Though God does not have two standards of conduct for His people, He does expect His ministers to set an example to the church in holy living. God’s service ever requires of a man the very best. There are three things stressed in this chapter that stand out as qualifications for the priesthood:

 1. Physical condition. God demanded that He be served only by men in good physical condition, without physical defects, and in possession of all the natural powers of the body. Physical perfection was representative of perfection of character, toward which all should strive.

 2. Holy men. Their lives must be blameless, their families without reproach. A church may rightly be judged by the lives of its members. Another, and perhaps more exacting, test is the standard of holiness produced in the minister’s life.

 3. Dedicated men. The priests of old were not permitted to let anything interfere with their service to God. The high priest must not mourn over the loss of a dear one, nor even attend to the funeral details of one dear to him (see vs. 10, 11). Nothing of any kind must come in to hinder the work of God.