It is strange how we can sometimes completely miss Yahweh's perspective. I grew up with the thought that Israel was the Lord's only people and everyone else he considered to be his enemy. The truth is, the Lord is the Lord of everyone and everything, Israel was simply grown by him so he could reveal himself to everyone else through them. They were a nation of priests through whom the Lord wanted to bring blessings to all other nations. Everything is his:
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ (Exodus 19:5-6)
The Lord had told Abraham that every nation of the earth would be blessed because of him. At the time everyone worshiped something because the need to do so was a natural part of them, they just hadn't heard yet the truth about the Creator. But it was through this nation of priests that the Creator would manifest himself to his creation so the world would know.
The problem was, Israel did not remain a Holy people. They failed to be faithful, obedient and trusting. They looked around and wanted what everyone else had; they didn't want to be special. They eventually rejected the Lord as king and wanted a human king. Yahweh, in his grace, allowed for this, working through imperfect human vessels instead of directly with his people. Ultimately the nation failed because they became too selfish, focused on themselves instead of their God and their purpose. There are many parallels with the Church.
The Father revealed his heart to us through Jesus Christ. He manifested himself in human form, to pay the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins, so we could enter into intimacy with him. Those who accept this become members of his family, are members of the Body of Christ and are set aside as "priests" to reveal Jesus to all nations. For this purpose we have been possessed by the Holy Spirit, God himself.
The Lord has no desire to work through middlemen. He set up a class of trainers (Ephesians 4) but not in the sense of the priesthood. We have all been called as "priests". But we did not want to deal directly with our God and so we divided ourselves into the clergy and the congregation. This was not Jesus' plan or design, although in his grace, he has worked with it. But do we really want to settle for less than what Jesus desired for us as members of the Body of Christ? It frustrates me to know what we are suppose to be compared to what we are.
Are there any anointed trainers left to guide us in the path we were suppose to take? Are there any trainers equipped to train us in the Spirit, to show us how to allow the Lord to manifest himself in us? Is it possible for us to get back to our Lord and the mission we have been given as "priests"? There are nations waiting to see the Lord manifested in us.
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