On Being A Royal Priest

The Book of Exodus chapters 28-30 are about Christians. In ancient times there were two types of priesthoods: the Levitical or Aaronic, and one on the order of Melchisedek. Jesus, according to scripture, is the latter-type of priest (Heb 5:6).
     Royal priests were priests of kings and for the Israelites. They were of the tribe of Levi. Aaron was the great-grandson of Levi, and hence was a "royal priest" although Israel at that time had no kings. What has that to do with Christians? Those three chapters are about us. The royal priests did ceremonially what Christians are to do attitudinally! Christians are of the royal priesthood as related in the following:

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 marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Pet 2:9-10).

     The Levites were the peculiar tribe. Rather than land, they became servants to those who owned land and to God. We are to serve as they were to serve! God gave the priests responsibilities in those chapters of Exodus. Hidden within the ceremonial duties is what the priests were to do on behalf of the people in honor of God, as representative of what we should do ourselves to honor Jesus.
      The priests were indeed honoring Jesus. It must be remembered that Jesus is the Person of God and has a divine Personality. Jesus was there in Spirit when the priests brought the offerings. Their ceremonial worship was directed toward Jesus. Their ceremony was forever, not just for patriarchal times:

This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.  (Exod 29:42). 

     What they were doing in ceremony, Christians are to do in daily worship - continually and throughout the generations even unto this day! 

      Their worship was about Jesus. How is that known? Within those passages are the wave and heave offerings. The wave offering was taking the body parts of the sacrificial animals, as well as the bread offering, and waving them before the Lord. Aaron's hands were to do the waving. The wave offering was to please the Lord.

     The other type was the heave offering. It too was a statute forever, and was heaving the sanctified breast of the sacrifice as a peace offering to the Lord. (That represents the heart.) Thus, there were two types of offerings - one heaved upward and the other waved laterally:

And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons. (Exod 28:27).

     Picture that ceremony. What do you see? The offerings were made toward the Lord, and were presented in motions which represented the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The priests understood the nature of God (Jesus) and his purpose - to die on the cross. Their ceremony was representative of how to honor and serve Jesus for dying on our behalf. Whereas they made some offerings annually and others daily, Jesus made the final offering once and for all people (not just the Israelites) (Heb 10:10).
     The priests brought animal and grain sacrifices. As "royal priests" what are we to bring to the altar of God? 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom 12:1)

     Christians are to crucify their own flesh (Gal 5:24). That is our bodies which are to be sacrificed with all its lusts and pleasures. Like the priests: Aaron and his sons, whose service was to make the animal sacrifices, the "reasonable service" of Christians are to sacrifice ourselves - continually and until the end of our days. Spiritually speaking,  like the ancient priests, that's our jobs!
      Those three chapters have hidden within them how Christians are to praise and honor God. Sanctification is therein, as well as the Lord's Supper, baptism, and the crucifixion. I'll leave it to the reader to identify Christian worship of various types within those three chapters. Of utmost importance, is the aspect of sacrificing to the Lord on behalf of others. That is the Great Commission which is the responsibility of all us "apostles." And you thought that the Old Testament was for the Jews alone!

The Torn Curtain

What happened as Jesus died and the veil was torn? Examine scripture:

50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Mat 27)

30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount. 31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made... 33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. 34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. (Exod 26)

The purpose of the veil divided the space in the tabernacle between the holy and most holy places. It hedged-off the Holy of Holies from regular day-to-day holiness. On one side were the worshipers and on the other side only God on His Mercy Seat. To obtain entry, Aaron, and later the priests, had to prepare themselves by ritual cleansing and holy living. If they were imperfect, they would die within and would need to be  pulled from the presence of God by a cord.

     Cherubim on the vale would as always were there to "keep the Way of the Tree of Life" (Gen 3:24). That "Way" was the Doctrine of Christ (Heb 6:1) wherein Christians leave its principles and go on to perfection. Those principles are the Ten Commandments. Perfection is for those who live according to this passage:  "

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 1:9). Perfection, then, is moving beyond the precepts of the Ten Commandments, and living according to the manner of the Father and Son. How was that? Just as mankind was designed back in the Garden; "in the image of God" and in "our image" (Gen 1:27) and without any guidance but to serve and preserve God (dress and keep).

      The rent, or torn, veil did just that. Knowing that mankind could not maintain "The Testimony" within the ark, Jesus's death made that unnecessary. (The "testimony" was the Covenant with God illuminated by the Ten Commandments.) Just as Jesus died, the veil was torn, and those dead in Christ arose. Jesus's death for mankind made him mediator, priests were no longer necessary, and perfection was obtained by willingness to live as God designed mankind.

     Jesus, a priest on the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Heb 6:20), could be served directly, and Christians became "royal priests" sacrificing directly to Jesus (1 Pet 2:9). Jesus's death changed only one thing: He paid the price so that Aaronic priests no longer need not. We, of the royal priesthood, present ourselves as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). Jesus died for us; then, we choose to live for him! Lambs cannot do that, but new living creatures can. That is the perfect sacrifice.

Ark of the Covenant

     Moses was to build an ark for God as a place to meet God. The ark had much significance because it was the meeting-place between God and mankind:

10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood... 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee... 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Exod 25). 

