The First Time God Said The Word “Priest” In Exodus

Today’s Word Of Encouragement From Wayne:

“Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me”

Exodus 28:1

Probably most often, when people hear the words “priest” or “minister,” the automatic assumption in one’s mind is, “priest to the people” and “minister to people.” So it is enlightening, to say the least, to see that in scripture when God first uses the word’s “priest,” and “priests” (as we saw yesterday), that it is in reference with “minister as a priest to Me” and “you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6).

God’s origin of His use of the words “priest” and “priests,” in the book of Exodus, is in His call for His people to minister to Him. 

This is the blessing of ministering unto the Lord, just as it first came to me as a baby Christian. 

To see in scripture that God calls us to minister to Him, and to see how often this call is neglected, just makes me think of what a privilege it is to say “Yes” to my God, and to experience the truly indescribable blessing of ministering to my Lord in His presence, just because He says so, and being bathed in His light. 

It became, early on for me, a wonderful and simple principle of my Christian life that, first I need to enter the presence of my God and minister as a priest to Him. Then, having given Him the first fruits of my time and devotion, in the inner court of His presence, I am ready to go into the outer court of this world and be a minister of Jesus Christ to people. 

First God fills us in and with His presence, and then we have something wonderful, of life, to minister to people. 

This is so blessedly, wonderfully, God honoring-ly, simple, and full. “Minister as priest to Me” and “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests” is God’s call to all of His covenant children now, and it has always been God’s call to His people. 

Think of the blessing and the closeness with Christ that you have experienced, because you have responded to “ministering to the Lord” (Acts 13:2). Think of what a witness we would be in this world for Jesus Christ, and how God could fill our dedicated vessels with His Own anointing presence and power, if the entire body of Christ would hear and heed the call to rise up, to our Lord of glory and “be to Me a kingdom of priests.” 

Let us live for this, for our Lord’s sake, and for His maximum display of anointing and fullness over all His people, so that more in this world may come to know Jesus Christ even as we, His church, are being perfected in Christ as His one body, humble, yielded, and joyfully agreeing with the 24 elders in heaven when they said, “Worthy are You to take the book and break the seals; for you were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10). 

Isn’t it time for God’s covenant people to truly become this priesthood and find out, for ourselves, what God means when His word says “and they will reign upon the earth?” 

Praise His name, I encourage you to minister to your Lord today, and reign on earth now even as Christ reigns in your heart as you “minister as a priest to Me.” Hallelujah!