The Old Testament Ministry

Lesson Content

1. The journey of the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan can be divided into two parts:

(i) The journey made from the time the Israelites were delivered from Egypt until they reached the foot of mount Sinai. (ii) The journey made from the foot of mount Sinai upto Canaan.

2. Accordingly, the ministry that was fulfilled while they undertook this journey can also be divided into two parts:

(i) The ministry which delivered the children of Israel from the bondage in Egypt, enabling them to cross the Red Sea and which brought them to the foot of mount Sinai (Exo.12:40,41; 19:1,2). It was a ministry of deliverance done by Moses and Aaron. (ii) The ministry after the Aaronic order ordained of God and performed in the tabernacle in order to lead the people to Canaan (Num.10:11-13; Josh.4:11). It was an anointed ministry with consecration.

3. God ordained three groups of people to do the Old Testament ministry: (i) the high priest (ii) the priests (iii) the Levites. The high priest was the head over them. The high priest and the priests: Aaron was the high priest and his sons were the priests. They belonged to the family of the Kohathites (I Chron.6:1-3). The stranger who came nigh to do this ministry would be put to death (Num.3:10). The qualifications of the high priest: The high priest was a circumcised Israelite, a Levite who had no inheritance or part in the land of Canaan, and one who was anointed, sanctified and separated (Num.18:20; Lev.8:6-12; Exo.40:12-16). The duties of the high priest and the priests:

(i) Keeping the charge of the tabernacle (Num.18:3-5). (ii) Offering sacrifices for the people (Lev.7:8). (iii) Burning incense (Exo.30:7,8). (iv) Ordering the lamps to burn (Exo.27:20,21; Lev.24:2-4).

(v) Making atonement for the unclean (Lev.14:19,20). (vi) Teaching the law (Deut.33:8-10). (vii) Setting the shewbread in order (Lev.24:5-9). (viii) Bearing the ark of the covenant (Josh.3:6).

(ix) Blowing the trumpet on different occasions (Num. 10:1-10). One day in a year, the tenth day of the seventh month, the high priest entered into the most holy place in order to make atonement for himself, for the priests and for all the people of the congregation (Lev.16:29-34). The Levites: God chose the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel (Num.3:45). They had no part nor in heritance with their brethren on the earth. The Lord God was their inheritance (Deut.10:9). The tithes of the children of Israel were given to them (Num.18:21). The Levites were given as a gift to Aaron and his sons (Num.3:9; 18:6). When the children of Israel were numbered, the Levites were not numbered with them (Num.1:48,49). God exalted these Levites to a place of honour and responsibility. An ordinary Israelite had to give half a shekel for an atonement for his sin. The Levites were separated instead o f all the firstborn among the children of Israel. And all the firstborn of the children of Israel who were more than the Levites had to give five shekel apiece as redemption money. This shows that a Levite was ten times more valuable than an ordinary Israelite (Exo.30:15; Num.3:47). The Levites were of three groups, namely, the Kohathites, the Gershonites and the Merarites.

(i) The Kohathites: They are those who bear the most holy things of the tabernacle upon their shoulders (Num.4:1-4; 7:9). They are a type of the ‘teachers’ in the New Testament who pour out their life in the ministry. (ii) The Gershonites: They are those who bear the curtains, the coverings and the cords (Num.4:24-26). They bore them in two wagons drawn by four oxen. They point to th e ‘prophets’ in the New Testament who minister through their prayer. (iii) The Merarites: They are those who bear the boards, the bars, the pillars, the sockets and the pins of the tabernacle (Num.4:31-33). They are a type of the ‘evangelists’ in the New Testament. In the journey of the Israelites, the Gershonites and the Merarites went forward and pitched the tabernacle. Then the Kohathites who bore the instruments upon their shoulders gave them to Aaron, and Aaron and his sons set them according to the order of service.

4. The Levites ministered in the outer court, the priests in the holy place and in the outer court and the high priest in all three places, namely, the most holy place, the holy place and the outer court.

5. The Old Testament ministry was a set up ordained by God as a type of the New Testament ministry (Heb.10:1). The high priest and Moses are a

shadow of Christ (Heb.9:11; 10:28,29). The sacrifices and the blood of bulls and goats are a type of the body and the blood of Jesus Christ (He b.9:10-14). The earthly tabernacle was a shadow of heaven (Heb.8:1,2). The meats, drinks, washings, garments and rituals were all a shadow of the true ministry in the New Testament. That is why in Hebrews 8:5 we read that the ministry they did was “the example and shadow of heavenly things”.