If so, then what do we do with Genesis? And the Patriarchs in Genesis 12-50? And going further back, Genesis 1-11? Of course there are many spiritual lessons to draw from the patriarchal narrative, but how does the narrative as a whole, how do the Patriarchs taken together reflect life in the New Testament? Did Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac give him a small glimpse into how the eternal pact between the Father and Son would work out in history? Or Jacob’s vision of heaven at Bethel with the staircase on which angels ascended and descended? Do all the patriarchs taken together point us somehow to the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus? In other words does the whole narrative of the Old Testament prefigure the narrative of the New Testament?

And so are we meant to discern some large ‘covenant-cycles’ through Scripture? We can discern various ‘kings’ and ‘bringers of rest’ bringing these covenant-cycles to an end: Noah (whose name means ‘comfort/rest’ and who was given authority to wield the sword of justice with the death penalty); Joseph (who became the ruler of Egypt before whom his brothers did finally bow the knee); David (who established rest for Israel from their enemies in the land); and Jesus who brings true rest for the weary in the New Creation?

Priests as Guards

Elsewhere, I have noted that Adam though not a ‘priest’ in the technical sense (of the Mosaic law) nevertheless functions as a priest in the garden. His dual role was to work the land and take care of it (Gen 2:16). The choice of words here is very significant. In v15, the word ‘work’ (Hebrew ‘avad – ‘serve, till’) was used of cultivating the soil but was also commonly used in a religious sense of serving God (cf Deut 4:19) and of the tabernacle duties of priests (cf Num 3:7-8; 4:23-24, 26, etc). Similarly, to ‘take care of’ the garden (Hebrew shamar – ‘guard, keep’) was used particularly of Levitical responsibilities for guarding the tabernacle from intruders (Numbers 1:53; 3:7-8).[1] These two words are only used in combination elsewhere of the duties of the Levites in the sanctuary. Eden is thus a prototype of later sanctuaries, and Adam is its prototype ‘priest’ with the function of serving God. By working the land and taking care of it Adam also serves God. He is called to look after the sanctuary according to divine instruction just like the later Levitical priests did under Moses. To ignore God’s Word or deviate from it would result in death (eg Gen 12:17; cf Num 3:10).

Priestly responsibility was given first to Adam before Eve was created (Gen 2:15). He acts therefore as a kind of head or representative priest. Eve is conjoined to Adam to assist him in this work as a suitable helper. [Did the Levites who were 'attached to' or 'joined to' Aaron function in a similar way?] The language of “suitable helper” implies that together they functioned together as a ‘priesthood’, yet with differentiated roles.

And so Adam and Eve were more than farmers or gardeners. They had a high calling to serve and guard the sanctuary in which man was made to enjoy fellowship and peace with God. Thus, Adam is a “priest-king” who rules the creation under God’s rule through his obedient service.

One of Adam’s primary priestly responsibilities was to guard the conditions whereby mankind could enjoy abiding friendship with God. This was also the case for the Levitical priests. For Adam it meant keeping God’s one word of command; “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  (Genesis 2:16b-17).

This is a key verse of the Bible. It describes the great degree of freedom Adam had to enjoy in the wide provisions of the Garden. But it also puts them on probation. If Adam kept (guarded) God’s word, he would also guard the conditions whereby mankind would enjoy abiding friendship with God.[2]

Adam’s role as a priest was thus to guard God’s Word and His moral autonomy. To disobey God’s word was to rob God of his autonomy and declare moral independence. Thus, a biblical priest guards the sanctuary in which he has been placed by guarding the Word of God. Indeed, guarding God’s word must be understood as the primary means of guarding the conditions of lasting friendship with God, since the conditions of lasting friendship with God are always ultimately conveyed through the Word of God (whether spoken or written). If you  tamper with his Word you tamper with salvation.

It is notable then that, when Adam failed to guard the sanctuary, their role as primary guardians of the Eden-sanctuary was given to others. God instead placed Cherubim (human-headed winged lions) on the East side of the garden to guard the way back to the tree of life. These cherubim were later depicted on the walls of the temple and a large pair of Cherubim guarded the Most Holy Place of the temple.

Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:13-14).

There are two parallels here. One is to do with stipend, i.e. the parallel between ‘eating food from the temple’ and ‘receiving a living from gospel ministry’. The other is to do with the nature of these respective ministries (altar-service and gospel-proclamation). Both are God-given mechanisms to effect forgiveness of sins. Under the Mosaic Covenant, blood sacrifice was the means of effecting the forgiveness of sins (anticipating Christ’s final sacrifice). But now that Christ’s perfect sacrifice has put away sin once and for all, there is no longer any need for blood sacrifice of any kind. Instead, sins are forgiven through the gospel. As the message of Christ’s atoning work is proclaimed, and as people hear it and believe it, sins are forgiven. Thus we see that “the work in the temple” finds typological fulfilment in “the preaching of the gospel”.

John Calvin neatly describes him going through “a fold in space”.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:19-20)

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live [ie the human body] in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:1-4)

We could say, therefore, that in order for a person to approach God in worship and enter the Holy Place, one must “cross the Sea”. For Christians, water baptism is the moment when a person “crosses the sea” and (outwardly and ceremonially) enters God’s true Dwelling-Place to become a member of Christ and the Church. Understanding our baptism in this way increases our awareness of the high calling and responsibilities which baptism implies.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:26)

Baptism, as believers, is baptism “into Christ”. And this passage in Galatians suggests that we are united with Christ as priests. For we have been clothed with Christ. If Jesus was the priest par excellence, and if we ‘wear’ Jesus Christ, or “put on the new self” then we wear the garment that qualifies us as NT priests.

The author answers this question by saying that the sphere of worship under the new covenant is no longer inside a holy place (or temple) but outside in the ungodly places.

 ¹¹The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹²And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. ¹³Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. (Hebrews 13:11-14).

Those who would mediate God’s blessings to the world (as New Testament believer-priests) will suffer as Christ suffered. We go into the world to bear Christ’s disgrace. But we go to Christ for refuge. True Christian worship is shaped by Jesus’ moment of self-sacrifice which happened outside the camp and outside the city gate.

“Like Christian baptism, the washing at the beginning of the ordination rite was an administered initiation, and in these respects the ordination bath was unique in the Levitical system. While most Old Testament ablutions were self-washings, Moses washed Aaron and his sons (Exod. 29:4; Lev. 8:6; cf. Lev. 14:8; 15:16-18, 27); while most cleansing rites were repeated as often as one became unclean, the ordination washing was once-for-all. Though priests washed their hands and feet before approaching the altar or approaching the tent (Exod.30:20), this self-washing was not a repetition of the ordination bath since it was partial and not administered. Similarly, when the Levites were set apart to help the priests in tabernacle service, Moses sprinkled them with water, then they shaved themselves and washed their clothes before being installed through a sacrificial rite and the laying on of hands (Num. 8:5-15). The ordination bath and the closely related sprinkling of the Levites were the only administered initiatory water “baptisms” in the Levitical system. [Italics his].” (The Priesthood of the Plebs, (Eugene, Wipf and Stock, 2003), p95)

Thus in baptism, Christians are ordained as priests into the New Testament Priesthood and our whole life is dedicated to the service and guardianship of Christ, the Gospel and the Temple (ie the Church).