Selfish Servants

The book of Leviticus gives the regulations and responsibilities of the Old Testament priesthood.

The sacrifices that were brought had to be offered in specific ways depending on the sin.

The priests functioned as doctors, inspecting for signs of leprosy.

The priests functioned as house inspectors, looking for signs of mold in homes.

The priests functioned as intercessors for the people.

It was a lot of work to be a priest, if you followed the rules.

They had a lot of power. And as you read through the historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament you'll discover that often the priests were abusing that power.

It was hard work. Let's change the rules. Relax the standards.

It was powerful. If we do this, these people won't bring in the sacrifices that I use to feed my family. This man has been very generous to the temple, let's not require him to bring in those sacrifices.

They had to offer sacrifices for their own sins before they could represent the people before God.

Human nature hasn't changed. We like to take the easy way. We like it when people like us.

We'd be just as miserable at being priests as the priests of the Old Testament.

We'd be selfish servants, too.

I'm thankful that we have a High Priest, Jesus Christ, who has done the work for us. He has offered the perfect sacrifice. He didn't need to offer a sacrifice for His sins, because He had none. He's not lazy. He's not partial.

He's the perfect High Priest.

We can trust Him and His sacrifice so that we are perfect before God.

We can trust His intercessory work.

He is all that we need.