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Official ministers or worship leaders in the nation of Israel who represented the people before God and conducted various rituals to atone for their sins. This function was carried out by the father of a family <Job 1:5> or the head of a tribe in the days before Moses and his brother Aaron. But with the appointment of Aaron by God as the first High Priest, the priesthood was formally established. Aaron's descendants were established as the priestly line in Israel. They carried out their important duties from generation to generation as a special class devoted to God's service.
The Bible often speaks of priests and Levites as if these two offices were practically the same <1 Chr. 23:2; 24:6,31>. They were closely related, in that both priests and Levites sprang from a common ancestor. They traced their lineage back to Levi, head of one of the original twelve tribes of Israel. But these two offices were different, in that priests (a specific branch of Levites descended through Aaron) and Levites (all descendants of Levi in general) performed different duties.
Priests officiated at worship by offering various offerings on behalf of the nation and by leading the people to confess their sins. The Levites were assistants to the priests. They took care of the tabernacle and the Temple and performed other menial tasks, such as providing music, serving as doorkeepers, and preparing sacrifices for offering by the priests.
In their function of offering sacrifices at the altar, the priests acted as mediators between man and God, offering sacrifices so that sin might be forgiven <Lev. 4:20,26,31>. Each sacrifice was a demonstration that the penalty of sin is death <Ezek. 18:4,20>, and that there can be no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of BLOOD <Heb. 9:22>.
The first priest mentioned in the Bible was Melchizedek, "king of Salem" and "the priest of God Most High" <Gen. 14:18>. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek and was blessed <Gen. 14:18-20>. Next mentioned was Jethro, Moses' father-in-law and the priest of Midian, who joined Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Israel for a sacrificial meal <Ex. 18:1,12>.
But true priesthood began many years before their time in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned against God, He made them tunics of skin and clothed them. Thus, the death of animals became a symbol of the removal of man's guilt <Gen. 3:21>.
After this event, Abel offered a sacrifice that pleased God <Gen. 4:4>. Still later Noah <8:20>, Abraham <12:7-8>, Isaac <26:25>, Jacob <35:1-7>, and Job <Job 1:5> all acted as priests, offering sacrifices to God. In fact, each family in Israel killed the PASSOVER lamb, offering it as sacrifice to God <Ex. 12:6; 34:25>. But when God established Israel as His Chosen People at Mount Sinai after their deliverance from slavery in Egypt <Ex. 6:7; 19:5-6>, He established a formal priesthood through Aaron and his descendants. As descendants of Levi, they were to represent the nation of Israel in service to God at the tabernacle and altar <Num. 8:9-18>.
The priesthood was given to Aaron and his descendants "as a gift for service" <Num. 18:7> and as "an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations" <Ex. 40:15>. Since the office was hereditary, the descendants of Aaron were obligated to accept the responsibility and meet the qualifications. No person with a physical defect or disqualifying disease could serve as a priest <Lev. 21:16-21>. Bodily perfection was to symbolize the priest's spiritual wholeness and holiness of heart. Even the priest's home life and relationship with his wife were to show his consecration to God <Lev. 21:7>.
Aaron and his sons were consecrated for the priesthood in an elaborate seven-day ceremony <Ex. 29:30,35,37>. Their bodies were bathed to symbolize the purifying of their souls from sin. Then they were clothed in their priestly garments and anointed with oil as sacrifices were made on their behalf. The entire dedication procedure was as an outward sign of their SANCTIFICATION in God's service <Ex. 29:9>.
The clothes which the priests wore also carried great significance. Their white linen garments symbolized holiness and glory. They also wore a coat woven in one piece without a seam to indicate their spiritual integrity, wholeness, and righteousness. The four-cornered cloth of the coat signified that the priest belonged to the kingdom of God. The cap, resembling an opening flower, symbolized the fresh, vigorous life of the one who wore it. The girdle, or sash, a belt which encircled the priest's body, was the priestly sign of service. It showed that the wearer was an office bearer and administrator in the kingdom of God <Exodus 39>.
The priests had several responsibilites as mediators between the sinful people and their holy God. They lit the incense and cleaned, trimmed, and lit the lamps. Ministering before God at the altar, the priests had to make sure the offerings of the people were correct and that the sacrificial rituals were carried out correctly. Otherwise, the people could not be cleansed of their sin until the priests had made atonement for the error <Num. 18:1>.
As "messengers of the Lord" <Mal. 2:7>, the priests also were to teach the Law to the people of Israel. In addition to instructing in the Law year by year, they were also responsible for reading the Law at the Feast of Tabernacles every seventh year <Deut. 31:9-13>.
By their example, the priests also taught the people how to "distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean" <Lev. 10:10>. Living in cities scattered throughout the nation of Israel, the priests were in a good position to fulfill this function <Joshua 21>. In addition, the priests served as judges, acting as a kind of supreme court for Israel <Deut. 17:8-13>. In special cases, the high priests declared the will or judgment of God through the URIM AND THUMMIN, the medium through which God sometimes communicated His divine will <Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Deut. 33:8>.
When the land of Canaan was conquered and divided among the tribes of Israel, 13 cities with their surrounding land were allotted to the priests as residences for their families and pasturelands for their flocks <Josh. 21:10-19>. Across the centuries, the priests increased to a numerous body. King David divided them into 24 groups <1 Chr. 24:1-19>. Except for the great festivals when all the groups served at the tabernacle at the same time, each group of priests officiated for a week at a time on a rotating basis.
As long as the king and the people of Israel remained loyal to God and His Law, the priests were highly respected and exercised a healthy influence in the land. But the priests eventually sank to immorality, departed from God, and worshiped idols, along with the rest of the people <Ezek. 22:26>.
In the final book of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi pointed to the neglect, corruption, and false teaching of the priests. According to Malachi, this was the reason why the people began to neglect the offerings and festivals of the Temple. They lost their respect for the persons who held the office, and finally the office itself <Mal. 1:6; 2:7-9>. Thus, the Old Testament closes with the announcenent that God in His judgment "will suddenly come to His temple... like a refiner's fire" to purify the priests <Mal. 3:1-3>. God was determined to preserve His human priests until the appearance of His true Priest, Jesus Christ.
By the New Testament period, the position of priests in the nation of Israel had changed considerably. The Temple functions were taken over by the "chief priests." Rank-and-file priests were also overshadowed by the SCRIBES and PHARISEES, two special groups that arose to present the Law and interpret its meaning for the people. But in spite of the diminished role of priests, Jesus respected the office and called upon the priests to witness His healing of lepers in keeping with the Law of Moses <Mark 1:44; Luke 17:12-14>. But the priests themselves were some of the most zealous opponents of Jesus. As leaders of the SANHEDRIN, the Jewish high court, they bore much of the responsibility for His crucifixion. They also led the opposition to the apostles and the early church.
The office of priest was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Son of God became a man <Heb. 2:9-14> so that He might offer Himself as sacrifice "once to bear the sins of many" <Heb. 9:28>. Hence, there is no longer a need for priests to offer a sacrifice to atone for man's sin. A permanent sacrifice has been made by Jesus Christ through His death on the Cross.
Priesthood and holiness were meant to be inseparable. But the sinful nature of the priests allowed corruption to enter the God-ordained office. However, the priesthood to which the nation of Israel was called at Mount Sinai continues today in the church. "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" <1 Pet. 2:9>.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
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