1And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, 2Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the oil of anointing, and a bullock of the sin, and two rams, and a basket of the unleavened; 3And gather together all the assembly to the door of the tent of appointment 4And Moses will do as Jehovah commanded him: and the assembly will be gathered together to the door of the tent of appointment 5And Moses will say to the assembly, This the word which Jehovah commanded to do. 6And Moses will bring near Aaron and his sons, and will wash them in water. 7And he will give upon him the tunic, and he will gird him with the girdle, and he will put upon him the robe, and will give upon him the ephod, and will gird him with the girdle of the ephod, and will gird on him with it 8And he will put upon him the breast-plate: and will give to the breastplate the Lights and the Truth. 9And he will put the turban upon his head; and he will put upon the turban, at the front of his face, the brightness of gold, the holy diadem, as Jehovah commanded Moses. 10And Moses will take the oil of anointing, and will anoint the dwelling and all which is in it, and he will consecrate them. 11And he will sprinkle from it upon the altar seven times, and anoint the altar and all its vessels, and the wash-basin, and its foot, to consecrate them. 12And he will pour out from the oil of anointing upon the head. of Aaron, and anoint him to consecrate him. 13And Moses will bring near the sons of Aaron, and he will put tunics upon them, and he will gird on them with the girdle and he will bind to them caps; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 14And he will bring near the bullock of sin: and Aaron and his sons will place their hands upon the head of the bullock of sin. 15And he will slaughter; and Moses will take the blood and give upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and he will purify the altar, and he will sour out the blood at the foundation of the altar, and he will consecrate it to expiate upon it 16And he will take all the fat which upon the bowels, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses will burn upon the altar. 17And the bullock and his skin, and his flesh, and his dung, he burnt in fire without the camp, as Jehovah commanded Moses. 18And he will bring the ram of the burnt-offering: and Aaron and his sons will place their hands upon the head of the ram. 19And he will slaughter, and Moses will sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about 20And he cut the ram into its pieces; and Moses will burn the head and the pieces, and the fat. 21And the bowels and the legs he washed in water; and Moses will burn all the ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering for an odor of sweetness; it is a sacrifice to Jehovah; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 22And he will bring the second ram, the ram of the filling up: and Aaron and his sons will place their hands upon the head of the ram. 23And he will slaughter, and Moses will take from its blood, and will give upon the extremity of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. 24And he will bring near Aaron's sons, and Moses will give from the blood upon the extremity of their right ear, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right feet: and Moses will sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 25And he will take the fat and the fat tail, and all the fat which is upon the bowels, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and the right leg: 26And from the basket of unleavened which is before Jehovah he took one unleavened cake and a cake of bread of oil, and one thin cake, and he will put upon the fat and upon the right leg: 27And he will give the whole upon the hands of Aaron, and upon the hands of his sons, and he shall lift them up a waving before Jehovah. 28And Moses will take them from their hands and burn upon the altar upon the burnt-offering: they fillings up for an odor of sweetness: it is a sacrifice to Jehovah. 29And Moses will take the breast and will lift it up; a waving before Jehovah: from the ram of the fillings up it was to Moses for a portion; as Jehovah commanded Moses. 30And Moses will take from the oil of anointing, and from the blood which is upon the altar, and will sprinkle upon Aaron, upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and will consecrate Aaron and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. 31And Moses will say to Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tent of appointment; and there ye shall eat it, and the bread which is in the basket of the fillings up, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. 32And the remainder of the flesh and of the bread ye shall burn in fire. 33And ye shall not go out from the door of the tent of appointment, seven days, till the day of filling up the days of your fillings up: for seven days shall he fill your hands. 34As he did in this day, Jehovah commanded to do, to expiate for you. 35And at the door of the tent of appointment shall ye sit day and night seven days, and watch the watches of Jehovah, and ye shall not die: for so I was commanded. 36And Aaron did and his sons all the word which Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 God had given Moses orders to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the priests' office, when he was with him the first time upon mount Sinai, Ex. 28 and
Exod 29:1, where we have also the particular instructions he had how to do it. Now here we have,
I. The orders repeated. What was there commanded to be done is here commanded to be done
now, Lev 8:2,
Lev 8:3. The tabernacle was newly set up, which, without the priests, would be as a candlestick without a candle; the law concerning sacrifices was newly given, but could not be observed without priests; for, though Aaron and his sons had been nominated to the office, they could not officiate, till they were consecrated, which yet must not be done till the place of their ministration was prepared, and the ordinances were instituted, that they might apply themselves to work as soon as ever they were consecrated, and might know that they were ordained, not only to the honour and profit, but to the business of the priesthood. Aaron and his sons were near relations to Moses, and therefore he would not consecrate them till he had further orders, lest he should seem too forward to bring honour into his family.
