THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD PART 1 - APPREHENDING THE PRIESTLY OFFICE

 

As promised in my previous video, I said that Father was directing me to talk about intercession and that I was inclined to believe that He was directing me towards priesthood. After everything He has shown me in the preparation of this word, I understand why His direction is priesthood.

This word is very heavy on my heart and is truly a burden that He has placed on my heart and spirit.  I believe it is a burden on His heart.  Why has He brought this word and burden to us? We know that as the children of God He has called us and chosen us to be a royal priesthood.  There is an apprehension that Father wants the bride to make her own.  To have a priestly conscience and to be conscience of that call on our lives.  To apprehend how foundational and fundamental priesthood is in everything we do.  It is important that we understand the privilege of priesthood, the accountability and lastly the function.  What does it mean to be a priest onto the Lord?  What is our function?  A lot of us are very fascinated with Yeshua being our High Priest of Melchizedek and we want to know more about it, but it is important that we understand priesthood and not just the mystery of Melchizedek.  It is priesthood itself that touches the heart of it.  When we understand priesthood then everything flows out of it, even your intercession.  Once you understand priesthood and the function, there will not be something like I must pray in a certain way or do certain things, rules and regulations.  All of this flies out of the window, because everything is captured in the essence of priesthood and flows from out of that life.

Why is this a burden then to the Lord God?  It is because at the end of the age, during the Millennial reign, He is establishing a Kingdom of Priests. It could have been called a Kingdom of the children of God, of His sons and daughters, a Kingdom of Prophets or Apostles, but He chose it specifically to call it a Kingdom of Priests.  The word priests within itself have the immediate connection with being set apart.  Completely set apart unto God first and foremost, ministering to Him.  When you are a priest, you are completely other than. You are not one of the boys or girls, but completely set apart unto Him.  What does that mean and how does this play out practically?  If we are going to be part of this Kingdom of Priests, He needs to prepare and work that in us.  It is important that it is not just a general term to us.  Once we are born again the sanctification process starts to take immediately place.  We are sanctified, but it is a continuous process of being sanctified.  We are saved, but it is a continuous process of being saved.  It is a process as well as a standing or position in the Lord.  The moment you are born again, you become the Lord God’s workmanship.  You become a priest that He starts to form and mold and He uses various ways to bring you into a walk of pure and beautiful holiness.  He has His ways to do this and it always means sacrifice.  You cannot divorce sacrifice from priesthood.  Impossible.  It is inextricably joined as one.  Where there is a sacrifice, there will be glory.   The sanctification process is through suffering, which is sacrifice.  Nobody is exempt from this.  It is just a matter of what kind of priest you are.  This devotional is about highlighting different priests in the word of God and we are to ask ourselves, “Which priest am I?”

We are going to reach the Apostolic Church Age again.  That which was, will be again.  He is preparing His workers, His priests, to be able to minister to people that will go through the tribulation and will have to endure many things.  They will have to be that standard that He requires of priests.  We have the type and shadow in the Old Testament, that which is spiritual becomes the substance.  We will not be sacrificing animals.  This has to do with the spiritual standard He has set, because He has become that sacrifice. 

HEBREWS 3:14

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

These two words, Apostle and High Priest, are being linked together.  You cannot be any of the five-fold ministry without being a priest first.  Priesthood is foundational to your call.  If there is a problem in your holiness walk, it will affect inevitably your call and how you walk.  Depending on the call on your life, the sanctification process will be very rigorous.  He knows exactly what He is preparing you for, making you that priest that will walk in your call.  Regarding the function, we need to understand that the Word tells us that it is the priests that are to teach the people the difference between the clean and unclean.  Father has established it from the beginning that the priests are to set the standard to the nation.  Therefore, in the time to come, He will restore all things, including the priesthood.  When we look at the decline of the nations, of Israel, your own nation, you only have to look at the priesthood to understand why the nation is in the state that it is.  That is exactly how Father looks at it.  He is looking at the priests and this is what is on His heart.  He is looking to the priests asking, “Why is My nation that I have chosen like this?”  Let’s read about the first consecration of priesthood.  You will note that Aaron and his sons, make up for 5, with Moses, once again establishing the fact that priesthood is foundational to the five-fold ministry.

LEVITICUS 8

¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

² Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

³ And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

⁴ And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Please note that everybody is watching this.  This has not happened to them before, although they have been exposed to sacrifices done by other nations.

⁵ And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.

⁶ And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.

³⁰ And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

We know the oil symbolizes the anointing and that it comes from olives that have been crushed.  Immediately there is a message, “The first inception of priesthood is that of being crushed.

³⁵ Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.

They are to stand outside the tabernacle for seven days and nights.  Not allowed to address a certain issue at home, being silent.  The whole of the congregation saw these men standing there before the door of the tabernacle.  They would see the commitment and the cost.  And here we need to ask ourselves why the Lord God went through such a great extent?  Many different things went into this consecration.  Blood was placed on their right ear, right thumb and right toe.  Speaking of whatever they do, their ability to hear His voice, and their walk, must all be consecrated.  They became a living sacrifice.  Blood must be added to their whole walk of life.  Consecration in Hebrew means “Blood on your hands.”  I have a devotional on the blog also called “Blood on your hands” and it is about the preparation that the priests go through.  Whereas this devotional is more about the function and the privilege.  It was a very big thing this consecration.  Why did He not just ask for them to be anointed, a quick prayer to be said and declare them consecrated?  No, there had to be blood, gore, bread, oil and a big mess, but all of this was holy, holy, holy before the Lord God.  This is how He chose to consecrate the priests before the congregation, with the added bonus of standing before the door of the tabernacle day and night for seven days.  We see here to what extreme God was going to bring a message across to the congregation and to the priests, “You are Mine. You are Mine first before you are anybody’s and I have set you apart for My purposes.  This is My requirement.  It will require sacrifice.  Your life will be a living sacrifice.”  The people saw this and knew every time they looked at them, “These are the set apart ones. These are the chosen ones, the anointed ones.  These are the priests of God.”  They knew that because of what they saw, but also by how they lived.  Waiting upon God is priestly.

