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15 And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar: and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: 16 And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it abeside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:

ch. 6. 10.

Latin' turtur,' and the English' turtle,' generally rendered' turtle-dove.' By a beautiful metaphor this bird is made by the Psalmist to denote the church: Ps. 74. 19, O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the enemies.' And Solomon. Cant. 2. 12, mentions the return of this bird as one of the indications of spring: The voice of the turtle is heard in our land.' Young pigeons (Heb. 'sons of the dove') were thought preferable for food to the old, whereas the full grown turtle-dove was accounted more delicious than the young. The sacrifice was ordered accordingly.

15. Wring off the head. Heb., mûlak. The original term occurs only here and Lev. 5. 8, so that we are chiefly dependent upon the ancient versions for its genuine sense. The Sept. renders it by aroкviw, to cut with the nail. It probably means to make a section or cut in the head by pinching it with the fingers and nails, so that the blood might distil from the wound. In this case the head was not actually separated from the body, an idea which would seem to be confirmed by Lev. 5. 8, where it is said that the priest should wring off his head (Heb' cut with the • nail') but should not divide it asunder;' i. e. should not entirely separate any one part from another. Though translated' wring,' it is to be observed that it is wholly a different word in the original from that rendered 'wrung' in the close of the verse.

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16. With his feathers; or, with the filth thereof. The latter is undoubtedly

17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but rshall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: sit is a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Gen. 15. 10. ver. 9. 13.

the true rendering, as in the Heb. the pronominal suffix for 'his' is in the feminine gender, necessarily referring to 'crop,' and not to bird.' The drift of the precept is to order that the crop or maw with its contents should be cast away. This was done in order to render the sacrifice clean, and it was to be cast as far as possible from the most holy place, to intimate that all moral uncleanness was to be removed from the worship of God.

17. Shall cleave it with the wings thereof. That is, with the wings still remaining, though partially severed from the body. The sacrifice of birds, Maimonides observes, was one of the most difficult services of the sanctuary; and as on this account the attention of the priest was not less engrossed by the poorest sacrifice than by the most splendid, the necessity of attending to minute details in the duties of religion was strikingly inculcated.

REMARKS. (1.) God, in his wisdom, has seen fit, for the most part to address his creatures through the intervention of mediators; and though the moral law was spoken in thunder and lightning from Sinai, the ceremonial law, pointing to the great gospel sacrifice, was given in a milder voice from the mercy seat.

(2) Those sacrifices and offerings are peculiarly acceptable to God, which are prompted rather by voluntary im. pulse than by legal precept.

(2.) Although the light of nature alone may suggest to man the duty of worshipping the Creator, yet the proper

mode of rendering him homage is not left to human invention, but is matter of divine revelation.

(3.) It is fit that the offerings which are designed for the greatest and best of Beings, the infinitely perfect Jehovah, should be the best, and most perfect of their kind. A male without blemish.'

(4.) In all our religious services and sacrifices our faith should aim to lay its hand upon the head of the one great Atoning Victim for sin. Failing of this our offerings are of little worth.

(5.) Were it not for the solution afforded in the gospel, what an inexplicable mystery would be the whole Jewish ritual! How strange the fact that the temple of God should so much resemble a slaughter-house!

(9.) How precious in the estimation of the Most High must be the merit of Christ's sacrifice, that it should avail to convert the nauseous odor of burning flesh to a perfumed and refreshing in

cense!

CHAPTER II.

THE MEAT-OFFERING.

The second in the enumeration of the legal offerings, and that which occupies the present chapter is the Meatoffering. The original term is min'hah, from the obsolete root mâna'h, to give, to bestow, and is equivalent to gift, present, oblation. It is not exclusively, though it is predominantly, applied to religious offerings of the bloodless species made to God. In some cases, it is spoken of gifts presented to men, as Gen. 32. 13, And he (Jacob) took of that which he had with him a present (2) for Esau his brother.' Gen. 43. 11, And their father Israel said unto them, Take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present (). But the present made by Jacob to Esau was of living things, viz. cattle, whereas that carried to Joseph was of things

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that had not life. In like manner both the offering of Cain, which was of the fruits of the earth, and that of Abel, which was of the firstlings of the flock. are each of them called 'Min'hah,' Gen. 4, 3-5. So that the word in its general import, does imply things slain as well as things not slain, although some commentators have maintained the contrary. But in ordinary usage, its meaning was restricted to an offering made of fine flour, whether of wheat or barley. The common rendering of the term in the English Bible by meat-offering' is incorrect according to the modern acceptation of the word meat,' which is now applied exclusively to flesh, although at the time when our translation was made it appears to have denoted very nearly the same as the word 'food.' A more suitable rendering therefore at the present day would be meal-offering,'.' flour-offering,' or even 'breadoffering,' as the flour, before it was of fered, was generally, though not in every case, made into thin cakes or wafers, or something very nearly resembling

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bread. The materials of the Meat-offering were fine flour, with oil poured on it, and frankincense and salt added to it. The flour was either that of wheat or barley, and might be presented in the form of flour, or it might be presented after undergoing the process of baking, or frying, in the form of cakes or wafers. Sometimes the Meat-offering, instead of being made of fine flour, consisted of the first fruits of the corn. In this case the ears were to be taken when full, but yet green; to be parched or dried before the fire; the corn to be beaten out; and the offering then to be made with oil, frankincense, and salt, as before.

