King David As Priest

David was acting as a royal priest. - 1 Chronicles 15:25 to 16:1-3

David's actions on the day that the ark of the covenant was brought into Jerusalem were peculiar for a king. In the first place, David put on a a linen ephod. This fine garment represented God's presence among His people and was part of the uniform of the high priest (Ex.28:4; 1 Sam. 2:28). After celebrating before the Lord and offering sacrifices to Him, David blessed the people. Blessing the people after their participation in sacrificial worship was another task of the priest (Lev. 9:22,23; Num. 6:23). David's dress and behaviour on that day resembled that of a priest.

The author of Hebrews gives us some insight into what occured on that day, for he describes a priestly line different from Aaron's line - the priestly line of Melchizedek (Heb. 4:14-16; 7:20-28; 8:6). Like David, Melchizedek was a king, the king of Salem. But he was more than a king; he also functioned as a priest, one who blessed Abraham (Gen.14:18-20; Heb. 7:1-3). The Book of Hebrews identifies Jesus, a descendant of David's royal line, as a royal priest of the order of Melchizedek. Moreover, Jesus' priesthood is far superior to that of Aaron (Heb. 5:5-11; 6:13-20; 7:1-10). In the course of discussion, the author of Hebrews cites Pslam 110:4, a psalm of David:

"The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
"You are a prieset forever
ACcording to the order of Melchizedek."

This psalm teahces that there would someday be a priest from a different line than Aaron's and who would be a priest forever. This is Jesus, the Son of David, as the author of Hebrews explains. Thus, when David took on some of the roles of a priest on this occasion, he was acting a a royal priest in the order of Melchizedek. He was anticipating the priestly role of the Second David, Jesus Christ, who now sits as High Priest at the right hand of God the Father:

"Now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a High Priest, who is seated on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man." - Hebrews 8:1-2