The chronological link connecting the following law with the death of the sons of Aaron (Leviticus 10:1-5) was intended, not only to point out the historical event which led to the appointment of the day of atonement, but also to show the importance and holiness attached to an entrance into the inmost sanctuary of God. The death of Aaron's sons, as a punishment for wilfully "drawing near before Jehovah," was to be a solemn warning to Aaron himself, "not to come at all times into the holy place within the vail, before the mercy-seat upon the ark," i.e., into the most holy place (see Exodus 25:10.), but only at the time to be appointed by Jehovah, and for the purposes instituted by Him, i.e., according to Leviticus 16:29., only once a year, on the day of atonement, and only in the manner prescribed in Leviticus 16:3., that he might not die. - "For I will appear in the cloud above the capporeth." The cloud in which Jehovah appeared above the capporeth, between the cherubim (Exodus 25:22), was not the cloud of the incense, with which Aaron was to cover the capporeth on entering (Leviticus 16:13), as Vitringa, Bhr, and others follow the Sadducees in supposing, but the cloud of the divine glory, in which Jehovah manifested His essential presence in the most holy place above the ark of the covenant. Because Jehovah appeared in this cloud, not only could no unclean and sinful man go before the capporeth, i.e., approach the holiness of the all-holy God; but even the anointed and sanctified high priest, if he went before it at his own pleasure, or without the expiatory blood of sacrifice, would expose himself to certain death. The reason for this prohibition is to be found in the fact, that the holiness communicated to the priest did not cancel the sin of his nature, but only covered it over for the performance of his official duties, and so long as the law, which produced only the knowledge of sin and not its forgiveness and removal, was not abolished by the complete atonement, the holy God was and remained to mortal and sinful man a consuming fire, before which no one could stand.

Leviticus 16:7 Parallel Commentaries

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