A Help for the Understanding of the Holy Scriptures, Leviticus · Chapter 19
CHAP. XIX.
Verſ. 3. YE ſhall fear every man his mother and his father.]
Becauſe the mother is uſually moſt deſpiſed, the Lord injoyns the fear of the mother in the firſt place.
And keep my Sabbaths.]
Becauſe the commandment for ſanctifying Gods Sabbaths is directed to the fathers and mothers of the family, who are to take care that children and ſervants profane not Gods holy day, therefore the charge for fearing mother and father is here prefixt bfore this of ſanctifying the Sabbath: The meaning is, that children and ſervants muſt have ſuch an awfull fear of their ſuperiours as willingly to be guided by them according to Gods word in the matter of ſanctifying Gods Sabbaths, and not to reſiſt them in it.
Verſ. 6. It ſhall be eaten the ſame day ye offer it, and on the morrow.]
That is, if it were a peace-offering for a vow or a freewill-offering; otherwiſe if it were for a thankſgiving, it was to be eaten the ſame day, Levit. 7. 15. And the fleſh of the ſacrifice of his peace-offering… for thankſgiving ſhall be eaten the ſame day that it is offered, he ſhall not leave any of it untill the morning. And ſo that which was left of the one was to be burnt the ſecond day, and that which was left of the other upon the third; which muſt needs make them more willing to call the poore to eat with them of their peace-offerings, becauſe the remainders might not be reſerved for themſelves but were to be burnt.
Verſ. 11. Ye ſhall not steal, neither deal falſely, neither lie one to another.]
Though all lying be here forbidden, yet principally all lying whereby men are defrauded of their right, either in buying or ſelling, or otherwiſe.
Verſ. 12. And ye ſhall not ſwear by my name falſely.]
Next after the Law againſt all falſe dealing in defrauding this is here inſerted, becauſe by perj…ry men uſe to help forward their falſe dealing.
Nether ſhalt thou profane the name of thy God.]
To wit, nether by perjury nor vain ſwearing.
Verſ. 14. Thou ſhalt not …urſe the deaf, &c.]
Under theſe particulars of curſing the deaf, and laying a stumbling-block before the blind, there is alſo forbidden all other injuries done to men in confidence that the parties injured ſhall not be able to know who wronged them, and ſo not have power to defend or right themſelves; yea even the putting of ſtumbling-blocks before the conſciences of men, and that becauſe the Lord will plead the cauſe of thoſe that are thus wronged, which is implyed in the laſt words, but ſhalt fear the Lord thy God: as if he had ſaid, Let the fear of God in theſe caſes reſtrain thee, though the deaf and blind need not be feared.
Verſ. 16. Neither ſhalt thou ſtand againſt the bloud of thy neighbour.]
Though the doing of any thing againſt the life of our neighbour is here forbidden, yet the evil principally here forbidden is the ſtanding up in courts of Juſtice to take away a mans life, either as a falſe accuſer, or a falſe witneſſe: and the rather is this ſubjoyned to the foregoing Law, Thou ſhalt not go up and down as a tale-b…arer among thy people, becauſe tale-bearing doth uſually tend, as in Doegs example we may ſee, to derprive men of their lives, according to that of the Prophet, Ezek. 22. 9. In thee are men that carry tales to ſhed bloud.
Verſ. 17. Thou ſhalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou ſhalt in any wiſe rebuke, &c.]
That is, when any man hath wronged you in any thing, you ſhall not go away and cloſely nouriſh hatred in your hearts againſt them, or ſecretly carry tales of them to others, and in the mean ſeaſon never open your mouths to them that did the wrong; but quite contrary, you ſhall in a brotherly manner rebuke them for the evil they have done, that ſo you may reclaim them from thoſe evil wayes. This I conceive is the drift of this precept: yet withall it may imply that he that doth not rebuke his brother when he ſees him do amiſſe, doth indeed hate him and not love him, and that becauſe he ſuffers him to runne on in his ſinne, and ſeeks not his amendment.
