Robed in Righteousness

May 23, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ³And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design. ⁴They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. ⁵And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁸He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ⁹It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth when doubled. ¹⁰And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; ¹¹and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; ¹²and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. ¹⁴There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. ¹⁵And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. ¹⁶And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. ¹⁷And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. ¹⁸They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. ¹⁹Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁰And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. ²¹And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²²He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, ²³and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. ²⁴On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. ²⁵They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates— ²⁶a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁷They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, ²⁹and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” ³¹And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the Lord had commanded Moses. – Exodus 39:1-31 ESV

In this passage, Moses virtually repeats the instructions God had given him for the design of the high priest’s sacred robes. Chapter 28 contains the conversation that took place between God and Moses that set apart Aaron and his sons to serve as priests in God’s house.

“Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.” – Exodus 28:1-3 ESV

Now, in chapter 39, Moses is describing Bezalel’s creation of those “holy garments” for Aaron and his sons. But something significant had taken place between these two chapters. Not long after God had given His blueprints for the Tabernacle and chosen Moses’ brother, Aaron to serve as high priest, the Israelites had chosen to turn their backs on God by demanding that Aaron make them replacements gods.

When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”

So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”

All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. – Exodus 32:1-4 NLT

Rather than rebuke the Israelites for their rash and ungodly demand, Aaron obliged them by taking up an unsanctioned offering. He personally collected gold from the people and then hand-crafted it into an idol fashioned in the form of a calf. This “golden calf” was likely crafted in the likeness of the Egyptian god, Apis. The cult of Apis sanctioned the worship of a living bull that was worshiped during its lifetime and then mummified after death. Upon its death, the search began for a new calf that would take its place. The Egyptians believed the dead Apis bull reincarnated as a new calf and perpetuated its own line. They believed this “god” had been created by a bolt of lightning from heaven and by careful study of its behavior, the priests of the Apis cult could divine omens and declare sacred oracles.

Whether Aaron used this particular Egyptian god as the model for his golden calf idol is unclear. But in fashioning this false god, Aaron led the people into idolatry and away from worshiping Yahweh. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and discovered what had happened in his absence, he immediately confronted his brother.

“What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?” – Exodus 32:21 NLT

Rather than own up to his role in the matter, Aaron tried to persuade Moses that he had been an unwilling pawn in the hands of the insurgents.

“Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!” – Exodus 32:22-24 NLT

He attempted to absolve himself from any responsibility in the affair. While 3,000 Israelites died for their roles in the rebellion, Aaron somehow escaped with his life. And when God sent a plague among the people of Israel as punishment for their idolatry, Aaron was spared once again. And amazingly, chapter 39 states that Bezalel and his craftsmen “made the holy garments for Aaron” (Exodus 39:1 ESV).

How could God allow this man to serve as the high priest over the nation of Israel? Had he not forfeited the right to wear the sacred garments and enter into the Holy of Holies where the presence of God was to dwell? Aaron had willingly and blatantly violated God’s commands.

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…” – Exodus 20:3-5 ESV

And yet, this man would be allowed to wear the exquisitely crafted garments described in chapter 39, including “the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen” (Exodus 39:2 ESV). On his chest, he would wear the breastplate containing the “stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel” (Exodus 39:7 ESV). He would be adorned in a rich blue robe made from fine linen and hemmed with bells of pure gold and pomegranates made from blue, purple, and scarlet yarns. And on his head would be placed a turban with a golden plate that bore the inscription: “Holy to the Lord.”

Everything about this chapter seems wrong. It appears as if God has made an unwise and unjust decision by letting this man enjoy the privilege and honor of serving as the high priest. But God was not overlooking Aaron’s flaws and failures. He was not making concessions or compromising His holiness by appointing this obviously fallen man to such a lofty and sacred position. In a sense, Aaron was the perfect person for the role. He was a sinner who had been shown grace and mercy from God. He had deserved death for his actions but had been allowed to live so that he might offer atonement for the people of Israel.

As high priest, Aaron would serve on behalf of the people, but he would do so as one who struggled with sin just as they did. And because of his sinful nature, Aaron would be required to go through a ritual of purification before he would stand before God. He would also have to offer sacrifices on his own behalf before he could make atonement for the people. He too would have to experience the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God before he could serve as the people’s mediator. And the author of Hebrews reminds us that Aaron, in his role, was a foreshadowing of the greater high priest to come.

He [Jesus] is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever. – Hebrews 7:26-28 NLT

Aaron would have to be made holy by God before he could serve. But Jesus was holy because He was God. In his humanity, Jesus was the visible image of the invisible God and His sinlessness made Him the perfect high priest. Jesus needed no purification. He required no robes to make Him holy. He had no sins of His own that demanded atonement. Unlike Aaron, Jesus was robed in perfect righteousness. He was the sinless Son of God who became the perfect high priest.

Aaron’s robes could only symbolize righteousness. But Jesus was righteousness incarnate.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Fair-Weather Faith

May 5, 2023May 5, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹ When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” ²So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” ⁶And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. – Exodus 32:1-6 ESV

While Moses had been up on the mountaintop receiving the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant from God, he had left his brother, Aaron, in charge of the people down in the valley. The last they had seen of Moses was him ascending Mount Sinai into the dark storm cloud. The thunder, lightning, and earth-shaking signs that accompanied God’s presence at Sinai had left them terrified and unwilling to go anywhere near the mountain or its summit. They wanted nothing to do with Yahweh and were content to let Moses act as their proxy.

Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire. Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. – Exodus 24:15-18 NLT

During those 40 days and nights, the people of Israel began to wonder whether Moses was ever coming back. His long delay left them concerned about his safety and their own future. What would they do if Moses never came back? For all they knew, Moses had died on the mountaintop, a victim of Yahweh’s wrath.

It’s important to remember the sequence of events that precede chapter 32. God has already given Moses His laws and regulation, and Moses has shared them with the people. Not only that, the people expressed their eager willingness to obey all that God commanded.

Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” – Exodus 24:3 NLT

Following this corporate commitment to keep God’s laws, Moses wrote them all down for posterity (Exodus 24:4). Having completed his record of God’s commands, Moses “took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people” and, once again, “they all responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey’” (Exodus 24:7 NLT). The people had heard every one of God’s commands and had agreed to keep them.

As part of the ceremony to inaugurate the institution of God’s laws, Moses offered blood sacrifices and sprinkled some of the blood on the people, telling them, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions” (Exodus 24:8 NLT). They had made a vow to obey all of God’s commands, and now that agreement had been sealed with blood, making it binding and carrying a penalty of death if they broke their commitment. This auspicious ceremony was then followed by a special invitation-only meal between some of the leadership of Israel and God Almighty.

Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence! – Exodus 24:9-11 NLT

Then Moses was told to ascend back to the mountaintop where God promised to give a copy of the Ten Commandments written by His own hand.

“Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.” So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out, and Moses climbed up the mountain of God. – Exodus 24:12-13 NLT

Moses left Aaron and the elders of Israel in charge during his absence. These were the very same men who had been given the privilege of seeing the God of Israel and eating a covenant meal with Him. In sharing that meal with Yahweh, they had personally sealed their commitments to the covenant and pledged themselves to see that every law God had given was obeyed by the people of Israel.

What happens next is critical. According to chapter 24, Moses returned to the top of Mount Sinai, “And the glory of the Lord settled down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. To the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, the glory of the Lord appeared at the summit like a consuming fire. Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights” (Exodus 24:16-18 NLT).

This brings us to the events recorded in chapter 32. At the end of the 40 days, “When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:18 NLT).

Moses left the mountaintop with the God-inscribed copy of the Decalogue and all the instructions regarding the construction of the Tabernacle and the establishment of the priesthood. His arms and his mind were full of the divinely revealed will of God for the people of Israel. It is essential to understand that Moses was coming down from the mountain with not only the Ten Commandments but the plans for the Tabernacle, the house within which God’s presence was to dwell among the people. God had made a commitment to live among His chosen people in a house that they could construct with their own hands and pay for with their own resources.

But all that God had shared with Moses regarding the Tabernacle stands in direct opposition to what was taking place down in the valley. In Moses’ absence, the people began to have second thoughts about Yahweh. They were well aware of His commands and had heard every one of the regulations contained in the Book of the Covenant. They had even given their hearty approval and voiced their full commitment to living their lives according to God’s law.

But it took just over a month for the people of Israel to lose all their enthusiasm. The longer Moses delayed, the more they began to have second thoughts about everything. In their minds, Moses was Yahweh’s official representative and spokesperson. If Moses wasn’t coming back, their link to Yawheh would be broken. After all, it had been Moses who showed up in Egypt with news of their deliverance by the hand of Yahweh. And Moses had been the one to lead them out of Egypt and into the wilderness with the help of his God. But with Moses apparently gone, they began to question Yahweh and all the commitments they had made to Him.

With Moses out of the picture, the people turned to Aaron. At this point, Aaron had no concept of God’s plans regarding the Tabernacle and his future role as the high priest. That information resided with Moses and he had not yet returned to share it. So, when the people came to Aaron and expressed their desire to replace Yahweh with another god, he eagerly obliged them.

“Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” – Exodus 32:2 NLT

Little did Aaron know that he was taking what belonged to Yahweh and ordering it to be used for idolatry. He was unaware that God had given Moses a very different use for the resources of the people of Israel.

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.” – Exodus 25:1-9 NLT

Aaron ordered the people to donate their gold earrings to construct an idol that was intended to replace Yahweh. This false god would take the place of the one true God. And in carrying out the will of the people, Aaron violated the very first commandment of the Decalogue.

“You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Exodus 20:3-5 NLT

And the man who oversaw the construction of this false god was the one whom God had chosen to serve as the high priest of Israel.

Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. – Exodus 32:4 NLT

God had great plans for Aaron and the people of Israel. They had no way of knowing that Moses was on his way down the mountain with God’s blueprints for the Tabernacle and His plans for the atoning work of the priesthood. The creator of heaven and earth was getting ready to take up residence among them, and yet they were busy replacing Him with a false god of their own design. And when Aaron had completed the construction of the golden calf and its accompanying altar, the people exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4 NLT).

Buoyed by the people’s enthusiasm, Aaron declared a feast for the following day so that the people might worship their newfound god. And sadly, the text records that “The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry” (Exodus 32:6 NLT).

Don’t miss the irony in all of this. Moses was coming down the mountain with all the details concerning the Tabernacle, the priesthood, and the sacrificial system. He had the plans for the Bronze Altar and directions for how the people might receive atonement and cleansing for their sins. But before his feet could reach the valley floor, the people of Israel had decided to come up with a plan of their own. It took just 40 days for the Israelites to forget Yahweh and every commitment they had made to Him. In their minds, He had always been Moses’ God and not their own. So, when Moses failed to return, they seized the opportunity to seek and serve another god.

The Census

May 1, 2023May 1, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, ¹²“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. ¹³Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. ¹⁵The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord‘s offering to make atonement for your lives. ¹⁶You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.” – Exodus 30:11-16 ESV

The Tabernacle, like any other man-made structure, was going to require ongoing maintenance and upkeep. Over the next 500 years of use, its carefully crafted timbers, veils, furnishings, and gold-covered fixtures would need repairs and replacement. Its construction had been funded by donations from the people of Israel but to cover the cost of its maintenance, God required a tax be collected from every male who was at least 20 years old. To determine the number of eligible males, God ordered Moses to take a census or literally, a head count of the people.

According to the book of Numbers, this census was not taken until ten months later. The most likely reason for the delay was that the census was not necessary until the construction of the Tabernacle was complete.

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company.” – Numbers 1:1-3 ESV

The completed census revealed a total of 603,550 male Israelites 20 years old or older. But that number did not include any men from the tribe of Levi because God had ordered their exclusion from the census.

“Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. Whenever it is time for the Tabernacle to move, the Levites will take it down. And when it is time to stop, they will set it up again.” – Numbers 1:49-51 NLT

These 603,550 male members of the Israelite community were ordered to pay a tax that would be used to cover the cost of maintaining God’s house. But there was a more important purpose behind this levy.

“…each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them.” – Exodus 30:12 ESV

The dual purpose behind the tax is clarified in verse 16.

“You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.” – Exodus 30:16 ESV

This half-shekel tax was to be considered an offering to the Lord but it was to also function as a reminder to each Israelite of their status as God’s people. The Hebrew word translated as “ransom” is כֹּפֶר (kōp̄er) and it means “price of a life” or “redemption price.” This so-called tax was actually a payment made by each Israelite male to signify that their lives belonged to God. This payment did not atone for their sins because that was only possible through blood sacrifice. But it let every Israelite know that their lives were not their own. He had redeemed or purchased them out of slavery in Egypt and made them His own people.

The apostle Paul picks up on this idea in his first letter to the believers in Corinth.

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT

The “atonement money” did not atone for sins, but it made atonement for their lives. And not only that, it served as a form of protection from God’s wrath.

“…each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.” – Exodus 30:12 ESV

God warns Moses that the taking of the census could prove to be a dangerous proposition. Numbering the people could lead the Israelites to develop a sense of self-sufficiency and independence from God. When they discovered that they had more than 600,000 men of fighting age, they might be tempted to become overconfident and reliant upon their own strength.

“When God numbers or orders anything to be numbered, taking the sum of them denotes that they belong to Him, and that He has the sovereign right to do with them as He pleases. The action itself says of the things numbered, ‘These are Mine, and I assign them their place as I will.’” – A. W. Pink, Gleanings in Exodus

God had promised to make of Abraham a great nation, and He had kept that promise. When the family of Jacob had entered Egypt there had only been 70 of them. But some four centuries later, their number had exploded.

…the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. – Exodus 1:7 ESV

And when the ten plagues from God finally forced the Egyptians to release the Israelites, they marched out like a mighty army.

