Bible Commentaries

Chiefly of the First Table

v. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

v. 2. Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel and say unto them, ye shall be holy; for I, the Lord, your God, am holy. They were not only to be pure and sinless, but their entire life was to present a definite and unvarying contrast to sin and transgression in any form. That is the fundamental thought of the Chapter.

v. 3. Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father. The mother is here mentioned first, as the children are chiefly dependent upon her and associated with her, especially in the first years of their lives. Reverence to the mother of the home is essential for the proper social relationship, and the importance of this relation is seen from the fact that the family is the unit of civilization. And keep My Sabbaths, all the festival days sacred to the Lord. I am the Lord, your God. This observance governed the entire social organization of the Jews.

v. 4. Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods. I am the Lord, your God. "If the heart of man becomes benumbed to the use of images of false gods of any kind, he sinks down to the level of the idols which are his ideals, and becomes as dumb and unspiritual as they are. " (Lange. ) It is significant that the word here used for idols really means "nothingnesses," thus describing the idols in their true character. Cf Psa 96:5; Psa 115:8; Psa 135:18; Isa 40:18; Isa 44:10.

v. 5. And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your own will. Unless the offerings were made in this spirit, with a right good will, from the heart, they would have no value in the sight of God.

v. 6. It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow, for that was the rule with regard to voluntary sacrifices, Lev 7:16; and if aught remain until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire.

v. 7. And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted, the object of the sacrifice was not attained, its purpose was made void by the deliberate disregard of God's rule.

v. 8. Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the Lord, in eating of flesh which had been devoted to the Lord as a gift after it had become unclean; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. This threat involved excommunication on the part of the congregation and the punishment of death on the part of God, who is a holy, jealous God.