L
E V I T I C U S
CHAP. XXI.
This
chapter might borrow its title from Mal. ii. 1, "And now, O you priests,
this commandment is for you." It is a law obliging priests with the
utmost care and jealousy to preserve the dignity of their priesthood. I. The
inferior priests are here charged both concerning their mourning and
concerning their marriages and their children, ver. 1-9. II. The high priest
is restrained more than any of them, ver. 10-15. III. Neither the one nor the
other must have any blemish, ver. 16, &c.
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Laws
Concerning the Priests.
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B.
C. 1490.
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1 And the LORD
said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them,
There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: 2 But
for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for
his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother,
3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no
husband; for her may he be defiled. 4 But he shall not
defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane
himself. 5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither
shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their
flesh. 6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the
name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD
made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they
shall be holy. 7 They shall not take a wife that is a
whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband:
for he is holy unto his God. 8 Thou shalt sanctify him
therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee:
for I the LORD,
which sanctify you, am holy. 9 And the daughter of any
priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father:
she shall be burnt with fire.
It was before appointed that the priests should teach the people the statutes
God had given concerning the difference between clean and unclean, ch.
x. 10, 11. Now here it is provided that they should themselves observe what
they were to teach the people. Note, Those whose office it is to instruct must
do it by example as well as precept, 1 Tim. iv. 12. The priests were to draw
nearer to God than any of the people, and to be more intimately conversant
with sacred things, and therefore it was required of them that they should
keep at a greater distance than others from every thing that was defiling and
might diminish the honour of their priesthood.
I. They must take care not to disparage themselves in their mourning for the
dead. All that mourned for the dead were supposed to come near the body, if
not to touch it: and the Jews say, "It made a man ceremonially unclean to
come within six feet of a dead corpse;" nay, it is declared (Num. xix.
14) that all who come into the tent where the dead body lies shall be unclean
seven days. Therefore all the mourners that attended the funeral could not but
defile themselves, so as not to be fit to come into the sanctuary for seven
days: for this reason it is ordered, 1. That the priests should never put
themselves under this incapacity of coming into the sanctuary, unless it were
for one of their nearest relations, v. 1-3. A priest was permitted to
do it for a parent or a child, for a brother or an unmarried sister, and
therefore, no doubt (though this is not mentioned) for the wife of his bosom;
for Ezekiel, a priest, would have mourned for his wife if he had not been
particularly prohibited, Ezek. xxiv. 17. By this allowance God put an honour
upon natural affection, and favoured it so far as to dispense with the
attendance of his servants for seven days, while they indulged themselves in
their sorrow for the death of their dear relations; but, beyond this period,
weeping must not hinder sowing, nor their affection to their relations take
them off from the service of the sanctuary. Nor was it at all allowed for the
death of any other, no, not of a chief man among the people, as some
read it, v. 4. They must not defile themselves, no, nor for the high
priest himself, unless thus akin to them. Though there is a friend that is
nearer than a brother, yet the priests must not pay this respect to the
best friend they had, except he were a relation, lest, if it were allowed for
one, others should expect it, and so they should be frequently taken off from
their work: and it is hereby intimated that there is a particular affection to
be reserved for those that are thus near akin to us; and, when any such are
removed by death, we ought to be affected with it, and lay it to heart, as the
near approach of death to ourselves, and an alarm to us to prepare to follow.
2. That they must not be extravagant in the expressions of their mourning, no,
not for their dearest relations, v. 5. Their mourning must not be
either, (1.) Superstitious, according to the manner of the heathen, who cut
off their hair, and let out their blood, in honour of the imaginary deities
which presided (as they thought) in the congregation of the dead, that they
might engage them to be propitious to their departed friends. Even the
superstitious rites used of old at funerals are an indication of the ancient
belief of the immortality of the soul, and its existence in a separate state:
and though the rites themselves were forbidden by the divine law, because they
were performed to false gods, yet the decent respect which nature teaches and
which the law allows to be paid to the remains of our deceased friends, shows
that we are not to look upon them as lost. Nor, (2.) Must it be passionate or
immoderate. Note, God's ministers must be examples to others of patience under
affliction, particularly that which touches in a very tender part, the death
of their near relations. They are supposed to know more than others of the
reasons why we must not sorrow as those that have no hope (1 Thess. iv.
13), and therefore they ought to be eminently calm and composed, that they may
be able to comfort others with the same comforts wherewith they are themselves
comforted of God. The people were forbidden to mourn for the dead with
superstitious rites (ch. xix. 27, 28), and what was unlawful to them
was much more unlawful to the priest. The reason given for their peculiar care
not to defile themselves we have (v. 6): Because they offered the
bread of their God, even the offerings of the Lord made by fire,
which were the provisions of God's house and table. They are highly honoured,
and therefore must not stain their honour by making themselves slaves to their
passions; they are continually employed in sacred service, and therefore must
not be either diverted from or disfitted for the services they were called to.
