Standing at Sinai
Sermon Preached by Fr. Nathan Long, OAC at the Ordination Mass of January 26, 2008
The English word “priest” is an Anglo-Saxon corruption of the Greek word presbuteros or elder, but the
Hebrew word for priest is cohen, which means “one who draws near”. Today we will investigate this idea as it
relates to ordination. Let us ask and attempt to answer the question, “What does it mean to be a priest?”
Scripture is given to us in the form, primarily, of a story. Have you ever wondered why so much of the Bible is
comprised of narrative? It’s because we don’t worship some ethereal, generic god, created in the projection
of man’s imagination; no, we worship Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a particular God, of a
particular people, with a particular story. Our salvation is found in our adoption into that family, so their story
becomes ours, and their promises become our shared inheritance.
So, we shall explore the role of a priest and the charge of ordination as we find it in the story of God’s
people. Let’s embark on our journey. Genesis 21 tells us that 4,080 years ago God the Holy Spirit visited
Sarah, just as He had said He would do, and she bore Abraham a boy-child named Isaac, one who causes
laughter. Now Abraham had two wives, and the first was jealous of the second. So Sarah, seizing on
Ishmael’s cruel mockery of Isaac, suggested to Abraham that he send Hagar and her son, Ishmael, away.
Abraham, like any good father, doesn’t appreciate this idea, but God tells him to do as Sarah says. What is
particularly important to our story is God’s reason: “for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
Isaac had a son whose name was changed to “Israel”, and some 625 years later we find 2 million + people
called “Israelites” quaking at the foot of Mt. Sinai, while thunder rolls from a dark cloud filled with flashes of
fire, descending on the top of the mountain as all the while the voice of God roars like an earth-
encompassing trumpet.
Just imagine, as if you were there, for indeed, God says that we are to consider ourselves to have been
there. Speaking of Passover, which He enjoined upon all Israel’s generations, God said: “You shall tell your
son on that day, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' (Exodus 13:8 ESV)
In 1447 BC, God—through Moses—delivered His people, Israel, out of Egypt and trekked them through the
wilderness for 3 months till they arrived at the mountain of God, otherwise known as Mt. Sinai or Mt. Horeb.
The same place, incidentally, where Moses saw the burning bush, and where Elijah heard God’s voice in a
whisper, but not in the earthquake, the wind, nor the fire.
Let’s turn to Exodus chapter 19.
Exodus 19:1-25 (ESV)
(1) On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day
they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
(2) …There Israel encamped before the mountain,
(3) while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you
shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did
to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured
possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
(7) So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that
the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD
has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.
(9) And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people
may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words
of the people to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today
and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third
day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
(13) …When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."
(16) On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the
mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
(17) Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the
foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended
on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled
greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God
answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And
the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Exodus 20:18-21 (ESV)
(18) Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the
trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
(19) and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest
we die." (20) Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of
him may be before you, that you may not sin."
(21) The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
So God said to Israel, “I want you to be a nation of priests; an entire people who draw near.” But, in one of
the saddest moments in Scripture, Israel replied, “Moses, we’re afraid; you go talk to God and come tell us
what He says, but we are going to stay “far off.”
Moses climbs Mt. Sinai and spends 40 days communing with the Lord, as God shares with him the
particulars of their wedding contract. Just 40 days after God’s proposal, and their betrothal acceptance, “All
the words that the LORD has spoken we will do”, Israel is all ready unfaithful. Having declined God’s offer of
intimacy, they commit the sin of the golden calf.
Moses descends the mountain in fury and speaks these unforgettable words: "Who is on the LORD's side?
Come to me." Let’s turn over a couple chapters to Exodus 32
“Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me."
And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of
Israel, 'Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the
camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.'" And the sons of Levi
did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And
Moses said, "Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of
his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day." Exodus 32:26-
29 (ESV)
Here we find the first chronological mention of ordination in Scripture. It came about because God’s offer of
intimacy for all His people was declined. Therefore a special cadre of those who are willing to serve the Lord
even at the cost of son or brother is singled out for special blessing and special responsibility.
The Apostle Paul reveals in his letter to the Ephesians that we also have been brought near:
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh …were… separated from Christ,
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been
brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:11-13 (ESV)
Like the Israelites at Sinai, many today choose not to take advantage of their spiritual inheritance. As a
priest, you are a first fruit of the first fruits. As a people, we have been given the privilege of drawing near to
God, and someday we will receive bodies of righteousness and no man will need say to his neighbor “know
the Lord” for all will draw near. Until that day, however, a few are chosen to be consecrated in the here and
now.
Steve, Phillip, Patrick are you on the LORD’s side? Will you draw near to God even when others shy away?
