Leviticus 1

AND the LORD called unto Moses Who stood without, Exod. 40. 35. waiting for Gods call., and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation From the mercy-seat in the Tabernacle., saying,

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering There are divers kinds of sacrifices here prescribed, some by way of acknowledgement to God for mercies either desired or received: others by way of satisfaction to God for mens sins: others were mere exercises of piety and devotion. And the reason why there are so many kinds of them was partly respect to the childish estate of the Iews, who by the custom of nations and their own natural inclinations were much addicted to outward rites and ceremonies, that they might have full employment of that kind in Gods service and thereby be kept from temptations to Idolatry; and partly to represent as well the several perfections of Christ the true sacrifice and the various benefits of his death, as the several duties which men owe to their creator and redeemer, all which could not be so well expressed by one sort of sacrifices. unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock Or, of the sheep: though the Hebrew word contains both sheep and goats, as appears both from the use of the word, Gen. 12. 16. and 2.... 9. and 38. 17. and from ver. 10. and other places of Scripture. Now God chose these kinds of creatures for his sacrifices either 1. in opposition to the Egyptian Idolatry, to which divers of the Israelites had been used and were still in danger of revolting to again, that the frequent destruction of these creatures might bring such silly Deities into contempt. Or 2. because these are the fittest representations both of Christ and of true Christians, as being gentle, and harmless, and patient, and most useful to men. Or 3. as the best and most profitable creatures, with which it is fit God should be served, and which we should be ready to part with when God requires us to do so. Or 4. as things most common and obvious, that men might never want a sacrifice when they needed or God required it..

If his offering be a burnt sacrifice Strictly so called, such as was to be all burnt, the skin excepted, Levit. 7. 8. See Gen. 8. 20. and 1 King. 3. 15. For otherwise every sacrifice was burnt, more or less. These sacrifices did partly signifie, that the whole man, in whose stead the sacrifice was offered, was to be intirely and unreservedly offered or devoted to Gods service; and that the whole man did deserve to be utterly consumed, if God should deal severely with him; and directed us to serve the Lord with all singleness of heart without self-ends, and to be ready to offer to God even such sacrifices or services wherein we our selves should have no part nor benefit. of the herd, let him offer a male As being more perfect than the female, Mal. 1. 14. and more truly representing Christ. without blemish Of which see Exod. 29. 1. Levit. 22. 22, &c. To signify, 1. that God should be served with the best of every kind. 2. that man, represented by these sacrifices, should aim at all purity and perfection of heart and life, and that Christians should one day attain to it, Eph. 5. 27. 3. the spotless and complete holiness of Christ, Heb. 9. 13, 14. 1 Pet. 1. 18, 19. and 2. 22.: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will According to this translation, the place speaks only of free-will offerings, or such as were not prescribed by God to be offered in course, but were offered at the pleasure and by the voluntary devotion of any person either by way of supplication for any mercy which he needed or desired, or by way of thanksgiving for any favour or blessing received. But it may seem improper to restrain the rules here given to freewill offerings, which were to be observed in other offerings also. And the Hebrew word is by the Chaldee, Syr. and Arab. and others rendred to this purpose, for his acceptation, or that he may be accepted with God, or that God may be atoned, as it is ver. 4. And so this phrase is used, Levit. 23. 11., at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation In the Court near to the door, where the Altar stood, ver. 5. For here it was to be sacrificed, and here also the people might behold the oblation of it. And this further signified, that men could have no entrance neither into the earthly tabernacle, the Church, nor into the heavenly tabernacle of glory, but by Christ, who is the door, Io.... 10. 7, 9. by whom alone we have access to God. before the LORD.

And he shall put his hand (i. e.) Both his hands, Levit. 8. 14, 18. and 16. 21. A common Enallage. upon the head of the burnt-offering Whereby he signified, 1. that he willingly gave it to the Lord. 2. that he did legally unite himself with it, and judged himself worthy of that death which it suffered in his stead, and that he laid his sins upon it in a ceremonial way, and had an eye to him upon whom God would lay the iniquity of us all, Isa. 53. 6. and that together with it he did freely offer up himself to God., and it shall be accepted from him to make atonement for him To wit, ceremonially and sacramentally, as directing his faith and thoughts, to that true propitiatory sacrifice which in time was to be offered up for him. See Rom. 3. 25. Heb. 9. 15, 25, 26. And although burntofferings were commonly offered by way of thanksgiving, Gen. 8. 20 Psal. 51. 16, 17. yet they were sometimes offered by way of atonement for sin, to wit, for sins in general, as appears from Io... 1. 5. but for particular sins there were special sacrifices, as we shall see..

