Exposition of the Whole Bible

a facrifice for it; which the pedplé and priefts of the Lord in a fpiritual fenfe eat, feed, and live upori by faith’: and befides, as the priefts under the law had a part in all thefe offerings, whereby they and their families were maintained, Lev. ii..3. and vi. 2g. and vii. 6. fo it is the will and ordination ot Chrift, that as thofe that miniftered about holy things, and waited at the altar, fhould live of them, dnd partake with that, fo they that preach the go* {pel fhould live by it, 1 Cor. ix. rae Vand every dedicate thing in Ifrael_foall be theirs; or, every devoted thing *; that is, to holy ufes, what the people willingly offer to fupport the intereft of reljgion; fignifying, that the minifters of the word sbi live upon the free contributions of the people.

¥. 30. And the firft of all the firft-fruits of all things, and every oblation of all of every fort of your oblations fhall be the priefts, 8cc.| Suggefting, that their offerings or contributions which ‘fhould be made out of their fubftance, fhould be in proportion to it, and early as well as free; fee Prov. iii. g: ye foall alfo give unto the prieft of your dough x either of the firft they made of the new corn of the year, or a piece or cake of whatfoever at any time they made; fignifying, that the minifters of the word, that communicate {piritual things to men, fhould partake of their carnal ones, and have a part and fhare with them in all good things, in all the enjoyments of life, 1 Cor. ix. 11. Gal. vi. 6: that be may caufe the blefing to reft in thine houfe; that is, that he, the prieft or minifter of the word, that partakes of the above things, and is comfortably provided for and fupported, may pray to the Lord for fuch who liberally contribute to him; that a bleffing may come and abide upon them and their families, and profperity and fuccefs may attend them in their worldly bufinefs and employments of life; as well as they and theirs may be bleffed with all fpiritual bleffings, with grace here, and glory hereafter.

31. The priefts fhall not eat of any thing that is dead of itfelf, or torn, &c.] They fhall have no need to eat of fuch things, being plentifully provided for with better; nor will it become them fo to do thro’ avarice, not allowing themfelves to enjoy what is liberally given them. Here the Fewi/h doctors ' obferve that it is faid, the priefts fhall not eat of thefe things, fugeefting that L/raelites might; this puzzles them, therefore they fay, Elias will explain this verfe; and the glo/s fays, till Elias comes, and explains it to us, we know not how to explain it. In the myftic fenfe it may fignify, that the priefts of the Lord fhould have no communication with fuch as are dead in fin, or are given to rapine and violence, and fhould abftain from every thing of this kind themfelves. beter it be fowl or beaft; whether pharifees and highflown profefiors of religion, or earthly and worldly perfons, and fuch that are immerfed in carnal pleafures, in fenfual and brutith lufts. The allufion is to the law in Lev. xvii. 15. which was common to all J/raelites, priefts and people.

HIS chapter treats of the divifion of the land in future time, and the perfons and ufes for which it is to be made; one part being for the fanétuary, and the priefts that ferve in it, and for their houfes for them to dwell in, ¥. 1—4. another for the Levites and their chambers, ¥. 5. and another for the city, for the J/raelites in common, y. 6. and the laft for the prince; and of the fituation and extent of it, ¥. 7, 8. and of the righteous adminiftration of civil government in the time of the fpiritual reign of Chrift, in abftinence from violence and exactions, and doing juftice, for which orders and directions are given, ¥. 9, 10, II, 12. then of the oblations of the people of the land, ¥. 13, 14, 15, 16. and next of thofe that are to be prepared by the prince, ¥. 17. and the times of the offering of them at the beginning of the year, on the feafts of the paffover and tabernacles, y. 18—25. the rules for which are fo different from the Mo/aic law, as fhew the abrogation of that; and that all this is to be underftood in a fpiritual and evangelic fenfe.

¥. 1. Moreover, when ye fhall divide by lot the land for inheritance, &c.| This is not to be underftood literally of the divifion of the land of J rael;