…the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. – Exodus 12:37 ESV

This had all been God’s doing. Their exponential growth and miraculous release from captivity had been the work of Yahweh and they could not claim any credit for it. So, when the census was taken, they were not to marvel at their own might or become prideful of their capacity for self-rule. They belonged to God.

One of the keys to understanding all of this is to recognize that God ordered the census to record the number of fighting men. These were to be able-bodied male Israelites who could march into battle against the enemies who occupied the land of Canaan. But God wanted the Israelites to know that their vast numbers were not to be their hope. Years later, when the people were standing on the edge of the Jordan River preparing to enter the Promised Land for the very first time, Moses would remind them:

“The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.” – Deuteronomy 1:30-31 ESV

Each time the Israelites prepared to go into battle, the priests were to gather all the fighting men and tell them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory” (Deuteronomy 20:3-4 ESV).

The book of 2 Samuel records a much-later event when King David took a census of the people of Israel. While he had been prompted to do so by God, it was meant as a punishment against the people for their wickedness. And David’s general, Joab, recognized the nature of this test from the Lord.

“May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” – 2 Samuel 24:3 ESV

But David went ahead with the census, and nine months and 20 days later, he received the good news.

Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000. – 2 Samuel 24:9 ESV

But David regretted his decision and immediately confessed his sin to God.

“I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” – 2 Samuel 24:10 ESV

He had wanted to know the size of his army, and when he had learned that there were 1,300,000 soldiers under his command, he knew he had made a drastic mistake. He probably recognized the pride he felt upon learning of his massive military might. A sense of arrogance and self-sufficiency must have welled up within him as he considered the size of his army. But then he realized that he was putting his faith in the wrong thing. He had taken his eyes off of the Lord. And while David received forgiveness from God, he still had to pay for his costly error.

…the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. – 2 Samuel 24:15 ESV

To assuage the anger of God, David used his own money to purchase a piece of land where he commissioned the construction of an altar to God. He paid 50 shekels of silver for the land and 50 oxen, which he sacrificed on the altar. And as a result of this costly gesture, God relented.

…the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel. – 2 Samuel 24:25 ESV

David had placed a higher priority on the size of his army than the power of His God. For just a moment, he had taken his eyes off of the Lord and focused his hopes on the wrong thing. And God wanted Moses to protect Moses from making that same mistake. The number of able-bodied me who could take up swords against the enemy was to remind Moses and the people of Israel of God’s greatness, not their own. The census was really designed to glorify Israel’s God of Israel and not its army. And the tax was a reminder that the life of each of these men belonged to God. They were, first and foremost, an army of priests, a holy nation unto the Lord.

The Altar of Incense

April 30, 2023April 30, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹““You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. ²A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. ³You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. ⁴And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. ⁵You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁷And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, ⁸and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. ⁹You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. ¹⁰Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.” – Exodus 30:1-10 ESV

Back in chapter 25, God gave instructions regarding the primary pieces of furniture to be contained in the Tabernacle. He includes the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat, the table for the bread of the presence, and the Golden Lampstand. Each of these intricately designed pieces was to be placed within the two inner chambers of the Tabernacle. But there was one item left off the list: The Altar of Incense. For some unexplained reason, God did not mention this piece until after He had outlined the ordination ceremony for the priests.

There has been much debate about this apparent “misplacement” of the altar’s description in the narrative. Some have argued that it provides proof that the book of Exodus was amended by outside editors. There is a long history among editorial critics of the Bible that the book of Exodus was not written by Moses but was compiled by a variety of authors and edited into its current form. But why would these editors have placed the design of the altar in chapter 30 rather than chapter 25? That makes no sense. If anything, the delayed introduction of the Altar of Incense was perfectly timed by God Himself. He revealed it to Moses at just the right moment.

The Altar of Incense would be a vital part of the worship of Yahweh performed by Aaron and his sons. The placement of the Altar of Incense reveals the nature of its importance. It was to be located within the Holy Place just in front of the veil that led into the Holy of Holies. On the other side of that veil was the Mercy Seat, which was intended to be the throne of God on earth. It was there that His divine presence would reside. So, this small wooden box, covered in gold, was to be placed before the entrance into God’s presence. God was very specific about its placement.

“Place the incense altar just outside the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant, in front of the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that covers the tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. I will meet with you there.” – Exodus 30:6 NLT

The incense altar was to be flanked by the Golden Lampstand and the Table of Showbread. But only it led into the Holy of Holies. And God gave Moses strict instructions regarding its use.

“Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the Lord’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation. Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar, or any burnt offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings.” – Exodus 30:7-9 NLT

This helps to explain the delayed description of this particular piece of furniture. Its use required the presence of a fully consecrated high priest. While the Golden Lampstand and the Table of Showbread also required the services of the high priest, the Altar of Incense was different. Its entire purpose was for burning incense before the Lord, and this ritual was to be performed twice a day for perpetuity. God even provided Moses with the recipe for making the incense.

“Gather fragrant spices—resin droplets, mollusk shell, and galbanum—and mix these fragrant spices with pure frankincense, weighed out in equal amounts. Using the usual techniques of the incense maker, blend the spices together and sprinkle them with salt to produce a pure and holy incense. Grind some of the mixture into a very fine powder and put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant, where I will meet with you in the Tabernacle. You must treat this incense as most holy. Never use this formula to make this incense for yourselves. It is reserved for the Lord, and you must treat it as holy. Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.” – Exodus 30:34-38 NLT

Even the spice itself was set apart for God’s use. Its proprietary formula was reserved solely for the worship of God, and Aaron and his sons were prohibited from replicating it for personal use. So, every morning and evening, Aaron would enter the Holy Place dressed in his priestly robes and offer up the incense to God.

According to the book of Leviticus, Aaron was only to use coals from the Bronze Altar to burn incense before the Lord.

“Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. After he has slaughtered the bull as a sin offering, he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the Lord. Then he will take two handfuls of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense behind the inner curtain. There in the Lord’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If he follows these instructions, he will not die.” – Leviticus 16:11-13 NLT

God stressed the importance that Aaron use the Altar of Incense properly by threatening him with the possibility of death for any breach of protocol. And the book of Leviticus tells us that Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu chose to violate God’s commands and lost their lives in the process.

…each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. – Leviticus 10:1-2 ESV

It seems that rather than using coals from the Bronze Altar as God had commanded, they chose a different source. In doing so, the smoke from the incense became unacceptable to God, and they paid for this violation with their lives.

There is no explanation given regarding the real purpose behind the burning of the incense, but elsewhere in the Scriptures, it is tied to prayer. King David would write in one of his psalms:

O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry!
Listen when I cry to you for help!
Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
and my upraised hands as an evening offering. – Psalm 141:2 NLT

In the book of Revelation, the apostle John records his vision of the throneroom of God in heaven.

