Husband as Priest in the Home

Under the Old Testament, priesthood was the sole preserve of the tribe of Levi in ancient Israel. Deuteronomy 18:5 states, “For the LORD thy God hath chosen him (Levi), out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons.” However, the New Testament has a different arrangement. Hebrews 7:12 explains that the coming of the Messiah changed the priesthood. Revelation 1:6 states that the Lord Jesus Christ “hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father.” The priesthood of believers is also attested to by 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.”

As priests, believers have access into the Holy of Hollies “By a new and living way which He (the Lord Jesus Christ) hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.” Now, we can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, and obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Scriptures therefore advance the position that all believers are priests unto the Lord by virtue of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
In the home front however, the husband plays the role of a priest without depriving his believing wife and children the benefits of their own priesthood. The husband as priest is to guide his home spiritually, financially, emotionally and intellectually. As priests in their homes, they are to intercede for their families before God. They should spend much time with God in prayer and model Christ through their life choices. Being a priest is part of the husband’s leadership functions. Ephesians 5:22-23 cover all grounds on this issue: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body.”

The husband is to do the spiritual teaching as stated in 1 Timothy 2:11-13, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve.” The man’s authority as a Priest would however be contingent on what he knows about God and His ways. No husband or father can hope to have the confidence and respect of his family if he is lacking in knowledge or is unable to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). The exhortation Paul the apostle gave to Timothy in the cited Scripture “to study to shew thyself approved unto God” also applies to the husband in a home setting. Therefore, the depth of his relationship with the Lord would determine his effectiveness as Priest to his family.