The Dead נֶ֫פֶשׁ

We are moving into chapter twenty-one of Leviticus with our word for today. נֶ֫פֶשׁ throat, neck, breath, living being, life, soul, dead soul. It is used 751 times in the Old Testament. While most of the time our word is used in the sense of a living soul it can also mean someone who is dead. It is used in the sense of a corpse, the dead body of a human being 9 times in the Old Testament. Each time it is used in this sense it is identified as the cause of someone’s becoming unclean. Numbers 19:11 Whoever touches the dead body of any נֶ֣פֶשׁ person shall be unclean seven days. Some of these instructions were definitely for health reasons which the next verse gives context toward this view. Numbers 19:12 He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. But what is interesting is the next verse which gives more meaning to this idea of just being unclean from a health perspective. Numbers 19:13 Whoever touches a dead בְּנֶפֶשׁ֩ person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him. This shows us that there is more going on here than just good hygiene. God is teaching the people about holiness. We don’t always understand nor do we have to the reasons why something is considered by God to not meet the standard. He is the one who loves us and knows what is best for us because he knows everything. If for no other reasons than that it teaches us to trust him even when we don’t have all the information. This was especially true of the priests who served God as part of the tabernacle worship. This is how our word is used in our chapter today. Leviticus 21:1-3 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ for the dead among his people, except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). The spiritual leaders in the nation of Israel were the priests.They were in charge of the sanctuary of God; they taught the people the Word of God; they offered the sacrifices on God’s altar; when called upon, they determined the will of God for the people. Apart from the ministry of the priests, Israel had no way to approach God. The priests had to meet the qualifications God gave for the priesthood, and they had to serve Him according to His directions. In their personal conduct, physical characteristics, and professional concerns, they had to meet God’s approval. Anyone who touched a dead body, or even went into a tent where somebody had died, was defiled for a week, and defilement would prevent the priest from serving the people. Therefore, the priests could defile themselves only for their parents, their children, and their brothers and unmarried sisters, but all other deceased were off-limits for them. Spiritual leaders are required to sacrifice to fulfill their calling to God. We see this throughout the Bible. In the church we see these qualifications for leadership which I will close with. The important thing to keep in mind is that all of God’s standards especially for leaders are put in place so that everyone will benefit. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.