Verſ. 18. But thou ſhalt love thy brother as thy ſelf.]
This clauſe, as thy ſelf, doth not denote an exact and perfect equality of love, but a certain proportion of likeneſſe: it doth not bind men to love their neighbour with the ſame degree of love, but 1. that they ſhould no more deſire or ſeek the hurt of their neighbour then of themſelves; 2. that they ſhould endeavour to do all good to their neighbour as to themſelves; and 3. that they ſhould love their neighbour in the ſame manner, heartily, ſincerely, conſtantly as they love themſelves. This expreſſion therefore is not unlike that, Joh. 17. 21. where our Saviour prayed that all true believers might be one with him and his father, as thou father art in me, and I in thee, which doth not impart the ſame union, but onelyonly a likeneſſe of union.
Verſ. 19. Ye ſhall keep my ſtatutes.]
This is repeated and prefixed here, to ſhew that the ordinances following muſt not be neglected though ſeeming ſlight, becauſe even theſe alſo were Gods ſtatutes.
Thou ſhalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverſe kind.]
Of this Law there may be two reaſons: one naturall, to teach his people not in vanity or curioſity of mind to alter the ſhape or nature of the creatures, or ſeem to make more then God created; another myſticall, to teach them how God did hate both mixture of perſons, I mean the children of God with infidels, as alſo all mixtures of religions, and of mans devices with Gods ordinances, and whatſoever hypocriſie or corruption of manners is contrary to that ſincerity and ſimplicity which God requires in his children; and this alſo was intended in the following prohibitions, againſt ſowing their fields with mingled ſeed.
Verſ. 20. Whoſoever lieth carnally with a woman that is a bondmaid bet rothed, &c. ſhe ſhall be ſcourged.]
And ſo conſequently the man alſo, as being both equally guilty: And indeed, in the Hebrew, there ſhall be a whipping, which may have reference to both: becauſe ſhe was a bondwoman a lighter puniſhment is inflicted; for had ſhe been either born or been made free, both ſhould have been put to death, Deut. 22. 23▪ 34. Thus ſtill the Lord debaſeth bond-ſervants, to teach his children to hate the bondage of ſinne.
Verſ. 21. And he ſhall bring his treſpaſſe-offering▪ &c.]
Both for himſelf and the ſervant with whom he committed uncleanneſſe, if ſhe were an Iſraelite. But becauſe the man onelyonly is appointed to bring a treſpaſſe-offering, this ſeems to imply the former Law was meant of heathen bondwomen, which might not bring an offering.
Verſ. 23. And when ye ſhall come into the land, and ſhall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye ſhall count, &c.]
The firſt-fruit that grew upon young trees newly planted was for the firſt three years to be accounted as uncircumciſed, and not to be eaten, that is, they were to be cut or plucked off betimes, and caſt away as an unclean thing▪ even as the fore-skinnes of men in circumciſion were cut off and caſt away as unclean. And though herein they were taught to benefit themſelves in way of husbandry, becauſe if a young tree be ſuffered to bear fruit too ſoon, neither will the fruit ever be good, nor will the tree indure ſo long, this overearly fruit drawing away the nouriſhment which ſhould make the root and tree ſtrong; yet chiefly I conceive it was thus ordained for religious reſpects, as 1. becauſe the firſt-fr…it was to be conſecrate to God, to whom it was fit the beſt ſhould be given; and at the beſt they uſe not to be till after three or foure years bearing: and 2. to ſhew that through the contagion of ſinne all things are rendred unclean to us, Tit. 1. 15. To them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure, ſo that we have no right to eat of them till by Chriſt, the ſeed promiſed in the circumciſion, they be r…ſtored as pure to us again, and untill they be ſanctified by the word of God and prayer, 1. Tim. 4. 5.
