Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man... — Here again we have a promise which received a fulfilment other than that which the words appeared to imply, and which doubtless was in the prophet’s thoughts. The Levitical priesthood passed away (Hebrews 7:11), but Christ was made a Priest after the order of Melchizedek; and by virtue of their union with Him, His people became a holy priesthood (Hebrews 10:19-22), offering, not the burnt-offerings and meat-offerings which were figures of the true, but the spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving (1 Peter 2:5), the sacrifice of body, soul, and spirit, which alone was acceptable to God (Romans 12:1).
The special combination, “the priests the Levites,” is not found elsewhere in Jeremiah, but appears in Deuteronomy 17:9; Deuteronomy 18:1; Joshua 3:3; 2 Chronicles 30:27; Ezekiel 43:19; Ezekiel 44:15; Isaiah 66:21. As far as it has any special significance, it may indicate either that the priestly character, though not the specific priestly functions, extended to the whole tribe of Levi, or, more probably, that Jeremiah speaks of the Levite-priests of Judah as contrasted with the priests of the “high places,” or such as Jeroboam had made of the lowest of the people.
To kindle meat offerings. — The meat-offering, or minchah, it will be remembered, was of meal and frankincense, not of flesh (Leviticus 2:1-15). It was burnt with fire on the altar, and the fragrant smoke was a “sweet savour unto the Lord.”