John Wesley

“Command Aaron and his sons that this is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the hearth of the altar all night, until morning…

“And the Lord spake - Hitherto he hath prescribed the sacrifices themselves; now he comes to the manner of them. The burnt- offering - The daily one, which Exod. xxix, 38, Num. xxviii, 3, as the following words shew.”

The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished.

“Every morning - Though the evening also be doubtless intended, yet the morning is only mentioned, because then the altar was cleansed, and the ashes taken away, and a new fire made.”

Now this is the law of the grain offering: Aaron’s sons shall present it before the LORD in front of the altar.

“Of the meal-offering - Of that which was offered alone, and that by any of the people, not by the priest, for then it must have been all burnt. This law before delivered, is here repeated for the sake of some additions made to it.”

“This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must present to the LORD on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a…

“This law of his consecration was delivered before, and is here repeated because of some additions made to it. Perpetual - Whensoever any of them shall be so anointed.”

The priest who offers it shall eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

“For sin - For the sins of the rulers, or of the people, or any of them, but not for the sins of the priests; for then its blood was brought into the tabernacle, and therefore it might not be eaten.”

Anything that touches its flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place.

“Upon any garment - Upon the priest's garment; for it was he only that sprinkled it, and in so doing he might easily sprinkle his garments.”

The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water.

“Broken - Because being full of pores, the liquor in which it was sodden might easily sink into it, whereby it was ceremonially holy, and therefore was broken, lest afterwards it should be abused to common uses.”

Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who presents it,

“All the meal-offering - Except the part reserved by God, chap. ii, 2, 9. Because these were ready drest and hot, and to be presently eaten; shall be the priests - The priest, who offered it, was in reason to expect, something more than his…”

and every grain offering, whether dry or mixed with oil, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

“Dry - Without oil, or drink-offering, as those chap. v, 11, Num. v, 15. All the sons of Aaron - These were to be equally divided among all the priests.”

Along with his peace offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of leavened bread.

“Leavened bread - Because this was a sacrifice of another kind than those in which leaven was forbidden, this being a sacrifice of thanksgiving for God's blessings, among which leavened bread was one.”

But if anyone who is unclean eats meat from the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people.

“That eateth - Knowingly; for if it were done ignorantly, a sacrifice was accepted for it. Not being cleansed from his uncleanness according to the appointment, chap. xi, 24, &c. This verse speaks of uncleanness from an internal cause, as by an issue, &c.”

“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘You are not to eat any of the fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat.

“The general prohibition of eating fat, chap. iii, 17, is here explained of those kind of creatures which were sacrificed. The fat of others they might eat.”

With his own hands he is to bring the offerings made by fire to the LORD; he shall bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast as…

“His own hands - After the beast was killed, and the parts of it divided, the priest was to put the parts mentioned into the hands of the offerer.”

This is the portion of the offerings made by fire to the LORD for Aaron and his sons since the day they were presented to serve the LORD as priests.

“Of the anointing of Aaron - That is, of the priesthood; the sign put for the thing signified; and the anointing by a like figure is put for the part of the sacrifices belonging to the priest by virtue of his anointing.”

And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread that is in the…

“The flesh - That which was left of the ram, and particularly the breast, which was said to be Moses's part, ver.”

You must not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are complete; for it will take seven days to…

“Seven days - In each of which the same ceremonies were to be repeated, and other rites to be performed.”

So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD had commanded through Moses.

“So Aaron and his sons did all things - And thus the covenant of life and peace, Mal. ii, 5, was made with them. But after all the ceremonies used in their consecration, one point was reserved for the honour of Christ's priesthood.”

On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

“On the eighth day - Namely, from the day of his consecration, or when the seven days of his consecration were ended. The eighth day is famous in scripture for the perfecting and purifying both of men and beasts.”

an ox and a ram for a peace offering to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the LORD will appear to you.’”

“The Lord will appear - Hebrew. He speaks of the thing to come as if it were past, which is frequent in scripture, to give them the more assurance of the thing.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to make atonement for yourself and for the people.

“Go and offer - Moses had hitherto sacrificed, but now he resigns his work to Aaron, and actually gives him that commission which from God he had received for him.”

Next he presented the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning’s burnt offering.

“Besides the burnt-sacrifice - Which was to be first offered every morning; for God will not have his ordinary and stated service swallowed up by extraordinary.”

Moses and Aaron then entered the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.

“And Moses - Went in with Aaron to direct him, and to see him perform those parts of his office which were to be done in the holy place, about the lights, and the table of shew-bread, and the altar of incense, upon which part…”

Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar.

“From before the Lord - Or, from the presence of the Lord, that is, from the place where God was in a special manner present, either from heaven or from the holy of holies.”

Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.

“Now as this was forbidden implicitly; chap. vi, 12, especially when God himself made a comment upon that text, and by sending fire from heaven declared of what fire he there spake; so it is more than probable it was forbidden expressly, though that be…”

So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.

“From the Lord - From heaven, or rather from the sanctuary. Devoured them - Destroyed their lives; for their bodies and garments were not consumed. Thus the sword is said to devour, 2 Sam. ii, 26.”