As the necessity of priesthood becomes more evident, so fresh details are given to the priests and Levites, and as grace widens in its sphere, so do the requirements of holiness become more precise and stringent, and the position of the priests more defined. “And Jehovah said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood” (Num. 18). Had there been no sanctuary, there could not have been this iniquity, for it is the presence of man in the holy place ere He came Who by one offering perfected forever them that are sanctified (Heb. 10:1414For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)). This perfection is not mere forgiveness, nor justification, but the—whole question of sin met by Christ, so that iniquity is not imputed to us. Christ bore it all. This is foreshadowed in Ex. 28:36-3836And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 37And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. 38And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. (Exodus 28:36‑38) (q. v.), where Aaron in his robes of beauty is the type of Christ now in the full exercise of His priesthood, Who alone could put away this iniquity from those who now draw near to God through Him. Here in Num. 18 is the condition of the priests of Israel who, before Christ came and had died to sin, bore their iniquity. Hence they could not pass the veil into the second tabernacle (Heb. 9:77But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: (Hebrews 9:7)). We enter in because we are purged.
The sanctuary was the symbolic expression of God's holiness. The priest, though strictly observing all the ordinances the ceremonies of law, could not draw near with a purged conscience. His nature was impure—a truth not then declared, but implied in the words now spoken to Aaron. Sins were known, not sin. Indeed the whole history of the wilderness is to prove that sin is man's fallen nature; the constantly recurring sacrifices show not only their intrinsic valuelessness but also the sin inherent in man's nature. This evil of sin being unknown, it was never condemned and therefore a purged conscience, was impossible; for it means the knowledge of good and evil, and the evil judged. An innocent conscience knows neither. Man was such that he could only acquire the knowledge of good when he had fallen under the power of evil, and under that power he could not judge the evil, and it soon ceased to be evil in his eyes. If unknown and unjudged, it was there in him; and the blood of bulls and of goats which might avail for the purifying of the flesh—an outward thing—could never purify the conscience. Such a priest drawing near, and performing his duty, did of necessity defile the sanctuary. For while the “vessels of the sanctuary, and the altar” are holy and express the purity of God, the priest is the representative of the children of Israel, and they were unclean. As unclean in himself and in his representative character, he was a defiling element among the holy things of the sanctuary, and must bear the iniquity of it. To meet his need (typically) sacrifices were offered for him, and blood offered even to purge the things of the sanctuary. The iniquity of the priesthood (not said of the priest) is, the office of priest was defiled by the same nature; for a priest should be holy, harmless, and undefiled. He was unpurged and represented a sinful people. Not his position as priest could purge him; rather it was the occasion of the iniquity, and made more prominent the necessity for ONE who could put away the defilement of nature, and also purge the conscience from all these dead works; for such is the word now applied by the Holy Spirit to all the ritual of the sanctuary (Heb. 9:1414How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)).
Christians as priests draw near, but there is more of contrast than of analogy between their position and ours. We stay not at the altar without but enter within the veil. And we have no iniquity of the sanctuary to bear; for, though as to nature no better than they, Christ has met our need; we have with Him died to sin; and the conscience is purged, we enter into the holiest of all. The type was theirs, the reality is ours; they had the patterns of heavenly things, we have the things themselves. This is the normal state of a believer, and is practically enjoyed when walking faithfully before God. But is there not a meaning for us conveyed in the words, “iniquity of the sanctuary,” beyond the primary and special bearing on Aaron and his sons? Was it not intended by the Holy Ghost?
For what is our place? Within the veil. We groan under the burden of the flesh, but we mortify it. We deny its lusts; and sin has no more dominion over us, its iniquity is not imputed. Its power is annulled to faith, but there it is, the flesh is in us. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” But being “perfected forever” by the one offering we are before God in all the acceptability of Christ; and to bear as priests the “iniquity of the sanctuary” would be a denial of the infinite efficacy of the death of Christ. How if not “perfected forever” could we be at home within the veil in the presence of light?
