Prophet, Priest, King

The Threefold Office of Prophet/Priest/King

In the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah continually addresses the three leadership positions of prophet, priest and king as he prophecies over against them in the name of YWHW. In contrast to these leaders Jeremiah is raised up as a prophet against the current prophet’s, priest’s and king. Jeremiah is commissioned in (1:1-10) as being a prophet who is sent, given the word of the Lord, he has been touched by God, and he has been set over and against the kingdoms and nations.
The current prophet’s, priests, and king have forsaken the Law and Covenant and turned to false idols. The prophet’s prophecy falsely and in the name of other God’s besides YWHW. The Priest’s are aimlessly wandering and asking, “where is the Lord” because they cannot find Him. The King and his rulers have broken the laws and regulations of the covenant and taken advantage of the people. (2:8) Idol worship has become a prominent disgrace among all of them. We find in (2:26) all three groups are shamed because they are worshiping creation and idols. All three groups seem surprised at Jeremiah’s prophetic words to them. The prophet’s are astounded, the priest’s are appalled, and the king’s hearts have failed them. (4:9)
All of these issues have occurred because the leaders have turned their back on YWHW, they have neglected His teaching and instruction (32:32) As a result of their turning from God, YWHW will judge them. Jeremiah is the prophet sent to declare both God’s judgment and the call to repentance and a turning back to covenant faithfulness. YWHW declares that the bones of the prophet, priest’s and king’s will be laid bare. They will be disgraced and mocked for their lack of faithfulness. (8:1) The leaders will be filled with drunkenness and they will continue to be confused and without God. (13:13)

The Prophet & Priest

Within this address to the threefold leadership there is an even more focused appeal to the prophet and the priest. This may be because the prophet and the priest have traditionally been the ordained mediators of God while the king was never meant to be. (See 1 Samuel 8) Jeremiah addresses two different issues when he addresses these two groups together. The first issue that he addresses is the one of authority, or source. Jeremiah says that the prophets are prophesying falsely and the priest’s are trying to rule on their own authority. (5:31) The prophet’s have lost the word of God, they have lost the divine word that was bestowed on Jeremiah himself at his commissioning. In the same way the priest’s have lost the law and the teaching of the covenant faithfulness. (18:18) These leaders who are supposed to be giving direction to others and providing direction are instead asking for direction from the Lord because they have lost all guidance. (23:23-24)
The second problem that Jeremiah addresses is the fact that both the prophet and priest have compromised their ministry of God for the greed of money. Both groups have been dealing falsely in their relationships and have practiced deceit because of this greed for financial security. (6:13, 8:10) Jeremiah claims that they have become polluted and have lost the real understanding of why they are doing what they are doing. (23:11)

The Prophet/Priest/King in Israelite History

The traditional role of the prophet in the history of Israel has been to proclaim the word of the Lord. They have been God’s conduits to call his people to accountability, repentance and return to the covenant treaty between God and His people. The prophet addresses the current social, economical and relational (between God and his people, and between interpersonal relationships) issues of the day and provides the hope of restoration, reconciliation and transformation into the image of God. The role of the Priest in the history of Israel has been the Levitical responsibility to usher the people into the worship of YWHW. The priest’s role is to help others recognize the presence of God all around them, to administer the sacraments of God, and to hold the people to the covenant that God has been set before them. We find in 1 Samuel that the role of the king in the history of Israel was not originally intended by God. The role of king was a compromise that God allowed in recognizing that His people had once again rejected him.

Jesus as the Ultimate Prophet/Priest/King

Jesus was the perfect consummation and incarnation of all three of these roles that have been passed down through Israel’s history. Jesus was the ultimate prophet, being himself the Word of God and proclaiming the ushering in of the eschatological kingdom. (33:2-11) He was the ultimate priest as he took the form of the final sacrifice, offering His body and blood for the salvation of creation. (13:14-26) Jesus was also the ultimate king, but in a most radically different understanding of the world’s view of the role. Jesus served as a king who led through servant leadership, washing his disciple’s feet and proclaiming and upside-down kingdom where the first will be last and the last will be first. (23:5)