We see in Leviticus 20 that which we have already covered in our study of Leviticus 18. These are the penalties for various sins, and having been already discussed, we will move on to Leviticus 21.
In this chapter, God outlines the conduct He expects out of those who minister on the people’s behalf. Needless to say, he expects His priests to live in righteousness and holiness, contrary to the growing wave of hip/cool/relevant “pastors” we see today—those who claim that in order to reach people today, a pastor has to be edgy and raw and “in your face” and they have to promote this “Ultimate Fighter Jesus” in order to get their point across. There is this sense, in some “churches” today, that God has thrown away any expectations that His shepherds walk, talk and act like people of God. They think, “Hey, it’s the cross—you can't say anything; it’s all grace!” But God expects a little more—OK, a LOT MORE—out of those who minister to His people. In 1st Timothy and in Titus, we see entire chapters devoted to what kind of man God wants as overseers in His church. In 1st Timothy 3:2-7—2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous…6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Not only must a pastor be respected by those within the church—he must be respected by those outside the church. And in that respect, Mark Driscoll falls woefully short. John MacArthur recounts this episode from a pastor’s life:
“I enjoyed reading the account of a former pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City by the name of Dr. Maltby Babcock some years ago. And he says that he was approached by a physician, a medical doctor in his church, and he was concerned about the fact that his pastor seemed to be working very hard and he said, ‘You need a night off and I have here two tickets to the theater,’ Broadway theater in New York. He said, ‘Take them, you need the recreation of going to this theater.’
The pastor looked at them and he could see by the title of the play that it was not something he could conscientiously attend so he said to him, ‘Thank you, sir, very kindly but I cannot go.’ And the doctor said, ‘Why not?’ To which he replied, ‘Dr., it's this way, you're a physician, a surgeon, in fact, when you operate you scrub your hands meticulously until you're always clean. You wouldn't dare operate with dirty hands.’ To which the doctor nodded. ‘Well I'm a servant of Christ,’ he said, ‘I deal with precious human souls and I wouldn't dare to do my service with a dirty life.’ The power of a pure life to set an example that influences for godliness is wrapped up in moral character.”
This desire of God to have godly men shepherd His people is rooted in this list of qualifications that starts in Leviticus 21:1-4—1 And the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘None shall defile himself for the dead among his people, 2 except for his relatives who are nearest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; 3 also his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband, for her he may defile himself. 4 Otherwise he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.’” If you were a priest, you were not allowed to touch a dead body, except that of your near relative. Just as touching the carcass of an unclean animal would defile and profane the common man, so touching the corpse of one who was not a near relative would defile and profane a priest. And isn't this a lesson for us? That our pastors should be men who seek godliness, not bringing the vile and wretched works of Satan into a fellowship that is supposed to be glorifying God? And yet we find, one after another, the men who think themselves qualified to shepherd the church of God, bringing in loathsome entertainment to keep their “flock” happy. And, by so doing, encouraging those who sit under them to think, “Well, if Perry Noble thinks it’s OK to play AC/DC in church, then it must be OK for me to listen to them myself! And if I can listen to their music, then I can certainly adopt their satanic lifestyle as well.” And for that handful who does come to know Christ in spite of such things practiced by the Driscolls and Furticks of the world, how many more revert to their old lifestyle, seeing as how said lifestyle has been approved by the one they call “pastor”?
Leviticus 21:5-9—“‘5 They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God. 8 Therefore you shall consecrate him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. 9 The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.’” A priest—a mediator between man and God—should look like a man of God. Now, does this mean that if he wears a polo shirt instead of a three-piece suit, that he is disqualified from preaching? No. But when you walk into a church, you should be able to tell, right away, that you are walking into a church. So many of these trendy, raw, cutting edge “churches” that are led by hip/cool/relevant “pastors”—you wouldn’t even know you're walking into a church. And the proponents of these enclaves say “Well, what’s wrong with that?” They actually embrace the fact that their church does not look like a church. Again, does a church need to be enclosed in stained-glass windows in order to be a church? No. But shouldn’t one be able to tell that this is a place where God is preached? Where sin is preached against, and where the name of Jesus is magnified? But, alas, these places look like nothing more than yet another downtown pub or coffee shop. All the while, their supporters clamoring “But they're leading 10,000 people to Christ every week!”
