Topic: Our Priestly Order [Friday October 6, 2017]
Text: Numbers 18:1-7
Key Verse: “Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest’s office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.” (Numbers 18:7).
Priests in the old covenant stood as intermediaries between God and man. The priesthood was God’s gift to Israel, for without the priest, the people could not approach God. As long as the priests and Levites obeyed the rule, there would be no judgment against the people. The priestly ministry was a sacred matter, for if the priests did not follow God’s instruction, they might die. They were not also to permit a stranger to come near the tabernacle of the congregation. God held Aaron and his sons responsible for offences committed against the sanctuary and the priesthood.
There is however, a tremendous contrast between the priesthood of Aaron in the Old Testament and the priesthood of Christ in the New Testament. Aaron and his descendants were the only ones who could carry out the duties of the priests and approach God’s dwelling place. Now that Christ is our High Priest – our intermediary with God, anyone who follows Him is also called a priest (1 Peter 2:5,9). In the Old Testament times, people did not approach God directly. A priest acted as intermediary between God and the sinful man. With Christ’s victory on the Cross, that changed.
Now we can come directly into God’s presence without fear and we are given the responsibility of bringing others to Him also (Hebrews 4:16; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). As members of His body, true Christians are joined in His priestly work of reconciling men unto God. Therefore, every Christian is to arise as the royal priest of Christ and judiciously make use of this priestly office such that sinners can be reconciled unto God and spared the trauma of everlasting torment.
Thought for the day: As a priest and king, the believer’s privilege has no comparison.
Bible Reading in one Year: 1 Kings 11-12
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
