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At first reading, most everything in this chapter would seem
to fly in the face of ministry today. A
priest would not be allowed to enter a home where someone had died, couldn’t
mourn, couldn’t marry a woman who’d sinned sexually or who’d been married
before.
The high priest was forbidden from touching even his child,
parents or siblings who’d just died. He
couldn’t even leave the Holy Place. And
any man with anything less than physical perfection could not present offerings
at the altar.
All of this doesn’t seem to fit with Jesus’ ministry to the
lame, blind, and deaf, and His compassion for those hurting from loss or
ashamed of their sin.
My commentary helped explain it. God’s requirements for priesthood were
necessary because “the sacrifices
that the people brought to the Lord had
to be perfect; it was only right
that those who offered the
sacrifices at the altar also be without
defect. Second, the priest exemplified
that great High Priest who was to come, and there is no defect in Him.”
My commentary entitled this chapter and the next, “The Cost of Spiritual Leadership.” “Apart
from the ministry of the priests,” it said, “Israel had no way to approach God … In their personal
conduct, physical characteristics, and professional concerns, they had to meet God’s approval. There’s a price to pay if you want to be a
spiritual leader.”
Father, thank You for showing me the importance of
maintaining a lifestyle that honors You, and I don’t want, through any of my
actions, to dishonor Your Name.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
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