The role of intercession is that of identification.  They identify with God and also at the same time they identify with man.  The High Priests is a mediator between God and man, but he is a man.  Yeshua had to become a man so that as High Priest He could identify with us.  At the same time as He was the Son of Man, He was also the Son of God.  He was identifying with God and man.  With man in His suffering and identifying with God in His holiness.  These two are married - suffering and holiness. It was a way of life. Not just something done once a month or week, but the whole of the person’s life is that of priesthood.  Not like an office job where you close the door after you leave and go on with your normal life.  You are a priest forevermore.  You ever live to intercede in the order of Melchizedek.

The three most important functions of the priest are to first, identify with the Lord God.  Being able to hear what He says, to be in tune with His burden and to know exactly what He wants to say to His people.  Then the identification with man.  To be able to stand as mediator between God and man, you yourself need to be in a place where you are at a certain standard.  Of course, the grace of God is there to cover us, but this does not prevent us from knowing that He will work in us a certain standard.  This will affect our prayer, our speaking, our hearing and everything we do.  We all get to come, but the quality of your life is determined by your holiness, by how set apart you are.  The third function is to teach the people the difference between the profane and sacred, the clean and unclean.  You do not get to read from a list, but rather you teach them by your life and the standard that you set.  Words are cheap.  This is why the consecration was to such an extent in setting apart.  It was displaying the lifestyle, showing the requirement to be a priest, is a complete death in all things.  The priest then has to then be able, through his life, express that reality to the people.  So that the people will then understand the difference between the profane and sacred, the clean and unclean. 

In the Word of God, we find different examples where the prophet or priest were the mediator between the Lord God and the King. The priest would go to the Lord God to find out whether they should partake in a battle and to tell the King the Lord God’s will for the nation or the King.  The priest and prophet were also to tell the King when they did wrong, upholding the standard.  The priest was first and foremost accountable unto God, before being accountable unto the King.  He had to be in such a place that there is no fear of man.  He had to be able to tell the King that he is out of line.  If there was a judgment to be spoken by the King, he was not to fear.  Examples of this would be Elijah confronting Ahab and Jezebel, Nathan confronting David, and Samuel confronting Saul.  What I want you to see is that the priestly office is not just to be a mediator, but it is also a governmental office.  In the spirit it has great power before God and before the enemy.  We need to grasp this, because in the end everything is spiritual and we are busy here with the substance and not the type and shadow.  The substance will affect that which is spiritual.  The reason for this was so that the Kings could be dependent upon the Lord God.  If the character of the King was not right and kept in place by a priest addressing the issues of clean and unclean, their authority could easily be abused.  Of course, we see this all over the world now.  With great authority comes great responsibility.  Where are the priests?  Where are the priests affecting those in government?  They have lost their voice.  But God is going to restore all things.  It was also to keep the Kings accountable and humble, and to share the responsibility with the priests.  The burden was lessened through the priests.

 

JEREMIAH 6: 13 - 15

¹³ For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

¹⁴ They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

¹⁵ Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore, they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

Here the Lord God is addressing the state of Israel and He has a problem with the prophets and priests and pointing to them and showing that it is because of them prophesying falsely.  They are saying “peace, peace.”  In other words, they did not speak God’s judgment.  When they needed to deal with things at the inception, they kept quiet.  They did not speak the necessary judgment.  They did not honor His voice or His standard.  They kept quiet and compromised. They spoke peace, when in fact it is not peace, but war, trouble and tribulation.  He is holding the priests and prophets accountable. 

JEREMIAH 8: 10 - 11

¹⁰ Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for everyone from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

¹¹ For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

He is saying, You are trying to make her feel better.  In Hamlet, he speaks to his mother and at one point she says that it is enough and he says, “you have to be cruel to be kind.” What the prophets and priests were doing is to be kind and not be ruthless and healed her hurt slightly. 

The reason why the Lord God wants to restore the office of priesthood is because it has everything to do with the state of your own household, then your nation and then the world.   Lastly, it has everything to do with a Kingdom of Priests that He is establishing.  He is holding the priests accountable for the state of their homes, their nation and His purposes for the end of the age.  They are His mouthpiece.

As I said right at the start…”it all depends on what kind of priest you are.”  Let’s start with the first example, being that of Moses and Phinehas.  A plague broke out in the camp because the people were whoring and fornicating with the surrounding nations, particularly the Midianites. They were allowing it and at some point, the Lord God has had enough.  The people were crying and moaning, and in spite of the plague, they did not stop.  Sounds familiar.

 

NUMBERS 25:4 - 13

⁴ And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.

⁵ And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye everyone his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.

⁶ And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

⁷ And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;

⁸ And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

⁹ And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.

