Servants and priests
One of Peter Leithart’s chief insights is that a priest is a palace servant.
In preparing a sermon on Lord’s Day 12 for this Sunday (by way of Revelation 1 – which, by the way, focuses upon God’s people as servants in 1.1 and as a priesthood in 1.7), this got me reflecting on the question of how the high priest relates to this. If a priest is a palace servant, what is a “high” palace servant?
This in turn led me to think about the predominant Servant theme in Isaiah, a rabbit trail that turned out to be helpful, although I’m not entirely sure yet where to go with it.
In Isaiah 22.15ff, Shebna is the steward “over the household” of the king. He would therefore be the “high” palace servant, the equivalent of the high priest.
(The “steward” idea incidentally opens up all sorts of interesting tracks, such as Paul’s use of the stewardship theme and how that has possible priestly undertones.)
But what I’m more directly interested is how the high priest theme delineates the role of Christ. As Messiah, He is King, but the high priestly element of His anointing also makes Him the Chief Servant. Which is an apparent paradox that certainly bears reflection.
The whole Shebna – Eliakim relationship would also be interesting to examine.
In Is 22, Isaiah prophecies that the stewardship will be taken from Shebna and given to Eliakim; assuming chronological order (which I’m not entirely certain about) the encounter with the Rabshakeh occurs later (Is 37), at which time Eliakim is indeed “over the household” (2 Kg 18.18) – but Shebna is serving as scribe. It appears that although the prophecy is that Shebna will be hurled away violently (Is 22.17), in the meantime, he has become servant to his replacement.
Moreover, Eliakim is the son of the high priest, Hilkiah (2 Kg 22.4). Does this mean the heir apparent to the high priest in YHWH’s house also becomes the high priest in the king’s house? Apparently so, assuming Eliakim is Hilkiah’s eldest son.
As far as insight into how the office of royal steward helps us gain insight into the high priesthood, note that in 2 Kings, the steward/head of the royal household is delegated the task of conversing with the Rabshakeh – he serves as an emissary. Which I suppose brings us back to Isaiah again; the commission of the Servant frequently seems to carry “emissarial” responsibilities. Israel as Yahweh’s servant serves as “my witnesses” (Is 43.10). Yahweh in turn “confirms the word of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers” (44.26).
Indeed, the role of high priest/palace servant/steward/emissary and the role of king seem to merge together into virtually indistinguishability in the case of the Servant. He is the One who “will bring forth justice to the nations” (Is 42.1). The Servant is the instrument of the regathering of Israel (49.5), but more, is “a light for the nations, that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (49.6), and ultimately kings and princes themselves shall arise and prostrate themselves before this “servant of rulers” (49.7); Yahweh’s Servant “shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted” (52.13).
And of course, perhaps more familiar to us, the Servant will make many to be accounted righteous, and will bear their iniquities (53.11).
Additional notes:
Not specific to the “high” servant, but I think there is an implication of adoption for Yahweh’s servants in 65.15.
The steward, the scribe and the senior priests (37.2) are described as “the servants of King Hezekiah” in Isaiah 37.5. Not sure if that demonstrates equivalence, as it is frequent to describe a king’s subjects as his servants, but interesting.