which agrees not with the divifion ef it begun by Mojes, and finifhed by Yo/bua, upon his conquett of it, and the introduction of the people of J/rae/ into it; nor was fuch a divifion as this made, when the Jews returned from Babylon; nor is there any reafon to expect the like, when they fhall be converted in the latter day; nor is it meant typically of the heavenly inheritance, which faints obtain in Chrift by lot, Ep/. i. 11. of which the earthly Canaan was a type; tho’ fome in this way interpret it: but fince the whole vifion refpects the church, of Chrift on earth; it muft be meant myftically and fpiritually of the kingdom of Chrift, and the fettlement and eftablifhment of it throughout the whole world, according to the allotment and determination of God; and they are a diftinét and fpecial people that are admitted into this fate; it is by the diftinguifhing grace of God that they are taken into the gofpel-church, and have a part and fhare in all the privileges and immunities of it. Ye fhall offer an oblation unto the Lord, an holy portion of the land; which fhould be lifted up as the heave-offering was, and dedicated to the Lord: this defigns fuch perfons who are feparated from the world, and fan¢tified by the Spirit of God, who fhall be ‘brought by the minifters of the word to the Lord, as trophies of his efficacious and victorious grace, afcribing the whole glory of their converfion to him; and thefe fhall prefent themfelves, fouls and bodies, a holy, living, and acceptable facrifice to him; fee J/ Ixvi. 20. Rom. xv. 16. and xii. 1. The length fhall be the length of Jive and twenty thoufand reeds, and the breadth fball Le ten thoufand; the kind of meafure is not expreffed in the original, fo that it is a queftion whether reeds or cubits are meant; fome think the latter, and the rather, becaufe mention is made of them, ¥. 2. and ’tis added, and of this meafure fhalt thou meafure the length of five and twenty thoufand; which, if underftood of cubits, will greatly reduce

the length and breadth of this holy portion of the land; wherefore it is bef{t to take the largeft meafure, fince that feems better to anfwer the defign of the Holy Ghoft in this paflage,; and the rather, fince this meafure is more proper to meafure land with, and is that which the meafurer is faid to have in his hand, ch. xl. 5. and befides, the meafure of the fanétuary, faid to be five hundred — {quare, ¥. 2. was meafured with the meafuringreed, and not the cubit, ch. xlii. 16—20. and which therefore muft be fupplied here; and a meafuring-reed being fix cubits, by a cubit and an hand’s breadth, ch. xl. 5. makes this portion of land to be more than fix times larger than if it was {uppofed to be meafured by the cubit; and twenty-five thoufand of this meafure, according to Cornelius A Lapide, made five hundred miles, which was three times as large as the land of Canaan; that being, as Zerom“ fays, an hundred and fixty miles long, and forty-fix broad; and is a proof that the land of Canaan literally taken is not here meant; but the whole is defigned to fet forth the amplitude and large extent of the church of Chrift in the world, in the times the vifion refers to. This foall be holy in all the borders thereof round about; that is, this portion of land meafured out, and diftinguifhed from the reft: holinefs of heart and life fhall appear in all the fubjects of Chrift’s kingdom, and members of his church, which becomes his houfe for ever.

y. 2. Of this there fhall be for the fanéuary, &c.] Or temple, the houfe before deferibed in the preceding chapters: five hundred in length, and five hundred in breadth, Jquare round about; that is, five hundred reeds {quare, as is manifeft from ch. xlii. 16—20. and this denotes the largenefs, perfection, and ftability of the church of Chrift, which the fanctuary was a type of: and fifty cubits round about for the fuburbs thereof; which were a void place of fifty cubits round about the fanétuary, ~ meafuring from the wall to that; this was done in reverence to the holy place, and-to fhew that we fhould not ruth haftily into the houfe of God, and church of Chrift, but firft pafs thro’ the fuburbs or void place. Cudits being here mentioned thew, that reeds are to be undeftood where the kind of ~ meafure is not exprefied. ob 7

¥. 3. And of this meafure fhalt thou meafure the length of five and twenty thoufand, and the breadth. ~ of ten thoufand, &c.] Not that the fenfe is, that — of and according to the cubit-meafure laft mentioned, this length and this breadth fhould be mea- _ fured; but after this meafure, as Starckius renders it, and as the particle is rendered, Daz. xi. 23. fee alfo Neb. xiii. 21. and which Sanéfivs mentions; and Ferom feems to have underftood it in this light: “4 and the fenfe is, that after he had finifhed the mea- {ure of five hundred reeds fquare, and fifty a a round, he fhould proceed to meafure the reft 4 the twenty-five thoufand in length, and ten thoufand in breadth: and in it foall be the fanfluary, and the moft boly place that is, in the midft of this portion of land, confifting of the above mea-~ fures, fhould be the holy place, and the holy of — holies; this is but a further explanation of the two preceding verfes, <n PR,

¥. 4. The holy portion of the land fhall be for the

priefis, the minifters of the fanétuary, &c.] That is, fi the reft of it, which is not for the fanétuary, fhall be. for the ufe of the priefts that minifter in holy things in the fanctuary; either the minifters of the gofpel, who fhall have a fufficient maintenance trom the churches of Chrift, as the priefts had under the law: or it may be meant of all the faints, who are priefts unto God, and ferve and worfhip him in his fanctuary; who fhall all be fatisfied with the goodnefs and fatnefs of his houfe, the word and ordinances, and the bleffings of grace conveyed by them: which /hall come near to minifter unto the Lord; thefe fons of Zadok, thefe faithful ones, in the worft of times; fee ch. xliv. 15, 16. and xlvili. 10, 11: andit fhall be a place for their boufes; in this large fpot fhall be many congregated churches, houfes of the living God, where his priefts and people dwell, and will be ferving and praifing him: and an holy place for the fanctuary; which may denote the church of God in general, as houfes may do particular churches.

¥. 5. And the five and twenty thoufand of length, and ten thoufand of breadth, &c.] This feems to be another portion of the land, diftinét from the former, tho’ of the fame meafure; fee ch. xlviii. 13: foall alfo the Levites, the minifters of the houfe have for themfelves; feparate from the priefts, to whom they miniftered, and were as numerous, or more numerous than they; this is {till defigned to fet forth the largenefs of the church, and the great numbers of its members, who will all be accommodated and fupplied with good things: for a polfeffion for twenty chambers, which fome underftand of twenty rows of chambers; by which may be meant particular congregated churches, as we have feen all along in this vifion, erected for the better ufe and conveniency of the faints in all places and parts of the world, where they are called.

y. 6. And ye fhall appoint the poffeffion of the city, &c.]. Which is fomething diftin¢t from the houfe or temple, which was as the frame of a city, being fo large, and confifting of fo many parts, ch. xl. 2. and feems alfo different from the city in ch. xlviii. 30, 35. the meafures of the one and of the other not agreeing. Starckius thinks that this city prefigures the academies that fhould be among chriftians, in which the priefts or minifters of the word fhould teach thofe that came out of all parts unto them; but I am rather of opinion, that the civil ftate of the people of God is here meant, as it will be in the fpiritual reign of Chrift; when all civil power and authority will not as yet be put down, only it will come into the hands of the faints, and be adminiftred by chriftian kings and princes. Five thoufand broad, and five and twenty theufand long, over-againft the oblation of the boly portion; five thoufand reeds in breadth are allowed lefs for the civil than the church-ftate; and tho’ they are contiguous, and there is a connexion between them, yet are feparate from each other; the

- material temple was in the city of Feru/alem, but the holy portion, in which the fan¢tuary fhall be, is without the city, and the city over-againft that; hence Fohn feems to have borrowed his idea and language, J faw no temple therein, Rev. xxi. 22. tho’ fpeaking of another city: the church and the world fhall be no more mixed together; Chrift’s kingdom is not of this world, nor to be fixed on a civil eftablifhment: it fhall be for the whole houfe

Kee ee Y,. 23° pee of Tfrael; they fhall all be under one and the fame orm of government; I don’t fay they fhall be all under one temporal king or prince; but all chriftian kings and princes fhall exercife the fame kind of rule and government; fo that as their churchftate will be uniform, their civil ftate or polity will be alike. ¥. 7. And a portion fhall be for the prince, &c.] Meaning not the civil magiftrate; tho’ he ought to be fupported in his dignity and authority, and in fuch manner that he may be under no temptation to opprefs his fubjeéts; and who ought to be, and at this time will be, the protector of the Lord’s people, both in their civil and church-ftate; but the prince Meffiah, of whom fee ch. xliv. 3. to whom God will divide a portion with the great; Jacob fhall be his portion, the heathen his inheritance, and the uttermoft parts of the earth his poffeffion, Jf liti. 12. Deut, xxxii. 9. Pf. ii. 8,9: on the one fide, and on the other fide of the oblation of the holy portion, and of the poffefion of the city; on each fide, both of the holy portion, in which are the fanctuary, the houfes of the priefts, and the chambers of the Levites, and alfo of the city for the houfe of /rael; fo that his portion will lie, or he be placed on each fide, both of the church-ftate and civil ftate of the Lord’s people, and fo be the protector of both; he will be a wall of fire round about them, a covert and an hiding place for them; he will be near them, and they to him; he’ll be on every fide of them, and preferve them from perfecuting enemies, and falfe teachers; they fhall enjoy his word, his ordinances, and gofpel-minitters, and be kept in the utmoft peace and profperity of all kinds; he’ll protect and defend them, both in their civil and religious liberties, and none fhall make them afraid. Before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the poffeffion of the city, or rather, over-againft them ™, as it is rendered, ch. xli. 15. fo as the poffeffion of the city was over-againft the holy portion, the portion of the prince was to be over-againft them both: from the weft fide weftward, and from the eaft fide eaftward, which explains on which fides of them it lay: and the length

fhall be over-againft one of the portions; that is,

again{t every one of the portions: from the weft border unto the eaft border; now as there is no meafure given to the portion of the prince, but the whole fpace eaftward and weftward is left for it, it fhows the large extent of Chrift’s kingdom; that his dominion fhall be from fea to fea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; his gofpel fhall be preached every where; the Spirit fhall be poured down upon all flefh to makeit fuccefsful; multitudes fhall be every where converted, and churches fet up in all places; the kingdoms of the world will become Chrift’s, even all the pagan, papal, and Mahometan nations; Chrift will be king over all the earth, and his name fhall be one; there will be but one religion every where, P/- Ixxii. 8. Zech. xiv..8, 9. Rev. xi. 15. Some of the Fewi/b writers interpret this of the king Meffiah, to whom they fuppofe is here allotted the thirteenth part of the land: fo Kimchi fays, ‘‘ to I/rael belong twelve “¢ parts or portions, and to the prince the thir- “* teenth part; the portion of the prince is as the ‘* portion of one of the tribes in length and in “¢ breadth, excepting that within the inheritance of ‘* the prince fhould be an oblation,” as in ¥. 13. and Maimonides * fays, ‘* the king Meffiah takes “© out of all lands, fubdued by the J/raelites, one.

