In Exodus chapter twenty nine we see extensive requirements for the consecration of Aaron and his sons. God gives Moses very specific instructions concerning the commissioning and duty of the priest class. Priests represent the people before God and everything they do must be according to God’s word or judgment will break out. The priest represents man before God and the prophet represents God before man. It is fitting that we spend some time looking at what a priest does and who they represent.

 

When we begin to look at the ministry and work of the priest we may think that there is a greater ability than what is first expressed within scripture. What I mean by this is that many times we view the priests as direct authorities before God. We may think they speak for God and minister for God and have the right to dictate God’s will and desires. We may even believe that people went to the priests to get the word of the Lord. The position of a priest did not grant them prophetic privilege. We must also understand that the work of the priesthood was for offering sacrifices that made atonement for something or someone. The priest class performed the duties of the temple not so much as something God needed as it was something they and the people needed. HEB 5:1 For 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. God wanted to remain in the camp of Israel but in order for that to take place the camp had to maintain a certain standard of holiness. This was what the priest’s job was, to offer atoning sacrifices for themselves and the people. If we look at this we realize that the priest ministered for the people in the presence of God. They represented the people as much or more then they represented God. The priests took whatever sacrifice that was required for the peoples’ cleansing and brought it before God and offered it as He prescribed to Moses. This whole process is done in faith believing that the offering or sacrifice would be received by God and the person or people would be cleansed from their sin. Most of the priest’s required duty was on behalf of the people before God. While there were duties that God required the priest to perform which were for Him to the people, the vast majority was for the people.

 

Seeing that the high priest every year entered the Holy of Holies he needed to remain holy before God in order for the yearly sacrifice to be acceptable to God. The requirements that were upon the priest and the work they did was intended to keep them in right standing with God so that the people and nation could remain in right standing before God. If the priests ministered in an unholy way or were defiled, they were not acceptable to God, and thus any sacrifice they offered would by default be unacceptable. These priests were the ones that were responsible for the whole nation’s acceptable sacrifices. Any uncleanness or error affected the whole of their society.

 

The priests however were not expected to speak for God except by what was already written in the Law of Moses. Where do we get the idea of getting direction and the “word of the Lord” from the priests? This misunderstanding may be due to people such as Samuel, who was not only a priest but also a prophet. Mixing the two ministries has caused a misunderstanding of the role of the priest and that of the prophet. The priestly authority exists not just because of the “position” as a priest, but also from knowing God’s dictates as they are written in the scriptures. Even though God called Aaron’s family to be the priestly line within Israel to minister to God (Ex 28:1, Deut 17:12, Deut 18:5, Ex 40:13) their authority was based on what Moses received from God as to how they were to approach this ministry and discharge their duties. They did not have the authority to arbitrarily change any aspect of the law or the form of religious duty before God. They had set times and order for sacrifices which God expected them to perform exactly as he instructed Moses to have them do.

 

We have seen that God even called Aaron Moses’ prophet but what prophetic words did Aaron speak? He spoke only what Moses told him to speak. Miriam as we know was a prophetess.   EXO 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister... Moses, Aaron and Miriam were siblings. It is reasonable to think that if all three had prophetic gifts the prophetic would be transferred to succeeding generations within Aaron’s family. We must understand that being a priest did not guarantee having a prophetic gift.

 

Besides the sacrifices, their duties included reading the law every seventh year (Deu 31:9-12) as well as limited civil and criminal judgments. (Num 5:15-30, Deu 17:8-13) Priests had a very fundamental way of receiving direction from God which was through the Urim and Thummim. There is no evidence as to what these items were except that they were part of the breastplate that the high priest wore. (Ex 28:30, Le 8:8) They were able to give an answer as to whether or not God was saying yes or no to a question. Priests were not expected to be prophetic nor were they expected to hear what God was saying at any one time, this of course is the prophet’s job. We can see by the instance when David was fleeing from Saul that the priests did not realize they were being lied to by David or that this encounter would cost them their lives. (1Sa 21:1-6)

 

The ministry of the priest class was very limited and became dynamic only when other abilities or callings were united with the position of being a priest. An example of this is Samuel who was a priest and a prophet. While it is clear that he ministered as a priest, his prophetic life far out shines the priestly role. This is not to degrade the calling of the priest but to shed some light on its limitations. We are called as priests in Revelation chapter five verse ten, which should be understood and exercised in our daily life even as Job, who did priestly duties on behalf of his children. Our priestly duties will not be in making animal sacrifices in behalf of others but making petitions, supplications, etc to a merciful God for a lost and dying world.

 

Even when looking at the priest class in Israel we see Moses as the real center for all things spiritual or civil. This is not a mistake but intentional, for as already stated, Moses is a type of Christ. Jesus is to be first in all things (Col 1:18) as well as all things will be summed up in Him (Eph 1:10, Heb 2:8-9.) God placed Jesus as the center of everything spiritual and civil in our lives. We are to be obedient to Him in every matter even as the Israelites were to obey Moses and his judgments.

 

We must fully understand the fact that the priest had to remain as holy as possible in order for their duty as priests to be accepted by God. If they were unclean and living unholy lives they could not make holy sacrifices to God on behalf of another. They had sacrifices for themselves as well as for others that brought cleansing when needed, but they were expected to follow precisely the order and protocols established by God through Moses. This is why it was imperative for them to follow Moses’ instructions to the letter. Failure to follow the instructions resulted in an inability to perform their duties to the nation. We must also understand, following the instructions meant doing everything God wanted done in order to meet His requirements. The priest’s responsibility was to see to the daily task of all the Israelites right standing before God. Because this was their job, their right standing was even more important. This is why we see such great wrath and swift punishment to Nadab and Abihu’s hasty offering. LEV 10:1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 10:2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. v3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the Lord spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'" So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. The key to this situation is “offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.” God wanted to be able to accept and dwell within the nation of Israel. In order to accomplish this He told Moses exactly what needed to be done and how to do it. Priests were not allowed to change or alter any aspect of their job. The priest had authority only when they acted in line with God’s dictates. When the priest stepped outside the dictates of God they were subject to being judged. In this case judgment was swift and final.

 

The priest had to be holy in order to offer holy sacrifices for an unholy people. Going outside the dictates of God made Nadab and Abihu unholy and showed disrespect for God and His will. How can an unholy priest offer a holy sacrifice? He cannot. They were destroyed immediately as a warning for the priests to come. This should be a warning to those in positions of leadership to watch how they lead others in viewing and honoring God.