Lev. 9 1 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; and he said unto Aaron, Take thee a bull calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a he-goat for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering; and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meal offering mingled with oil: for to-day the

5. LORD appeareth unto you. And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tent 6 of meeting : and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do : and the glory of the LORD 7 shall appear unto you. And Moses said unto Aaron, Draw near unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make atonement for thyself, and for the people : and 8 offer the oblation of the people, and make atonement for them ; as the LORD commanded. So Aaron drew near unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. 9 And the sons of Aaron presented the blood unto him : and he dipped his finger in the blood, 10 and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar : but the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul from the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the 11 altar ; as the LORD commanded Moses. And the flesh and the skin he burnt with fire without 12 the camp. And he slew the burnt offering ; and Aaron’s sons delivered unto him the blood, 13 and he sprinkled it upon the altar round about. And they delivered the burnt offering unto 14 him, piece by piece, and the head : and he burnt them upon the altar. And he washed the in- 15 wards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar. And he presented the people’s oblation, and took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, and slew 16 it, and offered it for sin, as the first. And he presented the burnt offering, and offered it 17 according to the ordinance. And he presented the meal offering, and filled his hand there- 18 from, and burnt it upon the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning. He slew also the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people : and Aaron’s sons delivered unto him the blood, and he sprinkled it upon the altar round about, and the 19 fat of the ox ; and of the ram, the fat tail, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kid- 20 neys, and the caul of the liver : and they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat 21 upon the altar : and the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD ; as Moses commanded.

Na. 6 22 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, 23 saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel ; ye shall say unto them,

24. The LORD bless thee, and keep thee :

25. The LORD make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee :

26. The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

27. So shall they put my name upon the children of Israel : and I will bless them.

Lev. 9 22 And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people, and blessed them ; and he came 23 down from offering the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and came out, and blessed the people : and 24 the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came forth fire from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat : and when all the peo- ple saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

Before the conceptions of redemption and salvation—of atonement, expiation, pardon, adoption, and regeneration—could be presented in the fulness and maturity of the Christian system, there was needed the culture and education of the ages of Mosaic ritualism, with its sacrificial system, its rites of purification, its priestly absolution, and its family of God. Redemption itself, as an economy, is a development, and has consequently a history—a history which had its commencement in the first Eden, and which shall have its consummation in the second Eden of a regenerated world. It was germinally unfolded in the first promise, gradually unfolded in successive types, prophecies, more fully developed in the life and sayings and sufferings of the Son of God, and its ripened fruit is presented to the eye of faith in the closing scenic representations of the grand Apocalypse of John. Judaism was not given as a perfect religion. Whatever may have been its superiority over surrounding forms of worship, it was, notwithstanding, a provisional one only. The consciousness that it was a preparatory, and not a definite dispensation, is evident throughout. It points to an end beyond itself, suggests a grander thought than any in itself ; its glory precisely consists in its constant looking forward to a glorious future destined to surpass it. Cocker.

At the beginning of Exodus we found the descendants of Jacob a multitude of ill-treated and idolatrous slaves ; they are now a free nation, the guardians of eternal truth, the witnesses of overwhelming miracles. Released from the vain and busy worldliness of Egypt, they encamp in the silent desert, in isolated and solemn solitude, holding converse only with their thoughts and with their God. Before them stood the visible habitation of him whom they acknowledged and adored as their rescuer from Egyptian thralldom; the mysterious structure disclosed to them many profound ideas of their new religion; and they respected the priests as their representatives and their mediators. Between God and his people communion was opened; life had its aim, and virtue its guide. Kalisck.

To the Israelite of the Theocracy, the tabernacle of his God stood in the palace of his sovereign; the altar was the throne, and on the altar of the covenant lay the code of inspiration, the great charter of Israel. The first minister of the Deity announced, by the amazing splendor of the pontifical robes and the mystical pectoral, his exalted station. The furniture and the utensils displayed the rich and beautiful ornaments in which earthly monarchs and their subjects equally delight—the embroidered tapestry, the draperies of fine linen, the variegated needlework, the transparent curtains to mark out the divisions, the golden branched lights, the altar fuming with incense, and the columns raised on brazen bases. There, too, were viewed the dedicated loaves, arranged on a table of gold; the golden vases holding “the strong wine to be poured unto the Lord;” the ewers “to wash with water that they die not;” and the flesh daily provided on the sacrificial altar. All these seemed to indicate the banquet of a mortal monarch, but they beheld the banquet inviolable, forever renewed, and forever untouched. The veil which never was to be lifted, the cherubim spreading their mystical wings, the propitiatory where the cloud of glory hung over “the holy of holies;” every object around combined the perpetual recollection that the Israelite found the palace of his sovereign to be the temple of his God. D’Israeli.

This section comprises: (1) The instructions of Moses to Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel to prepare the several kinds of sacrifice, and bring them to the court of the tabernacle, to offer them before Jehovah in the presence of the whole congregation (9:1-7). (2) The offerings presented by Aaron for himself (verses 8-14). (3) The offerings made in behalf of the people (verses 15-21). (4) The form of benediction prescribed (Nu 6:22-27). (5) The blessing of the people, and the glory of the Lord appearing after the benediction (Lev. 9:22-24). B.