…the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. – Revelation 5:8 NLT

Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. – Revelation 8:3-4 NLT

So, as Aaron offered up incense each morning and evening, it represented the prayers of God’s people. Dressed in his sacred and sanctified robes, the high priest took coals from the Bronze Altar and lit the holy incense before the veil that led into God’s presence. The smoke, symbolizing the prayers of the people, would rise before God, whose divine presence resided on the Mercy Seat. This scene, repeated every day, twice a day, would foreshadow the role of the Holy Spirit after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. – Romans 8:26-27 NLT

God desires to intercede on behalf of His people. He hears and responds to their prayers. And, in offering up incense, Aaron would be symbolically presenting the desires of the people before the throne of God.

Centuries later, when Solomon dedicated the newly built temple in Jerusalem, God placed His seal of approval on it and made a solemn promise to hear and answer the prayers of His people.

“…if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 ESV

The key to understanding this passage is the issue of holiness. God expected His people to live holy lives. He gave the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant so that they might know exactly how to conduct themselves as His chosen people. The entire Tabernacle was built upon the foundation of holiness. Every aspect of its design and every facet of its functionality was tied to holiness. Everything, including the priest and his garments, had to be purified and sanctified so that God could be worshiped properly. There was no room for error. The prayers of the people had to be offered in the right way if they wanted to hear from God. And even the Altar of Incense itself had to be purified annually so that the holy incense and the prayers of the people would rise before God as a pleasing aroma. There were to be no shortcuts. No concessions or compromises were allowed. Holiness was and still is the only acceptable standard.

Holy to the Lord

April 27, 2023April 27, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

³¹“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. ³²It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment, so that it may not tear. ³³On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, ³⁴a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. ³⁵And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.

³⁶“You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ ³⁷And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. ³⁸It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

³⁹“You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.

⁴⁰“For Aaron’s sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty. ⁴¹And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. ⁴²You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; ⁴³and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.” – Exodus 28:31-43 ESV

The old proverb, “clothes make the man,” could easily be applied to the high priest and his sacred garments. Aaron was being given a divinely designed wardrobe that would allow him to enter the very presence of God Almighty. When performing his priestly duties, Aaron was to be outfitted from head to toe with a one-of-a-kind vestment that set him apart from every other Israelite. Underneath the richly ornamented garments, Aaron was just another man. He had no righteousness of his own and had done nothing to earn or deserve his status as God’s high priest. Yet God had chosen him to serve in this incomparable role and adorned him with exquisite garments that signified the sacredness of his calling. These garments were to be considered holy because they had been set apart for one purpose only. They were to be used solely for the worship of God. Aaron was not free to use them for any other purpose or leave the grounds of the Tabernacle while wearing them. They were to be his uniform when serving in the sanctuary of the Lord.

In the closing verses of chapter 28, God provides the final piece of the ensemble that Aaron was to wear: A blue robe made from a seamless piece of finely woven linen. It appears that this robe was shaped like a poncho with a hole in the middle for slipping it over the head. The collar was reinforced to prevent it from tearing. Attached to the hem of the robe was a series of alternating ornaments.

“Make pomegranates out of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and attach them to the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.” – Exodus 28:33 NLT

The pomegranates most likely symbolized fruitfulness, while the bells were intended to declare the actions of the priest as he ministered on behalf of the people. They could not enter the Tabernacle, so whenever the high priest went inside the compound to serve as their mediator, they could hear the sound of the bells and know that he was acting in their stead. He bore the name of their tribe on his shoulder and before his heart. And as long as the bells sounded, they knew that he had been accepted by God and was serving in their place before the throne of the Lord.

The sound of the bells was essential because it revealed that Aaron was still alive, and death was a distinct possibility every time the high priest entered into God’s presence. God even indicated that the bells would serve as a kind of early warning system, signifying that Aaron was approaching. God would later tell Moses, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20 ESV). So, once a year, when Aaron entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, the bells would announce his intent to enter God’s presence.

“And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.” – Exodus 28:35 ESV

Perhaps God’s glory departed the Holy of Holies prior to Aaron’s entrance, in order to prevent the high priest from seeing the face of God. The text is not clear. But in the book of Leviticus, Moses includes further details regarding Aaron’s once-a-year entrance into the inner recesses of the Tabernacle on the Day of Atonement.

“Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.” – Leviticus 16:2-4 NLT

Aaron had to take precautions when serving God because death was a real possibility if he did so in an improper manner. His garments had to be just right. He had to go through the proper purification procedures. And he was never to enter the Holy of Holies on any other day than the one prescribed by God – upon penalty of death.

One of the final elements of Aaron’s priestly outfit was the linen turban. Attached to the turban was a gold plate upon which were engraved the words, “Holy to the Lord” (Exodus 28:37 ESV). This emblem hung above the high priest’s forehead and signified that he belonged to God. In a sense, his garments made him holy. They set the high priest apart as being the sole property of God and dedicated entirely to His use and for His glory. And this was to be true of Aaron’s sons as well. They too were to wear holy garments that signified their status as God’s chosen vessels.

“For Aaron’s sons, make tunics, sashes, and special head coverings that are glorious and beautiful. Clothe your brother, Aaron, and his sons with these garments, and then anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they can serve as my priests.” – Exodus 28:40-41 NLT

These men had been given the incredible privilege and responsibility of serving the God of the universe, and they were not to take it lightly. Even their undergarments were meant to set them apart as God’s chosen servants and were designed to protect them from uncovering their nakedness before the Lord.

“These must be worn whenever Aaron and his sons enter the Tabernacle or approach the altar in the Holy Place to perform their priestly duties. Then they will not incur guilt and die.” – Exodus 28:43 NLT

God made provisions for everything. Any form of immodesty would have been unacceptable when serving in the house of God, so God designed holy undergarments to prevent Aaron and his sons from exposing themselves to one another while performing their priestly duties. God took every precaution to ensure that His servants remained “Holy to the Lord” in all that they did.

But there is a story recorded in the book of Leviticus that reveals how Aaron’s sons failed to fully appreciate the holiness of their calling. Despite all of God’s warnings and the precautions He took to ensure their safety when serving in His house, Nadab and Abihu took liberties with their position and chose to do God’s will their own way.

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.

Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,

‘I will display my holiness
through those who come near me.
I will display my glory
before all the people.’”

And Aaron was silent. – Leviticus 10:1-3 NLT

There is no explanation given as to what is meant by “the wrong kind of fire.” In Hebrew, it refers to “unauthorized fire.” Evidently, Nadab and Abihu did not follow God’s commands regarding the proper use of the Altar of Incense. There are some scholars who believe that whatever these two men did was done in a state of drunkenness, because immediately after their deaths, God gave Aaron a new prohibition banning the consumption of alcohol while serving in the Tabernacle.

“You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation. You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean.” – Leviticus 10:9-10 NLT

But this sad incident reveals that clothes do not make the man. Nadab and Abihu may have been wearing the holy garments, but their hearts remained distant from God. Their outer appearance did nothing to change their inner dispositions. And Jesus would accuse the religious leaders of His day of having the very same problem.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” – Matthew 23:27-28 BSB

Yes, the robes of the high priest and his sons were important. But those sacred garments could not make Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu holy. Priestly robes cannot alter a man’s heart or change his character. Sadly, they can actually serve as camouflage, covering up the reality within, and that was the case for Nadab and Abihu. They looked like priests, set apart for the service of God, but they were actually whitewashed tombs, full of dead men’s bones. To all the people of Israel, Aaron’s sons looked the part, but God had a different perspective.