¹⁰ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

¹¹ Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

¹² Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:

¹³ And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Where are the other priests?”  Why just Phinehas?  Why were there not other priests when he stood up and what were they doing that they did not address this issue?  Why could they not address this with confidence to impale everybody else that were involved? Where was Moses in all this?  How come when the Lord God told Moses to do it, he told his elders to do it?  Are we assuming that it was a matter of delegation?  Why did he ask the elders?  What compromise was in his life when he did that?  The word says that Phinehas “rose up” amongst the congregation.  The words “rose up” always make me think of resurrection life.  It is only through resurrection life that one can do what Phinehas did and it is what we will need in the time to come.  We also know that Moses himself was married to a Midianitish woman, Sephora.  Is it possible that because he himself was compromised that he did not obey?  The whole camp was compromised, from the head down. And even here we see the Lord God take a priest from among the people to rise up and spear the Israelite and the woman, making them both responsible for their actions.  In a way you can look at them as Israel fornicating with the nations and God is saying “Enough!  It is bad enough that you have always been doing it, bad enough that the plague has broken out and that you are still fornicating, but now you bring it into my camp where I dwell amongst you.”  Something about Phinehas was of such a nature that he could not handle it.  The burden of the Lord was upon him and he could not keep quiet.  He had to speak, he had to do something.  In that instance, being in tune with the Lord God, he knew that if somebody had to do something, it was going to be him.  There had to be a very huge price for him to pay to do this.  I cannot think that everybody was “buddy, buddy” with him after that.  It was a sacrifice.  They, however, knew that he was set apart.  They also knew that the fornicating could not go on.  Of course, we know that they reverted back to this as time went by. Phinehas was zealous for the Lord God, zealous for His name.  This lies at the heart of priesthood.  You are zealous for the glory of God.  If the priests do not uphold the standard of God, people will disregard the word of God. When the word of God is disregarded, people become a god unto themselves.  It is the honour of God that has to be held up and if not, the fear of God diminishes.  This we see in the nations now, because the priests do not stand up.  They are not that standard they need to be. 

The Lord God gives Phinehas a blessing.  Note, He did not give Moses that blessing.

He gives him a covenant of peace.  This means a covenant of rest.  Rest that comes from faith. That peace that Yeshua says, “I give you peace, My peace.  Not the peace of this world, but My peace, I give to you.”  Then, He tells him that his priesthood would be everlasting and we know this is from the order of Melchizedek.  Also, by killing these people it was regarded as an atonement.  It makes me think of Cain and Abel where Cain’s offer did not cost him anything, but Abel’s sacrifice had blood.  There is life in the blood. Because these people were killed, there were blood and that blood served as atonement and God’s wrath was appeased.  The whole nation was atoned for by the killing of them.  Phinehas is almost like a type and shadow of Yeshua, our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

What have we learned from this?  We have learned that the standard you judge, you need to uphold.  If you are compromised in any area of your life, you will then step back and think twice before you say anything in judgment.  God will hold you accountable of that which you are guilty of yourself.  There is a steady decline in our priesthood with every consecutive compromise.  Who does it affect?   A whole nation.  God’s purpose in the end time. 

Your credibility, integrity and authority are affected by this, as well as God’s name.  At some point there was the first person who fornicated and there was no priest who stood up and judged them saying, “Wait a minute, are we not supposed to stone this guy?”  They let it slide and allowed it.  What do we allow in our own homes?  Because of that the compromise grew within the camp.  “He can do it therefore; I can do it.”  Because they thought they could get away with it.  Originally it would have only taken a word spoken by addressing the issue, but because they left it, it had to become an impalement.  Thinking of Moses own compromise, we read where Aaron and Moses struck the rock twice. The people were overbearing to them and they have had it and out of anger they struck the rock twice.  We can see how this compromise continued.  The other thing is that we cannot just go and modify the Lord God’s requirements.    Moses was told to hang their heads in the sun, because He wanted the whole congregation to see the judgment.  In Exodus he tells the Lord God that he did not birth this baby, and that the responsibility to look after them is too big.  We know that the Lord then said that they are to choose one person as the head of the tribe and they will deal with the issues and report back to him.  Obviously, Moses had a relationship with the heads of these tribes.  They were being held accountable and the Lord God is telling Moses to hang them.   There was a huge price for him to pay and he was not willing to pay that price.  He was in a relationship with them.  We realize that the priestly office requires of us not to have nepotism and not to consider a person’s office, call and who they are.  We need to be able to speak that judgement and whatever God requires of us.  Obedience requires of us to be instant just like Phinehas and there cannot be any sentimental hold on us.  The issue of the priests is the issue of God ‘s glory and the honour of His name. 

