Food and ordination...a study in Exodus 29

Introduction

They say that every Jewish holiday is celebrated the same way. So the story goes. Here’s the liturgy of any Jewish holiday whether Passover or Hanukkah or whatever: Our enemies tried to kill us; we won; let’s eat. That may be a bit simple, and certainly not as holy or significant as some would want, but food is a major concern in the Bible in relation to the people of God. What we eat tells a story. And it is the story that is important. 

It’s so common it’s almost laughable, whenever a group of Jewish people are on a weekend together, during one meal, plans are always made for the next one. So as Jews, let’s never diminish the relevance of the food itself. Or the story.

For instance---Three men-- an Italian, a Frenchman, and a Jew, were condemned to be executed. Their captors told them that they had the right to have a final meal before the execution. They asked the Frenchman what he wanted. 

"Give me the best French wine and French bread," he requested. 

So they gave it to him, he ate it, and then they executed him. Next it was the Italian's turn. 

"Give me a great big plate of pasta," said the Italian. 

So they brought it to him, he ate it, and then they executed him. Now it was the Jew's turn. 

"I want a big bowl of strawberries, " said the Jew. 

"Strawberries!!! They aren't even in season!" 

"Nu, so I'll wait..." 

Food, glorious food. Oliver Twist knew that gruel and a second plate of it, was worth his asking. What does God want for us to eat, and what did the priests eat, and what is the significance for us as 21^st Century people? What is the significant purpose of priests and ordination also? That’s what we will look at today.

Ordination of the priests: What to eat?

“Thus they shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration” (.33) This verse is tucked away later than most would like. The chapter begins with a consecration ceremony filled with pomp and circumstance. Garments for the ceremony were in place. We discussed those last week. Now there are some animals involved, and specifically killed. Their blood is dealt with in different ways and each titled a different kind of offering. But what was all this for?

Only in verse 33 do we understand the purpose. It was for atonement. “V’achlu otam asher koopar bahem”

God wanted our Jewish people to learn and to build into the system of our diary the major theme of sin, and atonement, the requirements to remove it from us. Sin is a terrible thing. It undermines all human relationships and it ruins our relations with God as well. God goes to seemingly immeasurable lengths to prevent our sin and if we do it, to deliver us from both it and its consequences. True love found in the Almighty requires this kind of ruthless orientation to the nature of sin.

So what kind of animals attended the ordination ceremony of the priests? Bulls and rams and lambs are listed. Bulls are a major supply of both future animals by siring and of food itself by slaughtering. Nevertheless, the bull used in this ceremony was for a sin offering, and thus was not eaten by anyone. Some would shout, “Waste!” and they are right in the human level. 

Do you hear the sounds of Judas Iscariot?  Listen to this story from John’s recording of it, some 60 years after the death of Messiah. The story takes place just before the crucifixion, and Mary and her sister Martha are near Yeshua.

“Mary took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Yeshua, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said,  “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.” (John 12.3-6)

When some cry ‘waste’, others are crying for ‘elaborate.’ God goes to no small end making sure we know the costs of the separation from Him. Bob Mumford was a Bible teacher who influenced me greatly when I began in Messiah some 50 years ago. His books are still out there. He said in a conference once, “Do you want to know how far we fell (referring to the Garden of Eden and man’s sin)? Look how hard it is to get back to him and how hard we try.” In other words, you don’t know how far you’ve fallen away until you try to return. 

Sin is and always has been the problem between God and man. And there is only one way with which to deal with this. That is by atonement and blood on the altar.

Friends, I don’t know how often I hear from Jewish folks about the irrelevance of the Bible to them. Listen, if you dismiss the reality of your own sin, yes the Bible becomes a thick, religious book, wrapped in dull history and mythological fanciful tales. If you say the Book cannot dob you in for your part in the play of human failure, then its requirements become banal and boring.

However, if you see yourself in the mirror of God’s Word, not as a superhero, but as a sinful needy person, you will find in the Bible a wealth of future and hope. You will find the requirements to be promises, and its details filled with depth. You will find forgiveness and relevance in the Lamb of God who died for our sin and made us to be priests to our God.

So which is it? Are you the sinful soul needing forgiveness? Are you climbing your way back to God in desperation and longing? Or do you find the text to be historically dismissable and shamefully filled with animal violations? Your answer determines more than your pleasure today; it determines your eternity.

So first and foremost, the food the priests ate was a teaching devise to remind them of their own sin and the sin of all Israel.