~«* part out of thirteen; and this thing is a flatute

? vel quod attinet ad terram, /ve terre (illud) erit in poffeflionem in Ifrael, Starckius, » Donen dé barley, €#c. and the bath for liquid things, as wine, oil, Sc. as Farchi and Kimchi obferve; fee. Levaxis..955,96... 4 4 sae ¥. 11. The ephab and the bath fhall be of one meafure, &c.] The one held as much of dry things, as the other of liquor; which, according to Bp. Cumberland, were feven wine gallons, four ints, and a little more: that the bath may. contain De. tenth part of an homer, and the ephab the tenth part — of an homer; this homer mutt be carefully diftinguifhed from another meafure called cmer, written, without an 2, which was but the tenth part of ephab, Exod. xvi. 36: the meafure thereof after the homer, as the bomer was, fo fhould the — ephab and bath be, jutt the tenth part of it... ¥. 12. And the foekel fhall be twenty gerabs, &c.] This is a rule for money or coin; the fhekel was a filver coin, and is generally reckoned about the value of two fhillings and fix-pence of our money, fo a gerah about three half-pennies: Bp. Cumberland veckons the fhekel more exactly at two fhillings and, four pence farthing, and a little more, and the gerah at eleven grains of filver; fee Lev. XXVii. 25: twenty Jhekels, five and twenty fhekels, Hifteen foekels foall be your mane thefe were feveral pieces of money; one was a twenty fhekel-piece, which according to the common account was fifty fhillings of our money; another was a five and twenty {hekel-piece, which was three pounds, two,. fhillings, and fix-pence; and a third was a fifteen fhekel-piece, which was one pound, thirteen and fix-pence; and together made a maneh or pound, which confifted of fixty fhekels, or feven pounds, ten fhillings; by which the other pieces fhould be — tried, whether they were of juft weight: the fenfe of the whole is, that no adulteration of coin fous 7 ivil af-...

«© for him and his fons for ever;” which feems plainly to refer to this paffage in Ezekiel; though there are fome who underftand him of any anointed king’ of J/rae/, as being his right: but the learned Selden ¥ is of opinion, that he is fpeaking of the king Mefliah, and has refpeé& to this diftribution; ang rightly obferves from the fame author *, that all that was fubdued by him was his own, and he could difpofe of it at his pleafure to his fervants and foldiers.

y. 8. In the land fall be his poffefiion in Yrael, &c.] Or, as for the lad, it fhall be bis for a poffeffion in Ifrael*, the people of the land fhall be a people for poffeffion, as in 1 Pez. ii. 9. or a peculiar people of his throughout all J/rae/; all the fpiritual J/rael, whether Few or Geniile, thall be Chrift’s poffeffion and inheritance: and my princes fball no more oppre/s my people, neither ecclefiaftical princes, as the fcribes and pharifees formerly, nor civil magiftrates; not the one with falfe doctrines, carnal rites and ceremonies; nor the other with heavy taxes, and rigorous exactions: and the reft of the land foail they give to the koufe of Ifrael, according to their tribes; the fpiritual and mytftical J rael,

Fews and Gentiles, who fhall now inherit the earth, and poflefs all temporal good things, as well as fpiritua] ones.

¥. 9. Thus faith the Lord; let it fuffice you, O princes of Ifrael, &c.] Chriftian kings and princes, for fuch there fhall be in thofe times; and who will have large and ample falaries provided for them, as they fheuld have to fupport their dignity; and with which they fhould be content, as they will be, and not encroach upon the properties of their fubjects: remove violence and fpoil; from your adminiftration; the fenfe is, do not ufe violence, and exercife rapine and fpoil, let thefe be far from you; feize not on the goods of your fubjects, or fpoil them of them by heavy taxes and impofitions, or by vexatious law-fuits and unjuft fentences: and execute judgment and jufiice,; between men; let every one enjoy his own property; and when any matter of controverfy arifes about it, fairly hear and examine the cafe, and do juftice: sake away your exations from my people, faith the Lord; fuch.as had been exacted of them in former times by tyrannical and unjuft princes: or, your expulfions», driving them from their houfes, eftates, fields, and vineyards; either by taking them away from them, and annexing them to their own, as Ahad did; or by levying fuch taxes upon them they could not pay, and fo were obliged to leave their inheritances and poffeffions. ‘This, and fome following verfes, contain rules for regulating the civil ftate of the people of God in the latter day; which did not take place upon the Yews return from Badylon, as appears from Neh. v. 15. but will be ftrictly obferved by chriftian princes in the latter day-glory; fee Jf, Ix. 17, 18.

