Exposition of the Laws of Moses, Exegesis 5
Of the eating of holy things.
Levit. 22.10. There ſhall no ſtranger eate of the holy thing: a ſo…ourner of the Prieſt, or an hired ſervant, ſhall not eate of the holy thing: But if the Prieſt buy any ſoule with his money, he ſhall eat of it, &c.
THe LORD made a twofold diſtinction of meates under the Law. Firſt, of cleane and uncleane meates, and that is taken away now; for to the cleane all things are cleane, Titus. 1.15. The Hebrewes call that which is uncleane [Piggul] a polluted thing, that is,foreign Abhominatio res abhominanda, proprie dicitur de carne faetoris & coloris tetri. a thing that is eaten after the time; and Aquila tranſlateth it foreign, that is, a thing to be rejected or refuſed; And the Apoſtle uſeth the ſame word when he is ſpeaking of meates, that nothing is foreign, to be refuſed, if it be received with thankeſgiving, 1 Tim. 4.4.
The ſecond diſtinction of meates was this, ſome were cleane by the Law, but yet if they were eaten by perſons who had no right to eat them, then they were uncleane to them; Thirdly, if they eate them not in the appointed place; and fourthly, if they eat them not in due time.
Firſt, ſomethings the Prieſts might eate and their ſonnes, but not their daughters, Num. 18.9.
Here we muſt marke a difference betwixt the legall promiſes, and the ſpirituall promiſes; the legall promiſe is, the Prieſts and his ſonnes ſhall eate of it, but not their daughters; but the ſpirituall promiſes are made to them and to their children, and to all that are a farre off, even as many as the Lord our God ſhall call, Acts chapter 2. verſe 39.
The difference betwixt the legall promiſes, and Evangelicall promiſes.Secondly, the legall promiſe was made to the Prieſts and their ſonnes, but not to their daughters; but in the ſpirituall promiſes there is no difference betwixt male and female Galat. 3.18.
There were other things that their daughters might eate of, as well as their ſonnes, and the ſervant that was bought with money, or borne in the houſe, and the Prieſts daughter who was a Widdow, or divorced, and returned to her father againe, having no children, all theſe might eate of the leſſe holy things, Lev. 22.11, 12
A difference betwixt the morall and ceremoniall Law.Obſerve firſt a difference betwixt the morall Law and the ceremoniall; the morall Law putteth no difference in the worſhip of God betwixt the ſonne, the daughter, the man-ſervant, nor the maid-ſervant, nor the ſtranger, Exod. 22.10. but the ceremoniall Law alloweth the Prieſt to eate, his ſonne to eate, his daughter to eate, his ſervant bought with his money to eate, and his ſervant borne in the houſe to eate, but not the ſtranger, Levit. 22.10, 11, 12.
Why the ſervant borne within the houſe and bought with the money, might eat the holy things.Againe, the ſervant that was bought with his mony, and he that was borne in the houſe might eate, to ſignifie unto us, that they who are borne within the covenant, & they who are bought with the price of Chriſts blood, although ſtrangers before, are partakers of Chriſts ſacrifice; but theſe who are ſtrangers ſtill, are not partakers of his holy body. The Prieſts daughter when ſhe returned home to her father againe, might eate of theſe leſſe holy things; ſo we being married to the law, and it having dominion over us, Rom. 7, 1. we were out of our fathers houſe, and might not eate of this holy bread; but being dead to the law, Rom. 7.4. and divorced from our ſinnes, as Widdowes, we may come home to our fathers houſe, and be partakers of the holy things.
Secondly,What things the Prieſt and his ſons might eat. what things the Prieſt and his ſonnes might eate; that which was ignitum Iehovae, the ſacrifice which was burnt to the Lord by fire, as the ſinne offering and the Treſpaſſe offering, the Prieſt and his ſonnes might eate of them, but not his daughters; ſo the Shewbread, Levit. 24.9. and it (the Shewbread) ſhall be Aarons and his ſonnes, and they ſhall eate it in the holy place; for it is moſt holy unto him, of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.
