12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons near, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and bathe them with water.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened [bread]; and gather all the assembly together at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses did as Jehovah had commanded him; and the assembly was collected at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses said to the assembly, This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded to be done. And Moses brought Aaron near, and his sons, and bathed them with water. And he put upon him the vest and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the cloak, and put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the girdle of the ephod, and fastened the ephod on him. And he put the breastplate on it, and put on the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim; and he put the turban upon his head; and upon the turban, on the front of it, he put the golden plate, the holy diadem; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and hallowed them. And he sprinkled thereof on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand, to hallow them. And he poured of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed him, to hallow him. And Moses brought Aaron's sons near and clothed them with the vests, and girded them with the girdles, and bound the high caps on them, as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
And this is the thing which thou shalt do to them to hallow them, that they may serve me as priests: take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil -- of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them into one basket, and present them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring near the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shalt bathe them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and clothe Aaron with the vest, and the cloak of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and shalt gird him with the girdle of the ephod. And thou shalt put the turban upon his head, and fasten the holy diadem to the turban, and shalt take the anointing oil, and pour [it] on his head, and anoint him. And thou shalt bring his sons near, and clothe them with the vests. And thou shalt gird them with the girdle -- Aaron and his sons, and bind the high caps on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs for an everlasting statute; and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. And thou shalt present the bullock before the tent of meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock; and thou shalt slaughter the bullock before Jehovah, at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it on the horns of the altar with thy finger, and shalt pour all the blood at the bottom of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. And the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with fire outside the camp: it is a sin-offering. And thou shalt take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram; and thou shalt slaughter the ram, and shalt take its blood, and sprinkle [it] on the altar round about. And thou shalt cut up the ram into its pieces, and wash its inwards, and its legs, and put [them] upon its pieces, and upon its head; and thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering to Jehovah -- a sweet odour; it is an offering by fire to Jehovah. And thou shalt take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram; and thou shalt slaughter the ram, and take of its blood, and put [it] on the tip of the [right] ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and thou shalt sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle [it] on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. Also of the ram shalt thou take the fat, and the fat-tail, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder -- for it is a ram of consecration -- and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened [bread] that is before Jehovah; and thou shalt put all this in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons, and shalt wave them as a wave-offering before Jehovah. And thou shalt receive them of their hand and burn [them] upon the altar over the burnt-offering, for a sweet odour before Jehovah: it is an offering by fire to Jehovah. And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of consecration which is for Aaron, and wave it as a wave-offering before Jehovah; and it shall be thy part. And thou shalt hallow the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, that hath been waved and heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, of that which is for Aaron, and of [that] which is for his sons. And they shall be for Aaron and his sons, as an everlasting statute, on the part of the children of Israel; for it is a heave-offering; and it shall be a heave-offering on the part of the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, [as] their heave-offering to Jehovah. And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. The son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tent of meeting to serve in the sanctuary. And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. They shall eat the things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate [and] to hallow them; but a stranger shall not eat [of them], for they are holy. And if [any] of the flesh of the consecration, and of the bread, remain until the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, for it is holy. And thus shalt thou do to Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