And he Either 1. the offerer, who is said to do it, to wit, by the Priest: for men are commonly said to do what they cause others to do, as Ioh. 4. 1, 2. Or 2. the Priest, as it follows, or the Levite, whose office this was. See Exod. 29. 11. Levit. 8. 15. Numb. 8. 19. 1 Chron. 23. 28, 31. 2 Chron. 30. 16. and 35 11. shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the Priests, Aarons sons shall bring the bloud, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the Altar Which was done in a considerable quantity, as may be gathered from Zech. 9. 15. and whereby was signified, 1. that the offerer deserved to have his blood spilt in that manner. 2. that the blood of Christ should be poured forth for sinners, and that that was the only mean of their reconciliation to God and acceptance with him. that is by the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

And he shall slay the burnt-offering Partly for decency, because the sacrifices being as it were Gods food and feast, it was incongruous to offer to God that which men refused to eat; and partly to signify that the great thing which God required and regarded in men was not their outward appearance, but their inside, and that as he does see all mens insides, Heb. 4. 13. so he will one day make them visible to others., and cut it into his pieces To wit, the head, and... at, and inwards and legs, ver. 8, 9..

And the sons of Aaron the Priest shall put fire Or dispose the fire, i. e. blow it up, and put it together so as it might be fit for the present work. For the fire there used and allowed came down from heaven, Levit. 9. 24. and was to be carefully preserved there, and all other fire was forbidden, Levit. 10. 1, &c. upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire.

And the Priests Aarons sons shall lay the parts, the head and the fat All the fat, which was to be separated from the Flesh, and to be put together, to increase the flame, and to consume the other parts of the sacrifice more quickly. Others translate it, the trunck of the body, as distinguished from the head and joints and inward parts. in order upon the wood that is in the fire which is upon the Altar.

But the inwards and his legs, shall he wash To signify the universal and perfect purity both of the inwards, or the heart, and of the legs, or ways or actions, which was in Christ, and which should be in all Christians. in water, and the Priest shall burn all Not only the parts, now mentioned, but all the rest, the trunck of the body and the shoulders, as is apparent from the practise or execution of these precepts. on the Altar, to be a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire of a sweet savour Not in it self for so it rather caused a stink, but as it represented Christs offering up himself, to God as a sweet smelling savour, Eph. 5. 2. and to admonish us of the excellent virtue of Divine institution, without which God values no worship, though never so glorious, and by which even the meanest things are pretious and acceptable to God. unto the LORD.

And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats for a burnt-sacrifice, he shall bring it a male, without blemish.

And he shall kill it on the side of the Altar Northward Here this and other kinds of sacrifices were killed. 6. 25 and 7. 2. because here seem... to have been the large... and most convenient place for that work, the Altar being probably near the middle of the east end of the building, and the entrance being on the south-side: so the Northside was the only vacant place. Be... des this might design the place of Christs death both more generally; to wit, in, which was in the sides of the north, Psal. 4.... 2. and more specially, to wit, on mount Calvary, which was on the North and West side of Ierusalem., before the LORD: and the Priests Aarons sons shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the Altar.

And he shall cut it into his pieces with his head and his fat: and the Priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

But he shall wash the inwards, and the legs with water, and the Priest shall bring i... all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

And if the burnt-sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowles, then he shall bring his offering of turtle doves, or of young pigeons These birds were appointed for the relief of the poor who could not bring better. And these birds are preferred before others, partly because they were easily gotten, and partly because they are fit representations of Christs chastity and meekness or gentleness, for which these birds are remarkable. The pigeons must be young, because then they are best, but the turtle-dove... are better when they are more grown up, and therefore the... are not confined to that age..

And the Priest shall bring it unto the altar: and wring off To wit, from the rest of the body, as sufficiently appears because this was to be burnt by it self, as it here follows, and the body afterwards, ver. 17. And whereas it is said Levit. 5. 8. he shall—... ing his from his neck, but shall not divide it, that is spoken not of the burntoffering, as here, out of the sin-offering, in which there might be a differing. his head, and burn it on the altar: and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar.

And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers Or, with its dung or filth, to wit contained in the crop and in the guts., and cast it beside the altar on the Eastpart To wit, of the Tabernacle. Here the filth was cast because this was the remotest place from the Holy of Holies, which was in the West-end, to teach us, that impure things and persons should not presume to approach to God, and that they should be banished from his presence.; by the place of the ashes The place where the ashes fell down and lay, whence they were afterwards removed without the camp. See Levit. 4. 12. and 6. 10, 11. and 8. 17..

And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder Shall cleave the bird thorough the whole length, yet so as not to separate the one side from the other, and so as there may be a wing left on each side. See Gen. 15. 10.: and the Priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.