John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 7. And those men said unto him , etc.] To Moses, who was the chief magistrate, though Aaron was the high priest. Jarchi says, they were both sitting together when the men came, and put the question to them, but it was not proper to speak to one after another; for if Moses knew not, how should Aaron know? says he; the more difficult matters were brought to Moses, and he gave answers to them: we [are] defiled by the dead body of a man ; they had touched it, or had been where it was, or at the funeral of it, and so were defiled: this they knew was their case by a law before mentioned, and which they speak of, not as a sin purposely committed by them, but as what had unhappily befallen them, and they could not avoid; and express their concern, that upon this account they should be deprived of the ordinance of the passover and as this confession shows an ingenuous disposition, so what follows, a pious, religious, and devotional frame of mind: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel ? they speak very honourably of the ordinance of the passover, they call it “an offering of the Lord”, the passover lamb being a slain sacrifice; and this offered to the Lord, by way of thanksgiving, for, and in commemoration of, their wonderful deliverance out of Egypt, and done in faith of Christ the passover, to be sacrificed for them; and it gave them much uneasiness that they were debarred by this occasional and unavoidable uncleanness, that was upon them, from keeping it; and what added to it was, that they could not observe it on the day which the Lord had appointed, and when the whole body of the children of Israel were employed in it; for it is no small pleasure to a good man to observe every ordinance of God in the manner and at the time he directs to, and his people in general are attending to the same; and the rather they were urgent in their expostulations, because it is said f93 , this was the seventh and last day of their pollution, when they should be clean at evening, and the passover was not to be eaten until the evening, and therefore so earnestly expostulate why they should be kept back from it.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-14 - God gave particular orders for the keeping of this passover, and, for aught that appears, after this, they kept no passover till they came to Canaan, Jos 5:10. It early showed that the ceremonial institutions wer not to continue always, as so soon after they were appointed, some wer suffered to sleep for many years. But the ordinance of the Lord' Supper was not thus set aside in the first days of the Christia church, although those were days of greater difficulty and distres than Israel knew in the wilderness; nay, in the times of persecution the Lord's Supper was celebrated more frequently than afterward Israelites in the wilderness could not forget the deliverance out of Egypt. There was danger of this when they came to Canaan. Instruction were given concerning those who were ceremonially unclean, when the were to eat the passover. Those whose minds and consciences are defile by sin, are unfit for communion with God, and cannot partake with comfort of the gospel passover, till they are cleansed by tru repentance and faith. Observe with what trouble and concern these me complained that they were kept back from offering to the Lord. I should be a trouble to us, when by any occasion we are kept back from the solemnities of a sabbath or a sacrament. Observe the deliberatio of Moses in resolving this case. Ministers must ask counsel of God' mouth, not determine according to their own fancy or affection, but according to the word of God to the best of their knowledge. And if, i difficult cases, time is taken to spread the matter before God be humble, believing prayer, the Holy Spirit assuredly will direct in the good and right way. God gave directions in this case, and in othe similar cases, explanatory of the law of the passover. As those who against their minds, are forced to absent themselves from God' ordinances, may expect the favours of God's grace under their affliction, so those who, of choice, absent themselves, may expec God's wrath for their sin. Be not deceived: God is not mocked.
Original Hebrew ויאמרו559 האנשׁים376 ההמה1992 אליו413 אנחנו587 טמאים2931 לנפשׁ5315 אדם120 למה4100 נגרע1639 לבלתי1115 הקריב7126 את853 קרבן7133 יהוה3068 במעדו4150 בתוך8432 בני1121 ישׂראל׃3478