You can imagine as Israel is wandering in this wilderness without a grocery store nearby, that they might have been angry at Moses in whom they didn’t have too much confidence, if he asked for their bull. They might have thought he had lost it.

Ordination of the priests: The choice

Moses is told to bring in Aaron and his children. The chapter unpacks the timing of the ceremonies. It will take place over 7 days. One by one, the priests, first Aaron, then his sons, will be anointed in this elaborate gala. For seven days the bulls will be killed, and atonement made. For seven days lambs are brought in to atone for the altar itself. For this one week, with all Israel watching, God would Himself consecrate with His glory the section of the Tabernacle where others would hope for pardon. The altar would forever do its job in healing the rift between sinful man and Holy God.

Let’s think a bit about the choice of the priests. Aaron was Moses’ older brother. He was at least 83 at this time. Most nowadays would retire this man; But it’s God’s good pleasure to keep saints going in His service until He’s done with them.

I’ve been thinking a lot about ordination lately, not only because of this section of Bible we are reading. And it’s precisely because of God’s call that He chooses priests to exist.  All Israel is called to be a kingdom of priests, as we read in chapter 19. (Mamlechet kohanim)

Israel is to be a priest-nation so that the nations of the world might know about God. We need priests who would represent God to us, so we can represent God to the goyim around us. Ordination then is not so much a representative governmental system, rather it’s a present tense system of incarnation. It’s God in the midst of His people so that the people can be God in the midst of the nations. This seems cosmic; it’s certainly ‘out there.’

Robert Terwilliger (a US Anglican priest) described it this way in his book To be a priest: 

“God gave us a priest- this is the Gospel… Jesus is the one and only priest…Jesus is the end of all other priesthoods. The priesthood of Messiah is sent forth into the world. The commission of the apostles is part of the gospel. Jesus projects what he is and what he does for man into history in the persons of other men. He chooses them to go forth in his name. They are not merely teachers and examples but extensions of himself and his divine mission.” (Matt 10.40) “(Seabury Press, 1975, New York City, page 5)

Yeshua is our priest and we are called to be a nation of priests who will serve our God and bring His word and Him through us to the nations. We are not just informers; we are not his reps. We are God in Christ calling to the world. This is dangerous if you misunderstand this.

Touching the altar

They say, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Paul quoted that in his Corinthian letter. I was explaining this principle to a teenager yesterday about how some Christians are not keen to watch the Harry Potter movies. They use this principle, and I used the image of a bunch of grapes, and the requirement to rid the bunch of any rottenness. You will often see this kind of bunch in the shops when the grapes are in a plastic bag. One of the first things to do with the bag is remove it. Otherwise, if a rotten grape exists it will ruin the others. A person who wants to get the most out of the purchased bunch must remove any rotten grapes first.

Now in our text today we see this phrase,

“whatever touches the altar shall be holy.” (.37)

In other words, the altar is the sanctifying agent. If you touch the altar you are cleansed.  Some used it later as a magic home base in the game of ‘You’re it” (1 King 1.50, 2.28) but the altar was not originally designed to be a safe haven in human terms; it was designed to be the place of finding safety in our relationship with the Almighty.

Yeshua knew about this and challenged the Pharisees in the same way. “You say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is obligated.’  You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering?” (Matt. 23.18-19)

The way the rabbis fought the misuse of vows and oaths was by differentiating between what was binding and what was not. In that sense, they encouraged evasive oaths, and therefore lying. Jesus cut through these differentiations by insisting that people must tell the truth. He charged the teachers of Torah in those days, and the Pharisees with mishandling the Scriptures they claimed to defend.

Yeshua knew this principle of change. He knew that the Bible here in Exodus teaches that altar does the sanctifying. We stand before a holy God who has holy things on His table. We stand or fall in relationship to that and to Him, not to how efficacious we are in doing things for Him. In other words it’s the God of the altar who is the sanctifying agent supreme. He is the One who cleanses and changes us.

Ordination of the priests: Final purpose

God wants to have priests so that people have a connection with Him.  You would think this is exactly opposite of the understanding in a sacerdotal system. The priests are probably the power brokers. The priest will get in on relationship with God. The priest will represent the people to God and the God to the people. That’s a priest’s job, isn’t it? But in Israel it was to be different. Listen to verse 45. It’s a continual theme in the book of Exodus, and we saw it first in chapter 25. 

“Consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me. And I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God.” (verse 44-45 here)

The purpose of the ordination of the Aaronides was for the people to know God personally and that He might dwell among us. Anything less than that is simply less; it’s substandard. It’s unacceptable to the Almighty. 