And it came to pass on the eighth day, [that] Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel, and said to Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and present [them] before Jehovah; and to the children of Israel shalt thou speak, saying, Take a buck of the goats for a sin-offering, and a calf and a lamb, yearlings, without blemish, for a burnt-offering; and a bullock and a ram for a peace-offering, to sacrifice before Jehovah; and an oblation mingled with oil; for to-day Jehovah will appear to you. And they brought what Moses commanded before the tent of meeting; and all the assembly approached and stood before Jehovah. And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded that ye should do; and the glory of Jehovah shall appear to you. And Moses said unto Aaron, Go to the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy burnt-offering, and make atonement for thyself, and for the people; and offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as Jehovah has commanded. And Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin-offering which was for himself; and the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put [it] on the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar. And the fat, and the kidneys, and the net above the liver, of the sin-offering, he burned on the altar, as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And the flesh and the skin he burned with fire outside the camp. And he slaughtered the burnt-offering; and Aaron's sons delivered to him the blood, which he sprinkled on the altar round about. And they delivered the burnt-offering to him, in the pieces thereof, and the head; and he burned [them] on the altar. And he washed the inwards and the legs, and burned [them] upon the burnt-offering, on the altar. And he presented the people's offering, and took the goat of the sin-offering which was for the people and slaughtered it, and offered it for sin, as the first. And he presented the burnt-offering and offered it according to the ordinance. And he presented the oblation, and took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt-offering of the morning. And he slaughtered the bullock and the ram of the sacrifice of peace-offering which was for the people. And Aaron's sons delivered to him the blood, and he sprinkled it on the altar round about; and the pieces of fat of the bullock and of the ram, the fat tail and what covers [the inwards], and the kidneys, and the net of the liver; and they put the pieces of fat on the breast-pieces, and he burned the pieces of fat on the altar; and the breast-pieces and the right shoulder Aaron waved as a wave-offering before Jehovah, as Moses had commanded. And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down after the offering of the sin-offering, and the burnt-offering, and the peace-offering. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and came out and blessed the people; and the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the people. And there went out fire from before Jehovah, and consumed on the altar the burnt-offering, and the pieces of fat; and all the people saw it, and they shouted, and fell on their face.
And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful; and the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. And his delight will be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his reins, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.
The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, because Jehovah hath anointed me to announce glad tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, that beauty should be given unto them instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness: that they might be called terebinths of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified.
And the angel answering said to her, [The] Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and power of [the] Highest overshadow thee, wherefore the holy thing also which shall be born shall be called Son of God.
for he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives not the Spirit by measure.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 40
Commentary on Exodus 40 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 40
Ex 40:1-38. The Tabernacle Reared and Anointed.
2. On the first day of the first month—From a careful consideration of the incidents recorded to have happened after the exodus (Ex 12:2; 13:4; 19:1; 20:18; 34:28, &c.), it has been computed that the work of the tabernacle was commenced within six months after that emigration; and consequently, that other six months had been occupied in building it. So long a period spent in preparing the materials of a movable pavilion, it would be difficult to understand, were it not for what we are told of the vast dimensions of the tabernacle, as well as the immense variety of curious and elaborate workmanship which its different articles of furniture required.
the tabernacle—the entire edifice.
the tent—the covering that surmounted it (Ex 40:19).
15. anoint them, as thou didst anoint their fathers—The sacred oil was used, but it does not appear that the ceremony was performed exactly in the same manner; for although the anointing oil was sprinkled over the garments both of Aaron and his sons (Ex 29:21; Le 8:30), it was not poured over the heads of the latter. This distinction was reserved for the high priest (Ex 29:7; Le 8:12; Ps 133:2).
16. Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him—On his part, the same scrupulous fidelity was shown in conforming to the "pattern" in the disposition of the furniture, as had been displayed by the workmen in the erection of the edifice.
33. So Moses finished the work—Though it is not expressly recorded in this passage, yet, from what took place on all similar occasions, there is reason to believe that on the inauguration day the people were summoned from their tents—were all drawn up as a vast assemblage, yet in calm and orderly arrangement, around the newly erected tabernacle.
34. a cloud—literally, "The cloud," the mystic cloud which was the well-known symbol of the Divine Presence. After remaining at a great distance from them on the summit of the mount, it appeared to be in motion; and if many among them had a secret misgiving about the issue, how the fainting heart would revive, the interest of the moment intensely increase, and the tide of joy swell in every bosom, when that symbolic cloud was seen slowly and majestically descending towards the plain below and covering the tabernacle. The entire and universal concealment of the tabernacle within the folds of an impervious cloud was not without a deep and instructive meaning; it was a protection to the sacred edifice from the burning heats of the Arabian climate; it was a token of the Divine Presence; and it was also an emblem of the Mosaic dispensation, which, though it was a revelation from heaven, yet left many things hid in obscurity; for it was a dark cloud compared with the bright cloud, which betokened the clearer and fuller discoveries of the divine character and glory in the gospel (Mt 17:5).
