Sunday, May 11, 2008

Hebrews 8

A New and Better Covenant


   In Hebrews chapter 8, the writer continues to expand on the picture of Melchizedek established in Chapters 5 to 7. The covenant established with Moses and Israel, is merely a shadow or illustration of the coming covenant, which is eternal, and administered by Christ.


(1) Here is the *main point: We have a High Priest who **sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven.


*main point: The whole purpose of the book of Hebrews is to help the Hebrew Christians and seekers understand Jesus is supreme.


**sat down:



  • Psalm 110:1: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”

  • Mark 14:60-62: Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I Am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.

  • Mark 16:19: When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

  • Hebrews 12:2: We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

  • Acts 2:33: Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

  • Acts 5:30-31: The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.

  • Romans 8:34: Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

  • Hebrews 10:11-13: Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet.

  • Ephesians 1:20-22: that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

  • 1 Peter 3:22: Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.



   The tabernacle and the temple of the Old Covenant had no place for the priests to sit down, because their work was never finished. The work of Jesus is finished - He is seated in heaven!



   In the ancient world, when a king wished to honor someone, he offered them a seat at his right hand. That seat was the highest seat, the greatest honor, and the supreme glory the king could confer on anyone. What does it mean to say that our Lord is now seated at the Father's right hand? First, it means he has a permanent place in heaven. When he returned in triumph, he was given a permanent place next to the Father's throne. Our Lord didn't have to search for a seat in heaven. When he arrived, there was a seat with his name on it (so to speak). That seat at the Father's right hand is his forever.


   His work of redemption is now complete. While he was on the earth, he spoke often of "the work" of the Father (John 4:34; 9:4; 17:4). His work came to a climax when he hung on the cross, bearing the sins of the world. The Bible says that when he died, he became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). When he died, God poured out his wrath on Jesus even though Jesus was perfect and pure and wholly innocent. But as the sinless substitute, he took the punishment I should have received so that I might go free. Just before he died, Christ shouted out, "It is finished" (John 19:30), which literally means "paid in full." The work was done; the debt was paid. I can never be charged with the guilt of my sins because Jesus paid it all. The ascension signifies that the Father has accepted the work of his Son. Since God has accepted Christ, nothing more can be added to what he did when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. Hebrews 10:11 reminds us that there were no chairs in the tabernacle because the priests were not allowed to sit down. They stood to perform their work because their work was never done. Every day the priest would kill another animal—signifying that the price of sin had not yet been paid. But when Christ returned to heaven, he sat down because he had offered himself as the one sacrifice for sin forever. Thank God, Jesus is seated in heaven.


   He is now in the place of supreme and highest honor in the universe. God has exalted him and given him a name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9-11). At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will one day confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Consider what this means:



  • The victim has become the victor.

  • The crown of thorns has been replaced by the crown of eternal glory.

  • The spear has been replaced with the scepter of regal authority.



Pritchard, Ray - Keep Believing Ministries, Tupelo, MS. "A Friend in High Places" [Online]
Available

http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/2004-04-25-A-Friend-in-High-Places--He-Ascended-into-Heaven-and-Sits-at-the-Right-Hand-of-God-the-Father-Almighty/



(2) There he ministers in the *heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.


*heavenly Tabernacle: A literal reading of Revelation indicates the existence of a Heavenly Temple, which the Earthly is merely a shadow of. (Revelation 14:15,17, 15;5,6,8, 16:1,17).

Revelation 11:19: Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.

Revelation 21:22: I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.


(3) And since every high priest is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an offering, too.


Ephesians 5:2: ...He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.


(4) If he were here on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there already *are priests who offer the gifts required by the law.


*are priests: The present tense shows that this was written before 70 A.D.


(5) They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a *shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”


*shadow:



  • Exodus 25:40; 26:30: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain ... “Set up this Tabernacle according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.

  • Hebrews 9:10: For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

  • Hebrews 9:23-24: That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals. For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf

  • Hebrews 10:1: The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.

  • Colossians 2:16-17: So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.


   The Mosaic Law was only a 'shadow' of reality. It was a sketchy reflection of the true salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ. The word the writer uses is skea. This is what was meant by the warning given to Moses. God wanted him to make the tabernacle like reality, but it was only a shadow skea of what would be. The Levitical law only gave an outline of what Christ would bring. But the Jews wanted to hang on to the outline and reject the reality.


(6) But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far SUPERIOR to the old priesthood, for he is the one who *mediates for us a far BETTER covenant with God, based on BETTER promises.


*mediates: Mediator is the Greek word mesites, which means “one who stands in the middle between two people and brings them together.” Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant, because he “brought the two parties together.” Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant, a better covenant, bringing us to God the Father.



