Leviticus 21:1-24 - Our Priestly Conduct

Leviticus 21:1-24

Regulations for Conduct of Priests (cf. Ezekiel 44:15–31)

1 And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

5 They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.

10 ’He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; 11 nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the LORD sanctify him.’”

16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.’”

24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

Priests were called to serve the LORD in the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 96:9) and not defile himself in any way.  They were to keep themselves ceremonially and spiritually clean from sin to not profane God’s name.  This meant a faithful marriage with a faithful wife of good character as well, with a lifestyle of devotion to God of all his family members to avoid defaming the holy name of God whom he served.  This went so far as to require the priests not to marry a divorced woman and certainly not one who lived immorally before their marriage and to keep their daughters from gross immorality also.  The consecration of the oil on the priests was a reminder that they carried the blessing and anointing of the LORD as His representatives and ministers, which applies in similar ways to we who are called saints (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2) and priests (Revelation 1:6, 5:10) to our Lord Jesus Christ today.  We are called to be holy also in body and soul (1 Peter 1:15-16) to walk and serve as worthy servants of the Most-High God in the temples of these bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19) and in the congregation among one another in Christ.  Our conduct must not defame the name of our Lord Jesus Christ or the Father whose Spirit lives within each of us, called to be saints and priests to serve our Lord God in this grace in which we now stand.  We must therefore confess and turn from sin as we ask forgiveness and restoration from Him that we might not dishonor (2 Timothy 2:19, 20-21, Colossians 3:23-24) that holy name in which we are called.  We are granted full access to the Lord’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) to serve in holiness through constant confession of sin to Him for forgiveness and not living in ongoing sins as we put them to death by the help of His Spirit in us (Romans 8:12-14) within.  This is how we keep ourselves unspotted (James 1:27, Romans 12:2) from the world to serve as we are called at the altar of grace in holiness.  This is our priestly conduct in Jesus Christ.