Accepted By God

by BUTLER, J. R. | Category: N/a | Apr 2006

Origins of the priesthood

From very early times men learned the necessity of sacrifice and offering if they were to be accepted by God. Abel, Adam’s second son provides the first instance in Scripture of someone seeking to reach out to God in an acceptable way (see Gen.4:4). Later, (v.26) we find Seth, Adam’s third son, with his son Enosh among those who ‘began to call upon the name of the LORD’. These were very early days in the course of human history. There is, however, no mention of priests in Scripture until Genesis 14:18, where we are introduced to Melchizedek, the king-priest of Salem. As priest, he would be the one to act in sacred things on the part of others. He was described as ‘priest of God Most High’, a mediator, on God’s behalf holding out the hand of mercy, and for man reaching out the hand of faith. There are other men identified in the Scriptures as having reached out to God by sacrificing burnt offerings to Him: these were mainly the patriarchs such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Job.

In Joseph’s time there were priests in Egypt who lived on land allotted to them by the Pharaoh (Gen.47:22). These priests did not serve the true God, but many gods such as the sun, and figures of animals representing other gods. During the long number of years (see Ex.12:40) the Israelites remained in Egypt such was their environment (Ex.12:40). Under Moses, the LORD God brought the redeemed company out from Egypt, to give them knowledge of Himself, the true God, and to teach them how to serve Him acceptably. He Himself appointed the priests and the priesthood (Ex.28). The office of priest was restricted to the tribe of Levi, and the priesthood consisted of three orders: the high priest, the priests, and the Levites. The office of high priest was made hereditary in the family of Aaron. The New Testament confirms that the priests were not self-appointed, nor chosen by their fellows: ‘no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was’ (Heb.5:4).

Priestly duties

‘Every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins’ (Heb.5:1).

God is holy and, in order for sinful men to be accepted by Him, atonement must be made for them. It was the function of priests to effect atonement by the offering of appropriate sacrifices for the people; and because they were sinful men it was necessary for them to also offer sacrifices for themselves. When the Israelites chose their animals and brought them to the priests for sacrifice, they must have been powerfully aware of how seriously God regards sin, especially if they were to observe the slaughter. It must have been heart-rending for many when they saw the priest with the blood on his hands as he prepared their sacrifice for the altar. This death and shedding of blood was the price demanded by God if sinful human beings were to be accepted by Him, and this is what they had to pay. God’s people today should surely have a hatred of the sin that separates from a holy God.

The Priest of our confession

The people of God today are called on to ‘consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession’ (Heb.3:1). The priesthood of Jesus is superior to any thing that belonged to the Old Covenant, because it is heavenly; ‘we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man’ (Heb.8:1-2). Also the sacrifice He made is superior in that it is anti-typical of every beautiful facet of all the Old Testament offerings. It completely satisfies our holy God, and it will never need to be repeated; ‘... through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption’ (Heb.9:12).

‘For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified’ (Heb.10:14 RV).

How do we serve God in our time? What are the sacrifices we bring to Him? As God’s people we worship Him, of course, when we draw near into His holy presence to offer up thanksgiving and praise. We are to do that continually, but the service of God does not end with the weekly gathering for worship. God’s people are considered: ‘A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light’ (1 Peter 2:9). These are familiar words, and important ones, if we are to be God’s worshippers and witnesses. Much depends on us as individual saints if the whole community is to be seen as a ‘holy nation’. We must not fritter away our lives on autopilot, because the powerful influences of the world and the old nature will very soon divert us from His service. Anyone who is seriously concerned about the service of God in a ‘holy nation’ must on the one hand, ‘deny ungodliness and worldly desires’ and ‘live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age’ (Titus 2:12), and on the other, as Paul urged the Romans, ‘present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship’ (Rom.12:1). Also God’s holy people must be careful about speech. No unclean words should come out of the mouth - no language that inevitably negates a life of service offered to God. How careful we need to be!

These are some of the sacrifices we must make if we would please God. The Lord Jesus Christ has dealt with our sins by shedding His own blood, and so through Him as our Great High Priest, we are able to serve God acceptably. May it be that we shall give Him due consideration, determine to love and serve the One who has been designated ‘a great priest over the house of God’ (Heb.10:21), and count it a great honour to be accepted by God through Him.

BUTLER, J. R. | Apr 2006
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