(7) And Moses said unto Aaron.--Though he was now the duly-installed high priest, yet he did not approach the altar till he was solemnly called upon by Moses to do it, thereby showing the authorised representatives of the people that Aaron did not take this honour to himself, but that it was the call of God by Moses. Hence, the remark of the Apostle, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron; so also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said. unto him," &c. (Hebrews 5:4-5.)

Make atonement for thyself and the people.--The fact that these sacrifices which the high priest is to bring are here described as designed to make atonement for himself and the people, goes far to confirm the ancient interpretation that reference is here made to the particular sin which Aaron and the people committed in common, and that it is the sin of the golden calf (see Leviticus 9:2), which is so emphatically described in the words "they made the calf which Aaron made" (Exodus 32:35). Hence, whilst their share of the sin is to be atoned by a special sacrifice (see Leviticus 9:15), they are yet to participate in the atoning virtue of Aaron's sacrifice because they prevailed on him to make the calf (Exodus 32:1).

Verse 7. - Make an atonement for thyself, and for the people. By means of the sin offering for the high priest, whose sin brought guilt both on himself and upon the people (Leviticus 4:3). After he had (symbolically) purified himself and them of this guilt, he was to offer the offering of the people, which should purify them from the guilt contrasted by their own sins, and make an atonement for them.

9:1-21 These many sacrifices, which were all done away by the death of Christ, teach us that our best services need washing in his blood, and that the guilt of our best sacrifices needs to be done away by one more pure and more noble than they. Let us be thankful that we have such a High Priest. The priests had not a day's respite from service allowed. God's spiritual priests have constant work, which the duty of every day requires; they that would give up their account with joy, must redeem time. The glory of God appeared in the sight of the people, and owned what they had done. We are not now to expect such appearances, but God draws nigh to those who draw nigh to him, and the offerings of faith are acceptable to him; though the sacrifices being spiritual, the tokens of the acceptance are spiritual likewise. When Aaron had done all that was to be done about the sacrifices, he lifted up his hands towards the people, and blessed them. Aaron could but crave a blessing, God alone can command it.And Moses said unto Aaron,.... This is only observed to show, that as Aaron did not take upon him this office of himself, but was called unto it, and invested with it, by the appointment of God, so neither did he enter upon it but through the call of God by Moses, in the sight of the congregation:

go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering; the young calf and ram:

and make an atonement for thyself and for the people; first for himself, and then for the people; for, as Aben Ezra says, a man cannot atone for another until he is pure from all sin; which is a character only to be found in Christ, our great High Priest, and so a proper person to atone for and take away the sins of others: hence the priests under the law, with their sacrifices, could never take away sin really, only typically; and this shows the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood, that the priests of that order were obliged to offer first for their own sins; this our high priest, of another order, needed not to do; see Hebrews 7:27.

and offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; typical of the true and full atonement made by Christ, when he offered himself without spot to God:

as the Lord commanded; Aaron to do, and as he commanded Christ, his Son and our surety, the antitype of Aaron, John 10:18.