The Prieſt and his ſonnes might onelyonly eate of the Shewbread, but not his daughters, but in neceſſity others might eate of it as well as the Prieſt and his ſonnes, as David and his men in neceſſity eate of it, 1 Sam. 21.6. if they might eate of it in neceſſity, much more might the Prieſts wife and his daughter in their neceſſity eate of it.
When the Prieſt asked David whether his men were cleane or not, that they might eate of the Shewbread; Queſt. whether might he have given them that bread in the time of their uncleanneſſe to eate of it in their neceſſity or not?
If it had beene in extreame neceſſity, Anſ. he might have given them of this bread to eate, to ſave their lives, although they had beene in their uncleanneſſe; but he could not have given them it in their leſſe neceſſity, when they were uncleane.
The Iewes have a rule,A rule of the Iewes. where thou findeſt a command to doe a thing, and a prohibition to forbid a thing, and they both cannot be kept, then thou muſt leave the negative and fellow the affirmative. Example, a Nazarite is forbidden to ſhave his haire, and the Leper is commanded to ſhave his haire. Now when a Nazarite becomes a Leper, which of theſe two ſhall he follow; hee ſhall leave the negative precept which commanded him, not to ſhave his haire, and he ſhall follow the affirmative, and ſhall ſhave his haire. So the Prieſt is forbidden to give his daughter any of the Shewbread, againe he is commanded to provide for his family, now his daughter is like to ſterve for hunger, which of thoſe two ſhall he follow; he is to follow the affirmative here, and to leave the negative. So in the Sabbath, &c.
The Place where they eate the holy things.Thirdly, the place where they were to eate the holy things: ſome things they were to eate by the Altar, that is, in the Chambers of the Prieſts hard by the Altar, ſome they were to eate in Ieruſalem, and ſome they were to eate in any part of Canaan.
Some things they were to eate in the Chambers nere the Altar, Ezek. 42.14, thoſe things in Levit. 10.12. they are ſaid to eate at the Altar.
When Ezekiel deſcribeth the Temple here, he meaneth the Temple under Chriſt, and the maintenance of the miniſtery under the Goſpel, as the Prieſts who ſerved at the Altar under the law, eate of the reſt of the ſacrifice in their Chambers: ſo the miniſters under the Goſpell ſhould be maintained now. 1 Cor. 9.13.
Secondly, the leſſe holy things they eate them in Ieruſalem, the Paſchall Lambe was eaten within Ieruſalem, and not in the Temple, therefore it was of thoſe leſſe holy things.
Queſt. The Paſchall Lambe being the chiefe thing that repreſented Chriſt, how is it reckoned amongſt the leſſe holy things?
Anſw. Why the Paſſeover was reckoned a leſſe holy thing.It was reckoned amongſt the leſſe holy things, becauſe there was little of it burnt, but it was eaten by the people. Secondly, it could not be eaten as a Sacrament in the Temple, for the diſtinction of the families, that muſt eate it ſeverally, they all could not eat it in the Temple. So the firſt Tithe was but a common holy thing, or leſſe holy, and it might be eaten any where, but the ſecond tithe was the more holy tithe, and therefore behoved to be eaten in the Temple before the Lord.
Laſtly, when they might eat it.
Somethings they were bound to eate the ſelfe ſame day that the things were offred,When they were to eat the holy things. as the fleſh of the ſacrifice of the peaceoffering, Levit. 7.15. ſome things might be eaten that ſame day that they were offered, or upon the morrow, as the ſacrifice of the vow, or a freewill offering, Levit. 7.16. But they might eate none of the fleſh of the Sacrifice upon the third day after it was offered, but it was to be burnt with fire, Levit. 7.17, 18.
Now time, place, diſtinction of perſons,No meat of it ſelfe uncleane. and diſtinctions of meats are all taken away, and it entereth not in at the mouth which defileth a man, but that which commeth out of the mouth defileth him, Matth. 15.11. there is no meat now, that is uncleane in it ſelfe, but it becommeth uncleane to them that receive it not with pure hearts, Tit. 1.15. VntoUnto the pure, all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving, is nothing pure; but even their mind, and conſcience is defiled, and every creature of God is good, if it be received with thanksgiving. 1 Tim. 4 4.