Musing – As Priests, what do we get?

Hebraic Musing – As Priests, what do we get?

I frequently point out our role as priests by referencing Peter’s declaration of who we are – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Pet.2:9 NIV

As redeemed, righteous believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, or Yeshua HaMashiach, we begin to recognize that we are aliens in a foreign land; we are Christ’s Ambassadors here on earth.  Paul described his role (and our role?) in Eph. 6:19-20   “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains.”    Our citizenship is in heaven. 

The OT teaches us about the unique role of the Levitical Priests – “I (God) am to be the only inheritance the priests have.  You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession.” — Ezekiel 44:28    Whether we are age 2 or 92, we want things that are not necessarily good for us.  I’ll bet the Levitical Priests bristled when they heard Ezekiel give them this word from God; after all, the other Israelites get land but the members of the tribe of Levi who would serve as the priests would not be given any land in Israel.  Doesn’t that seem a bit unfair?  The priests served God more than anyone else. They dedicated their lives to service and in return they were the only ones who were not allowed to possess land!  One could argue that they should be compensated with a double portion of land.

The Levitical Priests as-well-as we members of the “Royal Priesthood” receive something even better than land.  We have received God in our hearts and the benefit of being in the Family of God eternally.

On a practical level the Levites did not have to be distracted with the worries and toil of owning and caring for land. They were provided with places to live and sustenance to live on; and this freed them to be completely dedicated to God without all the concerns of the material world.  Do we often find ourselves distracted by the things that own us?

Priests serve as intercessors between God and man.  That is our role, but when a person accepts Christ, they do not need us as their intercessor anymore; and their new relationship allows them to become intercessor for the unsaved in the world around them.

On a spiritual level, both the Levites and we Christian believers have been given the gift of a connection with God in a deeper way than the rest of the peoples of the world.  This spiritual connection is one we will enjoy for all eternity.

Points to ponder

When we don’t get what we want,
could it be that God has something much better to give us?

Could it be that the “something better” is God Himself!
What could be more valuable than that?

“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors,… “ 2 Cor. 5:20   

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd,                                  June 14, 2016

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”  “Biblical Marriage”  “Musings v.1 – A Victorious Life”   “Musings v.2 – The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com

Inspired by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein’s   “Something Better”   May 20, 2016