The priests were not allowed to tear their garments (v. 10d). For a priest to tear his garments would be a sign that he was bankrupt in behavior. The priests’ not tearing their garments signifies that we should not make ourselves bankrupt in morality.
“Neither shall he go near any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother; neither shall he go out from the sanctuary and profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am Jehovah” (vv. 11-12). This signifies that when we bear the highest priesthood, having the closest fellowship with God, we should restrain our natural affection, not defiling ourselves even by our affection for our parents.
These verses indicate that the higher our priesthood is, the more requirements there are. The priests could take care of their father and mother in their death, but the high priest could not be defiled even by the death of his father or mother. He had to remain in the priesthood as the high priest because of the sanctuary and because of the anointing oil that was upon him. He had to remain separated and consecrated to God for His holy priesthood. When we bear the highest priesthood today, we also shall have to control our natural affection, not defiling ourselves even by our affection for our parents. Humanly speaking, this is not easy. However, we have a life that affords us the strength to live such a holy life.
Leviticus 21:7, 9,13-15 speak of purity in marriage, even concerning the high priest’s offspring. This signifies that we who bear the highest responsibility in God’s service should be pure in our closest human relationship, for ourselves and even for our offspring.
All the points we have covered in this section are regulations for the living of a life that befits our priesthood. According to the New Testament, we all are priests; we are not laymen. Since we are priests, we should live a life not only of the holy people but also of the holy priests. The people are somewhat ordinary, but the priests are altogether separated unto God, that is, sanctified, holy, to God.
The second section of chapter twenty-one (vv. 17-24) concerns the disqualifications from the priesthood. This section shows us what can cause us to be disqualified from the priesthood, to lose our qualifications as God’s priests.
The priest with a blemish, that is, some kind of defect, was not allowed to come near to offer the food of his God (vv. 17-21). This signifies that anyone among us who is deficient in Christ is not able to take care of Christ as food offered to God. As God’s priests, we daily take care of Christ, ministering Him to our God as His food for His satisfaction. But if we have a defect, we shall be disqualified from this priestly service. Therefore, we must be careful about defects.
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