But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; verse 9.
By reading the whole verse we understand there is a specific reason for these titles. We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light and reading further in context: 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. 12 Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.…
Being part of a chosen generation is not just about privilege and status; it also comes with responsibilities. We are called to reflect our Heavenly Father’s love within our communities and to others. As we acknowledge this role, we can look to the scriptures that remind us just what the Royal Priesthood was and the conditions that had to be met for being a priest. Modern images of a priest are very different from the days of Moses and the calling of the very first priesthood.
Leviticus 21 gives us the origins of the Levitical Priesthood and the commandments given by the Lord through moses.
Recall Jacobs 12 sons. Jacob became known as Israel when God changed his name, His sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. Levi was one of the 12 who had 3 sons. They were named
Gershon meaning exile
Kohath meaning assembly and
Merari meaning bitter.
These 3 became heads of the clans of the Levites. (Gen. 46:11;Ex 6:16-26). From among the Levites, Levis great grandson Aaron and his descendants were chosen to be His priests (Num.17:1-10). The choice was possibly because Moses was reluctant to speak to Pharaoh when first told to rescue his people from Egypt.
What we may not have realized is that there are 3 classes within the structure of Hebrew society.
The Kohen, the Levite and the Israelite.
Only the kohanim/priests, are physical descendants of Aaron and given the priestly duties of offering sacrifices/korbanot. The other descendants of Levi were assigned roles to help in the care and maintenance of the tabernacle/mishkan. These duties included carrying certain vessels, taking down the mishkan and reassembling it when they moved camp, etc. Only the Kohanim were allowed to do the priestly service or perform avodah on behalf of Israel the people. This means that the Kohanim are a part of the tribe of Levi and that while every Levite is an Israelite, meaning they are a descendant of Israel/Jacob, not every Levite who is a descendant of Levi is a Kohen or descendant of Aaron.See chart.
So what does this mean concerning our original question of why were they chosen?
One word will answer that question:
Loyalty
The tribe of Levi was chosen to serve in the Mishkan because of their loyalty to the Lord God of Israel during times of threat, temptation and danger. This was clear when they refused to be any part of the sin of the golden calf and instead killed 3000 of the rebellious participants. Aarons descendants were also rewarded with being Kohanim/priests, because of their loyal service with Moses as they made their Exodus from Egypt. Because the Kohanim were set apart (ecclesia), for direct service to the Lord, there were special responsibilities and additional restrictions that applied to them but not to the rest of the Levite clan. One example was they were not to touch a dead body or they would be considered unclean for service at the Mishkan; they would be considered tamai and would need to be ceremonially purified by water mixed with ashes from a red heifer. (This is the reason for the red heifer being in the news where Israel is concerned. It is unnecessary because Messiah has replaced the need for any sacrifice by His own substitutionary death and has become our High Priest, therefore the priesthoods original calling to offer sacrifices for the peoples sin is no longer required.)
Other restrictions included prohibitions regarding the customs of the pagan nations and rules concerning marriage of a kohen/priest. The function of these directives and instructions is twofold:
to promote holiness
and
to keep from profaning the Name of Adonai.
These two are also requirements for any believer, follower and disciple of Messiah today.
Chillul HaShem –Means – desecration of God’s Name.
This is referring to anything that gives our Heavenly Father, the Torah, or the Hebrew people of Israel a bad name or a bad reputation. Some of the Hebrew sages say that Chillul HaShem refers to sinning in such a way as to desecrate the Name of The Lord including murdering someone serving and worshipping other gods or having intimate relationship with a forbidden individual. An Israelite is required to die rather than commit such sins and those who do dishonor the Lord by refusing to give up their lives. This means when faced with the choice of committing one of these sins or being executed, the individual should choose death or else he commits Chillul HaShem. Also if a non Israelite commands an Israelite to commit a sin before the presence of 10 or more of his peers he must also let himself be killed rather than to obey an evil command..
Kiddush HaShem means sanctifying the Name
…which in turn, means that
we honor the Name of the Lord by giving up our lives.
Isn’t that what we do when we ‘give our lives to Jesus/Yeshua?’
It’s therefore the exact opposite of Chillul HaShem. Every time an Israelite recites the Shema, (Deut. 6:4, the individual affirms that they would rather die than to deny the wonderful Name of The Lord. The sages say that if one is about to give up their life for the Lord, he may not think that the Lord God will save him from death in this situation, but must expect to die.
This may explain why in Daniel 3 when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were faced with Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace; they didn’t presume that the Lord would save them but rather fully expected to give up their lives for the sake of Kiddush HaShem.
So how does this apply to us today? If we read scripture as just old testament History of a nation not our own it has no meaning to us and we will not apply any of the lessons to our lives. We are here to learn to choose righteousness over sin, to discern good over evil, to love the Lord our God with our whole being and others as ourselves we are to preach the good news of the gospel of the kingdom. We are to be spiritual light in the darkness pervading this earthly realm. Our scripture from 1 Peter 2states that the believer in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus though rejected by men is made part of the living Temple/Sanctuary/Mishkan of the Lord; made part of a holy priesthood, the kedoshim – His Holy Ones in order to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to the Father.
Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is the Rosh Pinnah – the cornerstone. Psalm 118:22. The believer is now chosen by our Heavenly Father to be – a treasured people- am segulah. We are called out to proclaim the greatness of Him Who delivered us, from darkness of sin and death to the light of truth and everlasting life through His grace and Mercy. Peter finishes by applying Hosea 2:23 directly to the believer.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. 12 Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.…
Once again, the personal application of the Word of our Heavenly Father to our lives is very clear and here is the condition. IF we want to retain the titles of being a chosen generation and a royal priesthood, then we must abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against our souls. As His, am segulah- treasured people, our conduct must be exemplary, reflecting all that our beloved Messiah calls us to be. In all this John 15:16 speaks loud and clear He chose us….
and all that He asks of us is the same that He asked of the Levite Kohanim – Loyalty –
This is our calling – the calling of the ecclesia – the called apart ones. John makes it clear and simple in Rev. 12:11. They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.
We often refer to loyalty as faithfulness, Ruth is one of many examples.
The loyalty in our Heavenly Fathers covenant that we are part of, assures us of our future in His presence; as we who are His chosen, serve Him as part of the Royal spiritual priesthood. Remembering to be loyal to Him and to the requirements of that calling.
Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen
