35 and at the opening of the tent of meeting ye abide, by day and by night seven days, and ye have kept the charge of Jehovah, and die not, for so I have been commanded.'
and kept the charge of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commands, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that thou dost wisely all that thou dost, and whithersoever thou turnest,
`And thou hast loved Jehovah thy God, and kept His charge, and His statutes, and His judgments, and His commands, all the days;
and kept his charge, and the charge of all the company before the tent of meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle;
I testify fully, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the choice messengers, that these things thou mayest keep, without forejudging, doing nothing by partiality.
`It is' necessary, therefore, the pattern indeed of the things in the heavens to be purified with these, and the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these; for not into holy places made with hands did the Christ enter -- figures of the true -- but into the heaven itself, now to be manifested in the presence of God for us;
for the law doth appoint men chief priests, having infirmity, but the word of the oath that `is' after the law `appointeth' the Son -- to the age having been perfected.
I do fully testify, then, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to judge living and dead at his manifestation and his reign --
Those rich in the present age charge thou not to be high-minded, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who is giving to us all things richly for enjoyment; --
I charge thee, before God, who is making all things alive, and of Christ Jesus, who did testify before Pontius Pilate the right profession,
This charge I commit to thee, child Timotheus, according to the prophesies that went before upon thee, that thou mayest war in them the good warfare,
according as I did exhort thee to remain in Ephesus -- I going on to Macedonia -- that thou mightest charge certain not to teach any other thing, nor to give heed to fables and endless genealogies, that cause questions rather than the building up of God that is in faith: --
Having, then, these promises, beloved, may we cleanse ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God;
For the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who erred not in the erring of the sons of Israel, as the Levites erred,
he doth cleanse himself for it on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean; and if he cleanse not himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not clean.
`And he who is to be cleansed hath washed his garments, and hath shaved all his hair, and hath bathed with water, and hath been clean, and afterwards he doth come in unto the camp, and hath dwelt at the outside of his tent seven days.
And Moses taketh of the anointing oil, and of the blood which `is' on the altar, and sprinkleth on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him, and he sanctifieth Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Leviticus 8
Commentary on Leviticus 8 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 8
This chapter gives us an account of the solemn consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priest's office.
Lev 8:1-13
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 29, where we have also the particular instructions he had how to do it. Now here we have,
Lev 8:14-30
The covenant of priesthood must be made by sacrifice, as well as other covenants, Ps. 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.
Lev 8:31-36
Moses, having done his part of the ceremony, now leaves Aaron and his sons to do theirs.
Gospel ministers are compared to those who served at the altar, for they minister about holy things (1 Co. 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.