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A Holy Priesthood
Exodus 30:1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. 2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. 3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. 4 And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. 5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. 7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. 8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. 9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. 10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD. 11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. 13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. 14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. 16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 18 Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: 20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations. 22 Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: 25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. 26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, 27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, 28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. 29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. 30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. 31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. 32 Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. 33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people. 34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: 35 And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: 36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. 37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. 38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
Here is a picture of God’s people being a nation of priests
I Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
God is a prayer-hearing God 30-1-10
As His priests, we talk to Him in prayer
The altar of incense is often a picture of prayer 30:1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
The psalmist compared prayer to the incense Psalm 141:2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
John speaks of the odors or sweet-smelling incense as they spoke of prayer Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
The fire for the burning of the incense came from the brazen altar suggesting that all true prayer must be based on the finished work of Christ on the cross 6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
He meets with them there at the altar
He meets them at the mercy seat
Any meeting men have with God will be based on the sacrifice that was given as a substitute for us.
Any meeting will be based on God’s mercy towards us
They were required to use the right ingredients at the altar 9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.
The right fire Leviticus 10
The right spices
New Testament believers were given a pattern to follow Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
In prayer we worship Him
We confess our need of Him and our insufficiency
We thank Him for what He is doing in our lives
We ask from Him what we need
We willingly submit to His will and whatever He wants to do in our lives
All prayer is made possible because of the sacrifice that was made for our sins 10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
It is by the sacrifice of Jesus that we can go past the veil and talk to God
It is the sacrifice of Jesus that opens the door for us to talk to God
We have a priest that takes us through to the Father
This incense, our prayers, gave a sweet smell
They offer incense in the mornings and the evenings
We should seek God in prayer all the time
In every decision
In every way making sure that He is the central consideration of our hearts and thoughts
Do we believe that He really hears and answers prayer?
Have we made prayer a central part of our lives?
Do we constantly think about Him and His will for our lives?
Do we try to offer biblical prayers?
Remembering what God has done 30:11-16
God had brought His people out of Egypt and across the Red Sea 16 And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
He had redeemed them with His own great power.
They should never ever forget what God had done in their lives
They should never forget the great work that God had done in their lives
Every man, every individual was responsible to give as they remembered what God had done and showed their gratitude 11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
The census or count was never to think of how great they were but how great God had been to them. 13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.
There is a desire to count like David did to just know how strong we are
They were to remember that it was never what they had done or counting of their power
The real distinction was to be careful not to count their power, 20-year-olds, their men of war 14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.
The payment was the same for both the rich and the poor. Salvation costs the same for each 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
Are we thankful for what God has done?
Do we remember where we were before He saved us?
Do we use the change He has made in our lives for our own benefit or for His glory?
Do we remember the price He paid for us and consider it our honor to serve and love God?
Do we remind others of the great work our God has done?
They were to keep clean 30:17-21
The laver of brass was for their ceremonial cleansing 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 18 Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
The laver was between the people and the altar
They were cleansed by the blood of the Lamb but would want to remember to work at being close to God and away from sin
The laver is like the Word of God that works in our lives and brings about holy living
They had been cleansed but needed daily cleansing
Serving God was part of focusing on God and not letting the work get you away from His person 20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:
Let us keep working at maintaining our walk with the Lord. Don’t allow the world to slowly contaminate you and pull you away from serving God
Are you carefully considering things that seem to pull you away from the Lord?
Are you careful to continually seek and please Him?
Do you keep coming to His altar in worship and service?
We should want to work at keeping this relationship strong more than any other we have on the planet Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
They were the anointed of the Lord 25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
God used this oil to mark His men and things that were to be separated totally to Him
Things in the tabernacle were anointed 26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, 27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, 28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. 29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
They were to anoint Aaron and the priests 30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. 31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.
They were never to allow this to become something that was commonly used by the people 37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
There was never supposed to be an attempt at even imitating this oil 38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
Today all of us that are born again are to live out this holy and dedicated life that was for the priests before
You do not get to escape saying, I am not one of the called
You do not get away with thinking that there are two groups and you lucked out and didn't make it into the serving God group
We are as believers anointed by the Holy Spirit I John 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
The Holy Spirit lives in us
We are His temple
He is our teacher
God anoints all of us to His service and to be His and His alone II Corinthians 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
Do you realize that you belong to God and you are to serve Him?
Do you consider yourself the anointed of God?
Do you spend time in prayer and Bible study seeking Him?
Do you serve like you were really His servant?
Is this the time that you should decide that you will start living out all that He has done in you