Leviticus 16

AND the LORD spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD and died.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times Not whensoever he pleaseth, but only when I shall appoint him, to wit, to take down the parts and furniture of it upon every removal, and to minister unto me once in the year, Exod. 30. 10. into the holy place i. e. Into the Most Holy, or the Holy of Holies, as the following words demonstrate, which is sometimes called only the holy place, as Heb. 9. 2, 3 the positive degree put for the comparative, which is not unusual in Scripture. within the vail To wit, the second vail. See Levit. 4. 6., before the mercy-seat, which is upon the ark that he die not For his irreverence and presumption.: for I will appear Visibly and gloriously: That is as it were my presence-chamber, whither the Priest shall not dare to come but when I call him. in the cloud Either in that dark place, for there was no light came into it, and clouds and darkness go together and one may be put for the other: or in a bright and glorious cloud, which used to be over the mercy-seat, or rather in the cloud of incense mentioned afterward, ver. 13. by the mercy-seat.

Thus In this manner or upon these terms. shall Aaron come into the holy place, with * a young bullock (i. e.) with the blood of it, as it is explained ver. 14. So it is a Synecdoche, the whole put for the part. For as for the body of it, that was to be killed and offered without upon the Altar of burnt offerings. for a sin-offering For his own and families sins, for a goat was offered for the sins of the people., and a ram for a burnt-offering.

He shall put on the holy linen coat It is observable that the High-priest did not now use his peculiar and glorious robes, but only his linnen garments, which were common to him with the ordinary priests. The reason whereof was either because this was not a day of feasting and rejoycing, but of mourning and humiliation, at which times people were to lay aside their ornaments, Exod. 33. 5. Some conceive, that under the linen garments here named are comprehended his more glorious robes also by a Synecdoche. But that does not appear neither from hence, nor from other places alledged. Had only his holy garments been mentioned in general, all might have been understood, but when only the linen apparel is mentioned here and after ver. 23. and when that is so particularly expressed in four several parts of it, and not a word of the other either here or in the rest of the chapter, it seems presumptuous to adde them here without any ground or evidence. Or because it was fit he should not exalt but abase himself, when he was to appear before the divine Majesty, and therefore he was to come in the meanest of his Priestly habits: Or that it might be an evidence of the imperfection of this Priesthood, and of the great difference between the Levitical, and the true, High-Priest Christ Jesus, whose prerogative alone it is to go into the true Holy of Holies with his glorious robes, when this must carry thither the characters of his meanness., and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired. These are holy garments Because appropriated to an holy and religious use, for which reason other things are called holy. See Exod. 29. 31. and 30. 25. and 2 Chron. 5. 5.: therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel, two kids of the goats for a sinoffering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.

And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sinoffering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house (i. e.) His family, as Gen. 7. 1. to wit, the Priests and Levites. See Numb. 1. 49..

And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for the LORD For the Lords use and service by way of sacrifice. Both this and the other Goat typified Christ, this in his death and passion for us, that in his Resurrection for our deliverance., and the other lot for the scape-goat.

And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORDS lot fell So the lot is said to fall, Ionah 1. 7. Act. 1.... 6. Heb. went up, to wit, out of the vessel, into which the lots were put, and out of which they were brought up., and offer him fo... a sinoffering.

But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scape-goat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him In manner hereafter expressed, ver. 21. 22., and to let him go for a scape-goat into the wilderness.

And Aaron shall bring the bullock Mentioned in general ver. 6. The ceremonies whereof are here particularly described. This was a differing bullock or heifer from that Numb. 19. as appears by comparing the places. of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself.

And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar To wit, of burnt-offering, where the fire was always burning, and whence fire was taken for such uses as these. before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense Of which see Exod. 30. 34, 35, 38. beaten small, and bring it within the vail (i. e.) Into the Holy of holie..., ver. 2..

And he shall put the incense upon the fire Which was in the censer, ver. 12. before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not For so gross an errour committed in the highest acts of worship, and that by an High-Priest, whose knowledge and function was a great aggravation to his sin..

And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat To teach us, that God is mercifull to sinners only through and for the blood of Christ. eastward (i. e.) With his face east-ward, or upon the eastern part of it, towards the people, who were in the court which lay east-ward from the Holy of holies, which was the most western part of the Tabernacle. This signified that the High-priest in this act represented the people, and that God accepted it on their behalf.: and before the mercy-seat On the ground. shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

Then shall he kill Either this was done before he entred into the Holy of holies, though it be mentioned after, such trans-placings of passages being not unusual: or rather he went out of the Holy of holies, and killed it, and then returned thither again with its blood, and this agrees best with the text, nor are transpositions to be allowed without necessity. And whereas the Highpriest is said to be allowed to enter into that place but once in a year, that is to be understood, but one day in a year, though there seems to have been occasion of going in and coming out more than once upon that day. the goat of the sinoffering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat.

And he shall make an atonement for the holy place Of which see below ver. 19, 20. and Exod. 29. 36. Lev. 8. 15. Heb. 9. 13., because of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel For though the people did not enter into that place, yet their sins entred thither, and would hinder the effects of the High-priests mediation on their behalf, if God was not reconciled to them., and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among them, in the midst of their uncleannesses Encompassed with their sins being in the midst of a sinfull people who defile not themselves only, but also Gods Sanctuary, as God complains, Ezek. 23. 38, 39..

And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation (i. e.) In the holy place, where the Priests and Levites were at other times. This was commanded for the greater reverence to the Divine Maiesty then in a more special manner appearing, and that none of them might cast an eye into the Holy of holies, as the High-priest went in or came out., when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, untill he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his houshold, and for all the congregation of Israel.

