The Temple and the Priest

We have understood from Scripture that when God asked Moses to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness exactly according to the pattern he was shown on the mountain (Ex. 25:40), it was because the earthly structure was to be a shadow of the actual one that is in heaven (Heb. 8:5). This command from God, by itself, has deep meaning and provides us with insight that otherwise we would never have been able to grasp had there not been an earthly tabernacle. For one, it reveals to us how the tabernacle in heaven—that is the one not of this creation—looks like. For another, it gives us a glimpse of each part in the tabernacle, along with every item and the importance of them. Thirdly, it points to what Yahweh intended to do in the closing ages of time. I hope to use this writing to bring out a very profound understanding of the temple and the priest of the New Covenant.

When God gave Moses the pattern of the tabernacle and gifted the artisans to build everything exactly the way it was to be (Ex. 36:1); He gave specific instructions how the priests were to perform each duty. [Read the first few chapters of Leviticus to get a glimpse of how specific these instructions were]. The instructions were so specific and detailed, anyone reading these commands would immediately know that this was serious business. At the inauguration of the tabernacle, when everything was in place; the priests were consecrated; and the sacrifice was conducted exactly the way God had commanded, the Sovereign One enthroned in majesty and splendour filled the tabernacle with His glory. Fire came out from the presence of Adonai and consumed the burnt offering; and the glory of Adonai appeared to all the people. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces (Lev. 9:23-24). From then on, it wasn't just a structure, the glory of God was in it; and until the time of Solomon’s temple, the priests followed the instructions given to them by Moses with great care, ministering day after day in the tabernacle that was constructed in the wilderness. I want to lay particular emphasis here, that after the tabernacle was built and sanctified according to all of God’s commands and the priests did exactly what they were expected to do, the structure was no longer just physical. The glory of God that came down and filled the place brought in a dimension that was beyond the natural. His awe and majesty surrounded it causing all present to fall on their faces in reverence.

When David wanted to build the temple, God said, “I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar’ ” (2Sam. 7:6-7)? Then again, when Solomon prayed at the inauguration of the temple, He spoke of God’s greatness saying, “But can God actually live on the earth? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain You; so how much less this house I have built” (1Kin. 8:27). Nevertheless, Yahweh accepted the temple and said, “My Name shall be there” (1Kin. 8:29; 2Chr. 7:12). Here again I point to the one thing that made all the difference and immediately made a building of stone the dwelling of the Sovereign Maker of heaven and earth—God’s presence (2Chr. 7:1-3). Here too, as was the case the first time, the glory of the Lord filled the house so much so that the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord; and all the sons of Israel seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave praise to Adonai saying, “Truly He is good. Truly His loving kindness is everlasting.”  

Many, many decades after the temple had been built, God said through Isaiah, the prophet, “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house could you build for me? What sort of place could you devise for my rest? Didn’t I myself make all these things? This is how they all came to be.” In the same context, immediately after speaking of His dwelling place, the Sovereign One then says, “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:1-2). What do we gather from this? The Lord desires to dwell not in buildings but in the hearts of men who are humble and revere His word.

Stephen, the martyr, facing trial before the Sanhedrin, quotes the same words that God spoke through Isaiah (Acts. 7:49-50). However, before I proceed further, it is necessary to understand why Stephen was brought to trial before the Sanhedrin. As a backdrop, the number of disciples was increasing greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests had become obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7). It was in this context that Stephen would debate with some Jews about Moses and God’s purposes and plans through Yeshua, the Messiah. He spoke of God’s desire to dwell in the hearts of men—where the body would become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 6:19). Those whom Stephen spoke to rose up and argued with him but were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking (Acts 6:10). This is when they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes and falsely accused Stephen of speaking blasphemous words against Moses and saying that the Nazarene, Yeshua will destroy the temple and alter the customs which were handed down by Moses (Acts 6:12-14). With this in mind, read how the man on trial devotes the second part of his defence to the temple (Acts 7:44-50). He is about to explain Yahweh’s grand purpose through Yeshua and how God has desired to dwell in men when, it appears, he recognizes that his listeners are not going to understand. For no sooner does he finish quoting Isaiah than he suddenly changes his direction saying, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did” (Acts 7:51).  

