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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>L E V I T C U S</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In this chapter we have the law concerning the peace-offerings, whether
they were,
I. Of the heard, a bullock or a heifer,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
Or,
II. Of the flock, either a lamb
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:6-11">ver. 6-11</A>)
or a goat,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:12-17">ver. 12-17</A>.
The ordinances concerning each of these are much the same, yet they are
repeated, to show the care we ought to take that all our services be
done according to the appointment and the pleasure God takes in the
services that are so performed. It is likewise to intimate what need we
have of precept upon precept, and line upon line.</P>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Law of the Peace-Offering.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1490.</TD></TR>
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<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And if his oblation <I>be</I> a sacrifice of peace offering, if he
offer <I>it</I> of the herd; whether <I>it be</I> a male or female, he
shall offer it without blemish before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 2 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and
kill it <I>at</I> the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and
Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar
round about.
&nbsp; 3 And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an
offering made by fire unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; the fat that covereth the
inwards, and all the fat that <I>is</I> upon the inwards,
&nbsp; 4 And the two kidneys, and the fat that <I>is</I> on them, which
<I>is</I> by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the
kidneys, it shall he take away.
&nbsp; 5 And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt
sacrifice, which <I>is</I> upon the wood that <I>is</I> on the fire: <I>it
is</I> an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
The burnt-offerings had regard to God as in himself the best of beings,
most perfect and excellent; they were purely expressive of adoration,
and therefore were wholly burnt. But the peace-offerings had regard to
God as a benefactor to his creatures, and the giver of all good things
to us; and therefore these were divided between the altar, the priest,
and the owner. Peace signifies,
1. Reconciliation, concord, and communion. And so these were called
<I>peace-offerings,</I> because in them God and his people did, as it
were, feast together, in token of friendship. The priest, who was
ordained for men in things pertaining to God, gave part of this
peace-offering to God (that part which he required, and it was fit he
should be first served), burning it upon God's altar; part he gave to
the offerer, to be eaten by him with his family and friends; and part
he took to himself, as the days-man that laid his hand upon them both.
They could not thus eat together unless they were agreed; so that it
was a symbol of friendship and fellowship between God and man, and a
confirmation of the covenant of peace.
2. It signifies prosperity and all happiness: <I>Peace be to you</I>
was as much as, <I>All good</I> be to you; and so the peace-offerings
were offered either,
(1.) By way of supplication or request for some good that was wanted
and desired. If a man was in the pursuit or expectation of any mercy,
he would back his prayer for it with a peace-offering, and probably put
up the prayer when he laid his hand upon the head of his offering.
Christ is our peace, our peace-offering; for through him alone it is
that we can expect to obtain mercy, and an answer of peace to our
prayers; and in him an upright prayer shall be acceptable and
successful, though we bring not a peace-offering. The less costly our
devotions are the more lively and serious they should be. Or,
(2.) By way of thanksgiving for some particular mercy received. It is
called <I>a peace-offering of thanksgiving,</I> for so it was
sometimes; as in other cases <I>a vow,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+7:15,16"><I>ch.</I> vii. 15, 16</A>.
And some make the original word to signify <I>retribution.</I> When
they had received any special mercy, and were enquiring what they
should render, this they were directed to render to the God of their
mercies as a grateful acknowledgment for the benefit done to them,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+116:12">Ps. cxvi. 12</A>.
And we must offer to God the sacrifice of praise continually, by Christ
our peace; and then this shall please the Lord better than an ox or
bullock. Observe,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. As to the matter of the peace-offering, suppose it was of the herd,
it must be <I>without blemish;</I> and, if it was so, it was
indifferent whether it was male or female,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
In our spiritual offerings, it is not the sex, but the heart, that God
looks at,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:28">Gal. iii. 28</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. As to the management of it.
1. The offerer was, by a solemn manumission, to transfer his interest
in it to God
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
and, with <I>his hand on the head</I> of the sacrifice, to acknowledge
the particular mercies for which he designed this a thank-offering, or,
if it was a vow, to make his prayer.
2. It must be killed; and, although this might be done in any part of
the court, yet it is said to be <I>at the door of the tabernacle,</I>
because the mercies received or expected were acknowledged to come from
God, and the prayers or praises were directed to him, and both, as it
were, through that door. Our Lord Jesus has said, <I>I am the door,</I>
for he is indeed the door of the tabernacle.
3. The priest must <I>sprinkle the blood upon the altar,</I> for it was
the blood that made atonement for the soul; and, though this was not a
sin-offering, yet we must be taught that in all our offerings we must
have an eye to Christ as the propitiation for sin, as those who know
that the best of their services cannot be accepted unless through him
their sins be pardoned. Penitent confessions must always go along with
our thankful acknowledgments; and, whatever mercy we pray for, in order
to it we must pray for the removal of guilt, as that which keeps good
things from us. First <I>take away all iniquity,</I> and then
<I>receive us graciously,</I> or <I>give good,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+14:2">Hos. xiv. 2</A>.
4. All the fat of the inwards, that which we call the tallow and suet,
with the caul that encloses it and the kidneys in the midst of it, were
to be taken away, and burnt upon the altar, as an offering <I>made by
fire,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:3-5"><I>v.</I> 3-5</A>.