y. 10. Ye fhail have juft balances, &c.] That is, take care that true weights and juft meafures be ufed in trade and commerce, that fo one man may not impofe upon and cheat another; which is the bufinefs of the civil magiftrate to look after: and a juft epkah, and a juft bath; and not make the ephah {mall, and the thekel great, and falfifying the balances by deceit, as fome did, mas viii. 5.; the ephab was a meafure for dry things, as wheat, the homer, only another name for it, which is an bomer of tem baths, for ten b homer; fo that if a man had an } baths of oil, he was to give a hundredt be made, which is very prejudicial in ¢ fairs.

¥. 13. This is the oblation that ye fall offer, 8c.:

Not at the dedication of the temple, to be built in time to come, as Kimchi thinks; nor for the daily facrifices, as others; but for the maintenance of the priefts, that is, the minifters of the gofpel; for here begin the rules for the right ordering of ecclefiaftical affairs of thofe times: the fixth part of an epbab of an homerof wheat, and ye foall give the — fixth part of an ephab of an homer of barley; this confirms that an ephab was for dry meafure, of wheat and barley; and as it was the tenth part of an homer, a fixtieth part of an homer of wheat - arid barley was to be given for this fervice; that is, if a man had an homer of wheat or of barley, he was to give a fixtieth part of it for the ule of the minifters of the Lord: the meaning is, that. the people fhould give freely and liberally, according to their fubftance, for their fupport and maintenance. “as. LeRoy y. 14. Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, &c.] This fhews that the bath was for ]iquid meafure; and as oil was a part of food with the ews, as well as ufed in their ings, a is given for the. diftribution of that to the. minifters, that they may have every thing nient for them: ye jhall offer the tenth bath out of a cor; which was the fame’

Gh.ahy. #95 st7. Ve AZ ESR FOR L. for the ufe of the priefts, and Levites; or minifters: of the word; a greater portion of wheat or barley”

is given than of oil, becaufe there is a greater expence in families of the one than of the other.

¥.15. And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, &c.] As provifion is before made for bread and oil, fo here for meat for the fervants of the Lord: if a man had two hundred lambs in his flock, one of them was to be given to them; it may be obferved, that this plainly refers to times when the M2/aie difpenfation fhould be abrogated; not tithes of all things are to be given to the priefts, as heretofore; only the fixtieth part of wheat and barley, the hundredth part. of oil, and but one lamb of two hundred; and which denotes the moderate maintenance of gofpel-minifters, with which they fhould be contented, and the ‘people fhould not grudge to give; nothing extraordinary or extravagant being required of them: this lamb was to be taken out of the fat pajtures of Ijrael, or, out of the watry places*; out of thofe fields which were well watered, and produced good pafture, which fattened the fheep and lambs that were fed in them; and denotes, that the beft of the kind is to be given to the Lord, and to his fervants, or for the fupport of his intereft; not the Jean and the lame, the halt and the blind, Mai. i. 8,14: for a meat-offering, and for a burnt-offering, and for peace-offerings; not that the lamb was given for all thefe; but the wheat and the oil for the meat-offering, and the lamb for the burnt-offering, and peace- offerings. The fenfe may be, that this provifion of wheat and barley, oil and lambs, or the fufficient maintenance fignified by them, was in the room of the meat-offering, burnt-offerings, and peace-offerings, which fell to the fhare of the priefts under the legal difpenfation: to make reconciliation for them, faith the Lord God; either to this end, that the minifters of the gofpel, who have the word of reconciliation ‘committed to them, might chearfully and faithfully difpenfe it to the people; or that they, by thefe liberal and generous contributions of theirs to the maintenance of them, might teftify that they have truly by faith received the atonement by the facrifice of Chritt.

y.16. All the people of the land fhall give this oblation, &c.] None fhall be exempted from it, all: according to their capacity and ability fhall contribute to the fupport of the miniftry, and the fervice of religion: for the prince in Ifrael, not the high- prieft, nor the civil magiftrate, but the prince Meffiah: or rather, to the prince in Irael*; what the people fhall do in this way, they fhall do it as to the Lord, freely and cordially, and for his honour and glory; and he will take it as done to himfelf; fee Matt. x. 41, 42.

