Remember Who You Are…
So they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
2 Kings 17:32
Remember who you are…this is what Lysa TerKeurst, author of Unglued, tells her children before they leave home. These few words speak volumes…remember your family values, remember what you have been taught, remember that you represent the TerKeurst family. But more importantly, remember that you represent the Most High God.
Back in the Old Testament days, when the Children of Israel were ruled by various kings, they forgot who they were. They mixed up their worship of Jehovah with the other pagan gods that were in the land. In the verse at the top of this page, the “and” says it all. You can’t serve God and sacrifice on the high places (places of idol worship).
God had very high standards for His true priests: they were to be from the tribe of Levi, they had to go through a consecration process before serving, they were to go through ritual cleansing and dress as God commanded before performing their priestly duties. (see Leviticus 8).
“Holy to the LORD” was engraved on a plate of pure gold and was fastened to the front of the priest’s turban according to Exodus 28:36-38.
Wow, what a reminder to the priests and everyone they interacted with that they had been chosen and set apart for the service of God. But the Children of Israel had strayed so far that the Kings appointed the lowest of people to be priests of the high places where idol worship happened. They not only forgot WHO they were, but WHOSE they were.
Guess what friends? We are high priests as well.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” 1 Peter 2:9
Sometimes I forget WHO & WHOSE I am too. Here are a few examples…
- When I am not loyal to the absent (talking about people)
- When I get impatient with the person in front of me at WalMart who has a gazillion coupons
- When I fail to show kindness to people in need
Goodness, I think I need to be fitted for one of those turbans as a reminder of who I am :)! But we do have a reminder – the seal of the Holy Spirit on our lives. He is our identifier – our reminder of WHO & WHOSE we are. Our daily interactions with people should leave no doubt about who we are in Christ!
