointing oil, with olive oil as a base, and his directions will tell you just what spices to put in it and precisely what proportion; so many parts of one and so many parts of another. And they are not only commanded not to vary from that but they were never to make that holy anointing oil to be used for any secular purpose whatever. A king on his throne couldn’t have as much made as would stick to his little finger.

The question says, give the materials and their value. Unfortunately we have no means of valuing all the materials that were used. There is one place in your lesson that gives you the weight, troy weight, of the gold, silver, and brass, and I can tell you what that was: 3,350 pounds, troy weight, of pure gold; 11,526 pounds, troy weight, of pure silver; 8,112 pounds of brass. The measure is given. A shekel was a weight or measure as well as a piece of money. They give it in shekels and these shekels converted into pounds, troy weight, and you can convert these pounds, troy weight, into dollars and cents so far as gold and silver are concerned, into the present worth.

5. How was this vast amount of materials obtained?

Ans. Every bit of it was by voluntary contribution. Chapter 25 commences with the word of God to Moses to call upon the people to make an offering for the sanctuary. But God declines to take any offering unless it is a free will offering; it must be on the part of the willing heart. And when you turn over to read about how David got the material for erecting the Temple it is a most thrilling part of the Old Testament; the biggest contribution the world ever saw was collected. It is a fine thing to preach on, and a good suggestion to preachers when building a sanctuary for the Lord to take contributions from the willing heart.

6. Who were the artificers that made all these things, and how were they qualified to make them?

Ans. Some of the work was very delicate and required the greatest possible skill and nicety in construction. Exo 31:2 : “And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiad the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee.” Only two of them are mentioned by name.

7. What arts were implied in building this tabernacle?

Ans. Well, you can see that they couldn’t have cloths unless there were weavers and they would not have different cloths unless they had industries, and that precious stones couldn’t be cut unless there was lapidaries; and wood couldn’t be carved so beautifully unless there were skilled men in wood carving, and the structure couldn’t be planned and carried out unless there were architects. Then there bad to be the most exquisite work on the high priest’s garment there was to be on the bottom or border a row of pomegranates and bells, a pomegranate and a little bell, then a pomegranate and a bell, and so on all around it. It bad to be the most perfect thing. Whenever the high priest moved the bells would ring, and he couldn’t stop when he was performing the ceremonies in the most holy place. If the bells stopped ringing he would die instantly; and the people ‘would keep praying on the outside as long as they heard the bells on the high priest’s garments ringing. That shows that the high priest rings out to God the petition that they send up, and that shows the intercession. The bells in heaven upon his robe are always ringing, so he is praying for you all the time.

Now you see that to have the instruments to do all these things implied manufacturers; the jeweler’s tools, the carving tools, and the brass; they must have foundries. Think of the number of arts, and what a tremendous change had taken place in these people after they went into Egypt. They were nomads, ranch people, cowboys till then; when they got to Egypt they learned agriculture, city building, architecture, all sorts of fine work, and now it is all brought out with them, and when they go to leave Egypt, the Egyptians are so glad to get rid of them, God put it in the hearts of the Egyptians to bestow on the Jews gold and silver and jewels, and that is where all this gold and silver comes from that they are using now to build the tabernacle.

8. Define the whole space of the court.

Ans. Here the student should make a diagram and let that diagram show the relative places of the entire court, the heights of the curtain wall around that court and the gate of entrance and where the altar, i.e., the brazen altar, is placed, and where the laver is placed, and how they got into the holy place and then into the holy of holies. And he should show in that diagram just where Moses’ place was, and where Aaron’s place was, and the places all around that diagram of the court where the Levites were, and which of them on this side and which on that side, and then show the tribes camped around it; what three tribes on the north side, what three on the south, on the east and on the west. If you want to see a diagram so that you will have nothing to do but copy it, get (and every reader of this book ought to have what I have urged them to have) the Rand-MeNally’s Atlas by J. L. Hurlbut. You ought to read what it has to say about every lesson that we have. And if you have the Hurlbut Atlas it gives you just the picture that I have drawn mentally and orally, showing the length, breadth, and height of the court; showing you where the gate is on the east; showing you just where Moses was to be, where Aaron was to be, where the Levites were to camp, and where the other tribes were to be placed all around it; how big the tabernacle was, how big each division was, and how big the most holy place was in cubic measurement. The question is, Define the whole space of the court.

9. What are the tent divisions, and the sizes of the divisions?

Ans. The tent was divided into two divisions, the holy place and the most holy place, and they were separated by what is called the veil of the Temple, but it came to be a tremendous thing in the Herodian Temple seventy feet long and thirty feet wide, and four inches thick, and so woven that ten yoke of oxen couldn’t tear it, and yet when Jesus died it was rent in twain from top to bottom. The sizes are given in the Atlas.

10. What were the contents of the most holy place?

Ans. There were just two things in there, and don’t you ever put anything else in there. These are the articles, viz.: the ark, which is one thing, and the mercy seat which rested right on top of it; of course, the mercy seat which rested right on top of it had its propitiatory place where the atonement was made, and the Cherubim of pure gold (of course, there were things in the ark the witnesses: the pot of manna, Aaron’s rod, the brazen serpent, and so on). But two things are in there the mercy seat, which is on top of the ark: a chest with its contents inside, and the mercy seat resting on it.

11. How was the most holy place lighted?

Ans. There was no light in it, but clouds of darkness: “a thick pavilion of darkness is my habitation.” Whenever you get to the church in glory the expression, “There is no temple, there is no altar or shrine,” doesn’t mean the general structure about the shrines, just as the mercy seat on top of the ark constituted the shrine. When you get to the church in glory there is no shrine there. Why? Because the Lord God and the Lamb are the light thereof. Now down here in this tabernacle there was a shrine, the Cherubim) and the Shekinah signifying the presence of God.

12. Who enters, and how often, into the most holy place?

Ans. The high priest only, and that only one time a year. Nobody could ever see the outside of what was in there. They couldn’t see the outside of the ark nor the outside of the mercy seat. It was always carried, but it was carried covered. And the tent was first put up upon arriving at a camp and after the tent was put up the bearers of the ark carried it on the inside, and when they went out Aaron alone uncovered it. He was the only one that ever saw it.

13. What were the contents of the holy place, where were the contents set up, and what did they represent?

Ans. Just three things were in there. There was the seven-branched golden candlestick; the light of that lamp was never allowed to go out at night. It was trimmed every morning and lighted every evening just before dark. That candlestick or lampstand was just one lampstand. The one that was in the Temple when Titus captured Jerusalem was carried to Rome as a trophy. Another thing in there was a table, and on the table six loaves of bread in one place and six loaves of bread in another place and a cup; in the third place, there was a little altar called the golden altar in contradistinction from the big one on the outside, the brazen altar. This altar was covered with gold and on that was the frankincense, or incense; the material is frankincense, and it became incense, going up when it was burning in a beautiful smoke and very fragrant. Now as you enter that division from the east, the right hand will be the north. Which one of the things do you out on the north? Do you put a table, a candlestick, or a golden altar? Which one do you put to the south, and which one in the center right opposite the veil that has to be lifted aside by Aaron once a year? The Atlas shows all this.

What do those three things represent?

Ans. They represent the blessings of salvation by grace like the food and the spirit of prayer, as communicants get those spiritual blessings. That bread also represents the twelve tribes shewbread that is, it is bread for exhibition, very sacred, nobody was ever allowed to eat it. David did eat a piece once when he was very hungry and Jesus excused him under the circumstances (he was starving) though “He did eat the shewbread which was against the law.” Now we have found out the contents of the holy place, and how they were set up, and what they represented.

14. Who enters the holy place (not the most holy place) and how often?

Ans. Not the Levites but the priests. The Levites had the run of the court) Aaron the most holy place, the priests the holy place, every day.

15. What are the contents of the court and their respective positions and signification?

Ans. In the open court around the tent there were these things: (1) Near the east gate of the court was the brazen altar, the altar of burnt offering and sin offering. That was the altar of sacrifices. (2) Between that altar and the entrance into the holy place was the laver, a vessel containing water used by the priests in the ablutions necessary to the performance of their duties.

16. Who entered this court and how often?

Ans. Aaron and his sons that constituted the priesthood, and the Levites the whole tribe of Levi that served in the matters of the public worship. They all entered this court. Some of them were in there every day. There were daily offerings, one every morning and one every evening; so that was open all the time to Aaron or his sons or the Levites having special work to perform in there.

17. Where did the people come?

Ans. They came to the gate in the east; they didn’t get inside the gate except in case of their offerings. They brought their offerings to the altar before the tent of meeting.

18. Who were the ministers in the sacrifices and how were they set apart? Divide their respective duties of the court.

Ans. Your lesson tells you all about that: that the ministers consisted of Aaron, the high priest, the priests, and the Levites; just exactly how each one of them was to be consecrated to office; the ritual, etc. Aaron does certain things, and he alone; the priests, certain things, and they alone; the Levites, certain things, and they alone.

XXVIII

THE TABERNACLE (Continued)

1. What was the high priest’s apparel, its use and meaning?

Ans. Your book has a great deal to say about the clothing of the high priest but I shall confine my answer to only two articles of that apparel, viz.: the mitre and the ephod. The mitre was a headdress; towering, and on the front of it just over Aaron’s forehead was a golden plate fastened to the mitre, and on that inscribed, “Holiness to the Lord.” He was never allowed to exercise his high priestly functions unless he had that mitre on.

Now, the other portion of his dress that requires very particular mention is the ephod. The ephod was a garment, a vestment that had a hole cut in it like you see cowboys have in their blankets. It was put on by putting it over the head and the head coming up through that hole, and it came down to the knees. There was an inner robe of course, but I am talking about the ephod. It was carefully hemmed and embroidered around that hole so it wouldn’t tear, just as a buttonhole is, to keep it from widening. At the bottom of the ephod were the pomegranates and little bells that I have told you about. And the bells were to ring all the time that the high priest was performing his functions. It was death to him if they stopped, and their sound was the indication to the people that the high priest’s work was going on and they, on the outside, would pray as long as they heard the bells ringing. That is the ephod proper.

But that ephod had a breastplate, just a span square, at the shoulders; on the ephod was a hook, an ouch, on each side. This breastplate was just a span wide and on it four rows three in a row of very valuable jewels and each jewel had inscribed on it the name of one of the twelve tribes. So that whenever Aaron acted officially he carried over his heart, as a representative, the whole nation of Israel. The twelve tribes of Israel were there, carried on his heart.

The breastplate had two gold chains. The upper part of it had rings and the gold chains went up and fastened to the ouch, or hook, on the shoulder piece of the ephod. Having put on the ephod, he would then take up the breastplate by the two gold chains and hook it to the clasps on the ephod. That would let it drop down on his breast. Then the sides of the breastplate had rings and they were fastened to other hooks on the ephod and that kept it from falling forward, kept it in place.

Now, besides the twelve great jewels that represented the twelve tribes of Israel there were two other jewels, called the urim and thummirn. They went on the breastplate. I am not quite sure but that they were under the breastplate on the inside. The names, urim and thummirn, mean light and perfection. The use of the two particular jewels was to communicate with Jehovah. When the cloud would come down and rest over the tent to signify that Jehovah wanted to have a talk, the high priest would come into the holy place, and the communication would take place. Now, the two jewels Aaron would look at and how, I don’t know and nobody else knows, but through those jewels as a medium, he would understand the communication that had been given to him. Hence a high priest’s method of communicating with God was always through the urim and thummirn. Moses didn’t do it that way, because he was a prophet. God spoke to him direct. But the high priest could only communicate with God through the urim and the thummirn. If he lost those jewels he couldn’t talk with God.

Now, the ephod carrying the breastplate and the two precious stones, the urim and the thummim, was strictly an official robe; so that you often find in the accounts in the Old Testament the expression, “Get me the ephod.” “What do you want with the ephod?” “I want to communicate with God.” The ephod was the robe of communication. You read in the life of David that he went to where the high priest was and told him to put on his ephod and answer him certain questions. Well, the high priest put on the ephod, went up to the door of the holy place, propounded David’s question, looked at the urim and the thummirn, understood the answer, and gave it to David. You read in the book of Judges that Gideon when he assumed to be king had an ephod made so that he could communicate with God. And you read in the prophet Hosea that Israel shall be a long time without a king, without an ephod, and without a prophet. They shall have no means of communicating with God. That is the condition of Israel this day. They have no Temple; they have no high priest; they have lost the urim and thummirn; they have no ephod; no way of communicating with God. Since they reject Christ, the only means of communication, they are shut off. So that the particular thing about the breastplate and its urim and thummirn is that it was a God-appointed means of communicating with the people through the high priest. He adopted a different method when he spoke with the prophets. A prophet was higher than a priest. The prophets communicated with God directly. There are other things about Aaron’s dress, all the details of which had a meaning, but these are the great meanings of the dress of the high priest.

20. What were the regular times of service in this tabernacle?

Ans. Here were the regular times: The daily services every morning and every evening; the sabbath services, that is, once a week; the monthly services, the monthly sabbaths, and the annual sabbaths. Those were the great festivals, three great festivals, and then the Jubilee sabbaths, and in connection with it there came the great Day of Atonement. Those were the regular times of service, but there were provisions for special times of services that I will not now discuss.

21. What the offerings and their meanings?

Ans. I have to answer it so elaborately when I come to Leviticus, I only give now in general terms these offerings: Sin offerings, burnt offerings, eucharistic, or thank offerings; in a burnt offering, all of it had to be burned up. Now, a sin offering had to be burned, but every burnt offering was not a sin offering. I give you this example: If a man wanted to consecrate his whole life to God and brought an offering, that was a burnt offering. Now, that offering had to be burned to ashes on the brazen altar, to signify that God accepted that entire consecration. The sin offering was also burned. Nobody could eat a part of a sin offering. But certain parts of the eucharist, or thank offering, or peace offering, or meat offering could be eaten. Moses ate a certain part, and Aaron and his sons a certain part, and the Levites certain parts.

22. What was the ritual?

Ans. The ritual is that set of rules that told them just how everything was to be done. Almost the whole book of Leviticus is ritual and the larger part of Numbers. For instance, it tells just how every particular offering must be offered. The ritual is the system of rules prescribed, the service and the order of the service in all of its parts.

23. What was the place of the sanctuary in the camp and order of encampment around it?

Ans. I will answer that question more fully when we come to the book of Leviticus. We will suppose Israel is on a march and the cloud stops. As soon as the cloud stops Aaron and Moses stop. As soon as they stop, those carrying the furniture of the most holy place, that is, the ark and mercy seat, set it down there covered. And then the tent is put over it, and then all the arrangements are made about the various articles of the holy place and the court. Then the fence is put up, i.e., the court fence. Now, the Levites come in and camp on three sides, and every tribe knew just where it was to camp one on the north side, one on the east, one on the west, and so on.

24. When was this tabernacle completed and what was the order of setting it up?

Ans. In Exo 39:42 , we have this statement: “According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it.” Exo 39:42 of that chapter says, “Then was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished and they brought all the material together before Moses.” Now, the other part of the question was: The order of its setting up? That is explained to you in Exo 40:1-8 ; Exo 40:17 , “And it came to pass in the first month in the second year [that is, since they left Egypt], on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. And Moses reared up the tabernacle.” Then it tells how the tent was put up: “Then Moses took and put the testimony into the ark,” brought the ark into its place and then all the other things into their places in order.

25. When was it anointed?

Ans. It was anointed after the setting up, and Exo 40:9-11 , tells about that anointing, that is, setting it apart. And this is what it says on that, “And thou shalt take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is therein and shall hallow it; and all the vessels thereof and it shall be holy, and thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt-offering and all its vessels and sanctify the altar and it shall be an altar most holy.” “Thou shalt anoint the laver; thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons and make them put on their official robes and anoint them. Thus did Moses.”

26. When was it filled?

Ans. As soon as it was set up and was get apart, and anointed, the record says (Exo 40:34 ), the cloud came down and filled the tent and the glory of it was such that Moses couldn’t enter it. Then God says, “My glory sanctifies this tent.” When we get to Lev 18 , we learn that the tabernacle was sprinkled with blood as well as anointed with oil. Now, you will see from a careful reading of the last chapter of Exodus that a great many commandments are given, telling how things are to be done. Go to Leviticus and Numbers to find out how these orders given in the last chapter of Exodus are carried out. They are prescribed here and they tell you how it is to be done; the orders are given, but in Leviticus and Numbers they are carried out.

27. How dedicated?

Ans. Now, although the cloud had filled the tent, you don’t learn how that house was dedicated until you get to Num 7 . Nearly all of Leviticus and about a third of Numbers ought to be studied with the last part of Exodus. I am going to close what I have to say on this by giving you a little subsequent history of this tabernacle. It went with the children of Israel through all their wanderings. When Joshua got over into the Holy Land he set it up at Shiloh and after awhile it was moved to Nob. There it was in David’s time; then it went to Bethel; then in Solomon’s time it was at Gibeon. David erected a new tent. He didn’t make a new ark of the covenant and new altars and things of that kind, but he did make a new tent when he brought the ark up and put it in Jerusalem. Then he sent to Gibeon later on and that old tent that stood empty at Gibeon was brought but not set up, but just rolled up and when the Temple was built it was put in a chamber of the Temple and preserved, how long, I don’t know.

28. Give the parallels of a later date.

Ans. Well, just as that tabernacle was first prepared fully in all its materials, and these materials were brought together in one place, just so it was done with the Temple. So that when they started to put up the Temple they do so without the sound of hammer. Everything was so carefully prepared before it went up. Just as the church in glory will go up when the time comes. Every living stone will be thoroughly complete: body there, glorified; soul there, sanctified; no work to be done that day. It just goes into place by assembling. In my sermon on the church you will find just how the church in glory will be finally set up, and how that when our Lord built his church, John the Baptist prepared some of the material, which Jesus accepted; and Jesus prepared some of the material. But not all the work of the church was completed until Christ died. When he died he said, “It is finished.” The church was completed.

But that church was not anointed until the day of Pentecost, just as the old tabernacle had to be anointed and the smoke came and filled it. So the church that Jesus built stood open after he left it. He was the guide in it. He was the Shekinah as long as he lived, but when he went away it stood open until the day of Pentecost, when, as Daniel says, the most holy place was anointed. The Spirit came down and filled that house just as the cloud filled the house that Solomon built, and the house that Moses built.

29. What was the position of the cloud with reference to this tabernacle and its signals?

Ans. The normal place of the cloud was up in the air above the tabernacle. If the cloud moved, they moved, and they kept right under it. That was the normal place. If the cloud stopped, they stopped. So that one of the cloud’s signals was its moving, or its stopping. Another one of the cloud’s signals was its coming down and resting on the tent. That signified a communication was desired with the people through the priests. Then the high priest put on his ephod with his urim and thummirn, and went in to receive the communication. If a communication was wanted with Moses, he needed no ephod, since he was a prophet and talked direct with God.

30. What was the value of that cloud for light, shade, defense and guidance?

Ans. All night the cloud up in the air was one great pillar of fire, brighter than all the electric lights of New York City. Night couldn’t come up and touch them. Just think of it being forty years that they never saw the night. Then in the daytime the cloud spread out as a shade and kept the burning sun off them. The heat didn’t smite them for forty years. Then the cloud by its movements infallibly guided them just exactly where to go. They didn’t have to make any inquiries concerning the road they were to follow. They were to follow the cloud. They didn’t have to ask about how soon to start next morning. They were just to wait on the cloud. If it didn’t move, they were to stay right there if it was a year. The whole question was settled as to guidance by the cloud. How was it as a defense? Well, as enemies came, if the enemies were in the rear the cloud moved to the rear and got between them and the enemies with the black face of it toward the enemies. It had a black face and a light face. It would turn the light face toward the Israelites. It did that way when Pharaoh came up after them, and it looked to him like the blackest night the world ever saw, coming right between him and the Israelites, and it stayed there; Pharaoh couldn’t see through the black part of the cloud that was throwing light over Israel, and the Israelites passed through the Red Sea; as soon as they were across the cloud rose up and went on ahead of the Israelites, and Pharaoh following when he got into the midst of the sea, he and his army were swallowed up.

31. What was the value of the sanctuary as a center?

Ans. It was absolutely essential to hold this crowd together. Put three million people out and no center of unity and they will disintegrate; they will go in every direction, but no matter how many the people nor how far out the columns had to spread in marching and the herds had to go in grazing, all they had to do at any time was to look up; away yonder they could see, if in the daytime, the pillar of cloud, if at night, the pillar of fire.

32. What was the value of the sanctuary as an oracle?

Ans. An oracle is a supernatural voice that answers questions and tells you what you are to do.

33. Where was the oracle and what was it?

Ans. The most holy place is many times called the oracle, not because it was the oracle, t)ut because it was there that the oracle spoke. Nobody can estimate how much is the value of an infallible oracle. A case would come up that Moses would not know what to do. “Well, I will go and ask the oracle. I will ask God. God will tell me what to do.” In the New Testament Jesus says, “While you are now asking me questions [they were firing questions at him all the time, and right then in that very discussion of his, Philip says, “Lord, this,” and Thomas says, “Lord, this” and Jude says “Lord, this”] when the other Advacate comes, you shall ask me nothing. You will ask him. You will ask the Holy Spirit. I am going away and you think you will have nobody to answer your questions?” Disciples are interrogation points. They ask questions all the time and often very foolish questions, but Jesus patiently listened and answered, but when he went away that was the thing that troubled them: “Who will answer our questions?” “In that day when the Holy Spirit comes, you will ask me nothing. Just ask him,” says Jesus.

34. How was a communication signified?

Ans. If it was the high priest that was to ask a question, he would put on the ephod with the urim and thummirn and come to the Holy Place, and if the cloud was willing to hear him it would settle down and talk to him, and the same way with Moses, only Moses didn’t use the urim and thummirn.

35. How was the answer obtained and give examples?

Ans. If it was a priest wanting it, the answer was obtained through the urim and thummirn; I will give you some examples: 1Sa 23:9-12 ,-1Sa 28:6 ; 1Sa 30:7-8 ; Hos 3:4 . All these are cases when questions were brought, the methods by which they were brought and how answers were obtained.

36. What was the relative value of this tent and all the other tents?

Ans. A great many tents were necessary for three millions of people. I will let the psalmist answer that question. He says, “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the tents of Israel.” That tent was worth all the rest of them put together. Without that tent the others would not stand. It was not only the center of unity and the place where the oracle spoke and by which they were defended and guided, but it was the place of God’s presence.

37. What description and explanation the best?

Ans. About the best I know is found in Rand-McNally’s Atlas of the Bible. If you had that book you could turn to a certain page and see the picture of the whole tabernacle, see the diagram showing you just how every tribe camped, where Moses stood, where Aaron stood, etc.

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Exo 29:1 And this [is] the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,

Ver. 1. Take one young bullock. ] All sorts of sacrifices – sin offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings – were to be offered for the priests, because of the special holiness and honour of their calling.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

minister. See note on Exo 28:1

without blemish. This, with bread “without leaven” (Exo 29:2), shows the inner meaning of “leaven”.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Chapter 29

Now in chapter twenty-nine the consecration of the priests and the offerings.

And thus they were to take a young bullock, and two rams without blemish, And unleavened bread, and cakes of unleavened tempered with oil, and the wafers of unleavened anointed with oil: of wheat flour shall you make them. And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall [first of all] wash them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, the breastplate, and dress him with the curious girdle [or that sash around him was] the ephod: And thou shalt put the crown upon his head, and the holy crown upon the mitre. [The mitre, and then the holy crown upon it.] And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats on them. And thou shalt clothe them with the girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And thou shalt take the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covers the inwards, and that which is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, with his dung, thou shalt burn with fire outside of the camp: it is a sin offering ( Exo 29:1-14 ).

So first of all, as Aaron is consecrated, the oil signifying the anointing of God, putting on him all of these beautiful robes and all and anointing him with oil. And then bringing, because he is to be serving for the people before God, he had to have his sins taken care of. So the first thing was a sin offering to take care of the sins of Aaron, washing him with water, putting on these robes, anointing him with oil, and then the offering of this sin offering.

Now Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of the bullock. This is a symbolic action which symbolizes the transfer of my guilt over onto the ox. As I lay my hands on the head of the ox, I would be transferring the guilt of all of my sin over onto the ox, so that as that oxen has his throat slit, it is dying for my sins. It brings me the awareness of the awfulness of sin. Sin brings death. So I see the death of that animal, I see the blood shed, and I realize that my sins were put on it. And it was because of my sins that animal had to die, the transference of my guilt onto the animal, as my hands are upon its head.

Now the blood was to be taken with the finger and put on the horns, the four brass horns that were upon this brass altar. And then the fat and the kidneys were to be burned on the altar itself, but the carcass and the whole thing, because it was a sin offering, was to be taken outside of the camp and burned.

Now later we are told that that is the reason why Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem, let out of the camp, because He was the sin offering. His was the sin offering being offered to God for us. That way, that’s why it had to be outside the camp that Christ was crucified. So they led Him out of the city, nearby, but out of the city His crucifixion, out of the camp of God’s people.

So first of all for the priest to serve God, he had to have something done about his own sin. Thus, the sin offering offered for Aaron.

Now one of the rams,

Thou shalt take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of that ram. And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them into pieces, and unto his head. And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the Lord: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto God. And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the other ram. Then thou shalt kill the ram, and take his blood, and put it on 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, upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And thou shalt take the blood that is upon the altar, and the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, upon his garments, upon his sons, on the garments of his sons with him: and they shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul 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 ( Exo 29:15-22 ):

So the ram for a burnt offering unto God; that’s just really as a gift to God. But then the next ram was the ram of consecration, and thus the blood was placed upon Aaron and his sons on the tip of their right ear, upon their right thumb, and upon their big toe of their right foot. Remember it’s the consecration, “I consecrate my ear to hear to hear the voice of God. I consecrate my hands to do the work of God. I consecrate my feet to walk in the path of God.” A life of consecration unto God. “That I may hear His voice, that I might do His work, that I might walk in His path.”

So the life of consecration represented by the blood on the tip of the ear, on the right thumb, and upon the big toe of the right foot, as Aaron and his sons were then consecrated. Their lives were to be set apart for ministry unto the Lord in this offering of consecration.

Then,

One loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread the bread that is before the Lord: And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord ( Exo 29:23-24 ).

So they would take then these loaves of bread that had been baked with this oil and wheat, and they were to wave them. The wave offering could be either in an up and down or in a cross fashion, but waving them before the Lord. It’s called the wave offering. Now the wave offerings were the offerings of the meal offerings, or the grain offerings that they would make these little cakes out of them and wave them before the Lord.

Thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour ( Exo 29:25 )

Baked bread; what smells better than barbecued meat and baked bread? So the sweet savour unto the Lord. That’s the idea of just that, you know, putting them on the altar, burning the ox, that neat smell that you get from barbecued meat, and the neat smell from baked bread and just a sweet savour unto God. Who doesn’t like the savour of baking bread?

Thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord: and it shall be thy part. And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever [So the priests could eat that portion themselves, it became theirs.] for it is a heave offering, it shall be a heave offering for the children of Israel: for it is a heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the Lord. And the holy garments of Aaron and his sons’ were to be anointed ( Exo 29:26-29 )

Verse thirty-two,

Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. They shall eat those things wherewith the covering was made ( Exo 29:32-33 ),

Atonement in the Old Testament, “kaphar” is to cover. We have in the New Testament the word “atonement” which is an entirely different word. In the New Testament it is “atonement”. It is becoming one with God, only possible through Jesus Christ. “It was impossible” we are told, ” that the blood of goats and bulls could put away our sins”. All they could do is testify of a better sacrifice that was to come.

So they were only a substance, they were only rather the shadow. The substance is of Christ. These things were all testifying of Jesus Christ, our great sacrifice. The One who was sacrificed for our sins. So it was not possible, they did not put away sin. What they did make was an atonement “kaphar”. They were a covering for this sin, but did not put them away. It remained for Jesus to do that through His death.

to consecrate to sanctify: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy ( Exo 29:33 ).

What isn’t eaten was to be burned in the fire, just special for God’s servants.

Thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for a covering: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made the atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, and sanctify it. Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever touches the altar shall be holy ( Exo 29:36-37 ).

