C.A.C Sunday School Manual For February 9, 2020 God in the Administration of Man. UNIT One: THROUGH THE PRIESTS/LESSON TWO. Part 2.

By | February 7, 2020

C.A.C Sunday School Manual For February 9, 2020 God in the Administration of Man. UNIT One: THROUGH THE PRIESTS/LESSON TWO. Part 2.

CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH WORLDWIDE.

God in the Administration of Man.

UNIT One: THROUGH THE PRIESTS/LESSON TWO.

Part 2.

February 9th, 2020.

II. HE REGULATES ISRAEL’S PRIESTHOOD (Exodus 28:1-4,30,41; 29:1ff; Leviticus 10:1ff; Number 6:22-27; 18:1-7)

To regulate is to control something, like an activity, or a process, and bring it to the desired level, by making it subjected to rules or laws. Any activity or process that is not properly moderated in any organisation, the congregation of God’s people inclusive, eventually heads for the rocks. How did Yahweh regulate Israel’s priesthood for effectiveness?

A. PRINCIPLES OF THE PRIESTHOOD (Exod. 28:1-4,41; 29:1ff; Lev. 10:1ff)

So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest (Exod. 28:4b).

i. Exod. 29:1,9: It is conferred on holy those from the right family — Aaron’s, under the Mosaic Law (cf. Heb. 5:4). Only those truly in Christ by personal faith are His priests, today (1 Pet. 2:9,10).

ii. vv. 4ff: The process of consecration, including the regalia and washing with water, shows God’s priesthood as holy (cf. Exod. 19:6; 28:4). Our God is holy, and we should honour Him by obeying Him. He dealt with Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1-3; cf. Exod. 28:35, 43; 30:20,21; Lev. 8:35; 10:6,7,9).

iii. Lev. 10:1ff: God wants priests to do away with things that can becloud the significance of their ministry. It’s likely Nadab and Abihu had been courting things that are dulling their senses of judgment and grasp of the significance of their divine calling (cf. 2 Tim. 2:4).

iv. Exod. 28:1,3,4,41; 29:44: God called and consecrated the priests, not for fun, but to serve Him and His people. The garments He ordered for them were to enable them to minister/serve. We are called and equipped for service, and not for carrying title.

v. Principles, in this regard, are those important underlying laws or assumptions required in the priesthood, i.e. the basic way in which the priesthood should be done. The fact is, principles/ideals rule the world. To be better in the ministry, one needs to have a full grasp of the principles guiding it.

B. PRIESTS’ FUNCTIONS (Exod. 28:30; Leviticus 10:10-11; Numbers 6:22-27; 18:1-7)

Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with priesthood” (Num. 18:1).

i. Num. 18:1-7: Yahweh gave Aaron’s family the exclusive right and responsibility to make offerings on His alter. They were anointed and consecrated for the service (Lev. 8:1ff; cf. Exod. 28-29). They were also armed with God’s in-depth instruction for performing their duties, in the presence of the congregation of the people.

ii. Exod. 28:30: Yahweh committed the Urim and Thummim, by which His will could be determined, to Aaron and his descendants (high priest) (Exod. 28:30). Thus, they could discern the mind of God, and consequently, tell it to the people.

iii. Lev. 10:10: The priests have the charge to distinguish between the holy and the unholy, the clean and the unclean. Are minister really doing this in this generation?

iv. v. 11: They are also to teach the Torah to God’s people. Ezra obeyed this diligently (Ezra 7:10). Are we still doing that today?

v. Num. 6:22-27: The priests are also charged to bless the people on behalf of Yahweh who loves and want the best for them.

vi. Num. 18:2-6: Yahweh gave the rest of the Levites subordinate roles within the sanctuary (cf. 3:5ff).

vii. vv. 3,4: Interestingly, YAHWEH gave each of the high priests, other priests, and the other Levites different responsibilities in His service, and they were to stick to their different duty posts in order not to invoke God’s wrath. Remember the case of Uzzah (2 Sam. 6:6-8).

viii. God doesn’t call into leadership of His people without giving specific functions. Leadership is being responsible. It comes with responsibilities, in the case of church leaders, God-given responsibilities well spelt out in the Scriptures. Church leadership would be more effective, if the leaders are more conscious of their responsibilities than their rights.

