A Kingdom of Priests

One Year Bible
Old Testament passage for Tuesday, February 19, 2013:  Leviticus 7:28-9:6

He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.  Leviticus 8:12 (NIV)

Three things happened to Aaron and his sons to consecrate them as priests:

1.  They were WASHED (Lev. 8:6).

2.  They were CLOTHED (Lev. 8:7).

3.  They were ANOINTED (Lev. 8:12).

The Bible says that God has made us today to be a KINGDOM OF PRIESTS!  (see Rev. 1:6 and I Peter 2:9)  That may sound strange to someone of the Catholic or Episcopal faith since their local LEADERS are called priests.  The truth, however, is that every Christian is a priest.  We all have direct access to the presence of God.  We have priestly duties we are to perform.

The New Testament priests no longer offer sacrifices like their Old Testament counterparts.  A ONCE AND FOR ALL SACRIFICE has been offered in the Cross of Christ.  So what then are our duties?  Hebrews 10:10-25 speaks of drawing near to God with "a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."  That's a direct reference to Leviticus 8.

In order for you to function as a priest, you need to be WASHED.  In New Testament terms that refers to the cleansing of the Blood of Jesus.  It refers to the "washing of the water of the Word" (Eph. 5:26). There is nothing like the cleansing that comes from the grace of God washing over our lives!

Second, we need to be CLOTHED.  Throughout the New Testament the Bible speaks of laying off the old man and putting on the new.  We need to PUT ON CHRIST.  We do this by faith, but it is like changing clothes.  We deliberately put on the righteousness of Christ.

Lastly, we need the ANOINTING of the Holy Spirit.  There is an interesting passage in Psalm 133 that speaks about this.  It says:

¹ It Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!

² It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.

There is a fellowship in Christ that brings down the presence of God!  When New Testament believers walk in unity with one another, God is so pleased that He comes down and meets with us (Matt. 18:19-20).  There is nothing like the power of brotherhood walking in unity in advancing Christ's Kingdom. 

There, the Lord COMMANDS the blessing.