  • Hebrews 9:15: That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

  • Hebrews 12:24: You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

  • Galatians 3:19-20: Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.


(7) If *the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.


*the first covenant means the whole religious system of the Jews, the Decalogue, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the tabernacle ritual, the temple services (as later developed), the statutes, and the judgments, and the commandments, and embracing the entire ceremonial and moral constitution of Judaism:



  • Exodus 19:5: Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.

  • Exodus 34:27-28: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”
    Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.

  • Deuteronomy 4:13: He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.


   How could it have been at fault, seeing God himself had given it? Its fault lay in the temporary character of it (Galatians 3:19) and never being intended as a permanent solution of man's spiritual problems. Just as a contractor first builds a scaffold around a building to be erected, removing the scaffolding when the building is completed; just so, God erected the law as a scaffold which, from the first, was designed to be removed as soon as "the seed" which is Christ should appear.


   Read the book of Leviticus some time. It outlines the system of sacrifices and rules to live by according to the old covenant. If you take into account everything that is there it sets up an impossible standard that no one can hope to match. This only shows our needs for Christ and the new covenant.


(8) But when God found fault with the people, he said:(“The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.


   Some have decided that the church now takes the place of Israel - Replacement Theology. The problem with that theory is that we have not seen the complete fulfillment of the New covenant. The New covenant will not be fulfilled until the arrival of the Millennium.


   Two basic reasons why the old covenant was abolished are: (1) God promised that he would make a new one, which he would not have done if the old one had been faultless. (2) Israel themselves had broken the old covenant by not continuing in it. It would require a volume to recount the extent of Israel's rebellion, stubbornness, idolatry, murder, adultery, and wickedness of every description, and their perpetual unwillingness to honor the covenant God had given them.



  • Luke 22:20: After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

  • 1 Corinthians 11:25: In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it."

  • 2 Corinthians 3:6-13: He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!
    Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away.


(9) This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.


(10) But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel *on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.


*on that day: Greek after those days.



   The thesis of the author of Hebrews in the verses before us is that a second, or new, covenant has superseded and replaced the first, or old, covenant. This was accomplished when Jesus Christ appeared, suffered, died, rose from the dead, ascended on high, and gathered up in himself all that was of any value in the old covenant, making his teachings alone to be the basis of eternal redemption. Whatever moral precepts of the Old Testament were brought over into the New Testament (and there were many of these, such as prohibitions against murder, adultery, theft, covetousness, etc.), those precepts now derive their authority from Christ, not Moses. Just so, those things of the Old Testament that did not find their place in the new institution, such as sabbath keeping, animal sacrifice, burning of incense, etc., are therefore now void of any authority at all and are to be totally rejected.


(11) And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.


   Has Israel fulfilled this? When will it?


(12) And I will *forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”


*forgive: 1 John 1:9: But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.


Jeremiah 31:31-34: “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”


   The main fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy will occur when the new covenant is made with the house of Israel. After He returns to set up the kingdom of God, Christ will establish the new covenant with all Israel and ultimately all mankind. So Malachi 3:1 calls the returning Christ the "messenger of the covenant." Malachi 3:1: Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.


Ezekiel 11:17-20: I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.’ “When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols. And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. Did this happen in 1948? Has it yet happened? When will it happen?


(13) When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.



What was wrong with the old covenant?

   Notice that the fault of the first covenant was with the people, not with the law (and hence not with God who gave the law). They did not continue in it. In fact, the new covenant would be better, not because of a different law, but because of a different place for it to be written - in the hearts of the people. Looking back at what happened, we can see what the Lord was talking about through Jeremiah and Paul.


   Did the people accept the first covenant? Here is the passage: Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.” So Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and told them everything the Lord had commanded him. And all the people responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” So Moses brought the people’s answer back to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you. Then they will always trust you.” Moses told the Lord what the people had said. (Exodus 19:3-9) So, yes, the people accepted the covenant.


   Moving ahead to just after the ten commandments were spoken, we see how the people were to keep the law. “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”(Exodus 20:20).


   Then Moses read the words of the ceremonial laws of Exodus 20:22 through chapter 23, and the people again pledged, ". . . We will do everything the Lord has commanded. We will obey.” (24:7). Wonderful. And what happened next?


   Moses went up the mountain to receive the first tablets of stone on which God inscribed the commandments which He had spoken in chapter 20. As Moses neared the camp on his descent, what did he discover? The people had broken their promises and were dancing around an idol -- a gold image of a calf!



   How had this happened? When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:1). They did not keep the fearful respect for God before their faces. That fear should have led them to realize that they couldn't keep their pledge without His help. As a symbol of the broken covenant, Moses threw down the stone tablets and they shattered! (Exodus 32:19).