Not only should a pastor look like a man of God, so should his children. The wife and the children of a preacher should reflect an upbringing that is centered on God’s glory. Just as the wife of an old covenant priest was not to be a harlot or and adulteress or even a widow, so the children of that priest were not to be rebellious and promiscuous with their bodies. If they did, they were to be put to death and their body burned into ashes. In that passage from 1st Timothy we read a moment ago, we find these verses sandwiched in between the ones listed. 1st Timothy 3:4-5—4 …one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?). Now, does this mean that if a faithful pastor, who has been a true shepherd of the house of God, should one day see his children turn away from the faith and walk in rebellion and hardness of heart that he should resign his bishopric? No. If he has done his part in teaching his children in the ways of the Lord, and when they reach adulthood they go their own way, then he has done his job. So long as they were under his roof, under his dominion, it is his responsibility to assure that they are to be grave and reverent. If, once they are out from under his rule, they stray from the faith, they have made their decision; his conscience is clean, if indeed he has taught them well while they were under his roof.
They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God. This may prompt someone to ask about Hosea, who was commanded to takes as his wife a woman named Gomer, a “wife of harlotry” (Hosea 1:2). You may ask why God commanded this prophet to take a wife of harlotry but He commanded the priests to not do so. Well, prophets and priests are two separate and exclusive offices. Yes, God gives commands for priests, but you do not see any commands about prophets. Why? It’s because God would command prophets to do things that may seem odd to you or me, only because when God commanded these prophets to do these things, it was to signify something God was warning the people about. Like Isaiah for example. God told him to walk naked through the land as a sign of something God was going to do. Isaiah 20:2-4—2 at the same time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 Then the LORD said, "Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. Some may look at these verses and think that God would be a pervert for commanding this, but He had His reasons. And it was not to arouse lust in the people’s eyes, but to warn them that Sargon, king of Assyria, would put to shame the Egyptians by parading all their people as captives, naked and barefoot.
Likewise, God commanded Hosea to take an unfaithful wife to bear him children whom God would command the prophet to give names which would tell the people about God’s attitude toward them. Hosea 1:3-9—3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the LORD said to him: "Call his name Jezreel, for in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 It shall come to pass in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel." 6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: "Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away. 7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword or battle, by horses or horsemen." 8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be your God.” See the progression of the significance of the names?
· Jezreel (וְיִזְרְעֶאל, “God sows”): “On account of the blood-guiltiness of Jezreel, i.e., because Israel had there contracted such blood-guiltiness as was now speedily to be avenged upon the house of Jehu” (Keil and Delitzsch).
· Lo-Ruhamah (לֹא רֻחָמָה, “no mercy”): “The child receives this name to indicate that the Lord will not continue to show compassion towards the rebellious nation, as He hitherto has done, even under Jeroboam II” (Keil and Delitzsch).
· Lo-Ammi (לֹא עַמִּי, “not My people”): “As soon as the Lord ceases to compassionate the rebellious tribes, the state of rejection ensues, so that they are no longer ‘my people’” (Keil and Delitzsch).
This is why God told Hosea to marry a wife of harlotry, to show to the people that they had broken covenant with Him, that He would no longer have mercy on them, and they would no longer be His people. So you see why God does not lay out commands for His prophets is because He may command them to do something that would go against those rules.
Leviticus 21:10—“‘10 He who is the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured and who is consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes.’” What did the high priest do when Jesus answered that He was indeed the Son of God? Matthew 26:63-65—63 And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" 64 Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes… This man, who was so vehement about upholding the Law of God, violated that very Law with this act. This man, who was (outwardly) expressing such grief over Christ’s (perceived) “blasphemy” has himself abrogated the very command of God.