And he shall go out unto the altar To wit, the altar of incense, where the blood of sacrifices was to be put, Levit. 4. 4. and particularly the blood of the sin-offerings offered upon this day of atonement, Exod. 30. 10. and which is most truly and properly said to be before the Lord, i. e before the place where God in special manner dwelt, to wit, the Holy of holies. Some understand it of the altar of burnt-offerings, because he is said to go out to it. But that going out relates not to the Tabernacle, but to the Holy of holie... into which he was said to go in, ver. 17. Add to this, that this which is atoned by the High-priest seems to be in that place where he only might now come, and therefore in the Holy place, called here the Tabernacle, from which all other priests were for this day excluded, whereas the altar of burntofferings was without the Holy place or Tabernacle, to wit at the door of it and in the court of the Priests. that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it, and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times To signify its perfect cleansing, seven being a number of perfection, and our perfect reconciliation by the blood of Christ here represented., and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel.

And when he has made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

And Aaron shall lay both his hands See on Exod. 29. 10. and Lev. 1. 4. upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him Confession of sin being a duty to accompany the sacrifice offered for it, as we see Lev. 5. 5. Numb. 5. 7. all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins Or, with or according to all their sins: for so the Hebrew particle is oft used. He mentions iniquities, transgressions, and sins, to note sins of all sorts, and that a very free and full confession was to be made, and that the smallest sins needed, and the greatest sins were not excluded from, the benefit of Christs death here represented., putting them upon the head Charging all their sins and the punishment due to them upon the goat, which though only a ceremony, yet being done according to Gods appointment and manifestly pointing at Christ upon whom their iniquities and punishments were laid Isa. 53. 5, 6. it was available for this end. And hence the heathens took their custom of selecting one beast or man, upon whom they laid all their imprecations and curses, and whom they killed as an expiatory sacrifice for their sins and to prevent their ruine. of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man One that knows the wilderness, and the way to it, and what places in it are most convenient for that use. Heb. a man of time, i. e. of years and discretion, who may be trusted with this work. into the wilderness Which signified the removal of their sins far away both from the people, and out of Gods sight or from the place of his presence. And here the goat being neglected by all men, and exposed to many hardships and hazards from wild beasts, which were numerous there, might further signify Christs being forsaken both by God and by men even by his own disciples, and the many dangers and sufferings he underwent. The Iews write, that this goat was carried to the mountain called Azazel, whence the goat is so called, ver. 10. and that there he was cast down headlong, and that the red string by which he was led turned white, when God was pleased with the Israelites, otherwise it remained red: and then they mourned all that year. And the antient Hebrews write that 40 years before the destruction of the Temple, which was about the time of Christs death, this red string turned no more white..

And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

And Aaron shall come Forthwith, not expecting the return of the man who carried the goat away, but securely committing that to Gods providence he shall go on in his work. into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linnen garments which he put on, when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there.

And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place Either in the laver appointed for that purpose. Or, in some other vessel within the holy place, because after he had washed in it he is said to come forth., and put on his garments Not his ordinary Priestly linnen garments, for he was to leave them in the Tabernacle, ver. 23. but the High-priestly garments, called his garments properly and peculiarly, and by way of distinction from the former garments, which are called holy garments, ver. 4. and the linnen garments, ver. 23. but never his garments, as these are. And this change of his garments was not without cause. For the common Priestly garments were more proper and fit for him in the former part of his ministration, both because he was to appear before the Lord in the most holy place to humble himself and make atonement for his own and for the peoples sins, and therefore his humblest and meanest attire was most fit and because he was to lay his hands upon that goat on which all their sins were put, by which touch both he and his garments would be in some sort defiled, and therefore as we read here that he washed himself or his flesh so we may well presume his linnen garments were laid by for the washing, as the cloaths... f him who carried away the scape-goat were washed ver. 26. And the High-priestly garments were most proper for the latter part of his work, which was of another nature., and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

And the * fat of the sin-offering shall he burn upon the altar.

And he that let go the goat for a scape-goat, shall wash Because he had contracted some degree of ceremonial uncleanness by the touch of the goat. his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

* And the bullock † for the sin-offering, and the goat ‖ for the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp, and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung

And he that burneth them, shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

And this shall be a statute for ever See on Exod. 12. 14. unto you: that * in the seventh moneth Answering part to our September and part to our October; when they had gathered in all their fruits, and were most at leasure for Gods service: This time God chose for this and other feasts, herein graciously condescending to mens necessities and conveniencies, being contented with that time which men could best spare., on the tenth day Obj. It was on the ninth day, Lev. 23. 32. Ans. It began in the evening of the ninth day and continued till the evening of the tenth day, as is there sufficiently implyed. of the month, ye shall afflict your souls i. e. your selves, as the word soul is frequently used, both your bodies by abstinence from food and other delights, and your minds by anguish and grief for former sins, which though bitter, yet is voluntary in all true penitents, who are therefore here said not to be afflicted, but to afflict themselves, or to be active in the work., and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own countrey, or a stranger that sojourneth among you.

For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

It shall be a sabbath of rest Observed as a sabbath day by cessation from all worldly and servile works and diligent attendance upon Gods worship and service. unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls by a statute for ever.

* And the priest whom he shall anoint He... i. e. either God, who commanded him to be anointed, as men are oft said to do what others do by their command, or the High-priest, who was to anoint his successour. Or, the third person is here put indefinitely or impersonally, for, who shall be anointed., and whom he shall † consecrate to minister in the priests office in his fathers stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments.

And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar: and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins * once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.