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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Leviticus, Chapter XXII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC03021.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC03023.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>L E V I T C U S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have divers laws concerning the priests and
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sacrifices all for the preserving of the honour of the sanctuary.
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I. That the priests should not eat the holy things in their
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uncleanness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:1-9">ver. 1-9</A>.
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II. That no stranger who did not belong to some family of the
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priests should eat of the holy things
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:10-13">ver. 10-13</A>),
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and, if he did it unwittingly, he must make restitution,,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:14-16">ver. 14-16</A>.
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III. That the sacrifices which were offered must be without blemish,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:17-25">ver. 17-25</A>.
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IV. That they must be more than eight days old
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:26-28">ver. 26-28</A>),
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and that the sacrifices of thanksgiving must be eaten the same day they
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were offered,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:29-33">ver. 29</A>, &c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Le22_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Laws Concerning the Priests.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1490.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake unto Moses, saying,
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2 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate
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themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and
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that they profane not my holy name <I>in those things</I> which they
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hallow unto me: I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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3 Say unto them, Whosoever <I>he be</I> of all your seed among your
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generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children
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of Israel hallow unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, having his uncleanness upon him,
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that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron <I>is</I> a leper, or hath a
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running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be
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clean. And whoso toucheth any thing <I>that is</I> unclean <I>by</I> the
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dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;
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5 Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be
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made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness,
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whatsoever uncleanness he hath;
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6 The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until
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even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his
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flesh with water.
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7 And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall
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afterward eat of the holy things; because it <I>is</I> his food.
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8 That which dieth of itself, or is torn <I>with beasts,</I> he
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shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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9 They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin
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for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> do
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sanctify them.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Those that had a natural blemish, though they were forbidden to do the
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priests' work, were yet allowed to eat of the holy things: and the
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Jewish writers say that "to keep them from idleness they were employed
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in the wood-room, to pick out that which was worm-eaten, that it might
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not be used in the fire upon the altar; they might also be employed in
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the judgment of leprosy:" but,</P>
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<P>
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I. Those that were under any ceremonial uncleanness, which possibly
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they contracted by their own fault, might no so much as eat of the holy
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things while they continued in their pollution.
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1. Some pollutions were permanent, as a leprosy or a running issue,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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These separated the people from the sanctuary, and God would show that
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they were so far from being more excusable that really they were more
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abominable in a priest.
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2. Others were more transient, as the touching of a dead body, or any
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thing else that was unclean, from which, after a certain time, a man
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was cleansed by bathing his flesh in water,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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But whoever was thus defiled might not <I>eat of the holy things,</I>
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under pain of God's highest displeasure, who said, and ratified the
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saying, <I>That soul shall be cut off from my presence,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Our being in the presence of God, and attending upon him, will be so
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far from securing us that it will but the more expose us to God's
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wrath, if we dare to draw nigh to him in our uncleanness. The
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destruction shall come <I>from the presence of the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+1:9">2 Thess. i. 9</A>),
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as the fire by which Nadab and Abihu died came <I>from before the
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Lord.</I> Thus those who profane the holy word of God will be cut off
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by that word which they make so light of; it shall condemn them. They
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are again warned of their danger if they eat the holy thing in their
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uncleanness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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<I>lest they bear sin, and die therefore.</I> Note,
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(1.) Those contract great guilt who profane sacred things, by touching
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them with unhallowed hands. Eating the holy things signified an
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interest in the atonement; but, if they ate of them in their
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uncleanness, they were so far from lessening their guilt that they
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increased it: They shall <I>bear sin.</I>
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(2.) Sin is a burden which, if infinite mercy prevent not, will
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certainly sink those that bear it: They shall <I>die therefore.</I>
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Even priests may be ruined by their pollutions and presumptions.</P>
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<P>
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II. As to the design of this law we may observe,
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1. This obliged the priests carefully to preserve their purity, and to
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dread every thing that would defile them. The holy things were their
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livelihood; if they might not eat of them, how must they subsist? The
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more we have to lose of comfort and honour by our defilement, the more
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careful we should be to preserve our purity.
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2. This impressed the people with a reverence for the holy things, when
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they saw the priests themselves <I>separated from them</I> (as the
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expression is,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>)
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so long as they were in their uncleanness. He is doubtless a God of
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infinite purity who kept his immediate attendants under so strict a
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discipline.
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3. This teaches us carefully to watch against all moral pollutions,
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because by them we are unfitted to receive the comfort of God's
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sanctuary. Though we labour not under habitual deformities, yet actual
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defilements deprive us of the pleasure of communion with God; and
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therefore <I>he that is washed needeth to wash his feet</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+13:10">John xiii. 10</A>),
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<I>to wash his hands,</I> and so to <I>compass the altar,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+26:6">Ps. xxvi. 6</A>.