Leviticus 21:11-24—“‘11 Nor shall he go near any dead body, nor defile himself for his father or his mother; 12 nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.’” Once the priest was anointed, he was to remain within the sanctuary. “‘13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman or a harlot—these he shall not marry; but he shall take a virgin of his own people as wife. 15 Nor shall he profane his posterity among his people, for I the LORD sanctify him.’” 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 "Speak to Aaron, saying: 'No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.'" 24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
Just as the sacrifices they would present to YHVH had to be free of defects, so did those who offered them. In other words, not only did the priest have to be fit spiritually, he had to be fit physically. Their body had to be fit; they had to marry a fit wife; their children had to be well-behaved. Basically, every part of the priest’s life had to be in order. He had to be…perfect. How many perfect priests do you think ever served in the tabernacle? Not many, but they were about as close as they could get. That was the old covenant. Now, under the new covenant, is a man required to by absolutely perfect in every way? We have seen the requirements laid out in 1st Timothy and in Titus. And we know that a man must be spiritually fit to shepherd God’s people. But what about his physical condition?
Didn’t Paul say of himself that Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge (2nd Corinthians 11:6)? That he determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and that though he was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling, and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom that, nonetheless, his preaching was in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1st Corinthians 2:2-5)? In fact, that was one accusation that Paul’s detractors leveled against him. 2nd Corinthians 10:7-11—7 Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ's, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ's, even so we are Christ's. 8 For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed—9 lest I seem to terrify you by letters. 10 "For his letters," they say, "are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible." 11 Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present. The charge against Paul was this: he didn’t “look the part.” Today, the hip/cool/relevant crowd would accuse him of the same thing. They would say he needed to wear more hair gel, or wear more Ed Hardy or Affliction shirts or something. They would say this, instead of listening and understanding the power of his words and his life, his example of Christ. And isn't that what many want today? Someone who “looks” the part? Someone who “sounds” the part? Someone who will keep their attention; someone who is a gifted orator, who can persuade them with his words to believe what he is saying? They may not learn a whole lot; they may not grow in knowledge (2nd Peter 3:18); but boy, they can sure be entertained!
And by being entertained and by having our ears tickled, the word and the power of the Scriptures goes right past us. We can sure look godly—we can even brag about how, at our church, ten thousand people are being saved every week—but all those are demonstrations of godliness which denies the power thereof (2nd Timothy 3:5). Phil Johnson wrote the following at Pyromaniacs:
“Evangelicals have been obsessing for at least four decades about ‘relevance.’ But that word as used in evangelical circles has become practically synonymous with novelty and fashionableness. It has little to do with actual relevance. Of course, the church's only true relevance lies in her role as a community where God's Word is proclaimed, where the whole counsel of God is taught, and from which the gospel is taken into the world. But when a church nowadays advertises itself as ‘relevant,’ we know exactly what is meant—and let's be honest: it isn't about anything Paul told Timothy to do; it's about being ‘innovative.’”
So then, does this mean that a man of God should not look like a man of God? Should he not present himself in a respectable manner, not only in his walk but also in his dress? Why, of course a man should look presentable when he delivers a word from God. But his clothing and his appearance should not be to draw the attention to himself, nor be a source of stumbling for those who listen. Is there, then, some kind of “dress code” for preachers? Are there types of clothing that a preacher is required, by Scripture, to wear? “Thou shalt only wear three-piece suits, the dress of your fathers, when thou preacheth My word!” Is there a sort of “fashion police” for us evangelicals who desire a man to look presentable when handling the word of God? “If any man weareth anything save a polo shirt, thou shalt tosseth him on his keester! Forsooth!” The answer to all these questions is a qualified “No.” But one word to keep in mind, when discussing and dialoging about this topic, is ‘modesty’. If the way the man dresses is taking the spotlight off of God and putting it on the man, then he needs to consider a change. If people are praising him more for his fancy clothes than for bringing glory to God, then maybe he should tone it down. If a man is receiving rebuke for dressing like a slob, then maybe he should change something. And even more important word than the one we used before (‘modesty’) is the word ‘holy’. When a man feels led to preach the word, he is saying that he has been called to a holy office. And men who preach the word of God are called to be holy (as are all saints, 1st Peter 1:16). But the man who leads them should be a standard, a type, for those who follow. Philippians 3:17—Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. If the pattern is laziness and apathy in the leader, then what will be the pattern for the follower?
Lord, let us always be submissive to Your commands, so that we may always walk n Your ways and never be ashamed to speak Your name. May our shepherds be fit for the office, may their families realize how blessed they are to have a husband and father who has been called to such a service. And may we always be attentive to what they are preaching. In Jesus' name.
