This chapter begins a new subject revealed or ordained of God by the words vay' dab-ber I" he-vak el-Mo-sheh (and the Lord spake unto Moses).
3-12. There is no express statement in the sin-offering for the priest, that it made atonement for him, whatever be the reason of this.
13. I apprehend edah (congregation) is more the persona- the congregation looked at as a moral whole, a corporate person before God; and ka-hal (assembly) is the actual subsisting congregation composed of all its members. Compare chapter 8: 3.
15 V'sha-khat (and one shall kill) I do not know that it is more precise in verses 4 and 24. It has interest in respect of the point where self-offering and mediatorial work begins. It was not the ko-hen (priest) unless he were the guilty one, and then it is not as ko-hen. But I suppose hak-ko-hen ham-ma-shiakh (the priest that is anointed) of verse 5 is the same.
31. Here only the sin-offering is called a sweet savor, and it identifies the perfectness of Christ in sacrifice to God, with the bearing of sins in the same act.
The sin-offering was a putting-away of sin. Whether Azazel on the great day of atonement, or the ordinary sinofferings, the victim was charged with sins, bore them and took them away from the person, and put them away out of God's sight, by a perfect vicarious work. But there is another and very important character of the sacrifice, and in which its full perfection as to its effect consists. It introduces into God's presence -we are brought to God in His holy presence -the holiest -by it, as set on the mercy-seat. God has been glorified by it perfectly in His nature and glory, and we are brought into His presence in holiness by it. We come to the gold within, as the evil, measured by what man ought to be for God, has been put away on the brazen altar-one purges the conscience, the other brings into the light of God Himself. But in fact there is no separation now, because the veil is rent, and Christ gone within. That in which Christ suffered, bore, and so set aside for us the judgment, bore the sins and so purged our conscience, met the evil and so brought us into the presence of the glory -the light as God is in the light -but perfectly acceptable, agreeable to it. Righteousness sets us there.
It seems to me that a-sham (guiltiness) is more fault towards God, what a man is guilty of. Kha-ta (error) that in which he has erred from the right way, as the force at least of the word itself.
35. What is ish-shey Y'hovah (the sacrifices offered unto the Lord)?
Note.-In the sacrifice, the burning was not the priest's, but the fires, i.e., the proving effect of God's judgment producing on the altar the sweet savor. The altar was not the cross, but, I apprehend, the active sustaining righteousness of the divine nature. Further, in the case of the sin-offering, the body was not burned on the altar, but, when burned, burned without the camp. The priest's work at the altar, as to the sacrifice, was only occasional, and, so to speak, represented divine ordering of all, not acting for man-man did not in any way arrange the pieces, etc., on the altar. But all that was done with the blood was priest's work properly; only Christ did so offer Himself, not merely to become a Victim, but as a Victim that is in the fire of judgment on the altar, His will tried was in perfect self-offering found so under the fire -but this was needed and found, not done. He did formally offer Himself up, and so far there was a priestly act, only of a different nature; I do not think His offering Himself through the eternal Spirit without spot to God -was priest's offering -it was the bringer of the victim's work; nor was the actual consuming of the victim, so as to leave a sweet savor-that was, so to speak, put into God's hands as the consuming fire; nor the fact of His dying, for that was not priestly work at all. The only priestly work I can see there is what the priest did, not as in peace between God and the people, but as representing them-only that Christ was Victim as well as Priest, and having offered Himself for it without spot, He offered Himself as it, i.e., gave Himself up to death as sin-bearer, confessing, therefore, all our sins on Himself as Victim; but this preceded, I apprehend, this offering, for He offered Himself personally as a spotless Victim, i.e., spotless to be one-then the Lord lays the sins on Him-He is made sin for us. Instead of charging it on others as Adam did, He owns them as His own, and knowing the just rights of God as regards sin and sinners, offers Himself up to death and judgment -but I doubt whether this was not more as Victim than as Priest -to secure the divine glory and save God's beloved; this the Priest did, and this was arranging all on the altar, but it was entirely between God and the Priest. The wrath and death which followed was not a priestly part-that brought out the sweet savor as perfectly effectuating the offer, and was in itself, as coming from God the fruit of sin-bearing.
It is evident that the holocaust and sin-offering were, both at the same time in Christ. Note, in Heb. 9:2828So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28), as to the two parts of the offering, the prosenechtheis-eis to... anenegkein -the visitation of wrath upon Him as sin-offering brought out, by the trial, the sweet savor of His perfectness as burnt-offering.
Note.—I apprehend that the gold on the mercy-seat, referred to elsewhere as intrinsic proper divine righteousness, and the brazen altar governmental righteousness in connection with sin, is connected with the character of acceptance in Christ. God has on the Cross judged and put away sin—He has dealt with sin, so that we are free; but then in Christ's death God was perfectly glorified, and the reception before the throne is in the perfection of this—Christ Himself is there in consequence of it, and we are there in Him, the righteousness of God in Him. This is not dealing with sin, but what God delights, can and must delight in. The blood no doubt is witness of the putting away of sin on the mercy-seat, according to the exigencies of that perfection; but there is more than that—Christ is sitting there. On the altar sin is righteously dealt with—on the throne of gold divine righteousness is delighted in.