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Herein we have need to be jealous over ourselves, lest (as it is
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observably expressed here) we <I>profane God's holy name in those
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things which we hallow unto him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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If we affront God in those very performances wherein we pretend to
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honour him, and provoke him instead of pleasing him, we shall make up
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but a bad account shortly; yet thus we do if we profane God's name, by
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doing that in our uncleanness which pretends to be hallowed to him.</P>
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<A NAME="Le22_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_16"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>10 There shall no stranger eat <I>of</I> the holy thing: a sojourner
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of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat <I>of</I> the holy
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thing.
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11 But if the priest buy <I>any</I> soul with his money, he shall
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eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of
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his meat.
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12 If the priest's daughter also be <I>married</I> unto a stranger,
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she may not eat of an offering of the holy things.
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13 But if the priest's daughter be a widow, or divorced, and
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have no child, and is returned unto her father's house, as in her
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youth, she shall eat of her father's meat: but there shall no
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stranger eat thereof.
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14 And if a man eat <I>of</I> the holy thing unwittingly, then he
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shall put the fifth <I>part</I> thereof unto it, and shall give <I>it</I>
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unto the priest with the holy thing.
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15 And they shall not profane the holy things of the children
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of Israel, which they offer unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>;
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16 Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they
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eat their holy things: for I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> do sanctify them.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The holy things were to be eaten by the priests and their families.
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Now,</P>
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<P>
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I. Here is a law that no stranger should eat of them, that is, no
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person whatsoever but the priests only, and those that pertained to
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them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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The priests are charged with this care, not to <I>profane
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the holy things</I> by permitting the strangers to eat of them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>)
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or <I>suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>);
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that is, suffer them to bring guilt upon themselves, by meddling with
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that which they have no right to. Thus it is commonly understood. Note,
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We must not only be careful that we do not bear iniquity ourselves, but
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we must do what we can to prevent others bearing it. We must not only
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not suffer sin to <I>lie</I> upon our brother, but, if we can help it,
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we must not suffer it to <I>come</I> upon him. But perhaps there is
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another meaning of those words: the priests' eating the sin-offerings
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is said to signify their <I>bearing the iniquity of the congregation,
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to make an atonement for them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+10:17"><I>ch.</I> x. 17</A>.
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Let not a stranger therefore eat of that holy thing particularly, and
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so pretend to <I>bear the iniquity of trespass;</I> for it is daring
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presumption for any to do that, but such as are appointed to do it.
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Those that set up other mediators besides Christ our priest, to <I>bear
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the iniquity of trespass,</I> sacrilegiously rob Christ of his honour,
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and invade his rights. When we warn people not to trust to their own
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righteousness, nor dare to appear before God in it, but to rely on
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Christ's righteousness only for peace and pardon, it is because we dare
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not <I>suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass,</I> for we know it
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is too heavy for them.</P>
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<P>
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II. Here is an explanation of the law, showing who were to be looked
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upon as belonging to the priest's family, and who not.
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1. Sojourners and hired servants abode not in the house for ever; they
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were in the family, but not of it; and therefore they might not eat of
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the holy things
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:10">v. 10</A>):
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but the servant that was born in the house or bought with money, being
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a heirloom to the family, though a servant, yet might eat of the holy
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things,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Note, Those only are entitled to the comforts of God's house who make
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it their <I>rest for ever,</I> and resolve to <I>dwell in it all the
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days of their life.</I> As for those who for a time only believe, to
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serve a present turn. They are looked upon but as sojourners and
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mercenaries, and have <I>no part nor lot in the matter.</I>
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2. As to the children of the family, concerning the sons there could be
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no dispute, they were themselves priests, but concerning the daughters
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there was a distinction. While they continued in their father's house
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they might eat of the holy things; but, if they married such as were
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not priests, they lost their right
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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for now they were cut off from the family of the priests. Yet if a
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priest's daughter became a widow, and had no children in whom she might
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preserve a distinct family, and returned to her father's house again,
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being neither wife nor mother, she should again be looked upon as a
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daughter, and might eat of the holy things. If those whom Providence
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has made sorrowful widows, and who are dislodged from the rest they had
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in the house of a husband, yet find it again in a father's house, they
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have reason to be thankful to the widows' God, who does not leave them
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comfortless.
