My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
| 248 |
| GREAT HIGH PRIEST |
| Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. |
| Years ago, my son decided to read through the Old Testament, and as he was going through the Pentateuch, he made a comment I will never forget. “Those priests were butchers!” From a young man who had spent most of his life preparing food, as he had read the duties of the Priest, he interpreted it as equal to the task of a butcher. I had read the same passages many times and never came away with that impression. My concept of the priest was flavored more from the ones who interacted with the Messiah in the New Testament. Businessmen, politicians and religious imposters. A dangerous mix for the people of God to be under! Was the priest intended to be a butcher? Is that the message we should take away from our reading of the Old Testament? Or maybe, the priest was to be a manager of people, one who controlled and manipulated people and goods. To be a priest entailed many tasks that I do not intend to venture into with this short post, but two items need to be considered as we think of our God as the Great High Priest. The High Priest in the Old Testament was a prefigure of the Messiah in many ways. For the purpose of brevity and to relate to this post, consider the High Priest before a holy God and before a sinful people. Before a Holy God As the priest entered the presence of God, he “carried” the people on his heart. His approach before a holy God was for the people, as he carried a broken, sinful people on his heart, pleading before the Righteous and Holy God for a people who were not worthy, who had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. His “ministry” was of a broken heart for the people he represented. Exodus 28:30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the LORD. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the LORD regularly. Before Sinful People His behavior before his people was likewise towards them. It was the prophet that did much of the rebuking, correcting and chastisement in the nation as they rebelled against God, though correction of the people was not out of the priest’s job description. When required, he chastised the people. But for the faithful Israelite, who came before the priest with an offering, with a lamb, a goat or a pigeon, the priest was of the receiving nature. He was approachable, without rebuke to the one who sacrificed in the right spirit. Proper sacrifice was received gladly, with open arms. For our time together this morning, consider both of these attributes in the Lord Jesus as our High Priest. Were not sinful broken people on the heart of the Messiah as He faced the judgement of sin in His body on the cross? Though He suffered such horrendous injustice in His service for His people, He has not turned to His people in anger due to this injustice. He is not holding some grudge, or demanding some retribution from His people. He is approachable, with open arms, receiving His people as they come with their own sacrifices of praise and love to Him. The apostle encourages the people of God to draw near to our High Priest, a High Priest that is able to sympathize with our weakness, having experienced the power of temptation. Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Jesus is our true Great High Priest, and all other images in my mind of a butcher and a businessman vanish as I see His arms open up! Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace |
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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One response to “Names of God – GREAT HIGH PRIEST – 247”
You already have a 247, this latest should read 248. 🙂
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