Hi Pastor John,
In chapter 19 of Exodus, the Lord spoke to Moses:
22. Let the priests who draw near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them.
23. Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai because you warned us saying, ‘Set boundaries around the mountain and consecrate it.’
24. But the Lord said to him, ‘Away! Go down! And then you will come up, and Aaron with you. But let not the priests nor the people break through the boundary to come up to the Lord, lest He break forth upon them.’
25. So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.”
My question is, since there were already Priests, were they in Israel before the Law was given, and before the tribe of Levi was chosen (after the golden calf was built)? Or, were they just the elders or leaders at the time over the tribes?
Thanks,
Billy
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Hi Billy.
They were just the heads of the tribes and families in Israel. Until God chose the Levites to be his priestly tribe, the firstborn son of each family was that family’s priest (Num. 8:14–18).
Pastor John