Priests are there so that you know God, not so that they know God. It’s not a reserve for the priesthood; it’s an overflow of the effusive God that all of us might know Him that in our awareness of and in our incarnation of God we go out to the world that they might know him.

Priesthood is not about a separate caste of special holy ones; it’s about you being in relation to the Almighty.

Lessons learned

I believe we should see applications from our chapter today. 

1)    God’s demands on his people to represent Him makes us aware of our own sinfulness

2)    We have a responsibility to the nations of the world

3)    Sin is the problem in the world and it is surmountable by the love and forgiveness of God if done in his way

4)    Yeshua is the Jewish messiah and calls us to be priests in His service and in His name to the world

 

Yeshua Cohen (A priest too?)

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A priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek

A sermon given at Congregation Beth Messiah

Houston Texas

28 March 2015

By Bob Mendelsohn

Shabbat shalom to each of you here at CBM, and to those reading this online on my blog or on Facebook, also a hearty greeting.

Introduction: Tsav

Today is the Saturday before Passover and it is customary throughout Jewry to honor this day as the Great Sabbath, or Shabbat HaGadol. This commemorates the great miracle that happened in Egypt on this day, heralding the Exodus from Egypt five days later. Shabbat HaGadol customs include reading a portion of the Haggadah, which tells the story of the Exodus; it is also customary that the rabbi of the community teaches on the laws of Passover, in preparation for the festival. A survey was taken in Israel some years ago now, in which they found that less than 50% of the Jews believed in a personal God, but almost 90% observe Passover. That may put this in perspective a little.

Now, our parasha today entitled Tsav, means commandment and inside the 3^rd book of Torah, Vayikra, this makes sense. After all the majority of the 613 laws in Torah are found in Leviticus.  And like the book’s title in Latin tells us, Leviticus is the book of the Levites, or the priestly book.

Chapter 8 of Leviticus teaches us of the ordination of the priests and a bit of their duties. It shows Moses killing animals and sprinkling blood in appropriate places, and behaving like a priest, although he wasn’t officially one.

The entire chapter filled with ritual and blood and drama is an ordination ceremony that begins the work of ministry for Aaron and his four sons. Numbers chapter 8 highlights when the priests’ duties are fulfilled and they are told to retire, but that’s for another sermon, although I hear you are experiencing some of that at CBM just now.  May God lead you well in this time of transition.

Our role: The role of the priests

So I’m thinking about priests and about transitions and of course Passover, and I am led to teach you about a couple major things. First is the role of each of you, as a believer, if you are a believer in Yeshua as Messiah. He calls us to be a royal priesthood, according to the shaliach Shimon, Yeshua’s right hand man in the day. (“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2.9). Shimon would certainly have known all about this, as Yeshua actually ordained him to such a status as is recorded in Matthew chapter 16. You can read that later, but the reference will be important for you to write down. (And Yeshua said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My congregation; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16.17-19)

Yeshua ordains Peter to Gospel ministry, and that means one thing to those men that day. Peter is becoming a Cohen, a priest. Wow, who can do that anyway? Who can make someone who is not a Cohen to be a Cohen?

The only one who can really honestly do that is the Almighty himself. And Yeshua is saying of himself, that that is exactly who he is! What a claim!

He who is questionably a priest anyway, isn’t he? Remember a priest had to come from the line of Aaron, who was a Levite, Levi being the 3^rd son of Jacob. Yeshua according to the genealogies was a great, great, great…. Grandson of Judah, the 4^th son of Jacob. The writer of Hebrews will make a very clear and very important case for the priesthood of Yeshua, and I’ll explain that just now.

Yeshua: The great High Priest of our confession

Melchizedek is a character from the time of Abraham our father. He is also mentioned one time in the Psalms (110.4). And of course, he is mentioned several times in the book of Hebrews in the Newer Testament portion of the Bible. Who is he? And why is he so important?

According to the story (found in Genesis 14), he was a priest of another people, but geographically near Abraham. When Abraham had been successful in battle in retrieving his nephew Lot from his captors, Abraham wanted to demonstrate thankfulness to God right away. He went to Melchizedek, the King of Salem (and by the way his name means “King of Righteousness.”), who promised to stand with Abraham, Melchizedek brought out what we would recognize as Kiddush, that is, bread and wine, and served some of the military leaders in Abraham’s entourage. He also said a blessing over Abraham, which was powerful.

What Abraham did was surprising however. He gave a tithe to Melchizedek and honoured him above himself. In fact, the Bible makes clear that the greater blesses the lesser. So let’s read a bit from Hebrews 7 and unpack it as we go.