The Apostles spoke of the greatness of this privilege when they shared the Good News of salvation through Yeshua. Peter showed how each person, in the Messiah, is a living stone that is being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Yeshua, the Messiah (1Pet. 2:5). When Paul wrote to the Corinthian congregation, “You are the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1Cor. 6:19), it wasn’t something that was revealed to them for the first time. He preached this even to the Ephesians (Eph. 2:21) and, I believe, to all other congregations.

What I am trying to say is this: we know we are the temple of God; but it is not some abstract thing, or something that we cannot imagine. Our body, which is the temple, is just like the pattern that God had shown to Moses in the wilderness. The temple that the Apostles spoke of in the Brit Hadashah (or the New Testament) is similar to the temple that Israel had in the Tanakh (or the Old Testament). Then it was in a geographical location. Now it is our body. Not only that, just as the temple had priests and each of them had their precise priestly duties, in the New Covenant, we too are priests—not by Aaronic descent but priests according to a new order—priests according to the order of Melchizedek. This is where the New Covenant that Adonai Elohim made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah (Jer. 31:31) reveals the glory of the Gospel. Let us look closely at the Book of Hebrews to see how this is so. 

The New Covenant that came into effect by the blood of Yeshua (Heb. 9:16) is not like the first. 

1. For the Messiah who was appointed by God over His house, whose house we are, has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses [who was also appointed by God over His house], in as much as the builder of the house has more honour than the house itself (Heb. 3:1-6). 
2. And just as the first covenant had a high priest who was taken from among men and appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in much the same way, the New Covenant also has a High Priest, Yeshua, who was designated by God according to the order of Melchizedek, who has become to all those who obey Him, the source of eternal salvation (Heb.5:1, 5, 9, 10). 
3. On one hand the first covenant had priests who became one by virtue of their descent from Aaron, and existed in great numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing; Yeshua on the other hand became the High Priest of a better covenant through an oath by the One who said, “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘Thou art a Priest forever’; and holds His priesthood permanently because He lives forever (Heb. 7:21-24). 
4. And while the Law for the priesthood had appointed men who were weak to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people; Yeshua who was holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heaven did this once and for all when He offered up Himself (Heb. 7:26-28). 
5. The first covenant had the tabernacle which was a mere copy of the true one (Heb. 9:24) and in it, the priests were permitted to enter only the outer tabernacle, but into the second only the high priest entered, once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance (Heb. 9:6-7); however when the Messiah appeared as a High Priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood. Into this heavenly tabernacle He entered the Most Holy Place once and for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:11-12). 
6. For the Law, since it was only a shadow of the good things to come could never by the same sacrifices year by year make perfect those who drew near to God, otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there was a reminder of sins year by year for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb. 10:1-4). But when Yeshua came into the world, He took away the sacrifices which are offered according to the Law and established a second—doing the will of God (Heb. 10:8-9). It is by this will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Yeshua the Messiah once for all, perfecting for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy (Heb. 10:10-18).

In the New Covenant, we who are set apart are now made priests according to the order of Melchizedek, with Yeshua as the High Priest; for both He who sanctifies and we who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call us brethren (Heb. 2:11). Scripture calls such brethren, “a kingdom of priests” (Ex. 19:6; Rev. 1:6). Such belong to a royal priesthood and are part of a holy nation (1Pet. 2:9). As priests in God’s holy temple, which is our body, we also have duties just as the priests in the first covenant had. It is incumbent for me to state at this point, that I take for granted here that the priest I am about to describe is already a party to the New Covenant—which includes being cleansed by the blood that the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek took into the Most Holy Place which is in heaven; being reconciled to God before whom this priest is now to serve—for without the righteousness of the Messiah, no man, Jew or Gentile, can ever come before God. Such a person bears witness to being a party of this Covenant with his Saviour when he partakes of the bread and the cup at the Lord’s Table (1Cor. 11:26-27). This is to say that such a priest recognises that God’s laws which are now written on his heart and mind (Heb. 8:10) are to be held to dearly, cherished, loved and obeyed. Put simply, such a sanctified priest loves God with all his heart, with all his soul and with all his strength. Such a person bears witness to being a party of this Covenant with his Saviour when he partakes of the bread and the cup at the Lord’s Table (1Cor. 11:26-27). Imagine the enormous privilege granted to us in the New Covenant, that one does not need to be a descendant of Aaron to be a priest but through Yeshua, even I—who was once not a people and who had no God—can now draw near to the Holy One who is enthroned on High, both as a dwelling place for Him and as His priest.

