Leviticus 21:1

Leviticus 21:1 says, And 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:  This law concerned the priests and coming into contact with a dead body and thereby being defiled.  Verse two adds, But 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,  Verse three continues, And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.  A priest could come into contact with a dead person if it were his mother, father, brother, or unmarried sister.  Close family was exempt from this rule of not coming in contact with a dead body, just as our close family today is generally dearer to us.  Verse four declares, But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.  The priest had an important role in the nation of Israel as the representative of God to the people. and could not afford to defile himself with the death of just anyone, even a close friend.  Verse five adds, They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.  The priests were not to make a big display of mourning, since they should have know that the person was in a much better place if they were spiritually a part of God's people.  We today, as followers of Christ, should not allow the death of a loved one who is a Christian to cause use to bring dishonor to God by our actions at their death.  Verse six continues, They 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. Since the priests made the offerings to God, they were not to profane themselves.  We today, as Christians, are a part of the priesthood of believers and we should never do anything that would prevent us from effectively worshipping and serving God.  Verse seven states, They 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.  Then God had a command concerning the marriage of the priest.  He was not to marry a woman who was not sexually moral and was not to marry a divorced woman.  This was to keep the priest spiritually pure.  Verse eight adds, Thou 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.  The priest was to be sanctified in all his actions because he offered the offerings to God.  We, as followers of Christ, need to be spiritually pure in all our actions since we represent God in the world today.  Verse nine continues, And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.  The daughter of a priest who was being sexually impure brought dishonor to her father, the  priest, and was to be burned to death.  I am not sure why the daughter was singled out and not the son as well, but we need to realize that even though he cannot be held responsible, often today the children of ministers do things that some see as a reflection on the ability of the minister to be accepted.  This should not be the case though, since even the children of ministers have free will to follow or reject God.  Verse ten says, And 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;  The high priest was not to follow any of the rules of mourning, since he was the one consecrated to offer the sacrifices.  The high priest was held to an even higher standard.  Jesus is our High Priest and He met a higher standard than we will ever be able to accomplish, so we must simply put our faith in Him.  Verse eleven adds, Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;  The high priest wasn't even to go out to mourn his father or mother.  Verse twelve continues, Neither 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.  The high priest was to remain in the sanctuary, just as our High Priest, Jesus Christ, is forever in the sanctuary of God.  Verse thirteen declares, And he shall take a wife in her virginity.  Verse fourteen adds, A 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.  The high priest was to marry a virgin of his own people and was not to marry a widow or divorced woman.  Verse fifteen continues, Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.  I believe this would mean that the high priest himself was expected to remain sexually pure.