The Third Book of Moses, called Leviticus
Leviticus 8
Chapter VIII · Vol. I, pp. 373–377
1 Moses consecrateth Aaron and his sons. 14 Their sin-offering. 18 Their burnt-offering. 22 The ram of consecration. 31 The place and time of their consecration.
1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Take Aaron, and his sons1 with him, and a the garments, and b the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin-offering, and c two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;
1 The appointment and mode of the consecration of Aaron and his sons was given some time before, as we have it related in Ex. xxix., but the actual consecration was delayed till now, when all was prepared.—I.
a See Ex. xxviii. xxix.
b Ex. 30.24,29.
c ver. 18,22,26.
3 And gather thou all the congregation2 together unto the d door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
2 The Hebrew word translated 'congregation' signifies a select body of representative men—not the whole people, for which another word was employed. The exact number assembled is unknown; but it may not have been—there is nothing in the original of this passage to prove that it was—more than a few hundreds.—P.
d ch. 1.3. Ex. 29.4. Mat. 20.18; xxvi. xxvii.
4 And Moses did e as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
e ver. 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, 35. Ex. 39.42,43. De. 11.32; 12.32. Mat. 28.20. Is. 8.20. Ps. 119.4-6,115.
5 And Moses said unto the congregation, f This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.
f Ex. 29.4-37.
7 And h he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.
8 And he i put the breastplate upon him; also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
i Ex. 28.15-30. Ca. 8.6. Is. 59.17. Col. 2.3.
9 And he k put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.
10 And Moses took the l anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle, and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
l Ex. 29.7; 28.41; 30.26-30. Jn. 3.34; 1.16. 1 Jn. 2.20,27. 1 Th. 1.5; 5.23. Ro. 8.9. Tit. 3.5,6.
11 And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver, and his foot, to sanctify them.
12 And he m poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head,1 and anointed him, to sanctify him.2
m Ex. 29.7. Ps. 133.2. Is. 61.1; 11.2; 42.1.
1 This anointing with oil was typical of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. It was conferred on priests and kings, if not on prophets, to qualify them for their office. It specially pointed out the anointing with the Holy Ghost of Him who in his own person sustains all these offices to his church; and who was 'anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows,' to whom the Holy Spirit was given 'without measure' or limit, and upon whom he rested, Is. 61.1, as compared with Lu. 4.18. The anointing with oil conferred peculiar sacredness, and it was considered peculiarly heinous to injure the 'Lord's anointed.' Speedy and terrible destruction is denounced upon all who oppose him who was thus especially typified and styled, Ps. ii.—I.
2 Were this the minute detail of a mere ceremony, nothing could be more uninteresting. But as a picture of the consecration of the Lord Jesus, it becomes a most attractive object of contemplation to the believer. It consists of washing, clothing, crowning, anointing, in order to sanctification, that is, dying to sin, and living to God. All these meet in Christ—humanity washed that was sinless, 1 Pe. 7.26; clothed, that is with righteousness, Re. 1.13; crowned, that is with glory and honour, He. 2.9; anointed, that is with the Spirit without measure, He. 1.9; sanctified, as it is written, 'For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God,' Ro. 6.10.—C.
13 And Moses n brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses.
14 Ando he brought the bullock for the sin-offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin-offering.
o Ex. 29.1,10. ch. 1.4; 4.4,15,24,29,33; 6.25. 1 Pe. 2.22-24.
15 And he p slew it; and Moses q 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, to make reconciliation upon it.
p ch. 1.5,11; 3.2,8. He. 9.18,22.
q Ex. 29.12, 36. ver. 19,20; ch. 4.25,30,34; 14.49-53. He. 2.10; 5.8. Jn. 17.19.
16 And he r took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar.
r Ex. 29.13. ch. 3.3-5; 4.8-10, 19, 26, 31, 35. Jn. 12.27. Is. 53.10. Ps. 22.14. Mat. 26.38.
17 But s the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses.
s Ex. 29.14. ch. 4.11, 12,21; 16.27. He. 13.11, 13. 2 Co. 8.9. Zec. 13.7.
18 And he t brought the ram for the burnt-offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
t Ex. 29.15-18. ch. 1.10-13. Tit. 2.14. 1 Pe. 1.18,19. Ep. 5.2.
19 And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
20 And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.
21 And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt-sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
22 And u he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.3
u Ex. 29.19-31. ch. 7.37. 2 Co. 5.21. Re. 1.5,6. Jn. 17.19. 1 Co. 1.30. Ep. 5.25,27.