The priest in the first covenant had the duty of offering up sacrifices to God in the temple. Broadly, there were five different sacrifices that were commanded by God in the Torah. These were: the Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering, the Peace Offering, the Sin Offering, and the Guilt Offering (Lev. 1-5). Of these, only the High Priest could offer the last two (the sin offering and the guilt offering), taking the blood into the Holy of Holies. No priest other than the High Priest could do this. The first three sacrifices however could be offered by the priests, even those who were not the High Priest.

Now compare how the priest in the New Covenant can serve God in the temple, which is his body; and how similar this new covenant priest’s duties are with those in the first covenant. 

The burnt offering had to be offered up on the altar as a whole, after following the procedures commanded in Leviticus 1, and the priest was not permitted to eat any of it. In the New Covenant, we are commanded to offer our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship (Rom. 12:1). Like the one in the first covenant, this too is a free will offering. And just as the sacrifice in the first was offered up completely by placing the pieces on the altar, so also the sacrifice that the new covenant priest offers up on the altar of God in the temple, which is his body must also be offered up completely—where every member of his body is presented to God as an instrument of righteousness (Rom. 6:13). The peace offering in the Levitical days was to be shared, where specific portions of the sacrifice were eaten as a meal in fellowship with others. In much the same way, we are commanded in the New Covenant to walk in love, just as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma (Eph. 5:2). The grain offering had no animal sacrifice but was also a freewill offering given with the best—fine flour, olive oil and frankincense. The point I am trying to make here is that as priests of God who have been appointed to serve in the temple, that is our body, we have the duty to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God daily—where each member of our body becomes a sacrifice to righteousness. In addition we also have the duty to offer up peace offerings and the finest of all we have as a soothing, sweet smelling aroma at the altar before God. I repeat that each of these is a freewill offering and God desires that we do this not out of compulsion but with love for Him and with all our heart. Personally, I make it my ambition, to be such an offering to God each day. Yes, I stumble; but the Lord can see the sincerity and earnestness in me to offer to Him daily a sweet smelling fragrant offering.

The priestly duties now move from the outer court to the Holy Place. There, on one side in the sanctuary is the menorah. This is the only light in the Holy Place. In that room, there is no other light. The priest was commanded by God to ensure that the lamps were lit at all times (Ex. 27:20-21). They were never to go out (Lev. 24:2). In the New Covenant, this lamp, which is the life of Yeshua (Jn. 8:12), is also to burn each day, day after day, without going out. The Apostle Paul writes that in past ages and generations, this mystery was hidden, but now God has willed to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery which is, Christ in us (Col. 1:26-27). It was for this Paul prayed when he wrote to the Ephesians, “I pray that from the treasures of His glory He will empower you with inner strength by His Spirit, so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting” (Eph. 3:16-17 CJB). The Apostle divulged his life’s ambition to the Galatians when he wrote, “…it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). It is this life of Yeshua that we are to show forth, for our Master said, “You are the light of the world” (Mt. 5:14). It is therefore necessary that the priest appointed to serve in this temple, which is his body, ensures that the life of Yeshua, which is the light in the Holy Place of his sanctuary, be kept burning day and night. Personally, I take this instruction very seriously and constantly seek God’s face for mercy and help so that the life I live shows forth the light of the Messiah.

