This chapter mainly describes the new priests, a remnant who have remained faithful to the Lord when the rest of His people have be rebellious.
” ‘But the Levitical priests… who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray… they shall stand before me… they shall keep my charge… They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.’ ” (v15-16, 23-24 abr)
God has specific requirements of His servants. Yes, this passage (and others like it) mention the temple priests, though we are told in the NT that all followers of Jesus are called to be members of God’s royal priesthood (eg. 1 Pt 2:9). If we are all called to be priests (God’s holy servants and teachers of His people), then we too should uphold certain standards.
We’ve recently talked about how we the church are to be holy, set apart for God’s purposes. The priests described in this chapter are holy – they’re behaviorally and spiritually separated from the rest of the people. Since we’re called to be a spiritual order of priests we should share some spiritual / behavioral similarities with the literal priests.
Obviously this is a tall order for a sinful and broken people – we lack strength, wisdom, energy, discernment, and literally everything else it takes to be holy on our own. Thankfully God sent Jesus to be an example (and open the door for forgiveness of sin) and the Holy Spirit to guide / assist us, so we’re not on our own. God will not withhold that which we need in order to obey Him – He wants us to succeed at obedience, so He will guide and equip us. Let’s fully rely on Him for everything we need to be a holy priesthood in the service of Jesus’ kingdom.
Father God, our Creator and Provider, we praise Your holy and awesome name. Thank you Jesus for being our flawless example of what a royal priest is. Thank you Holy Spirit for equipping and training us in holiness. Thank you Father for aiding us every moment, of every day, forever and ever. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training