Living as Priests - February 8 Readings: Exodus 29-30, Matthew 24:15–35, Psalm 21:1–5, Proverbs 4:6–8

Links to February 8 Readings:  Exodus 29-30, Matthew 24:15–35, Psalm21:1–5, Proverbs 4:6–8

In our readings through the Old Testament, we are in a section that may not yield the easiest fruit for our minds to consider. Exodus 29 is about the priests of Israel and the procedures by which they became priests and the work they did. All scripture is God-breathed and useful, but perhaps it is not all equally riveting.

But there is powerful truth in Exodus 29, especially when we remember that the New Testament designates us as kingdom of priests. The priest had one primary function, that was to serve faithfully to keep the operation of the temple going. Sacrifices had to be made for the sins of the Israelites and it was the priests who performed them. The priests interceded between God and man.

Now, Jesus is our Great High Priest and he is the one who made intercession for us. It is because of his work that we are redeemed and reconciled to God. But we, as priests of the Most High God (all of those who have been born again are priests, not just the preachers) have a duty in this world. We must continue to serve mankind in the name of Christ, proclaiming that a sacrifice for their sins has already been made and seeking to bring them to God.

But in Exodus 29 there are some interesting teachings about the ministry of the priests that we ought to remember.

First, the priests were consecrated to God. That meant they were set apart for his use. By his blood, Jesus Christ set us apart for God. We are holy to God and our lives must be consecrated. As Paul said to the Corinthians, "You are not your own, you were bought with a price." We belong to him!

Second, the priests were consecrated by sacrifices. We must remember that everything we are and everything we have is a product of the sacrifice that was made for us. A priest's life was built around and based on the sacrificial system. Praise God, we don't have a sacrificial system anymore. Christ died once for all as the Lamb of God. But our lives are built around and based on Christ's sacrifice. We are what Christ has made us.

There are a lot of tough passages in Exodus and Leviticus, Scriptures that do not seem immediately to be inspiring as you read them. But interpreted in the light of the work of Christ, they open up as meaningful and powerful.