Thoughts on prophet, priest, and king

In looking at the site meter I noticed that many readers find and click into my journal from Google searches for prophet, priest, and king. The concept is intriguing or intimidating, or both.

The thought that I need to learn how to be prophet, priest, and king in my home catches me off guard. The culture around us has tamed us into being “really nice guys.” In the entertainment media fathers are universally presented as clueless and irrelevant dopes. In the politically correct world patriarchy has been falsely reinterpreted to represent authoritarian abuse of women and children.

Also I think we have inherited from our first father the sin of passivity (or is it just plain laziness?) and have to work at being on top of things and leading our families in a godly way. We also have to struggle with selfishness and differentiation issues.

So how do we think of prophet, priest, and king in the modern context? I think you have to see the roles from the biblical intention, what God had in mind for each of these. Then I think you can make application.

The first prophets were seers, who had ecstatic experiences and spoke as the Holy Spirit gave utterance. Later they became messengers of God’s word to kings, interpreting Scripture. Prophets see and hear what God is saying and tell others so they can make good decisions. They use their wisdom and experience to “see” into the future and understand what will happen if we remain on a particular course. Prophets are eccentric and sometimes harsh in making a point.

Priest is advocate. Our best example of patriarch as priest is of course Job, who was concerned that his adult children might sin against God in their ongoing partying. So he offered sacrifices on their behalf continually. Sacrifice is the fundamental basis of worship, or approaching God. Under the Jewish order animal sacrifices were sufficient. In the church, only self-sacrifice, in the footsteps of Jesus, will do.

God meant for kings to be shepherds, or leaders of the flocks. Shepherds lead, groom, and provide healthcare for sheep so they will be profitable when presented at market. What goes into the development of sheep is intended to influence how profitable they will be later on. Shepherding people means discipling. Relationship. Pointing to a future direction.

See how these relate together? Prophet hears from God, while priest approaches God. King takes what has come from God and bestows into the lives of those in his charge.

It occurs to me that to do a good job as prophet, priest, and king, we need to be men of prayer. Which is a hard thing to do because our feminized world confuses prayer with long, wordy entreaties done just so. More than once I have heard the phrase, “I am not a praying man.”

So how can men pray? I’ll give that some thought and get back to you next week.

Seasons of life

I went with three of my daughters to the Rebelution Do Hard Things conference a few weeks ago. Rebelution is the project of twins Alex and Brett Harris (age 20) who as teenagers published the book Do Hard Things to encourage their peers to not accept the low expectations the culture places on youth, and to aspire to significant accomplishment as youth.

At the conference I ran into their dad, Gregg Harris, an old friend and pioneer in the home school movement. Gregg now heads the Noble Institute for Leadership Development and is teaching elder of Household of Faith Community Church in Portland, Ore. We talked about changes in our lives and how we both seemed to be moving into new things. Gregg said, “We are moving into a different season of life.” When he said that my mind went back ten years, to a time I had heard Gregg speak on the seasons of life.

I have reflected often on the concept of the seasons of life. I have felt the uneasiness of transition from one to another. I am coming to realize that when we move from one to the other another time of separation and inner alignment is called for so that we can successfully make the transition with minimal anxiety. It seems the masculine way requires continual separation and reflection, connecting in new fully defined ways. We are never quite “there.”

Gregg speaks of four seasons of life I’d like to mention, with my own reflections. To me they speak of the development of patriarchy and maturity in our lives as we continue on the path of becoming more like Christ.

Preparation. From childhood until the time we marry and begin having children we live in a period of preparation, where first responsibility is being student. We are learning all we can to prepare for life. We begin to venture out into the world and attempt to find our place. We begin to learn who we are as an individual.

I am convinced the best transition point out of preparation and into the next season needs a defining moment, a coming of age trial and ritual. Here is where our first separation should occur, where we go away from family and familiar way of life to find our identity and calling before God, where we define who we will be and how we will relate. Confession: I did not get to have such a period, and I am now convinced it severely slowed my progress. This is critical to moving into adulthood. I am equally convinced we have many immature adult men because they also did not have this kind of transition.

