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Compliments of First Fruits of Zion
reprinted by permission of FFOZ
Tetzaveh – תצוה : “You shall command”
Torah : Exodus 27:20–30:10
Haftarah : Ezekiel 43:10–27
Gospel : Mark 12
Every disciple of Messiah possesses a holy, spiritual connection to Him. He is the High Priest over the heavenly Temple, the one not made with human hands. He is the spiritual root-source to which we are all linked in our service of the Father in heaven. “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father.” (Revelation 1:6)
Exodus 28:36–37: Aaron, the high priest, was given a special anointing, as Torah says, “Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.” (Exodus 29:7)
In the Scriptures, three offices required anointing: the priests, the prophets and the kings. Messiah means “anointed one.” He is the prophet, the priest and the king. In His first coming, He ministered to us as a prophet. After His death and resurrection, He ascended to the priesthood of the order of Melchizedek. When He returns, He will rule from Jerusalem as king.
The Scriptures refer to the anointed high priest as haCohen haMashiach, (הכהן המשיח) “the anointed priest,” or to put it a different way, “the messiah priest.” The high priest wore golden plate upon which the words “Holy to the LORD” were engraved. He wore it affixed to his forehead by a single blue strap. By bearing the name of God upon his head, the high priest was symbolically invested with the authority of that name. Like a king’s servant bearing the signet ring of the king, the high priest was God’s official agent on Earth.
Moreover, the inscription spoke to the unique, holy status of the high priest. As one ancient rabbinic commentary explains, “Out of all the nations He set apart only Israel. Out of all Israel He set apart only the tribe of Levi. Out of all the tribe of Levi He set apart only [the house of] Aaron.” (Shemot Rabbah 37:4) Out of all the house of Aaron, he set apart only one man to serve as high priest. In that sense, the high priest was the holiest man in the world. Don’t confuse holiness and righteousness, though. There were plenty of wicked high priests in Israel’s history, but they were still holy in the sense of ritual separation.
The Torah says that the golden plate upon the high priest’s head serves to “take away the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, with regard to all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.” (Exodus 28:38)
One need not look far to see the Messianic parallels to the man who received a high priesthood greater than Aaron’s, the holiest of holy men, invested with the authority of God’s name and taking away iniquity that we may be accepted before the LORD. Yeshua is our High Priest. He is the Messiah Priest.
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First Fruits of Zion, PO Box 620099, Littleton, CO
80162-0099 USA
Telephone 303 933 2119, Toll-free 800 775 4807, Fax 303 933 0997
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