“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,  to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.” (This doesn’t mean Melchizedek was without parentage, but rather that in the record of Scripture, he just pops onto the scene. He did have beginnings and he did die, but the Bible doesn’t make mention of those events)

“Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.” (The key word in the book of Hebrews is ‘better’ and Yeshua is better than angels, better than Moshe, better than… And here we see Melchizedek is better than Abraham because of the tithing)

“In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.  And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.” (In other words since Levi was in Abraham, and all the current priests were also there, then the priesthood of today (the Aaronides) is less than the priesthood of Yeshua (Melchizedek) because of the tithing!

“Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.  For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.” (Yeshua came from Judah and was as such disqualified from being our high priest in heaven, but cleverly the writer of Hebrews gets another order of priests to make this work)

 “For it is attested of Him,

                  “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER

                  ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” (Psalm 110.4)

“For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,” (Levites were such not because they swore to uphold anything, but it was simply biological)

                  “THE LORD HAS SWORN

                  AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND,

                  ‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER’”);

so much the more also Yeshua has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Yeshua, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.” (Hebrews chapter 7)

So what do we learn?

Yeshua is our Great High Priest, not because he came from Judah, but because He came from Melchizedek’s order. He is a forever priest. He is the one who hears us and who cares for us. He lives to make intercession for us. He saves to the uttermost. Glory to His name! Baruch hashem!

And what about you?

The topic in Tsav seems so remote to us as 21^st century people, doesn’t it? Priests and tabernacles, oils and ephods, 7-day ordination separation duties, and old old Old Jews. But if you have been listening, you learned like I did that The Almighty who made Yeshua a priest forever according to another order, other than Levi, is also making you into a priest, in a way.

There are a few parallel words in Exodus chapter 28.

“Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me — Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skilful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me. These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me.” (Exodus 28.1-4)

Three times in those four verses you hear that same phrase, “That he may minister as a priest to me.”

So priests have a job, to mediate between the people and God and between God and the people.

That’s why we celebrate that we have Yeshua now who is the only mediator between God and men.  No man needs to do it for us any longer. No man can do this any longer.

But listen to this text from a very obscure text in Rav Shaul’s letter to the Roman believers. After he tells the Romans:

“For I say that Messiah has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,

                  “THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES,

                  AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME.”

Again he says,

                  “REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE.” And again…“ (Romans 15.8-10)   He says this odd phrase, but is an exact parallel to our text in Exodus and Leviticus today:

“I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Messiah Yeshua to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15.15-16)

I say it’s odd because this is the only time in the Newer Testament that the word priest is used in verb form, just like we see in Torah today. And what we are as the Body of Messiah, here at CBM, and at Faith Lutheran last night in Sugar Land and at Second Baptist and at… you name it, wherever the Gospel of Messiah is proclaimed, we are to function as priests, if you will all of us together, reaching a lost world, bringing them to God and bringing God to them. We together are a witness and a holy one at that, of the Holy God.

We in the messianic community have a responsibility to serve as that royal priesthood, that holy nation, to our own people. And if you are Jewish and here today (or reading or listening online) I urge you to hear these words, to consider Yeshua, our Great High Priest, who alone went into the Heavenly Tabernacle, made without hands, and secured our eternal kipporah, our eternal forgiveness and atonement. Consider and receive Him as Savior and Lord; He is our Messiah and the One who lives to intercede, and to cry out on our behalf. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Then when you also join Him, and believe Yeshua died for your sins and rose from the dead for us all, then you can join us and make a clear proclamation to the world of God’s eternal message of hope and joy, of forgiveness and salvation.

That’s why I’m here today. To help you all see the priesthood of all believers, that is, that we all together, are a priesthood to the world, and to ask you to continue to pray for our work in Sydney, Australia and around the world. Quick story:  Last week one of our women was sharing at a church in Idaho, like I am out in Texas. Melissa met Ruth, whose Christian neighbour brought to hear another Jew speak about Messiah.  Long story short, Ruth prayed with Melissa that morning to believe and confess Yeshua as Messiah and Lord. Melissa called her dad on the phone, who also is a believer, and said, “I have someone here who wants to tell you something.” That’s in house buzz words for “I just prayed with a person, and they are going to tell you about it.” Sure enough Stewart answered the phone, and heard Ruth tell him that she had just accepted Yeshua as Messiah. How great is that? It’s even better… Stewart is also a Jews for Jesus missionary and was actually on the pulpit at the time of the phone call. And Ruth shared using the speakerphone with the entire congregation that she had just gotten saved. Spontaneous applause broke out as you can imagine. I love that story. I have many others I want to tell you, but I’ll let the newsletter do that. Would you please fill out the white card you received on entry, the one with my picture on it, tear the stub off, and begin to fill out the larger card. I won’t think it rude for you to write while I finish speaking. Please fill out the card completely, especially your email, so we can tell you stories quickly and you can pass them on via forward to many like this one.