1. And the elders of Israel. Greek, the eldership or senate of Israel. These, together with a large body of the people, were assembled in the Court, where it was the duty of the elders to impose their hands upon the sin offering of the congregation. Bush.—2-3. All kinds of sacrifices were on this solemn occasion made together. First comes the sin-offering, which removes all hindrances to access to the Lord; then follows the burnt offering, the expression of entire surrender of all to the Lord; upon this the thank-offering, which does not here refer so much to benefits received as to those which are yet to be sought and expected from God; and as additional offerings to the two last comes in the meal-offering, the offering of a life well-pleasing to God. All these offerings are to be made “because the Lord will appear”—they are to be offered for dedication and confirmation. Gerl.

4. To-day the Lord appeareth unto you. 6. The glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.

That is, the visible glory of the Lord will appear in the increased effulgence of the cloudy pillar resting over the tabernacle, and also in sending forth from the midst of the cloud a fire to consume the offerings upon the altar. Chal., “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” Bush.—This is evidently the greatest of all days since the proclamation of the Moral Law on Mount Sinai. The Lord is about to follow up the established service with a visible manifestation of his acceptance with his people and their worship. The visible sign of his presence will be miraculous and glorious. But the outward and sensible glory will only be a faint shadow of the inward and spiritual glory which it signifies. The glory of God is his spiritual nature, his power, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. But the glory that excel-letth is his mercy. In keeping with this the glory of his justice is the propitiation for sin, foreshadowed in this ceremonial observance. The glory of his power is the regeneration of the soul by his Word and Spirit. All this glory is to shine forth in the deep meaning of this day’s service. The Lord is the God not merely of eternity and omnipotence, but of the promise and covenant of mercy. M.

Aaron Offers the Sacrifices for the People.

Verses 15-21.

In this first complete series of offerings made by the high-priest, the sacrifices take their appointed order; the sin-offering to make atonement, the burnt-offering to signify the surrender of the body, soul, and spirit to Jehovah in heaven; and lastly the peace-offering, to show forth the communion vouchsafed to those who are justified and sanctified. Clark.

22. When Aaron had done all that on his part was to be done about the sacrifices, he lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them. This was one part of the priest’s work in which he was a type of Christ, who came into the world to bless us; and when he was parted from his disciples at his ascension, lifted up his hands and blessed them, and in them his whole Church, of which they were the elders and representatives, as the great high-priest of our profession. Aaron lifted up his hands in blessing them, to intimate whence he desired and expected the blessing to come, even from heaven which is God’s throne; Aaron could but crave a blessing, it is God’s prerogative to command it. Aaron, when he had blessed, came down; Christ, when he blessed, went up. H.

23,24. To show that everything was done according to the Divine mind, the glory of Jehovah appears unto all the people, and a fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt-offering. This was the proof which God gave, upon extraordinary occasions, of his acceptance of the sacrifice. This was done probably in the case of Abel, of Aaron, of Gideon, of Manoah and his wife, of David dedicating the threshing floor of Ornan, of Solomon dedicating the temple, and of Elijah. A. C.—Now, when a new period in the service of sacrifice began, when for the first time sacrifice was regulated even in its minutest particular by a Divine messenger, this centre of all worship of God required a solemn attestation. The fire on the great altar of burnt-sacrifice was kindled by a stroke of lightning, and burnt as a holy Divine fire on it perpetually. Gerl.—This fire consumes the burnt-sacrifices and the fat of the other sacrifices and the handful of the oblation of flour and oil which had been all laid upon the altar. This is a conspicuous sign of acceptance, miraculously given by God himself. The people take cognizance of the presence and power and grace of the Lord, shout with joy and thanksgiving, and fall down on their faces in trembling adoration. They had been, deservedly as they felt, rejected on account of the worship of the golden calf. But now the new tent of meeting has been erected in the midst of them once more, and the appointed sacrifices have been offered for the first time by the newly-instituted priesthood. These sacrifices have now been manifestly accepted by a miraculous sign from the Lord; and they themselves are thus fully restored to the Divine favor. M.

Observe that it was only through their representative priest that the holy place was open to the people. So is it still. It is only through Christ that we can draw near to God, only through Him that we can feast on the bread of life, walk in the light of life, and join in those devotions which were symbolized in the sweet incense that ascended from the golden altar. But through him we may come with all holy boldness. For our high-priest is not one “that cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities;” and if only we come with true hearts, we are sure of a welcome in the holy place of communion with God. Let us, like the priests of old, be found day by day in our holy place, feasting on the bread of life, walking in the light of God, and offering up continually the sweet incense of a holy devotion; and, like the priests, too, let us week by week renew “the bread of the presence,” availing ourselves of the precious opportunities of replenishing the store which the first day of the week affords; and though there still is a veil between us and “the holiest of all,” “whither our Forerunner has for us entered,” and whither so many dear ones have already gone, it is only a veil, through which there seem to shine the beautiful colors of heaven and the forms of angels; and presently it shall be drawn aside, and he shall appear, and we also shall “appear with him in glory.” J. M. G.

THE PRIESTHOOD—DUTIES AND MAINTENANCE: CHARGED WITH THE SERVICE OF THE ALTAR AND SANCTUARY; APPOINTED TEACHERS OF THE PEOPLE; THEIR PERSONAL QUALITIES AND RELATIONS; VARIOUS PROVISIONS FOR THEIR MAINTENANCE.