“…the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7 ESV

Our Great High Priest

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁶“And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. ⁷It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. ⁸And the skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ⁹You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. ¹¹As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. ¹²And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance. ¹³You shall make settings of gold filigree, ¹⁴and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.” – Exodus 28:6-14 ESV

God went into great detail when describing the sacred garments to be worn by Aaron in his role as the high priest of Israel. In his capacity as God’s representative and the nation’s mediator, Aaron was tasked with maintaining the sanctity of the Tabernacle but also the purity of God’s people. This ordinary man was given the extraordinary responsibility of entering into God’s presence on behalf of his entire nation, and God ensured that his priestly vestments displayed the distinctive nature of his role. God would robe His servant in garments of righteousness and representation. Aaron was to be clothed in beautifully handcrafted robes, a linen ephod, and an ornate breastplate adorned with precious stones in a setting of gold.

Like the elements that made up the Tabernacle, Aaron’s priestly garments were meant to reflect the glory of God and distinguish the high priest as a servant of God. Everything about Tabernacle was designed to display God’s glory, beauty, and holiness, including the attire of the high priest. When Aaron served in his role as high priest, he was to dress the part, bearing garments that honored the glory and greatness of God. And, as God makes clear, every time Aaron donned his priestly vestments, he did so on behalf of the people of Israel.

The linen ephod was the foundational piece of Aaron’s wardrobe. It was to be created by skilled craftsmen using finely woven linen that was embroidered with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread. The exact nature of the embroidered pattern is not provided, but God indicates that this robe was to be of two pieces, forming a front and back that were “joined at the shoulders with two shoulder-pieces” (Exodus 28:7 ESV). A decorative sash was to be tied around Aaron’s waist to hold the two halves of the ephod in place as he went about his duties.

Each shoulder piece was to be adorned with an onyx stone engraved with six of the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. Each time Aaron entered the Tabernacle, he literally bore the nation of Israel on his shoulders. And God declared that these symbolic stones were to serve “as a reminder that Aaron represents the people of Israel” (Exodus 28:12 ESV).

The role of the high priest came with a weighty responsibility. The people were not allowed to enter into God’s presence because of their sinfulness. Even Aaron had to go through an extensive purification process before he could come before the Lord. And each time he did, he carried the 12 tribes of Israel with him. He bore the burden of acting as their priestly representative before God. And this vital role takes on even greater weight when you consider the statement God made to the people of Israel when they first arrived at Mount Sinai.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” – Exodus 19:5-6 ESV

Aaron represented the people. Their priesthood was lived out through his life and service. They were prohibited from coming into God’s presence, but this one man was given the responsibility of serving as their substitute. The obedient fulfillment of his God-ordained obligation would help ensure that the people of Israel remained a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

The author of Hebrews provides a fascinating insight into the mediatory role of the high priest.

Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs. – Hebrews 5:1-3 NLT

Aaron was not sinless, yet he was tasked with representing sinful people before God. In order to do so, he had to undergo purification and receive atonement for his own sins before he could serve as their mediator. And the author of Hebrews stresses that Aaron did not choose his position as high priest and he had done nothing to earn it. He had been chosen by God.

“no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God… – Hebrews 5:4-5 NLT

Aaron foreshadowed the greater high priest to come. And the author of Hebrews points out that Jesus was also chosen to serve in this role just as His predecessor was.

God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. – Hebrews 5:9 NLT

But the primary difference is that Jesus, as the Son of God, was sinless and wholly righteous. He required no ceremonial cleansing from sin. He was righteous in every way and yet, as high priest, he did offer up a blood sacrifice so that sinful humanity might receive atonement, and the sacrifice He made was His own life.

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. – Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT

Aaron could not fully atone for the sins of his fellow Israelites. All his sacrifices were temporary and had to be repeated over and over again.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. – Hebrews 10:1 NLT

Aaron’s ornate and beautifully crafted robes did not make him righteous. They were garments that symbolized the righteousness of God but they could not bestow righteousness to Aaron. So, in order for him to bear the people before God, he had to be purified, time and time again. And, once again, the author of Hebrews notes the futility built into this system.

If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. – Hebrews 10:2-3 NLT

And he clarifies why the Old Testament model of sacrifice was insufficient.

For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. – Hebrews 10:4 NLT

Aaron and his successors would continue this process of purification for sins so that atonement might be made, but it would prove to be a never-ending cycle of sin, sacrifice, and sanctification. Aaron’s role as a mediator would never stop. He couldn’t take a day off. There would never be a time when he could forego his own cleansing. Day after day, year after year, the sacrifices would have to be made so that atonement could be received. But the book of Hebrews states, “God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time” (Hebrews 10:10 ESV).

Aaron was meant to be a type of Christ. He served as a foreshadowing of the future high priest who “offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time” (Hebrews 10:12 NLT). God had a plan for man’s redemption in place and He telegraphed it through the Tabernacle and the role of the high priest. And the apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus was able to accomplish is full what Aaron could only do in part.

He [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:13-14 NLT

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. – Ephesians 1:6-7 NLT

The Mercy Seat

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁰“They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. ¹¹You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. ¹²You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. ¹³You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. ¹⁵The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. ¹⁶And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.

¹⁷“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. ¹⁸And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. ¹⁹Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. ²⁰The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. ²¹And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. ²²There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. – Exodus 25:10-22 ESV

After communicating His command that the people build a sanctuary as His dwelling place on earth, God provided detailed plans for every aspect of its construction, but He didn’t begin with the structure itself. Instead, He focused His attention on the three pieces of furniture that were to occupy the inner recesses of the tabernacle.

The very first item He described was the Ark of the Covenant. This was to be a rectangular box constructed from acacia wood and overlaid with gold. It was to be carried by two gold-covered poles that were inserted into golden rings affixed to its side. Inside this coffin-like container, Moses was to place “the testimony” or stone tablets that God would eventually give him.

But why did God begin with this particular piece of furniture? If the sanctuary was to be His dwelling place, why did He focus His attention on this ornate box? It was because the Ark of the Covenant would be the most important fixture in the entire Tabernacle.

“It was the exact place where God descended to dwell with his people, which of course was the purpose of the building. The very center of God’s presence was the ark of the covenant, which was located in the Holy of Holies – the innermost tent in the tabernacle. By starting with the ark, God was working from the inside out. He was putting first things first, beginning with the holy place of his dwelling.” – Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory

On top of the Ark of the Covenant, Moses was to place the Mercy Seat. This was to serve as the lid for the Ark but, more importantly, as a “throne” for God’s presence. God informed Moses that this “seat” would be the actual place where His presence came to dwell within the Tabernacle.