So it was, that is consecrated to God once it has touched the altar, you could not take it back. It then belonged to God; whatever was laid on the altar it became God’s. If you laid your life upon the altar, then it becomes God’s; it isn’t yours to take back again. It isn’t, no longer belongs to you.

Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year every day continually. One lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other in the evening: And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of beaten oil; and the fourth part of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer in the evening, and you shall do according to the meal offering [actually] of the morning; and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire to the Lord. And this shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee ( Exo 29:38-42 ).

So that was the purpose of the tabernacle: a place where God would come and meet with them, and speak unto them.

I will meet with the children of Israel, and [the tabernacle] shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am Jehovah their God ( Exo 29:43-46 ).

Now Moses was up in the mountain getting all of these instructions from the Lord. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

The hallowing of the priests consisted in a threefold function: ablution, arrayal, and anointing. Approaching with sacrifices and offerings, there was first to be the washing in water and then the arrayal in the holy garments. The ceremony of consecration, with its sacrifices and anointing, emphasized the purity necessary on the part of those exercising the office of the priesthood.

Aaron, cleansed and anointed, proceeded to service, and the ceremonies emphasized that the consecration of the priest must be expressed in actual service. All these rites and ceremonies were to be observed, not by Aaron alone, but also by his sons.

After these instructions concerning the hallowing of the priests, we find instructions concerning the daily offerings. These are dealt with more in detail in the Book of Leviticus. In the provision made for the offering of a lamb morning and evening, together with a meal offering and a drink offering, Jehovah promised that by this means He would meet with them and dwell among them and make them know Him. Thus the truth, at once symbolic and glorious, was to be kept perpetually before the people, that God could meet with them only by way of sacrifice and on condition of their devotion to Himself.

Through all these detailed provisions for the organization of the people it is of the utmost importance that we keep in mind the fuller intention of God that other nations might come to know the blessedness of the people directly governed by Himself.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

the Priests Prepared for Consecration

Exo 29:1-18

The consecration of the priests was an elaborate and impressive ceremony. Notice how Aaron and his sons are classed together, as though to remind us that Jesus and we stand together forever-more. He is the faithful High Priest, but we also have been made priests unto God. First came the washing with water, intimating the necessity for personal purity. See Heb 10:22. Then the donning of official robes; for Gods priests must be arrayed in the beauty of holiness. See Psa 110:3.

The anointing oil is the emblem of the Holy Spirit. See Psa 132:1-18 and 1Jn 2:27. It is not enough to have the Holy Spirit in us for character; His anointing must be on us for service. The slain bullock, as sin offering, reminds us of the contrast between our Lord and us. He knew no sin; we require the propitiation for sin. The burned-offering reminds us of Rom 12:1-2.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Exo 29:26-28

(with Num 15:18-21; Num 18:25-32)

The human race has for ever outgrown the Jewish religion; it was a most oppressive yoke. Its laborious ritual never was of any value beyond that of representing personal conditions. (1) As illustrating the state of the heart in those who truly offer themselves up to God, there is something impressive and beautiful in the ancient wave-offerings and heave-offerings. Waving is one of nature’s universal laws. The whole creation, with its myriads of planets, suns, and heavens, lives because it waves to and fro the central life. The life of God waves to and fro between our spirits and Him. (2) In prayer our souls are heaved up towards the eternal Soul of our souls. The heaving and expansion of the soul and body before God are really the heaving of His life and love within the soul. Nothing heaves up the soul like a perfect love. Our daily heave-offering is a labour that has a great reward. Our aspirations, our inner heavings and upliftings, are the works which will follow us into the eternal world. They will follow us by being actually constituent elements of our future body. (3) Some persons think it strange that we should be exhorted to hasten the coming of the kingdom of God. But all who have a thrilling expectation of it may be sure that the vital element of the new coming is waving in upon them, and that as they heave up their souls and expand with desire to draw down the heavenly fire they are unconsciously hastening the coming of the day of God.

J. Pulsford, Our Deathless Hope, p. 241.

References: Exo 29:38, Exo 29:39.-R. Eden, Sermons for Sundays: Festivals and Fasts, 1st series, p. 470. Exo 29:43.-Parker, vol. ii., p. 321; G. Matheson, Moments on the Mount, p. 34. 29, 30-Parker, vol. ii., p. 244.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

CHAPTER 29 The Consecration of the Priests

1. Aaron and his sons wash with water (Exo 29:1-4)

2. Aaron clothed (Exo 29:5-7)

3. The consecration (Exo 29:8-25)

4. The food of the priests (Exo 29:26-35)

5. Gods meeting place (Exo 29:36-46)

In Leviticus we find the record of their consecration, which is linked there with the offerings. Here it is only the instruction, while in Leviticus we find the act of the consecration. We touch upon it briefly; in Leviticus, we shall follow it a little closer. First they were washed with water. This is the type of the washing of regeneration. It stands for the new birth, which is by the water (the Word) and the Spirit (Joh 3:5). It is the one washing of which our Lord spoke to Peter (Joh 13:10). This puts all believers into the position of priests before God; we are a holy priesthood. But Aaron towers above his sons; we see him separated from them (verses 5-7). This is on account of typifying Christ. Aaron was washed with water like his sons because he was a sinner. It made him typically what Christ is essentially, that is, holy. The sons of Aaron represent Christians; all true believers are one with Christ as Aarons sons were. But Aaron was anointed alone before the blood was shed, besides wearing already his priestly garments. In this he is a very striking type of our Lord. He was anointed with the oil, the Holy Spirit, in virtue of what He is in Himself.

Notice the sacrifices brought. First, Aaron and his sons put their hands upon the head of the bullock, which was then slain. The blood was put upon the horns of the altar, and then all the blood was poured at the base of the altar. It was a sin offering. Then there were two rams. The first one was for a burnt offering. The significance of these different offerings we shall examine in the book of Leviticus. The blood of the second ram was put upon the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons. The ram was killed after they had laid their hands upon his head. Then the blood and the anointing oil was sprinkled upon them and their garments. This was the consecration proper. It tells us how they were set apart completely. Thus in redemption we are set apart to be a holy priesthood, to have our ears open to hear His voice and receive from Him, the hand set apart to act for Him, and the foot to walk with Him. In all this we see Christ and ourselves linked by grace with Him, as Aarons sons were so fully identified with Aaron.

Then there was the wave offering put into the hands of Aaron and his sons, and what this wave offering was is learned from verses 22, 23. It all expresses Christ, and is a sweet savor. The breast and the left shoulder of the ram of consecration (Exo 29:22), as well as all else which had not been offered to God, belonged to the priests. This tells of practical enjoyment of the love of Christ (the breast) and the enjoyment of His strength (the shoulder) who bears us up. It was eaten in the holy place, and the unleavened bread had to be used.

In Exo 29:33 we find the English word atonement for the first time. The Hebrew word is kaphar, to cover. Of this likewise we shall have more to say when we read the book of Leviticus.

In the concluding section of this chapter we read Gods promises, where I will meet you and speak there unto thee; I will meet with the children of Israel ; I will dwell among the children of Israel . The meeting place is the burnt offering altar. The daily offerings make known what the work of Christ is to God. And that is the place of the blessing.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

do unto them to hallow them

The priest type of consecration. (Cf. the temple type, 1Ki 8:1-11; 2Ch 5:4; 2Ch 5:14. The order in; Lev 8:1 to Lev 9:24; differs from the order here. In Leviticus the filling the hands precedes the sprinkling.

bullock, rams (See Scofield “Lev 1:3”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

An, Ex, Is 1, Thammuz

hallow them: Exo 29:21, Exo 20:11, Exo 28:41, Lev 8:2-36, Mat 6:9

to minister: Exo 28:3

Take: Lev 8:2, Lev 9:2, Lev 16:3, 2Ch 13:9

without: Exo 12:5, Lev 4:3, Lev 5:15, Lev 5:16, Lev 6:6, Lev 22:20, Mal 1:13, Mal 1:14, Heb 7:26, 1Pe 1:19

Reciprocal: Exo 10:25 – sacrifices Exo 28:1 – among Exo 29:10 – cause Exo 40:12 – General Lev 7:35 – he presented Lev 7:37 – consecrations Lev 14:11 – General Lev 21:8 – sanctify Num 3:3 – whom he consecrated Num 8:8 – a young Deu 10:8 – time the Lord 2Ch 13:10 – the priests Luk 1:8 – he Heb 5:1 – every Heb 9:2 – a tabernacle

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS

THE CEREMONY IN OUTLINE (Exo 29:1-9)

What animals were required for sacrifice, and what qualification must they have (Exo 29:1)? What offerings accompanied them (Exo 29:2)? Where was the place of ceremony (Exo 29:4)? What was the preliminary act?

This washing of the bodies of the priests typified the cleanness of the whole man in a moral and spiritual sense, which, while it was true of Aaron only ceremonially, was true absolutely of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he set forth and prefigured.

What followed the washing (Exo 29:5-6)? What followed the investure of the clothing (Exo 29:7)?

This holy anointing oil, for which (as we shall see) God Himself gave the prescription, was the emblem of the gift and grace of the Holy Spirit communicated to the priesthood for their service. At the same time it should be borne in mind that the service accomplished by them in a symbolical sense was accomplished actually by Christ for His people, who was anointed of the Holy Spirit to that end (Luk 4:16; Luk 4:21; Act 4:27; Act 10:38).

For how long was the office to remain in Aarons family (Exo 29:9)? This means of course to the end of the Levitical economy (Heb 7:11-19).

Consecrate in Exo 29:9 means to fill the hands, and signifies the placing of the sacrifices in their hands, in the offering of which they are not only sanctified but instituted into their office.

