"A Royal Priesthood"
"Do not include the tribe of Levi in the registration; do not count them with the rest of the Israelites. Put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with all its furnishings and equipment. They must carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings as you travel, and they must take care of it and camp around it. (Numbers 1:49, 50 NLT)
The Levites were set apart for God's work in a special way. All of God's people were to be set apart but the Levites especially were. They were God's priests. They were those that interceded between God & man. They were not to be counted with the people or camp with the people. In this way, God saw them as separate. They were to carry & guard the holy things of God.
When we think about priests, the obvious inclination is to think of pastors. That's the modern application of the Old Testament text. There are a multitude of applications for pastors in these texts about the priesthood.
But holiness & being set apart is not just for clergy. In fact, 1 Peter 2:9 says that every believer is "A chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9 NLT).
So, holiness is not just for preachers. It's not just something for super Christians. There is no separation between super Christians & regular Christians. In fact, super Christians don't even exist. There are just Christians. People who are set apart by God to be his special possession in the world. People who see holiness not as an option but a privilege. People who see holiness as part of being God's people not as an unattainable burden.
God's people are set apart by him, for him & if we are his, he is making us more holy, more like him!
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