Our Daily Scripture – 1/29/23

SCRIPTURE:  LEVITICUS 21

RULES FOR PRIESTS:  (vs. 1-24)

  1. A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him. (vs. 1-3)
  2. He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage. (v. 4)
  3. Priest must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies (v.5)
  4. They must not marry women who are prostitutes or divorcees (v. 7)
  5. A priest’s daughter who becomes a prostitute must be burned in the fire. (v. 9)
  6. The ordained high priest must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes. (v. 10)
  7. He must not enter a place where there is a dead body .  He must not make himself unclean, even for his father or mother. (v. 11)
  8. He must not leave the sanctuary of hi sGod or desecrate it. (v. 12)
  9. He must marry a virgin woman. (v. 13)
  10. He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman or a prostitute. (v. 14)

Descendants of Aaron who have defects are not allowed:

  1.  To come near to offer the food of God. (v. 16)
  2.  To come near to present the offerings made to the Lord by fire. (v. 21)
  3.  To go near the curtain or approach the altar. (v. 23)

THOUGHTS:

God gave spiritual leaders strict rules of not to defile themselves, not to profane God’s name, not to profane His sanctuary and His posterity.  He wants the priests to be faultless and physically perfect.   Today, God also wants His servants to be blameless.