Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Leviticus 16:12
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And he shall take a censer, etc.] A fire pan, a sort of chafing dish or perfuming pot; this was a golden one, as appears from (<580904>Hebrews 9:4); hence Christ, the Angel of God’s presence, our interceding High Priest, is said to have such an one, (<660803>Revelation 8:3); and so Josephus says f557, it was a golden one the high priest used on the day of atonement; with which agree the Misnic doctors f558, who say, on other days he took off the coals with a silver one, and poured them into a golden one, but on this day he took them off with a golden one: full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord; these were bright lively coals, not smoking and half extinct; and they were taken from off the altar of burnt offering, from the western side of it, as Jarchi says, which was towards the holy of holies, where the Lord had his dwelling: these burning coals denoted the sufferings of Christ, which were properly punishments for the sins he bore, flowed from the wrath of God comparable to fire, were the curses of a fiery law, and equal to the sufferings of the wicked, often expressed by fire; they were many, and very painful and excruciating, though no ways inconsistent with the love of God to him as his Son, for they were endured by him as the surety of his people, and by which he expressed his flaming love and affection for them: he himself is altar, sacrifice, and priest, the altar which sanctifies the gift; and the coals as on the altar, denote the sufferings of Christ as upon him, which he was able to bear; and the taking off the coals signifies the cessation of his sufferings; and the altar, coals, and taking of them off, being before the Lord and in his sight, show that Christ, as a divine Person, is, and always was before him; that his sufferings were ever in view, being appointed and foretold by him, and when endured were grateful to him, a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour; and that the cessation of them was in his presence, and according to his will; and Christ now is the Lamb in the midst of the throne, as though he had been slain, where, as such, he is always beheld with pleasure and acceptance by the Lord: and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small; both his hands, as Aben Ezra, two handfuls of this he took and put into a cup: of this sweet incense and its composition, (see <023034>Exodus 30:34-37); this was small itself, but on the evening of the day of atonement it was put into the mortar again, as Jarchi says, and beaten very small, and so was, as expressed in the Misnah f559 , “small of small”: this may represent the intercession of Christ our high priest for his people; for as the prayers of the saints are set before the Lord as incense, (<19E102>Psalm 141:2); so the intercession and mediation of Christ in favour of the acceptance of their prayers is signified by “much incense”, (<660803>Revelation 8:3); and which is always acceptable to God, and may well be expressed by sweet incense: handfuls of it may denote the largeness of his intercession, being for all the elect of God, and for all things for them they stand in need of; and the infinite perfection and virtue of his person, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, to make his intercession effectual: and being “beaten small” may signify his intercession made for particular persons, and those the meanest, and for particular things of every sort they want; as well as it may point at the fragrance and acceptance of Christ’s mediation on such accou…
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