   God allowed the people to try to be faithful in their way, with a covenant promise they could not keep in their own strength. Until faced with their terrible sin, they sensed no need of help (although they should have remembered the eagle wings with which God had brought them out of Egypt, Exodus 19:4).



   The new covenant Jeremiah wrote about would be the law established in the minds and hearts of the people, where it should have been all along (Psalm 40:8). But more than being words in a new place, it would be in a relationship with the one who overcame so that they could overcome. ". . . and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:33; Revelation 3:21). We can never do it alone.


-- Wade, Ted. "Fear of God, a Covenant Relationship" [Online]
Available http://www.bibleexplained.com/revelation/r-seg13-14/rev14h-fear-glory.htm#1407b%20old%20&%20new%20covenants




Bibliography/Works Cited:


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Sunday, May 4, 2008

Hebrews 7

Melchizedek Is Greater Than Abraham and Aaron


   Chapter 7 picks up again from Chapter 5 verse 10 and Chapter 6 verse 20::

And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek ... Jesus has already gone in there
for us. He has become our eternal High
Priest in the order of Melchizedek.


(1) This *Melchizedek was king of the city of **Salem and also a priest of ***God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him.


Genesis 14:18-20: And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.


*Melchizedek: His name means "king of righteousness", from the Hebrew words melek (king) and sedeq (righteousness). Salem means "peace". So, He is also "king of peace."

Zechariah 6:12-13: Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord. Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’

 Psalm 110:4: The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”


   There were Jews then (and now) who were claiming that Jesus could not have been a priest since He was from the tribe of Judah, and not of Levi, from which the Aaronic priesthood was derived. They argued that since Jesus had not come from that particular stock, He was excluded from being a priest. The author of Hebrews argued that Melchizedek was a priest of God even though he was not of the Levitical line, nor even a Jew. Not only did the author demonstrate that Melchizedek's lineage was not Levitical, but he went so far as to assert that Melchizedek was superior to the priests of the Levitical line.
In order to support his idea that Jesus' priesthood was according to Melchizedek's order, the author cited Psalm 110:4, a messianic prophecy which predicted that the Messiah would be a priest after the Melchizedek order (Hebrews 5:6; 7:17, 21). Since Jesus' priesthood was of the same order as that of Melchizedek, His lineage need not be Levitical/Aaronic. As was Melchizedek, Jesus' priesthood was superior to that of the Law of Moses. By noting both the existence of a priesthood apart from the Levitical/Aaronic line, and by demonstrating that the Law itself predicted the replacement of the Aaronic order with the Melchizedek order, the author could successfully authenticate Jesus' identity as a priest without having come from the Levitical line, and thereby demonstrate that this change in the order of priesthood necessitated a changing of covenants, which God had intended long before.


   In a document found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, Melchizedek is presented as a future figure who will deliver the people. He is described in terms of "El" (God) and "Elohim" (elohim usually means ‘God’ but angels are also sometimes called ‘elohim’ to indicate heavenly status) and Isaiah 61:1-2 is quoted in reference to him. This redemption is also tied in with the Day of Atonement and the year of Jubilee, the year of liberty. Such speculation about Melchizedek seems to have been rife at the time for Philo, the Jewish philosopher in Egypt, also likened Melchizedek to the Logos, the eternal ‘reason’. There was thus a background at the time suggesting the continuing, almost divine, existence of Melchizedek, the priest-king.


**Salem: The Jebusites took possession of Salem and called it Jebus-Salem, later named Jerusalem. Then we read in Joshua 10 about Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, who was defeated by Joshua.


***God Most High: Hebrew El Elyon.


   Uzziah was a powerful king who had ascended to the throne of David at only 16 years of age. But his success brought pride and caused his downfall. Ignoring the warnings of the High Priest and 80 other priests, he attempted to burn incense at the altar in the Temple just outside the Holy of Holies. This angered the Lord who afflicted him with leprosy which tormented him to his dying day. His son Jotham ruled in his place. (2 Chronicles 26:16-21)


(2) Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.”


(3) There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.


   Melchizedek is presented to us without reference to any human qualifications for office. His genealogy is not recorded, required in the case of Aaron's sons. Ordinary priests began their service at thirty and ended at fifty. The high priest succeeded on the day of his predecessor's death. Melchizedek has no such dates recorded. He had neither beginning of days nor end of life. We only know that he lived and thus a type of Jesus Who lives forever. The author presents Melchizedek as superior on the basis of the eternal nature of his priesthood.


