Read Leviticus 21
Rules for Priests
21 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, 2 except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, 3 or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean. 4 He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself.
5 “‘Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies. 6 They must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God. Because they present the food offerings to the Lord, the food of their God, they are to be holy.
7 “‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, because priests are holy to their God. 8 Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.
9 “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.
10 “‘The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes. 11 He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even for his father or mother, 12 nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.
13 “‘The woman he marries must be a virgin. 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he will not defile his offspring among his people. I am the Lord, who makes him holy.’”
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. 18 No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food; 23 yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’”
24 So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Go Deeper
For the past twenty chapters, we have read God’s directions for His people, most of which focus on sacrifices and offerings. Many of these sacrifices and offerings require a priest to perform them, and Leviticus 21 outlines the instructions specifically for the priests.
So why does this chapter matter to us today? Because we, as Christians, have been appointed as priests. If you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, you’re part of a royal priesthood. First Peter 2:9 declares: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines a priest as “someone who is authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God.” In the Old Testament, the priests were the connection between the Israelites and God, and they were specifically selected for the role. Only those who were Levites, members of Aaron and Moses’ tribe, were eligible (Exodus 29 & Leviticus 8), and even then, only a few members were appointed priests.
So when Jesus’ death and resurrection gave all of us access to God, it was (and still is) a big deal! As Christians, we have the same access to God that these specifically selected Levites had. So what does Leviticus 21 say to the priests and how does it apply to us? The purpose of the chapter can be found in verse 8: Consider [the priests] holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.
The Hebrew word used in verse for holy is kodesh, meaning “set apart” or “of God.” The instructions are designed to set apart those who serve as the connection between God and His people. While the chapter lists several specific rules, they fall into two main ways that we, as priests, should be set apart: We should practice what we preach and keep a Kingdom perspective. We should do and share what we saw Jesus do because He is the great high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). To keep a Kingdom perspective, we need to remember that this world is not the “be all and end all” of everything; eternity is coming, and our actions should reflect that truth.
Questions
- Based on your reading of Leviticus up to this point, why was the priests’ access to God a big deal?
- If you are a Christian, you are called to be “set apart” and “of God.” How should this affect your actions?
- Identify two specific ways you can “practice what you preach” or “keep the kingdom perspective” this week.
Keep Digging
Understanding the special role of priests in the Old Testament gives us insight into Jesus’ life and teachings in the New Testament. Remember, it was a group of Levitical priests, the Sadducees, who eventually plot and plan Jesus’ crucifixion. To learn more about the Levitical priests, check out this article from GotQuestions.org.
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6 thoughts on “Leviticus 21”
First Peter 2:9 declares: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
So we are chosen priest, that can learn from these laws. Our redemption was bought at such a great price. It is not a “get out of jail free card”. Our redemption is a commitment of obedience. God is serious about holiness, sin, repentance and what and how we should act as believers, in what Jesus accomplished, in that redemeptative great price. Now, today, in these minutes of this day, we are to put forth a great effort to not sin. That is a goal. If and when it happens we are to repent, turn away from it and not do it again. Everyday, one foot in front of the other, loving God, speaking about how we are redemed by the blood of Christ. We are to share, live, breath, act as if though God, through His Holy Spirit is with us. (Because He is). He has to be in a holy space, sooooo that means we are to be holy. If we have a “past” and we have truly repented of those ways, God’s peace has freed us from that and it belongs in the past. Now we live for today. We live in these next, how many ever minutes, and worship, obey and do His will.
God thank You for these minutes of my day. God may all I say and do be worthy of You. God help my internal thoughts to be in alignement with Your Word. Father forgive my pride and self righteousness. Continue to show me,You, in those around me. Thank You for giving me the oppurtunity to be an example of Jesus in these minutes of this day in Jesus name amen.
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God.”
Fast forward to the New Testament and we see Jesus drawn and moving straight to those with defects—the crippled, blind, demon possessed, issue of blood, etc., to restore them to wholeness. What a Savior!
1 ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean”
Interesting connection back to this idea that we are a “royal priesthood”. In that capacity, we also need to keep ourselves from being unclean. Helpful insight. Thank you!
Serving God is a sacred business.
Here we see the priests commanded to separate themselves from that which could contaminate them physically and spiritually. Ceremonial cleanliness was a matter of temporary isolation (keep clear of the dead) and lifelong integrity (keep clear of the sexually impure).
That much I can understand. It tracks back to one of my favorite verses:
“If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”
-2 Timothy 2:21 NLT
The prohibition against physical defects is much harder to fathom. What does it mean to be “disqualified” by things that are beyond our control?
However, as Christians we know this is only the beginning of the story of God’s perfect plan for redemption. This chapter points us to Christ, the ultimate, perfect sacrifice, “a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19). And, as Ella mentions above, when Christ came he made a point to heal those with defects and restore them to wholeness. What a radical Redeemer!
To complete my understanding of today’s passage, no sooner had I read it than God presented me with the following visual aid:
A crack in my cereal bowl.
I was sad to see it. It’s one of my favorites and I use it all the time. Unfortunately, the crack was irreparable, making the bowl unusable. I didn’t blame the bowl – it didn’t break itself. And it couldn’t fix itself.
It was just no longer fit for service.
How thankful I am that God does not see ME as defective or toss me out when I’m broken. On the contrary, He works through my weakness, flaws and imperfections to show His perfect self more fully.
“My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.”
-2 Corinthians 12:9 AMP
First Peter 2:9 declares: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Something that stood out to me about Leviticus 21 was this point: “ we, as priests, should be set apart: We should practice what we preach and keep a Kingdom perspective. We should do and share what we saw Jesus do because He is the great high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). To keep a Kingdom perspective, we need to remember that this world is not the “be all and end all” of everything; eternity is coming, and our actions should reflect that truth.”
We should strive to live holy and honoring lives that are set apart for God and that glorify him. In all we do, we reflect Christ and should live how we believe God has called us to, holy and righteous lives that point to a kingdom mindset and life.
6 They must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God.
The priests were responsible for maintaining the reputation of God’s name and the way that they carried out their work, their lives and responsibilities were a reflection of God. We too should live our lives in reverence, awe, fear and joy, so that our lives reflect the name of our God. We may be the only bible people read.