The world's priests and preachers.
"Men shall call you the Ministers of our God." Dean Plumptre says of this verse, "This had been the original ideal of the nation's life (Exodus 19:6), forfeited for a time through the sins of the people (Exodus 28:1), to be fulfilled at last in the citizens of the New Jerusalem". Matthew Arnold says, "The Jews, a nation of God's servants appointed to initiate the rest of the world into his service, are to give themselves to this sacred and priestly labour, while the rest of the world do their secular labour for them." Matthew Henry says, "All believers are made to our God kings and priests; and they ought to conduct themselves as such in their devotions, and in their whole conversation, with 'holiness to the Lord' written upon their foreheads, that men may call them the "priests of the Lord.'" We learn from this passage what are the views we may rightly take of our "priests and preachers."
I. THEY BELONG TO OUR GOD. Importance attaches to the personal appropriation indicated in the expression" our God." Only those who are themselves in right relations with God will ever put ministers into their right place, or keep them in their right place. A man who does not know God for himself will want his minister to become a priest, and do too much for him. The man who, in covenant relations, can say "my God," will thankfully accept, and wisely use, all that God's servants can do for him.
II. THEY MINISTER FOR OUR GOD. And they can do nothing but minister. They are, like their Lord and Master Jesus Christ, among us "as he that serveth." "We preach Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." Ministers bring to us messages from God, but we must never let them stand before God. There is peril for our souls whenever officiating priest or popular preacher takes all our attention, and keeps us from direct dealing with God. We must never let even apostles have "dominion over our faith;" they are only "helpers of our joy." Very possibly some of our souls are hindered from attaining the best in Christian life, because our outlook is stopped by the figure of a man, and we cannot see God.
III. THEY SERVE US IN THE NAME OF OUR GOD. Emphasis is put on the word "us." It is peculiar to all faithful and wise ministers that they have a "passion for souls," the "enthusiasm of humanity:" and are ever seeking to gain adaptation to us. Some men are more interested in truth than in persons; but the real priests and preachers and pastors of our God follow after the great apostle and say, "We seek not yours, but you." ― R.T.