“In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD” (Ex. 27:21a).
One dimension of redemption that is often difficult for people to grasp is the ongoing need for Christ to pray for His people. When He died on the cross, He said, “It is finished.” All that was needed to satisfy God’s justice and righteousness, and to reconcile God and man, was accomplished on the cross. Yet, the priestly work of Christ is ongoing. Some people might ask, “If His blood fully atoned for all our sins, why should He need to make intercession for us?”
This same difficulty is presented here in Exodus: a redeemed people was protected from judgment by the blood of the sacrifice, and a priesthood was established to intercede on their behalf. Why was the priesthood necessary in Israel, and why is the intercession of Christ necessary today? The answer is that the priesthood was established to maintain the people’s relationship with Jehovah, not to secure it. In the same way, Christ’s ongoing priestly work is to maintain our redemption, not to secure it. Just as we are today, the godly Israelites were a people struggling with the remnants of sin and temptation, and they often sinned against their God. A holy God dwelling in their midst could not tolerate such ungodliness, for only the holy shall see God. So, the same grace that brought them out of bondage so they could be free to worship Him also made provision for sustaining them spiritually.
The sinful nature remains in those who have been redeemed, and because of this, redeemed sinners often do what they do not want to do (Rom. 7:14–25). The priestly ministry of Christ is essential in dealing with this ongoing struggle. John says that if we say there is no sin in us, we lie. But when we do sin, we need not despair because we have an Advocate at the right hand of God, interceding for us (1 John 1:5–2:2). Notice that the passage in 1 John does not say, “We need not despair when we sin because we have been justified,” but it says that we do not fear because we have an Intercessor who speaks on our behalf, and that we may go to Him.
Part of the function of the Old Testament priesthood was maintaining the fellowship between God and man. The priests interceded because the people still sinned against God, despite the fact that they had been set free from sin through God’s grace.
Read 1 John 1:5–2:2. Why does the passage begin by saying that there is no darkness in God? How do you have fellowship with God? Verse 7 says we have been cleansed from sin, then verse 8 says we sin. How are these two verses reconciled (hint: justification/sanctification)? Go to Christ today and confess your sins. He is your Advocate.