y. 17. And it fhall be the princes part to give burnit-offerings, &c.] Or, upon the prince fhall be the burnt-offerings *; it fhall lie upon him to provide them; who is not the high-prieft, as Farchi; nor the civil magiftrate or king, as Menachem, but Chrift, who is both prince and prieft; and whofe facrifice of himfelf is defigned by thefe, and the other facrifices after-mentioned, of which the facrifices were all typical; tho’ he is but one, they many, his anfwers to them all, and is one for all; and tho’ his is but once offered up, they often, becaufe of the fulnefs of efficacy in the one, and the want of it in the other; and tho’ in itfelf infinitely fuperior to thefe. Of the burnt-offerings, and of their being typical of Chritt, {ee the note on ch. xl: 39: aid meéat-offerings, and drink-offerings, the meat-offerings, which were rather dreadofferings, were made of fine flour, with oil poured; and frankincenfe put thereon, Lev. ii. r. and were typical of Chrift, compared to a corn of wheat dying inthe earth, and bringing forth fruit, Fobn xii. 24. and to wheat as bruifed and ground into fine flour, kneaded and baked, which may denote his various fufferings, and fo made bread of; he being the true and living bread, which gives life tomen. The o// poured upon this offering, may fignify the grace of the Spirit without meafure on Chrift; and the frankincenfe, how favoury and acceptable he is to his people. The drink-offering was of wine, which went along with other facrifices, and was very acceptable to God; and may denote 'the blood of Chrift, which is drink indeed; and his love expreffed in fhedding it, which is better than the choiceft wine; both thefe are held forth, Chrift’s flefh, which is meat, and his blood; which is drink, in the ordinance of the fupper, adminiftered by his priefts, whom he furnifhes with fuch offerings to fet before his faints: in the feajts, and in the new moons, and in the fabbaths, and in all folemnities of the houfe of Ifrael; in the feafts of the paffover, tabernacle and pentecoft, which were all figures of Chrift; of his being the paflover facrificed for us, of his tabernacling in our ‘nature, and of the effufion of his Spirit; and the zew moons, and fabbaths, and folemn days, are only Old Teftament-phrafes to exprefs the times of New Teftament-worfhip; fee //- Ixvi. 23. as monthly days for the adminiftration of the ordinance of the fupper, and the Lord’s-day for the preaching of the word, and other parts of public worfhip; in all which the facrifice of Chrift, his blood, righteoufnefs and fatisfaction, make a principal part: be foall prepare the fin-offering; which alfo was a type of Chrift; of which fee the note on ch. xl. 39. and this, with the meat-offering, and the burntoffering, of which before, were to be prepared by the prince himfelf, or our Lord Jefus Chrift; and alfo the peace offerings, or thank-offerings ‘,; his own thank-offerings for himfelf and his people; fee Fobn xi. 41. Matt. xi. 25, 26. and the thankofferings of them, or their facrifices of praife, which become acceptable thro’ him, Hed. xiii. 15. 1 Pet. ii. 5, and even himfelf, for whom the faints offer thanks to God, 2 Cor. ix. 15. Ephb.i. 3. and v. 20. and as the end of all the legal facrifices was to make reconciliation for the houfe of Ifrael; fo this is the end and ufe of the facrifice of Chrift, typified by them, to make peace for the [/rael of God; which could not be made by them, by their obedience, repentance or faith; and yet was neceffary to their happinefs, to their communion with God; and enjoyment of him; this Chrift has made by his obedience, fufferings and death, whereby he has fulfilled the law, fatisfied juftice, and made atonement for fin: this is all at his expence, and is meant by his preparing thefe offerings; which denotes his ready and chearful engagement to become a facrifice; his voluntary offering up himfelf e mba myn swan Sy) & fuper

238 E 2 EK I*E-<L. -Chexlv. % 18-027 unto God, or giving himfelf an offering and a fa- _ crifice unto him; and alfo his furnifhing his mi- ment for it; that is, for the nifters with proper matter for their miniftrations in all the folemn times and feafons thereof, which is the doétrine of his facrifice and fatisfaction, or fal-