THE SIN OFFERING (Exo 29:10-14)

What was the nature of this offering (Exo 29:10)? Where presented? How were Aaron and his sons to identify themselves with it? What was to be done to it (Exo 29:11)? How was its blood to be used (Exo 29:12)? Which of its parts should be burned on the altar (Exo 29:13)? Which without the camp, and why (Exo 29:14)?

The presentation of this offering was to remove the legal disqualifications from Aaron and his sons on account of sin. The life which is in the blood of the animal makes atonement for their lives, which like the lives of all of us

was forfeited through sin. There was no intrinsic virtue in the blood of a bull, but as we shall be told later it is symbolic of the blood of the Son of God, which is efficacious in the cleansing from all sin (1Jn 1:7).

The details of these offerings come before us in Leviticus, where they are commanded for the people as they are here for the priests.

THE BURNT OFFERING (Exo 29:15-18)

The nature of this offering (Exo 29:15)? Observe the same act of identification as before. What distinction do you see in the use of the blood (Exo 29:16)? What was to be done with the flesh of this offering as distinguished from the other (Exo 29:18)? And before it was burnt, what (Exo 29:17)? What did it then become (Exo 29:18)?

Sin is not named in connection with this offering as in the other case. There Gods judgment is executed on the victim as charged with the sin of the offense, but here Gods satisfaction with the offerer is expressed as based on the previous putting away of his sin and the presentation of himself for acceptance and worship.

THE PEACE OFFERING (Exo 29:19-28)

These two rams bear a close relation to one another, and are to be considered theoretically as one. What is done with the blood here (Exo 29:20)? Touching the person with the blood symbolizes the purging of that person from his guilt.

What further ceremony follows (Exo 29:21)? This symbolizes the outward and legal and the inward and moral purification essential to the priestly office.

What is this ram called (Exo 29:22)? How is the idea of consecration expressed in Exo 29:24? Here Aaron and his sons take the first step in offering and are at the same time initiated into the priestly office.

Moses, who initiates them, is to wave these offerings, doubtless by taking hold of their hands thus filled, and moving them back and forth. The significance of this is difficult to determine. The forward movement toward the altar might indicate the dedication of the offering to the Lord, and the backward movement a transference of it again to the priest as his share, only that in this case the offerings are not afterward consumed by the priests but are burned on the altar (Exo 29:25). We await more light.

What parts of this ram are assigned as the portion of the priest (Exo 29:27)? Observe that a wave and a heave offering are both mentioned here, the motion of one being horizontal and the other vertical. It is heaved in token of being offered unto God, and then accepted by Him, it is assigned to His representative on earth, the priest (Exo 29:28). To what class of offering does this heave offering belong?

Peace offering in this verse is translated in the Septuagint, a sacrifice of salvation and is an acknowledgment of salvation already received as expressed through the sin and burnt offering previously presented and accepted, and which invariably preceded it in the Levitical ceremonial (compare Romans 5). As indicative of this it was essentially a communion feast. Gods portion was burned on the altar, but of the remainder the priest and the offerer (as we shall see later) each had a part.

THE DAILY BURNT OFFERING (Exo 29:38-46)

What was its nature (Exo 29:38)? How many times a day? What offering accompanied it (v. 40-41)? How would God show His reconciliation and communion with them on the ground of this offering (Exo 29:42)? His intercourse promised to the people would come, through the high priest. How should the Tabernacle be hallowed? In what other language is the same idea expressed (Exo 29:45)? Of what should this be to them an assurance (Exo 29:46)? This manifestation of His presence was the shekinah glory, successor in a sense to the pillar of cloud.

Aaron a Type of Christ

This is an appropriate place for a further word concerning the typical relation of the Aaronic priesthood to Jesus Christ.

That priesthood is set before us in two sections. Aaron, the high priest, the true type of Christ, and his sons, consecrated to the office in virtue of their relation to him. These latter who ministered at the altar of sacrifice and in the Holy Place, but never in the Most Holy, do not so much typify Christ as believers on Christ, who with Him constitute the royal and priestly family of which He is the head.

Aaron is a type of Christ in his person, since what he was ceremonially and symbolically the Lord Jesus is intrinsically and divinely. Although as to His humanity He descended from a long line of impure ancestors, yet He brought no stain of sin into the world with him, nor contracted any while here (Heb 7:26).

The high priest, however, was a type of Christ not only in his person but in his office and functions. The Epistle to the Hebrews will amply assure us of this. It will be seen indeed that it is in virtue of Christs priestly office that the Aaronic was ever instituted. In other words, Christs priesthood reflects backward and gives to that of Aaron all the efficacy and meaning it possessed.

Aaron was Israels representative before God, and in his priestly character he stood for the whole nation. As God was pleased with him so was He pleased with the nation. All his official acts were reckoned as having been done by the people here represented. All of which we know to be true of Jesus Christ as the representative of them that believe on Him. He died for them, and they died in Him (2Co 5:14). They are raised in Him, quickened and seated with him in the heavenlies (Eph 2:5-6). As Aaron bore the tribes into the Most Holy place so Jesus Christ bears His people into Gods presence (Heb 10:19-22). The chief duty of the human priest was to reconcile men to God by offering an atonement for their sins, effected by sacrifice. What Aaron thus did for Israel in the type Jesus has done for His people actually (Heb 8:3; Heb 9:12; Heb 10:10).

It is furthermore an element of the priestly office to make intercession on behalf of those whom it represents. This was done for Israel by the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat and the offering of incense on the golden altar, of which we shall learn in the next lesson. In the same way the New Testament combines Christs intercession for us with His sacrificial death (Heb 7:25; Heb 9:24; 1Jn 2:1-2; Rom 8:33-34).

To allude to a feature of the consecration of Aaron and his sons, we find something particularly suggestive in their anointing. Aaron was anointed before the bloody sacrifices were offered, while his sons were not anointed until afterward. And so, long before the cross, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Joh 1:33-34), but the disciples, who are the anti-types of the sons of Aaron, did not receive that anointing until after Jesus was glorified (Joh 7:39 RV; Acts 2).

Moreover, Aaron received a greater unction than his sons, the holy oil being poured upon his head and running down upon his beard, even to the skirts of his garments (Psalms 133). Compare Joh 3:34 and Heb 1:9.

These are hints of the typology of the Aaronic priesthood, of which we shall be learning more as we proceed and from which we shall be gaining richer apprehensions of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. For thus these things have been written for our learning.

QUESTIONS

1. Whom do the ordinary priests typify?

2. In what three ways did Aaron typify Christ?

3. What were two chief duties of the priest?

4. What New Testament epistle treats especially of Christs priesthood?

5. Can you quote 1Jn 2:1-2?

Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary

Exo 29:1. To hallow them, to minister to me We come now to the directions given to Moses about the ceremonies of consecrating Aaron and his sons to the priests office. These were to be performed in a solemn manner, thereby to strike both them and the people with a still deeper sense of the dignity and sacredness of that function. They were chiefly to consist of three sacrifices, which, though distinguished from each other, were all of the expiatory kind, as appears from this, that the priests laid their hands on the two former, (Exo 29:10; Exo 29:15,) and were sprinkled with the blood of the last. Take one young bullock This is mentioned first as the chief part of the ceremony, though several things were to be done previously to it, as washing them with water, (Exo 29:4,) robing them in their sacerdotal garments, (Exo 29:5,) anointing them with oil, (Exo 29:7,) then the ceremony was to be completed by peculiar sacrifices, (Exo 29:10-11;) all which things are described as put in execution, Lev 8:2.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Exo 29:6. The holy crown, a plate of gold, as appears from Lev 8:9. Exo 28:36.

Exo 29:9. A perpetual statute. Many promises of this kind occur; and they are all like the sure mercies of David, absorbed in the everlasting priesthood and kingdom of the Messiah, the Christ of God. For the Jews were to have a better priest than Aaron, Psa 110:4; a better sacrifice than those offered under the law, Psa 40:6; a better fountain than the brazen laver, Zec 13:1; a better covenant than that of Moses, Jeremiah 31.

Exo 29:10. Shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock, to signify that they offered it for themselves and for their own sins, which the offerers performing this rite were to confess, Lev 16:21; and to testify their faith in the future sacrifice of Christ, upon whom their sins were to be laid, and by whose blood they were to be expiated.

Exo 29:12. Horns of the altar. Not of incense, as some would have it, but of the burnt-offerings.

Exo 29:14. It is a sin-offering, for the highpriest, as is plain from the whole context, and therefore ought to be burnt. There was indeed a law that the sin-offering, whose blood was not carried into the tabernacle, which was the case here, should not be burnt, but eaten. Lev 6:30. But that concerned the people, not the priests who did not eat, but burnt their own sin-offerings. Lev 4:3; Lev 4:12.

Exo 29:18. Sweet savour. Hebrews a savour of rest, wherewith God will be well pleased.

Exo 29:19. Take the other ram, for a peace-offering. So here were all the three sorts of sacrifices, which were afterwards to be offered by them for the people. These are the full oblation, as in Genesis 15.

Exo 29:20. Tip of the right ear and thumb. These parts are consecrated in the name and stead of all the rest; the ear, as the instrument of hearing and receiving the mind and will of God in all their sacred administrations, and in their whole conversation; the hand and foot, as the instruments of action, and execution of that which they hear and understand to be the mind of God. All these parts are sprinkled with blood, to show the absolute necessity of Christs sacrifice to qualify them for an acceptable and successful discharge of their office.

Exo 29:22. A ram of consecration; of the priests in their office.

Exo 29:26. It shall be thy part, namely, the breast alone, whereas both shoulder and breast were afterwards given to Aaron. The reason of this might be, that Moses was not a proper and complete priest, as Aaron afterwards was, but one appointed for this time to do the work.

