Revelation 1:5, 6. ~ 1 Peter 2:5-8.
THE fact is here plainly stated that all those who are loved by Jesus and washed from their sins in His own blood are made priests unto God. They are also called “an holy priesthood” and “a royal priesthood.” Their life is one of entire dependence and faith, as the apostle so forcibly expresses it: “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
In the typical instruction of Old Testament Scripture we have abundant details as to the characteristics, maintenance, and occupation of priests. We know from the Epistle to the Hebrews how remarkably the Aaronic high priest was a type of Jesus, our great High Priest; and we know also that Aaron’s sons only were priests, and that they were chosen of God, washed, clothed, consecrated by blood, anointed with oil, and in relationship by birth with the high priest. All pretensions to priesthood, apart from these realities, were accounted false. When any did come forward professing to be priests, and could not trace their genealogy, they were put from the priesthood as polluted (Neh. 7:64). And when the sons of Korah sought to set aside God’s order of priesthood by setting up another of their own, He caused the earth to cleave asunder and swallow them up, and all that appertained to them (Num. 16:20).
The order of priests that God now has is composed of those who are washed from their sins in the blood of Jesus. Such are made priests unto God. They need no other qualification than God gives them. The order is divine. They are priests unto God. They are consecrated to the office, made priests, and in some striking particulars were remarkably set forth in type by the sons of Aaron. Let us consider a few of these similarities.
Firstly, Aaron’s sons were
priests by the election of God.
God chose them and no others. They were priests unto God by His gracious choice. Of all the tribes and families in Israel, none other than the sons of Aaron could fulfill the office of priesthood; so now it has pleased God to choose those only who are washed from their sins in the blood of Jesus. Such only are made nigh to Him, and have liberty to come into His presence to minister in holy things; for “in Christ Jesus we who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). Such, too, according to the Father’s eternal purpose and grace, were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. We are priests therefore by God’s election.
Secondly, Aaron’s sons were
priests by birth,
priests as sons of Aaron. When a son of Aaron was born, he was necessarily at a certain age a priest. No one else in Israel could be a priest. No interest, talents, wealth, or anything besides, could procure the office. These only were priests. Such only were recognized by God. They must be Aaron’s sons. So now no one is a priest who is not born of God, and every one who is born of God is a priest, and every believer is this through grace; for he is born of the Spirit; he is a child of God; he is in everlasting relationship with Jesus the Great High Priest. Scripture therefore speaks of us as “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” 1 Pet. 1:2, 3). We are priests, then, by a new and spiritual birth.
Thirdly, Aaron’s sons were
priests by consecration,
made priests unto God. They were washed; “Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water” (Lev. 8:6); so we are set apart by the sanctifying power of the Word. They were clothed with garments prided by God. So we stand in Christ, who is our righteousness. Sins being remitted, and the conscience purged by the blood of Jesus, we can “draw 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.” They were also consecrated or set apart by God for Himself by being sprinkled with the blood of the ram of consecration. “He brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toe of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about” (see Lev. 8:6, 24).
Thus they were sanctified by the blood, set apart for God and His blessed service. The right ear was marked with blood to teach us that we are to hearken to God’s voice — not to lend our ears to receive the evil and foolish communications which men would make, but amid the clatter of ten thousand conflicting voices to hearken to what God says, “A wise man will hear” (Prov. 1:5). The blessed Lord said, “He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious” (Isa. 50:4, 5).
There are two great avenues to the heart — the eye, and the ear. By attracting the eye, Satan often succeeds in turning away the heart, by taking us off the true object of faith and occupying us with something else to gratify the lusts of the eye. Some of the most serious falls in Scripture have been through the lust of the eye. The other principal avenue to the heart is the ear. If Satan can get us to hearken to the voice of the flatterer or to the roar of the lion, he will often turn us away from the posture of listening to the voice of Him whose we are, and whom by grace we serve. It is, then, our true posture of soul to be consciously set apart for God, and for Him only, as sanctified by the blood of Jesus, and waiting upon and for Him, hearkening to His voice, we always find to be the true path of blessing. “Whoso hearkeneth to me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” But we should never forget that “the flattering mouth worketh ruin,” and “a whisperer separateth chief friends.”
The thumb of the right hand being sprinkled with blood is no doubt to teach us that we are now to work for God, to minister according to His will — that we are set apart to be thus active in His blessed service; for we all have some service committed to us. “He gave to every man his work.” “To every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” We each have ministry of some kind to carry out in faithfulness to God. We are all His children and His servants. The hand is sprinkled with blood, sanctified, set apart for His service and none other. Whether, therefore, we eat, or drink, or whatsoever we do, we should do all to God’s glory. We are not to live unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again. Our bodies are to be consecrated to His service. We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service; for we are not our own: we are bought with a price. We are therefore to glorify God in our body.
On these accounts, also, the great toe of the right foot was sprinkled with blood to show that our walk should be in obedience to Him, every step ordered by the Lord. The ear was first sprinkled, to show that we must receive all our commands and instructions from God, in order then to minister for Him and walk with Him. We thus see that another characteristic of these priests, so typical of us, was that they were wholly set apart for God, by being sprinkled with the blood of the ram of consecration — a point of the utmost practical importance, and never to be lost sight of; and if there were no other reason, this is enough to show the utter folly and complete delusion of people being made priests by human appointment, not to refer to the exceeding sinfulness of despising God’s order of a heavenly, spiritual, holy, and royal priesthood.
But this was not all. The last point to notice in this solemn business of consecration of the priests is, that they were anointed with oil — an unmistakable type of our being anointed with the Holy Ghost. As an inspired apostle writes: “Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God”; while another apostle writes: “The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you” (see 2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:27). This is our power for service; this makes the character of priesthood now to be spiritual and holy, not merely human or educational, not to say successional. The latter is but a poor caricature of the former, and not only lifeless and powerless, but far worse than anything else; it sets aside the divine order by substituting another. Those, then, who are God’s priests now, are consecrated by the blood of Jesus, and anointed by the Holy Ghost.