Lev. 8-10 THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD OF THE
Taught by: Pastor Carolyn
Sissom
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
1 Peter 2: 9-10: “But
you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar
people; that you should show forth the praise of Him who has called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light. Which
in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not
obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
This is the 42nd
Generation of Matthew 1 who are an extension of the life of Jesus Christ. We are the Sons of God and joint heirs in the
Priesthood of Jesus Christ, the Most High Priest.
This was determined
by Seed (Birth). (Ex. 28: 1-2). This
speaks of those born by the Living word into the Priestly family.
“In the Old
Testament, the Seed is coming. In the
Gospels, the Seed dies. In the Book of
Acts, the Seed lives. In the epistles,
the Seed speaks. And in the revelation,
the Seed Reigns! He comes, He dies, He
lives, He speaks, and He reigns!” (K.V.)
John 1: 12-13: “But as
many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believed on His name: which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.”
The priesthood is
changing, moving from the perspective of the future to the perspective of the
present, from man’s point of view to God’s point of view, for he sees the end
from the beginning. This is called the
“Melchisedec Principle” because His priesthood is ever present, now proceeding
from the heart of our Ascended Lord.
The principle of
Jesus’ present priesthood emphasizes the difference between the
1 Sam 2:35: “And I will raise me up a faithful priest,
that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind; and I will
build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.” This is prophetic of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
“There is an existing
Eli and a growing Samuel. A priesthood
that is heavy of flesh is giving way to the administration of the Holy
Spirit. A ministry that is going blind
and that refuses to restrain its sons is being replaced by the answered prayers
of a woman in travail, an imitation man child named Ichabod has provoked us to
prayer, and this intercession has given rise to a prophetic voice that will
bring Israel back to God. This one is a
faithful priest like David, Zadok, and the Lord Jesus Himself.” (Kelly Varner)
The Hebrew word for
Priest is “Kohen” (#3548, 3547) means “once officiating, a priest; to mediate;
to draw near; one who stands for another and mediates in his cause.” The Greek word “Heireus” (#2409, #2413) comes
from a root word which means “holy or set apart.”
The emphasis is upon
Holiness (“Holy nation”) as seen in bodily requirements, things that defile,
mode of ordination, dress, and food.
The Zenith of the
Levitical Priesthood’s glory was reached during the Kingdom administrations of
David and Solomon (11 Sam. And 1 Kg.)
The High priest was
Aaron. He typifies Jesus Christ, the New
Testament High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. (also Zadok and the prince of Ezekiel’s
The Levites began their service at the age of 30 (Num. 4:
23-25), then age 20 in David’s time (1 Chron. 22:24-27). They retired at 50 (Num. 8:25). They had judicial authority (Deut. 17: 8-12) “If there arise a matter too hard for you in
judgment, between blood and blood, between please and plea, and between stroke
and stroke, being matters of controversy inside your gates; then shall you
arise, and get you up into the place which the Lord your God shall choose: And
you shall come to the priests the Levites and
to the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall
show you the sentence of judgment. And
you shall do according the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord
shall choose shall show you; and you shall observe to do according to all that
they inform you. According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach
you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do: you
shall not decline from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right,
nor to the left.”
This Judicial and Governmental authority still stands today. We see this respect for the ministry on the
level of local governments more than we do at the national level.
(Mal. 2: 4-7) “And you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,
that My covenant might be with Levi, says the Lord of Hosts. My covenant was with him for life and peace; and I gave them to him for
the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before My name. the law of truth was in his mouth, and
iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and equity, and
did turn many away from iniquity. For
the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his
mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.”
However, many in the ministry today have come into
agreement with the political spirit of political correctness which has merged
mammon and religion. This is spoken of
in Mal. 2: 8-9: “But you have departed out of the way, you have caused many
to stumble at the law; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord
of hosts. Therefore have I also made you
contemptible and base before all the people, according as you have not kept my
ways, but have been partial in the law.”
As minister of the
gospel, we are not to be influenced by the government of politicians but to
guide the civil government into the ways of the Lord’s Kingdom government.