LESSONS DERIVED

1. You can’t be in God’s service and be doing it the way you like. You must work according to His laid down principles.

2. God doesn’t call anyone without specific things to do for Him. How many leaders have taken time to understand why God called them?

QUESTIONS

1. How did Israel come about God’s priesthood among them?

2. Did God leave His people to do leadership (priesthood) the way they like?

SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
ANSWER TO QUESTION 1:

i. Refer to division I.

ii. God brought in the priesthood order of Melchizedek when the people least expected, or were prepared for it, as foundation for the O.T priesthood.

iii. Abraham, the foundational patriarch of the Hebrews, recognised Melchizedek as a priest by paying his tithe to him and received blessing from him.

iv. As the nascent nation continues to grow, God commanded Moses to separate the Levites for ministry among His people, and consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests, with Aaron himself as the high priest. By this, the Aaronic priesthood was established.

v. Since then, it has been the Levites taking the lead in the worship of Yahweh with the descendants of Aaron assuming the position of priests and high priests, successively. In fact, the Encarta Dictionary sees a priest as somebody descended from the family of Aaron of the house of Levi, appointed as priests in the Hebrew Scriptures.

vi. However, God eventually chose to pattern the Messiah’s Priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, making that of the Church better than the Aaronic.

ANSWER TO QUESTION 2:

i. No.

ii. Refer to division II

iii. God didn’t leave His people to do leadership (priesthood) the way they like. He gave them principles to guide the priesthood. His holiness and righteousness regulated the priesthood.

iv. He also specified the functions the priests were to perform. These were duties exclusive to them. For instance, no other person could offer incense in the alter apart from the priests. No wonder, King Uzzah was rebuked and dealt with when he tried it.

v. In the same vein, God specified what each level of the Levites, priests and high priests could do. No crossing of borders. For instance, only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, and that was once annually, during the Yom Kippur.

vi. Similarly, God has not left us, the Church today, to do leadership of His people the way we like. We must follow His instructions given us in His Word.

LIFE APPLICATION

Priesthood did not start with Judaism. In fact, the Encarta Dictionary regardsva priest, in one way, as a spiritual leader of a non-Christian religion. There have been priests in religions before Judaism and Christianity. For instance, Jethro was a priest of Midian, a gentile nation. A look at the various religions in the world shows that priesthood is very indispensable to every religion. Priest serve as intermediaries between the deities and their adherents, and such religious have specifications for their priests that must not be flouted for any reasons. This was the practice when when God Instituted Israel’s priesthood. It is not different today with the leadership of the Church. May we be more committed to following His specifications for leadership/administration. Amen.

CONCLUSION

God doesn’t joke with leadership. In fact everything rises and falls on leadership. Leadership and administration are very important in influencing God’s people to do His biddings. Of course, leadership is influence. No wonder God came up with His own pattern of religious leaders — the priests to man the system of worship He instituted for His people — Judaism. We have seen how He came up with the orders of priesthood. We have also discussed how He regulated the activities of the priests. We have been challenged from time to time to study and get better acquainted with His standard for church leadership, today. May we receive more of His grace to administer all He puts in our cares, according to His standard, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS FOR WEEK TWO

Mon. 3: God Prepares Israel for Priest’s Function (Exod. 20:22-26)

Tue. 4: Moses Performes Priestly Role (Exod. 24:1-18)

Wed. 5: Moses’ Priestly Role Prefigures the Messiah (Deut 18:15-21)

Thur. 6: Moses: Involved in Enacting Israel’s Priesthood (Exod. 28:1-4)

Fri. 7: God Confirms Aaron’s Priesthood (Num. 17:1-13)

Sat. 8: God calls Christian into Holy Priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9,10).

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