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Bible Questions Answered:
“Pastor we are to be priests, what
does that mean for us?...”
Wally/ Compton, California U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
What were the
priestly duties of Old Testament priests?
Priestly
Duties:
Ambassadors:
The High Priest, represented the nation
before God.
Exodus 28:11,12 NLT
11 Engrave these names on the two
stones in the same way a jeweler engraves a seal. Then mount the
stones in settings of gold filigree.
12 Fasten the two stones on the
shoulder-pieces of the ephod as a reminder that Aaron represents the
people of Israel. Aaron will carry these names on his shoulders as a
constant reminder whenever he goes before The Lord.
II Corinthians
5:20 KJV
Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ..."
I Peter 3:15 KJV
But sanctify The Lord God in your
hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that
asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and
fear:
Judges:
Deuteronomy 17:8,9 NLT
8 “Suppose a case arises in a
local court that is too hard for you to decide—for instance,
whether someone is guilty of murder or only of manslaughter, or a
difficult lawsuit, or a case involving different kinds of assault.
Take such legal cases to the place the Lord your God will choose,
9 and present them to the Levitical
priests or the judge on duty at that time. They will hear the case
and declare the verdict.
I Chronicles 23:4 NLT
Then David said, “From all the
Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of The Lord.
Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges.
II Chronicles 19:8 NLT
In Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat appointed
some of the Levites and priests and clan leaders in Israel to serve
as judges for cases involving The Lord’s regulations and for
civil disputes.
Ezekiel 44:15,24 NLT
15 “However, the Levitical priests
of the family of Zadok continued to minister faithfully in the Temple
when Israel abandoned Me for idols. These men will serve as My
ministers. They will stand in My presence and offer the fat and blood
of the sacrifices, says The Sovereign Lord.
24 “They will serve as judges to
resolve any disagreements among My people. Their decisions must be
based on My regulations. And the priests themselves must obey My
instructions and decrees at all the sacred festivals, and see to it
that the Sabbaths are set apart as holy days.
Christians not to
“sentence others, but to judge between right and wrong, yes!
Matthew
7:15,16,20 KJV
15 Beware of false prophets, which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their
fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye
shall know them.
Luke 6:43-45 KJV
43 For a good tree bringeth not
forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit.
44 For every tree is known by his
own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble
bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good
treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil
man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which
is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Intercessors:
The priests went to God, on behalf of
the people.
They would petition God on behalf of
the nation.
Exodus 28:29,30 NLT
29 “In this way, Aaron will carry
the names of the tribes of Israel on the sacred chest piece over his
heart when he goes into the Holy Place. This will be a continual
reminder that he represents the people when he comes before The Lord.
30 Insert the Urim and Thummim into
the sacred chest piece so they will be carried over Aaron’s heart
when he goes into The Lord’s presence. In this way, Aaron will
always carry over his heart the objects used to determine The Lord’s
will for His people whenever he goes in before The Lord.
Leviticus 9:22:24 NLT
22 After that, Aaron raised his
hands toward the people and blessed them. Then, after presenting the
sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering, he stepped
down from the altar.
23 Then Moses and Aaron went into
the Tabernacle, and when they came back out, they blessed the people
again, and the glory of The Lord appeared to the whole community.
24 Fire blazed forth from The Lord’s
presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar.
When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on
the ground.
Numbers 6:22-27
KJV (A Priestly Blessing)
22 And The Lord spake unto Moses,
saying,
23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his
sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel,
saying unto them,
24 The Lord bless thee, and keep
thee:
25 The Lord make His face shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up His countenance
upon thee, and give thee peace.
27 And they shall put My name upon
the children of Israel, and I will bless them.
James 5:16 KJV
Confess your faults one to another,
and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
I Timothy 2:1
KJV
I exhort therefore, that, first of
all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be
made for all men;
Musicians:
Levites who were non Aaron descendants,
cared for the temple, and were musicians, singers, doorkeepers.
Numbers 1:50-53 NLT
50 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.