Aaron’s sons typify:
- The priesthood of believers in an
elementary sense. (1 Cor. 12)
- The five-fold ministry---Aaron plus
four sons (Eph. 4:11)
- The Royal Priesthood after the order
of Melchisedec (1 Pet. 2:9); which in Ezekiel’s
There are times the
term, Levites, is used to speak of the entire tribe, but in this teaching we
will use it to refer to the remainder of the tribe who were not priests. The Levites were servants. Their ministry parallels the New Testament
ministry of Elders and Deacons.
A stranger could not
be a priest under penalty of death. (Num. 3:10) “And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall
wait on their priest’s office; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to
death.”
There were three Levitical families:
- Merarites –
They handled the foundation and the framework and speak of the Apostle and
Prophet. (Numbers 4:21-33;
Acts). “This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari,
according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation,
under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron, the priest.”
- Gershonites
– They handled
the hangings (which strengthened and beautified) and speaks of the
Evangelist (Nub. 4: 21-28; Acts 8: 5-12) Again this was under the hand of
Ithamar.
- Koathites –
They handled the Tabernacle furniture (set it all in order) and speak of
the Pastor and the Teacher. (Num. 4: 4-15).
These assistants to the priests later became (in temple)
porters, musicians, teachers, officers, scribes and judges (1 Chr. 31). This continues to be the ministry of the
They were cleansed and separated in the presence of the
whole assembly (a type of conversion).
Afterwards, they were to shave their flesh, wash their clothes, and to
make themselves clean. (1 Tim. 3:10) “And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a
deacon, being found blameless.”
11 Cor. 7:1: “Having therefore these
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
The Priest were given to Aaron as a gift (Num. 8:19) and
then given by Aaron back to Jehovah as an offering.
John 17:6 ‘I have manifested Your name to the men which you gave Me out
of the world; Yours they were, and You gave them, Me; and they have kept your
Word.”
John 17: 10: “And all Mine are Yours
and Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them.”
This was the heritage of the tribe who had been ON THE
LORD’S SIDE, and who had avenged his honor in a time of idolatry and
rebellion. (Ex. 32: 25-29) “And Moses stood in the gate of the camp,
and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? Let
him come to me. And all the sons of Levi
gathered themselves together to him. And he said to them, Thus says the Lord
God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from
gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man
his companion, and every man his neighbor.
And the children of Levi did according
to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three
thousand men.”
The names of Aaron’s
sons reveal the nature of the priestly order:
- Nadab
-- “impulsion, willing, spontaneous, voluntary, liberal”
- Abihu
-- “my father is God’
- Eleazar – “God has surrounded, God
succors, helps, help of God”
- Ithamar – “island or land of palms”
(Solomon’s, Ezekiel’s temple)
Lev. 21:17 “Speak to Aaron saying, Whosoever he be of your seed in their
generations that has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of
His God. “
This translates to a New Testament spiritual Condition:
- Blemish (spotted with sin).
- Blind man (not born again; defective
spiritual vision).
- Lame Man (unsteady walk).
- Flat nose (no sense of discernment).
- Superfluous (Amplified Bible says
“limb too long”) (out of balance).
- Broken footed or broken handed
(spiritually disabled).
- Crookback (perverted or twisted
attitudes; spiritually deformed).
- Dwarf (stunted spiritual growth).
- Blemish in His eye (no new revelation;
looks at man and not Jesus).
- Scurvy (impulsive and not principled).
- Scabbed (unclean)
These, of course, do not imply physical conditions as
disqualifications, but spiritual conditions that will hinder us from being able
to be a servant of the Lord.
There are a variety of Priesthoods:
- The heathen priesthood of past and
contemporary history.
- The patriarchal priesthood (Gen. 4:
1-7; 8: 20-22; Job 1: 1-5_
- The Aaronic Priesthood, which is our
present study.
- The Melchisedec (Zadok) Priesthood of
the New Testament.
Levi was the third son of Jacob by Leah. (Gen. 29:34) “And she conceived again and bare a son; and said, Now this time will
my husband be joined to me, because I have born him three sons; therefore was
his named called Levi.”
Jacob’s last day prophecy to Levi is: (Gen. 49: 5-7: “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments
of cruelty are in their habitations. O
my soul, come not you in to their secret; to their assembly, my honor, be not
you united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self will they dug
down a wall. Cursed by their anger, for
it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them
in
Yet by Grace the union with Simeon is dissolved, and Levi
is joined to God’s High Priest in covenant. (Num. 18: 1-7) (vs. 6) “Behold I have taken your brethren the Levites
from among the children of Israel; to you they are given as a gift for the
Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation…I have given your
priest’s office to you as a service gift.”
