How to get title authority
Exodus (83) How to gain authority
(Exodus 29:1-9)
< Delegation of priesthood >
In Christianity, when we refer to Jesus, it is called “Jesus Christ.” The word Christ is heard so often that its importance is overlooked, but in fact it is a huge word. ‘Christ’ is a Greek expression of the Hebrew ‘Messiah’, which means ‘the anointed one’. The Messiah was originally used in the Old Testament to refer to the one who ruled over Israel with both the priesthood and the kingship. Later, the long oppressed Israelites used the term ‘Messiah’ with a future figure in mind who would deliver them.
After all, the word Messiah means “the anointed one.” The Israelites attach great importance to the anointing of oil, and in the text, there is a ceremony to delegate Aaron's high priesthood through anointing.
The delegation ceremony went through the following process. First, it is the process of preparing the sacrifice (verses 1-3). Second, it is the process of preparing people (verses 4-6). Third, it is the process of pouring oil on the person to be delegated (verses 7-9). It is important to anoint and consecrate someone as a priest like that, but there are two things that are just as important. One is that which is required of the anointed, that one is sanctified of God and lives to do the will of God.
In 2 Samuel 23:1, David said this when he died. “Says the one built on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the singer of Israel.” David lived a great life, but he knew that it was by the grace of God that he became king. That's why he calls himself 'the one built on high'. Those words are full of gratitude for God who raised them up.
David also describes himself as “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.” It means that he lived with a clear awareness that the purpose of his life was to carry out the will of God. Because of this awareness, I was able to become a ‘singing poet of Israel’ without losing the poet’s sensibility even in the prose realities. With the sensitive tentacles of the soul, the poet sees the unseen reality and hears the unheard. Be a spiritual poet who does God's will in such a state of having God's perspective and being sensitive to God's voice.
< How to gain authority >
Another is to respect the authority of the anointed, which is required of the people. No matter how good a person is, if people do not obey, no matter how good they are, they are useless. Therefore, obedience to authority is also very important. The ability to submit to authority is the highest virtue of a saint.
Although David was anointed king of Israel by Samuel, he was still a servant of King Saul. Did David then get rid of Saul and become king himself? no. Saul thought of David as a static and tried to kill him countless times. So David had every reason to kill Saul, but he did not kill Saul and always said this. “The LORD forbids me to stretch out my hand against my lord, whom the LORD has anointed.” Such respect for authority naturally made him the great king of Israel later on.
The biggest reason for the confusion of modern society is that it denies authority and excessively asserts one's rights. So, while denying the authority of parents, teachers, and public authorities, parents rather be servants of their children, teachers are servants of students, and mayors are servants of citizens. On the one hand, that is correct. Jesus also became a servant of the disciples, washing their feet and commanding them to do the same. But it is a lesson that calls for humble self-control by those in authority, not a lesson to actually treat superiors as servants.
Did Jesus actually become his disciples? The disciples were still disciples of Jesus. If a student thinks of a teacher as a servant, it is a terribly wrong attitude. If children regard their parents as slaves, they should be stoned to death according to the Bible. Also, if citizens do not respect public authority, the society cannot survive. The only time authority can be denied is when something is clearly against the will of God. But even then, the fundamentals of respecting authority as much as possible must be firm. You gain authority when you respect authority.