LEVITICUS 50


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 21:1 "And 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:"

     In this chapter, we will see that the priests and high priest,
were not as other men. They were set aside for God's work. The
ministry had to come first above everything. The defilement, in this
Scripture, is a defilement that is only connected to the priesthood.
I say, one more time, this is not for the entire congregation, but for
the priesthood. The message is given to Moses by the LORD, and was to
be given to the priests by Moses. The defilement was handling a dead
body, or mourning for the dead.

     Leviticus 21:2 "But 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," Leviticus 21:3 "And for his sister a
virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may
he be defiled."

     We see, in this, an exception for very close members of the
family. The priests should not do this for servants or friends, but
was allowed to mourn for very close members of the family. In the case
of Aaron's two sons who brought strange fire into the temple, Aaron
was not allowed to mourn or even remove their bodies from the
tabernacle.  They had angered God, and God had justly killed them. In
most cases, however, when a close relative died, the priests could
mourn their death.

     Leviticus 21:4 "[But] he shall not defile himself, [being] a
chief man among his people, to profane himself." Leviticus 21:5 "They
shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off
the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh."

     We see, in this, that even though they were allowed to mourn,
they could not go to extreme with that mourning. They were leaders of
the community, and should set a good example. The shaving of the head
and the cutting of themselves was a more worldly practice, which
should not be indulged in by the priests or the high priest.
Christians should not go to the extreme grieving either. We are not
like the world. We have hope of the resurrection. With a Christian, it
is not a final parting, but a separation for a while.

     Leviticus 21:6 "They 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."

     We see, in the Scripture above, why they were not to do this.
They were to minister in the temple. During this time of their
ministering, they would be in close association with the things of the
temple. They must not touch holy things with unclean hands. We
covered, in a previous lesson, the length of time a person would be
unclean after touching a dead body. Ministering, then or now, is not
to be taken lightly.

     Leviticus 21:7 "They shall not take a wife [that is] a whore, or
profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband:
for he [is] holy unto his God."

     We can see from this that it is terribly important that a person
in the ministry, have a godly spouse. A married minister could not be
a very good example to their congregation, if their mate was a worldly
person. When a man takes a wife, they two become one flesh. To be one
with an unfaithful wife would not be speaking very highly of the
minister. Notice, also, that the person a priest or a minister marries
must not use profanity. What a person is, comes out of their mouth
when they speak. Priests, high priests, and ministers today must live
godly lives. They are to set an example for the people they are
leading.

     Leviticus 21:8 "Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he
offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the
LORD, which sanctify you, [am] holy."

     We have mentioned this so many times before, but, sanctify means
to set aside for God's purpose. The bread in the Scripture above was
the bread that was offered in the tabernacle. I see a message in this
for ministers of today. The true Bread is the Word of God. The person
bringing the Word of God to the people must be separated from the
world and its trappings. It is terribly important for the person
bringing the Word to be righteous {in right standing with God}. High
priests and priests then, and ministers now, are representing God to
the people. We should {as near as possible} be Christlike. Some people
will never be closer to knowing God, than the God you show them in
your life. Is Christ truly living in you? Are you truly in Christ?
Is the following Scripture true in your life?  Galatians 2:20 "I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

     Leviticus 21:9  "And the daughter of any priest, if she profane
herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be
burnt with fire."

     This is a terrible sin for anyone's child to do, but for the
daughter of a priest, it is even more terrible. Not only must the
priest, but his family as well, live godly lives. It is not enough to
stone her to death, but she must be burned up so that no memory of the
sin remaineth.

     Leviticus 21:10 "And [he that is] the high priest among his
brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is
consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor
rend his clothes;"  Leviticus 21:11 "Neither shall he go in to any
dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;"
Leviticus 21:12 "Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane
the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his
God [is] upon him: I [am] the LORD."

     We see in this verse of Scripture, an even further separation.
The high priest, when the anointing oil was upon him, was not to even
participate in mourning for even the close members of his family. Once
the high priest had begun his time of serving in the sanctuary, he was
not to leave for any reason, until that time was over. His separation
was even more exacting than the priests. Even for the funeral of his
father or mother, he was not allowed to leave the sanctuary, until he
had fulfilled his duties.