“…you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” – Exodus 25:21-22 ESV

“The purpose of the ark was to contain the tables of the law, ‘the Testimony.’ But more than that, it represented the presence of God in a very special way. God promised that He would appear in a cloud upon the mercy seat which was on the ark in the most holy place. Into that place, ‘the Most Holy Place,’ the high priest would enter one a year to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat in order that the sins of the people might be atoned (Lev. 16).” – Maxie D. Duncan, Exodus, The Preacher’s Commentary

Little did Moses know that he was being commanded to construct a miniature replica of God’s throne in heaven. On top of the ark, he was to place two gold Cherubim or ministering angels, whose wings were to spread out over the Mercy Seat. This description matches the one provided by the apostle John in the book of Revelation when he was given a vision of God’s throne room in heaven.

…a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!” – Revelation 4:2-8 ESV

And the prophet, Ezekiel, was given a similar glimpse into God’s throne room, where he saw the same scene, complete with Cherubim spreading their wings before God’s presence.

““above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” – Ezekiel 1:26-28 ESV

The Mercy Seat was intended to be God’s throne on earth. It was there that He would come to dwell among His people, sitting above the Law He had given them. And it was there that, once a year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would come to offer a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people.

“Each year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of animals sacrificed for the atonement of the sins of God’s people. This blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat. The point conveyed by this imagery is that it is only through the offering of blood that the condemnation of the Law could be taken away and violations of God’s laws covered.” – gotquestions.org

The Law, holy and righteous, would condemn the people of their sins. But the blood of the sacrificed animal, when sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, would atone or pay for those sins and purchase the people’s redemption. They would receive mercy rather than wrath. They would enjoy God’s forgiveness rather than condemnation. And all of this was to point to the greater sacrifice to come: Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God. The apostle Paul explains how Jesus became the ultimate expression of God’s gracious gift of redemption from sin and death.

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. – Romans 3:21-26 NLT

And the author of Hebrews echoes Paul’s words when he writes of Christ’s atoning work on the cross that secured God’s mercy for sinful mankind once for all time.

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. – Hebrews 9:11-15 NLT

The Mercy Seat in the Tabernacle was meant to foreshadow the future sacrifice of Christ that would atone for the sins of mankind. This simple, yet ornate, piece of furniture was to illustrate the unwavering righteousness of God through the presence of the two tablets of the Law. The golden cherubim were to be a reminder of God’s holiness and His worthiness to be worshiped by all His creatures. And the Mercy Seat was to be the very place where God’s presence came to dwell among His people and where their sins would have to be atoned for each year. They were an unworthy people who were incapable of keeping God’s holy law. But, in His grace and mercy, God had provided a means of receiving atonement and forgiveness. Not only would He grace them with His presence, but He would bless them with His merciful and undeserved removal of their guilt and condemnation. And it all pointed to Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. – Hebrews 9:24-26 NLT

A Shadow of Things to Come

September 26, 2022September 27, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. ²And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. ³They shall keep guard over you and over the whole tent, but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar lest they, and you, die. ⁴They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, and no outsider shall come near you. ⁵And you shall keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. ⁶And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ⁷And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.” – Numbers 18:1-7 ESV

As a result of the rebellion of Korah, God brought a plague among the people of Israel. It was only Aaron’s quick action, as he atoned for their sins, that prevented the complete destruction of the people of Israel at the hands of God. He intervened and interceded on their behalf, and God spared them. As a result, God reconfirmed His selection of Aaron and his sons to serve as His priests.

The budding of the rod of Aaron was a divine sign of God’s choosing of Aaron and the tribe of Levi as His servants. They would belong to Him. Only the Levites could serve as caretakers of the tabernacle and only Aaron and his sons could serve as intercessors with God on behalf of the people. With their jobs came great responsibilities and great blessings. They were to remain holy and set apart to God. They received no inheritance in the land, but God provided for them from the gifts that were given to Him as a part of the sacrifices of the people. The Levites received from God that which was holy. They ate well but they had to be very careful not to profane or desecrate the things of God through unholy conduct. God warned Aaron, “You, your sons, and your relatives from the tribe of Levi will be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary. But you and your sons alone will be held responsible for violations connected with the priesthood” (Numbers 18:1 NLT).

These were ordinary men who had been given an extraordinary responsibility. They were the literal keepers of the spiritual flame of Israel. They were to maintain God’s house and everything in it. They protected it and transported it. Aaron and his sons, as the priests, were responsible for offering sacrifices on behalf of the people, atoning for their sins, and providing a means for them to remain in right standing with God. But their work could never fully remove guilt or provide full atonement for the sins of the people. But the priesthood and the sacrificial system as outlined in the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of something greater to come.

They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. – Hebrews 8:5-6 NLT

God’s plan for the tabernacle, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood was a temporary system that represented a far greater future reality. It was imperfect because it involved sinful men. Aaron and his sons were flawed and far from perfect, just like every other Israelite. For them to perform their duties as priests, they had to undergo rigorous purification rites for the atonement of their own sins. And, according to the book of Hebrews, their humanity made them susceptible to death just like everyone else and required that there be constant replacements available.

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. – Hebrews 7:23 ESV

But God’s plan was far greater than that of the tabernacle and the earthly priesthood. He had already determined a better means of atoning for the sins of man. And it would involve His own Son. This had been God’s plan all along. After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus gave His disciples two separate Bible lessons where He “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45 ESV). For the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, “he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27 ESV). Jesus unpacked all the writings of Moses and the prophets, showing how He had been foreshadowed and predicted. Everything had been pointing to Him. The entire sacrificial system was but a shadow of things to come. The priesthood as practiced in Moses’ day, served as a glimpse of something greater to come.

He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever. – Hebrews 7:26-28 NLT

Man would need a greater High Priest. We would require a greater means of atonement. The sacrificial system, as practiced by the Jews in the days of Moses and even into the days of Jesus, could never fully eradicate the sins of men. Because man’s capacity for sin was endless, so was the need for constant sacrifice. There was never a point at which they were totally forgiven and completely free from the guilt of their sin. If nothing else, the law and the sacrificial system were a daily reminder of the ever-present reality of sin and guilt. No one could keep the law perfectly so, therefore, no one was truly sinless. And the constant capacity to sin required the constant need to sacrifice in order to atone for those sins.

But Jesus came to put an end to the madness. He was the High Priest who came to deal with sin once and for all.

He did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. – Hebrews 9:25-28 NLT

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, our sins have been paid for. Our atonement has been accomplished once and for all. We can now stand before God as righteous in His eyes. All because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross on our behalf. We have been set free and are no longer slaves to sin. We have the capacity to live differently and distinctively, empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. And our righteousness is not of our own making but has been provided for us by Christ Himself. He bore our sins and transferred His righteousness to us. He died so that we might live.

