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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Under the covenant of Moses, there was a separate priesthood that was made holy by God's decree. The Levites were not by nature any better than any other tribe of Israel (Jacob). However, there was a job that needed to be done, and God appointed this as the priestly tribe. Later, Aaron was chosen as the specific descendent of Levi through whom the priests of Israel would come. Again, it was not that there was something inherently better about Aaron's descendents than any other family of Israelites; there was a job to do, and God saw to it that there was an appointed means to do it.
I said that the priestly tribe was not inherently any better than anyone else, but that does not mean that God didn't call them to be different; in fact, that is exactly what he did. They were to be different in dress, different in inheritance, and different in times of peace as well as in times of war. Their duties required them to abstain from some of things that others could participate in lest they be declared ceremonially unclean and be barred from service around God's altar. In this, they were to be holy (set apart for a specific purpose)!
Several centuries had past since Israel had escaped from Egyptian bondage and the giving of the Law of Moses. Hosea was one of the minor prophets, but his message was major! When he began to prophecy against Israel, he played no favorites and spared no feelings. Read carefully one of his terse statements concerning the condition of God's people: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. The more they increased, The more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity. And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, And reward them for their deeds.” (Hosea 4.6-9).
One of the duties of the priests was to know the law and to insure that others knew it as well. However, the debased condition of Israel and specifically the priests was heavy upon Hosea's heart. Because the priests had “forgotten the law of your God,” the prophet spoke for God in saying that He would also “forget your children.” Again, their vile deeds were such that God said, “I will reject you from being priests.” When there was a separate priesthood, it was God's intent that they live exemplary lives. Instead of leading by example, the priests ran headlong toward and into sin. To put it just exactly as God did, “They eat up the sin of my people!”
The law did not pass away because the priests fell away from God. Neither was the covenant of Moses abolished due to the worldliness of the priesthood. Rather, God had a better way, the way of grace and truth through Jesus Christ (see John 1.17). This new and better way makes no provision for a separate priesthood, but clearly is different because every believer is a priest. We need no one to be our advocate other than Jesus the Righteous (see 1 John 2.1). As priests, we are to live holy lives and offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him (1 Peter 2.5-9).
Those who seek to retain or establish a priesthood that stands between the sinner and God, do so without biblical authority. That system was abolished by God two millennia ago. What is happening in the priesthoods ordained by men is lamentable. Rather than try to reform it, why not go back to God's way? Believers stand accountable before God with no mediator except Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!.
Questions:
1. What tribe (family of descendents from Jacob) did God choose as the priestly tribe?
2. What was Moses' brother's name? What special honor did his descendents receive from the Lord?
3. What system replaced the separate priesthood established by the Law of Moses?
4. Who are God's priests today? Who is their High Priest? What other priests are needed or authorized?
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