_ vation by a crucified Chrift; and fo.as the people are to offer to their maintenance, Chrift the prince takes care to furnifh them for their miniftry.. ¥. 18. Thus faith the Lord God, &c.| Here begins the account of the times and feafons in which the above facrifices fhould be prepared and offered; or that which was fignified by them be held forth in the miniftry of the word to the faith of God’s people: in the firft month, in the firft day of the month; the month Nifan, as Kimchi obferves, who adds, ‘* which is the month of redemption, in ‘¢ which J/rael were redeemed out of Egypt, and “¢ in which they fhall be redeemed in time to “* come:” this month anfwers to part of our March, and part of April; it was the firft month in the year with the Yews for their ecclefiaftical affairs; fo that the firft day of this month was -new-year’s-day: thou jhalt take a young bullock without blemifh, and cleanfe the fanétuary; or, make a fin-offering for it®; here the ews are puzzled; fince, according to the law of Mojes, in the beginnings of their months, they were to offer a burnt-offering of two young bullocks and a ram, €c. Numb. xxviii. 11. whereas here only one bullock, and that a fin-offering; wherefore R. Fochanan and R. Fudah fay, this muft be left till Elias comes,to explain it; and as much at a lofs are they how to account for it, that Ezekiel fhould do this, whom they fuppofe to be the perfon fpoken to; and therefore imagine this will be done by him after the refurrection, not being able to fee that this fhews the abrogation of the law of Mofes; and that not the prophet Ezekiel, but Chrift the prince and prieft, is here addrefied; and whofe facrifice is defigned by the young bullock without blemifh; a type of him both in his ftrength and purity; and by which his fanctuary, his church and people, have all their fins expiated; and particularly the fins of the year paft, this being reprefented as done on new-year’s-day, which the annual atonement prefigured. ¥. 19. And the prieft foall take of the blood of the fin-offering, &c.] An emblem of the blood of Chrift, who was made fin for his people, and an offering for their fin; and which blood cleanfes from all fin: and put it upon the pofts of the bouje; of the houfe of God, the fanctuary or temple; upon every one of the pofts of it, which ftood at the entrance into it. The Targum is, “ upon the “¢ threfhold of the houfe:” and upon the four corners of the fettle of the altar; or four horns of it; fee ch. xliii. 14, 15: and upon the pofts of the gate of the inner court; that is, of the temple: this is alfo a new rule or law about putting the blood of the facrifice into thefe feveral places, of which nothing is faid in the law of Mo/fes; and fhews that admiffion into the church of God, and the right participation of Chrift, the altar, and the bleffings of his grace, as well as entrance into heaven itfelf, are all thro’ the blood of Chrift. ¥. 20. And fo thou foalt do the feventh day of the month, &c.| Of the firft month Ni/an; here’s another new rule or law, as Kimchi owns, of which no mention is made in the law of Mo/fes: for every one that erreth, and for him that is Jimple: fo foall ye reconcile the houfe; or, expiate its, make, i 4 houfe of God, the whole church, all his people; particularly for ln believers, who have gone aftray, either in. ciple or practice; thro’ ignorance and fimplicity, thro’ the prevalence of corruption, the temptations — of fatan, and the fnares of this world; but ar covered again, and brought to repentance; whom. the doctrines of peace and reconciliat of free and full pardon by the blood + and of atonement of all their fins by his fac are to be preached for the comfort and refrefhme of their fouls; and they are to be received inte the church, having their confciences {prinkled ‘by the blood of Chrift; the fame things being done — on this day as on the firft. archi thinks thefewords are to be tranfpofed thus, aud ye fhall reconcile, or expiate the houfe from the mau that erreth, and the fimple one; quite-contrary to the defign of the text, which directs to the reception, and not the exclufion of fuch perfons. Ss “Gan ae y¥. 21. In the firft month, in the foggeenth day of the month, &c.] Of the month Nijan, that. day fortnight from the cleanfing of the fanétuary; and that day week from the expiation of the houfe,. and the recovery and reception of. backfliders: ye feall have the paffover; Chrift the paffover facrificed for us; held forth in the miniftry of the - word, and in the ordinance of the Lord’s fupper; for the paffover was a type of Chrift: his purity » and ftrength were fignified by the Lamb withour blemifh, a male of the firft year; his feparation to his office, his death, and the time of it, by the taking of this Lamb from the flock fome time before, and by flaying it between the two evenings; the manner of feeding on him with fervent faith, and as a whole Saviour, se d with true repentance, and being willing alfo to fuffer for him, by the Lamb being eat not raw, nor fodden, but roafted, and all of it, and with bitter herbs; and the fecurity of his people by his blood from wrath and ruin, thro’ the fprinkling it upon their confciences, by the fprinkling the blood of the paffover on the lintel and door-pofts of the J/raelites, which the Lord feeing pafied by, and deftroyed them not; and the new rules of keeping this paffover after-obferved, fhew that this refpeéts not the type, but the antitype: a fea/t of seven days, kept a whole week; and indeed Chrift the paflover is by faith to be lived upon throughout the week, as well as on Lords-days, and indeed in every week: unleavened bread fhall be eaten; and not leavened; with reference to which the gofpel-feaft is to be kept, not with old leaven, with the leaven of malice and wickednefs, but with the unleavened ° bread of fincerity and truth, 1 Cor. v. 7,8. y. 22. And upon that day, &c.] The fourteenth day of the month Nifan; the firlt day of the pai=— fover, as Kimchi obferves: foall the prince prepare for himfelf, and for all the people of the land, a bal- lock for a fin-offering; here every thing again is;

new, as the above Yewi/b writer obferves; no one circumftance according to the law of Mgfes; which fhews that this refpects gofpel-times; when the law would be null and void, the types and the gone, and the antitype take place, Chrift th of all: under the law, every family was to 5 pare a lamb for themfelves; but here, the prince is to prepare for himfelf, and all the - the land; by that it was to ite nb, here.

bullock, and that for a fin-offering; whereas not a bullock, but a goat was ufed for a fin-offering. Chrift himfelf is this prince, and who has prepared himfelf a facrifice, even for himfelf, his church, which is myftically himfelf,; and to make atonement for all thofe fins which he took upon himfelf by imputation, and made his own; even for all his chofen people, and for all their fins: of his preparing this facrifice, both to be offered up, and to be held forth in the miniftry of the word, fee the note on y.'17. and who is very fitly reprefented by a bullock for his laborioufnefs and ftrength, in bearing the fins of his people, when he became an offering for them.

