That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God ,.... Whereby he showed himself to be their covenant God and Father, who had a kind and gracious regard unto them, and which laid them under obligation to fear, serve, and worship him as their God: I am the Lord ; that hath sovereign right unto them, and claim upon them, and therefore they ought to be subject to his will, and observe his laws ordinances. read more
Brought you out of the land of Egypt - By such a series of miraculous interferences, to be your God - to save you from all idolatry, false and superstitious worship, teach you the right way, lead and support you in it, and preserve you to my eternal kingdom and glory. God, infinite in his own perfections, has no need of his creatures; but they need him; and, as a source of endless felicity, he opens himself to all his intelligent offspring. read more
Holiness of priests and sacrifices. While much that appertained only to a temporary dispensation, still great principles included in the formal regulations, as— I. RELIGION SANCTIFIES , preserves, and perfects the whole humanity of man. 1 . It preserves the true order—God first, the creature subject to the Creator. 2 . It utilizes the central power of human nature, the moral and spiritual The mind is the man, and the mind is not mere intellect, but moral consciousness and... read more
Priestly disqualifications. cf. Matthew 25:31-46 . We saw that inherited infirmity, such as is mentioned in Matthew 25:18-21 of last chapter, while it excludes from office, does not exclude from sustenance. We now come across a disqualification sufficient to exclude from both office and support, and this is contracted defilement. Any priest venturing before God with uncleanness upon him will be cut off from his presence. We are taught hereby— I. THAT IT IS CONTRACTED , ... read more
Laws of the oblations. These naturally follow those concerning the priests, which form the subject of the earlier portion of this chapter. They may be considered— I. WITH RESPECT TO THE SACRIFICES . 1 . These must be the animals prescribed. 2 . They must be individuals without blemish. 3 . Blemished creatures may be given as free-will offerings. II. WITH RESPECT TO THEIR OFFERING . 1 . They may not be offered till after the eighth day. ... read more
These verses form the conclusion of the Section and of the Part, enjoining obedience to God's commandments, reverence for his Name, and consequent holiness. read more
Animals for sacrifice (22:17-33)All animals offered in sacrifice to God had to be the best available. The only exception concerned the freewill offering, for in that case the state of the animal was an indication of the offerer’s state of heart (17-25).Sacrificial animals had to be at least a week old, to ensure that they were normal and healthy. When people made sacrifices, they were to have sympathy for the innocent animals that lost their lives. For this reason a mother animal was not to be... read more
brought you out. See note on Leviticus 11:45 . read more
3. The third list of regulations for priests ch. 22The previous section (Leviticus 21:16-24) named physical impediments that prohibited some priests from offering sacrifices. This one identifies the circumstances under which priests could neither officiate at the sacrifices nor eat priestly food. Twenty-eight selected laws (7 x 4) compose this section. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Leviticus 22:17-33
Here are four laws concerning sacrifices:? I. Whatever was offered in sacrifice to God should be without blemish, otherwise it should not be accepted. This had often been mentioned in the particular institutions of the several sorts of offerings. Now here they are told what was to be accounted a blemish which rendered a beast unfit for sacrifice: if it was blind, or lame, had a wen, or the mange (Lev. 22:22),?if it was bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut (Lev. 22:24), that is, as the Jewish... read more