Exo 29:27. Waved and heaved up. The rabbins tell us the difference between these two is, that the former was waved up and down, east, west, north and south, to signify that he to whom it was offered was Lord of the whole world, the God who fills all space, and to whom all things of right belong. The latter was only lifted up towards heaven, in token of its being devoted to God: but both these words are often used for an offering in general.

Exo 29:29. His sons, his eldest sons successively.

Exo 29:30. Seven days; for so long the solemnity of the consecration lasted, Exo 29:35.

Exo 29:31. The holy place. In the court-yard at the door of the tabernacle, where it was both boiled and eaten, as appears from this and the next verse, and from Lev 8:31.

Exo 29:33. A stranger, one who is not of the priestly race.

Exo 29:37. An altar most holy, because it was not only holy in itself, but by its touch communicated a legal holiness to the victims, and to the people.

Exo 29:38. Two lambsday by day. There were other occasional sacrifices of various sorts; but these were constant, and never omitted. The whole church in their evening and morning devotion need the atonement of the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. Joh 1:29.

Exo 29:40. Tenth deal of flour, an omer, or the tenth part of an ephah; equal to about half a peck English.A hin, the sixth part of an ephah; so that the fourth part of a hin of wine, according to Dr. Cumberland, was about a quart and something more than the quarter of a pint English. It contained the quantity of seventy two eggs.

Exo 29:45. I will dwell, by my special grace, and favour and blessing.

REFLECTIONS.

The Hebrew ritual exhibits here a scale of tragic grandeur, to show the holiness of God, the sinfulness of sin, and the manner in which the contrite might approach; for without shedding of blood there was no remission. Heb 9:22.

The law concerning the morning and evening sacrifice is founded on the obligation all men are under to serve God continually; and in particular, of offering him, at the beginning and end of every day, the sacrifice of prayer and praise.

If God promised the Israelites to dwell among them, we cannot doubt but he is more intimately present to defend and protect the christian church. This Paul proves, when he applies the promise in this chapter to christians: I will dwell among them, and will be their God. Also when he exhorts them, from this very consideration, to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2Co 7:1.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Exodus 29. P (Exo 29:21; Exo 29:38-42 later). Consecration of the Priesthood (cf. Leviticus 8).The ritual of consecration is described at length. For the various sacrifices, see the appropriate sections of Leviticus 1-7*, which belong to an older stratum of P, and are presupposed throughout.

(i.) The materials for the sacrificial ceremonial include a bullock and two rams, bread of unleavened cakes, perforated cakes (perforations are still made in the Passover cakes), and large thin wafers, all unleavened, and to be brought in a basket (Exo 29:1-3).

(ii.) All the priests to be consecrated must be bathed (Exo 29:4): the defiling distractions of the world must be cleansed away,

(iii.) The investiture of the High Priest with the vestments of Exo 29:28 follows: holy persons must have holy habits. Moses is to put upon Aaron the undertunic, the long robe, the ephod (whether skirt or waistcoat), and the pouch, fastening this to him with the band of the ephod, placing the turban on his head, and putting the holy diadem (a fresh word, meaning the blue band that held the golden plate in place) upon the turban (Exo 29:5-7).

(iv.) The anointing comes next, the oil (Exo 30:22-33*) being poured upon the head, and none but Aaron receiving unction. Already in Zec 4:6 and its context oil is a symbol of the Spirit.

(v.) The investiture of the ordinary priests with their tunics, sashes, and caps is now described (Exo 29:8-9 a); but the words Aaron and his sons after girdles (i.e. sashes) should be omitted, with LXX, as a gloss.

(vi.) Next, Moses is to consecrate or rather install Aaron and his sons. The Heb. (Exo 29:9 b) is fill the hands (cf. Exo 32:29 J, Leviticus 8*, Num 3:3*, 1Ch 29:5*), i.e. either with the first sacrifices (in which case this section becomes merged in the next), or with some sacred object or implement (cf. the delivery of chalice and paten in the Roman and of the Bible in the Anglican Ordinal),

(vii.) The bullock is then (Exo 29:10-14) to be offered as the sin-offering (since the priest must lead the way in penitence), Aaron and his son marking it as their sacrifice by laying their hands upon its head. For the details see Lev 4:4-12, except that the offerers are treated as laymen (cf. Lev 4:25) in that the blood is put on the altar of burnt-offering though the flesh is not eaten, there being no priests yet qualified to eat it; so flesh, skin, and offal are all burnt outside the camp.

(viii.) One ram is then to be treated as a burnt-offering, the blood being, not sprinkled upon, but thrown against the sides of the altar out of a basin (Exo 29:15-18, cf. Leviticus 1*). The life of the priest is to be one of entire devotion.

(ix.) The second ram is called in Exo 29:22 a ram of installation, and is to be offered as a peace-offering (Exo 29:19-34, cf. Leviticus 3*), i.e. to become a sacrament of Divine fellowship and human joy through the partaking of the offerers (Exo 29:32 f.). Ear, hand, and foot are to be touched with the sacrificial blood, that the priest may worthily hear Gods commands, handle the sacred gifts, and tread the holy courts (Exo 29:20). The direction in Exo 29:21 to sprinkle blood and oil on all the priests and their garments, placed earlier in LXX, is a late gloss: observe (against MNeile) that it is the anointing oil (not common oil as in Lev 14:15-18 in the case of the leper) which is specified here, and which is reserved for the High Priest in the earlier strata of P. The ceremony of waving (Exo 29:22-26) certain parts of the offerings was a characteristic part of priestly ceremonial, signifying that they were, as swung towards the altar, offered to God, and, as swung back, received again from Him as consecrated gifts for reverent consumption. Here the parts are burned (Exo 29:25) because the priests are not yet fully installed. (The two regulations, about the wave breast and heave or contribution-thigh being priestly dues (Exo 29:27), and about the handing on of the High Priests robes to his successor (Exo 29:29), occupy a parenthesis.) The flesh is next to be boiled and eaten by the priests, with the bread in the basket, at a sacrificial meal on the spot (Exo 29:31 f.). Nowhere else is the peace-offering said to effect atonement (Exo 29:33 a, i.e. reconciliation, at-onement, not expiation). No stranger (Exo 29:33 b), i.e. layman (different words in Exo 2:22, Exo 12:48) might partake,

(x.) The whole series of ceremonies is to be repeated on seven successive days (Exo 29:35).

(xi.) The same provision is made in regard to the offering of a (not the) bullock of sin-offering, in order to purge from sin (regarded as capable of clinging to a material object) the altar for seven days (Exo 29:36 f.). Observe that the holiness of the altar is such (Exo 29:37 b) as to infect any unqualified person or thing touching it, so that he or it should be mysteriously at the disposal of the Deity (cf. Eze 46:20 b).

A disconnected paragraph (Exo 29:38-42) about the daily burnt-offering has been introduced here from Num 28:3-8*. The last section (Exo 29:43-46) serves as conclusion to Exo 29:25-29. It falls into two parts. In the first Yahweh promises to meet there (i.e. at the altar, Exo 29:37) with Israeltent, altar, and priests being hallowed by His glorious presence. In the second, which recalls the style of H, and may have been the conclusion of an earlier and simpler account, He promises to dwell among them. So the directions for sanctuary and priesthood close with the profound promise of realised fellowship between God and His people. Still, in any community of worshippers, religious revival will depend on the effective realisation of this promise (cf. 2Co 6:14-18).

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS

(vs.1-10)

The consecration of the priests, that is, the inducting them into their priestly office, involved much detail. First, because most important, Moses was to take one young bull and two rams, all without blemish(v.1). Also unleavened bread and cakes mixed, were to be put in one basket and presented with the bull and rams. These things emphasize what is basic to priesthood, all being presented as offerings to God, though the actual sacrifice of the animals is only seen as offered in verses 10 and 11. The bull was for a sin offering (v.14), one ram was for a burnt offering (v.18) and the other ram was for a peace offering (v.28). All these are typical of the sacrifice of Christ in three distinct aspects. His official priesthood in glory today stems from the wonderful value of His perfect sacrifice on Calvary and in virtue of this the whole priestly family (all believers) is identified in pure grace with Him.

The unleavened bread and cakes mixed with oil are typical of Christ personally as the meal offering (Lev 2:1-16). Not being a blood sacrifice, these were offered always together with animal sacrifice, but they speak of the purity of Christ’s person in lowly Manhood; yet being mixed with oil symbolizes the fact of the Spirit of God permeating Him in all His life Luk 1:35). The wafers anointed with oil speak of His being anointed by the Holy Spirit when baptized by John (Mat 3:13-16) at the beginning of His public service. Thus the perfection of the person of the Lord Jesus and the great value of His sacrificial work are vitally involved in His own High Priesthood and in the priesthood of all believers.

Aaron and his sons were then to be washed with water at the door of the tabernacle. This compares with Eph 5:25-26, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.” This washing of the priests was by others only once, though the priests themselves washed their hands and feet in doing the service of the tabernacle (ch.30:18-21). In Joh 13:1-38 the Lord Jesus insists on only one bath (v.10), telling the disciples they had already had this (except Judas) and only feet washing was afterward necessary whenever the feet were defiled. This bath is distinct from our cleaning by blood (1Jn 1:9). For the blood cleanses in God’s eyes from the guilty of our sins, while the bath in the water is the new birth which cleanses away moral defilement. It is the Word of God applied to our souls which does this.

We know this cleansing has nothing to do with Christ personally, but Aaron’s bath symbolized that Christ identified Himself with His own in their being washed. This is wonderful grace.