When reading the Old Testament, we must look for Christ and understand that it all foreshadows His ultimate arrival on the scene. The Old Testament is as much about Christ as the four Gospels. Prior to His ascension, Jesus took time to teach His disciples and point out all that the Old Testament Scriptures revealed about Himself. The story of the Bible is the story of God’s ultimate redemption of mankind through the saving work of Jesus. Like any story, it has a beginning and an end. In the story recorded in Luke, we see Jesus departing from His disciples, ascending up into heaven. But we know that’s not the end of the story.

This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way you saw him go into heaven. – Acts 1:11 ESV

He has gone, but He will someday return. His work as High Priest is complete but His job as King is not yet finished. And we look forward to the day when God closes the final chapter in His great book of redemption.

The King of Righteousness

January 15, 2022January 15, 2022 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁷After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) ¹⁹And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
²⁰and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. ²¹And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” ²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, ²³that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.’” – Genesis 14:17-24 ESV

Having won a God-ordained victory over the four kings of Mesopotamia, Abram returned home with his nephew, Lot, and all the plunder that had been taken from Sodom by King Chedorlaomer. Upon his return, Abram was greeted by two kings. One was Bera, the king of Sodom, while the other was Melchizedek, the king of Salem. While Bera was introduced in verse two of this same chapter, Melchizedek makes his first appearance. It seems quite obvious why Bera would come out to meet Abram and his troops as they returned from battle. His city had been sacked and plundered by the coalition of kings from Mesopotamia and Abram had “brought back all the possessions” (Genesis 14:16 ESV) that had been taken. Abram has rescued all of the city’s stolen treasure and the citizens who had been taken captive, and Bera wanted to express his appreciation. He even offered to let Abram keep all the plunder as a payment for his efforts.

“Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered.” – Genesis 14:21 NLT

But it seems that Abram wanted nothing to do with Bera or his treasure. He firmly, but graciously refused the offer, stating, “I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise, you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ I will accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre” (Genesis 14:22-24 NLT).

Moses has already made it clear that “the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13 ESV). Even the king’s name bore witness to his own immorality and evilness. In Hebrew, his name, בֶּרַע (beraʿ) means “son of evil.” This raises the question of how any parent could burden their child with such a harsh and almost prophetic name. And interestingly enough, the king of Gomorrah was saddled with a similarly unflattering name. His was בִּרְשַׁע (biršaʿ) which can be translated “with iniquity.” These two men ended up ruling over two of the most wicked and godless communities on the face of the earth. They were the epitome of the attitude that had pervaded the earth right before God destroyed it.

…everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. – Genesis 6:5 NLT

So, Abram’s decision to refuse an offer from this corrupt king makes sense. He didn’t want anything to do with Bera or his treasure. And Abram had already made a vow to God that he would not accept any reward for his services. He knew that to do so would place him in a position of subservience to Bera. This godless, pagan king could claim that he was the one who made Abram wealthy and use that as a future bargaining chip to obligate Abram for additional help when needed. Abram would owe Bera.

The reward Bera was offering Abram must have been substantial because it would have made Abram wealthier than he already was. According to Genesis 13, Abram was well-off.

Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. – Genesis 13:2 ESV

But while Abram was unwilling to accept any compensation, he allowed his men to choose their share of the reward. He didn’t attempt to burden his men with the requirements of the personal vow he had made to God. Rather than force his convictions on them, Abram graciously allowed them to decide for themselves.

This now brings us back to the second king mentioned in the narrative: Melchizedek, the king of Salem. As if out of nowhere, this king shows up in the story without introduction and with no explanation as to who he was. His name appears nowhere in the opening verses of the chapter. He was not one of the nine kings involved in the battle. And his name appears in none of the genealogies recorded in the earlier chapters of Genesis. There are only three other places in Scripture where Melchizedek is mentioned. The first is in a psalm written by King David. In it, David states that God has declared him to be “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4 ESV). Jesus would later use this same psalm to prove His claim to be the Christ, the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 22:41-46). So, he believed this song of David to be a prophetic statement about Himself. He was that priest after the order of Melchizedek. The fact that Melchizedek appears on the scene with no apparent genealogy and then disappears with no mention of his death makes him a type of Christ. He was the king of Salem, the future site of Jerusalem. Melchizedek, which was likely his title and not his name, means “King of Righteousness.” This appellation is meant to stand in stark contrast to that of Bera, the “son of evil.”

In the midst of the predominantly pagan Canaanite culture, this “righteous” king suddenly appears on the scene, offering bread and wine to Abram and his men. Moses describes him as “a priest of God Most High” (Genesis 14:18 ESV). In other words, he was far more than just another king. He was a servant of Yahweh, the God who had called Abram and who had promised to make of him a great nation. This would have been the first time that Abram encountered another human being who also worshiped El Elyon (God Most High).

Once again, Melchizedek receives little mention in the Scriptures, but where his name does appear, it is associated with Jesus. In the book of Hebrews, the author presents Jesus as the better high priest, stating:

…no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him,

“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.”

And in another passage God said to him,

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” – Hebrews 5:4-6 NLT

In the very next chapter, the author declares that Jesus “leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary” and “has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:19-20 NLT. And then the author provides some much-needed explanation as to Melchizedek’s identity and his relationship with Jesus.

This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God. – Hebrews 7:1-3 NLT

Melchizedek was meant to foreshadow the great high priest who would come to earth offering bread and wine in the form of His own body. In an upper room in the city of “Salem” (Jerusalem), Jesus would share a final Passover meal with His disciples and, just like Melchizedek, offer His disciples bread and wine.

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”

And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.” – Matthew 26:26-28 NLT

Melchizedek fed Abram and his men, then pronounced a blessing.

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” – Genesis 14:19-20 ESV

In doing so, he confirmed Abram’s desire to honor God with his victory. Melchizedek emphasized the sovereign power of Abram’s God. It was God Most High who had brought about the defeat of the four kings. Abram had enjoyed victory over his enemies only because God had ordained it. This blessing was meant to encourage Abram in his faith. His God was great and fully capable of doing the impossible. This reminder was going to come in handy in the days ahead when Abram found himself doing battle with doubt rather than waging war with human kings. He was going to need constant reminding that His God was truly great. The days ahead were going to require great faith. And Jesus, like Melchizedek, would provide His followers with similar words of encouragement.

“…truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20 ESV

And as a result of Melchizedek’s gracious gift of bread and wine and the comforting words of his blessing, “Abram gave him a tenth of everything” (Genesis 14:20 ESV). Once again, the author of Hebrews provides an explanation for Abram’s actions.

Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle. – Hebrews 7:4 NLT

Abram recognized the superior nature of this priest/king and gave to him a tenth of all the spoil he had brought back from the battle. He honored this man as a servant of God and returned the blessing by sharing a portion of the riches that God had allowed him to recover. But as great as Melchizedek was, he stands in the shadow of the greater high priest.

…a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied.

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” – Hebrews 7:15-17 NLT

There is no mention of Melchizedek’s death. And the author of Hebrews states that “He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God” (Hebrews 7:3 NLT). He points to the one to come who will offer Himself as the bread of life and whose blood will be “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28 ESV). God blessed Abram through Melchizedek, but God would bless the nations through Jesus, the offspring of Abram.

