When you think about priesthood, who comes to your mind?
Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Exodus 6:23
Aaron was the right hand man to Moses, and he became the father of four sons. By the sheer fact that they were Aaron’s sons, Abihu & Nadab gained the privilege of being included in the priesthood.
Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”
So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. Exodus 24: 9-13
Abihu and his brother were invited along with seventy elders of Israel to go up the mountain to a higher place to worship God! What a privilege for the two young men to walk beside Moses, Aaron, and the elders to get closer to God and worship Him! Notice that Joshua was part of this group as well.
The scripture tells us that these individuals “saw the God of Israel”. They had the honor of seeing God without being consumed by Him. They were even allowed to have a time of fellowship and communion with God and with one another. His holiness didn’t make them tremble. On the contrary, they had an enjoyable time of eating and drinking together. This was God’s favor on these leaders.
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1Peter 2:9
Abihu and his brother inherited priesthood because of their father Aaron. Spiritually speaking, we inherit the priesthood because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. If we have made Jesus as our Lord and savior, we are priests as unto the Lord! There is a great favor and privilege associated with being considered royal priesthood. We get to see God and hear Him, and we can intercede on behalf of others. He reveals Himself to us and gives us power to do His work. We have the privilege of entering God’s throne room apart from our effort or works.
Do we appreciate our position as royal priesthood? Do we utilize our God given position to intercede on behalf of others and show Christ to them?
The privilege of priesthood comes with a great responsibility. I will share more about Abihu’s priesthood in the next devotional.