     Leviticus 21:13 "And he shall take a wife in her virginity."
Leviticus 21:14 "A 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."

     We see another separation here. The high priest must marry only
someone who was a virgin of his own people. The priests, however could
marry a widow or a stranger living in their land. We must remember
right here that the high priest is symbolic of Jesus {our High
Priest}. Jesus is coming back for a bride who is a chaste virgin. The
church {all believers} must be true to Jesus alone. The fact that the
church must be a virgin, is in the spirit. The church must have no
other gods. The priests represent the Christians. We must remember
also, that adultery can be in the physical realm, or in the spiritual
realm. Spiritual adultery, is when a person worships another god, who
is not the true God.

     Leviticus 21:15 "Neither shall he profane his seed among his
people: for I the LORD do sanctify him."

     We see from this that, much of what we are is passed on to our
children. It is important for the leaders not to even give the
appearance of evil. Children from ungodly relationships seldom have
much to be proud of.

     Leviticus 21:16  "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
Leviticus 21:17 "Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever [he be] of thy
seed in their generations that hath [any] blemish, let him not
approach to offer the bread of his God."  Leviticus 21:18 "For
whatsoever man [he be] that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a
blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing
superfluous," Leviticus 21:19 "Or a man that is brokenfooted, or
brokenhanded," Leviticus 21:20 "Or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that
hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his
stones broken;" Leviticus 21:21 "No man that hath a blemish of the
seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the
LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer
the bread of his God." Leviticus 21:22 "He shall eat the bread of his
God, [both] of the most holy, and of the holy."  Leviticus 21:23 "Only
he shall not go in unto the veil, nor come nigh unto the altar,
because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I
the LORD do sanctify them."

     We see in this that the high priest was a type of Christ. He was
to be without blemish of all types, because he shadowed Jesus {the
eternal High Priest. Jesus was holy and without blemish. The person
who was the only one allowed to go inside the veil, was the high
priest. It seems that the sons of Aaron, or any other high priest who
had a blemish of any kind in their body could not hold the office of
high priest. They could eat of the bread given to the high priest and
his family from the offerings. They could not represent Christ who was
without blemish. The perfect Lamb of God {Jesus Christ our Lord} is
foreshadowed here. Praise God, He was perfect in every way.

     Leviticus 21:24 "And Moses told [it] unto Aaron, and to his sons,
and unto all the children of Israel."

     To me, this just shows that Moses was an obedient servant of God.
Whatever God told him to do and say, he did. Moses did not alter one
word, but gave the message as accurately as possible.



































                             Questions 50

1.  Who was the message given to in verse one?
2.  The priests and high priest were not as other ___.
3.  What had to come first in their lives?
4.  What is this defilement in verse one?
5.  What members of the family were there exceptions made for?
6.  What sin had Aaron's two sons committed that displeased God?
7.  What happened to the first two sons of Aaron?
8.  Verse 4 tells us that the ______ ___ could not defile himself.
9.  What three things were specifically mentioned that they were not
    to do while mourning?
10. Why should Christians not go to extremes mourning?
11. In verse 6, why was the priest to remain holy?
12. They shall not take a wife that is a ______ or ________.
13. What is terribly important for the spouse of a minister to be?
14. What does sanctify mean?
15. What is the true Bread?
16. High priests and priests then, and ministers now, are representing
    whom?
17. Quote Galatians chapter 2 verse 20.
18. If the daughter of a priest is a whore, what shall be done to her?
19. What are several things mentioned in verse 10 that further state
    this is the high priest?
20. Whose requirements were even more exacting than the priest's?
21. The high priest must marry a woman who was a ______.
22. Could she be from another foreign tribe?
23. Who were the priests allowed to marry, that were forbidden to the
    high priest?
24. Who do the priests represent?
25. Who does the high priest represent?
26. What are the two kinds of adultery?
27. What were some of the blemishes specifically mentioned that a high
    priest could not have?
28. What was one thing priests could do that had these blemishes?
29. Where could a priest with these blemishes absolutely not go?
30. Who was this high priest a type of?
31. What does verse 24 tell us about Moses?