Deuteronomy 18:9-14 p5

Out of Egypt Have I called My Son

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Exodus 7:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, See, I make you {as} God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.

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Israel was to be the servant of Jehovah and would be His witness unto all the nations. Yet the nation of Israel failed by going into idolatry, rejecting the covenant God made with their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Adam failed as well, as all men have failed. That is why Israel's history is so important for us of this day and age, to understand why this chosen people of God would fail by practicing idolatry and rejecting the law that God had sent forth unto the world through them. In this modern day that we live, we see idolatry being practiced everywhere, and the God of heaven and earth, the true and living God, will punish sin and idolatry as the history of Israel demonstrates to us this very day. Their lives and history is a picture story of our own very lives.

Yet who has heard the word of God and his judgment of sin? Who will reject these false gods and turn to the one and true living God, making atonement for rebellion and sin? Idolatry is the subject this series addresses and how God's own chosen people rejected Him and practiced false religion and the worship of false gods as mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:9-14.

Beginning with the Book of Genesis, God declares a servant and redeemer that would come and take away the sins of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew (a Levite and an Apostle) recorded and verified that Jesus came out of the nation Israel, was the descendant of David and was the inherent King of the Jews.

Matthew 2:15: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

The Old Testament prefigures, prophecies and characterizes Jesus the Messiah and His Church. The High Priest was an image of the Christ that would come and redeem the world from sin and idolatry (Ex.28-29,39). Prior to the cross, God in the Old Testament was revealing to Israel the Priest and Prophet that would come, in the fullness of time, fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ, as written.

Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.

The Law was given to the people. They accepted the law from Moses. Forgiveness of their sin was atoned for and made account of through the act of sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:19-20 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.

God ordained the office of High Priest as mediator between himself and man until the Lord Jesus came and fulfilled the law 1500 years later. Until that time came, the High Priest made sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. This act is considered [on credit] until the law was fulfilled (Col:1:25-26). God sent His Prophets to Israel to declare the word of God: "Thus saith the Lord." The death of Jesus made mediation between mankind and God possible. Jesus is the sole mediator.

Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom;

The Custody and Administration of the Mosaic Law.

The Book of Leviticus contains the Law of Moses. In this series on Deuteronomy 18:9-14, we are looking at Moses restating the law as given at Mt Sinai. Prior to entering the Promised Land, the priesthood was ordained through the linage of the Levities, starting with Aaron and his sons. Moses was reminding the Israelites on the matters and administration of the Mosaic law, warning them of the idolatry of the nations that would surround them. They were not to practice the abomination of false idol worship.

This series will examine the idolatry Israel committed and why they failed as the servant of Jehovah (Lev:25:55) and why the Lord Jesus was come, as the suffering servant (Isa:49:3) fulfilling His calling through Israel as the son of God, the sacrifice made for the remission of sin.

Leviticus 10:11 you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses".

The Priest's main job was to offer a sacrifice to God on a consecrated altar. At first, every man was his own priest, and presented his own sacrifices before God, such as Cain and Abel (Gen:4). Afterwards that office devolved on the head of the family, as in the cases of Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Job (Gen:8:20, 12:7, 13:4, 26:25, 31:34, Job:1:5).

Under the Levitical arrangements the office of the priesthood was limited to the tribe of Levi, and to only one family of that tribe, the family of Aaron. They represented the people before God and offered the various sacrifices prescribed in the law. This Levitical Order was hereditary; only ordained priests could offer sacrifices to God. Prior to the Exodus, Melchizedek (a special Priest) is mentioned in Genesis 14. His priesthood was without genealogy; it was not hereditary (Gen:14:18-20, 14). Jesus has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Heb:6:20).

Today, there is no need for a sacrifice, no need for altars or priests. These things are not necessary after the death of the Lord Jesus. He was the willing sacrifice, made to satisfy sinful man to a Holy God who judges sin. This is called, The Atonement.

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

The High Priest (starting with Aaron)

• Represented the entire nation. He bore upon his shoulders and his breast the names of all the tribes of Israel (Ex:28:9-21).
  
• The high priest was required to attend to the golden candlestick, burn incense morning and evening (Ex:30:1-10),
  
• Stand before the ark of the covenant and make atonement for the children of Israel once every year (Lev:16:1-34 Heb:10:9).
  
• He was required to teach the people the law of God (Lev:10:8-11; Deut:17:8-13).
  
• Consecration

Priests as Types

• The priests were types of Christians (Ex:29:38-42; Rom:12:1; Heb:10:5-7).
  
• The high priest was a type of Jesus Christ (Lev:16:1-34; Heb:10:7-14).
  
• The high priest was known as the anointed priest (Lev:4:3-16; Psalms 133:1-3).

The Prophets

The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. (Deut:18:15-16).

The prophets were sent to Israel because when the assembly of people gathered to hear the voice of God at Mount Sinai they ran in fear and declared to Moses: "Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die."

Exodus 19:9 The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever."

Exodus 20:18-21 All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw {it,} they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die." Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin." So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God {was.}

Fully 17 of the Old Testament's 39 books are classified as prophetic: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. The other 22 books are also filled with prophecy.

The New Testament is also filled with prophecy. Beginning with John The Baptist, a prophet whose own coming was prophesied by Isaiah 700 years before (Isa:40:3-5). The Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation are filled with prophecy for our time now and for the days that yet have come.

We find the revelation of the Messiah to come as the suffering servant, through Isaiah and his polemic of idolatry against Israel (Isa:40-48) climaxing in the revelation of the cross of the Messiah as described in Chapter 53. Isaiah 49:1-7 contains the discourse to the world from the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 50 we will find God the Father (50:1-3 judgment against Israel), God the Son (50:4-9 his humiliation) and God the Spirit (50:10-11 listen to the son) each speaking on salvation.

The prophetic record is closed at the end of the Book of Revelation. There is no new revelation concerning God's plan of salvation, the restoration of Israel or the fate of mankind. There are no more prophets. The Bible is complete and has been sealed (Rev:22:18-19). There is nothing new that will come from God as all has been revealed and most has been fulfilled. The Bible is indeed a living book, as The Word became flesh (John 1:1).

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The remainder of this series will concentrate on the idolatry committed by the nation Israel and how to this very day, these practices have only flourished. Mankind for the most part has rejected God's word and the Lord Jesus Christ, living in rebellion and stubborn pride. Israel's history is an emulation of the unbeliever. They are the prodigal son.

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The High Priest
The Priesthood Of Aaron Antiquities of the Jews - Flavius Josephus. By: Matt Curtin
The Priesthood Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia.

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