What did Phinehas’ actions say about God and man, and about Phinehas? What kind of man was Phinehas and what kind of preparation went into making him that kind of person?  He was displaying the righteousness of God and the ultimate requirement for His people.  God does not change.  He has given us His Spirit, His Son and given us the sacrifice and everything to be able to do His commandments.  God does not change.  How do you think Phinehas’ totality towards God affected his intercession and the audience he had with God?  How did it affect his ability to hear correctly and his words?  After that incident, how did it affect when he spoke to others? How would they react knowing the type of person he is?  Probably with reverence, knowing that this man walks the talk.  He is who he says he is.  There would be a price to pay for this.  Phinehas is an example of the righteousness required by God that is so ultimate in its expression, expressed through the sacrifices we read in Leviticus 8.  This will not change.  In the time to come, because the Lord God is establishing His Kingdom of Priests, we the priests will be held accountable for His people, for the nations.  In Luke 22 we read that we will be given kingdoms.  This is profound and we need to meditate on these things.  This is reality.  He will hold us accountable.  In Isaiah 61 the priests will teach the people the difference between the clean and unclean.  We will be held accountable and that which was will be again.  It is not going to be on the basis of a priest going into the most holy place and there intercedes for people, but know it is a living way.  What Phinehas showed and what we see through the life of Yeshua, our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, is that it is a living way and intercession flows out of that way.  That intercession is not just through prayer, but the life you live and if need be, the death you die.  Our prayer is affected by the life we live.  Our worship is affected by the life we live.  Our writing, speaking and hearing and that in itself is intercession.  As the priests so the people.   When you live in right standing with God and holiness and come as a mediator in His presence to hear from Him, He listens.  The Word says that He gives His Spirit to those who obey Him.  He listens intently and there He commands His glory and gives His word.  He can, because He trusts the person who comes to listen.  Yeshua came to show us a living way.  It matters to the priest of God how he lives his life, because he knows he is going to be held accountable.  His life as a priest already affects the people round about him and ultimately will affect the Kingdom of Priests to come.  We need to hone this in and as we say to all, “I am a royal priest after the order of Melchizedek and I am a chosen one of God, I am His priest”, do you understand the function, the privilege and the weight of the accountability that you have towards God regarding anybody He has placed under you?  It overwhelms me just to think that He is going to require of me how I speak, influence people, how I guide people and whether I truly trust Him to do that all through me.  It is not me.  He is going to judge every idle word that I speak.  It is so important to understand how important it is to hold unto Him and depend on Him with all our lives.  We need to understand that it is a huge responsibility to say that you are a priest of God.  Do not take it lightly.  This is why it is a burden on His heart.  Also, why He will restore it.  Let’s read in Psalm 106 where there is a few points I want to highlight.

 

PSALM 106: 24 – 25; 30 - 31

²⁴ Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:

²⁵ But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord.

³⁰ Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.

³¹ And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.

Here you see that they believed not His word and they did not hearken unto His voice.  This is the inception of men bringing in the Midianitish woman and fornicating with the other nations.  Well, who was supposed to speak?  Was it not the priests?  There is a decline in the people in honouring God because of where the priests are.  God is holding the priestly office accountable.  He is first and foremost speaking to us.  When we look at our countries, having so much to say about our president and having an egg to lay over every situation, we have to understand that there was a decline and an inception.  Is God’s burden our burden and are we taking that burden upon us and saying, “Lord, the priests are not what they used to be and what they should be. We have failed.”  Are we standing in that kind of intercession where we say, “Lord, I have failed?  I have a responsibility of what I should be doing being your priest.”  Are we taking this personally?  He is looking for those priests who will stand in the gap, saying “Lord, forgive us and restore us.  Bring that thing that you intended from the beginning and do a new thing in us.

What was their attitude? Their attitude was that they could get away with it.  Even though there was a plague, like cognitive dissonance, thinking, “There is a plague, but He has not struck anybody dead, so we can get away with it.”  The arrogance and pride to do something before Him and still think you can get away with it, that was the part that was a slap in God’s face.  Completely dishonouring to His Name, holiness, His person and His glory.  They did not care, because they always got away with it.  The small things saying, “Nobody sees”.  When I watch this, “nobody sees.”  When the movie has so many swearwords, “nobody hears.”  When you eat like a pig, “nobody is here”.  Over indulging in different ways, “nobody sees.  I am all on my own.”   Dressing promiscuously, “I don’t think it is so bad.”  Remember, in Leviticus 8, blood was on their ears, hands and feet.  All of you is consecrated when you are a priest.  Some people have this attitude that they can just ask afterwards for forgiveness.   That is abusing the grace of God.  It is terrible that people think that way and think that they will get away with it. 

Let’s go to example 2 which is Eli and Samuel.  Now, Eli’s son’s, Hophni and Phinehas, the Word says they were sons of Belial and they did not know God. Eli was the priest, so his sons were also priests and they are eating the sacrifices that was meant for Eli.  They were aggressive about it and said they will take it by force.  We also know that Eli himself was overweight.  Already we can see that he set an example.  His sons went from the sanctuary, where the sacrifices took place, to the door of the sanctuary and fornicated with the woman.  The whole congregation knew about this and they were talking about it.  News came to Eli about this.  You can imagine what a shame that must have been and how angry he should have been.

1 SAMUEL 2: 17; 22- 30; 34 - 36

¹⁷ Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

¹⁸ But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

²² Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

²³ And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.

²⁴ Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transgress.

Here you can see that the priests were being held accountable for how the people are, saying that they are making the people transgress because of their actions.  What is interesting to me every time I read this, is how Eli spoke to them.  Almost as if he was saying, “you naughty boys. You are naughty.  You are not supposed to do this.  You should know better.  How many times have I been speaking to you about this? Over and over and now it has come to this point.”  Do we not sound like this with our children? Instead of being wrathful and zealous for the Name of God, he just reprimanded them.

²⁵ If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him?

God has always intended that there would be a mediator between man and God.  But when the mediator sins, who will intercede for the mediator then?  This is why Yeshua had to have no sin.  He had to be the perfect Lamb and a High Priest without sin.  He had to be able to identify with man and God, being perfect, because there would be no other mediator apart from Him.  Here we have the priests sinning over and over and a High Priest would also die.  This is the reason why God established that Yeshua should come as a man and this is why He should not sin, because there would be no mediator for Him then.  Mankind would then be under God’s wrath.

Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

²⁶ And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.

God’s intention is that His priests would be in favour with both God and man.  The Word also says that Yeshua grew in stature and grew in favour with man and God.

