"And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation..." (Exodus 19:6)
When God chose Israel, he intended that they would be an entire kingdom made of priests, an entire notion fully consecrated to Himself. In fact, the whole purpose of creation was for humanity to be a kingdom of priests, a people that would be about seeking God's presence.
However, as we all must surely, however painstakingly, realize is that our world, even Israel, is not a kingdom of priests the way God intended. From the starting line running through human history into the present day, we so often completely miss the point.
However, God in His forbearance and sovereign plan graciously called out from among the people of Israel a line, the descendants of Aaron that would be the priests, and the tribe of Levi, who would help the priests. The priests of the Old Testament had perhaps the hardest job as they had to follow exactly the letter of the Law doing the task of sacrifice, making sin offerings for the people and live the Law out in their own lives because God took His worship very seriously. (He still does, by the way.)
To see more on the duties, qualifications, and history of the priests, follow the link at the bottom of this page for a handy guide.
However, before concluding this post, I want to point out something that Dr. Zuber emphasized. He talked about what the point of knowing any of this was. If Christians are no longer under the Law of Moses, then what's the point? He taught us that when we come to the point in our Bible study reading plan where we're in Leviticus we shouldn't be asking questions to the effect of "How does this apply to my life?" because for all general purposes, it doesn't. However, what is critical when reading the Old Testament and especially the Torah is to ask "What does this teach me about God?" By the very fact that these books are included in our Bible's today, there is something to be gained from it, but perhaps in not the way we expect.
Theologian Millard Erickson writes, "The Law is a transcript of the heart and mind of God."
Read the Scriptures through this lens and be amazed as you learn about that God who is covenantally faithful through all generations.
-A
http://www.biblecharts.org/oldtestament/oldtestamentpriestsandpriesthood.pdf
