World Administrator of Highpriests and Priests Duties - Patrick Dodge

World Administrator of Highpriests and Priests Duties – Patrick Dodge

The step-by-step commands of God for the High Priest entering the Tabernacle, the Inner Court (Holy Place), and the Holiest of Holies (Holy of Holies) are most strictly detailed in Leviticus 16 for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). [1, 2, 3, 4]

Because entering the immediate presence of God was potentially fatal, the High Priest had to follow a precise, chronological order of rituals. [5, 6, 7]

Step 1: Complete Ritual Washing

The Command: Before touching any sacred item or garment, the High Priest had to wash his entire body with water at the bronze laver in the outer court.
The Purpose: To transition from everyday ceremonial uncleanness to a state of absolute ritual purity. [8, 9, 10]

Step 2: Put on the Holy Linen Garments

The Command: Instead of his usual golden, multicolored garments, the High Priest had to put on a special set of pure white linen garments (tunic, undergarments, sash, and turban).
The Purpose: These garments symbolized extreme humility, repentance, and purity before God. [11, 12, 13, 14, 15]

Step 3: Prepare the Sacrificial Offerings

The Command: He had to select a young bull for his own sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. From the congregation, he took two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.
The Purpose: To secure the necessary blood required to legally enter the sacred spaces. [16, 17, 18, 19]

Step 4: Cast Lots for the Two Goats

The Command: Standing in the inner court, he cast lots over the two goats to determine their fates.
The Fates: One lot was designated “for the Lord” (to be sacrificed), and the other lot was designated “for Azazel” (the scapegoat to be sent into the wilderness). [20, 21, 22, 23, 24]

Step 5: Slaughter the Bull for Personal Atonement

The Command: He slaughtered the bull of the sin offering to atone for himself and his own household.
The Timing: This had to happen before he could step past the inner curtain to make atonement for the rest of the nation. [25, 26, 27, 28, 29]

Step 6: Create a Cloud of Incense inside the Holiest of Holies

The Command: Before bringing any blood inside, he took a censer full of burning coals from the Altar of Burnt Offering and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense. He stepped behind the veil into the Holiest of Holies and put the incense on the fire before the Lord. [30, 31, 32, 33, 34]
The Protection: The smoke of the incense had to completely cover the Mercy Seat (the lid of the Ark) so that he would not look directly upon God’s presence and die. [35, 36, 37]

Step 7: Sprinkle the Bull’s Blood on the Mercy Seat

The Command: While still inside the Holiest of Holies, he took some of the bull’s blood and sprinkled it with his finger on the front of the Mercy Seat, and then seven times on the ground in front of it.
The Purpose: To secure atonement for the priesthood. [38, 39, 40, 41]

Step 8: Slaughter the Goat and Sprinkle its Blood

The Command: He exited back to the inner court, slaughtered the goat designated “for the Lord,” and re-entered the Holiest of Holies with its blood. He sprinkled this blood exactly as he did with the bull’s blood.
The Purpose: To make atonement for the sins of the congregation and cleanse the Most Holy Place from the people’s uncleanness. [42, 43, 44, 45, 46]

Step 9: Cleanse the Inner Court and the Altar

The Command: Moving backward out of the Holiest of Holies into the Holy Place (Inner Court), he used the mixed blood of the bull and the goat to sprinkle the horns of the Altar of Incense seven times.
The Purpose: To purify the regular tabernacle structures that sat in the midst of sinful humanity. [47, 48]

Step 10: Send Away the Scapegoat

The Command: He went out to the outer court, laid both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confessed over it all the wickedness and rebellion of Israel. A designated man then led this “scapegoat” deep into the wilderness to be permanently released.
The Symbolism: The physical removal of the nation’s sins away from the camp of God. [49, 50, 51, 52]

Step 11: Final Wash and Re-dressing

The Command: The High Priest returned to the Holy Place, took off his sacrificial white linen garments, washed his body again with water, and put back on his regular, glorious golden high-priestly vestments. He then offered the final burnt offerings for himself and the people. [53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

Would you like to examine the architecture of the Tabernacle to see exactly where these steps took place, or are you interested in how modern Jewish communities remember these steps today?

