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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, |
One young bullock – All that happened to the bullock represented what was to be done to Jesus and to his Body, the Church, as human beings. T41
And two rams – The ram for the burnt-offering to show how God receives our sacrifice, and the ram of consecration to show what effect the sacrifice will have upon us. T45
Without blemish – Had our Lord not been absolutely free from sin he never could have redeemed us. R1186:6
The sacrifice which we are privileged to make is of things to which we have a right through Christ, which in themselves are lawful and right. R1187:1
The sacrifice of all our rights implies the sacrifice of life itself as human beings. R1187:4
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| 2 and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened mingled with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of fine wheaten flour shalt thou make them. |
And unleavened bread – Representing the actual purity of Jesus and the imputed purity of the Church-justification. T46
Tempered with oil – Representing the indwelling spirit of God-- sanctification. T46
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| 3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. |
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| 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tent of meeting, and shalt wash them with water. |
Aaron and his sons – Representing the new spiritual nature of The Christ. T41
Bring unto the door – Symbol of the death of the human will. T21
Wash them with water – To represent the purity of Jesus, who knew no sin, and his Church, cleansed through his precious blood and "the washing of water by the word." (Eph. 5:26) T29
The consecration of the priests began at the laver. R117:1
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| 5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the skilfully woven band of the ephod; |
The coat – Representing Christ's purity, while its embroidery showed works of grace. T29
Robe of the ephod – Representing Christ's faithfulness. T30
And the ephod – Type of the Abrahamic covenant (front part) and the New covenant (back part). T30
And the breastplate – Type of the Law. T34
With the curious girdle – Representing a servant. "The Messenger (servant) of the covenant whom ye delight in." (Mal. 3:1) T33
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| 6 and thou shalt set the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. |
Put the holy crown – Representing the power to rule. B83
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| 7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. |
The anointing oil – Typifying the holy Spirit. T29, T37, T116; D650; R5654:5
And anoint him – Only the High Priest was anointed. As with the under-priests, the antitypical priests are merely partakers of the spirit of Christ, and only those who are in Christ Jesus partake of his anointing. T37
The High Priest was anointed with oil, which constituted the divine evidence of his call to the priestly office. SM598:2
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| 8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. |
Bring his sons – Sons only. Similarly, only the males were chosen to be the special public servants and ambassadors of the Gospel. F265
Put coats upon them - Linen garments, representing the righteousness of Jesus imputed to us. F36
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| 9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and bind head-tires on them: and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. |
With girdles – Representing us as servants of righteousness. T36
Bonnets on them – To indicate that they were not the head, but merely members of the body. God gave Jesus "to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body." (Eph. 1:22, 23) T36
In covering their heads the under-priests said, we are headless, the High Priest is our head. The spiritual Royal Priesthood must all be headless also. R2845:4
For a perpetual statute – Or, age-lasting. Aaron's family lost the priesthood 1800 years ago. HG582:3*
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| 10 And thou shalt bring the bullock before the tent of meeting: and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock. |
Cause a bullock – No goat, because it was not "for the people." (Lev. 16:15) R4384:6
Tabernacle of the congregation - More properly, the tent of meeting. So called, not because the Israelites met here as a congregation, but because it was here that God met with the children of Israel and communicated with them. R4029:6
Put their hands – Thus saying, this sacrifice represents us. T41; R73:1
Upon the head of the bullock – In the consecration of the priests a bullock only is shown as the sin offering (no goat, because it was not "for the people"). R4384:6
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| 11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before Jehovah, at the door of the tent of meeting. |
And thou – Moses, representing the Law. T41
Kill the bullock – To meet the demands of the Law. T41
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| 12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger; and thou shalt pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. |
Take of the blood – Representing the life given. T42
Upon the horns – Horns are symbols of power. T42
Of the altar – The "finger of the Lord" thus pointed out that the altar of earthly sacrifices was acceptable to God by reason of the shed blood, and that all who realize the power of the altar must first recognize the blood which sanctifies it. T42; R73:1
Bottom of the altar – The blood poured at the base of the altar showed that through the blood of the sacrifice even the earth was purchased back from the curse. T42
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| 13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul upon the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. |
Take all the fat – Symbol of loving zeal. T57
And burn them – Representing the steady, continuous submission to the fiery ordeal of suffering. T71
Upon the altar – Showing that God accepts the heart devotion which prompts the sacrifice. T42
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| 14 But the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with the fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering. |
And his dung – The world dis-esteems the sacrifices of the saints as the consuming of "the filth and offscouring of the earth." (1 Cor. 4:13) "They shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake." (Matt. 5:11) T62
Burn with fire – Representing the destruction to which the world was doomed, and from which it will ultimately be delivered by the sacrifice of The Christ. T42
Representing the gradual destruction of the flesh. R4385:1
Jesus' flesh suffered the destruction which otherwise would have come upon all men. R73:2
Without the camp – Thus the humanity of the Royal Priesthood is destroyed as a vile thing in the eyes of the world. T42, T62
"Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach." (Heb. 13:13) T62
Outside the camp signifies ostracism, rejection of men, dishonor. R4385:1
As living next door to a worldly neighbor and bearing the reproach of those, living as a consecrated priest of the Lord. Q688:T
We are in harmony with this burning outside the camp. The New Creature says, "Let the flesh burn." We suffer in this burning, but do so willingly. CR487:1
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| 15 Thou shalt also take the one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. |
Also take one ram – The first ram, showing how God receives our sacrifice. T45
Aaron and his sons – Representing the new spiritual nature of The Christ. T41
Put their hands – Thus indicating that it represented them. T42
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| 16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take its blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. |
And thou – Moses, representing the Law. T41
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| 17 And thou shalt cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its inwards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head. |
Wash the inwards – Representing the washing of water through the word. (Eph 5:26) T45
Unto his pieces – Representing the members of Christ's Body. T45; SM559:2
The pieces, laid in order to the head, represent the relationship of the members of the Body with the Lord, the Head of the Body. R4384:6