¥. 23. And feven days of the feaft be fhall prepare a burnt-offering to the Lord, &c.} Which is as follows: feven bullocks, and feven rams without blemifb, daily, the feven days; that is, a bullock and aram for each day: and a kid of the goats daily for a fin-offering; all which were typical of Chrift, fienified by the éullock, for his labour and» patience; by the ram, for his ftrength; and by the kid of the goats, for his likenefs of finful flefh, and having the fins of his people reckoned:to him; which made him of ill-favour to the juftice and holinefs of God, and for which he fell a facrifice. This is alfo different from the law of Mo/es, which required two young bullocks, one ram, and feven lambs, Numb. xxyiii. 19. and therefore Farchi confefies he knew not how to make this {cripture ftand, or eftablifh the fenfe of it.

¥. 24: And he fhall prepare a meat-offering of an ephah for a bullock, &c.| Of the meat-offering, fee the note on ¥.17. this was to confift of an ephah of fine four; and for every bullock on each of the feven days of the paflover was_a meatoffering of fuch a quantity to be made: and an ephab for a vam; a like quantity of fine flour was to be made into a meat-offering for every ram on the fame days: and an hin of oil for an ephab, to every ephah of fine flour, was to be allowed an bin of oil, which, according to Bp. Cumberland, was a gallon and two pints, being the fixth part of an ephab or bath: here alfo, as Kimchi obferves,

HIS chapter treats of the fhutting of the

-eaftern gate of the inner court on working days, and opening it on fabbaths and new moons, for the prince and people to worfhip in, y. 1, 2, 3. gives a further account of the facrifices of both at thefe feafons, and of their different ways of going in and out, ¥. 4—15. delivers fome rules about the prince’s difpofing of ‘his gifts to his fons and fervants, ¥. 16, 17, 18. and defcribes the places for the prieft’s baking and boiling the facrifices, premifed to raife the greater attention to what is about to be faid: the gate of the inner court that looketh towards the eaft, the eaftern gate of the inner court; the court of the priefts, where ftood the altar of burnt-offerings, and where they offered the facrifices for atonement; and feems, in the myftical fenfe, to defign the miniftry of the fpel, which is a miniftry of reconciliation; which holds forth Chrift, as the altar faints have a right /7 to eat of; and who is the facrifice for fin, and will be an innovation in the offerings-in future times, whether we will or no, he fays; and Farchi confeffes his ignorance of thefe things; fince,; according to the law, three tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour were only allowed to make a meatoffering for one bullock, and two tenth parts for a ram, Numb, xxviii. 12. this may denote the more abundance of grace, and of the knowledge of Chrift under the gofpel-difpenfation, and efpecially in the latter day-glory. fi

¥. 25. In the feventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, &c.] The month Ti/ri, which an- {wers to part of our September and Offoher: fball be do the like in the feaft of the feven days, the featt of tabernacles, which began the fifteenth of Ti/ri, and was kept feven days; and on the eighth day was a folemn affembly, which is not here taken notice of: this feaft was in commemoration, of the Jews dwelling in tabernacles in the wildernefs; and was typical of Chrift’s tabernacling in our nature, or of his incarnation; and which feaft is to be kept in gofpel-times, and particularly in the latter day, by believing in the incarnate Saviour, and in all the bleflings flowing from his incarnation; and by attending the gofpel-feaft, his word and ordinances, which hold him forth as the only Saviour; fee the note on Zech. xiv. 16. now, the fame things are to besdone at this feaft, as at the feaft of the paflover.: according to the fin-offering, according to the burnt-offering, and according to the meat-ofjering, and according to the oil; that is, fo many bullocks and. rams for the burnt-offering, and a kid of the goats for the fin-offering, as before; and the fame quantity of fine flour and oil for the meat-offering: this alfo is a new thing, as Kimchi obferves; for, according to the law, the facrifices at the feaft of paffover, and at the feaft of tabernacles, were very different; and it might be further obferved, that no notice is taken of the feaft of Pentecoff, or firft fruits; and the whole confirms what has been already obferved, that this fhows the abrogation, of the Mo/aic ceconomy; and that thefe things are to be underftood in a fpiritual and evangelic jenfe.