Our Sacred Privilege and Serious Responsibility

Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israelin the breastpiece of judgment over his heartwhen he enters the holy place,for a memorial before the LORD continually (Exodus 28:29 NASB).

Aaron was the High Priest and, as such, had a very, very serious task. He was to enter into the presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies and represent the people before God.There, intercession would be made for the people that their sins would be forgiven. This happened at the mercy seat.All of this, of course, was a symbol and picture of Christ and what He would do in the coming days. Jesus Christ, our High Priest, would enter in and give His blood for our pardon. He carried our names on His heart as He entered there on Calvary—His life a sacrifice which would buy our eternal pardon.

Our Intercession

There is no application that makes us exactly like Christ in His unique role except this: We are now “kings and priests,” and our main responsibility is to bring people to God. We are now interceding on behalf of others and telling them the good news of what Christ has done for them.We are His ambassadors, “as though God were making an appeal through us” to reconcile people to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).In prayer, we can now walk each day into the throne room and intercede for people. Notice the parallels:

• We carry their names over our heart.
• We enter the holy place on their behalf.
• We do this before the Lord (a faithful God who hears and answers) continually.

Who has God placed in your life to intercede for them? Are their personal names on your heart?No one else may take up that responsibility. Are you entering the throne room on their behalf? And, will you do it until you die or until they come to Christ?George Mueller prayed for two childhood friends until his death, believing that God had placed them there and that they would be saved as a result of prayer offered to a “prayer hearing and prayer answering God.”One of the men was saved at Mueller’s funeral. The other came to Christ six months after his death.