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3. Here is a demand of restitution to be made by him that had no right
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to the holy things, and yet should eat of them unwittingly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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If he did it presumptuously, and in contempt of the divine institution,
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he was liable to be cut off by the hand of God, and to be beaten by the
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magistrate; but, if he did it through weakness in inconsideration, he
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was to restore the value, adding a fifth part to it, besides which he
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was to bring an offering to atone for the trespass; see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+5:15,16"><I>ch.</I> v. 15, 16</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. This law might be dispensed with in a case of necessity, as it was
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when David and his men ate of the show-bread,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+21:6">1 Sam. xxi. 6</A>.
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And our Saviour justifies them, and gives a reason for it, which
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furnishes us with a lasting rule in all such cases, that <I>God will
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have mercy and not sacrifice,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+12:3,4,7">Matt. xii. 3, 4, 7</A>.
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Rituals must give way to morals.</P>
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<P>
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IV. It is an instruction to gospel ministers, who are <I>stewards of
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the mysteries of God,</I> not to admit all, without distinction, to
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<I>eat of the holy things,</I> but to take out the precious from the
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vile. Those that are scandalously ignorant or profane are strangers and
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aliens to the family of the Lord's priests; and it is not meet to take
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the children's bread and to cast it to such. Holy things are for holy
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persons, for those who are holy, at least, in profession,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+7:6">Matt. vii. 6</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Le22_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_30"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_31"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_32"> </A>
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<A NAME="Le22_33"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Laws Concerning Sacrifices.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1490.</TD></TR>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>17 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake unto Moses, saying,
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18 Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children
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of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever <I>he be</I> of the house of
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Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his
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oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings,
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which they will offer unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> for a burnt offering;
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19 <I>Ye shall offer</I> at your own will a male without blemish, of
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the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.
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20 <I>But</I> whatsoever hath a blemish, <I>that</I> shall ye not offer:
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for it shall not be acceptable for you.
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21 And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> to accomplish <I>his</I> vow, or a freewill offering in
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beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall
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be no blemish therein.
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22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or
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scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, nor make an
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offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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23 Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous
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or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer <I>for</I> a freewill
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offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
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24 Ye shall not offer unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> that which is bruised, or
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crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make <I>any offering
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thereof</I> in your land.
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25 Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of
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your God of any of these; because their corruption <I>is</I> in them,
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<I>and</I> blemishes <I>be</I> in them: they shall not be accepted for you.
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26 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake unto Moses, saying,
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27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth,
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then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth
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day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by
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fire unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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28 And <I>whether it be</I> cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her
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young both in one day.
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29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, offer <I>it</I> at your own will.
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30 On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of
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it until the morrow: I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I <I>am</I>
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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32 Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be
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hallowed among the children of Israel: I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> which
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hallow you,
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33 That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I
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<I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here are four laws concerning sacrifices:--</P>
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<P>
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I. Whatever was offered in sacrifice to God should be without blemish,
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otherwise it should not be accepted. This had often been mentioned in
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the particular institutions of the several sorts of offerings. Now here
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they are told what was to be accounted a blemish which rendered a beast
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unfit for sacrifice: if it was blind, or lame, had a wen, or the mange
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),--if
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it was bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>),
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that is, as the Jewish writers understand it, if it was, in any of
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these ways, castrated, if bulls and rams were made into oxen and
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weathers, they might not be offered. Moreover a difference is made
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between what was brought as a free-will offering and what was brought
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as a vow,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
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And, though none that had any of the forementioned blemishes might be
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brought for either, yet if a beast had any thing superfluous or lacking
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(that is, as the Jews understand it, if there was a disproportion or
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inequality between those parts that are pairs, when one eye, or ear, or
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leg, was bigger than it should be, or less than it should be)--if there
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was no other blemish than this, it might be accepted for a free-will
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offering, to which a man had not before laid himself, nor had the
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divine law laid him, under any particular obligation; but for a vow it
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might not be accepted. Thus God would teach us to make conscience of
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performing our promises to him very exactly, and not afterwards to
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abate in quantity or value of what we had solemnly engaged to devote to
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him. What was, before the vow, in our own power, as in the case of a
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free-will offering, afterwards is not,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+5:4">Acts v. 4</A>.
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It is again and again declared that no sacrifice should be accepted if
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it was thus blemished,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:20,21"><I>v.</I> 20, 21</A>.
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According to this law great care was taken to search all the beasts
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that were brought to be sacrificed, that there might, to a certainty,
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be no blemish in them. A blemished sacrifice might not be accepted even
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<I>from the hand of a stranger,</I> though to such all possible
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encouragement should be given to do honour to the God of Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
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By this it appears that strangers were expected to come to the house of
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God from a <I>far country</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+8:41,42">1 Kings viii. 41, 42</A>),
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and that they should be welcome, and their offerings accepted, as those
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of Darius,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+6:9,10,Isa+56:6,7">Ezra vi. 9, 10; Isa. lvi. 6, 7</A>.
