Leviticus 21:1-24 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Leviticus 21:1-24. Let’s go!
Leviticus 21:1-4 (NIV)
1 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.
On verses 1-4: Leviticus 21:1-4 says that a priest could not touch or get near a dead person unless that person was a close relative, lest he become ceremonially unclean himself and unable to approach God. Amazingly, in contrast, in the gospels we see Jesus’ touching dead people and making them alive. Rather than Jesus being negatively affected by other people’s “deadness”, Jesus’ “aliveness” made dead people come to life. In Jesus Christ we have a high priest like no other.
Leviticus 21:5-6 (NIV)
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 offerings made to the LORD by fire, the food of their God, they are to be holy.
On verses 5-6: Why was a priest not to shave their head or the edges of their beards or cut their bodies? It is because, according to scholars, these practices were part of pagan mourning rituals. God did want people to be confused and think that His priests were serving another god.
Leviticus 21:7-15 (NIV)
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 he will not defile his offspring among his people. I am the LORD, who makes him holy.'”
On verses 7-15: These verses, in particular verses 7-9 as well as 13-15, show how much God cared about the kind of woman a priest decided to marry or even the kind of woman his daughter grew up to be. Verse 9 where it says that the daughter of a priest who later becomes a prostitute is to be burned in the fire is a hard one to digest. If anything, it shows that God has unrelenting wrath toward sin and toward the defamation of His holy name.
Despite the fact that a priest was not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a prostitute (v14), the rest of the Bible would show that God used in hugely significant ways women who were widows, prostitutes and women whose marriages fell apart. For example:
– Ruth was a widow, and yet God used her second marriage to Boaz to ultimately bring forth the Messiah Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).
– Rahab worked as a prostitute, and yet God used her to also to be ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).
– Tamar, while working as a prostitute, became pregnant and gave birth to Perez, who would also be ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:3).
– Bathsheba slept with King David and became pregnant even while she was married to Uriah. Had Uriah found out, Uriah could have divorced Bathsheba. Yet God used Bathsheba to give birth to King Solomon and would later become an ancestor of Jesus as well (Matthew 1:6).
What’s the lesson here? While God was strict with priests on whom they could marry, God Himself loves to involve people who come from imperfect pasts to advance His kingdom.
Leviticus 21:16-24 (NIV)
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 hunchbacked or dwarfed, 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 offerings made to the LORD by fire. 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.
On verses 16-24: Because God is holy and perfect, nothing impure or imperfect can come near Him. Anything or anyone with a defect is considered unworthy to be in God’s presence. That is why Leviticus repeatedly required that an animal without defect be sacrificed to the Lord.
Yet amazingly, when we read the gospels, we see Jesus the Son of God who approaches people with all sorts of defects, whether physical, emotional or character-wise. He approaches them and shows them grace that changes their lives, in some cases removing their defects altogether.
God does the same with us today. When we could not go to God because of our defects, God came to us. Instead of pushing us away from His presence, Jesus the perfect lamb of God without defect sacrificed Himself on the cross so that we, despite all our defects, could be brought near to God once again.
Thank You God for loving me, letting me into Your presence and using me to advance Your kingdom despite all my defects — all because of Your perfect Son Jesus. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
