Christian Churches of God

No. CB116_2

 

 

Lesson:

Priesthood of Eloah during the Tabernacle in the Wilderness 

 

(Edition 1.0 20071130-20071130)

 

In this lesson we will review the paper Priesthood of Eloah during the Tabernacle in the Wilderness (No. CB116) and focus on the organization of the priesthood during that time. We will also look at what a typical week in the life of a priest might be like and provide a variety of ways the concepts can be reinforced.

 

 

Christian Churches of God

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E-mail: secretary@ccg.org

 

(Copyright ã 2007 Christian Churches of God, ed. Wade Cox)

 

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http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org

 

 




Lesson:

Priesthood of Eloah during the Tabernacle in the Wilderness

 


Goal: 

To review the basic concepts related to the priesthood chronologically and the symbolism that is involved in the text.

 

Objectives:

1.Children will be able to state qualifications for being a priest in the physical sense.

2. Children will know who our High Priest is.

3. Children will be able to name the three sons of Levi.

4. Children will be able to name the five duties of a physical priest: such as selection and slaughter of the daily sacrifice, emptying ashes and restocking the wood of the fire of the burnt altar, tending to the lamp, tending to the altar of incense, making Shewbread on the Sabbath, etc.

 

Resources:

The Tabernacle in the Wilderness (No. CB42)

The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons (No. CB43)

Lesson: The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons (No. CB43_2)

Priesthood of Eloah: Reorganisation under David (CB117)

The Garments of the High Priest (No. CB61)

Lesson: Mitre or Turban with the Golden Plate (No. CB66)

The Garments of the High Priest (No. CB61)

White Linen Garments of the Priest (No. CB63)

Lesson: Priest's Blue Robe (No. CB64)

Lesson: Ephod, Curious Girdle and Breast-piece of Judgment (No. CB65)

Lesson: Mitre or Turban with the Golden Plate (No. CB66)

Lesson: Ministering with Bare Feet (No. CB67)

 

Relevant Scriptures:

 

Exodus 19:5,6

Revelation 1:5,6  

Hebrews 10:10-14 

Numbers 18:7   

 

Format:

Open with prayer.

Ask the children what they think it means to be a priest in the time of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness?

Review the Questions and Answers.

Conduct the activity on the priesthood.

Close with prayer.

Lesson:

Read:  The Priesthood of Eloah during the Tabernacle in the Wilderness (No. CB116).

 

Questions are in Bold.

 

Q1.      What are we called to become?

A.        Kings and Priests (Ex. 19:5-6; 1Pet 2:9-10; Rev. 1:5-6).

 

Q2.      Why did God give us the priesthood?

A.        God gave us Laws and a priesthood to protect the understanding of God’s Laws and to teach us how to daily obey and worship God and how to love our fellowman.

 

Q3.      What are the five duties of the Priest?

A.        The five duties of a priest are:

1. Live by the Law of Eloah

2. Explain the Law of Eloah

3. Teach the Law of Eloah

4. Keep the Law of Eloah

5. Judge by the Law of Eloah

 

Q4.      Did the nation of Israel remember and keep Eloah’s Laws while they were slaves in Egypt? If not how did they learn the laws again?

A.        No, they actually “lost the Laws of God” and had to be re-taught the laws their forefathers knew. This is what God did through Moses and the Angel of Yahovah or the Angel of the Presence, which is the being that later became Jesus Christ.

 

Q5.      Who was given the directions for the Tabernacle in the Wilderness and the priesthood?

A.        When Moses was on the mount for the first 40 days (Ex. 24:15-18), Yahovah of Israel spoke many details, giving exact orders on how to construct the Tabernacle, who and how to anoint, how to make the priestly garments, how to build the Ark and covering, the conduct of the sacrifices, the Sabbaths and many other details.

 

Q6.      Which of the 12/13 sons of Israel did the Angel of the Presence say the priestly duties would fall too?

A.        God explained how the sons of Levi would be the priestly line of Israel.

 

Q7.      Could females serve in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness as priests?

A.        No, only males are allowed to serve in the physical priesthood.

 

Q8.      What were the names of the three sons of Levi and what were the jobs of each of them in regards to the Tabernacle?

A.        The names of Levi’s three sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. The family of Gershon: “the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the door of the tent of meeting, the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords; all the service pertaining to these” (Num 3:25-26). The family of Kohath was responsible for “the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service pertaining to these” (Num. 3:31).  And finally, the family of Merari had responsibility for “the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service pertaining to these; also the pillars of the court round about, with their bases and pegs and cords” (Num. 3:36-37).  

 

Q9.      Which tribe were Moses and Aaron from?

A.        Moses and Aaron his older brother were of the tribe of Levi (Ex. 29:9).

 

Q10.    Who did God choose to be High Priest?

A.        Aaron was chosen by God to be High Priest.

 

Q11.    While the Aaronic priesthood was functioning was the high priesthood only of Aaron’s sons?

A.        Yes. The Levites were chosen to serve in the Tabernacle, but only the sons of Aaron were to be High Priests. The sons of Aaron were appointed to the office of High Priest by perpetual statute (Ex. 29:9). 

 

Q12.    Was there a special consecration or ordination process for the priest? If so how long did it last?

A.        Yes, before a priest could minister in the Tabernacle he was set apart for seven days and had to go through certain tasks at the beginning of the seven days and on the eighth day (Lev. 9:1ff.) he was able to offer sacrifices.

 

Q13.    Where were the three places the blood from the ram of ordination was placed on the High Priest?

A.        Leviticus 8:24: "ram for ordination" (v. 22) whose blood was applied to the high priest (Aaron) on his right ear, thumb and toe (v. 23).

