About priests and high priest

Iyer@brahminbeliever.com | | Updated on Thu 31 January 2019

The version used is KJV

The entire book of Malachi revolves around the ineffectiveness and shallowness of the worship offered by the nation of Israel through the priests. In order to better understand the priesthood, here is some context from the OT.

[Gen14:18] introduces the first reference to priest and king in Melchizadek whom Abraham paid a tenth of his booty to.

We dont see the line of priests until Exodus when Aaron and sons of Aaron are called to be the priests with specific command and responsbilities through the wilderness and when they settle in the promised land. Some of the specific things in Exodus that is special relevance to our study in Malachi are

  • [Ex27:21] they tend the fire in the sanctuary from evening to dawn so the fire is always lit
  • [Ex28:12,29] they wore special holy garments that represented the 12 tribes of Israel and took the burden to God
  • [Ex28:43] they had to follow the procedures given by God with fear and reverence and any off the cuff act like lighting of strange fire stikes them dead. This is one of the reason, the subsequent priests who entered the Holy of the Holies, had a rope tied to their toe/ankle, in case they were stuck dead that they could be pulled back by others in the meeting area. God does warn earlier in [Ex30:9] to not give any unauthorized incence.
  • [Ex29:10] they had to purify themselves first by cleaning and sacrificing bull and ram. This was also called when Aaron was consecrated showing what God required of the priests.
  • [Ex29:28-32] portion of the offering given by the people went to feeding the priests, as they didnt have any other forms of income. The priests were the intermediaries for the sacrificial offering system established that lasted till 70 AD, the end of the second temple period.
  • [Lev21] is all about the holiness required of the priests from physical, matrimonial and moral purifications
  • [Num3:4] they were not part of the census taken, hence they didnt go to war.
  • [Num3] gives us the larger system of priesthood, where there were different sections of priests who had specific responsbilities. They were priests in the sense that they were of the tribe of Levi and hence required to only be in the service of handling the temple/tabernacle and the priestly duties required by God. Levi had 3 sons and the 3 families that came from that had specific responsibilities.
  • [Num3:25] Gershonites were to guard the tent of the meeting, taking care of the screen door, the altar and such
  • [Num3:28] Kohathites were to guard over the sanctuary, ark, altars, table and lampstand.
  • [Num3:36] Merarites were to guard the frames of the tabernacle, bars, pillars, pegs, chords and the accessories and had to carry them as well.
  • [Num35] the high priest had the power to protect the guiltless manslayer, who came into the sanctuary cities, where their protection was guaranteed till the high priest death.
  • [2Ki12:10] the high priest also counted the money and other grain/fruit offerings collected from the people to be brought into the temple.
  • The chief priest was the chief over all of the Levites. Eleazar was made the chief priest in Numbers and Phineas following him.
  • There were a number of high priests in the OT and even during Jesus' life on earth.
    • Zadok [2Ki22:4]
    • Hilkiah [2Ki22:4]
    • Eliashib [Neh3:1]
    • Jehozadak [Hag1:1]
    • Joshua [Zech3:1]
    • Caiaphas [Mat26:3]
    • Annas [Acts4:6]
    • Sceva [Acts19:14]
    • Ananias [Acts23:2]

As we will learn from Hebrews [Heb3:1] Christ Jesus is referred to as the High Priest.

Covenant of priesthood

[Mal2:4-5] talks about a covenant with Levi, that God made of life and peace. Looking through OT, there is no clear indication of a convenant with Levi, other than the priesthood that was established via Aaron and the sons of Levi in Exodus & Leviticus.

[Num25:12] God makes a covenant of peace with Phineas, grandson of Aaron, for his zeal, when he killed the adulterer to stop the plague God had sent. [Num25:13] God in this covenant gives the sons of Phineas (descendents of Aaron) a permanent right to priesthood.

In [Neh13:29] we see the reference back again to the covenant of the priesthood and of Levites, when Nehemiah asks God to remember His convenent with the Levites.