The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 26

the yet more significant technicalities, Into blood and bloodless offerings. The Idea, already educed render the interpretation of these two classes of material easy. Thfl bloodless offerings were presentations simply; they were gifts made to Jehovah upon approach to him in worship; they were this and nothing more, The blood sacrifices were this and something more; they were both presentations and Instruments of atonement; in addition to being the gifts of the offerer to Jehovah, they possessed the all-important blood which testified to tho substituted life. In every case of animal sacrifice the blood spilt spoke of a substituted life, whilst in every case also the animal itself, of some value to the offerer, spoke of a presentation made. And lt is this latter fact which elucidates another point in the ceremonial of animnl sacrifice, namely, the variety and the kind of victims enjoined. Offerings were only to be made of such animals as did not contradict the Lev1tica.l laws of food-of such animals, therefore, as Jehovah could receive. Further, the victims were of very different value; a bullock was worth more than a cow, a cow t!1an a calf, a calf than a ram, a ram than a sheep, a sheep than a lamb, a lamb than a pigeon, and a pigeon than a handful of meal; the gradation of animal became a gradation of gift. The more costly the gift the more self-sacrificing the offering. The signijicanr.e of the pla.u of =iJi,~ In the patriarchal age, it would appear, a.ny place might be a place of special Divine revelation, and therefore a place where an altar might be erected; in the Levitical code, the legitimate place of sacrifice was more restricted. The large majority of offerings, as our previous description has already made evident, were ordered to be presented within the precincts of the one spot which .Jehovah had consecrated by his presence. A.sit is said in Deut. xii. 6, 6, "But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his Name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: and thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the :6.rstlings of your herds and of your flocks." .And yet again, in vers. 13, 14, "Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there _thou shalt offer thy burnt -offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee." .And still more solemnly is the same injunction conveyed in eh. xvii. 3-9, " What man BCJever there be ol the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it -0ut of the camp, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congrega- tion, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for slain -offerings unto the Lord.," etc. IC apparent exceptions are seen in the case of Gideon, Manoah, David, and Elijah, it needs to be remembered that their aberrant practice was sanctioned by express Divine revelations; and so little was their example regarded as a type of permissible action, tha.t when the Beubenites wished to build a second altar, all Israel grew furious, and ·was ready to put two tribes and a half to the sword. It is therefore evident tba.t i nmense imp:;rtance was attached under the Law to the place of sacrifice. That pla.ce was ordered in such a way that it always fell somewhere within the one sanctuary; and very significantly so, for there Jthovah was supposed .and stated to be peculiarly present and approachable. There was a certain localization of the Deity according to the Mosaic Law, and the neighbourhood of the Shechinah was Loly ground, as the Law itself represents Jehovah as saying. "And there I will  THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES LITERALLY CONSJJ)ERED. xv