The first priest was the first person, Adam. Some may argue with me, because according to the record of the Old Testament a priest is one who offers sacrifices for sins. But Adam, when he was in the garden of Eden, did not have sin. Therefore, it was unnecessary for him to offer a sacrifice for sin. How then can we say that Adam was the first priest? A priest is not one who merely offers sacrifices. This was done in the outer court and is only a part of the service of a priest. The priest must also enter the Holy Place to spread the showbread on the table, light the lamp, and burn the incense on the golden altar. To enter the Holy Place is a much finer work than to offer sacrifices. Spreading the bread on the table, lighting the lamp, and burning the incense are related to the finer experiences of Christ. But there is still something deeper. After this, the priest must enter into the Holy of Holies. What work did the priests do in the Holy of Holies? There was no work. All human activity was stopped. The Lord does not need us to work for Him. What He needs is that we stop our work and be filled with Him.
Although Adam had no need to offer any kind of sacrifice, we must realize that before the fall he was in the presence of God all the time. After creation, God did not ask Adam to do anything. He simply put him in front of the tree of life. Adam was to spend his time in the presence of God and enjoy God Himself as the tree of life. Adam was not to do anything for God, but to take Him again and again as the life supply so that he would be filled with God. Then Adam would be saturated and permeated by and with God. We all know that Adam eventually failed God.
Abel, the second priest, still did nothing for God. He simply approached and worshipped God according to the plan of God’s redemption. Abel did nothing but seek God’s face by offering the sacrifice according to God’s redemptive plan.
The Bible then tells us that Enoch walked with God. There is a sharp contrast between Cain and Enoch. Cain was cast away from the presence of God, but Enoch walked in the presence of God. Thus, Enoch was a priest. Did Enoch do anything for God? No. The Bible simply says that he walked with God. To walk with God means to be one with God, to be filled with Him, and to express Him as a priest. A real priest is one who is always in God’s presence.
After Enoch, there was Noah. Noah did a work for God by building the ark, but we must realize how Noah built the ark. By first walking with God, he came to know the will of God. It was through his walk with God that he received the revelation from God to build the ark. His work came from a priestly revelation. This is the priestly service.
Abraham was also one who lived in the presence of the Lord. He was called by God, yet he did not know where to go. This is because he was called to live in the presence of God. The presence of God was his destination. He did not know where to go, but he did know where to be! He also offered the offerings to the Lord just as Abel and Noah did. They were not called priests that early in the Bible, but they really were priests. Abraham offered sacrifices to God and lived a life in His presence. If we read the history of Abraham carefully, we will see that he was a real priest. His whole life was in the Holy of Holies in the shekinah glory of God.
Isaac was one who was brought into the Holy of Holies in the person of his father. He was born in the Holy of Holies. So he simply remained there all the time enjoying the presence of the shekinah glory of God. Therefore, Isaac was not only a priest, but even the high priest. He lived continuously in the Holiest Place.
Jacob differed much from Isaac. He was neither in the Holy of Holies nor in the Holy Place. Many times he was out of the outer court, far from the entrance of the tabernacle. But the mercy and sovereign grace of God brought him back again and again to the outer court, the Holy Place, and eventually to the Holy of Holies. Then he became Israel, the prince of God. Jacob the supplanter was transformed into a priest of God who lived in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. Therefore, being a priest, he offered the sacrifices himself.