Opposite the menorah was the Table of Showbread. Here too the priest was to ensure that the bread of the Presence was to be on the table at all times (Ex. 25:30); and that every Sabbath there was a fresh stack of bread placed on the table in the sanctuary (Lev. 24:8), with pure frankincense put on each row as a reminder. When the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us, He said, “I am the bread of life” (Jn. 6:48). This is the bread which came down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die (Jn. 6:50). Yes, while talking of being the bread, Yeshua spoke of giving His flesh for the life of the world (Jn. 6:51), but He also said, “he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (Jn. 6:57). Eating this bread is abiding in the Word (Jn. 6:56). Time and time again we hear the Lord telling us from His Word that the one who obeys Him is the one who loves Him (Jn. 14:21). It is such a worshipper that He is looking for (Jn. 4:23-24); and in such a one both Yeshua and the Father make their abode (Jn. 14:21). Psalm 119 and every book in Scripture is all about making the laws, instructions and statutes of God one’s everything. The priest of the New Covenant is therefore to ensure that in the temple, which is his body, he abides by the Word of God in faith and obedience and his stack is fresh week after week. For as Yeshua Himself said, that when we love Him and keep His commandments, He will disclose Himself to us. What we then have is fresh revelation and insight from the Lord. It is not borrowed bread, taken from someone else’s table, but bread that He himself eats and abides in as a priest before God. Personally, I make every effort to live before God with the same attitude that my Saviour had when He was on earth, saying, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work” (Jn. 4:34). This is my bread.

In front of the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place there was the altar of incense. I wish I could write about the role of the priest in the New Covenant with regard to this altar. Sadly my own walk with the Lord has not reached there yet. It would be improper for me to write theoretically and therefore I choose consciously to share with you only what the Lord has granted me in His mercy to experience. 

I can only imagine that if the experience of the priest can be so enriching and rewarding in all that he has experienced so far, that is up to the veil, how much greater would it be when he goes beyond. For if the Psalmist could say that it is better to spend one day in the courts of the Lord than a thousand days elsewhere (Psa. 84:10), I wonder what gladness would fill our hearts when we enter that inner room and spend all our days there. We are told that through the work of our magnificent High Priest we have boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Yeshua, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh (Heb. 10:19-20). Yet on this too I cannot share much because I am still to enter into that place of awe and majesty. I expect from my understanding of scripture that it will not be a one-time experience or a “sensing the presence of God” kind of experience that I sometime hear Christians talk about after a time of worship and praise. Precious as that experience is, I imagine that the one who enters beyond the veil beholds on a continual basis the awe and majesty and splendour of the One whose presence rests between the two Cherubim. I know that no man having entered there can come out the same. Like Isaiah, we would be overcome with our own insufficiency (Isa. 6:5) yet granted “coal” to help us bear the greatness of being in that presence (Isa. 6:6-7). Like John, we would fall on our face like a dead man (Rev. 1:17). Paul gives us a glimpse of his own experiences which he said made all other things seem like rubbish. I wait with eager expectation for such a day recognizing that if the God of all mercy and kindness has been gracious to lead me this far, He will surely complete what He has begun, knowing that He never leaves His work unfinished. For in the Millennial reign of the Messiah, is it not revealed that we will be kings and priests (Rev. 5:10; Rev. 20:6)? 

I also know that the plan of God is not confined to one person’s body, which is his temple, but is rather a more complex and grand design. For Scripture tells us that we individuals are being built as one temple where in union with Him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. Yes, in union with Him, we ourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling place for God! (Eph. 2:20-22 CJB). Under the control of the head (that is the Messiah), the whole body is being fitted and held together by the support of every joint, with each part working to fulfill its function; this is how the body grows and builds itself up in love (Eph. 4:15-16). Notice from this verse how important it is that each individual part functions properly so as to contribute to the growth. 

May it not be that I, a living stone in the grand design of God’s holy temple shirk in my responsibility, as both a temple of the Holy Spirit and priest appointed to serve this temple. I ask that I, and each of you who reads this, may be that living stone, knowing that we are being used by God to be a part of the overall spiritual house in which we also serve as a holy priesthood. And as I emphasised at the start of this writing, just as God’s glory fell on the tabernacle and the temple and His fire consumed the offerings; may God’s glory fill His temple, which is our body and His fire consume the sacrifices we place on the altar daily.