 

Q14.    In the lessons on the priests we speculated why the blood was placed on the ear, hand and great toe; do you remember what the meaning is of these locations?

A.        We can think of this as God wanting us to hear the word of God (ear), show the word of God in our actions (thumb), and walk in the way of God (toe).

 

Q15.    If the priests did not follow God’s directions exactly, might they be killed?

A.        Yes. "Do exactly as you have been told, or you may have to pay with your lives" (Lev. 8:31-36).

 

Q16.    What colour and type of robe did the priests wear?

A.        In general, the priests wore all white linen garments with a white tunic and turban.

 

Q17.    What did the High Priest’s robe look like?

A.        In addition to the white linen garments the High Priest wore a blue robe, ephod, curious girdle, breast-piece, and golden plate or mitre on his turban.

 

Q18.    Was the High Priest holy and dedicated to the Lord? Was he in the role to take away the sin of the people? Who did the High Priest prefigure or represent?

 

A.        In the Contemporary English Version of the Bible, Exodus 28:36-38 tells us that the High Priest was Holy and dedicated to the Lord and took away the sin of the people. The High Priest was prefiguring Joshua (Yahoshua) the Messiah.

 

Q19.    In the time of David how many courses were there of the priests? How was it determined who would have what job?

A.        In the times of David there were clearly 24 courses (1Chr. 24:1-9; 28:13, 21; 2Chr. 8:14; 31:2; 35:4-5; Ezek. 2:36-39; Neh. 13:30.  Their duties were chosen by lot (Lk. 1:8, 9, 23).

 

Q20.    What were some of the jobs the priests did daily or on Sabbath?

A.        Removing the ashes from the burnt altar and placing them beyond the camp (Lev. 6:10,11) and then supplying fresh wood to the burnt altar (Lev. 6:10-11); washing in the laver and putting on their priestly robes (Lev. 6:10-11); tending the lampstands: trimming the lamps one by one if needed, cleaning the lamps if necessary, filling them with fresh oil; tending the altar of burnt incense: getting coals from the altar of burnt offering, upon entering the Holy Place dropping the coals on the altar of incense at the same time as placing  a handful of the special incense on the altar of incense; selecting the lamb for daily sacrifice at 9:00 a.m.; getting the meal offering of flour mingled with oil, and the drink offering of wine ready for the burnt offering (Ex. 29:38-46); offering prayers; singing psalms for daily worship; making the twelve unleavened loaves of the table of Shewbread on Sabbath; eating the Shewbread they made the week before, plus many other duties that helped the nation obey and remain clean and holy to Eloah.

 

Activity Options: The Priesthood of Eloah during the Tabernacle in the Wilderness

  1. Clay Creations:

Supplies: Modelling clay, sequence cards of the duties of the priests.

Directions: Children would select various slips of paper duties of the priest and the corresponding biblical text on them. The children then use clay or other materials to draw or create the following tasks of a priest: empting the ashes from the burnt altar, cleaning and tending to the lamps of the tabernacle/temple, tending to the altar of incense, making Shewbread, eating Shewbread, selecting the lamb for the daily sacrifice, killing and washing the sacrifices, getting the grain and drink offering for the daily sacrifice, adding wood for the fire of the burnt altar, washing in the laver and putting on white robes, drawing lots for the daily duties.

 

  1. Duties of the Priest Sequence chart

Supplies: Sequence cards for the duties of the priest, colours, markers, etc.

Directions: Children select one of the pictures of the duties of the priest’s tasks and place them in the correct sequential order. The biblical text can be read as the children display their pictures

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Essential duties of the Priests

 

Keep or preserve the Law

of Eloah

 

 Malachi 2:7

Nehemiah 18:18

 

 

Live by the word of Eloah

 

 

Deuteronomy 8:3

Matthew 4:4

Luke 4:4

 

Judge by the Law of Eloah

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 17:2-13; 21:5

 

 

 

 

 

Teach the Law of Eloah

 

Deuteronomy 33:10

Leviticus10:11

Ezra 7:10

 

 

Explain the Law of Eloah

 

Nehemiah 8:7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Draw a corresponding picture of  the daily duties of a priest

Removing the ashes from the burnt altar and placing them beyond the camp  and then supplying fresh wood to the burnt altar (Lev. 6:10-11).

 

 

 

Washing in the laver and putting on their priestly robes (Lev. 6:10).

 

 

 

Tending the lampstands: trimming the lamps one by one if needed, cleaning the lamps if necessary, filling them with fresh oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tending the altar of burnt incense: getting coals from the altar of burnt offering, and upon entering the Holy Place dropping the coals on the altar of incense at the same time as placing a handful of the special incense on the altar of incense.

 

 

 

Selecting the lamb for daily sacrifice at 9:00 a.m.

 

 

 

 

Getting the meal offering of flour mingled with oil, and the drink offering of wine ready for the burnt offering (Ex. 29:38-46).

 

 

Offering prayers.

 

 

Singing Psalms for daily worship.

 

 

 

 

 

Other duties of the priests included:

 

To act as scribes or recorders

 

 

 

Exodus 7:1-6; Nehemiah 8:9

 

 

 

Be present to supervise the tithing

 

Exodus 7:1-6; Nehemiah 8:9

 

Sound the trumpet in calling assemblies and in battle

 

Numbers 10:2-10; 31:6; Joshua 6:2;

2Chronicles 13:12

Examine skin infections / diseases.

 

Leviticus 13

Purify the unclean.

 

Leviticus 15:31

Encourage the army on the night before a battle

 

Deuteronomy 20:2-4

Carry the Ark through the Jordan

 

Joshua 3:15-18