If they pollute themselves, they profane the name of their God on whom they
attend: if the servants are rude and of ill behaviour, it is a reflection upon
the master, as if he kept a loose and disorderly house. Note, All that either
offer or eat the bread of our God must be holy in all manner of conversation,
or else they profane that name which they pretend to sanctify.
II. They must take care not to degrade themselves in their marriage, v.
7. A priest must not marry a woman of ill fame, that either had been guilty or
was suspected to have been guilty of uncleanness. He must not only not marry a
harlot, though ever so great a penitent for her former whoredoms, but he must
not marry one that was profane, that is, of a light carriage or indecent
behaviour. Nay, he must not marry one that was divorced, because there was
reason to think it was for some fault she was divorced. The priests were
forbidden to undervalue themselves by such marriages as these, which were
allowed to others, 1. Lest it should bring a present reproach upon their
ministry, harden the profane in their profaneness, and grieve the hearts of
serious people: the New Testament gives laws to ministers' wives (1 Tim. iii.
11), that they be grave and sober, that the ministry be not blamed.
2. Lest it should entail a reproach upon their families; for the work and
honour of the priesthood were to descend as an inheritance to their children
after them. Those do not consult the good of their posterity as they ought who
do not take care to marry such as are of good report and character. He that
would seek a godly seed (as the expression is, Mal. ii. 15) must first
seek a godly wife, and take heed of a corruption of blood. It is added here (v.
8), Thou shalt sanctify him, and he shall be holy unto thee.
"Not only thou, O Moses, by taking care that these laws be observed, but
thou, O Israel, by all endeavours possible to keep up the reputation of the
priesthood, which the priests themselves must do nothing to expose or forfeit.
He is holy to his God (v. 7), therefore he shall be holy unto
thee." Note, We must honour those whom our God puts honour upon.
Gospel ministers by this rule are to be esteemed very highly in love for
their works' sake (1 Thess. v. 13), and every Christian must look upon
himself as concerned to be the guardian of their honour.
III. Their children must be afraid of doing any thing to disparage them (v.
9): If the daughter of any priest play the whore, her crime is great;
she not only polluteth but profaneth herself: other women have not that
honour to lose that she has, who, as one of a priest's family, has eaten of
the holy things, and is supposed to have been better educated than others.
Nay, she profaneth her father; he is reflected upon, and every body
will be ready to ask, "Why did not he teach her better?" And the
sinners in Zion will insult and say, "Here is your priest's
daughter." Her punishment there must be peculiar: She shall be burnt
with fire, for a terror to all priests' daughters. Note, The children of
ministers ought, of all others, to take heed of doing any thing that is
scandalous, because in them it is doubly scandalous, and will be punished
accordingly by him whose name is Jealous.
10 And he that is
the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was
poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his
head, nor rend his clothes; 11 Neither shall he go in to any dead
body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; 12
Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his
God; for the crown 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 profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but
he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. 15 Neither shall
he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD
do sanctify him.
More was expected from a priest than from other people, but more from the high
priest than from other priests, because upon his head the anointing oil was
poured, and he was consecrated to put on the garments (v.
10), both which were typical of the anointing and adorning of the Lord Jesus,
with all the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, which he received without
measure. It is called the crown of the anointing oil of his God (v.
12); for the anointing of the Spirit is, to all that have it, a crown of
glory, and a diadem of beauty. The high priest being thus
dignified,
I. He must not defile himself at all for the dead, no, nor for his nearest
relations, his father or his mother, much less his child or brother, v.
11. 1. He must not use the common expressions of sorrow on those occasions,
such as uncovering his head, and rending his clothes (v. 10), so
perfectly unconcerned must he show himself in all the crosses and comforts of
this life: even his natural affection must be swallowed up in compassion to
the ignorant, and a feeling of their infirmities, and a tender concern for the
household of God, which he was made the ruler of. Thus being the holy one that
was entrusted with the thummim and the urim he must not know father
or mother, Deut. xxxiii. 8, 9. 2. He must not go in to any dead body,
v. 11. If any of the inferior priests were under a ceremonial
pollution, there were other priests that might supply their places; but, if
the high priest were defiled, there would be a greater want of him. And the
forbidding of him to go to any house of mourning, or attend any funeral, would
be an indication to the people of the greatness of that dignity to which he
was advanced. Our Lord Jesus, the great high priest of our profession, touched
the dead body of Jairus's daughter, the bier of the widow's son, and the grave
of Lazarus, to show that he came to altar the property of death, and to take
off the terror of it, by breaking the power of it. Now that it cannot destroy
it does not defile. 3. He must not go out of the sanctuary (v.
