Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 20:22 - 21:15
Some congregants in Grace Church wanted Tom to be an elder because he was very generous, friendly, and approachable. They believed he would be excellent at creating a sense of family within the congregation. They argued that since his divorce happened many years ago, the standard should be “currently faithful in his marriage” instead of “husband of one wife”.
Other people wanted Harry to be an elder because he was a successful businessman and would be able to generate church growth. When it was pointed out that his business ethics were a little questionable, his supporters insisted that since Harry was generally respected, this was good enough. He did not need to be above reproach.
Just as the New Testament specifies the qualifications for being an elder, so too the Mosaic Law specified the standards for being a priest. The standards were not based on being fair or capitalizing on who had the most talent. Instead, the standards were based on being holy. That should be our mindset as we think about who should be an elder in the 21st century.
Near the beginning of the 20th chapter of Leviticus, Yahweh told the people of Israel to be holy. Then Yahweh listed a variety of acts the Israelites had to avoid. Most of the commands in this chapter prohibited forms of idolatry and various sexual acts.
Lev. 20:22 ¶ ‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to inhabit will not vomit you out.
Look at the word “vomit”. This word communicates the disgusting nature of disobedience.
Lev. 20:23 Moreover, you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I will cast out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them.
The word “loathed” also indicates Yahweh’s attitude toward disobedience.
Lev. 20:24 Hence I have said to you, “You yourselves shall possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Yahweh your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
Take note of the word “separated”. There are many verses in which Yahweh told Israel to be different and separate from the nations around them.
Lev. 20:25 You are therefore to separate between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean.
Part of being separate and different was distinguishing between the clean and the unclean.
Lev. 20:26 Thus you shall be holy to Me, for I Yahweh am holy; and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine.
Obeying Yahweh’s rules would have identified the Israelites as being followers of Yahweh.
Lev. 20:27 ¶ ‘Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.’”
Lev. 21:1 ¶ Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ¶ ‘No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people,
Don’t miss the word “priests”. The rules in the rest of today’s passage only applied to the priests.
Touching a dead person made an individual unclean. Even though dead bodies needed to be buried, and someone needed to do it, the priests were not allowed to engage in that activity. Verse 1 says they could not defile themselves.
Lev. 21:2 except for his blood relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother,
Lev. 21:3 also for his virgin sister, who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.
Take note of the word “except” in verse 2. Verses 2-3 list the times it was permissible for a priest to deal with a dead relative and make himself unclean.
Lev. 21:4 He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.
Lev. 21:5 They shall not make any baldness on their heads nor shave off the edges of their beards nor make any cuts in their flesh.
Lev. 21:6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they bring near the offerings to Yahweh by fire, the food of their God; so they shall be holy.
Don’t miss the significance of this verse. Since the priests were the ones who brought the offerings to Yahweh, they had to live by higher standards than the rest of the Israelites.
Lev. 21:7 They shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.
Lev. 21:8 Therefore, you shall set him apart as holy, for he brings near the food of your God; he shall be holy to you; for I Yahweh, who makes you holy, am holy.
Lev. 21:9 Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
Many people today may be revolted by this concept. When a daughter of a priest defiled herself, she also defiled her father. Modern society encourages the attitude that children should be free to express themselves in any way they desire. Modern society is attempting to eradicate any guilt and shame over behavior and lifestyle choices.
Lev. 21:10 ¶ ‘And the priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been ordained to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes;
Lev. 21:11 nor shall he approach any dead person nor defile himself even for his father or his mother;
The high priest had even higher standards than all the other priests. No matter how much a high priest loved his parents, he was not permitted to defile himself when his parents died. Even approaching their dead body would have defiled him.
Lev. 21:12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am Yahweh.
Notice the word “anointing”. The priesthood was hereditary. Therefore, when a high priest died, his son was immediately ordained as his successor. That meant the son, who was now in the process of being ordained, could not approach the dead body of his father because that would defile him.
Lev. 21:13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity.
Lev. 21:14 A widow or a divorced woman or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he shall take a virgin of his own people as a wife,
The high priest was required to marry a virgin. Take note of the word “widow”. Overall, it was permissible for Israelites to marry widows. However, the high priest was not allowed to marry a widow. This reinforced the concept that the high priest had to live by the highest standards.
Lev. 21:15 so that he will not profane his seed among his people; for I am Yahweh who makes him holy.’”
God has always allowed widows to marry again, and it has always been permissible for men to marry widows. However, Israel’s high priest was not allowed to marry a widow because he had to live by a higher standard, even when the standards seemed to be unfair.
The same is true of church elders. The New Testament specifies very high standards for being an elder. Sometimes this excludes men who would otherwise be good leaders. However, God’s main concern in selecting elders is not finding men with the most leadership talent. Instead, his concern is choosing good, effective leaders who meet the highest ethical standards.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”