Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Leviticus 21:16-24
No Blemished Person May Be A Fully Officiating Priest (Leviticus 21:16).
The reason for this requirement is to bring out that only what is ‘perfect' may directly enter the sanctuary of Yahweh, or serve in it, demonstrating the perfection of the sanctuary. The relationship to God of the blemished priests is not affected, only the particular service for God in the sanctuary. The centre of the circle of holiness must be seen to be supremely ‘holy', a place of total perfection, in order to bring out visually that Yahweh is ‘perfect'.
We must recognise here that what was physically so, what could be seen, was considered in those days to be extremely important. They had no solely spiritual conception of things. Thus what God was, was seen as depicted by what surrounded Him, and that had therefore to be ‘perfect' (as perfect as possible) in order to demonstrate His perfection.
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,'
God continually speaks to Moses. In spite of Aaron's supreme position he was not God's spokesman. That privilege rested with Moses. And when there was a word for Aaron and his sons it came through Moses, except for the special admonition in Leviticus 10:8. This careful usage is against seeing the headings as merely a formality, or even ‘a pious hoax'.
“Speak to Aaron, saying, Whoever of your seed throughout their generations has a blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.”
No one obviously blemished must approach God to offer the offerings as priests, to offer the ‘food of God' which would come as a pleasing odour to Yahweh and of which the priests might eat. ‘Bread' (lechem) refers to the staple food of a people. It can refer to such diverse things as honey (1 Samuel 14:24) and goat's milk (Proverbs 27:27). Compare Leviticus 21:22 where the priests eat the bread of their God. It is therefore a general expression for sacrificial offerings through which God receives worship and tribute from His people and makes food available for His priests.
“For whatever man he is who has a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or an overlong limb, or a man who is broken-footed, or broken-handed, or crook-backed (or possibly ‘misshapen-browed'), or a dwarf (or ‘consumptive' - the word is used of the lean cows in Genesis 41:3), or who has a blemish in his eye, or is scurvied, or scabbed, or has his stones broken; no man of the seed of Aaron the priest, who has a blemish, shall come near to offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. He has a blemish. He shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.”
A list of possible blemishes is now given. We are not sure in a number of cases of the correct translation or the state described, but the general principle is clear. Whoever was looked on as blemished was to be excluded. It was no reflection on the individuals, it was how people saw it that mattered. It was they on whom the impression of holiness was to be made.
“He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy, only he shall not go in unto the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries. For I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.”
They were not excluded from the privileges of priesthood, only from the carrying out of its ministry in the sanctuary. Thus they could partake of the priestly offerings, even those which were most holy of which only the priests could partake. But they were excluded from the Holy Place, from approaching the veil, and from approaching the altar to minister on it. They could, however, presumably carry out the teaching and judicial functions which were incumbent on the priests.
“My sanctuaries.” The sanctuary and the outer sanctuary containing the altar, that is, the tabernacle court.
“For I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.” Again we are reminded that they are the sanctified of Yahweh, those totally set apart by Him in His service, and for His purposes. And He could only sanctify for the sanctuary what was outwardly ‘perfect'. This stress continues throughout the section.
‘So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.'
The importance of these restrictions with regard to the priesthood is such that they end with this confirmatory statement. This then especially is what Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons and to all Israel. The purity of the priesthood was vital.
Thankfully for us it is not blemishes like this which will in our case prevent our full approach to God. Rather are we restricted by the blemishes in our hearts. Spiritual crookedness, blindness, deafness, dumbness, smallness, distortedness, are all things which prevent us from being heard by God and from serving Him.