12); that is, whenever he was attending or officiating in the sanctuary, where
usually he tarried in his own apartment all day, he must not go out upon any
occasion whatsoever, nor cut short his attendance on the living God, no, not
to pay his last respects to a dying relation. It was a profanation of the
sanctuary to leave it, while his presence was requisite there, upon any such
occasion; for thereby he preferred some other business before the service of
God and the business of his profession, to which he ought to make every thing
else give place. Thus our Lord Jesus would not leave off preaching to speak
with his mother and brethren, Matt. xii. 48.
II. He might not marry a widow (as other priests might), much less one
divorced, or a harlot, v. 13, 14. The reason of this was to put a
difference between him and other priests in this matter; and (as some suggest)
that he might be a type of Christ, to whom the church was to be presented a chaste
virgin, 2 Cor. xi. 2. See Ezek. xliv. 22. Christ must have our first love,
our pure love, our entire love; thus the virgins love thee (Cant. i.
3), and such only are fit to follow the Lamb, Rev. xiv. 4.
III. He might not profane his seed among his people, v. 15. Some
understand it as forbidding him to marry any of an inferior rank, which would
be a disparagement to his family. Jehoiada indeed married of his own tribe,
but then it was into the royal family, 2 Chron. xxii. 11. This was not to
teach him to be proud, but to teach him to be pure, and to do nothing
unbecoming his office and the worthy name by which he was called. Or it may be
a caution to him in disposing of his children; he must not profane his seed by
marrying them unsuitably. Ministers' children are profaned if they be
unequally yoked with unbelievers.
16 And the LORD
spake unto Moses, saying, 17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he
be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him
not approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For whatsoever man he
be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or
he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, 19 Or a man
that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, 20 Or crookbackt, or a
dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath
his stones broken; 21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of
Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD
made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of
his God. 22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the
most holy, and of the holy. 23 Only he shall not go in unto the
vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane
not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD
do sanctify them. 24 And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to
his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
The priesthood being confined to one particular family, and entailed upon all
the male issue of that family throughout their generations, it was very likely
that some or other in after-ages that were born to the priesthood would have
natural blemishes and deformities: the honour of the priesthood would not
secure them from any of those calamities which are common to men. Divers
blemishes are here specified; some that were ordinarily for life, as
blindness; others that might be for a time, as a scurf or scab, and, when they
were gone, the disability ceased. Now,
I. The law concerning priests that had blemishes was, 1. That they might live
upon the altar (v. 22): He shall eat of the sacrifices with
the other priests, even the most holy things, such as the show-bread
and the sin-offerings, as well as the holy things, such as the tithes
and first-fruits, and the priests' share of the peace-offerings. The blemishes
were such as they could not help, and therefore, though they might not work,
they must not starve. Note, None must be abused for their natural infirmities.
Even the deformed child in the family must have its child's part. 2. Yet they
must not serve at the altar, at either of the altars, nor be admitted
to attend or assist the other priests in offering sacrifice or burning
incense, v. 17, 21, 23. Great men choose to have such servants about
them as are sightly, and it was fit that the great God should have such in his
house then, when he was pleased to manifest his glory in external indications
of it. But it was especially requisite that comely men should be chosen to
minister about holy things, for the sake of the people, who were apt to judge
according to outward appearance, and to think meanly of the service, how
honourable soever it was made by the divine institution, of those that
performed it looked despicably or went about it awkwardly. This provision God
made for the preserving of the reputation of his altar, that it might not at
any time fall under contempt. It was for the credit of the sanctuary that none
should appear there who were any way disfigured, either by nature or accident.
II. Under the gospel, 1. Those that labour under any such blemishes as these
have reason to thank God that they are not thereby excluded from offering
spiritual sacrifices to God; nor, if otherwise qualified for it, from the
office of the ministry. There is many a healthful beautiful soul lodged in a
crazy deformed body. Yet, 2. We ought to infer hence how incapable those are
to serve God acceptably whose minds are blemished and deformed by any reigning
vice. Those are unworthy to be called Christians, and unfit to be employed as
ministers, that are spiritually blind, and lame, and crooked, whose sins
render them scandalous and deformed, so as that the offerings of the Lord are
abhorred for their sakes. The deformities of Hophni and Phinehas were worse
than any of the blemishes here mentioned. Let such therefore as are openly
vicious be put out of the priesthood as polluted persons; and let all that are
made to our God spiritual priests be before him holy and without blemish,
and comfort themselves with this, that, though in this imperfect state they
have spots that are the spots of God's children, yet they shall shortly appear
before the throne of God without spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing.
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