Banquet With The King: Can I Be a Priest?

The Sacrificial Lamb
Is it perfect?
The Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world.

Only Aaron and his descendants served as priests. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense, and they performed all the other duties related to the Most Holy Place. They made atonement for Israel by doing everything that Moses, the servant of God, had commanded them. 1 Chronicles 6:49

Meditate. Consider God’s message in scripture.

At the time of Passover, when I went to the Temple in Jerusalem, I observed the Priests. They were dressed in dramatic robes with headdresses. Can I be a priest? Did I want to be a priest? Nope. Only men in the Levite tribe, in Aaron’s line, could be priests.

Call for your brother, Aaron, and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Set them apart from the rest of the people of Israel so they may minister to me and be my priests. Make sacred garments for Aaron that are glorious and beautiful. Exodus 28:1-2

The priests had specific duties, which included teaching the people.

And you must teach the Israelites all the decrees that the LORD has given them through Moses. Leviticus 10:11

The priests were to resolve conflicts.

Then the Levitical priests must step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in the LORD's name. They are to decide all legal and criminal cases. Deuteronomy 21:5

Of course, the priests offered sacrifices to atone for the Israelites' sins.

These are the sacrifices you are to offer regularly on the altar. Each day, offer two lambs that are a year old, one in the morning and the other in the evening. With one of them, offer two quarts of choice flour mixed with one quart of pure oil of pressed olives; also, offer one quart of wine as a liquid offering. Offer the other lamb in the evening, along with the same offerings of flour and wine as in the morning. It will be a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the LORD. "These burnt offerings are to be made each day from generation to generation. Offer them in the LORD's presence at the Tabernacle entrance; there I will meet with you and speak with you. Exodus 29:38-42

Blessing the people is another responsibility of the priests. This results in those people getting God’s blessing.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: 'May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.' Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27

Only sons of the tribe of Levi get to be priests. I was born into the family of David in the line of Judah. True, Abraham was the father of all Israelites, but his grandson, Jacob, had twelve sons. One was Judah, and another was Levi. Levi’s family became priests, one of whom got to speak directly to God once each year at the Day of Atonement.

The Rabbis that I studied with at the Temple taught me the finer points of the Jewish priests—those gentlemen from the family of Aaron that still practiced the sacrifices according to God’s instructions through Moses. Here in the rebuilt Second Temple, since Solomon’s Temple was so damaged by the Babylonians, there is so much corruption. There are merchants selling lambs and doves to people who come bringing sacrifices that are declared inferior. Are they really blemished? It looks to me like someone is just trying to make some easy money. I’m not a priest, but I can see perfect sacrifices. Hearts that are repentant when they bring their sacrifices to the Temple. They heard God’s message. Repent. One day, that will be my message, too.

Prayer – Lord Jesus, You had such wisdom—even as a child. Repent was the beginning of Your ministry. Did you learn that in Jerusalem? With a repentant heart, daily I am seeking God’s purpose for my life—what would You have me to do, minute by minute?

Verse of Salvation ~ Now after John [the Baptist] was arrested and taken into custody, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of [the kingdom of] God, and saying, "The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God's purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation]." Mark 1:14-15 AMP

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP),

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

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Sunday, February 1, 2026

Can I Be a Priest?

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