The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 34

the appointed meat and drink offerings. He is seen to lay his hnnd wHh some force upon the victim's head, thus dedicating it in the name of the entire people as a burnt offering in its behalf. He draws his knife and cuts its throat.: The priest, who is ready with a basin, collects the streaming blood and dashes it as an ntonement against the sides of the altar, then disfects and cleanses the carcase in the prescribed ma.nner, and, laying the pieces in order upon the hearth, the morning oblation rises into the air, " a sweet savour unto Jehovah;" and once more the daily burnt sacrifice has been presented as an acceptable token and memorial of the nation's consecration to Jehovah. But the day is a new moon, a more emphatic and memorable day of grace, and a more elaborate offering is added to the ordinary daily presentation. The task of the national representative, whoever he may be, is not yet complete, and he again presents himself in the same place with two young bullocks, a ram, and seven lambs for a burnt offering, together with the prescribed offerings of meat and wine, and also with a kid for a sin offering. Analogy wonld suggest that the sin offering is first made. A.gain the offering is formally made to the priests at the brazen altar, clad as before in their white robes and parti-coloured girdles, but increased in number; again the hl\Ild is impressed upon the head of the victim; &.,,"3.in the animalis slain in the nation's behalf; again one of the priests, the accredited representatives of Jehovah, collects the blood of the slaughtered beast; but there the similarity of the ceremonial ends. According to the ritual ordained for the sin offering, some of the blood is- more carefully smeared upon the horns of the altar, and is thus brought in more solemn memorial before the Lord, whilst the remainder is poured away, its end being achieved, at the base of the altar ; some few portions of the fat are alone consumed by fire, the offering part-aking more of the nature of an atonement than a gift, and for the same reason the rest of the carcase is not burnt within the sacred precincts of the holy place, but in some clean spot without the camp. Then follows the large monthly burnt offering before described, which puts the larger number of priests in requisition, the same form of ritual being gone through as in the case of the "continuous" sacrifice, and the same truth being si,,"Ilified with more display. Thus, at the opening year, the chosen nation is .again reminded of its consecration, and reconsecrated to God in emphatic manner, the -doctrine being simnlt.aneonsly declared by the presentation of the sin offering as well .as by the form of blood sacrifice, that even the best hours of religious acknowledgment in the most prominent days of a sanctified people are not untainted by sin, but call for humiliation and atonement. The national offerings me.de, and the golden candlestick replenished in the holy place, the official offerings follow. 'l'he high priest, in his: official robes of white and blue, " Holineu to the Lord" glistening in gold upon hie mitre, his jewelled breastplate -flashing a.nd sparkling in the early sun, passes to the performance of his exalted functions, the bells and pomegranates at the fringe of his broidered tunic ringing e.s he goes to present his daily sacrifice. Now he burns bis offering of meal at the altar of burnt offering, and, by a gift of his substance, consecrates himself anew to the Lord, no effusion of blood being in his case necessary, because of the peculiar holiness supposed to attach to his sublime office; now he advances to the holy place, and, drawing back the chequered curtain, "a thing of beauty and of glory," is hidden from view for a time, but within, we know, he is burning incense before the Lord on the golden altar, as a further testimony of priestly consecration-presenting solemnly this exceptional holocaust without blood. The personal offerings now succeed. These, of course, vary from day to day according to the number of those who are religiously impressed with the necessity of sacrifice, and according to the mode of imrression. For, legally compulsory as several·of the varieties  THE LEVITICAL SACRIFICES LITEnALLY CO~SIDEilED. xxiii