Priests were chosen by God to help us better understand Him
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
What brings us closer to God?
Since the dawn of time, humankind has always acknowledged that there was “something” out there that affected our lives in ways we could not comprehend. One of the first places where we observe such beliefs is in those societies that turned to “priests” who could interpret and predict “the forces of nature.” They helped the people get better crops so they would not starve. In these early societies, there were “gods” for everything: rain gods, sun gods, fertility gods, etc. (e.g., the Egyptians, the Mayans, the indigenous Americans, etc.) And, wherever there was a god, there seemed always to be someone who claimed to know more about that god than anyone else. They would assume the role of spokesperson and then boldly claim to speak on that god’s behalf. In many societies, these people were called priests, and it was generally a good gig – as long as your interpretations proved right. To this day, there are still societies where such priests control how their people think and respond to these so-called “gods.”
God chose the first real priests
The Bible tells us that, some 3,000 years ago, the one true God reached out to a specific group of people (the Jews) and revealed Himself in some miraculous ways (refer to the previous email for an example). Once He had fully and convincingly established that He (and only He) was God, He gave His people some directions on how to live in a way that would (a) please Him, (b) make life easier, and (c) lead to eternal fellowship with Him. He did this initially through His emissary, Moses (the first real Godly priest). Unlike other priestly leaders before him, God made sure no one was confused that He was speaking through Moses. His powerful presence was both visible and miraculous. As time went on, that would change, but for the first time in human history, a spokesman claiming to speak for God did not have to provide proof of his claim!
Even the best priests are not perfect
God did not allow Moses to use his position as a way to bring power to himself. In fact, the one time Moses slipped and did things his own way, God punished him by not allowing him to enter the Promised Land. But Moses did not live forever, and eventually, the people had to rely on the priestly order of Levi to carry out God’s instructions. Prophets were also used to rebuke and predict punishment when the people (and priests) failed to do what God instructed. Over the centuries that followed, the lesson provided by the Jews was this: No human can adequately fulfill the role of a priest because the job description (as given by God) says that a priest must be holy (without fault), just as God is holy. The Jews were called to this role – to be a holy nation – but they were unable to meet the job requirements. This is not a criticism of the Jews, as no human would ever be able to achieve this requirement. We are all tainted by the stain of sin. Nonetheless, God used the Jewish nation to hold up a banner that said to the world: “This is what God expects from us,” and we all failed to meet that standard. Does that mean that the world has no use for priests because they are all human and fail to live up to God’s standards? I think not. Life is all about learning how to get back up and try again every time we fail. That is how we learn. But, when it comes to the one and only true God, we are so fortunate that He loves us enough to provide a workaround to this conundrum.
We will always need God’s help
What the world fails to see is that the Jews were the first people commissioned by God to install priests on His behalf. The message given to them was directly from God, and it was good. But their ability to follow it was flawed. And, if we’re honest, we all have the same flaw! The calling of the Jews was simply to show us all where we needed to aim if we desired to please God. The fact that we couldn’t hit the target was both understood and predicted by God. The lesson God wanted us all to learn was this: We needed Him to love us and help us just as a child needs their parent. Our very survival would depend on accepting His help and recognizing His love.
That’s the essence of the gospel and the reason why God sent Jesus to complete the mission we could not complete on our own! Jesus is the only priest who can not only speak for God; He is God! Only He can sanctify us and lead us to eternal fellowship with God. Yet, how He accomplished this as our High Priest is not usually grasped. First, let’s compare His qualifications when lined up against Aaron, the original Jewish High Priest.
| Role |
Aaron |
Jesus |
| Priestly Heritage | A man, born into sin just like all men. | The sinless Son of God |
| Priestly Calling | Called by God when his staff bloomed. This same staff was kept in the Ark of the Covenant. | Called by God as well |
| Priestly Role |
The first priest from the tribe of Levi. Because Aaron died, there was a succession of priests from this tribe. |
The first (and only) priest of the order (not tribe) of Melchizedek – who has no beginning, history, nor end. |
| Priestly Sacrifices | The priests of the tribe of Levi would shed the blood of all types of animals to wash (cleanse) the Israelites of their sins (Notice: They did not have to sacrifice anything of themselves!) The process was only temporary, so it had to be repeated regularly. | Jesus sacrificed himself and shed His own blood one time to permanently wash away all our sins. |
| Priestly Home |
Originally, God’s presence with the Israelites was illustrated by the pillar of fire (at night) and a cloud by day. But God had no home. The Ark of the Covenant (containing the stone tablets, Aaron’s rod, and a jar of manna) was kept in a tent until Solomon placed it in the Holy of Holies – God’s declared “home” on Earth. |
The Holy of Holies separated God from all humanity because no one could achieve the level of perfection God demanded to be worthy of fellowship with Him – until Jesus. Jesus’ sacrifice removed the barrier between God and man – for the 1st time – God could make His home in each one of us! |
| The role of the Law of Moses | The priests were to hold the Jews accountable to following the law as they were called to be a “holy” nation. | Jesus came to free the Jews from the burden of the Law since it was impossible for them to keep the Law. Jesus set the example of living a life that adhered to every Law, then He nailed that Law to His cross. |
| Access to God |
Only the High Priest was allowed (once per year) to enter the Holy of Holies and make atonement for the sins of the people. |
Jesus ripped the curtain separating us from God “from top to bottom” thus allowing the Holy Spirit to enter each one who believes in Jesus and making them into a holy temple where God lives. |
Jesus bridges the gap to become our Perfect Priest
Of all the priests the world has had since the beginning of time (whether Jewish or not), Jesus presents the most convincing resume for bridging the gap between us humans and the God we have always wanted to approach, know, and seek His help and blessing in our lives. Through Jesus’ priestly role, we can always confidently turn to God and depend on Him for His love and protection.
Humanity has a tendency to invent gods that will conform to their needs. We do this because we labor under the delusion that (somehow) we are in control. If we can manipulate god, we have access to unlimited power. Yet, all people who believed this nonsense have died. The reality is that humanity will never control nor dictate any terms to God. The lessons of history yell out this message. Yet humanity never understands that – to reject God is to reject your right to live. All of us will die. But, for those of us who understand the saving grace of Christ’s sacrifice and priestly authority, death will not be the end. We will spend eternity with the God who loves us, made us, and sacrificed His only Son so we can discover how wonderful life can be with Him!
Bonus Feature
In previous emails, I’ve introduced you to the film series “Is Genesis History?” One of the theories they’ve been exploring is the use of the Grand Canyon as a means to establish the validity of the Flood as presented in Genesis. It’s a long-term, complicated process, but the concept has been picking up momentum in geological circles and is now more widely accepted than the theory that the Grand Canyon took centuries to form. This short (6-minute) clip explains (with some cool animation) how the Grand Canyon might have been formed in a much shorter period than previously thought. Check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9cYWZ2UU1M
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