     An ark is a ship. Essentially, the Ark of God represents safety as Noah's Ark did. Rather than "float" in water, it was suspended by two poles in air. The mercy seat on the Ark represented God's mercy. God met the Hebrews on His Mercy Seat. That seat is representative of God's throne, or judgment seat in Heaven (Great White Throne), whereon He will judge with mercy who will go into Heaven ( a return to Paradise) and who will not.
     The Ark, therefore, represents Heaven and at the same time, the Paradise of the Garden of Eden. That Garden was guarded by cherubim. Likewise the Ark of God displays two cherubim. They guard whosoever attempts to enter God's domain on the Mercy Seat as they did guarding who could enter into Paradise.
     The box of shittim wood (acacia) covered with gold represents the hedge of the Garden and the walls of the City of God. The wild acacia represents the burning bush, or the presence of God. God's "Presence" is Jesus Christ. Thus, the Ark represents Jesus and the space inside safety just as in the Garden.
     "The Testimony" in the Ark is also called "The Covenant." The "Ark of the Testimony" is to contain the Commandments of God. Thus, there is a strong symbolism between the Covenant and the Commandments of God. The Covenant was between God and Abraham and was for perpetuity. Likewise, the Ten Commandments were written on stone for perpetuity. The Covenant was the "deal" between God and mankind, and the Commandments seemed to be the articles of the "deal" or articles of its "Constitution."
     The Ark, representative of Heaven, indicated that the Covenant was the merciful action of God to provide a Redeemer, and that the Commandments were the Way to salvation. Don't be startled by that! The Ten Commandments were nothing more than agape and philio love metricized: the first four are love for God, and the last six love for fellow men. The Ten Commandments remain efficacious to this day, and only the name has changed to "The Greatest Commandment" and "the second like unto it." "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Mat 22:36-40).
     The Ten Commandments were more a Constitution for mankind than commandments in that the Hebrew DEV (pronounced: tsaw-vaw') means "to constitute." That is give order to God's Will. It is still God's Will that men willingly love God and others by refraining from certain sins against them! They are less "commands" than a list of God's Wills which men in harmony with God are willing to do. They are not judged by their conformance but by their willingness to please God; thus "Mercy Seat."
     In summary, the Ark of the Covenant represents salvation and existence with Jesus. Rather than looking for the golden Ark, mankind is encouraged by Jesus to look for Him to find the True Ark, that Ark which both Noah's and the Ark of the Covenant represent!

Jesus to Appear to Moses

²⁰ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. ²¹ Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him... ²⁵ And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. (Exod 23).

     That "Angel" is pre-incarnate Jesus. As THE Angel, he is THE Messenger, or THE Word of God. When God appeared to mankind, whether audibly or visually, His Person was Jesus. People endeavor to delineate between Jesus and God but that cannot be done. There are not three "persons" of the Holy Trinity, but three aspects of One Person with one personality. Theologians call those aspects homeostasis. 

     The significance is that it was Jesus all the time. The Lord said, "For my name is in him." God was referring to the theophoric name of Jesus - "Yahweh Delivers." As you can see, the Lord''s Name is within Jesus's name! Then, the Lord points toward the Abrahamic Covenant and the Covenant of Grace: "Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and I will take sickness away." That means if we serve the Lord, Jesus will heal as is written: "(They) should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Mat 13:15).

      Conversion is not healing. Conversion leads to salvation when the time comes. Conversion is when sinners are born again (John 3:7). Salvation is for those who endure to the end in faith. (Mat 10:22).

     The mystery of God is that safety was always by Jesus, always for everyone, and was always by faith and not works. 

Moses Preview of Calvary

     Proper Worship - then and now: Even when the Law was given, God made it clear that it was not efficacious for salvation, as is written: "And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon" (Exod 20:25-26).
     Doing work with the hands to glorify God had no utility, and modesty in worship was required. Modesty is more than keeping oneself covered, but taking the focus off oneself and glorifying God instead. If the sacrifice was made for the people, then the priests who worshipped and objectified themselves would diminish God. It was made clear that us doing things to gain God's grace was "as filthy rags" (Isa 64:6).
     What's more, Moses was the mediator. God referred to him as "you" (ye) making the sacrifices. Moses mediated on behalf of God. When God took on flesh, He became the only mediator necessary between God and mankind. (1 Tim 2:5). Unlike Moses, Jesus did the work on the alter: those stones holding the cross, and Jesus did so with all the modesty that his persecutors allowed, having stripped him to his flesh.(Mat. 27:33-36).
     Jesus would bear his flesh. There was no need for Moses to do that, and in fact, it would be reprehensible, as that altar of rock represented the Rock of salvation on Calvary.

Moses and the Cross

Symbolism: "But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun" (Exod 17:12).

The enemy were the Amelkites ("blood-licking" Edomites). Josephus called them "bastards."  Moses ("Deliverer") was symbolic of Jesus Christ, and the Amelkites the Devil. The stone was symbolic of an altar which in early times were made only from unhewn stone.

Therein is a picture of the Deliverer on an altar. Visualize Aaron and Hur holding up Moses's arms in the form of a cross. Aaron means "bearer of martyrs" and Hur, "noble man." Between Aaron and Hur, Jesus was identified as well as his purpose as the cross held the man Jesus who was martyred as God.

Shortly, from verse 17, we find that Moses built altar there and made the place Holy Ground.  He named it Jehovah-nissi, meaning "lift up Jehovah or Yahweh." Jesus's name means "Yahweh Delivers." How direct can it be? Jesus was there in the wilderness of Sin saving the Hebrew people from perishing!

Peace: Be Still

In Egypt (sin). as God was about to part the waters with the wind and save the Hebrews, "Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exod 14:13-14). Then centuries later, "And Jesus arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:39) as God again saved his people from fear. What do we need to do to be safe? Be still, and let God do the saving!