1 And this is the thing that thou shalt doe vnto them, to hallow them, to minister vnto me in the Priests office: Take one yong bullocke, and two rammes without blemish,
2 And vnleauened bread, and cakes unleauened, tempered with oyle, and wafers vnleauened, annointed with oile: of wheaten flowre shalt thou make them.
3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullocke and the two rammes.
4 And Aaron and his sonnes thou shalt bring vnto the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put vpon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the Ephod, and the Ephod, and the brestplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the Ephod.
6 And thou shalt put the Miter vpon his head, and put the holy Crowne vpon the Miter.
7 Then shalt thou take the annointing oyle, and powre it vpon his head, and annoint him.
8 And thou shalt bring his sonnes, and put coats vpon them.
9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, (Aaron and his sonnes) and put the bonnets on them: and the priests office shall be theirs for a perpetuall statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sonnes.
10 And thou shalt cause a bullocke to bee brought before the Tabernacle of the Congregation: and Aaron and his sonnes shall put their hands vpon the head of the bullocke.
11 And thou shalt kill the bullocke before the Lord, by the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullocke, and put it vpon the hornes of the altar with thy finger, and powre all the blood beside the bottome of the Altar.
13 And thou shalt take all the fat that couereth the inwards, and the caule that is aboue the liuer, and the two kidneis, and the fat that is vpon them, and burne them vpon the altar.
14 But the flesh of the bullocke, and his skinne, and his doung shalt thou burne with fire without the campe, it is a sinne offering.
15 ¶ Thou shalt also take one ram, and Aaron and his sonnes shall put their hands vpon the head of the ram.
16 And thou shalt slay the ramme, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about vpon the altar.
17 And thou shalt cut the ramme in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them vnto his pieces, and vnto his head.
18 And thou shalt burne the whole ramme vpon the Altar: it is a burnt offering vnto the Lord: It is a sweet sauour, an offering made by fire vnto the Lord.
19 ¶ And thou shalt take the other ramme: and Aaron and his sonnes shall put their hands vpon the head of the ramme.
20 Then shalt thou kill the ramme, and take of his blood, and put it vpon the tip of the right eare of Aaron, and vpon the tip of the right eare of his sonnes, and vpon the thumbe of their right hand, and vpon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinckle the blood vpon the Altar round about.
21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is vpon the Altar, and of the anointing oyle, and sprinkle it vpon Aaron, and vpon his garments, and vpon his sonnes, and vpon the garments of his sonnes with him: and hee shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sonnes, and his sonnes garments with him.
22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rumpe, and the fat that couereth the inwards, & the caule aboue the liuer, and the two kidneis, and the fat that is vpon them, and the right shoulder, for it is a ram of consecration:
23 And one loafe of bread, and one cake of oyled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the vnleauened bread, that is before the Lord.
24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sonnes, and shalt waue them for a waue-offering before the Lord.
25 And thou shalt receiue them of their hands, and burne them vpon the Altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet sauour before the Lord: it is an offering made by fire vnto the Lord.
26 And thou shalt take the brest of the ramme of Aarons consecrations, and waue it for a waue-offering before the Lord, and it shalbe thy part.
27 And thou shalt sanctifie the brest of the waue-offering, and the shoulder of the heaue offering, which is waued, and which is heaued vp of the ramme of the consecration, euen of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sonnes.
28 And it shalbe Aarons, and his sonnes by a statute for euer, from the children of Israel: for it is an heaue offering: and it shall be an heaue offering from the children of Israel, of the sacrifice of their peace offrings, euen their heaue offering vnto the Lord.
29 ¶ And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sonnes after him, to bee anoynted therein, and to be consecrated in them.
30 And that sonne that is Priest in his stead, shal put them on seuen dayes, when he commeth into the Tabernacle of the Congregation to minister in the holy place.
31 ¶ And thou shalt take the ramme of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.
32 And Aaron and his sonnes shall eate the flesh of the ramme, and the bread that is in the basket, by the doore of the Tabernacle of the Cōgregation.
33 And they shall eate those things, wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctifie them: but a stranger shall not eate thereof, because they are holy.
34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread remaine vnto the morning, then thou shalt burne the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 And thus shalt thou doe vnto Aaron, and to his sonnes, according to all things which I haue commaunded thee: seuen dayes shalt thou consecrate them.
36 And thou shalt offer euery day a bullocke for a sinne offering, for atonement: and thou shalt clense the Altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoynt it, to sanctifie it.
37 Seuen dayes thou shalt make an atonement for the Altar, and sanctifie it: and it shalbe an Altar most holy: whatsoeuer toucheth the Altar, shalbe holy.
38 ¶ Now this is that which thou shalt offer vpon the Altar; two lambs of the first yere, day by day continually.
39 The one lambe thou shalt offer in the morning: and the other lambe thou shalt offer at euen:
40 And with the one lambe a tenth deale of flowre mingled with the fourth part of an Hin of beaten oyle: and the fourth part of an Hin of wine for a drinke offering.
41 And the other lambe thou shalt offer at Euen, and shalt doe thereto, according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drinke offering thereof, for a sweet sauour, an offering made by fire vnto the Lord.
42 This shalbe a continuall burnt offering throughout your generations, at the doore of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, before the Lord,where I wil meete you, to speake there vnto thee.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel: and the Tabernacle shalbe sanctified by my glory.
44 And I will sanctifie the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and the Altar: I will sanctifie also both Aaron and his sonnes, to minister to me in the Priests office.
45 ¶ And I will dwell amongst the children of Israel, and will be their God.
46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them foorth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell amongst them: I am the Lord their God.
The sacrifice and ceremony for the consecration of the priests. (1-37) The continual burnt-offerings, God's promise to dwell among Israel. (38-46)1-37 Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for the priest's office, with ceremony and solemnity. Our Lord Jesus is the great High Priest of our profession, called of God to be so; anointed with the Spirit, whence he is called Messiah, the Christ; clothed with glory and beauty; sanctified by his own blood; made perfect, or consecrated through sufferings, #Heb 2:10|. All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices, 1Pe 2:5|, washed in the blood of Christ, and so made to our God priests, #Re 1:5,6|. They also are clothed with the beauty of holiness, and have received the anointing, #1Jo 2:27|. The Spirit of God is called the finger of God, (#Lu 11:20|, compared with #Mt 12:28|,) and by him the merit of Christ is applied to our souls. This consecration signifies the admission of a sinner into the spiritual priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
38-46 A lamb was to be offered upon the altar every morning, and a lamb every evening. This typified the continual intercession which Christ ever lives to make for his church. Though he offered himself but once for all, that one offering thus becomes a continual offering. This also teaches us to offer to God the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise every day, morning and evening. Our daily devotions are the most needful of our daily works, and the most pleasant of our daily comforts. Prayer-time must be kept up as duly as meal-time. Those starve their own souls, who keep not up constant attendance on the throne of grace; constancy in religion brings in the comfort of it.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.