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The heathen priests were many of them not
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so strict in this matter, but would receive sacrifices for their gods
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that were ever so scandalous; but let strangers know that the God of
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Israel would not be so served. Now,
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1. This law was then necessary for the preserving of the honour of the
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sanctuary, and of the God that was there worshipped. It was fit that
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every thing that was employed for his honour should be the best of the
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kind; for, as he is the greatest and brightest, so he is the best of
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beings; and he that is the best must have the best. See how greatly and
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justly displeasing the breach of this law was to the holy God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+1:8,13,14">Mal. i. 8, 13, 14</A>.
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2. This law made all the legal sacrifices the fitter to be types of
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Christ, the great sacrifice from which all these derived their virtue.
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In allusion to this law, he is said to be <I>a Lamb without blemish</I>
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and <I>without spot,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:19">1 Pet. i. 19</A>.
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As such a priest, so such a sacrifice, became us, who was harmless and
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undefiled. When Pilate declared, <I>I find no fault in this man,</I> he
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did thereby in effect pronounce the sacrifice without blemish. The Jews
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say it was the work of the sagan, or suffragan, high priest, to view
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the sacrifices, and see whether they were without blemish or no; when
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Christ suffered, Annas was in that office; but little did those who
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brought Christ to Annas first, by whom he was sent bound to Caiaphas,
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as a sacrifice fit to be offered
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+18:13,24">John xviii. 13, 24</A>),
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think that they were answering the type of this law.
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3. It is an instruction to us to offer to God the best we have in our
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spiritual sacrifices. If our devotions are ignorant, and cold, and
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trifling, and full of distractions, we offer <I>the blind, and the
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lame, and the sick, for sacrifice;</I> but cursed be the deceiver that
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does so, for, while he thinks to put a cheat upon God, he puts a
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damning cheat upon his own soul.</P>
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<P>
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II. That no beast should be offered in sacrifice before it was eight
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days old,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:26,27"><I>v.</I> 26, 27</A>.
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It was provided before that the firstlings of their cattle, which were
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to be dedicated to God, should not be brought to him till after the
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eighth day,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+22:30">Exod. xxii. 30</A>.
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Here it is provided that no creature should be offered in sacrifice
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till it was eight days old complete. Sooner than that it was not fit to
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be used at men's tables, and therefore not a God's altar. The Jews say,
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"It was because the sabbath sanctifies all things, and nothing should
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be offered to God till at least one sabbath had passed over it." It was
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in conformity to the law of circumcision, which children were to
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receive on the eighth day. Christ was sacrificed for us, not in his
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infancy, though then Herod sought to slay him, but in the prime of his
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time.</P>
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<P>
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III. That the dam and her young should not both be killed in one day,
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whether in sacrifice or for common use,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>.
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There is such a law as this concerning birds,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+22:6">Deut. xxii. 6</A>.
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This was forbidden, not as evil in itself, but because it looked
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barbarous and cruel to the brute creatures; like the tyranny of the
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king of Babylon, that slew Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, and then
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put out his eyes. It looked ill-natured towards the species to kill
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two generations at once, as if one designed the ruin of the kind.</P>
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<P>
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IV. That the flesh of their thank-offerings should be eaten on the same
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day that they were sacrificed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:29,30"><I>v.</I> 29, 30</A>.
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This is a repetition of what we had before,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+7:15,19:6,7"><I>ch.</I> vii. 15; xix. 6, 7</A>.
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The chapter concludes with such a general charge as we have often met
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with, to <I>keep God's commandments,</I> and not to <I>profane his holy
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name,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+22:31,32"><I>v.</I> 31, 32</A>.
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Those that profess God's name, if they do not make conscience of
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keeping his commandments, do but profane his name. The general reasons
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are added: God's authority over them--<I>I am the Lord;</I> his
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interest in them--I am <I>your God;</I> the title he had to them by
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redemption--"I <I>brought you out of the land of Egypt,</I> on purpose
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that I might be your God;" the designs of his grace concerning
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them--<I>I am the Lord that hallow you;</I> and the resolutions of his
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justice, if he had not honour from them, to <I>get himself honour</I>
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upon them--I will be <I>hallowed among the children of Israel.</I> God
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will be a loser in his glory by no man at last; but sooner or later
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will recover his right, either in the repentance of sinners or in their
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ruin.</P>
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