²⁷ And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

²⁸ And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

²⁹ Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

³⁰ Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

This is not how I want the Lord God to look at me, esteeming me lightly.  The Lord God is addressing Eli, not his sons, although they are implied, saying that he kicks at His sacrifices and His offering, and honouring his sons above Him. 

³⁴ And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

Eli fails as a father and then he fails as a priest.  His attitude towards the Lord God’s sacrifices and the fact that he esteemed his sons more than the Lord.  The way he addressed his sons is an indication for us to see the compromise.  He did address it, but he did not address it in the spirit that it required and there was compromise in that and the sons knew that they would get away with it.  The Lord is saying that him who honours Him, He will honour and he that despises Him, He will esteem lightly.  The way you treat My sacrifices, esteeming it lightly, I will esteem you lightly.  You will be a lightweight.   When you come into My presence, you will not have the same ear from Me that I give to those who are like Phinehas.  It was a demotion. 

³⁵ And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

Eli was not doing what was according to God’s heart and mind.  He addressed his sons, but he did not do it the way the Lord God wanted, neither in the spirit it required. This priest that He will raise up is Yeshua.

³⁶ And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

1 SAMUEL 3: 19 - 20

¹⁹ And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

²⁰ And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.

Once again, the priestly office first, and then the call to be a prophet.

 

1 SAMUEL 4: 17 - 22

¹⁷ And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

¹⁸ And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

²⁰ And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.

²¹ And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.

²² And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

Where we had the inception in the case of Moses and Phinehas which was that they did not esteem the word of God, here the inception of this transgression was that they abhorred the sacrifices and offerings of God.  The first is about the word of God and the other about the sacrifices. The calamity and consequences of this are so huge that the ark of God was taken by the Philistines.  Instead of them pursuing their enemy, they were fleeing.  Not only that, the lineage of Eli was miscarried from that moment on, he died, the daughter in law proclaimed Ichabod over the son and did not regard the son.  In other words, she rejected him. Very often a son is an example of the birth of a nation, a ministry or a new beginning.  How sad it is that we can be part of a ministry and do something, knowing we are doing the will of God, but over our ministry is written “Ichabod”.  The glory of the Lord has departed, because there is compromise within the camp.  The time we are going in, the Apostolic Age, we are going to be His priests, and His glory will rest upon us.  However, we should not think that, that glory cannot depart.  That would be presumptuous to think that way.  We will still have the responsibility, just like the priests, to look after everybody He brings on our way, to be that standard, remembering our function and to consider our Apostle and High Priest and how He lived.  They abused their privileges because they abhorred the sacrifices and thought they could get away with it.  God’s glory departs when you start to esteem the sacrifice lightly.  We know that the sacrifices that they did there was a type and shadow of the ultimate sacrifice, which was the cross.  It is so important for us to meditate on the cross.  It is easy to think we can think that we can get away with it.  To ask for forgiveness and just move on.  That is esteeming the sacrifice of God lightly.   Considering that these were animals and that He reacted in such a way, how much more when we esteem the sacrifice of His Son lightly?  Hophni and Phinehas went through the same process of Leviticus 8 in order to become priests and yet they acted in such a way.  They abhorred the sacrifice.  They had a non-cholent attitude about it.  It is easy for us to hear the same thing over and over and even parrot it, but the weight of it, and the glory of it are no longer there.   If we think that we are not going to be held accountable for the people in our lives that we are influencing, then we are esteeming His sacrifice lightly and disregarding our accountability.  This is why it is a burden to the Lord, because He wants to restore that understanding to us.   We cannot turn a blind eye to the standard He has set and spare those we love. We cannot spare those we esteem.  We have to speak when we need to speak. 

It is easy for us to think, “I’m not abhorring the sacrifices of God.”  But if we do not mediate and esteem the actual price that He paid, it is very easy to abhor it.  He is using the word abhor, because that is how He sees it.  Just because we do not see it that way, does not mean that it is not the reality. 

The consequences of this disposition, which is abhorring the sacrifices, was that that which was most sacred to Israel, was taken away, the ark.  The ark resembles the glory of God, that which rests upon His priests who comes into His presence.  Not just the priests, but the whole nation was affected by this.  Priesthood is inherited and this is why it was Aaron and his sons.  The same lineage the whole time.  That means something has to die in order for you to come into the priesthood of God.  You have to go through a process of death. You inherit this priesthood through the sanctification process. They could no longer inherit it.  It was a loss of authority and integrity and Eli’s words fell to the ground.  Our words fall to the ground.  How many fathers at home, your children esteem your words lightly and in fact they esteem you lightly when you speak?  How many of the mothers, who are also priests, are esteemed lightly?   When those who are under us esteem us lightly, it says something about an area in our lives that we have compromised in.  There was a curse instead of a blessing.  Fleeing instead of pursuing.  The nation declines, because as the priests so the people.  The glory departed.  This all started with Eli, because of the example he set, over indulging and esteemed the sacrifice lightly by the way he ate.  Therefore, his children were affected by this.  We need to ask ourselves, “What about my own life, the indulgences, what message is it giving to my children?”  Why do we think that this does not actually affect our home and why do we think that God is not going to hold us accountable, like Eli? Why do we think that it does not affect our nation?  Because it is just our home?  A whole nation is made out of families and families are homes.  Homes are sanctuaries and there are priests in every sanctuary.  God has established it in such a way.  There is the micro and the macro.  He will hold us accountable.  If we say we are priests, we have to set a standard and understand that it affects a nation and not just our home and personal life. 

