Prophet, Priest, and King

The Roles of Christ in the Bible and Our Roles Today

Richard P. Belcher Jr.

• Publisher: P Publishing
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781596385023
• eBook ISBN: 9781629951928
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Belcher explores how the offices of prophet, priest, and king function throughout the Bible, showing how Old Testament prototypes are fulfilled in the work of Christ and shape the church.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPHET, PRIEST, AND KING

MANY CHRISTIANS TEND to think of Christ’s work as one-dimensional. Sometimes only the priestly role is emphasized, or the kingship of Christ in his exaltation. Many times Christ’s prophetic role is neglected, or his role as King in his humiliation. This can lead to a one-sided view of Christ and his work. A well-rounded view not only understands his work in light of being Prophet, Priest, and King, but also recognizes that these offices need to be seen in light of both his humiliation and his exaltation. Christians also tend to recognize the priestly role of believers, but lack teaching on the significance of the prophet and king roles for the corporate church, her leaders, and individual believers. This book will address the work of Christ in light of the roles of Prophet, Priest, and King and will then draw out implications for the church.

Historically, the Reformed faith has emphasized the roles of Prophet, Priest, and King to discuss the work of Christ. Louis Berkhof notes that although the early church fathers speak of the different offices of Christ, Calvin first recognized the importance of distinguishing them and called attention to them in separate sections of the Institutes of the Christian Religion (book 2, chapter 15).¹ Others have done the same.² The Heidelberg Catechism also uses these roles to speak of the life of the Christian (Questions 31–32). A redemptive-historical approach—emphasizing Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Testament—naturally lends itself to connecting with the roles, not just for Christ but also for his body, the church. This approach also has implications for preaching Christ from the Old Testament.

The roles of prophet, priest, and king are defined and developed as offices within the nation of Israel. But these roles are mentioned before Israel’s establishment. In fact, Abraham himself is presented as fulfilling them. A brief review of the evidence will show the importance of these roles before Sinai, will lead to a partial understanding of their meaning, and will raise the question of their origin.

Prophet, Priest, and King before Israel

Abraham is called a prophet in Genesis 20, which is the first time that the word for prophet (navi,

) is used in Scripture. Abraham and Sarah have gone down to Gerar, and for the second time Abraham lies about his relationship to Sarah to protect his own life (see also ch. 12). King Abimelech takes Sarah into his own household, but before he can touch her, God appears to him in a dream. God warns him to return Sarah to Abraham or else face death for himself and his household, specifically telling him: “Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live” (20:7).

Several things in Abraham’s life support this designation of prophet. In Genesis 12 he received a call from God, promising blessing to his family and all the families of the earth. In chapter 15 the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision. The phrase “the word of the Lord came to” is standard for describing prophetic revelation (Hos. 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Mic. 1:1), and God spoke to prophets regularly in visions (Num. 12:6; Obad. 1; Nah. 1:1; and Hab. 1:1; Amos 1:1 uses the verb “to see”). God’s interaction with Abraham in Genesis 18 portrays Abraham as an intercessory prophet as he pleads for God to withhold judgment because of the number of righteous within the city. God’s deliberation concerning whether to include Abraham reminds one of the divine council (Job 1:6; Ps. 89:7) and being brought into the prophetic circle (1 Kings 22:14–28; Amos 3:7).³ The aspect of prayer in connection with being a prophet is specifically mentioned in Genesis 20. In fact, Abraham’s intercession can save Abimelech because Abraham is a prophet, which assumes a close relationship with God (as demonstrated in ch. 18). Prayer will become a part of the prophet’s role later in Scripture through Moses (Ex. 8; Num. 12; Deut. 32), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:23), and Jeremiah (Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11–12; 18:18–20). The role of the prophet is closely connected with the word of God and prayer.

Abraham also acts as a priest in building altars when he travels throughout the land of Canaan (Gen. 12). The first altar is built at Shechem in response to God’s appearance and the affirmation of God’s promise of descendants who will possess the land. Abraham builds another altar near Bethel, where he worships by calling on the name of the Lord. These altars are connected with the presence of God and could be how Abraham claimed the land as his response of faith in God’s promise: one day the whole land will be the place of God’s presence. Altars are also connected to worship and sacrifice, which highlights the priestly role.⁴

Other examples of the priestly role before Sinai are Noah and Job. After the flood, Noah builds an altar to the Lord and sacrifices burnt offerings. God responds to this act of worship by establishing his covenant with Noah. The story of Job reflects the patriarchal period and occurs outside the boundaries of Israel.⁵ Job functioned as a priest to his family by offering burnt offerings on behalf of each of his children in case they had sinned against God (Job 1:5). Job performed this function in his role as their father and head of the family, with the goal to “consecrate” them. The burnt offerings would restore their relationship with God and bring them into a state of holiness fit for service to God.⁶ Part of the role of the priests will be to offer sacrifices on behalf of the Israelites to bring them into a state of holiness, ensuring that God’s presence will remain in their midst.

