An Eternal Priesthood

What comes to mind when you hear someone speak of an “eternal priesthood”? If you are a disciple of Yeshua, then Yeshua’s ministry automatically comes to mind. As the book of Hebrews says, he is a high priest forever, continually ministering before his Heavenly Father on our behalf:

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:19–20)

When most people read the book of Hebrews they see the everlasting priesthood of Yeshua replacing a temporary priesthood given for a season to the sons of Aaron. However, this is not the case. Yeshua’s priesthood is only one of the two eternal priesthoods that God established. One may be surprised to learn that the first eternal priesthood that we learn about in Scripture is the one belonging to Aaron and his sons, as we read in this week’s Torah portion:

Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations. (Exodus 40:12–15)

If this passage isn’t clear enough, in Exodus 29:9 we read, “And the priesthood shall be theirs by a statute forever.” Not only does Exodus spell it out, but the prophet Jeremiah also attests to the Aaronic priesthood’s enduring position even more clearly:

Freedom On The Tablets

Parashat Ki Tisa is the transition between Moses’ encounter with the LORD on top of Mount Sinai and his return to the Children of Israel at the base of the mountain. While in the sublime presence of God, he was given a very special gift, “the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). The midrash tells us that these tablets were brilliant to look at, because they were made with lapis lazuli, a deep blue semi-precious stone with intense color. The Torah uses the following description for the tablets:

Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. (Exodus 32:15–16)

These commandments were not just something Moses came up with. These words, as well as the very tablets themselves, were given by God himself. Our sages use this passage to relate an important message about divine origins of the commandments God gave Moses to transmit to the Children of Israel:

It says: “And the tablets are the work of G-d, and the writing is G-d’s writing, engraved on the tablets” (Exodus 32:16). Read not “engraved” (charut), but “liberty” (cheirut)—for there is no free individual, except for he who occupies himself with the study of Torah. And whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah is elevated, as is stated (Numbers 21:19), “And from Mattanah (“the gift”) to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth (“the heights”). (Avot 6:2)