the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle—that is, light and fire, a created splendor, which was the peculiar symbol of God (1Jo 1:5). Whether this light was inherent in the cloud or not, it emanated from it on this occasion, and making its entry, not with the speed of a lightning flash as if it were merely an electric spark, but in majestic splendor, it passed through the outer porch into the interior of the most holy place (1Ki 8:10; Joh 1:14). Its miraculous character is shown by the fact, that, though "it filled the tabernacle," not a curtain or any article of furniture was so much as singed.
35. Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation—How does this circumstance show the incapacity of man, in his present state, to look upon the unveiled perfections of the Godhead! Moses could not endure the unclouded effulgence, nor the sublimest of the prophets (Isa 6:5). But what neither Moses nor the most eminent of God's messengers to the ancient church through the weakness of nature could endure, we can all now do by an exercise of faith; looking unto Jesus, who reflected with chastened radiance the brightness of the Father's glory; and who, having as the Forerunner for us, entered within the veil, has invited us to come boldly to the mercy seat. While Moses was compelled, through the influence of overwhelming awe, to stand aloof and could not enter the tabernacle, Christ entered into the holy place not made with hands; nay, He is Himself the true tabernacle, filled with the glory of God, ever with the grace and truth which the Shekinah typified. What great reason we have to thank God for Jesus Christ, who, while He Himself was the brightness of the Father's glory, yet exhibited that glory in so mild and attractive a manner, as to allure us to draw near with confidence and love into the Divine Presence!
36. when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle—In journeying through the sandy, trackless deserts of the East, the use of torches, exhibiting a cloud of smoke by day and of fire by night, has been resorted to from time immemorial. The armies of Darius and Alexander were conducted on their marches in this manner [Faber]. The Arab caravans in the present day observe the same custom; and materials for these torches are stored up among other necessary preparations for a journey. Live fuel, hoisted in chafing dishes at the end of long poles, and being seen at a great distance, serves, by the smoke in the daytime and the light at night, as a better signal for march than the sound of a trumpet, which is not heard at the extremities of a large camp [Laborde]. This usage, and the miracle related by Moses, mutually illustrate each other. The usage leads us to think that the miracle was necessary, and worthy of God to perform; and, on the other hand, the miracle of the cloudy pillar, affording double benefit of shade by day and light at night, implies not only that the usage was not unknown to the Hebrews, but supplied all the wants which they felt in common with other travellers through those dreary regions [Faber, Hess, Grandpierre]. But its peculiar appearance, unvarying character, and regular movements, distinguished it from all the common atmospheric phenomena. It was an invaluable boon to the Israelites, and being recognized by all classes among that people as the symbol of the Divine Presence, it guided their journeys and regulated their encampments (compare Ps 29:1-11; 105:1-45).
38. the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle, &c.—While it had hitherto appeared sometimes in one place, sometimes in another, it was now found on the tabernacle only; so that from the moment that sanctuary was erected, and the glory of the Lord had filled the sacred edifice, the Israelites had to look to the place which God had chosen to put His name there, in order that they might enjoy the benefit of a heavenly Guide (Nu 9:15-23). In like manner, the church had divine revelation for its guide from the first—long before the Word of God existed in a written form; but ever since the setting up of that sacred canon, it rests on that as its tabernacle and there only is it to be found. It accompanies us wherever we are or go, just as the cloud led the way of the Israelites. It is always accessible and can be carried in our pockets when we walk abroad; it may be engraved on the inner tablets of our memories and our hearts; and so true, faithful, and complete a guide is it, that there is not a scene of duty or of trial through which we may be called to pass in the world, but it furnishes a clear, a safe, and unerring direction (Col 3:16).