Leviticus 21: A priest without any blemish
Begin in prayer
Before you read Leviticus 21, where God sets rules for the priests' mourning, marriage, and freedom from any defect, bow your heads. Ask the Lord to show us Jesus, our sinless and unblemished High Priest.
They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah 53:9
Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us why the priests who approached Your altar had to be holy, and lead us to trust in Jesus Christ, our sinless High Priest. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.
See where we're going
In Leviticus 21 the LORD gives laws for the priests, the sons of Aaron. Ordinary priests may not defile themselves for the dead except for their closest family, nor shave bald spots or cut their flesh. Because they offer the bread of their God, their marriages and households must be kept pure. The high priest, anointed with oil, may not uncover his head, tear his clothes, or touch any dead body, even his father or mother. Finally, no son of Aaron with a bodily defect may approach the veil or altar, though he may eat the holy bread.
As you read Leviticus 21, look for the answers:
- For which close relatives may an ordinary priest mourn, and why is the high priest not allowed to touch even his dead father or mother? (verses 2, 3, 11 and 12)
- Why does God say the priests must be holy in their conduct and marriage? (verses 6 to 8 and 15)
- What may a priest from Aaron's family who has a bodily defect still eat, and what may he not approach? (verses 21 to 23)
Reflect together
Key truth
God's altar required a holy and unblemished priest, pointing to Jesus our sinless High Priest.
Leviticus 21 moves from the holiness of the people to the holiness of the priests. Ordinary priests could mourn for their closest kin, yet they could not shave bald spots or cut their flesh (verses 1 to 5). Because they offered “the bread of their God,” they had to honor marriage (verses 6 to 8). A priest's daughter who played the prostitute profaned her father and had to be burned with fire (verse 9). Bearing the anointing oil, the high priest could not leave the sanctuary or touch the dead (verses 10 to 12). In verses 16 to 23, no son of Aaron with a defect could approach the altar, though he ate the holy bread (verse 22). A bodily defect was not a sin, nor does it bar anyone from serving Christ today. Rather, that ceremonial rule pictured our need for a High Priest without a single stain of sin, fulfilled in Jesus (Hebrews 7 verse 26).
How does Leviticus 21 show us that God's altar required a holy and unblemished priest, pointing to Jesus our sinless High Priest?
Priests must not copy pagan mourning rites, for they offer God's bread.
An ordinary priest could mourn for his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister (verses 2 and 3). Yet priests could not shave bald spots or “make any cuttings in their flesh” like the nations without hope (verse 5). Verse 6 gives the reason, “for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God.” Jesus wept at the grave, yet by His death He conquered death to give believers hope (Hebrews 2 verse 14).
The high priest bears the anointing oil and must keep his household pure.
A priest could not marry a prostitute or a divorced woman, and the high priest married a virgin (verses 7 and 14). Bearing “the crown of the anointing oil of his God,” the high priest could not touch the dead (verses 10 to 12). Repeatedly God declares the ground of their holiness, “for I am Yahweh who sanctifies him” (verses 8, 15 and 23).
A priest with a defect may eat holy bread, yet cannot approach the altar.
No son of Aaron with a defect could come near the veil or the altar to offer sacrifices (verses 17 to 23). Yet God cared for him in the priestly family, saying, “He shall eat the bread of his God” (verse 22). This shadow showed that no flawed sinner can mediate for himself, pointing to Jesus our spotless High Priest (Hebrews 7 verse 26).
Memorise
You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you; for I Yahweh, who sanctify you, am holy.
Leviticus 21:8
Looking to Jesus in my life
Ask yourself in your heart, am I trusting my own fitness, or coming to God through Jesus?
In Leviticus 21, the priests at God's altar had to be holy, and the high priest bore “the crown of the anointing oil of his God.” And in verse 21 God says, “No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near.”
Those outward defects were not sins, yet God used them as a picture of a deeper truth. In our hearts, every one of us is ruined by sin, and no sinner is fit to stand before God's holy altar alone. Even Aaron and his sons had sin in their hearts and died. That is why God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be our High Priest. As Hebrews 7 verse 26 says, Jesus is holy, guiltless, undefiled, and separated from sinners. On the cross, our unblemished High Priest offered Himself in His people's place to bear their guilt, and three days later He rose again. He offered Himself once for all, and He invites the poor, the blind, and the lame to His table.
Stop trusting your own fitness or outward appearance. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus today. Everyone who comes to God through Him is forgiven, welcomed, and made holy.
Parent's note
Tell your children that sin is the defect of our hearts, and only Jesus is the spotless High Priest for sinners. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.
Pray together
Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for giving us a sinless, undefiled High Priest in Jesus Christ, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.
For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Hebrews 7:26
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are holy and that You Yourself sanctify Your people. Forgive us for trusting our own outward appearance when our hearts are blemished by sin. Thank You for sending Jesus, our holy and undefiled High Priest, to offer Himself on the cross and rise again. Please forgive us and bring each of us near to You through faith in Jesus. Amen.