When those to whom you minister refuse to walk in the reality of their new creation, will you draw near on
their behalf? Will you, like Moses, plead their case with God? Will you memorialize God’s sacrifice for their
atonement? Will you assure them of God’s forgiveness? The privilege of thus serving is not given freely;
there’s a price to pay, a burden to carry. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote:
“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers; for you know that we who teach will be
judged with greater strictness.” James 3:1 (ESV)
Let’s fast forward the story 343 years to 1104 BC. Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 2. The background of
the story is this:
Eli was the High Priest of Israel, his two sons, Hophni and Phineas were evil men. Called to be priests of the
Most High God, they seduced the women who served at the Temple, and stole for their own pleasure the
choicest parts of God’s own offerings. Even today we find ourselves in such a place; men, and women, who
have been set apart to the Lord as priests are teaching against the words of the Lord, spreading by their
words and in some cases even by their actions, immoral sexual behavior. They are thus taking the offerings
of faithful believers to use for their own nefarious purposes, rather than for the spreading of God’s Gospel.
What will happen, let us look to 1 Samuel 2:18,
Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. 1 Samuel 2:18 (ESV)
When God’s priests forsake His ways, God will put in their place even a boy. I think the Apostles’ Church is
like the boy Samuel, we are a young church…and ministering in linen. Let us be faithful to serve the Lord
when others have forsaken Him, just as did Samuel.
And like Samuel, God is calling you, “Patrick!”, “Philip”, “Steve”, “Come, follow me”.
“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling; calling for you, and for me.” Will you say, “Here I am! Speak, LORD, for
your servant hears.” ?
Before we make another quantum leap forward in our story, let us note one thing more from Samuel, in verse
21 of chapter 2:
“Indeed the LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters.
And the young man Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD.” 1 Samuel 2:21 (ESV)
Turn with me to the Gospel of Matthew, the first chapter, verse 18.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to
Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew
1:18 (ESV)
Remember also what we read in Genesis, “The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, …and Sarah conceived”
(Genesis 21:1-2 ESV) Brothers and Sisters, when the Spirit of the LORD visits, there is always fruit.
What is the role of the Spirit in today’s proceedings? Well, we are the inheritors not just of the Levitical
model, but we also guard an apostolic succession. So turn with me to the Gospel of John, chapter 20,
starting in verse 21:
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending
you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is
withheld." John 20:21-23 (ESV)
We read also Paul’s words to Timothy:
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on
of my hands, 2 Timothy 1:6 (ESV)
But this we do today is a far more ancient practice. The anointing of the Spirit for the purpose of leading, and
the investing of authority goes, again, all the way back to Sinai:
So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay
your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you
shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority that all the
congregation of the people of Israel may obey. Numbers 27:18-20 (ESV)
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him.
So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. Deuteronomy
34:9 (ESV)
In a sense we all stand at Mt. Sinai and say, "All that God has spoken I will do.” And like all men, we break
our oath. But, to our great blessing, God has promised in the New Covenant that He will save us, that He will
write His words on our heart, and that He will forgive our violation of the covenant requirements. Today, also
like at Sinai, God has chosen some among his people of priests to be Priests and Levites of a particular
nature, to be presbyters and deacons. Today, you stand at the foot of the mountain waiting on the breath of
God, to come through the laying on of the bishop’s hands, that the Spirit of God might implant within you the
seed that will give birth to spiritual children.
What is the point of being one who draws near? First it tells us something about God’s character; He longs
for intimacy with us. It is only out of a passionate relationship with Him that we find words to speak which can
overcome that fearsome warning, “not many of you should be teachers.” Like the glow that wouldn’t leave
Moses’ face, out of our times with God come words that burn like a fire in our bones. Words of life and words
of hope, words that can’t be kept silent within but must fly to their intended purpose. Words of testimony from
our experience; so that we can say in life’s darkest moments, “I don’t understand what God is doing, but I
know His character.”
Secondly, it is so that, as Paul wrote, we can “be imitators of God like dearly beloved children.” God is a
pursuer. The familiar words of Psalm 23:6 don’t convey the full significance of God’s words:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of
the LORD forever. Psalms 23:6 (ESV)
Mercy in Hebrew is chessed, a word so full of meaning that no single English word can capture it; it is
variously translated as lovingkindness, mercy, love, grace and steadfast love, but the core idea is of a robust
love that never falters, that is completely reliable. But the really interesting word here is “follow” or radaph;
yes it means to follow, but more significantly it is the word used to describe a bandit chasing his victim or a
predator hunting its prey.
So we might read this as “Surely, goodness and chessed shall pursue me all the days of my life.” Will you
pursue God’s people with the same intensity that God unfailingly pursues us?
Some days your parishioners will break your heart, but how often have we grieved God? It is our privilege to
share in this small measure of His sufferings. Some days you will join the angels dancing in heaven over the
one that has returned to the 99. This is the path of a priest, great responsibility and powerful intimacy. By
God’s grace, you are to be a foreshadowing of that which all creation groans in expectation of.
As we read in today’s passages, what has been promised will take place, for we serve a God of covenant
faithfulness. Now, also like at Sinai, when Moses and the elders "beheld God, and ate and drank." (Ex
24:11), let us eat the meal of God, let us observe the Great Thanksgiving, for God has come and dwelt
among men, for Messiah was slain for our breaking of the covenant, and Messiah has risen again to meet
with us at this covenant table.