(Mal. 2: 4-7) “And you
shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant might be
with Levi, says the Lord of Hosts. My
covenant was with him for life and
peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and
was afraid before My name. the law of
truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with
Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge,
and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord
of hosts.”
Levi is called by grace to fill the place of the firstborn.
(Num. 3: 12-12) “And I, behold, I
have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the
firstborn that opened the womb among the children of Israel; therefore, the
Levites shall be Mine; Because all the
firstborn are Mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land
of Egypt I hallowed to Me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. Mine shall they be: I am the Lord.”
They were born into the Priestly family (John 3: 1-8). John the Baptist is the last Levite Priest to
hold that Office who was chosen by the
Lord. Actually the priesthood ended with
Zechariah, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was
The primary function of the Priesthood is worship.
John 3: 1-8: “There
was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said to
Him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do
these miracles that You do except God be with Him. Jesus answered and said to him, “Verily, verily, I
say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
Under Jewish law, a priest was chosen of God, the property
of God, Holy unto God, offered gifts and sacrifices unto God, took gifts from
God, taught the people about God, and prayed for the people of God. (Heb. 5:
1-4)
“For every high
priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,
that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant,
and on them that are out of the way; for
that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he should , as for the
people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
And no man takes this honor to himself, but that he that is called of God,
as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified
not Himself to be made a high priest; but He that said to Him, You are My Son,
today have I begotten You.” (Ps. 2:7)
When the Lord speaks to me about ordaining someone, the
fruit of this scripture will be part of the fruit of their life. Many seek a title and recognition as well as
search for significance. However, unless
they have compassion on the ignorant, and on those who are lost, unlovely and
those who are honery, they do not have the heart of a servant. Also,
there must always be compassion on the weak.
Without this fruit in one’s life, there is no ministry within.
The consecration of the Priesthood is described in Exodus
29: 1-4:
They were brought into the Lord’s Presence at the door of
the Tabernacle: (Ex. 29: 1-4).
The sacrifices were one young bullock and two rams (animal
of substitution). One Ram for a burnt
offering – 100% of the life and the other:
Ram for consecration
– ear, thumb, and toe,
- Blood on the ear – consecrated hearing
(Psa. 40: 6-8; Isa. 50:4-6).
- Blood on the thumb – doing, service;
ministry; apostle (Gal. 1:10)
- Blood on the toe – consecrated walk
(led by the Spirit) (Eph. 4:1)
- Blood on the Garments – Consecrated
office (Tit. 1: 5-9; 1 Tim. 3)
- Fat (“inside fat”) – the best;
healthiness; vigor and energy.
- Caul (“midriff, diaphragm”) for
breathing (the prayer life).
- Kidneys (“reins”) – the innermost
being, the heart (Jn. 7: 37-39)
- Shoulder – the responsibility of
government.
Ram of Burnt Offering:
- Hands upon the head – identification
with Jesus in commitment, (100%)
- Cut in pieces – everything is exposed
to Moses (only after this could these priests perform the same ministry to others in the burn.
Offering (Heb. 4: 12-13) “For the word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart. Neither is
there any creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are
naked and opened to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. See then that we have a great high
priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our profession.”
- Unleavened bread (1 Cor. 5:8) and oil
–the Word and Holy Spirit.
- Wheaten flour, sifted and
ground---bruised, losing the identity.
- One basket –the unity of Christ the
Head and Christ the Body.
- Stripped off their own clothes and
experienced a change of garments. (Ex. 29:4; Zech. 3: 3-4; Lk. 24:49)
They were washed all over with water by
Moses---regeneration.
They were clothed – we will teach on the garments at a
later study.
The sin offering was brought---redemption.
One loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, one water –( I
Cor. 10:17) “For we being many are one bread, and one body for we are all partakers
of that one bread.”
Wave Offering – free of condemnation; worship.
Breast – consecration of the heart (1 Thess. 5:8)
The Priests were anointed with oil (Lev. 8:30) - Holy
Spirit
There was a judicial cleansing by blood and the moral
cleansing by water.
Next week we will study the Garments of the Priests.
Taught by: Pastor
Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.