“Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
“And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD.
“And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rearward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rearward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did six days” (Josh. 6:1-14).
Now let us read Romans 15:16. “That I should be a minister of Christ Jesus to the nations, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, that the offering of the nations might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit.” The word “ministering” in this verse has the root of the word “priest.” Therefore, it should be rendered in this way: “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” It should be translated, “in the priestly service” or “serving as a priest” in the gospel of God. This means that the Apostle Paul preached the gospel as a priest.
“But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). The Apostles gave themselves to prayer first, then to the ministry of the Word.
I believe we all know that Ephesians 6 is a chapter dealing with spiritual warfare. After mentioning the armor of God in the previous verses, verse 18 says, “By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit, and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.” There is no doubt that this is the priestly ministry.