The inception of this decay is because of the absence of a priestly consciousness in your home, in your personal life.  That is why the Lord God wants to awaken us to this understanding that to be a priest of God is not just a nametag or nice idea, meaning that you are chosen for God.  It is actually a lifestyle.  The absence of priestly consciousness in your own life affects how you live your life, how you pray.  This reality is displayed in your authority whether your words fall to the ground or not.  How people perceive you.  In the end it speaks of abhorring His sacrifice. 

Example 3 is about the Levites and the Zadok priests. 

EZEKIEL 44: 5 - 31

⁵ And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.

⁶ And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

⁷ In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.

⁸ And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.

⁹ Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

¹⁰ And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.

He is punishing the Levites.  They have allowed strangers who were uncircumcised in heart and flesh to come into the sanctuary and deal with those very things that are sacred to God.  They have decided that they are going to set people in that office for themselves.  Not for the Lord God, willing to compromise on the standard of who will serve God. 

¹¹ Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.

¹² Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore, have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity.

He is telling them that they are forgiven, but there will be a price to pay.  And it is a huge price they will be paying.  From now on they will minister to the people, because they were bowing down to the people.  They were choosing people that would minister in the sanctuary that the people would like.  They chose whom they wanted and lowered the standard.  Remember, Leviticus 8 sets a clear standard.  He is saying that they will minister at the gates and will be doing all the sacrifices and will be covered in blood from morning, noon and night and every feast day.  This is what they will do.  Like we said, the priests minister to the people and the Levites were told that this is all they would do.

 

¹³ And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

¹⁴ But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.

Saying, “Where you normally ministered unto Me, no longer will you minister unto Me. You can do all the priestly things, coming into the court.  Hard at work as My priests, but I place a limit to where you can serve.  That limit is that you no longer can come before Me to minister unto Me.”  This is where He mentions the Zadok priests.  Out of the Levites came the Zadok priests, a remnant.  This makes me think of the 144 000.

¹⁵ But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God:

¹⁶ They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.

¹⁷ And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

¹⁸ They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat.

Sweat we know has to do with working hard, saying they will be in His rest, whereas the Levites were going to work very hard. It was very laborious and hard to skin these animals and prepare the sacrifices.  However, the Zadoks were allowed to come into God’s rest, which speaks of ministering unto Him in the Holy of Holies.

¹⁹ And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.

Coming from the presence of God there was a transaction taking place with these clothes.  Just like Moses came from the mountain and the glory was upon Him. There is a transaction taking place because of the union in that place between spirit and Spirit. Where the sense of God is communicated unto the priest and becoming part even of his clothes.  The Lord God is saying that they are not allowed that the garments touch the people and then be sanctified.  Why not?  What price did the Zadoks pay in order to come in the Holy of Holies?  God’s grace is not cheap.  He takes His priests through sanctification of trials and furnaces in order to make them holy and total towards Him.  He is even jealous of the garments. 

²⁰ Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.

²¹ Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

²² Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.

A while back doing research on the Tribe of Asher, I discovered that the Tribe of Asher were known for their beautiful woman.  When Jacob blessed that particular tribe, the blessing was that they would be a happy tribe.  The emblem of the tribe is that of an olive tree.  We know that olives produce oil.  The blessing spoken over them was that their feet would be dipped in oil.  Part of the research I found out is that the priestly line particularly liked the woman from the Tribe of Asher, not just because they were beautiful, but apparently, they could handle the requirements or the demands of the priests that they married. In Luke 2 we read of Simeon, the High Priest and Anna.  Anna was also from the Tribe of Asher.  We see the correlation there then of Priest and Prophet. 

²³ And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

²⁴ And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

²⁸ And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.

²⁹ They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering: and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.

³⁰ And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.

Thinking of Leviticus 8 and how the priests were prepared, we read in Exodus 32 of the Tribe of Levi who were the only ones, when Moses came down from the mountain, seeing them fornicating with the golden calf and asked “who is on the Lord side?”; that stood up.  Let’s read what Moses told them to do.  Listen to the utmost requirement of the Lord God for them.

EXODUS 32: 26 – 29

²⁶ Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

²⁷ And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

²⁸ And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

²⁹ For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

It was actually that slaughter of those they knew, taking part of the fornication or spiritual adultery, that slaughter, was considered a consecration.  Look at how total they were towards God.  We praise God that He does not require this now of us to slaughter our children.  However, we are now spiritually fulfilling this.  How easily we spare someone we love.  It is easy to speak the truth to someone we do not really care about.  It is easy to speak the truth to those we do not like.  But what if you look up to someone?  What is you really esteem them and they have helped you so much, but you know what they are doing is so wrong?  You just cannot find yourself quite to say the way God wants you to say it.  The Lord God is looking at a priesthood that is so set apart for Him.  Not to be malicious, not to abuse their authority, but to be so in tune with His Spirit, with the sense of God, who He is, with His holiness and righteous requirement.  There would be no consideration to whom a word needs to spoken to.  Look at the difference between the Tribe of Levi and the Levites who decided whom they will allow in the sanctuary.  Those that would come into their sanctuary and speak to them.  Our bodies are our sanctuary.  Who do you allow, as the priest of God, into the inner sanctuary of your life?  Do you allow just anybody to speak into the life of your children?  Are not your children sacred to you?  Who do you allow to speak through that “tube”?  Who do you listen to?  You know the person is compromising, that pastor or prophet?  You know that many things that they have prophesied have not come true, but just because you like what they are saying now, you are willing to listen, saying, “I like that, it gels with what I have seen so far.”  That is to bring people into the sanctuary of your heart and allowing them to minister.  You are not holding them accountable to God’s standard for priests.  What pastors are you listening to that you know have not the right spirit?  Saying everything right, but they are ministering that spirit to you.  Who do you allow into the inner sanctuary and do you think God will not hold you accountable?  Are you a Levite or a Zadok?  Are you allowing that mixture, because you can get away with it?  The Zadoks were zealous for the Lord, just like Phinehas and Samuel. 

