Living a Life on MissionSample

A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

Think...

After reading the given scriptures, take time to consider the follow questions..

Who is being spoken to in each of these passages?

What does it mean to be “a royal priesthood”?

What does it mean to be “a holy nation”?

Yesterday, we thought about Abram and the mandate God placed on his family to bring blessing to all the families of the earth. Today, we skip ahead several generations. By this time in Exodus, Abram’s family had multiplied greatly and endured 400 years of slavery in Egypt. God had just delivered them, brought them through the Red Sea, and guided them to Mt. Sinai where He planned to give them the Law.

However, God didn’t just want to give them a set of rules to live by. He wanted to mould this 'ragtag' group of former slaves into a strong, righteous nation who would fulfil a special purpose. What was that purpose?

Exodus 19:6 tells us that God desired Israel to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

What is a priest? Many religions throughout the ages have had priests, so this would not have been an unfamiliar term to the Israelites. Priests were the link between people and the gods. They helped people understand and approach the gods they wanted to worship. This was what God wanted Israel to be for the world: a special priesthood that would help the nations understand God’s character and show them how to approach Him.

Sounds a bit like “missions”, doesn’t it?

Alongside being a priesthood, Israel was to be a holy nation. To be holy means to be “set apart.” God was calling Israel to set themselves apart from the rest of the world by following His Laws. This “set apartness” was not to make them into some kind of exclusive club. It was to show the world a different way to live which would demonstrate the character of a very different God – the only True God. The whole nation of Israel was to be a missionary nation.

So what about you and me? Are we part of this missionary nation? You bet we are!!

1 Peter 2:9 was written to Christians across a wide geographical area – not just those of Israelite descent. These Holy Spirit-inspired words tell us that all believers are now part of this royal priesthood and holy nation.

"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."

1 Peter 2:9, NLT

Our job is to help the nations understand God’s character and show them how to approach Him. We do this in various ways, one of which is setting ourselves apart in the way we live our lives. We are all part of this royal priesthood and holy nation, which makes all of us missionaries.

Apply...

Are you living a 'set-apart life', or do you look more like the world around you?

As you reflect, identify a specific area of your life where you would like to make a change in order to show Jesus to the world in a greater way.

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom in how to do that, and the strength and courage to live as a set-apart, royal priest.