21 Let Aaron and his sons put this in order, evening and morning, before the Lord, inside the Tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the ark; this is to be an order for ever, from generation to generation, to be kept by the children of Israel.
This is to be a law for them for ever: he who puts the water on the unclean person is to have his clothing washed; and anyone touching the water will be unclean till evening.
But the Levites are to do the work of the Tent of meeting, and be responsible for errors in connection with it: this is a law for ever through all your generations; and among the children of Israel they will have no heritage.
By whom burned offerings and perfumes are sent up in smoke before the Lord every morning and every evening; and they put out the holy bread on its table and the gold support for the lights with its lights burning every evening; for we keep the orders given to us by the Lord our God, but you have gone away from him.
And the light of God was still burning, while Samuel was sleeping in the Temple of the Lord where the ark of God was,
And let this be an order for ever for you, so that the sin of the children of Israel may be taken away once every year. And he did as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
And every evening, when he puts the lights up in their places, the spices are to be burned, a sweet-smelling smoke going up before the Lord from generation to generation for ever.
And so he made it a rule and an order for Israel from that day till now.
Aaron and his sons are to put these on whenever they go into the Tent of meeting or come near the altar, when they are doing the work of the holy place, so that they may be free from any sin causing death: this is to be an order for him and his seed after him for ever.
<A Song of the going up.> Give praise to the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who take your places in the house of the Lord by night.
To the angel of the church in Ephesus say: These things says he who has the seven stars in his right hand, who is walking in the middle of the seven gold lights:
Seeing that it is God who said, Let light be shining out of the dark, who has put in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
He was a burning and shining light, and for a time you were ready to be happy in his light.
The people who were in the dark saw a great light, and to those in the land of the shade of death did the dawn come up.
For it is right for the priest's lips to keep knowledge, and for men to be waiting for the law from his mouth: for he is the servant sent from the Lord of armies.
And make the Levites come forward in front of the Tent of meeting, and let all the children of Israel come together:
And it will be for Aaron and his sons; they are to take it for food in a holy place: it is the most holy of all the offerings made by fire to the Lord, a rule for ever.
And he is to put his hand on the head of his offering and put it to death before the Tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons are to put some of its blood on and round the altar.
And inside it put the ark of the law, hanging the veil before it.
I will make holy the Tent of meeting and the altar: and Aaron and his sons I will make holy, to be my priests
This is to be a regular burned offering made from generation to generation, at the door of the Tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will come face to face with you and have talk with you.
And put the linen bands round Aaron and his sons, and the head-dresses on them, to make them priests by my order for ever: so you are to make Aaron and his sons holy to me. Then let the ox be taken in front of the Tent of meeting: and let Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head.
And you are to make a veil of the best linen, blue and purple and red, worked with designs of winged ones by a good workman: Hanging it by gold hooks from four pillars of wood, plated with gold and fixed in silver bases. And you are to put up the veil under the hooks, and put inside it the ark of the law: the veil is to be a division between the holy place and the most holy.
And put the cover over the ark, and in the ark the record which I will give you. And there, between the two winged ones on the cover of the ark, I will come to you, face to face, and make clear to you all the orders I have to give you for the children of Israel.
Inside the ark you are to put the record which I will give you.
So Aaron put it away in front of the holy chest to be kept, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 27
Commentary on Exodus 27 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 27
In this chapter directions are given,
Exd 27:1-8
As God intended in the tabernacle to manifest his presence among his people, so there they were to pay their devotions to him, not in the tabernacle itself (into that only the priests entered as God's domestic servants), but in the court before the tabernacle, where, as common subjects, they attended. There an altar was ordered to be set up, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God: and this altar was to sanctify their gifts. Here they were to present their services to God, as from the mercy-seat he gave his oracles to them; and thus a communion was settled between God and Israel. Moses is here directed about,
And, lastly, he is referred to the pattern shown him, v. 8.
Now this brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins: the wood would have been consumed by the fire from heaven if it had not been secured by the brass; nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God if it had not been supported by a divine power. Christ sanctified himself for his church, as their altar (Jn. 17:19), and by his mediation sanctifies the daily services of his people, who have also a right to eat of this altar (Heb. 13:10), for they serve at it as spiritual priests. To the horns of this altar poor sinners fly for refuge when justice pursues them, and they are safe in virtue of the sacrifice there offered.
Exd 27:9-19
Before the tabernacle there was to be a court or yard, enclosed with hangings of the finest linen that was used for tents. This court, according to the common computation of cubits, was fifty yards long, and twenty-five broad. Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver tenter-hooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest, v. 16. This court was a type of the church, enclosed and distinguished from the rest of the world, the enclosure supported by pillars, denoting the stability of the church, hung with the clean linen, which is said to be the righteousness of saints, Rev. 19:8. These were the courts David longed for and coveted to reside in (Ps. 84:2, 10), and into which the people of God entered with praise and thanksgiving (Ps. 100:4); yet this court would contain but a few worshippers. Thanks be to God, now, under the gospel, the enclosure is taken down. God's will is that men pray every where; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ.
Exd 27:20-21
We read of the candlestick in the twenty-fifth chapter; here is an order given for the keeping of the lamps constantly burning in it, else it was useless; in every candlestick there should be a burning and shining light; candlesticks without candles are as wells without water or as clouds without rain. Now,