51 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. But any unauthorized
person who goes too near the Tabernacle must be put to death. 52 Each
tribe of Israel will camp in a designated area with its own family
banner.
53 But the Levites will camp around
the Tabernacle of the Covenant to protect the community of Israel
from The Lord’s anger. The Levites are responsible to stand guard
around the Tabernacle.”
Numbers 3:6-9 NLT
5 Then The Lord said to Moses,
6 “Call forward the tribe of Levi,
and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants.
7 They will serve Aaron and the
whole community, performing their sacred duties in and around the
Tabernacle.
8 They will also maintain all the
furnishings of the sacred tent, serving in the Tabernacle on behalf
of all the Israelites.
9 Assign the Levites to Aaron and
his sons. They have been given from among all the people of Israel to
serve as their assistants.
Numbers 4:1-33 NLT (Duties of
the Kohathite Clan)
1 Then The Lord said to Moses and
Aaron,
2 “Record the names of the members
of the clans and families of the Kohathite division of the tribe of
Levi.
3 List all the men between the ages
of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.
4 “The duties of the Kohathites at
the Tabernacle will relate to the most sacred objects.
5 When the camp moves, Aaron and his
sons must enter the Tabernacle first to take down the inner curtain
and cover the Ark of the Covenant with it.
6 Then they must cover the inner
curtain with fine goatskin leather and spread over that a single
piece of blue cloth. Finally, they must put the carrying poles of the
Ark in place.
7 “Next they must spread a blue
cloth over the table where the Bread of the Presence is displayed,
and on the cloth they will place the bowls, ladles, jars, pitchers,
and the special bread.
8 They must spread a scarlet cloth
over all of this, and finally a covering of fine goatskin leather on
top of the scarlet cloth. Then they must insert the carrying poles
into the table.
9 “Next they must cover the lamp
stand with a blue cloth, along with its lamps, lamp snuffers, trays,
and special jars of olive oil.
10 Then they must cover the
lampstand and its accessories with fine goatskin leather and place
the bundle on a carrying frame.
11 “Next they must spread a blue
cloth over the gold incense altar and cover this cloth with fine
goatskin leather. Then they must attach the carrying poles to the
altar.
12 They must take all the remaining
furnishings of the sanctuary and wrap them in a blue cloth, cover
them with fine goatskin leather, and place them on the carrying
frame.
13 “They must remove the ashes
from the altar for sacrifices and cover the altar with a purple
cloth.
14 All the altar utensils—the fire
pans, meat forks, shovels, basins, and all the containers—must be
placed on the cloth, and a covering of fine goatskin leather must be
spread over them. Finally, they must put the carrying poles in place.
15 The camp will be ready to move
when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all
the sacred articles. The Kohathites will come and carry these things
to the next destination. But they must not touch the sacred objects,
or they will die. So these are the things from the Tabernacle that
the Kohathites must carry.
16 “Eleazar son of Aaron the
priest will be responsible for the oil of the lamp stand, the
fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. In
fact, Eleazar will be responsible for the entire Tabernacle and
everything in it, including the sanctuary and its furnishings.”
17 Then The Lord said to Moses and
Aaron,
18 “Do not let the Kohathite clans
be destroyed from among the Levites!
19 This is what you must do so they
will live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects.
Aaron and his sons must always go in with them and assign a specific
duty or load to each person.
20 The Kohathites must never enter
the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or
they will die.”
Duties of the Gershonite Clan
21 And The Lord said to Moses,
22 “Record the names of the
members of the clans and families of the Gershonite division of the
tribe of Levi.
23 List all the men between the ages
of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.
24 “These Gershonite clans will be
responsible for general service and carrying loads.
25 They must carry the curtains of
the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle itself with its coverings, the outer
covering of fine goatskin leather, and the curtain for the Tabernacle
entrance.
26 They are also to carry the
curtains for the courtyard walls that surround the Tabernacle and
altar, the curtain across the courtyard entrance, the ropes, and all
the equipment related to their use. The Gershonites are responsible
for all these items.
