Leviticus 21 “Personal Rules for Priests”

“You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.”
Leviticus 21:8 (ESV)

It is always tragic when a spiritual leader falls into sin. It feels like a betrayal of trust. Those who draw near to God and represent Him to others should keep themselves from sin…right? That is the essence of Leviticus 21. Remember that Leviticus is basically an instruction manual for the priests in how to serve Yahweh.

There were several ways a priest (who had been consecrated and anointed to serve) could defile himself. When someone close to you died, it was natural to mourn and even touch the dead body. But the priest had to regulate his response. He could only touch the body of a near relative (parent, son, daughter, brother or virgin sister). The high priest could not touch any dead body. Nor could he uncover his head or tear his clothes (common signs of mourning). He couldn’t even leave the sanctuary, for the anointing oil was upon him.

A priest was only to marry a virgin–not a harlot or woman divorced from her husband. He was to be holy to God and not profane (defile, desecrate) the name of Yahweh.

In addition, no priest with a physical defect could serve before the LORD. This may not seem fair to us, since such a person had no control over his defect. But God is holy and required unblemished sacrifices. Those who were offering these sacrifices also needed to be without blemish or defect. As a descendant of Aaron, he could still eat of the sacrifices that belonged to the priests, but he could not go into the tabernacle nor offer sacrifices at the altar.

Now we are no longer under the Old Covenant. Every believer in Jesus Christ is a priest to God (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). We have been set apart to serve the LORD, and we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). How much more should we watch ourselves lest we sin against the LORD and betray His people. None of us are without sin, but we should make every effort to be holy because He is holy. Thankfully, we live under grace where there is atonement for our sins through the precious blood of Jesus!

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
1 John 2:1 (NKJV)

Let us purpose in our hearts not to defile ourselves. If we do sin, then let us immediately confess our sin before God and seek His cleansing and forgiveness. There have been enough spiritual casualties. Let’s make sure we finish well!