God for a sweet-smelling savour;" thus mestio fowl iu ancient Egyptian paintings. indicating, in an inci.Jental manner, the 'l'he domicile of the bird was still confined connection between the Jewish sacrifices to India. A single pi~eon or turtle-dove and the sacriftce of Cluist, as type aud formed a sacrifice, and there wos no rule in antitype. respect to sex, as there wo.s in the case of Ver. 10.-If his o:ff'eringbe of the :flocks. the quadrupeds. The ritual of the burnt offering was the Ver. 15.-The priest shall bring it UD.to the same, whether the victim was a bull, sheep, altar. The difference in the ritual for the or goat. burnt sacrifice of fowls is: 1. That the Ver. 11.-Xe &hall kill it on the Bide of the offerer is not commo.nded to lay his hand on altar, northward before the Lord. In the the bird. 2. That the altar is the ple.ce of sacrifice of the bullock it is only " before maclation, instead of the space on the north. the Lord" (ver. 5). No doubt the same side of the alto.r. 3. That the priest slays place is meant in both oases, but it is it instead of the offerer. 4. That the blood specified with more eiactness here. On the (owing to its smaller quantity) is pressed western side of the altar was the tabernacle, out against the side of the altar instead of' on the east side the heap of ashes ( eh. i. 16), being caught in a vessel and thrown on it. on the south side probably the a.scent to the There is no essential variation here; the altar (see Josephus,' De Bell. Jud.,' v. 5, 6); analogy of the sacrifice of the animal is- on the north side, therefore, was the most followed so far as circumstances permit. It. conrnnient slaughtering-place, and this is is not certain that the word malak, trans- probably the reasou for the injunction. lated wring off his head, means more than Ver. 14.-If the burnt saorifioe tor his " make an incision with the nail; " but in o:lf'eriDg to the Lord be of fowls. A com- ell probability the head was to be severed paxison of eh. xii. 8 leads us to infer that the and laid on the fire separately, after the- permission to offer a bird was a coucession manner of the other sacrifices. to poverty. The pigeon and the turtle-dove Ver. 16.-With his feathers, rather the- were the most easy to procure, as the contents of the e:rop. This and the ashe:t domestic fowl was at this time unknown are to be placed beside the altar on the east to the Hebrews. The first and only allusion part, as being furthest from the to.bernacle fo the Bible to the hen occurs in the New and nearest to the entrance of the court, so Testament (Matt. :uii.i. 37; Luke xiii. 34), that they might be readily removed. nor is there any representation of the do-
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1, 2.-The 1acrificia1 system. The religion of Israel, as exhibited to us in the- Law, bears at first sight a strange appearance, unlike what we should have expected. We read in it very little about a future life, and not much about repentance, faith, and prayer, but we find commanded an elaborate system of sacrifices, based upon a practice almost coeval with the Fall. l. SAOBIFIOE WAS USED IN ANTE-MOSAIO DAYS AS A MEANS OF APPROACH TO GOD• .. In process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof" (Gen. iv. 4). The covenant with Noah was made by sacrifice: "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour., . . . And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you" (Gen. viii. 20, 21; ix. 8, 9). When Abraham first entered Canaan, he "builded an altar unto the Lord-, who appeared unto him" (Gen. xii. 7), as the means of communicating with him. At his next halting-place, "he builded an altar unto the Lord," as the means of "calling upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. xii. 8; xiii. 4). On removing to Hebron, Hgain he •• built there an altar unto the Lord" (Gen. xiii. 18). The covenant with Abraham was made by sacrifice (Gen. xv. 9); and at Jehovah-jireh, Abraham "offered a ram for a burnt offering in the stead of his son " (Gen. xxii. 13). At Beer-sheba Isaac "builded an altar and called upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. xxvi. 2G). At Sbalem, Jacob "erected an altar and called it El-elohe-Israel" (Gen. xxx.iii. 20). At Beth-el ho "built an altar and called the place El-beth-el" (Gen. xxxv. 7). At Beer-sheba he "offered sacrifices unto the Gud of bis father Isaac" (Gen. xlvi. 1). During the sojourn in Egypt it is probable that the practice of sacrifice was discontinued through fear oL <JH. L 1-17.] THE BOOK OF LEVITII rus. 6