CHAPTER 21

(1490 B.C.)

HOLINESS

¹And 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:

²But 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,

³And for his sister a virgin, who is near unto him, which has had no husband; for her may he be defiled (it meant that the Priests were not to touch a dead body, with the exception of their close relatives; both physical and spiritual death are the result of sin, hence this prohibition).

⁴But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself (Chapters 21 and 22, with great detail, portray the Divine requirements in reference to those who are Priests unto God).

⁵They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh (the heathen did this whenever a loved one died, etc.).

⁶They 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 (in effect, they portrayed Christ and the Cross).

⁷They shall not take a wife who is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband (divorced): for he is holy unto his God.

⁸You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God: he shall be holy unto you: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.

⁹And the daughter of any Priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profanes her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

THE HIGH PRIEST

¹⁰And he who is the High Priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes (the instructions now shift from what we might refer to as ordinary Priests to the High Priest; even if a loved one died, he was not to alter his appearance at all);

¹¹Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;

¹²Neither shall he go out of the Sanctuary, nor profane the Sanctuary of his God (even if he hears of the death of a near relative, whatever duties he is performing in the Sanctuary must not be stopped); for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.

¹³And he shall take a wife in her virginity.

¹⁴A 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 (whereas it seems that an ordinary Priest could marry a widow, the High Priest could only marry a virgin).

¹⁵Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him (when the father who was High Priest died, his oldest son was to be the next High Priest; so they were to prepare from the time they were children; they were to live a sanctified life).

NO BLEMISH

¹⁶And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹⁷Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of your seed in their generations who has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God (that Holiness becomes Gods House forever is true in all periods of time; God demanded an unblemished Priest and an unblemished Sacrifice; such was Christ as Priest and Sacrifice).

¹⁸For whatsoever man he be who has a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or anything superfluous (exceeding what is sufficient or necessary),

¹⁹Or a man who is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,

²⁰Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or who has a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or has his stones (testicles) broken;

²¹No man who has a blemish of the seed of Aaron the Priest shall come near to offer the Offerings of the LORD made by fire: he has a blemish; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.

²²He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy (Sin Offering, Trespass Offering, and Meat Offering), and of the holy (Whole Burnt Offering and Peace Offering; the Law forbade a Priest who was physically imperfect to exercise his office; however, Grace furnished him his daily bread; in other words, if he was blemished in some way, he could still serve as a Priest, but could only attend certain duties).

²³Only he shall not go in unto the Veil, nor come near unto the Altar (he could not offer Sacrifices), because he has a blemish; that he profane not My Sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

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