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
3 Calmet informs us that 'among the Romans the consecration of the high-priest bore a close resemblance to that of the Jewish high-priest. The Roman high-priest, clothed in his pontificals, was conducted into a subterraneous place covered with a floor of boards pierced through with many holes. On this floor a bullock was sacrificed, whose blood, running through the holes, fell upon the priest who stood underneath to receive this sacred aspersion. Being completely covered with this sanguineous shower, he ascended and was acknowledged and adored by the people as Pontifex Maximus, or supreme high-priest.' These rites, which were in all probability originally borrowed from the Jewish ritual, and mixed and disguised with their own superstitions, are described minutely by Aurelius Prudentius.—I.
23 And he slew it; and Moses x took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.
x Ex. 29.20. ch. 14.28. He. 5.8; 2.10. 1 Th. 5.23. 1 Co. 1.2,30. This represented the universal sanctification of Christ and his people to hear God's law, receive his gifts, and act and walk in his way.
24 And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ears, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
25 And he y took the fat, and the rump,4 and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:
y ch. 3.3-5, 9-11, 14-16. Ex. 29.22-25. Is. 53.10. Pr. 23.26.
4 'The tail.' See note, ch. 3.9.—P.
26 And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took z one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:
27 And he put all a upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave-offering before the LORD.
28 And Moses took them from off their hands, and b burnt them on the altar upon the burnt-offering:5 they were consecrations for a sweet savour; it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
b Ex. 29.25. Zec. 13.7. Ps. 22.13,14. He. 10.14-22.
5 In these three offerings for Aaron and his sons we have three admitted witnesses of the sinfulness and imperfection of the Aaronic priesthood, and the need of a higher intercessor, and a better sacrifice, He. 10.1-14.—C.
29 And Moses c took the breast, and waved it for a wave-offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses' part; as the LORD commanded Moses.
c Ex. 29.26. ch. 7.30-34. 1 Co. 10.31. 1 Pe. 4.11.
30 And Moses d took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
d Ex. 29.21; 30.30. Is. 61.1,3. He. 2.11. Ga. 5.22-25. Re. 7.14.
31 And Moses said unto Aaron, and to his sons, e Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.
e Ex. 29.31, 32. 1 Sa. 2.13, 14. ch. 7.15. De. 12.6, 7. Ga. 2.20. Jn. 6.33,35,53.
33 And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven 6 days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.
6 'For' or 'during seven days.' The consecration services were to last a whole week. On each day of the week apparently the solemn ceremonial was to be repeated as described in the preceding verses; and during the whole period Aaron and his sons were to remain within the sacred inclosure day and night.—P.
34 As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.
35 Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the g congregation day and night seven days, and h keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.
A.M. 2514. B.C. 1490.
g Ex. 29.35. ch. 14.8. Eze. 43.25. Nu. 19.12. Jn. 17.19. 2 Co. 7.1. Col. 2.9, 10. He. 7.28; 9.23, 24.
36 Soi Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
i Ex. 40.16. Mat. 28.20. De. 4.2; 12.32. 1 Sa. 15.22.
Notes
[Ver. 30. From the commentary of David, Ps. 133. 2, we learn that this anointing was the emblem of brotherly unity. Why? It was one perfume sprinkled upon all the family, and diffusing its refreshing odour equally to all the worshippers; while the accompanying blood of the sacrifice was the bond of the council and covenant of peace. So Christians should be united, they are one family, Ga. 6. 10; so Christians should be united, they have one anointing and access by one Spirit to one Father, 1 Jn. 2. 27; Ep. 2. 18; so Christians should be united, they have one sacrifice, Ep. 2. 13, 16; so Christians should be united, they have one righteousness, Ro. 3. 22; so Christians should be united, they have one home, Jn. 14. 2, 3. C.]
Reflections.—Behold how exactly everything in Jesus Christ, and his gospel-church, answers to the purposes of God, declared in the promises and predictions of his word! Before angels and men he is called to, prepared for, and solemnly set apart to, his mediatorial work. Holy, harmless, and undefiled, he steps forth, vested by his Father in a marvellous manhood and mediatorial function. Anointed with the Holy Ghost above measure, sanctified by his own blood, and made perfect through suffering, he himself and his Father rejoice in his office, and his execution of it. And the tabernacle of his body, the church, and all instituted ordinances, are, together with him, consecrated to the service of God in his oblation, blood, and Spirit. Let ministers of the gospel learn with what solemn and deliberate preparation they ought to enter on their work. Let every saint observe what solemn washing in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, what putting on of the Lord Jesus, what sprinkling of his blood and Spirit, what feasting on his flesh as meat indeed, what self-dedication, what mortification of inward lusts during their whole week of life, are necessary to prepare them for their sacerdotal service in the house eternal in the heavens.