II. The congregation called together,
at the door, that is, in the court
of the tabernacle, Lev 8:4. The elders and principal men of the congregation, who represented the body of the people, were summoned to attend; for the court would hold but a few of the many thousands of Israel. It was done thus publicly, 1. Because it was a solemn transaction between God and Israel; the priests were to be
ordained for men in things pertaining to God, for the maintaining of a settled correspondence, and the negotiating of all affairs between the people and God; and therefore it was fit that both sides should appear, to own the appointment, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 2. The spectators of the solemnity could not but be possessed, by the sight of it, with a great veneration for the priests and their office, which was necessary among a people so wretchedly prone as these were to envy and discontent. It was strange that any of those who were witnesses of what was here done should afterwards say, as some of them did,
You take too much upon you, you sons of Levi; but what would they have said if it had been done clandestinely? Note, It is very fit, and of good use, that ministers should be ordained publicly,
plebe praesente -
in the presence of the common people, according to the usage of the primitive church.
III. The commission read,
Lev 8:5. Moses, who was God's representative in this solemnity, produced his orders before the congregation:
This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done. Though God had crowned him king in Jeshurun, when he made his face to shine in the sight of all Israel, yet he did not institute or appoint any thing in God's worship but what God himself had commanded. The priesthood he delivered to them was that which he had received from the Lord. Note, All that minister about holy things must have an eye to God's command as their rule and warrant; for it is only in the observance of this that they can expect to be owned and accepted of God. Thus we must be able to say, in all acts of religious worship,
This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done. IV. The ceremony performed according to the divine ritual. 1. Aaron and his sons were
washed with water (
Lev 8:6), to signify that they ought now to purify themselves from all sinful dispositions and inclinations, and ever after to keep themselves pure. Christ washes those from their sins in his own blood whom he makes to our God kings and priests (
Revel 1:5,
Revel 1:6); and those that draw near to God must be washed in pure water,
Hebre 10:22. Though they were ever so clean before and no filth was to be seen upon them, yet they must be washed, to signify their purification from sin, with which their souls were polluted, how clean soever their bodies were. 2. They were clothed with the holy garments, Aaron with his (
Lev 8:7-
Lev 8:9), which typified the dignity of Christ our great high priest, and his sons with theirs (
Lev 8:13), which typified the decency of Christians, who are spiritual priests. Christ wears the breast-plate of judgment and the holy crown; for the church's high priest is her prophet and king. All believers are clothed with the robe of righteousness, and girt with the girdle of truth, resolution, and close application; and their heads are
bound, as the word here is, with the bonnet or diadem of beauty, the beauty of holiness. 3. The high priest was anointed, and, it should seem, the holy things were anointed at the same time; some think that they were anointed before, but that the anointing of them is mentioned here because Aaron was anointed with the same oil with which they were anointed; but the manner of relating it here makes it more than probable that it was done at the same time, and that the seven days employed in consecrating the altar were coincident with the seven days of the priests' consecration. The tabernacle, and all its utensils, had some of the anointing oil put upon them with Moses's finger (
Lev 8:10), so had the altar (
Lev 8:11); these were to sanctify the gold and the gift (
Matt 23:17-
Matt 23:19), and therefore must themselves be thus sanctified; but he poured it out more plentifully upon the head of Aaron (
Lev 8:12), so that it ran down to the
skirts of his garments, because his unction was to typify the anointing of Christ with the Spirit, which was not given by measure to him. Yet all believers also have received the anointing, which puts an indelible character upon them,
1John 2:27.
14 The covenant of priesthood must be made by sacrifice, as well as other covenants,
Pss 50:5. And thus Christ was consecrated by the sacrifice of himself, once for all. Sacrifices of each kind must be offered for the priests, that they might with the more tenderness and concern offer the gifts and sacrifices of the people, with compassion on the ignorant, and on
those that were out of the way, not insulting over those for whom sacrifices were offered, remembering that they themselves had had sacrifices offered for them, being
compassed with infirmity. 1. A bullock, the largest sacrifice, was offered for a sin-offering (
Lev 8:14), that hereby atonement might be made, and they might not bring any of the guilt of the sins of their former state into the new character they were now to put on. When Isaiah was sent to be a prophet, he was told to his comfort,
Thy iniquity is taken away, Isa 6:7. Ministers, that are to declare the remission of sins to others, should give diligence to get it made sure to themselves in the first place that their own sins are pardoned. Those to whom is
committed the ministry of reconciliation must first be reconciled to God themselves, that they may deal for the souls of others as for their own. 2. A ram was offered for a burnt-offering,
Lev 8:18-
Lev 8:21. By this they gave to God the glory of this great honour which was now put upon them, and returned him praise for it, as Paul thanked Christ Jesus for
putting him into the ministry, 1Tim 1:12. They also signified the devoting of themselves and all their services to the honour of God. 3. Another ram, called the
ram of consecration, was offered for a peace-offering,
Lev 8:22, etc. The blood of it was part put on the priests, on their ears, thumbs, and toes, and part sprinkled upon the altar; and thus he did (as it were) marry them to the altar, upon which they must all their days give attendance. All the ceremonies about this offering, as those before, were appointed by the express command of God; and, if we compare this chapter with Ex. 29, we shall find that the performance of the solemnity exactly agrees with the precept there, and in nothing varies. Here, therefore, as in the account we had of the tabernacle and its vessels, it is again and again repeated,
As the Lord commanded Moses. And thus Christ, when he sanctified himself with his own blood, had an eye to his Father's will in it.