The Meat-offerings were either presented by themselves, or as an accompaniment to the stated burnt-offerings. In the latter case they, together with their attendant drink-offerings, were wholly consumed on the altar; but in

the former, they were burnt only in
part, the remainder being given to the
priests for their support. It is of these
that the present chapter treats. The
part of the offering which was burnt,
together with the frankincense, was
called the memorial' of it, for reasons
which are assigned in the note on v. 2.
The meat-offerings which were not
commanded by the divine law, but were
the votive or voluntary oblations of in-
dividuals, were of five kinds, consisting
of some preparation of flour; as
1. Fine flour unbaked.

come, he caused this Meat-offering as well as the slain sacrifices to cease; Dan. 9. 27, ' He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation (n) to cease.' And of the poor man's meat offering, it is expressly said, Lev. 5. 11-13, that it should make atonement for sins.' From this it appears that the Scriptures join the Meat-offering with the burntoffering as an expiation for sin; and consequently that both have a typical allusion to the atoning sacrifice of Christ. But in this the import of the Min'hah does not seem to be exhausted.

2. Flour baked in a pan or on a flat It represents also the persons and ser

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vices of believers made acceptable in Christ, for there is no doubt that both Christ and his Church are frequently

5. Flour made into a thin cake like a shadowed out by the same symbolical wafer.

As to the leading moral design of the meat-offering, it is perhaps to be regarded as mainly a grateful acknow. ledgment of the bounty and beneficence of God, as manifested in those gifts of his providence to which we owe our daily bread, and the various ministrations to our physical comfort. At the same time, it is not, that we are aware, at all inconsistent with this to suppose, that it might also have had a typical purport kindred to that of most of the sacrificial offerings, which evidently pointed to Christ, and subordinately to his Church. From several passages it would seem natural to infer, that a propitiatory as well as a eucharistic ineaning was couched under this ceremony; and if so, we cannot well avoid the inference that it pointed to the offering of the body of Christ as its grand realizing substance. Thus 1 Sam. 3. 14, Therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering ( min'hah) | forever.' 1 Sam. 26. 19,' If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept (Heb. smell) an offering ().' Therefore when Christ had

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ordinances. In accordance with this
we find it said, Is. 66. 20, They shall
bring all your brethren for an offering
(2) out of all nations, &c., as the
children of Israel bring an offering
() in a clean vessel into the house
of the Lord.' The accomplishment of
this, the apostle intimates, is to be re-
cognized in the results of his own min-
istration of the gospel to the Gentiles,
Rom. 15. 16, That I should be the
minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,
ministering the gospel of God, that the
offering up (poopopa, oblation=32)
of the Gentiles might be acceptable,
being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.'
But it is not the persons only of believers
that we behold typically set forth by
this offering. Their good works, their
devoted services, the fruits of their
graces, are also indicated by this fea-
ture of the ancient economy. Ps. 141.
2, 'Let my prayer be set forth before
thee, and the lifting up of my hands as
the evening sacrifice (3).'
when the Most High assured his people,
Mal. 1. 10, that he would not accept
an offering at their hands,' he adds, v.
11, for from the rising of the sun even
unto the going down of the same, my
name shall be great among the Gen-

So

CHAPTER II.

offering shall be of fine flour; and

And when any will offer a meat he shall pour oil upon it, and put

offering unto the LORD, his frankincense thereon:

ach. 6. 14. and 9. 17. Num. 15. 4.

2 And he shall bring it to Aaron's

ciple of holiness, which the Spirit of the Lord pours out upon the true be. liever's heart, is indispensable to the acceptance of our spiritual sacrifices. The unction of love, gratitude, rever ence, holy joy, and of every gracious disposition, the fruit of the Spirit of grace, must be present to impart its vir tues to our oblations, or they avail us nothing.· ¶ And put frankincense thereon. In order to cause a sweet smell in the court of the tabernacle, which would otherwise have been offensive in consequence of the vast quantities of flesh burnt there. But this was not all. The frankincense, like the oil, had a symbolical allusion. It

tiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering ();' and this is fulfilled when men pray every where, lifting up holy hands. The remaining details will be given in the notes that follow. 1. And when any will offer. Heb. E venephesh ki takrib, and a soul when it shall offer; i. e. a person or man. See note on Gen. 2. 7. as to the scriptural import of the word 'soul.' The English idiom is precisely similar. Thus we say that such a place contains so many thousand souls; and in such a battle, so many souls perished. Shakspeare also speaks of a ship swallowed in the sea, and the 'freighting souls' within her.-¶ A meat-represented that divine mediation and offering. Heb. p korban min'hah, a gift-offering, a donative, for it is to be borne in mind that the offering prescribed in this chapter was also of the votive or voluntary kind, like the animal oblations of the foregoing chapter, and therefore equally with them denominated korbûn. —¶ Shall pour oil upon it. To give it a grateful relish, making it more palatable to the priests, who were to eat part of it, v. 3. Oil was to the food of the Israelites what butter is to ours. We see from this how kindly the Most High consults the gratification of his servants while ordering the provisions of his own table. But the genius of the Levitical institute requires us to look beyond this for the adequate reason for the use of oil in these rites. This substance also has a mystical or symbolical scope, as we have shown in the note on Ex. 29. 7. Its unquestionable import is, that any offering which we offer should have that anointing of the Holy One of which John speaks so largely in his first epistle. That oil of divine grace, that prin

intercession of Christ, by which he perfumes and renders of a sweet smell all the prayers, praises, good works, and holy affections, of his servants. He is, in the language of the Song of songs, ch. 3. 6, 'like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and all powders of the merchant.' That the frankincense is applicable primarily and mainly to Christ is evident from its being wholly consumed by fire. No part of his work is borne by any but himself; nothing renders our services acceptable but his atoning, justifying, interceding grace. But when this fact is cordially admitted by us, and all the favor with which we meet attributed to the merit and mediation of Christ, then our services for his honor and glory, our oblations to his priests or his poor, our works of beneficence and kindness wrought for his sake, 'come up as an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice ac. ceptable, well-pleasing to God.' As the sacrifice of Christ himself was most pleasing unto God, so are the services of all his people for Christ's sake.

sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof, and the priest shall burn bthe memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offer

b ver. 9. and ch. 5. 12, and 6. 15, and 24. 7. Isa, 66. 3. Acts 10. 4.

ing made by fire of a sweet savour unto the LORD:

3 And the remnant of the meatoffering shall be Aaron's and his sons': dit is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.

c ch. 7. 9. and 10. 12, 13. d Exod. 29. 37. Num. 18. 9.

and hence it was employed in all those sacrifices which had respect to right. eousness, and the effects of which were attended with joy; while on the other hand it was excluded from those which had respect to sin, and the effect of which was attended mainly with sorrow.

2. Shall take thereout his handful. Heb. vekamets, shall grasp. Of this meal-offering a part only, that is to say, about an handful, was burnt, the rest being reserved for the priests' use; but all the frankincense was burnt because from it the priest could derive no advantage.- -T Shall burn the memo- 3. The remnant of the meal-offering rial of it. Heb. hiktir, shall shall be Aaron's and his sons'. That is, reduce it to fume or vapor, shall evapo- what remains after the priest has taken rate it, as in the burning of incense. his handful of the flour and the oil, with See the original term explained in the all the frankincence, this shall belong note on Ex. 29. 13. The part of the to the priests, and shall be eaten by offering which the priest took out with them alone, in the court of the taberna. his hand is called the 'memorial' of cle, as a 'thing most holy;' whereas the meal or bread-offering, because it the less holy things, as tithes, first was a remembrancer of God's supreme fruits, &c., might be eaten by their sons dominion, a grateful acknowledgment and daughters. Deut. 12. 5.-¶ A that they held and enjoyed every thing thing most holy. Heb. W p of him as sovereign Proprietor, and by kodesh kodoshim, holiness of holinesses, this act supplicated the continuance of the Hebrew mode of expressing the it. It was designed to put him in mind, superlative degree. A common disas it were, of his covenant promise to tinction was made by the Jews between accept the services of his people ren- things most holy and the lighter holy dered to him according to his command- things, as they termed them. Of the ment; in allusion to which it is said by former class are those of which none the Psalmist, Ps. 20. 4, 'The Lord re- whosoever, or none but the priests and member all thine offerings, and accept the sons of priests might eat, and that thy burnt-sacrifices.' Acts 14. 4, 'Thy only in the sanctuary. Lev. 6. 16–26. prayers and thine alms come up for a Such were all whole burnt-offerings, all memorial before God.' The sin and the sin-offerings, and all the peace-offer. jealousy-offerings, on the other hand, ings for the whole congregation. The had no oil or incense mixed with them, 'lighter holy things' were such as because they were no offerings of gra- might be eaten by those who were not cious memorial, but such as brought in- priests in any place within the camp, iquity to remembrance, and were there- and subsequently within the city of Jefore devoid of those elements which rusalem, as all the peace-offerings of made them come up as a sweet-smell- particular individuals, the paschal lamb, ing savor before the Lord. Comp. Num. the tithes, and the firstlings of cattle. 5. 15, Lev. 5, 11. A very prominent In regard to the meal or bread-offering, import of oil as a symbol is that of joy, moreover suggested that a

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