Matthew Henry on Leviticus 1:3-9
If a man were rich and could afford it, it is supposed that he would bring his burnt-sacrifice, with which he designed to honour God, out of his herd of larger cattle. He that considers that God is the best that is will resolve to give him the best he has, else he gives him not the glory due unto his name. Now if a man determined to kill a bullock, not for an entertainment for his family and friends, but for a sacrifice to his God, these rules must be religiously observed: - 1. The beast to be offered must be a male, and without blemish, and the best he had in his pasture. Being designed purely for the honour of him that is infinitely perfect, it ought to be the most perfect in its kind. Thi…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Leviticus 1:5
he shall kill the bullock--The animal should be killed by the offerer, not by the priest, for it was not his duty in case of voluntary sacrifices; in later times, however, the office was generally performed by Levites.
before the Lord--on the spot where the hands had been laid upon the animal's head, on the north side of the altar.
sprinkle the blood--This was to be done by the priests. The blood being considered the life, the effusion of it was the essential part of the sacrifice; and the sprinkling of it--the application of the atonement--made the person and services of the offerer acceptable to God. The skin having been stripped off, and the carcass cut up, the various pieces were dis…
Read the whole note in the consoleAdam Clarke on Leviticus 1:7
Put fire - The fire that came out of the tabernacle from before the Lord, and which was kept perpetually burning; see Lev 9:24. Nor was it lawful to use any other fire in the service of God. See the case of Nadab and Abihu, Leviticus 10 (note).
John Gill on Leviticus 1:7
And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar,.... The fire of the altar originally came down from heaven, and consumed the sacrifice, and which was a token of God's acceptance of it, see Leviticus 9:24 and this fire was kept burning continually upon the altar, Leviticus 6:12 and yet the Jewish writers say, it was the command of God, according to this passage, that fire should be brought from another place and put here; Jarchi's note on the text is,"though fire came down from heaven, it was commanded to bring it from a common or private place:''and Maimonides (r) says the same thing, and so it is often said in the Talmud (s); and this, as Gersom observes, was not done by any…