As the Father gave me commandment so I do, John 14:31;
John 10:18;
John 6:38.
31 Moses, having done his part of the ceremony, now leaves Aaron and his sons to do theirs.
I. They must boil the flesh of their peace-offering, and eat it in the court of the tabernacle, and what remained they must burn with fire,
Lev 8:31,
Lev 8:32. This signified their thankful consent to the consecration: when God gave Ezekiel his commission, he told him to eat the roll,
Ezek 3:1,
Ezek 3:2.
II. They must not stir out of the court of the tabernacle for seven days,
Lev 8:33. The priesthood being a good warfare, they must thus learn to endure hardness, and to disentangle themselves from the affairs of this life,
2Tim 2:3,
2Tim 2:4. Being consecrated to their service, they must
give themselves wholly to it, and
attend continually to this very thing. Thus Christ's apostles were appointed to
wait for the promise of the Father, Acts 1:4. During this time appointed for their consecration, they were daily to repeat the same sacrifices which were offered the first day,
Lev 8:34. This shows the imperfection of the legal sacrifices, which, because they could not take away sin, were often repeated (
Hebre 10:1,
Hebre 10:2), but were here repeated seven times (a number of perfection), because they typified that
one offering, which perfected for ever those that were sanctified. The work lasted seven days; for it was a kind of creation: and this time was appointed in honour of the sabbath, which, probably, was the last day of the seven, for which they were to prepare during the six days. Thus the time of our life, like the six days, must be our preparation for the perfection of our consecration to God in the everlasting sabbath: they attended
day and night (
Lev 8:35), and so constant should we be in our meditation on God's law,
Pss 1:2. They attended to
keep the charge of the Lord: we have every one of us a charge to keep, an eternal God to glorify, an immortal soul to provide for, needful duty to be done, our generation to serve; and it must be our daily care to keep this charge, for it is the charge of the Lord our Master, who will shortly call us to an account about it, and it is at our utmost peril if we neglect it. Keep it
that you die not; it is death, eternal death, to betray the trust we are charged with; by the consideration of this we must be kept in awe.
Lastly, We are told (
Lev 8:36) that
Aaron and his sons did all that was commanded. Thus their consecration was completed; and thus they set an example before the people of an exact obedience to the laws of sacrifices now newly given, and then they could with the better grace teach them. Thus the
covenant of peace (
Num 25:12),
of life and peace (
Mal 2:5), was made with Aaron and his sons; but after all the ceremonies that were used in their consecration there was one point of ratification which was reserved to be the honour and establishment of Christ's priesthood, which was this, that they were
made priests without an oath, but Christ with an oath (
Hebre 7:21), for neither such priests nor their priesthood could continue, but Christ's is a perpetual and unchangeable priesthood.
Gospel ministers are compared to those who served at the altar, for they
minister about holy things (
1Cor 9:13), they are God's mouth to the people and the people's to God, the pastors and teachers Christ has appointed to continue in the church to the end of the world: they seem to be meant in that promise which points at gospel times (
Isa 66:21),
I will take of them for priests and for Levites. No man may take this honour to himself, but he who upon trial is found to be clothed and anointed by the Spirit of God with gifts and graces to qualify him for it, and who with purpose of heart devotes himself entirely to the service, and is then by the
word and prayer (for so every thing is sanctified), and the imposition of the hands of those that
give themselves to the word and prayer, set apart to the office, and recommended to Christ as a servant and to the church as a steward and guide. And those that are thus solemnly dedicated to God ought not to depart from his service, but faithfully to abide in it all their days; and those that do so, and continue
labouring in the word and doctrine, are to be accounted
worthy of double honour, double to that of the Old Testament priests.