Priestly Duties

     Today is the second day of Advent, a season of the year when Christians prepare their hearts by focusing on the wonder of God’s gift, Jesus, that was given to mankind on Christmas morning. It is all too easy to get caught up in the things of the world, such as commercialism, and totally miss the real meaning of Christmas. For that reason, I am encouraging people to spend at least five minutes a day to focus on the real reason for the season.
     I have provided two or three resources to help people accomplish this task. First, I have developed an calendar of Bible readings (one prophetic Old Testament reading, and also a New Testament reading) that I have placed on a calendar to be found under the Advent tab on my website, www.KosherCopy.com

Advent Calendar from www.KosherCopy.com

     The second resource is a devotion book entitled Advent Journeys, into which the bible readings are incorporated. My writings on this blog will come from the readings in Advent Journeys each day this season.
     The third resource is a guide to help children understand and enjoy the Christmas season. When my children were young we planned at least one Advent related activity every day in order to counteract the commercialization seen everywhere in society. It is not that I am against gifts, it is just that I desire the real Christmas to overpower the world’s Christmas. If you have children, try some of the activities, you will see how this works!

Advent Devotion book

     Some might wonder about the detailed Temple ceremonies I described on the second day of Advent in my book. The fact is that Jesus was born at a unique time in history, and we actually know what priests like Zechariah did during their daily activities in the Temple in Jerusalem. The historian Flavius Josephus wrote several books that detail historic events which took place during the life of Jesus. The Rabbis of the Sanhedrin collected sayings, laws and procedures of Temple worship into a collection of books known as the Mishnah. The Mishnah was put together after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, so the priests would not forget what to do after (or when) the Temple and its worship were restored.

Model of the Temple at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

     The Mishnah contains six sections: 1) Tithes, 2) Feasts and holy days, 3) Women, marriage and divorce, 4) punishments for wrongdoing, lawsuits, punishments, 5) holy things of the Temple, and 6) cleanness (kosher) laws, which include prevention of illness, how to take a bath, and more. Within each of the six volumes of the Mishnah there are innumerable details that tell us about life in the first century. The details of the morning routines that I share in Advent Journeys are contained in a section of the Mishnah called Tamid or The Daily Offering.

Moses ben Maimon "Maimonides" was a Torah Scholar

     I share these things, not because we will repeat these ceremonies, but because I think it is important to get a behind the scenes view of real life in the first century. I want my readers to understand the Bible is a book about real people. The events we read about really happened. Zechariah the priest participated in the daily activities of the Temple. Although we can not know exactly what duties Zechariah performed each day, the stories I present gives a sense of what life must have been like for the father of John the Baptist.

Worshipers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

     I am sure there were priests serving in Jerusalem that came just because of family expectations or because they were legally bound to serve in the Temple. One of the things I worked hard to place in the story I tell during week one of Advent is that Zechariah the Priest loved God. The type of love God desires can be seen in Deuteronomy 6:5, Psalm 19 and 119. God desires pure love from believers today. As you read the words of in Advent Journeys, I pray that your love for God grows day by day.