Hebrews ~ Week 1– Thursday – Chapters 5-6

Heb5:4 – No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.

What a picture this is. It was God’s plan to appoint priests to intercede on our behalf. When I was a little girl I thought (like many) that those priests were the very representation and representative of God on this earth. I was scared to death of them. I don’t remember many of them who smiled. Except for Father Peter Barry.

Little Angela in the middle on the slide

He was my favorite. He was a young priest, and I guess he hadn’t gotten rough around the edges and hardened by life yet.

As an adult looking back to that young Angela, I can see that she did have some things right. Yes Priest “were” Christ agents on earth, but that was a long long long time ago. Way before I was born. And certainly the priest long ago had to meet certain requirements which could be the subject of another journal entry. But God did have certain requirements and the priests that followed the protocol God laid out for them did hold positions of honor. God cared enough to meticulously lay out the way in which man’s sins would and could be atoned for.

The subject matter of Hebrews is Jesus our great high priest. The order of Melchizedeck is spoken of.And so … I think of how today, people push aside the “priest” Jesus. They think they can come before God on their own behalf. Either they come in ignorance or they come in defiance, but either way they are coming to God in their own strength and in essence taking honor upon themselves. Jesus was heard because he was submissive to God (Heb 5:8). This submission and its ultimate suffering were what qualified Jesus to be our great high priest as laid out by the plans of God himself.

I’d like to have the opportunity to ask someone “when was the honor of priesthood bestowed upon you so that you could intercede for man”? And what qualifies you TODAY to do that. Now that would make an incredible survey.