Aaron was then clothed before his sons. The tunic was first put on, though we do not read of the trousers at this time. Yet they must have been put on also, for without these they could not minister in the tabernacle (ch.28:42-43). Then the robe of the ephod with the breastplate and the band (or belt) of the ephod were added, and finally the turban with the golden plate or “crown.”

SACRIFICES OFFERED

(vs.10-37)

The bull was next offered, which was a sin offering (v.14). Before killing it, Aaron and his sons were to lay their hands on the head of the bull, indicating their identification with the offering. In other words, it was for themselves, a personal, vital matter. The high priest was involved in this too, to show his identification with the other priests, just as Christ has identified Himself with us in taking responsibility for our sins, though He Himself is without sin.

When the bull was slaughtered, some of its blood was to be put on the horns of the altar by Moses’ finger and the rest poured out at the base of the altar. Then the fat that covered the inwards and the two kidneys were to be burned on the altar.

The fat speaks of the inward energy of the Lord’s devotion to the Father’s will, and the kidneys (which filter and purify the blood) symbolize the inner motives of the Lord Jesus in all His ways always perfectly pure. These were offered on the altar to God, for they are for His own pleasure.

But the rest of the animal was taken outside the camp and all burned. It reminds us that, as the sin offering, the Lord Jesus suffered “outside the gate” (Heb 13:12) as under the curse of God, bearing alone the great burden of sin.

Then one of the rams was taken (v.15) and again Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram before it was killed. Its blood was sprinkled all around on the altar, that is, the copper altar of burnt offering. Then the ram was cut in pieces, its inwards and its legs washed with water and all the pieces put together, including the head. In contrast to the bull, however, the ram was then totally burned on the altar, not outside the camp. For it was not a sin offering, but a burnt offering, that is, all went up as a sweet smelling offering to God. The sin offering tells us of the fact of the Lord’s suffering under the curse of God. But in wonderful contrast to this, the burnt offering speaks of Christ’s suffering and death being of infinitely precious value to God. Both facts are true at the same time, though they may seem to us a paradox differing and peace offering are necessary to give some full picture of the great wonder of the sacrifice of Christ.

The second ram therefore (v.19) was next taken, and again Aaron and his sons were to lay their hands on its head before it was killed. In this case, however, some of the blood was to be put on the tip of Aaron’s right ear and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, also on the big toe of their right foot, as well as sprinkling the blood all around on the altar. This was a peace offering (v.28) in which not only God received honor, but believers too receive blessing. The blood of Christ sanctifies our hearing (the ear), our works (the thumb) and our walk (the toe). Being saved by virtue of His blood, we are set apart from the world in what we hear, what we do and how we walk.

Besides this, some of the blood was to be taken and with it some of the anointing oil, and this was sprinkled on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments (v.21) This was to consecrate them in their priestly office.

The significance of this is vitally important. In verse 7 we have been told that Aaron alone was first anointed with oil before the sacrifice was offered. This symbolizes the anointing of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God at the river Jordan after His baptism by John the Baptist (Mat 3:16). Only the Lord Jesus could be anointed by the Spirit of God before His blood was shed. Believers had to wait until after the cross and His resurrection to be anointed by the Spirit of God at Pentecost (Act 2:1-47). For the guilt of our sins must first be cleansed away by the shedding of the blood of Christ before we could possibly receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

However, for the second time Aaron was anointed with oil, and this time together with blood. By the shedding of His blood on Calvary the Lord Jesus has identified Himself with all those who have trusted Him as Savior (the priestly family), all Act 2:33 shows that for a second time Christ has received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, and has poured the Spirit out on believers. Thus, the priestly family, in fellowship with the Great High Priest, has been anointed with blood and oil. Being cleansed by the blood of Christ, we are free to receive the Spirit of God.

Now all of the fat of the ram, the two kidneys and the right thigh were to be set aside, together with one loaf of bread. These were offering before the Lord (vs.22-23). This was the Lord’s portion of the peace offering. Being waved symbolizes the resurrection glory of the Lord Jesus in His ascension to heaven. Then all of this was burned on the altar as a burnt offering to the Lord. Only these parts were a burnt offering, however, so that the entire sacrifice was a burnt offering. What was burned was entirely for the Lord.

However, the breast of the ram was then taken and also waved before the Lord and it was the portion of the offerer — in this case Moses. Typically he was to enter into the value if the sacrifice and into the faith of the resurrection glory of Christ. In this case Moses is not typical of Christ objectively, but of Christ in His saints, that is, each believer is to feed upon the affections of Christ as the breast implies, worshiping Him. This is confirmed in Num 18:8-11.

The breast of the wave offering and the shoulder of the heave offering were to be “sanctified,” and are spoken of in verse 27 as being entering into the reality of the strength of the Lord Jesus on our behalf, such as is seen in Eph 1:18-21. The difference between a wave offering and a heave offering seems to be that the heave offering emphasizes the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from among the dead, while the wave offering indicates His ascension into heaven.

Though the breast and the shoulder are given a special place here, yet it appears in verse 32 and in Lev 7:11-21 that all of the peace offering that was not burned on the altar was to be the portion of the priests and the offerer. Thus, in the peace offering God has His share, Christ (the High Priest) has His share, the individual offerer has his share, and the family of priests (all believers) have their share. Fellowship in the enjoyment of the sacrifice of Christ is therefore an outstanding feature of the peace offering.

No outsider was to eat of this offering, for no unbeliever has any part in its value (v.33). Also, if the priests were not able to eat their share that same day, then whatever remained was not to be kept over, but burned (v.34). We may not be able to appropriate or appreciate the fullness of what we are given of Christ, but God does appreciate it, as the burning pictures the offering being given to Him.

This sanctification of the priests continued for seven days (the number of completeness), and every day a bull was offered as a sin offering (vs.35-37). Involved in this was not only the sanctification of the priests, but also of the altar, so that the altar was said to be “most holy,” and whatever touched the altar was rendered “holy.” A contrast to this is seen in Hag 2:12. Holy meat (that which had touched the altar) did not make anything else holy by touching it. The altar speaks of the person of Christ, the “most holy.” Direct contact with Him renders one holy, but a secondary contact does not do so. Just so, one who has personal faith in the Lord Jesus Himself is saved, but no one is saved by contact with a believer. T he sanctifying of the altar involves the recognition of the absolutely unique place the Lord Jesus has by right and this reminds us of 1Pe 3:15, “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.”

THE CONTINUAL BURNT OFFERING

(vs.38-46)

The sanctifying of the priests is seen as complete. Now we are told of the offering of two lambs, one in the morning and one in the evening of every day without cessation. The lambs must be the first year. The morning lamb was to be accompanied by one of an ephah of flour mixed with one fourth of a hin of pressed oil, besides one fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Then the same is said of the evening offering. These were to be a “sweet aroma ” (as all burnt offerings were), ascending in fire to the Lord.

The spiritual meaning of this should be obvious. It speaks of a consistent personal communion with the Lord Jesus in thankful adoration of Him as the constantly fresh sacrifice that delights the heart of the Father. Involved in this is both His blood sacrifice (emphasized in the lamb) and the perfection of His lowly Humanity (the fine flour), mixed with oil (the permeating presence of the Holy Spirit). Added to this, the drink offering speaks of the joy of the offerer in contemplating the perfections of the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice. Thus, this surely ought to be true of every Christian life. Can we allow a morning or an evening to pass without some fresh, admiring thoughts of the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice?

This was offered before the door of the tabernacle, all being burned on the copper altar. There the Lord met with Israel and spoke to them. If His presence was to be enjoyed, then the continual burnt offering must be offered. Thus too God would sanctify the tabernacle, the altar and Aaron and his sons. All of these things were fundamental in regard to having God dwell among the sons of Israel (v.45). Thus, they would have clearest evidence to persuade them that Jehovah was indeed their God, He who had brought them out of Egypt, not simply to set them free, but in order that He might dwell among them. Today too, God saves sinners from the bondage of sin, not only for their relief from a condition so miserable, but for a purpose of far greater blessing for them and of far greater glory to Him than any of us at first sight imagines. For each of these redeemed sinners becomes a living stone in the present house of God, the Church, forming a dwelling place for God Himself in the midst of a world that has cast out His Son. This is present blessing higher far than we generally stop to consider, and in this God Himself receives present honor and glory. But still to be revealed is the glory God will receive for eternity and the eternal blessing of His saints. May we learn to appreciate this far more than we do!

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible

7. The consecration of the priests 29:1-37

The Israelites carried out the instructions given here later. The record of this seven-day ritual appears in Leviticus 8. I shall defer comment since Moses explained the offerings and procedures specified in this chapter more fully in Leviticus. The facts that God specified this ceremony in such detail and Moses recorded it at such length point to its importance for Israel.

"To Israel had been granted the privilege of being a special people; to Aaron and his sons was granted now the privilege of being a special mediating instrument between that people and Yahweh, their Lord. A covenant meal was always part of such an arrangement (cf. Exo 24:11; Exo 32:6), and that is precisely what is implied in the sharing of the ram of consecration by Yahweh and the priests." [Note: Merrill, "A Theology . . .," p. 51.]

All the priests bathed, representing the necessity of cleanliness before God. The priests had sacrificial blood applied to their ears, thumbs, and big toes (Exo 29:20). This symbolized their complete consecration: to hear the word of God, to serve as mediators, and to walk as an example to others. They experienced sprinkling with blood signifying their complete sanctification. Their anointing with oil (Exo 29:21) represented their endowment with power by God’s Spirit for divine service.

