One of the first steps in the implementation of God’s law is laying out the duties and requirements of the priests of Israel. God gives specific, stringent instruction on how the priests are to live; how they are to purify themselves; and how they are to maintain the worship spaces and rituals of their people. God is so particular about the rules for priests because the priests serve as intermediaries between God and the rest of the Israelites. They stand in the gap between God and his people.
And yet just prior to giving his people the law, God tells them that will all serve as priests. Priests not in the arena of the temple, but the arena of the world. God’s people have been called and appointed to be his intermediaries to the world. One of the errors God’s people make over time is the assumption that God’s intention is to redeem and save them alone. Not so. In this one little phrase, given at the very beginning of their journey with God, the Israelites are told that they are part of God’s greater mission of love to all the world. They are to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” – standing in the gap between God and the rest of the world.
This idea is revisited in 1 Peter 2:9-10:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Through Jesus Christ God extends the mission of Israel to people of every nation. All who are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ become part of this new nation of priests. It is the job of every believer to take up Christ’s mission: standing in the gap between God and world he so loves. God redeems us and offers us salvation. In turn, God sends us out as agents of reconciliation – priests on behalf of all those God intends to save.
So this is just a personal thing, but one thing I noticed when reading this passage is that God doesn't denote any gender specific to his priests. Sure, it's the translation and how literal you want to read the Bible and all that, but it makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteI think it's clear that all God's people, regardless of gender, are called to serve the important role of priests to the world. We are, together, the "royal priesthood and holy nation."
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