Bible Commentaries
Exodus 29

Verse 1

And this [is] the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,

Take one young bullock. — All sorts of sacrifices - sin offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings - were to be offered for the priests, because of the special holiness and honour of their calling.

Verse 2

And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: [of] wheaten flour shalt thou make them.

And unlevened bread. — See 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 . See Trapp on " 1 Corinthians 5:7 " See Trapp on " 1 Corinthians 5:8 "]

Verse 4

And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.

Wash them with water. — A type of Christ’s baptism. Matthew 3:13-17

Verse 6

And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.

The holy crown. — See Trapp on " Exodus 28:40 "

Verse 7

Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour [it] upon his head, and anoint him.

The Anointing oil. — Typing out that abundance of the Holy Spirit poured upon Christ, Isaiah 61:1 and upon Christions. 1 John 2:27 Psalms 133:2

Verse 8

And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.

Coats, … — See Trapp on " Exodus 28:40 "

Verse 9

And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

Consecrate. — Heb., Fill their hands, sc., with sacrifices: they were not to fill their own hands, as Jeroboam’s priests did. 1 Kings 13:33 , margin; Hebrews 5:5

Verse 10

And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.

Shall put their hands. — As transferring the guilt of their sins upon Christ. Isaiah 53:6

Verse 11

And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, [by] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

By the door. — Pointing to Christ, the door into heaven. Hebrews 10:20 John 10:9

Verse 12

And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put [it] upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.

The blood of the bullock. — For "without blood there was no remission of sin." Hebrews 9:22

Beside the bottom of the altar. — To signify the plenteous redemption wrought by Christ.

Verse 13

And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul [that is] above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that [is] upon them, and burn [them] upon the altar.

All the fat that covereth. — God must have the very best of the best; since Christ offered himself, and the best parts he had.

Verse 14

But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it [is] a sin offering.

Without the camp. — See Trapp on " Hebrews 13:12 " See Trapp on " Hebrews 7:27 " See Trapp on " Hebrews 7:28 "

Verse 15

Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.

Thou shalt also take. — After the sin offering, other offerings: till sin be expiated, no service is accepted.

Verse 16

And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle [it] round about upon the altar.

Sprinkle it. — See 1 Peter 1:2 .

Verse 17

And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put [them] unto his pieces, and unto his head.

Wash the inwards of him. — This signified that entire holiness, that thorough sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Verse 18

And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it [is] a burnt offering unto the LORD: it [is] a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

The whole ram. — See Romans 12:1 , See Trapp on " Romans 12:1 "

Verse 19

And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.

Put their hands. — Both their hands between the horns of the ram.

Verse 20

Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put [it] upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

Upon the tip of the right ear. — To set the holy obedience required of them in all senses, actions, and motions. John 13:5-6 ; John 13:9

Verse 21

And thou shalt take of the blood that [is] upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle [it] upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

Of the blood, and of the anointing oil. — Signifying Christ’s merit and Spirit.

Verse 22

Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul [above] the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that [is] upon them, and the right shoulder; for it [is] a ram of consecration:

A ram of consecration. — A thank offering to God for advancing Aaron to the priesthood. See the like in St Paul, 1 Timothy 1:12 .

Verse 23

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 the LORD:

Unleavened bread. — See 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 . See Trapp on " 1 Corinthians 5:7 " See Trapp on " 1 Corinthians 5:8 "

Verse 24

And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them [for] a wave offering before the LORD.

And shalt wave them. — As acknowledging God’s omnipresence: and that many should come from east, west, north, and south, to partake of the merits and benefits of Christ, our true Sacrifice.

Verse 25

And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn [them] upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it [is] an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

It is an offering made by flre. — Christ in like sort having offered himself for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the Lord, ascended up into heaven, and gave gifts unto men.

Verse 26

And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it [for] a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part.

It shall be thy part. — Because he did for this time extraordinarily execute the priest’s of office.

Verse 27

And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, [even] of [that] which [is] for Aaron, and of [that] which is for his sons:

The breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder. — To teach the priests to serve the Lord with all their heart, and with all their strength.

Verse 28

And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it [is] an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, [even] their heave offering unto the LORD.

A heave offering. — Signifying the heaving of Christ upon the cross, and the heaving up of our hearts to God for so great benefits.

Verse 29

And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.

Shall be his sons’ after him. — His garments remained for ever; so doth the robe of Christ’s righteousness. Isaiah 61:10

Verse 30

[And] that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy [place].

And that son. — There were garments but for one: there is but one Mediator, the man Christ Jesus.

Verse 31

And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.

And thou shalt take the ram, — i.e., The remnant of him.

Verse 33

And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate [and] to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat [thereof], because they [are] holy.

And they shall eat those things. — Apply Christ’s death by faith to their own souls. John 6:51

Verse 34

And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it [is] holy.

Thou shalt burn the remainder. — The thank offering was not to be kept till the morrow, to teach us to be prompt and present in praising God and applying Christ.

Verse 35

And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all [things] which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.

Seven days. — To teach the priests to consecrate their whole lives to God’s service.

Verse 36

And thou shalt offer every day a bullock [for] a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.

Cleanse the altar. — Which, as well as the creatures, may be defiled by man’s sin. Leviticus 16:16

Verse 37

Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

Whatsoever toucheth the altar. — See Matthew 23:19 . See Trapp on " Matthew 23:19 "

Verse 38

Now this [is that] which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.

Day by day continually. — When this daily sacrifice was intermitted, - as in the days of Antiochus, that little Antichrist, - they counted it an "abomination of desolation." Daniel 12:11 Matthew 24:15

Verse 39

The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:

Thou shalt offer in the morning. — These two lambs were types of the Lamb of God, taking away the sins of the world, with a commemoration of whose benefits the day was begun and ended. Wherefore, also, from David’s days and forwards, they sang the 22nd Psalm at the morning sacrifice, and the 136th Psalm at the evening.

Verse 42

[This shall be] a continual burnt offering throughout your generations [at] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

Where I will meet you. — Hence it was called "the tabernacle of the congregation," because there God met them, and made a covenant with them. See Exodus 40:34 .

Verse 43

And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and [the tabernacle] shall be sanctified by my glory.

And I will dwell. — See Trapp on " 2 Corinthians 6:16 "