If you are giving financially to Jews for Jesus today, please put the amount on the front of the card when you fill it out so we can receipt and thank you. I really appreciate that.

I have a resource table as usual up the back, and really want you to get the book entitled, “What the rabbis know about the Messiah” by Rachmiel Frydland, of blessed memory, The cover is on the screen just now. We ran out of them on this trip, but if you want one, just pay for it up the back, along with any other book, like my testimony, or the calendar, music you want, and without shipping charge, we will get it to you right away. I loved Rachmiel, a holocaust survivor, a Yeshiva bachur, and a holy messianic mensch. He died in 1984 in Ohio. His book is a classic and you have to have it in your library, for sure.

By the way I also have a credit card machine now, so you can use your card, a check, or cash to pay for things.

Rabbi Richard, thank you for your friendship in Messiah for over 30 years. Patsy, keep looking after the man; he turned 69 on Wednesday, which is also my wife’s birthday but she is much younger. He is a golden friend and a holy representative of Messiah’s body in Houston to a world that so desperately needs to see Yeshua.

Rabbi Ron and all the rest of the staff, all the volunteers who make this place such a good place I thank you as well.  To everyone, be His priests to the world that so needs to know Him. Keep doing what makes Yeshua happy; have a blessed Pesach next week, remembering the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and have a Shabbat shalom as well today.

Sit here... until...a study in session

Some Bible passages that triggered my contemplating, sitting, and writing today:

1) The Psalmist said, "Sit here at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." (Psalm 110.1)

2) The Talmud (Berachot 32b) cites another famous verse from Bible: Ashrei yoshvei veiteikha od yehalalukha selah Happy are those who sit in Your house; they will always be praising You! (Psalm 84:5) to teach the lesson that a person should (ideally) arrive at shul somewhat before the starting time to meditate a little prior to prayer (“sit in Your house”); only then should they “praise You”. 

3) Yet another verse teaches that lingering a little after the service is over (to schmooze a little with the One Above not the guy alongside!) is also desirable.  “Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name; the upright will sit in Your presence” (140:14).  Having “given thanks” in the closing prayers of the service, it is good to “sit” a little once again in communion with the Divine.

4) “He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; but with kings on the throne; He has seated them forever, and they are exalted. (Job 36.7) 

5) "which God brought about in Messiah, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places."(Ephesians 1.20)

So this idea of sitting made me sit and ponder today what God might be saying to me through all this.  I remember the creeds of the historic church which mention that Yeshua died, rose again, "and is seated at the right hand" of the Eternal One. What's the big deal with sitting anyway?

In fact, Paul wrote the believers in Ephesus that God actually "raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Messiah Jesus" (2.6).  He includes within the letter to the Colossians "if you have been raised up with Messiah, keep seeking the things above, where Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God." (3.1)

But probably the most significant thing about session is the idea in the book of Hebrews, "And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet." (10.11-13) 

I took this photo of Carlos Moya in a match in Sydney against the American James Blake. It was an amazing point, long, rallies, lobs, smashes, returns, with great energy. Moya finished the point, sat down in exhaustion, in the chair at the back of the court and gave his racquet to a ball boy. He was 'done.' Perhaps that carries the meaning most exactly of the Hebrews passage, and session itself.

Now I mean no disrespect to Messiah, but the idea of standing in priestly duty means the duty is still ongoing. The session implies the work is done! No wonder the notion of 'better' is prevalent in Hebrews. What our great high priest Messiah Yeshua has done is better than the priesthood of the Aaronides. They continue (at the time of the writing of the book) to serve and offer sacrifices. He has sat down, because his work is finished. Hallelujah!

Now Yeshua is seated. And waiting. The Father will make all enemies to be a footstool for Messiah. Until that day comes, we work, we serve, we stand in the gap. Then we will sit, too. With him in heavenly places. And when He appears, we will be like Him. What a day of rejoicing that will be.

Enthronement. One website I read said, " his enthronement gives warrant to our faith. He is the One alone who has authority to save." He died, He rose, He ascended and is seated. Thanks be to God for His power to save. Amen?