What is the meaning of Leviticus 21:7? A priest The verse begins by focusing on “a priest,” the man set apart from the rest of Israel to stand in God’s presence and represent the people. • Exodus 28:1 shows God selecting Aaron and his sons for this privileged role. • Leviticus 8 narrates their consecration, underscoring that every detail of a priest’s life is God-directed. • By extension, 1 Peter 2:9 reminds believers today that we, too, are called a “royal priesthood,” so the principles of holiness still speak to us, even though the specific regulations were for the Levitical priesthood. Must not marry Marriage itself is not discouraged; Genesis 2:24 highlights it as God’s good design. What God is doing here is limiting whom the priest may marry, because his union reflects God’s own covenant faithfulness. • Malachi 2:7 links the priestly office to teaching truth; his marriage had to reinforce, not undermine, that message. • A priest’s household was expected to model fidelity so that Israel would see a living picture of God’s steadfast love. A woman defiled by prostitution The phrase points to someone whose lifestyle openly contradicted God’s moral law. • Deuteronomy 23:17-18 forbids prostitution among the covenant people, stressing that it profanes what is holy. • 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 applies the same principle to the body as God’s temple. If a priest had married such a woman, the contrast between his sacred office and her public past would have sent a confusing signal about God’s holiness and grace. Or divorced by her husband Divorce shattered the covenant ideal of marriage. For priests, marrying a divorced woman was prohibited, even though she may not have been personally at fault. • Deuteronomy 24:1-4 treats remarriage to a divorced spouse as a defilement. • Malachi 2:16 declares that God hates divorce because it “covers one’s garment with violence.” • Jesus reaffirms the seriousness of divorce in Matthew 5:31-32, pointing back to God’s original, lifelong intent for marriage. By restricting priests, God underscored that broken covenants are inconsistent with the priestly picture of His own unbreakable covenant with His people. For the priest is holy to his God Here is the reason behind the restriction: holiness. • Leviticus 19:2—“You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” • Hebrews 7:26 describes the ultimate High Priest, Jesus, as “holy, innocent, undefiled.” The priest’s marriage had to mirror the purity and faithfulness of the God he served. Anything less would blur the distinction between the sacred and the common. summary Leviticus 21:7 teaches that because priests embodied God’s presence among Israel, their marriages had to reflect His purity and covenant faithfulness. They were forbidden to marry women whose pasts involved prostitution or divorce, not to demean those women but to guard the holiness of an office meant to point the nation to a holy, faithful God. While the ceremonial regulations no longer bind believers, the principle remains: those who represent the Lord should pursue relationships that honor His character and reinforce, rather than confuse, the message of His unchanging holiness and grace. |
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