Command 21: Pray for Laborers
Study Question
Q: When a priest sinned, he was to offer a bullock for his atonement. This was the same sacrifice that was required when the whole nation of Israel sinned. However, when the King of Israel sinned, he was required to offer only a goat. Why did the offering for a priest have to be so much greater than the offering for a king? (See Leviticus 4:3–23.)
A: The prophet Ezekiel gives us insight into why the sin of a priest was considered far more serious than the sin of a king and why the sacrificial law required a greater sacrifice. “…Woe be to the shepherds [priests] of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks [Israel]? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. … Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock … neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them” (Ezekiel 34:2–10).
The King was primarily responsible for the physical welfare of the nation. However, the priests were responsible for overseeing the spiritual life of the people. At that time as well as today, God holds those who are spiritually responsible for others to a higher level of accountability. (See Hebrews 13:17.) Because of this, God considered the greatness of the priests’ guilt to be equivalent to the guilt of the whole nation and required priests to offer the same sacrifice that was required to make atonement for the sins of the entire nation.
The chief reason that the priests of Israel were rebuked by God is because they did not demonstrate a shepherd’s heart in their oversight of the people, but rather sought to fulfill their own needs and desires. It is important for each of us to develop a shepherd’s heart that is attentive and sensitive to the spiritual needs of the “sheep” God has placed in our care. We also need to see, as Jesus did, the multitudes of “sheep” that are without a shepherd and ask God to send forth laborers who will introduce them to the Good Shepherd Who can save them from their sins.
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This study question and answer is adapted from the Commands of Christ, Series 3, book. For further study, this book may be purchased from our Online Store.