The word Melchizedek, the Melchi means King and Zedek means righteousness.  So, He is the King of Righteousness.  Zadok comes from the Zedek in Melchizedek.  They were righteous.  The Levites decided who will speak into their lives, who they will allow into the sanctuary of their lives and homes.  Have you placed a guard over what your children watch and are you able to speak to your pastor, addressing how he speaks, saying “Pastor, you may have said it right, but the tone was a bit melodramatic and you come across better when you speak normal?  Then we can listen, but there is almost a manipulative way in how you spoke.”  Are you able address these issues and speak into their lives?  Not being okay with it and letting it slide? Are you able to speak the truth in love and not be malicious and not because you have a secret agenda or motive behind your speaking?  The Lord God singles out these Zadok priests.  What the Levites were saying through their actions was that the Lord God would not mind.  They were doing His will after all.  Placing people in the sanctuary.  “I am listening to sermons and I am doing the right thing. I am not doing anything wrong.”  Just because it is Christian, does not make it right.  What do we forfeit when we drink out of these polluted fountains?  We defile the sanctuary.  Then He is saying, “I am not going to allow you.  You may minister to people in the outer court and at the gate, partake of the sacrifices, but you cannot come into the most Holy Place.  You cannot receive that glory that I wish to bestow on those who are righteous.  I give My Spirit to those who obey Me.”

The burden of the Lord is that we should understand the function, the privilege and the weight of the accountability with regard to those He has placed under us and towards Him.  We have to understand He is going to hold us accountable.  It matters to Him how we live our lives.  And we must stop thinking that we can get away with it.  The time is soon coming for His priests to be sent out.  We have to decide, “Am I an Eli or a Samuel?  Am I a Levite or Zadok priest?  Am I a Moses or a Phinehas?”  Are you abhorring God’s sacrifice and esteeming it lightly?  Are you thinking you can get away with things?  Are you opening the sanctuary for other people to defile it just because it is Christian?  Or maybe things that you should not watch at all?  Are you opening the sanctuary of your home?  Are you instant in your obedience or are you fornicating with the Midianites? 

1 PETER 2:9-10

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 marvellous light;

¹⁰ 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.

Let’s talk about the Order of Melchizedek.  What Father wanted me to go into and touched my heart deeply when meditating on it, because it made me look at the office of the Order of Melchizedek very differently, made me look at my office as priest unto Him much differently as well. 

We know that Yeshua is the Patterned Son and we read the following in 1 Peter 2…

1 PETER 2: 21

²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

He suffered for us so that we could follow in His steps.  He is the Patterned Son and we need a pattern when you make a dress, or a blueprint when you are building a building or a boat. You work from a pattern.  And Yeshua is that Patterned Son.  Who do we then go to when we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood after the order of Melchizedek?  We go to Him to see what it means to be a priest. When I meditated on it, I thought about Him being the sacrifice.  I thought about the fact that He knew that He would have to be that perfect sacrifice without blemish or spot.  That from the time that He could understand everything that are required of Him, He had that pressure on Him that there could be no sin in His life.  Not in what He says, does or not even what He listens to.  Not even in a thought.  There was not a moment in His life that, that pressure was lifted where He could think, “Well, today I am going to let it slide. Today I am just going to take it easy.”  He was always under that pressure of having to have to the perfect sacrifice.  What pressure was that?  The priest had the pressure of the nation, of having to walk circumspectly before the Lord God on behalf of the nation.  But Yeshua for the world and those to come.  That was the amount of pressure that He lived under.  I cannot think for the life of me, that at one point or stage, that the enemy took it easy on Him.  There was not a moment when He could think, “You know, I don’t like your face, I am going to give you my opinion.” There was not a moment where He could just let is slide or turn a blind eye to something.  He was always under that pressure of constant uttermost obedience towards the Father and to not sin.  Can you imagine to live under such pressure?  How He cried out to the Father?  Hebrews 12 says that we are to look to Him, who fought against sin to the point of shedding blood.  When I thought about this, I thought of how the blood of Yeshua on the cross, was the atoning blood, but the blood that He shed in fighting sin, was the blood of His life fighting against sin.  That was His identification.  On the cross He was identifying with the Father.  That identification was “I am now the sacrifice that you require to stay your wrath.”  But the shedding of the blood against sin, was His identification with us and fighting against sin.  The Word says that He knew no sin.  What battle He had to fight to know no sin for us.  Priesthood or intercession is your life.  I suddenly saw His priesthood not just in the death that He died, but in the life that He lived.  Because in the life that He lived, He identified with you and me and our battle against sin.  And He is the Patterned Son to show us, “The extent to which you must fight against sin is even to the point of shedding blood.  I am the Patterned Son.”  As the Word says, “Unto hereto are you called, as Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps.”  We too have to fight against sin to the point of shedding blood and He identifies with that fight.  He is saying, “To that extent I fought for you against sin”.  There was not a “reset button” pressed, but He came down to be our Mediator.  Today when we think of Yeshua and the price He paid, we think on the fact that He gave His life to us.  It is not just in the death that He died, but in the life that He lived was also the sacrifice.  When it dawned on me, I thought on Him as righteous before the Father.  That the robe that He was wearing, the robe of righteousness as a priest is purple.  The Word says that when Yeshua was crucified, they took His under garment and could not tear it.  It was woven from top to bottom.  The reason is that it is a Priesthood forever and cannot be “torn”.  The veil that was torn, was His body, but this under garment or seamless robe is a priestly robe.  It is an indication that it is a heavenly calling. It is from above to the bottom.  The Strong’s Concordance shows that that robe is purple.  Not any kind of purple, but the exact purple that is used in the High Priest’s ephod.  I think of the life He lived, not to sin, that is pure and how beautiful and holy that robe is before God. And He says to you and me, “Give me your robe.”  Like the Zadoks who put another robe on, I will give My robe that I worked so hard on, that I sweat blood for, I will take that and put it on you.  That you may stand in My righteousness. Give me your filthy robe, your righteous works that are as filthy rags.  I will put your rags on Me…It’s mine.”  When I thought of that, I thought, “Oh God, what a requirement of us to keep this robe pure and holy.  How precious, costly and beautiful is this robe that you have given your children, Your priests, to keep it pure and holy.  To not defile it, because it is Your robe you have given us and we stand clothed in your holiness.” When we stand before the Father as holy priests, Father sees that life that He died for and clothed us with.  He sees the blood and He sees the robe of righteousness.  Because we are in the Son, we are loved as the Son.  We have favor before Him.  There was a price to pay.  For the first time I look different upon sin, because I hate it even more.  I hate it.  I do not want to make provision for sin in any form or shape. I cannot defile this costly garment that He has given me.  This righteous robe.  This is the burden upon His priests, His children, which is to keep that robe beautiful and clean. 