Production. The next season begins when we transition into adult life. We take a wife, establish a household, begin having children. We learn responsibility and we learn how to become productive. The main emphasis at this time is household and community. We become the patriarch by living out prophet, priest, and king as we raise our children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

The transition is when our children grow up and marry, and begin having children. We realize everything changes and we take on new roles as advisors. We become grandparents. It is hard for me to believe I will be a grandpaw in December! Transitioning out of this phase can bring about what we call “midlife crisis.” We begin to realize we are aging and that many of the goals we set in our youth will not be accomplished. Any errors we made with our children will become obvious and painful.

Provision. Having built our household and earning potential we move into a time of greater wealth production. Children are growing up and we can begin getting involved in other pursuits. If we have been maturing, we can put our accumulated wisdom to work in community efforts. This is the time when we earn eldership, where people begin to look to us for counsel. A young man approached me not long ago for counsel on particular matters. He said he wanted the wisdom of an “older man.” It is good to become active in church eldership at this time, because this is when we have the practical wisdom to contribute value to leadership conversations and decisions.

The transition from here is when we anticipate retirement. We become aware something has changed. Our energy may not be where it was, or we simply want to go in a new direction. Here another masculine separation is necessary to gain a perspective of how to relate in a new season.

Protection. The last season of life is what Gregg Harris calls protection. He refers to this as the time when we can lend the strength of our experience and wisdom to the community around us in government policy that protects us from harm. I think history shows our country’s best statesmen have been those in their 60s and 70s.

Our culture wants to devalue the contribution of those with experience. It wants to appeal to a younger generation unfortunately lacking in experience and wisdom, and totally consumed with self gratification. Our societal problems will stem from this significant error.

Lived out faithfully and with integrity, these four seasons of life are the stuff of patriarchy. Learn about the seasons, do all you can to live into the season you are in now, and when it is time to prepare for the next, separate enough to discover how to transition well.

Patriarch as king

I am sure you have heard the old saying, “A man is king of his castle.” While the phrase is no longer appreciated in all circles it does, when understood correctly, describe the function of patriarch as king. According to Phrases.org the old adage dates to 17th century English common law, which held that a man had the right to protect his home and enjoy it as his refuge. It pointed to his right and duty to protect home and family from intruders, and to guide its affairs.

This is precisely the biblical concept of king as we apply it to patriarchal anointing. Men were set apart as king to govern the affairs of the kingdom under God. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures kings are referred to as “shepherds,” and charged with the responsibility of leading and protecting the sheep.

It is clear that God intended Israelite kings to serve as first among equals. In Deuteronomy chapter 17 God gave Moses clear instructions for establishing kings. They were to be chosen from among the people, not a foreigner. They were not to focus on accumulating wealth or women. Most importantly, they were to borrow a copy of the law from the priests and make their own copy to have with them at all times. Hand-copying their own book meant they would be forced to go through the Torah word-for-word and therefore know its contents. Having it at their side would make it convenient for reference when needed.

Hebrew kings were to be different, set apart, from other kings. They were to rule with God’s vision in mind. In Hebrew thought rule means giving guidance and direction. Kings were also intended to provide protection from intrusion by raising, training, and leading armies. They were to defer personal benefit and enjoyment in order to serve God and people in their charge.

Applying those principles to modern patriarchy describes what I see a husband and father needs to do to be a man.

First among equals. A man is not greater than his wife in God’s sight. The Bible is clear, in the kingdom there is no longer male or female (Gal. 3:28). A man does not take a built-in slave when he takes a wife.  They should be like-minded, and headed in the same direction. Like the king in Hebrew thought, the man leads and governs from a biblical point of view. He is set apart for that with the masculine qualities God gave him and burned into his being. His wife joins him and goes with him, at his side, not ten steps behind.

Know and apply the Scriptures. As Israel’s kings were to copy and own their own Torah scroll so they would know them, men need to know the Scriptures and learn how to apply them. Men, we must be leaders at this. We cannot give appropriate spiritual guidance to our homes if we do not know the Scriptures.

Government. This refers to guidance and direction. The rule of kings was intended to guide the nation to where God wanted it to go, as the rudder of a ship governs its direction and course in the water. As husbands and fathers, we need to be in touch with the Father to govern our ship in the direction God would have it to go.