Now when a saint forgets the holiness which becomes the house of God—which house are we—then he must bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; that is, his sin is not gauged by its own guilt, but by the position which grace has given. It may not be flagrant, but what is alas! far more common and so frequently unjudged—love of the things of the world; a sad inconsistency with our place within the veil. Because he is a priest, that which would not be noticed in an unconverted man becomes, through his position, iniquity. In this sense he bears the iniquity of the sanctuary. A worldling not having that place cannot have that iniquity. Oh! let us while rejoicing in the privileges of grace remember the responsibilities of holiness, which is now measured by the position conferred, and by the call to complete separation from the world. How is this to be attained? Only by watching and praying, and having the heart filled with the Lord.
There is another contrast between us and the Levites who were joined to the priests and servants to them. They were not allowed to come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar. This was enforced by the penalty of death, and this not only upon the presuming Levite, but also upon the careless priest, “that neither they, nor ye also, die.” In the church of God there is a distinction between priesthood and Levitical service, but not after the same pattern. In Israel the Levite was not a priest, in the church none but a priest can be a true Levite. The function of the church is prayer, thanksgiving and worship, of which the highest act is the Lord's supper, and every saint is there as a priest, and every act by the church is a priestly act; neither of these is Levitical service.
The Levites now as then are to minister to the priests, i.e. the church. Who are the Levites? Those who by teaching, exposition of the word, and pastoral work, by rebuke and admonition, warning against surrounding evil, watch over the saints and care for the, flock of God. And as there were different orders of Levites in Israel, each with its assigned duties, so they also who had to serve tables (Acts 6:1-41And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. 2Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 3Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. (Acts 6:1‑4)) were doing true Levitical service. All, whether teachers, or simply caring for the wants of the poor, ministered to the saints of God. These servants are called of the Master, and take this service upon them not by constraint but willingly. “He gave gifts.” The Lord distributes to each according to his ability. These are the true Levites, and were first priests worshippers—before the call to any service. Teaching and preaching are not functions of the church, but of those whom the Master appoints. United prayer, thanksgiving, worship, are assuredly the privileges of all saints. The restricting of these privileges, the real and inalienable functions of the church, to the ministering servants of God, gave rise to the “clergy,” a separate class within the church, by which the order given in Num. 18 is inverted. Then the Levites were joined to the priests to serve them; now the ministers i.e. the Levites, take precedence of the church the priests. Not like Paul who said, “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.” Levitical service in this day is placed higher than priesthood; unless it be with those who claim to be priests (not in the true New Testament meaning) to the exclusion of all others. God's order in the types or His teaching through them is unknown. This use of God's gift, to exalt self, has created a sphere where even the world intrudes: to be a “minister” is one of the world's prizes; ministry is a profession. How great the evil! yet the germ was small, and looked not so bad at the beginning. But a minister (or gifted man) now going to the Table to break bread, because of having a gift for teaching or preaching, and not because he is a priest led by the Spirit of God, would be as a Levite drawing near to the sanctuary to offer, the thing that all truth forbids.
This one great characteristic meeting of the church of God is to show the Lord's death in the breaking of bread. All other meetings, though right, necessary and even imperative, are only auxiliary to this. And I may add that the joy of the Lord's-day morning meeting, the blessedness of remembering the Lord in His death, is never so fully realized by those who habitually neglect the auxiliary meetings (lectures and readings notwithstanding, helpful as these are to our growing in the knowledge of Christ our Lord). The one object of this meeting for the gathered saints is the Lord's supper and not for exposition, or exhortation. After the remembrance of the Lord as He appointed, and if circumstances allow, the Levite may minister to the priests—seek to edify the saints. But where the Lord's supper is hurried over at the beginning, or thrust into a corner at the close, the object of the gathering together is virtually lost sight of; the Lord dishonored and His love slighted!