Israel as a Kingdom of Priests in Covenant and Prophecy

Scripture does indeed present Israel as destined to be a kingdom of priests. The classic statement is Exodus 19:6:

"And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."

This language lies behind 1 Peter 2:9:

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people..."

I understand 1 Peter to address Israel, not the body of Christ, and to echo the covenant calling of Exodus 19.

Timing: "Shall Be" and "Are"

In Exodus 19:6, spoken at Sinai before entrance into the land, the wording is future: "ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests." It is a covenant promise and calling tied to Israel’s national obedience.

In 1 Peter 2:9, the King James reads "ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood..." The verb "are" is in italics, indicating that it is supplied. Greek commonly implies the verb of being, and the natural insertion in context is present tense: Peter is affirming Israel’s intended identity in light of prophetic fulfillment.

Revelation adds further pieces. In Revelation 5:9–10, the song in heaven says:

"for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

Here, being made "kings and priests" is spoken of as an accomplished work, though the reign is still future. In Revelation 20:6 we read:

"they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

So the priestly role has both a covenant foundation (Exodus), a prophetic affirmation (Peter, Revelation 5), and a future exercise in the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20).

To Whom Was Israel to Be a Kingdom of Priests?

A priest is a go-between. Israel’s priestly calling was not merely inward, for Israelites ministering only to Israelites. They were called to stand between God and the nations.

Under the covenants, Israel was:

• The recipient of the oracles of God.
• The nation through which light was to go to the Gentiles.
• The mediator of knowledge of the true God to the surrounding peoples.

God did not raise up Assyrian prophets to preach to Assyria; He sent a Hebrew prophet, Jonah. When nations received warnings or promises, they ordinarily did so through Israel. That is priestly work on an international scale.

Thus, Israel as a kingdom of priests was to be God’s appointed intermediary between Himself and the Gentile world.

For What Purpose?

Their priestly purpose included several elements:

1. Service to God. As priests, they were to serve God in worship, obedience, and sacrificial ministry centered in the tabernacle and later the temple.
2. Mediation. They were to function as the go-between, carrying God’s word to the nations and, in turn, representing the nations before God.
3. Witness. As a holy nation, they were to display God’s character, justice, and mercy before the watching world, becoming a light for the Gentiles and a model of life under God’s rule.

Prophetic passages reinforce this outward-facing priesthood. For example, Zechariah foresees a day when many Gentiles will attach themselves to Israel as the people with access to God. Though I paraphrase, the image is of ten Gentiles taking hold of the skirt of a Jew and saying, "We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you."

In that future kingdom, Israel will be the priestly nation through whom the nations approach the Messiah and learn His ways. Jerusalem will be the spiritual capital of the world, and Israel will minister as God’s priestly instrument to the Gentiles.

The Present Dispensation

In the present dispensation of the grace of God, the situation is different. The covenants with Israel are in abeyance; they are not being brought to their promised fulfillment. The middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile has been broken down; there is neither Jew nor Greek in the one new man, the body of Christ.

Consequently:

• Israel is not now functioning corporately as a priestly nation to the world.
• There is no earthly priesthood mediating access to God for believers today.

Believers in this dispensation come directly to God through Christ, without a human or national go-between. The priestly calling of Israel will be resumed and realized in the future, under the new covenant and the restored kingdom.

So, to answer the question concisely: Israel was to be, and will yet be, a kingdom of priests to the Gentile nations, serving as God’s appointed mediator of truth, blessing, and access to Him within the framework of the covenants and the coming kingdom.

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