But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. – Hebrews 7:24-27 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Tale of Two Trials

October 16, 2021 / kdmiller55 / 2 Comments

⁵⁴Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. ⁵⁵And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. ⁵⁶Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” ⁵⁷But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” ⁵⁸And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” ⁵⁹And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” ⁶²And he went out and wept bitterly.

⁶³Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. ⁶⁴They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” ⁶⁵And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. – Luke 22:54-65 ESV

One disciple had made an ill-fated attempt to thwart the plans of the Sanhedrin by brandishing a sword, but all he had managed to do was maim an innocent and unarmed servant. After Jesus miraculously replaced the man’s severed ear, the disciples scattered into the night, just as He had said they would (Mark 14:27). Only two of them would remain close enough to watch what happened to their teacher and friend. The apostle John would later disclose that “Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple” (John 18:15 ESV). And that second disciple was most likely John himself. These two men witnessed Jesus being manhandled by the armed guards and led away into the night. Then they followed at a distance, being careful to stay in the shadows and out of the flickering glow of the torches that illuminated the face of Jesus as He was unceremoniously escorted to the home of the high priest.

It is John, a likely eyewitness to the events that followed, who provides a more detailed description of the identities of those who arrested Jesus that night.

So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. – John 18:12-13 ESV

Though Annas was technically the former high priest, he still retained the title in a ceremonial sense. It might be more accurate to consider him the high priest emeritus. Upon His arrest, Jesus was led to the home of Annas. It seems clear from Luke’s account that both Annas and Caiaphas had been in the garden that night. These two powerful men, along with officers of the temple and elders, had accompanied the guards to Gethsemane in order to see that arrest of Jesus went according to their plan.

John indicates that Jesus was first taken to the home of Annas. There are some who believe that Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, resided in the royal palace of the high priest. So, Jesus would have been taken to a single location where He was initially given a brief hearing before the former high priest. This appears to have been a show of respect on the part of Caiaphas, providing his father-in-law with the privilege of being the first to interrogate the prisoner. But eventually, Jesus was led before Caiaphas, who would play the primary role in the questioning and sentencing of Jesus. Caiaphas would serve as the judge, with the rest of the Sanhedrin acting as the jury.

But as Jesus was led into the presence of His enemies, Peter and John were able to gain access to the inner courtyard of the high priest’s palace. John describes the scene in his gospel account.

Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. – John 18:15-16 ESV

As John did throughout his gospel, he refers to himself in the third person, omitting his name but clearly indicating that he had first-hand knowledge of the events surrounding Jesus’ arrest and Peter’s denial. For some unexplained reason, John was an acquaintance of the high priest and, when recognized by one of the servants at the gate, he was allowed entry into the courtyard. He then arranged for Peter to join him. There, in the glow of a nearby fire, Peter and John would have ringside seats to the trial of the Son of God. But, little did Peter know that he was about to undergo his own interrogation, which would leave him exposed and condemned as a traitor.

As Jesus was being blindfolded, beaten, and mocked (Luke 18:63-64), Peter took a seat near the fire. As he attempted to keep himself warm on this cold and dismal night, he suddenly found himself in a heated exchange that would change his life forever. It all began with the servant girl who had been at the gate when Peter entered the courtyard. She asked, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” (John 18:17 ESV). This unexpected and uncomfortable question caught Peter off guard and he immediately responded, “Woman, I do not know him” (Luke 22:57 ESV). This exchange must have left Peter in a cold sweat, yet he drew closer to the fire. Peter simply wanted to be left alone. Standing in the courtyard of the powerful high priest, Peter knew he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His Master had been arrested and was in the middle of an intense interrogation, and it appeared that all of Jesus’ predictions about His trials, suffering, and death were about to take place. Which led Peter to assume he might be next. So, when the next person shouted, “You also are one of them,” Peter immediately responded, “Man, I am not” (Luke 22:58 ESV).

According to Luke, Peter was given a brief respite. An hour passed, but it must have been an agonizingly slow 60 minutes filled with dread and foreboding. It is not clear whether Peter understood the gravity of what had just taken place. There’s no way of knowing if he realized he was two-thirds of the way into fulfilling the prediction Jesus had made in the upper room.

“I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.” – Luke 22:34 ESV

Yet, when the hour had passed and Peter had just begun to calm down from his two earlier encounters, a third individual confronted him. John indicates that it was “One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off” (John 18:26 ESV). This man had been in the garden that night and immediately recognized Peter as the sword-wielding lunatic who had cut off his relative’s ear. This led him to ask, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” (John 18:26 ESV). He was certain that Peter was the culprit, even declaring that Peter appeared to be a Galilean, just like Jesus (Luke 22:59). But, true to form, “Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed” (John 18:27 ESV).

Each of the gospel authors portrays this seminal moment in slightly different ways. Mark lets us know that Peter had reached the end of his patience and defended his answer with a life-threatening curse.

“A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know this man you’re talking about!” – Mark 14:71 NLT

Matthew simply states that Peter denied any knowledge of Jesus. And Luke reports that Peter claimed total ignorance of the whole affair.

“Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” – Luke 22:60 ESV

But in each case, the outcome is the same.

…the rooster crowed… – Luke 22:60 ESV

And immediately the rooster crowed. – Matthew 26:74 ESV

And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. – Mark 14:72 ESV

…and at once a rooster crowed. – John 18:27 ESV

Only Luke adds the sobering detail that must have delivered the final blow to the already shell-shocked Peter.

And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” – Luke 22:61 ESV

For just a split second, the eyes of Peter and Jesus connected – just long enough for Peter to see and feel the love of His Master and to recognize the weight of what he had just done. He had done what he swore he would not do. The brash and bold disciple, who had declared his unwavering allegiance to Jesus and had drawn his sword in the garden, had just denied any knowledge of Him. In an attempt to save his own skin, Peter had turned his back on the Lamb of God. It seems likely that in that brief moment of time, Peter’s mind recalled the words that Jesus had spoken some time earlier.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13 ESV

Yet, out of fear of death, Peter had chosen to lie and deny any knowledge of Jesus. That decision would haunt Peter, and the image of Jesus’ piercing, yet loving eyes would be impossible to forget. And Luke indicates that Peter “went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62 ESV). Peter had been put on trial and condemned as a traitor. No one in the crowd that night had passed a sentence on Peter. He was not apprehended and put in chains. He was not led into the presence of the high priest. No, he was allowed to disappear into the night, a shamed and broken man. His own words had condemned him. That momentary glance from Jesus had not been one of disappointment or condemnation but of love.

Jesus knew something Peter didn’t know. He had predicted Peter’s denial but had also told of the eventual restoration of his faith.

“I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” – Luke 22:32 NLT

The key to Peter’s restoration would be Jesus’ crucifixion. The very thing Peter had tried to prevent would be the only thing that would restore his hope, renew his faith, and redirect the trajectory of his life.

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high priest