God’s Priesthood

This study is to explain and document those that are raised to be God’s priests and whom it is that ordains that priesthood. What is it that qualifies or disqualifies one that takes the office of the priesthood? Hosea 4:1, “Hear the word of the Lord, ye children: for the lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land”. Verse two, “By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood touches blood”. Verse six, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget your children”. There you have the qualifier, the knowledge of God. We live in a world today where there are hundreds of religions, churches and different forms of worship of God. Is every form of worship all right with our Father? Jesus quotes Isaiah in Matthew 15:8, “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me”. Verse nine, “teaching for doctrine the commandments of men”. It’s obvious that all churches can’t all possess the truth, so the one place where we need to examine is the source of the word “priesthood” found in God’s Word. One of the first places where God talks about His priesthood is found in Exodus the nineteenth chapter. The Exodus of old means the coming out of, or freedom from those that would oppress a people. Remember there was a great cry in the land of Egypt and because of Gods intervention they were made free. Times are no different today than they were then. There is much heartache and confusion in today’s societies that we need to search for truthful answers. What did God say of the nation that He freed from slavery at the hands of His servant Moses? Exodus 19:4, “Now therefore, if (if, a very big word that is the qualifier to God’s statement), ye will obey my voice, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all the people: for all the earth is Mine”: verse 6 “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words that thou shall speak to the children of Israel”. That example is how our father works with an individual, family or nation. Lack of the knowledge of God and His laws put them into slavery in the first place. Is it any different today? “ I am thy Lord thy God, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal. 1:6). Father has the same standard today as He did then. How important is a knowledgeable priest to God anyway? Should we follow traditions of men or say whatever seems right or nice just to have a following? In the Old Testament we have what God says about the subject. Moses was a prophet of God and Aaron his brother would be a priest. Aaron had three sons named Nadab, Abihu and Eleazar. In Leviticus 10:1 we read, “ And Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron, took either of them his sensors, and put fire in therein, and put incense thereon, and put strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not”. Verse 2, “ and there went fire out from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord”. That’s what God thinks about those that represent Him and teach or lead His people down a wrong road. Priests better teach God’s word and not the traditions and practices that come from their own imaginations. We can learn of the nation of Israel going into captivity again because of an ineffective priesthood and the self will and disobedience of it’s people. By the time Jesus came on the scene there was a corrupt priesthood in place set up by the religious leaders and the Roman government. Is it any wonder that the religious leaders didn’t recognize Jesus and His authority. In Matthew 23:2 , Jesus addresses the multitude and his Disciples and states how the Scribes and the Pharisees sit in the seat of Moses and goes on to call them hypocrites. Matt. 16:13, tells of Jesus asking His disciples, “ Whom do men say that I the son of man am”? Simon Peter knew. Verse 16, “ and Simon Peter answered and said; thou art the Christ, the son of the living God”. Verse 17, “ And Jesus answered and said unto Him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which art in Heaven”. We need to slow down here an consider all that was said. The name Simon means hearing. It’s important to hear God through His word rather than hear the teachings of men. Some man can serve as a guide but it is necessary to prove all things. The name Bar Jonah means, son of the dove(love). The 1st commandment is to Love God. Not only for His good but for ours also. Jesus prayer to His Father in John 17:4 says “ I have glorified thee on earth; I have finished the work that thou hast given me to do”. What work is Jesus referring to? All the miracles that were performed by Jesus were not random nice deeds but to serve a particular purpose in God’s overall plan for his children. One work that He did before His crucifixion was that of raising His Priesthood. In the eleventh chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus gives His disciples a parable. The parable is the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In the Old Testament, the one son of Aaron that was a faithful priest was named Eleazar. Eleazar is a Hebrew name that is the equivalent of Lazarus in the Greek language. Eleazar was a fine priest during his time but his priesthood was interrupted by reason of death. Because of human imperfection, the priesthood would cease to continue as God had intended until someone came along that was perfect in following the laws and Divine judgments of God. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead would be a type of Jesus raising up his priesthood. Is it any wonder of the attitude that the religious leaders had toward Lazarus? John 12:10, “ but the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to death also”. They knew that as long as long as Lazarus was raised up, as a type of Jesus true priesthood, they would lose their following. In Jesus absence, Lazarus would be a type of faithful priest that would be a blessing to the people and the ministry that Jesus started would continue. It was at this time that Jesus could set his face to go to Jerusalem that he should be received up .( see Luke 9: 51 ) But what of Jesus and the order of Melchisedec? Hebrews 6:20, “ Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus made a High priest forever after the order of Melchisedec”. And Hebrews 8 :4, (Talking about Jesus Christ) “ For if he were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law”: verse 5, “ Who serve under the example and shadow of heavenly things according to the pattern shown to thee on the mount”. Verse 6, “ But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the Mediator of a better covenant, which were established upon better promises”. Jesus was told of Lazarus situation two days after his death and waited another two days before going to His friend Lazarus. Lazarus was dead four days. If as Peter tells us that a thousand years is as a day to God, then 2 of those days would go back to the days of Abraham when Melchisedec meet him after the slaughter of the kings as we are told in Gen. 14. The waiting two days would bring us up to this present time while he is sitting on His Fathers Throne working out his purpose. The name Melchisedec means, King of righteousness and King of peace. Heb. 7; 3. Isaiah 9: 6 gives us one of Jesus names, The Prince of Peace, and He is always fair.