Protection. The English common law precept of a man and his castle comes from the Scriptural idea that men protect their people and property against intruders. Kings provided a means of defense for their people, including walled fortresses (castles) for protection. We need to build walls of protection for our families. This includes the obvious protection from physical harm. But it also means protection from the intrusion of culture into our homes through television, ipods, internet, and the influence of friends. We need to set boundaries that protect our wives and children. Ezk. 20:33 says, “I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Provision. It goes without saying that men are responsible for providing the physical needs of their families. Our culture wants to spread the responsibility to our wives so that we can have a materialistic standard of living. It may be nice to have two incomes and money to make payments on fancy cars, boats, large houses, and “man toys,” but let me emphatically state it is not biblical. God will look to men to be providers of material needs, and we will be held accountable. Much of what we deem “needs” in our materialistic culture actually indulge the lust of the eyes.

Patriarch as king of the home does not mean tyrant. It does not allow us to demand, “Woman, submit!” and trample over our wives and children. It is a servanthood where authority is recognized because of a role and earned because we humbly defer our own interests and desires to respond to duty and responsibility.

Jesus put it this way. He told the disciples if they wanted to be great in God’s kingdom they must first be servant of all. A good description of patriarch as king.

Prophet, priest, and king

We have noted before that patriarch means “rule of the father,” and that ruling in biblical thought actually means guidance by teaching, praying, and leading. We discipline and direct our masculine strength into these areas on behalf of our families. It is a sacred trust, not to be abused, overlooked, or abandoned. There can be no such thing as a lazy, passive, or disobedient patriarch. We live into the role of patriarch by intentional diligence, initiative, and obedience.

Let me observe that if we have the responsibility to do these things then we have an anointing to do these things. That is, we are set apart (separated in the masculine sense), sanctified, directed, and empowered into these functions. Could it be that the much-needed separation from family of origin (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5; Mk. 10:7, 8; Eph. 5:31), and spending time apart from them to discover our identity and direction for life, somehow is the place where God imparts this anointing on us before we are joined to a wife? Could it be that we need to have these roles and boundaries clearly defined before we are married? Could it be that separation and solitude are necessary to eliminate the distraction and confusion of unbroken ties (i.e., “apron strings”) when new vision is being set?

I know that Jesus received his anointing at his baptism and immediately went to the wilderness, alone, for 40 days and nights, “to be tempted by the devil.” From there he returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus then functioned in three roles: prophet, priest, and king. First he was the prophet to Galilee, sent to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Then he was priest, going to Jerusalem to become the “lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” and the once-for-all sacrifice for the sins of humanity. He continues to be our priest, sitting at God’s right hand, interceding for us. At his resurrection and ascension he became the king of all, and now expands the kingdom of God through the agency of the Church.

Of course the precedent for the anointing for the roles of prophet, priest, and king comes from the Hebrew Scriptures. When a man entered any of these offices a public pronouncement was made. A man in recognized authority poured consecrated oil over head of the man being set apart, and he was said to be “anointed.” Many times these men spent time in solitude, in the wilderness, alone, to hear from God and discover identity, vision, and direction for his role.

I am convinced that the patriarch is a man who is truly set apart and anointed by God for the task of patriarchy. We have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to give us grace to carry out this calling and responsibility. Grace is the supernatural strength of God which rests in and upon us to amplify our own strength to accomplish his purposes. Because of God’s grace we can say with Paul, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9, 10). That is what salvation truly is, not “going to heaven when I die.”

And that grace is given to us to enable us to be like Christ, to sacrificially live and give as prophet, priest, and king of our homes. That is, we are given responsibility and grace to teach our families by precept and example. We cannot pawn that off on the Sunday school teacher or youth group leader. We have a duty to function as priest, to intercede on behalf of our families, and to take personal responsibility before God for their failures. We are expected to lead our families with vision, direction, and setting boundaries; to protect them from harm; and to provide for them.

These are non-optional for the patriarch. If we do not actively, intentionally, and aggressively do these things we are not patriarchal, we are merely taking advantage of our women and irresponsibly siring children to be sent aimlessly into a dangerous world to find their own way. This is reprehensible in the sight of God.

My next few posts will explore the roles of prophet, priest, and king respectively, and hopefully help us discover guidance for living into them as patriarchs.

The roles of prophet, priest, and king are depicted in this stained-glass window in the chapel of Wadham College (Oxford, England). The prophet is depicted by Moses (center), the priest is illustrated by Aaron (right), and the king is portrayed on the left. Click on the image for a closer look.