I have been absent for the past two weeks as Donna and I have been on a cruise, but I am back now.
Before we start, if you are thinking this might be one of those messages where I tell you that God intended the Torah to be for everyone, let me address that concern right away… of course this is about how God intended the Torah to be for everyone!
And today I am going to give you the proof of that statement!
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The title of today’s message tells us it all starts with Exodus 19:5-6, so let’s take a look at that:
5 Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart.’ These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra’el.”
Moses is told that the Jewish people will be God’s nation of priests.
So, nu? what does a priest do? Well, according to the Internet version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the priest is…
Someone who is authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God.
Well, that certainly sounds correct…for a priest of today, but what about the priests back in the days when God chose us to be priests?
According to the Bible, yes- they performed the sacrifices and acted as mediator between the laity (common folk) and God (divine person). Those duties were outlined in Leviticus 1-7.
But the priests also served in a judiciary position, judging the people in criminal matters, with the Cohen HaGadol (High Priest) acting as the court of last appeal (Ezekiel 44:24).
But that wasn’t all- they were also to serve as medical consultants regarding problems with skin diseases (Leviticus 13).
The priest also served as teacher, teaching the people how to properly serve and worship God (2 Kings 17:28).
Knowing the multiple functions of a priest at the time God chose the Jewish people to be a nation of priests, let’s backtrack a bit to when God separated the Levites to be priests to the Jewish people in Deuteronomy 18:15. He didn’t name all three families (Gershon, Kohath, and Merari) to be priests, only the sons of Kohath were chosen to be cohanim, and from them only the direct sons of Aaron were to serve in that position.
All the Levites were priests, technically, but only the sons of Aaron were Cohanim, those who presented the sacrifice and officiated over the ceremonies and rituals.
Now let’s start to put this in order…God first chose the Levites to be his priests to the Jewish people, and that means (as we have identified from the Tanakh) they served as intermediaries between the laity and the Divine, performing services to both people and God. The sons of Aaron were the Cohanim, while the other Levites served God by caring for the Sanctuary.
After God told Moses that the Jewish people (which meant all 12 tribes) were to be God’s nation of priests, since priests act as intermediaries between the common and the divine, and they were already intermediaries, they couldn’t really be priests to themselves, right? Therefore, when God said the Jews are to be a nation of priests, they must be serving as intermediaries between some laity other than the Jews, which leaves only the Goyim- the nations.
In other words, when God chose us to be a nation of priests, he clearly meant we are his priests to the entire world.
And right after God told Moses we are priests to the world, the very next thing that happened was in Exodus 20, when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, and (as many believe) the entire Torah while Moses was on Mount Sinai.
The Torah is not just a bunch of laws- it is God’s User Manual for Righteousness, with rules about how to worship him, how to treat each other, how to conduct business, how to identify skin diseases, a penal code for capital crimes, torts, and other misdemeanors, even including formulae for making restitution, and many other societal and spiritual guidelines for proper living.
Do you now see the logical and absolutely obvious sequence of events? God chooses the Levites as priests to the Jews, then he chooses the entire nation of Jews to be his priests to the world, and then he gives the Jews the Torah, which contains God’s instructions on how to worship him and how to treat each other. And so, as priests to the world, with the instruction manual from God, we are to learn it then teach it (remember teaching is a function of the priest) to the rest of the world.
Which means, like it or not, that anyone who professes to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob- whether or not they accept Yeshua as their Messiah, but especially MORE so if they do- is to be taught by us Jews how to live in accordance with the Torah.
The Jews that accepted Yeshua didn’t change from living in accordance with the Torah, and the Gentiles that accepted Yeshua were being taught how to live in accordance with the Torah. And, for the record, Shaul (Paul) never told anyone to ignore the Torah; rather, he allowed the Gentiles learning it to learn at their own pace, concentrating first on faith and love. And this process was confirmed by the Elders in Jerusalem, when James said in Acts 15:21 these believing Gentiles will learn the Torah as they attend Shabbat services.
Hey, look, if now maybe you realize that you have been ignoring what God wants you to do, which is to live according to the Torah, don’t be angry with me- go complain to your religious leaders who have been misdirecting you!
But be kind to them, because they have also been misdirected; in fact, Christians have been misdirected for two millennia.
Thank you for being here, and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. After all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