27 Aaron and his sons will direct
the Gershonites regarding all their duties, whether it involves
moving the equipment or doing other work. They must assign the
Gershonites responsibility for the loads they are to carry. 28 So
these are the duties assigned to the Gershonite clans at the
Tabernacle. They will be directly responsible to Ithamar son of Aaron
the priest.
Duties of the Merarite Clan
29 “Now record the names of the
members of the clans and families of the Merarite division of the
tribe of Levi.
30 List all the men between the ages
of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle.
31 “Their only duty at the
Tabernacle will be to carry loads. They will carry the frames of the
Tabernacle, the crossbars, the posts, and the bases;
32 also the posts for the courtyard
walls with their bases, pegs, and ropes; and all the accessories and
everything else related to their use. Assign the various loads to
each man by name.
33 So these are the duties of the
Merarite clans at the Tabernacle. They are directly responsible to
Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”
I Chronicles 23:1-32 NLT (Duties
of the Levites)
1 When David was an old man, he
appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel.
2 David summoned all the leaders of
Israel, together with the priests and Levites.
3 All the Levites who were thirty
years old or older were counted, and the total came to 38,000.
4 Then David said, “From all the
Levites, 24,000 will supervise the work at the Temple of The Lord.
Another 6,000 will serve as officials and judges.
5 Another 4,000 will work as
gatekeepers, and 4,000 will praise The Lord with the musical
instruments I have made.”
6 Then David divided the Levites
into divisions named after the clans descended from the three sons of
Levi—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
The Gershonites
7 The Gershonite family units were
defined by their lines of descent from Libni and Shimei, the sons of
Gershon.
8 Three of the descendants of Libni
were Jehiel (the family leader), Zetham, and Joel.
9 These were the leaders of the
family of Libni.
Three of the descendants of Shimei
were Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.
10 Four other descendants of Shimei
were Jahath, Ziza,[b] Jeush, and Beriah.
11 Jahath was the family leader, and
Ziza was next. Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family
because neither had many sons.
The Kohathites
12 Four of the descendants of Kohath
were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
13 The sons of Amram were Aaron and
Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most
holy things, to offer sacrifices in
The Lord’s presence, to serve The
Lord, and to pronounce blessings in His name forever.
14 As for Moses, the man of God, his
sons were included with the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were Gershom
and Eliezer.
16 The descendants of Gershom
included Shebuel, the family leader.
17 Eliezer had only one son,
Rehabiah, the family leader. Rehabiah had numerous descendants.
18 The descendants of Izhar included
Shelomith, the family leader.
19 The descendants of Hebron
included Jeriah (the family leader), Amariah (the second), Jahaziel
(the third), and Jekameam (the fourth).
20 The descendants of Uzziel
included Micah (the family leader) and Isshiah (the second).
The Merarites
21 The descendants of Merari
included Mahli and Mushi.
The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and
Kish.
22 Eleazar died with no sons, only
daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish.
23 Three of the descendants of Mushi
were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.
24 These were the descendants of
Levi by clans, the leaders of their family groups, registered
carefully by name. Each had to be twenty years old or older to
qualify for service in the house of The Lord.
25 For David said, “The Lord, The
God Of Israel, has given us peace, and He will always live in
Jerusalem.
26 Now the Levites will no longer
need to carry the Tabernacle and its furnishings from place to
place.”
27 In accordance with David’s
final instructions, all the Levites twenty years old or older were
registered for service.
28 The work of the Levites was to
assist the priests, the descendants of Aaron, as they served at the
house of The Lord. They also took care of the courtyards and side
rooms, helped perform the ceremonies of purification, and served in
many other ways in the house of God.
29 They were in charge of the sacred
bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain
offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive
oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check
all the weights and measures.
30 And each morning and evening they
stood before The Lord to sing songs of thanks and praise to Him.
31 They assisted with the burnt
offerings that were presented to The Lord on Sabbath days, at new
moon celebrations, and at all the appointed festivals. The required
number of Levites served in The Lord’s presence at all times,
following all the procedures they had been given.
