1And 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: 2But 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, 3And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. 4But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. 5They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. 6They 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. 7They 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. 8Thou 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.
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.
10And 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; 11Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; 12Neither 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. 13And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14A 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. 15Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.
16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17Speak 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. 18For 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, 19Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, 20Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; 21No 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. 22He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. 24And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.
20Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. 21Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. 22Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before. 23And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
22Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
1) Why must those who minister before יהוה live differently?
2) How does priestly holiness reflect יהוה’s own nature?
3) What priestly calling do believers now bear?
1Furthermore Elihu answered and said, 2Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge. 3For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meat. 4Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good. 5For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment. 6Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression. 7What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? 8Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men. 9For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.
10Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. 11For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. 12Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. 13Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world? 14If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; 15All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
16If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words. 17Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just? 18Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly? 19How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands. 20In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. 21For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. 22There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 23For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God. 24He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead. 25Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. 26He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others; 27Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways: 28So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. 29When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only: 30That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.
31Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: 32That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. 33Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest. 34Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken unto me. 35Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom. 36My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end because of his answers for wicked men. 37For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.
1Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: 2And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about. 3Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. 4Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. 7Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. 8And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. 10And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. 11Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. 12And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. 13And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. 14Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. 15Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. 16Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: 17That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.