[1] https://www.1517.org

[2] https://learn.ligonier.org

[3] https://www.jw.org

[4] https://embracing.life

[5] https://www.facebook.com

[6] https://www.preceptaustin.org

[7] https://jewishjewels.org

[8] https://www.ccel.org

[9] https://scripturecentral.org

[10] https://rts.edu

[11] https://springhill.cc

[12] https://www.ucg.org

[13] https://www.facebook.com

[14] https://www.thetabernacleman.com

[15] https://thebridgeonline.net

[16] https://www.ccel.org

[17] https://www.redvillagechurch.com

[18] https://www.ccel.org

[19] https://www.preceptaustin.org

[20] https://cdn.subsplash.com

[21] https://www.pursuegod.org

[22] https://sljinstitute.net

[23] https://free.messianicbible.com

[24] https://www.foi.org

[25] https://springhill.cc

[26] https://evaburkholder.com

[27] https://theseed.info

[28] https://www.bible.com

[29] https://worshipleader.me

[30] https://storage2.snappages.site

[31] https://www.lifebpc.com

[32] https://www.gotquestions.org

[33] https://www.foi.org

[34] https://www.biblicalunitarian.com

[35] https://www.preachtheword.com

[36] https://plymouthbrethren.org

[37] https://www.derekprince.com

[38] https://israelmyglory.org

[39] https://www.foi.org

[40] https://enduringword.com

[41] https://enduringword.com

[42] https://www.derekprince.com

[43] https://www.biblicaltraining.org

[44] https://www.preceptaustin.org

[45] https://stempublishing.com

[46] https://www.amazingfacts.org

[47] https://israelmyglory.org

[48] https://www.foi.org

[49] https://www.christianleadersinstitute.org

[50] https://www.thegoodseed.org

[51] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org

[52] https://www.gardentogardencity.com

[53] https://www.ccel.org

[54] https://www.facebook.com

[55] https://shalomnyc.org

[56] https://israelmyglory.org

[57] https://www.ccel.org

Beyond the exclusive duties of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, the ordinary priests (the sons of Aaron from the tribe of Levi) managed the daily spiritual, medical, and civic life of ancient Israel. [1, 2]

Their responsibilities were vast and highly regulated by the Mosaic Law. [3, 4, 5]

1. Managing the Daily Sacrificial System

Ordinary priests were responsible for the nonstop operation of the Tabernacle and Temple altars: [6]

The Daily Offerings (Tamid): Every morning and every evening, without fail, priests sacrificed a lamb, grain, and a drink offering to maintain a continuous relationship between God and the nation. [7, 8]
Individual Offerings: Priests processed the voluntary and mandatory offerings brought by everyday citizens, including sin offerings, guilt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings. [9, 10, 11, 12, 13]
Handling Sacred Blood: Priests received the blood of sacrificed animals from the worshipper and splashed it against the sides of the bronze altar. [14, 15, 16]
Maintaining the Fire: God commanded that the fire on the altar must never go out (Leviticus 6:13). Priests cleared away the ashes every morning and added fresh wood. [17, 18, 19, 20]

2. Daily Maintenance of the Holy Place (Inner Court)

Every single day, priests entered the Holy Place to perform three specific maintenance duties:

Tending the Lampstand (Menorah): They trimmed the wicks and replenished the pure olive oil every morning and evening to ensure the light never went out. [21, 22]
Burning Daily Incense: They burned sweet incense on the golden Altar of Incense twice a day, coinciding with the morning and evening sacrifices. [23, 24, 25, 26]
The Bread of the Presence: Every Sabbath, priests removed twelve loaves of week-old sacred bread from the Golden Table, replaced them with fresh hot loaves, and ate the old bread inside the holy precinct. [27, 28]

3. Medical Inspectors and Public Health Officers

In ancient Israel, priests acted as the nation’s public health department. Leviticus chapters 13 and 14 outline their extensive medical procedures: [29, 30, 31, 32]

Diagnosing Infectious Skin Diseases (Tzaraat): If a person developed a rash or skin anomaly, they had to show it to a priest. The priest would isolate the person for seven days, re-examine them, and determine if it was a contagious condition (often translated as leprosy). [33, 34, 35, 36, 37]
Quarantining and Cleansing: The priest held the authority to declare someone ceremonially “unclean” (banishing them from the camp) or “clean” (allowing them back in after ritual washings and specific sacrifices). [38, 39, 40, 41, 42]
Inspecting Property: Priests inspected houses and clothing for toxic mold or mildew, ordering the destruction of contaminated walls or garments if the spread could not be contained. [43, 44, 45, 46]

4. Sounding the Sacred Trumpets

Priests were responsible for blowing the silver trumpets to signal important national events (Numbers 10): [47, 48, 49, 50]

Directing the Camp: Different trumpet blasts signaled when it was time for the twelve tribes to pack up their tents and move out.
Calling Assemblies: They blew the trumpets to gather the elders or the entire congregation for meetings.
Going to War: In times of military conflict, priests blew an alarm on the trumpets to invoke God’s remembrance and rally the troops.
Feasts and New Moons: They blew trumpets over the sacrifices during appointed festivals and the start of every Hebrew month. [51, 52, 53, 54]

5. Keeping the Law and Settling Disputes

Priests served as the ultimate teachers and legal authorities in the land: [55, 56]

Teaching the Torah: It was the explicit duty of the priests to teach the people all the statutes and laws that God had given to Moses.
Civil and Criminal Courts: According to Deuteronomy 17, when local judges faced legal cases that were too difficult to resolve (such as complex property disputes or cases of manslaughter), the matter was escalated to the priests at the central sanctuary, whose verdict was final. [57, 58]

Would you like to learn about the daily rotation system (the 24 divisions) of the priests, or are you interested in how ordinary priests were financially supported through tithes and specific portions of the meat?

[1] https://sljinstitute.net

[2] https://www.cefonline.com

[3] https://familyradio316.com

[4] https://www.bibleref.com

[5] https://windowwalker.podbean.com

[6] https://washingtoninst.org

[7] https://www.facebook.com

[8] https://www.torahclass.com

[9] https://www.encyclopedia.com

[10] https://www.biblicaltraining.org

[11] https://www.facebook.com

[12] https://www.gracebibleny.org