And this was all that was sacrificed to the Lord out of the
peace-offering; how the rest was to be disposed of we shall find,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+7:11-34"><I>ch.</I> vii. 11</A>,
&c. It is ordered to be burnt upon the burnt-sacrifice, that is, the
daily burnt-offering, the lamb which was offered every morning before
any other sacrifice was offered; so that the fat of the peace-offerings
was an addition to that, and a continuation of it. The great sacrifice
of peace, that of the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the
world, prepares the altar for our sacrifices of praise, which are not
accepted till we are reconciled. Now the burning of this fat is
supposed to signify,
(1.) The offering up of our good affections to God in all our prayers
and praises. God must have the inwards; for we must pour out our souls,
and lift up our hearts, in prayer, and must bless his name with all
that is within us. It is required that we be inward with God in every
thing wherein we have to do with him. The fat denotes the best and
choicest, which must always be devoted to God, who has made for us a
feast of fat things.
(2.) The mortifying of our corrupt affections and lusts, and the
burning up of them by the fire of divine grace,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+3:5">Col. iii. 5</A>.
Then we are truly thankful for former mercies, and prepared to receive
further mercy, when we part with our sins, and have our minds cleared
from all sensuality by the <I>spirit of judgment</I> and the <I>spirit
of burning,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+4:4">Isa. iv. 4</A>.</P>
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<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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&nbsp; 6 And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>be</I> of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it
without blemish.
&nbsp; 7 If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it
before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 8 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and
kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's
sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar.
&nbsp; 9 And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an
offering made by fire unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; the fat thereof, <I>and</I> the
whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the
fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that <I>is</I> upon the
inwards,
&nbsp; 10 And the two kidneys, and the fat that <I>is</I> upon them, which
<I>is</I> by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the
kidneys, it shall he take away.
&nbsp; 11 And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: <I>it is</I> the
food of the offering made by fire unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 12 And if his offering <I>be</I> a goat, then he shall offer it
before the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 13 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it
before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron
shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about.
&nbsp; 14 And he shall offer thereof his offering, <I>even</I> an offering
made by fire unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; the fat that covereth the inwards,
and all the fat that <I>is</I> upon the inwards,
&nbsp; 15 And the two kidneys, and the fat that <I>is</I> upon them, which
<I>is</I> by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the
kidneys, it shall he take away.
&nbsp; 16 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: <I>it is</I> the
food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat
<I>is</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s.
&nbsp; 17 <I>It shall be</I> a perpetual statute for your generations
throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Directions are here given concerning the peace-offering, if it was a
sheep or a goat. Turtle-doves or young pigeons, which might be brought
for whole burnt offerings, were not allowed for peace-offerings,
because they have no fat considerable enough to be burnt upon the
altar; and they would be next to nothing if they were to be divided
according to the law of the peace-offerings. The laws concerning a lamb
or goat offered for a peace offering are much the same with those
concerning a bullock, and little now occurs here; but,
1. The rump of the mutton was to be burnt with the fat of the inwards
upon the altar, the <I>whole rump</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
because in those countries it was very fat and large. Some observe from
this that, be a thing ever so contemptible, God can make it honourable,
by applying it to his service. Thus God is said to give more
<I>abundant honour to that part which lacked,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+12"23,24">1 Cor. xii. 23, 24</A>.
2. That which was burnt upon the altar is called the <I>food of the
offering,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:11,16"><I>v.</I> 11, 16</A>.
It fed the holy fire; it was acceptable to God as our food is to us;
and since in the tabernacle God did, as it were, keep house among them,
by the offerings on the altar he kept a good table, as Solomon in his
court,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+4:22-28">1 Kings iv. 22</A>, &c.
3. Here is a general rule laid down, that <I>all the fat is the
Lord's</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
and a law made thereupon, that they <I>should eat neither fat nor
blood,</I> no, not in their private houses,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+3:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
(1.) As for the <I>fat,</I> it is not meant of that which is
interlarded with the meat (that they might eat,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Neh+8:10">Neh. viii. 10</A>),
but the fat of the inwards, the suet, which was always God's part out
of the sacrificed beasts; and therefore they must not eat of it, no,
not out of the beasts that they killed for their common use. Thus would
God preserve the honour of that which was sacred to himself. They must
not only not feed upon that fat which was to be the food of the altar,
but not upon any like it, lest the <I>table of the Lord</I> (as the
altar is called), if something were not reserved peculiar to it, should
become contemptible, and <I>the fruit thereof, even its meat,
contemptible,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+1:7,12">Mal. i. 7, 12</A>.
(2.) The blood was universally forbidden likewise, for the same reason
that the fat was, because it was God's part of every sacrifice. The
heathen drank the blood of their sacrifices; hence we read of their
<I>drink-offerings of blood,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:4">Ps. xvi. 4</A>.
But God would not permit the blood, that made atonement, to be used as
a common thing
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+10:29">Heb. x. 29</A>),
nor will he allow us, though we have the comfort of the atonement made,
to assume to ourselves any share in the honour of making it. He that
glories, let him glory in the Lord, and to his praise let all the blood
be poured out.</P>
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