John the Baptists was a high priest.  His father was Zachariah and his mother Elizabeth were both from the Aaronic lineage.  John the Baptist was the next in line and the Lord God sent him into the desert.  The disciples came to Yeshua asking, “Is not Elijah supposed to come first?”  Yeshua tells them that Elijah did come first, talking about John the Baptist and that he shall prepare the way.  So, the Lord God is saying, “I will send out My John the Baptists.  I will send My Elijah company that will prepare the way.  They will be My priests clothed in My righteous garments, they will teach the people the standard, the difference between the clean and the unclean. And they will speak out judgment and be My holy priests that I have prepared for this time.  They will prepare the way for Me to come.”

Remember in Leviticus 8 that Aaron and his sons were washed.  Every time a new High Priest comes, there is a consecration where the High Priest is washed.  There is actually a baptism bath in the temple for this.  And so here comes Yeshua and John says, “I must decrease and He must increase.” The Aaronic priestly line must decrease so that the Melchizedek priestly line can come.  That which is the Zadoks must come.  They the lambs must follow Him wheresoever He goeth, the 144 000.  And the King of Righteousness, the Priest after the Order of Melchizedek, He must come.  That is why John the Baptist had to baptize Yeshua, because He was the next High Priest.  He had to be pure and holy. 

We need to see the sacrifice of Yeshua and His priesthood in the light of the life that He lived and the death that He died.  We need to understand that we ourselves, as priests of God, need to see our priesthood in the life that we live and the death(s) we die.  There are many deaths.  It is then that we live out of that resurrection life, so that when you come into His presence, into the sense of God and who He is and there is a transference of His glory and love; the essence of God is transferred into your life and being, even your clothes.  It is then that you can go out and minister and then you can say, “Thus saith the Lord”.  Because you have been with God.  He has your mouth; your ear and your words will not fall to the ground.  You will have favour with man and with God.  You will be able to be a mediator.  Can you see how that will influence your intercession, your worship, your words?  Everything that you do, your household.  It will ultimately affect the nations.  A Kingdom of Priests He is raising and restoring. 

The order of Melchizedek we know is that Yeshua ever lives to intercede.  It is a living way to be a priest of God.  I end this devotional with a word from the Lord.

 

CHOSEN PRIESTS – 16/04/22

In this last hour I will raise up those priests that I have chosen for such a time as this.  Chosen and prepared to restore all things unto Me. 

To speak that word that will raise the dead from their slumber.  To be My voice and to bring the sense of Me into the camp.  For My people have lost the sense of Me.  Yea, they know Me not. 

Therefore, know that I will raise you up through the fire of affliction to set you apart.  Only those set apart wholly unto Me can come before Me to minister unto Me.  Those I have chosen.  There are more to come whom I will prepare.  However, I have already set those priests I have chosen to minister unto Me and to My people apart.  They are already on the course I have predestined for them.  They are ready, they are willing and they are awaiting My orders to go forth. 

They will prepare the way for My return, even as Elijah, My John the Baptist prepared the way crying, “Repent! Repent!”

I will send them out to establish and restore.  They will raise up those who slumber and the light of My glory will be upon them.  They will repair and prepare those still to come.

Behold, the time is here to restore all things, but it will be in a time of great affliction.  That which was, shall be again.  Look, I make all things new.

Consecrate yourself afresh, prepare your hearts.  Set your face as a flint and listen to My every word.

I am with you.  I will never forsake you.

You are Mine.

 

To the degree that we know Him in that hidden place, is the degree that we will bring forth the sense of God and God’s standard and judgments.  It will affect your life and the lives around you.  As I said, intercession is not prayer, but it is the life that you live.  Your prayer will be affected by the life that you live. 

 

1 PETER 4: 1 – 2

¹ Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

² That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.