"The investiture of the high priest consisted of nine acts (Lev 8:7-9), whereas that of the ordinary priests involved but three." [Note: Davis, pp. 278-79.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE CONSECRATION SERVICES.

Exo 29:1-46

The priest being now selected, and his raiment so provided as that it shall speak of his office and its glory, there remains his consecration.

In our day there is a disposition to make light of the formal setting apart of men and things for sacred uses. If God, we are asked, has called one to special service, is not that enough? What more can earth do to commission the chosen of the sky? But the plain answer which we ought to have the courage to return is that this is not at all enough. For God Himself had already called Paul and Barnabas when He said to such folk as Simeon Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen, “Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Act 13:1-4). And these obscure people not only laid their hands upon the great apostle, but actually sent him forth. Now, if he was not exempted from the need of an orderly commission by the marvellous circumstances of his call, by his apostleship not of man, by the explicit announcement that he was a chosen vessel to bear the sacred name before kings and peoples, it is startling to be told of some shallow modern evangelist, who works for no Church and submits to no discipline, that he can dispense with the sanction of human ordination because he is so clearly sent of heaven.

The example of the Old Testament will no doubt be brushed aside as if the religion which Jesus learned and honoured were a mere human superstition. Or else it would be natural to ask, Is it because the offices and functions of Judaism were more formal, more perfunctory than ours, that a greater spiritual grace went with their appointments than with the laying on of hands in the Christian Church, a rite so clearly sanctioned in the New Testament?

It is written of Joshua that Moses was to lay his hands upon him, because already the Spirit was in him; and of Timothy that he had unfeigned faith, and that prophecies went before concerning him (Num 27:18; 1Ti 1:18; 2Ti 1:5). But in neither dispensation did special grace fail to accompany the official separation to sacred office: Joshua was full of the Spirit of Wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; and Timothy was bidden to stir into flame that gift of God which was in him through the laying on of the Apostle’s hands (Deu 34:9; 2Ti 1:6).

Accordingly there is great stress laid upon the orderly institution of the priest. And yet, to make it plain that his authority is only “for his brethren,” Moses, the chief of the nation, is to officiate throughout the ceremony of consecration. He it is who shall offer the sacrifices upon the altar, and sprinkle the blood, not upon the first day only, but throughout the ceremonies of the week.

In the first place certain victims must be held in readiness–a bullock and two rams; and with these must be brought in one basket unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes made with oil, and unleavened wafers on which oil is poured. Then, at the door of the tent of the meeting of man with God, a ceremonial washing must follow, in a laver yet to be provided. Here the assertion that purity is needed, and that it is not inherent, is too plain to be dwelt upon.

But such details as the assuming of the existence of a laver, for which no directions have yet been given (and presently also of the anointing oil, the composition of which is still untold), deserve notice. They are much more in the manner of one who is working out a plan, seen already by his mental vision, but of which only the salient and essential parts have been as yet stated, than of any priest of the latter days, who would first have completed his catalogue of the furniture, and only then have described the ceremonies in which he was accustomed to see all this apparatus take its appointed place.

What we actually find is quite natural to a creative imagination, striking out the broad design of the work and its uses first, and then filling in the outlines. It is not natural at a time when freshness and inspiration have departed, and squared timber, as we are told, has taken the place of the living tree.

The priest, when cleansed, was next to be clad in his robes of office, with the mitre on his head, and upon the mitre the golden plate, with its inscription, which is here called, as the culminating object in all his rich array, “the holy crown” (Exo 29:6).

And then he was to be anointed. Now, the use of oil, in the ceremony of investiture to office, is peculiar to revealed religion. And whether we suppose it to refer to the oil in a lamp, invisible, yet the secret source of all its illuminating power, or to that refreshment and renovated strength bestowed upon a weary traveller when his head is anointed with oil, in either case it expresses the grand doctrine of revealed religion–that no office may be filled in one’s own strength, but that the inspiring help of God is offered, as surely as responsibilities are imposed. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me.”

With these three ceremonies–ablution, robing and anointing–the first and most personal section of the ritual ended. And now began a course of sacrifices to God, advancing from the humblest expression of sin, and appeal to heaven to overlook the unworthiness of its servant, to that which best exhibited conscious acceptance, enjoyment of privilege, admission to a feast with God. The bullock was a sin-offering: the word is literally sin, and occurs more than once in the double sense: “let him offer for his sin which he hath sinned a young bullock … for a sin(-offering)” (Lev 4:3, Lev 5:6, etc.). And this is the explanation of the verse which has perplexed so many: “He made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin” (2Co 5:21). The doctrine that pardon comes not by a cheap and painless overlooking of transgression, as a thing indifferent, but by the transfer of its consequences to a victim divinely chosen, could not easily find clearer expression than in this word. And it was surely a sobering experience, and a wholesome one, when Aaron, in his glorious robes, sparkling with gems, and bearing on his forehead the legend of his holy calling, laid his hand, beside those of his children and successors, upon the doomed creature which was made sin for him. The gesture meant confession, acceptance of the appointed expiation, submission to be freed from guilt by a method so humiliating and admonitory. There was no undue exaltation in the mind of any priest whose heart went with this “remembrance of sins.”

The bullock was immediately slain at the door of “the tent of meeting”; and to show that the shedding of his blood was an essential part of the rite, part of it was put with the finger on the horns of the altar, and the remainder was poured out at the base. Only then might the fat and the kidney be burned upon the altar; but it is never said of any sin-offering, as presently of the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings, that it is “a sweet savour before Jehovah” (Exo 29:18, Exo 29:25)–a phrase which is only once extended to a trespass-offering for a purely unconscious lapse (Lev 4:31). The sin-offering is, at the best, a deplorable necessity. And therefore the notion of a gift, welcome to Jehovah, is carefully shut out: no portion of such an offering may go to maintain the priests: all must be burned “with fire without the camp; it is a sin-offering” (Exo 29:14). Rightly does the Epistle to the Hebrews emphasize this fact: “The bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the Holy Place … as an offering for sin” are burned without the camp. The bodies of other sacrifices were not reckoned unfit for food.[40] And so there is a striking example of humility, as well as an instructive coincidence, in the fact that Jesus suffered without the gate, being the true Sin-offering, “that He might sanctify the people through His own blood” (Heb 13:11-12).

Thus, by sacrifice for sin, the priest is rendered fit to offer up to God the symbol of a devoted life. Again, therefore, the hands of Aaron and his sons are laid upon the head of the ram, because they come to offer what represents themselves in another sense than that of expiation–a sweet savour now, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah (Exo 29:18). And to show that it is perfectly acceptable to Him, the whole ram shall be burnt upon the altar, and not now without the camp: “it is a burnt-offering unto the Lord.” Such is the appointed way of God with man–first expiation, then devotion.

The third animal was a “peace-offering” (Exo 29:28). This is wrongly explained to mean an offering by which peace is made, for then there could be no meaning in what went before. It is the offering of one who is now in a state of peace with God, and who is therefore himself, in many cases, allowed to partake of what he brings. But on this occasion some quite peculiar ceremonies were introduced, and the ram is called by a strange name–“the ram of consecration.” When Aaron and his sons have again declared their connection with the animal by laying their hands upon it, it is slain. And then the blood is applied to the tip of their right ear, the thumb of their right hand, and the great toe of their right foot, that the ear may hearken, and the best energies obey, and their life become as that of the consecrated animal, their bodies being presented, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. Then the same blood, with the oil which spoke of heavenly anointing, was sprinkled upon them and upon their official robes, and all were hallowed. Then the fattest and richest parts of the animal were taken, with a loaf, a cake, and a wafer from the basket, and placed in the hands of Aaron and his sons. This was their formal investiture with official rights; although not yet performing service, it was as priests that they received these; and their hands, swayed by those of Moses, solemnly waved them before the Lord in formal presentation, after which the pieces were consumed by fire. The breast was likewise waved, and became the perpetual property of Aaron and his sons–although on this occasion it passed from their hands to be the portion of Moses, who officiated. The remainder of the flesh, seethed in a holy place, belonged to Aaron and his sons. No stranger (of another family) might eat it, and what was left until morning should be consumed by fire, that is to say, destroyed in a manner absolutely clean, seeing no corruption.

For seven days this rite of consecration was repeated; and every day the altar also was cleansed, rendering it most holy, so that whatever touched it was holy.

Thus the people saw their representative and chief purified, accepted and devoted. Thenceforward, when they too brought their offerings, and beheld them presented (in person or through his subordinates) by the high priest with holiness emblazoned upon his brow, they gained hope, and even assurance, since one so consecrated was bidden to present their intercession; and sometimes they saw him pass into secret places of mysterious sanctity, bearing their tribal name on his shoulder and his bosom, while the chime of golden bells announced his movements, ministering there for them.

But the nation as a whole, with which this historical book is chiefly interested, saw in the high priest the means of continually rendering to God the service of its loyalty. Every day began and closed with the burnt-offering of a lamb of the first year, along with a meal-offering of fine flour and oil, and a drink-offering of wine. This would be a sweet savour unto God, not after the carnal fashion in which sceptics have interpreted the words, but in the same sense in which the wicked are a smoke in His nostrils from a continually burning fire.

And where this offering was made, the Omnipresent would meet with them. There He would convey His mind to His priest. There also He would meet with all the people–not occasionally, as amid the more impressive but less tolerable splendours of Sinai, but to dwell among them and be their God. And they should know that all this was true, and also that for this He led them out of Egypt: “I am Jehovah their God.”

FOOTNOTES:

[40] Neither, it must be added, were the bodies of certain sin-offerings of the lower grade, and in which the priest was not personally concerned (Lev 10:17, etc.).

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

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