Leviticus 21:1-4
Lev 21:1 And Yahveh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, no one will make his soul contaminated among his people,
Lev 21:2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother,
Lev 21:3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself contaminated).
Lev 21:4 He will not make himself contaminated as a husband among his people and so profane himself.
divine responsibility
The priesthood was so regulated that a priest could not even take time off to go to a friend’s funeral. He could only allow himself to become ceremonially contaminated by coming in contact with a corpse if it was that of a close relative. Why such a strict rule? Well, the priest was to live “as a husband among his people” (21:4). He had a responsibility to take care of the whole community. So, during his time assigned for work at the tabernacle, that was to be where he was and what he was doing.
LORD, give us a sense of divine responsibility, to match the call you have given us.
