“So I will set apart as holy the tent of meeting and the altar, and I will set apart as holy Aaron and his sons that they may minister as priests to me. I will reside among the Israelites, and I will be their God”
Into the Text
When you think of a priest, what comes to mind? God called Aaron and his sons to be the first priests of Israel. This role was different from what we think of priests today.
To be a priest of Israel was to be made holy and to live and work with holiness at the forefront of your mind. Notice the detail in which God gave Moses about the clothes that Aaron and his sons would wear.
Because the priests would go before God offering sacrifices and seeking forgiveness for their sins and the sins of the people, there was a strict set of rules to become holy. Remember, holy is what God is. We, however, have to be made holy due to our sin.
But God in His kindness provided a way. Aaron and his sons would present their sins before God and offer sacrifices and seek God’s forgiveness. They would then live obediently to God’s way.
The good news is that we don’t have to present sacrifices today like Aaron did. Instead, 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that all believers are part of the royal priesthood. This means that we have been forgiven and made holy through Jesus Christ.
Now, we are called to live in obedience to God and to show others what God is like and to tell them of the forgiveness of sins and the cleansing from unrighteousness found through the blood of Jesus. Embrace your call as a priest of God, knowing that He is the one who ultimately changes hearts and lives.
Prayer
God, thank you for providing us a way to be made holy. I pray that you would help me view my role as one of your priests as an opportunity to love and point others to you. Amen.