“And from among the priests: The descendants of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai . . . These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.” (Ezra 2:61-63)
So it was in the days of Ezra.
The priests and Levites had been in captivity for so many years, that family records had been lost. Anybody could claim to be anybody, and without family records to prove bloodlines, it would have been very easy for people to claim to be descended from families that they had not descended from. A minor thing? Maybe to you and I, but it was a major thing to the Jews, especially when it came to things like who would serve in the temple of the Lord!
And when the group of over 42,000 people assembled themselves to make their way back to Jerusalem, the people were extra cautious. Blood lines had to be checked. And when the family records of Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai could not be found, there was a penalty. They were excluded from the priesthood, and they were declared unclean!
A past story, nothing to worry about in the present day, right? Wrong. Yes, the priesthood and sacrificial system has been done away with, but these things were but a foreshadow of what was to come! 1 Peter 2:9-10 calls us a “royal priesthood” (“But you are a chosen people, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”) What is he saying? He is saying that each one of us is a priest in our own temples — our bodies (1 Cor. 6:19) and just as the priests of Israel were responsible for offering sacrifices, we also continually offering sacrifices to Him.
How?
By living such God-filled lives that those round us can see our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven.
So if we are all considered priests, then we need to worry about the little problem presented by these families who couldn’t prove their bloodlines!
Just as, in those days, men who could not prove that they were descendants of Aaron could not officiate in the temple in the role of priest, we are also unable to officiate in our temples unless we can prove our family line!
Sounds hard, doesn’t it? But in reality, it is a lot easier for us than it was in the days of Ezra. Why? Because Jesus is our High Priest — Heb 4:14: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God . . .”, and when we accept Him into our lives and our lives become led by His Spirit, we become His sons and daughters — Rom 8:14-15: “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”!
My friends, when your heart belongs to Jesus and you have been touched by His Spirit, your lineage is already proven! No question can stand! Praise God! We are sons and daughters of God! And any privileges that go along with this idea are ours for the taking! Would you like to be a son or daughter of God? Would you like to have your family lineage already proven? If so, To answer the Savior’s Call, Click here
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org