And unto his head – Representing the Lord Jesus, who was laid on the altar first. T45
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| 18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering unto Jehovah; it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah. |
Burn the whole ram – Representing steady submission to fiery trials. T71
A burnt offering – Representing the Lord and the Church in their united, and yet divided, relationship. R4384:6
Is a sweet savour – Showing how God accepts the sacrifice. T45; R73:2
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| 19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. |
Take the other ram – To show the effect the sacrifice has on us. T45
Aaron and his sons – Representing the new spiritual nature of The Christ. T41
Put their hands – Thus indicating that it represented them. T42
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| 20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of its blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. |
Then shalt thou – Moses, representing the Law. T41
Take of his blood – Representing the consecrated life. T45
Of the right ear – Representing that by consecration we get the "hearing of faith." (Gal. 3:2) T45
Of his sons – Showing that our consecration is individual. T45
Their right hand – Our hands are consecrated, so that what so ever our hands find to do we do it with our might, as unto the Lord. T45
Their right foot – Our feet are consecrated, so that henceforth we "walk not as other Gentiles," (Eph 4:17) but "walk in newness of life," (Rom. 6:4) "walk by faith," (2 Cor. 5:7) "Walk in the spirit," (Gal. 5:16) "walk in the light," (1John 1:7) and even "as we received Christ, so walk in him." (Col. 2:6) T45
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| 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. |
Take of the blood – Teaching that our consecration is accepted only because we are justified by the precious blood of our Redeemer. T46; F131
And of the anointing oil – "There are three that bear record: the spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree in one." (1 John 5:8). R73:5
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| 22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat, and the fat tail, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration), |
The fat – Symbol of loving zeal. T57
The more love (fat) there is connected with our consecration, the more quickly will it be accepted by him as entire consecration. R73:4
The two kidneys – Representing our heart sentiments, our best powers. T45
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| 23 and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before Jehovah: |
One loaf of bread – Unleavened, representing the actual purity of Jesus and the imputed purity of the Church--justification. T46
First, we acknowledge the purity of the man Christ Jesus. R73:4
Cake of oiled bread – Representing the indwelling spirit of God-- sanctification. T46
Showing Jesus as our High Priest "filled with the spirit." R73:4
One wafer – Showing our appreciation of him as our glorified Lord. R73:4
The basket – Representative of all their bread. R73:4
Of the unleavened bread – Purity. R73:4
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| 24 and thou shalt put the whole upon the hands of Aaron, and upon the hands of his sons, and shalt wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah. |
Put all -The acknowledgments of Christ, shown by the three cakes, are necessary to the acceptance of our consecration. R73:4
For a wave offering – Passed to and fro before the Lord. T45
Representing that a consecrated offering is not given to the Lord for a limited time, but never ceases until we have finished our course. T45
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| 25 And thou shalt take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar upon the burnt-offering, for a sweet savor before Jehovah: it is an offering made by fire unto Jehovah. |
Of their hands – They did not lay them down, and so we may not cease to offer all our powers in God's service until all are consumed. T46
Burn them – God's acceptance is shown by fire. R73:4
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| 26 And thou shalt take the breast of Aaron's ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave-offering before Jehovah: and it shall be thy portion. |
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| 27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the thigh of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: |
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| 28 and it shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion for ever from the children of Israel; for it is a heave-offering: and it shall be a heave-offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, even their heave-offering unto Jehovah. |
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| 29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them. |
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| 30 Seven days shall the son that is the priest in his stead put them on, when he cometh into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place. |
Seven days – Showing that we are consecrated to God's service for all of our time. T47
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| 31 And thou shalt take the ram of consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place. |
Seethe his flesh – It was no part of the sacrifice, merely the preparing of the portion which was to be eaten. T47
In the holy place – When "place" is not in italics, the Court is always meant. T13; R237:3*, R178:2*
Representing our more earthly phase of life. R237:3*
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| 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the tent of meeting. |
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| 33 And they shall eat those things wherewith atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. |
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| 34 And if aught of the flesh of the consecration, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. |
Burn the remainder – Showing that we are to be completely and entirely consecrated, and none of our time and power should be wasted. T47; R73:5
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| 35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. |
Seven days – Showing that we are consecrated, not part of our time, but all of it; seven being the number of completion. R73:6
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| 36 And every day shalt thou offer the bullock of sin-offering for atonements: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou makest atonement for it; and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. |
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| 37 Seven days thou shalt make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it: and the altar shall be most holy; whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. |
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| 38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. |
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| 39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer between the two evenings: |
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| 40 and with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering. |
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| 41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer between the two evenings, and shalt do thereto according to the meal-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah. |
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| 42 It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet with you, to speak there unto thee. |
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| 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tent shall be sanctified by my glory. |
There I will meet – The Church is now a habitation of God, filled with a large measure of his glory. R1982:2
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| 44 And I will sanctify the tent of meeting, and the altar: Aaron also and his sons will I sanctify, to minister to me in the priest's office. |
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| 45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. |
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| 46 And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am Jehovah their God. |
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