Abraham also fulfills the role of a king in defeating a coalition of armies and rescuing Lot in Genesis 14. It becomes clear that he not only is very wealthy, but also has a powerful household. Lot and Abraham separate because their possessions are so great that the land could not support them both (ch. 13). Lot chooses to move to the Jordan Valley, which was well watered but near Sodom. In chapter 14 Lot gets caught up in the battles of the day. A coalition of four kings from the area of Mesopotamia—led by Chedorlaomer—seek to reassert their control over five cities of the Dead Sea rebelling after twelve years of servitude. Lot and his family, who have moved into Sodom by this time (14:12), are captured and taken as spoils of war. When Abraham hears of Lot’s capture, he leads 318 men from his household to rescue Lot (v. 14). He defeats this coalition of four kings and brings back all the possessions that they had taken. Genesis 14 reads like the account of a military campaign. Abraham’s force of 318 men are “trained,” a word with military connotations in second-millennium texts.⁷ Defeating the coalition of kings involves military strategy, and Abraham negotiates with the king of Sodom when he returns with the spoils. Abraham acts like a king defending the land by defeating a powerful group of kings and rescuing a member of his household.

The Origins of Prophet, Priest, and King in Genesis 1–3

The appearance of the roles of prophet, priest, and king before they are developed and defined as offices within Israel raises the question of their origin and the possibility that they are part of the original function that God gave to human beings in Genesis 1–3. An examination of these early chapters shows that the role of ruling (kingship) is explicitly conferred on humanity and that at a minimum, the roles of priest and prophet are implicitly assumed to be part of Adam and Eve’s life.

The Role of a King

The role of ruling and exercising dominion (kingship) is explicitly stated in Genesis 1:26–28. It is clear in Genesis 1 that the creation of mankind⁸ is an act by God that sets human beings apart and gives them a special place. When God creates mankind, he uses terminology that was not used in reference to any other creation. The phrase “let us make” (v. 26) is unique and refers to God’s self-deliberation before creating humanity.⁹ The ongoing march of creation in the pattern of “God said” and then “God created” or “God made” is interrupted with “let us make” to highlight the importance of the creation of human beings. It is also significant that only human beings are created in the image of God. Although there is a lot of discussion concerning what “the image of God” means,¹⁰ it clearly sets human beings apart from the animals. Genesis 1 presents humanity as the crown of creation, set apart in significant ways.

The special place of human beings gives them a special role. Immediately after the statement that they are created in God’s image is the assertion of their function: “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen. 1:26). Then, after the statement that God made mankind male and female, God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (v. 28).

The function of human beings within God’s creation is a royal one that is patterned after the God who created them. They are to reflect the image of God. He created the world and all that is in it by his power, and human beings—being male and female—are to procreate by being fruitful, multiplying, and filling the earth. Marriage is later instituted for humans to carry out this mandate from God (Gen. 2:24), who sets marriage apart as the appropriate place for becoming one flesh and raising children. God also gives human beings the function of ruling over creation. This rule includes dominion, which entails a governing aspect, such as in Genesis 2 when Adam names the animals, demonstrating his authority over them. This rule includes subduing creation, which has the idea of asserting control over or making something subservient to someone else’s purposes. Even before the fall, subduing creation would have been appropriate in the work that God gave Adam and Eve. Dominion would have included taking the “domesticated” life in the garden, represented by plants that need human cultivation to grow (v. 5), and the world outside the garden, represented by the plants that grow on their own.¹¹

The teaching of humanity’s dominion is a debated issue, but dominion does not mean that human beings can exploit God’s creation.¹² They can appropriately use creation for their own benefit and the benefit of others, but they carry out this role under the authority of God. Dominion is not an autonomous function letting humans do whatever they please.¹³ Rather, humans pattern this activity after God’s activity in Genesis 1–2. In chapter 1 God is presented as the sovereign Creator of the universe who rules over his creation by forming and fashioning it. Mankind’s dominion imitates God’s rule, so that humans carry out this function under his authority. It is interesting that in chapter 2 God is presented as personally caring for his creation when he provides for all of Adam and Eve’s needs. The role of human beings in chapter 2 imitates God’s role as they care for and keep the garden. Genesis 1 and 2 together present a complete picture and a proper balance of humanity’s role.¹⁴ Clearly, human beings have a royal calling of rule and dominion (kingship) within God’s creation.

The Role of a Priest

The role of priest is not as explicit in Genesis 2 as the role of king is in Genesis 1, but the work that God gave Adam to do in the garden has priestly connotations.¹⁵ The garden of Eden is a special place of God’s prese...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Analytical Outline
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• 1. The Importance of Prophet, Priest, and King
• 2. The Role of the Prophet in the Old Testament
• 3. Christ as Prophet: Mighty in Word and Deed
• 4. The Role of the Priest in the Old Testament
• 5. Christ as Priest: Consecrated as Mediator for God’s People
• 6. The Role of the King in the Old Testament
• 7. Christ as King in His Humiliation and Exaltation
• 8. Prophet, Priest, and King: Implications for the Church
• Selected Bibliography
• Index of Scripture
• Index of Subjects and Names