General
“… Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s presence, to serve the Lord, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.” (I Chron. 23: 13 NLT).”
God said that everyone from Aaron on down in the line of his descendants had their job already picked out for them. It didn’t matter if they didn’t want the job. It didn’t matter if they were not the best person for the job.
But it did call for specific qualifications to be a priest.
- The men had to be holy.
- The priests were the go-between to approach God (and that was only once a year).
- It was their job to minister to the people.
- Priests would have to know which sacrifice was appropriate and how to perform it. They had specific guidelines to follow.
- The priests were responsible for keeping the lamps burning and other maintenance duties.
- It was a responsibility of the priests to teach the others God’s laws and commandments.
- They were to act as judge and jury to settle difficult cases.
- Priests were to lead in the worship.
The High Priest was in charge of the Temple. While priests served as High Priest because it was a hereditary office, there was more expected from him in terms of holiness (Who Is Jesus?)
Jesus
- Jesus is our High Priest because He was chosen to represent us. He is the Substitute Who bore our punishment (Who Is Jesus?).
Us
- By being one of His priests, we show others through our praise what He is accomplishing in our lives (How Is Our Living Sacrifice a Sacrifice of Worship?).