32 And so, under the supervision of
the priests, the Levites watched over the Tabernacle and the Temple
and faithfully carried out their duties of service at the house of
The Lord.
Ephesians 5:19
KJV
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to
the Lord;
Colossians 3:16
KJV
Let The Word Of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to
The Lord.
Hebrews 2:12 KJV
Saying, I will declare thy name unto
my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Representatives:
They took the people's sacrifices and
offered them to God.
Leviticus 4:20,26,31 NLT
20 just as he does with the bull
offered as a sin offering for the high priest. Through this process,
the priest will purify the people, making them right with The Lord,
and they will be forgiven.
26 Then he must burn all the goat’s
fat on the altar, just as he does with the peace offering. Through
this process, the priest will purify the leader from his sin, making
him right with The Lord, and he will be forgiven.
31 Then he must remove all the
goat’s fat, just as he does with the fat of the peace offering. He
will burn the fat on the altar, and it will be a pleasing aroma to
The Lord. Through this process, the priest will purify the people,
making them right with The Lord, and they will be forgiven.
Hebrews 5:1 NLT
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.
Hebrews 8:3-6 NLT
3 And since every high priest is
required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an
offering, too.
4 If He were here on earth, He would
not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the
gifts required by the law.
5 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.”
6 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.
Standards:
The priests also were held responsible
for accurate weights and measures.
I Chronicles 23:29 NLT
They were in charge of the sacred
bread that was set out on the table, the choice flour for the grain
offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the cakes cooked in olive
oil, and the other mixed breads. They were also responsible to check
all the weights and measures.
Leviticus 19:35,36 NLT
35 “Do not use dishonest standards
when measuring length, weight, or volume.
36 Your scales and weights must be
accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must
be accurate. I am The Lord your God who brought you out of the land
of Egypt.
Colossians 3:17
KJV
And whatsoever ye do in word or
deed, do all in the name of The Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and
The Father by Him.
I Timothy 4:12
KJV
Let no man despise thy youth; but be
thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in
charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Teachers/Scribes:
Deuteronomy 24:8 NLT
“In all cases involving serious
skin diseases, be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical
priests; obey all the commands I have given them.
Deuteronomy 33:10 NLT
They teach your regulations to
Jacob; they give your instructions to Israel. They present incense
before you and offer whole burnt offerings on the altar.
II Chronicles 34:12,13 NLT
12 The workers served faithfully
under the leadership of Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the Merarite
clan, and Zechariah and Meshullam, Levites of the Kohathite clan.
Other Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians, 13 were put in
charge of the laborers of the various trades. Still others assisted
as secretaries, officials, and gatekeepers.
II Chronicles 35:3 NLT
He issued this order to the Levites,
who were to teach all Israel and who had been set apart to serve The
Lord: “Put The Holy Ark in the Temple that was built by Solomon son
of David, the king of Israel. You no longer need to carry it back and
forth on your shoulders. Now spend your time serving The Lord your
God and His people Israel.
Nehemiah 8:7 KJV
The Levites—Jeshua, Bani,
Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita,
Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—then instructed the people in
the Law while everyone remained in their places.
Mark 16:15 KJV
And He said unto them, Go ye into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
II Timothy 4:2 KJV
Preach The Word; be instant in
season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long
suffering and doctrine.
Worship Leaders:
Deuteronomy 10:8,9 KJV
8 At that time The Lord separated
the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of The Lord, to
stand before The Lord to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name,
unto this day.
9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor
inheritance with his brethren; The Lord is his inheritance, according
as The Lord thy God promised him.
Hebrews 13:15 KJV
By Him
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,
that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.
I Peter 2:5,9
KJV
5Ye also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to
offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
9 But ye are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar
people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called
you out of darkness into His marvelous Light;
Prayer:
Oh to hear these words at the end of a faithful life to The Lord....
Matthew 25:21
KJV
His lord said
unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
