Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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8 and four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari,
according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the
sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.
10 And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it
was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar.
11 And the Lord said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering,
each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar.
12 And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son
of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah:
We have here an account of the great solemnity of dedicating the altars, both that of burnt-offerings and that of incense; they had been sanctified before, when they were anointed (Le 8:10,11), but now they were handselled, as it were, by the princes, with their free-will offerings. They began the use of them with rich presents, great expressions of joy and gladness, and extraordinary respect to those tokens of God's presence with them. Now observe here,
I. That the princes and great men were first and forwardest in the service of God. Those that are entitled to precedency should go before in good works, and that is true honour. Here is an example to the nobility and gentry, those that are in authority and of the first rank in their country; they ought to improve their honour and power, their estate and interest, for the promoting of religion, and the service of God, in the places where they live. It is justly expected that those who have more than others should do more good than others with what they have, else they are unfaithful stewards, and will not make up their account with joy. Nay, great men must not only with their wealth and power assist and protect those that serve God, but they must make conscience of being devout and religious themselves, and employing themselves in the exercises of piety, which will greatly redound to the honour of God (Ps 138:4,5), and have a good influence upon others, who will be