The Tabernacle of God: The High Priest (part 1)

Exodus 28:1-4

The High Priest in Israel was a very important person. He was considered the religious leader of the nation, and it came to be a position of great political importance as well. That would not have been a bad thing if holiness had been the top priority, but power and greed became the foundation, and a lot of things were blamed on religion that were little more than political power plays. This did not make the office of High Priest a bad thing; it showed the need for a better High Priest.

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“Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.  And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.  So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest.  And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.

Exodus 28:1–4

For He testifies: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 7:17

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In these two passages, there are two priestly orders. The first is the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood. When we think of priests in the Bible, this is where our minds go. The second is the Melchizedek order, and it comes from two obscure passages. The first is Psalm 110:4, and then that verse is quoted in Hebrews 7:17. Melchizedek was a priest of Salem who Abraham paid tithes to after he rescued Lot and many others from being taken captive during a war.

I will address the Levitical priesthood today and the Melchizedek priesthood in the next devotion. God chose Aaron to be the first high priest of Israel. During the building of the tabernacle, outfits were made for the priests, and the high priest had a very unique outfit. His set him apart from everyone else. He was distinct and had a special purpose.

The High Priest was an intercessor (mediator, go-between) between the people of Israel and God. In the object lessons of the tabernacle, and later the temple, it was as though he took the hand of the people and the hand of God and joined them together. Communication was primarily one direction though. The High Priest lifted the prayers of the people up to God. Remember, before this could be done there had to first be a blood sacrifice and death of a clean and perfect animal (not disfigured in any way). He offered up to God the prayers for repentance first and then the other petitions. Notice in the picture above that the priest has something on his chest. This was called the "breastplate", and it had 12 gemstones on it. Each gemstone represented one of the tribes of Israel. Everyday he wore this, and it symbolized that the people of Israel were on his heart as he carried out his duties. Just as the gems were precious stones, so the people of Israel were precious and valuable to him.

Now, we must understand that the Levitical High Priest was a picture of Jesus. Just as the High Priest kept the people of Israel close to his heart when he ministered, so Jesus keeps His people close to His heart when He ministers in Heaven. The High Priest interceded to God on behalf of the Children of Israel, and Jesus intercedes on behalf of His children. The High Priest offered the sacrifice of atonement (payment for sin) one time a year in the Holy of Holies, which pictured God's throne room, and Jesus offered Himself a sacrifice one time only for the atonement of sin in the presence of God the Father. Hebrews 7 tells us that Jesus is better than the Levitical priesthood because they die, but He lives eternally and makes intercession for us. Legal matters were brought before the High Priest for him to judge. Jesus will be the judge over the saved and the lost in the end.

The more we understand about the tabernacle, and all the rituals involved in it, the more we understand just who Jesus is. Jesus did not become these things so that He could follow their example. No, these things were given that we might understand who He was, is, and will be for all eternity. God, in His totality, does not change. He is, was, and will forever be the Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Redeemer, Judge, and so much more of His creation.

Father, we miss so much because we quit looking. We get so caught up in ourselves that we cannot see You. You have set so much in Your Word for us to find and learn if only we would look. How often we look down on the Jews because they did not recognize Jesus, but we do the same thing now. Help us to see Him high and lifted up and that we may be "to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:12).