Verſ. 24. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof ſhall be holy, &c.]
That is, they ſhall be given the prieſts as firſt-fruits. See Numb. 18. 12, 13.
Verſ. 25. And in the fifth year ſhall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield you the increaſe thereof.]
That is, abundantly. For this laſt clauſe hath reference to the whole foregoing Law concerning the firſt fruit of trees, to wit, that if they did pluck off and caſt away the fruit for three years as uncircumciſed and unclean, and give the fruit of the fourth year to the Lord, and then on the fifth year and not till then gather fruit and eat it themſelves, the Lord would cauſe the land to yield the fruit thereof in ſuch abundance, as in other things, ſo alſo in the fruit of their trees, that they ſhould have no cauſe to repent themſelves that in obedience to Gods command they had deprived themſelves of the fruit of the firſt foure years.
Verſ. 27. Ye ſhall not round the …orners of your heads, neither ſhalt thou marre the corners of thy beard.]
It is not eaſie t… determine what is meant by rounding the corners of their heads and marring the corners of their beards. Some conceive that by rounding the corners of their heads, was meant the polling of their heads with round curled locks, after a nice and effeminate manner: and by marring the corners of their beards, the ſhaving away their beards, as if they affected to be like women: and ſo they conceive the drift of this Law in both particulars is to forbid all effeminate delicacie and quaintneſſe in the trimming of their heads, and ſhaving of their beards, after the manner and cuſtome of the heathen. Again others hold that by rounding the corners of their heads, and marring the corners of their beards, is meant the cutting off the locks of their heads, and the hair of their beards, that they might offer them to Idol-Gods, as moſt certain it is the heathen uſed to do. But laſt of all others determine that hereby is meant the ſhaving off the hair of their heads and beards when they were in mourning and extreme heavineſſe: And inde…d this was a cuſtome amongſt the heathen: whence is that, Iſai. 15. 2. Moab ſhall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on their heads ſhall be baldneſſe, and every beard cut off; and that Jerem. 48. 37. Every head ſhall be bald, and every beard clipped. And the more probable this opinion ſeems, becauſe the heatheniſh cuſtomes here forbidden are joyned together with thoſe in the following verſe of cutting their fleſh, &c. when they mourned for the dead, chap 21. 5. They ſhall not make baldneſſe upon their head, nether ſhall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cutting in their flesh.
Verſ. 28. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead.]
As the heathen uſed to disfigure themſelves both by cutting and ſhaving their hair, eſpe…ially in their mourning; ſo alſo they uſed to cut and lance themſelves, Jer. 16 6. 2. Reg. 18. 28. and to imprint marks upon their fleſh, cutting themſelves and then filling up the place with ink or ſome other colou…, that the marks thereof might remain: all which cuſtomes God here forbids his people to take up, both becauſe they were the deſperate effects of immoderate mourning, as alſo becauſe they were the cuſtomes of idolaters, le…t conforming themſelves to idolaters in theſe things, they ſhould alſo grow to a con…ormity with them in their idolatrous worſhipping of falſe Gods.
Verſ. 30. Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my Sanctuary.]
That is, ye ſhall eſteem of it as of the houſe which I have choſen to be my dwelling-place, that accordingly you may be car…full to come thither with an inward aw and fear of my preſence; and not to approch to it in your uncleanneſſe, or any other way to pollute it. To the commandment of ſanctifying Gods Sabbaths this of reverencing his Sanctuary is joyned, becauſe the Sabbaths were the chief times whereon they re…orted to the Sanctuary.
Verſ. 32. Thou shalt riſe up before the hoary head.]
Under this all honour d…e to them is included.
Verſ. 36. Juſt ballances, juſt weights, a juſt epha…, &c.]
Concerning the Ephah, ſee chap. 5. 11. and concerning the Hin, ſee Exod. 29. 40. And know we muſt that under theſe the moſt uſuall meaſures all other meaſures are comprehended.