   To the Jews, a traceable genealogy was critical for the priesthood. If one could not prove his lineage he was barred from being a priest (Nehemiah 7:64). There is no recorded genealogy of Melchizedek. It was not important because his priesthood was not dependant on it. His lineage did not affect his right to the priesthood. The author went on to say in Hebrews 7:13-17 that the Law foretold of a day in which the Melchizedek priesthood would arise again. Since under the Law of Moses the priesthood had to be of the Aaronic order, this gave evidence that the Law would one day be abolished in favor of a new covenant and consequently a new priesthood. The Law needed to be abolished because it demanded that the priests have their lineage through Aaron, not Melchizedek. After the Law was abolished through Christ's death and the New Covenant was instituted with His blood, Jesus had no need to be in the lineage of Levi to serve as a priest of God. He could be of the stock of Judah and still be a priest under the order of Melchizedek, for there was no genealogical requirement for this order. The two priesthoods were of a different sort and order, serving two different purposes, at different times.


   Ungers Bible Dictionary states "Without father, etc. refers to priestly genealogies. Melchizedek is not found on the register of the only line of legitimate priests ; no record of his name is there; his father's name is not recorded, nor his mother’s; no evidence points to his line of descent from Aaron. It is not affirmed that he had no father, that he was not born at any time, or died on any day; but that these facts were nowhere found on the register of the Levitical priesthood."


(4) Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle.


(5) Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham


(6) But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.


(7) And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.


(8) The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.


(9) In addition, we might even say that these Levites—the ones who collect the tithe—paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him.


(10) For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.


   Under the law of Moses, Levi and the priests received tithes from the other tribes. But Israel's priests, centuries before they were born, gave tithes to Melchizedek in the person of Abraham. Therefore, Melchizedek was greater than Aaron and Melchizedek's priesthood was superior to Aaron's priesthood.


(11) So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?


(12) And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it.


   The grand conclusion of his argument is set forth in Hebrews 7:12.


(13) For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests.


(14) What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.


Revelation 5:5: But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”


Jesus Is like Melchizedek


(15) This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared.


(16) Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.


(17) And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”


Psalm 110:4: The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”


(18) Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless.


(19) For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a *better hope, through which we draw near to God.


Galatians 3:24: Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.


*better hope: better hope here; better covenant 7:22; better promises 8:6; better sacrifices 8:23; a better substance 10:34; a better country 11:16; a better resurrection 11:35; a better thing 11:40;. In chapter 1, Christ is shown to be better than angels; in 3, better than Moses; in 4, better than Joshua; in 7, better than Aaron; in 10, better than the law.


(20) This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath,


(21) but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’”


Psalm 110:4 as in verse 17.


(22) Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.


(23) There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office.


(24) But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever.


(25) Therefore he is able, once and forever, to *save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to **intercede with God on their behalf.


*save: Or is able to save completely.


**intercede means He continually represents us before the Father, so that we can draw near through Him, and that He defends us against Satanic accusation and attack.


Romans 8:33-34: Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one - for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.


(26) He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the *highest place of honor in heaven.


*highest place of honor in heaven: Or has been exalted higher than the heavens.


Ephesians 4:10: And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.


(27) Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.


(28) The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.


   Those who would continue to look to the Temple as central in their worship must inevitably look to the levitical priesthood with its symbols. But that is to live in the past and to look to something whose effectiveness has now ceased. But those who would look higher, to what is real, to Heaven itself, who recognize that God’s Messiah has come, must now in the light of what Jesus has done, turn to the superior priesthood ‘after the order of Melchizedek’, the eternal priesthood of which Jesus is now the sole representative. They must look to Him.


   The superiority of the priesthood of Christ is evidenced by his perfect character which required no further sacrifice than that of himself, one time on the cross, while the high priest of the Levitical priesthood had to offer for himself each year, and then for the people. The Scriptures speak of two covenants: a "new covenant" (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 9:13) which necessarily implies an "old covenant". The old one was to pass away (Hebrews 9:13). Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3:6,14 speaks of a "new covenant" and of an "old covenant", and in his allegory in Galatians 4:21-31, speaks of "two covenants" (verse 24). Christ is the "mediator of a new covenant" (Hebrews 9:15; 12:24), which is contrasted with the old covenant of Mt. Sinai (12:18-21). There being a "new" covenant, the previous covenant of necessity is made "old" (8:13). The "new covenant" is better, being enacted upon better promises (7:22; 8:6). The old one was faulty while the new one is faultless (8:7,8; Romans 8:3). The first one could not take away sins in actuality (but only figuratively or typically), while the second one could (10:1-18). For this reason the first covenant is called a "ministration of death" and of "condemnation", while the new covenant is called a "ministration of righteousness", written on the hearts of men (2 Corinthians 3:7,9; Hebrews 10:16). The old was to pass away while the new one was to remain (2 Corinthians 3:11). The Israelite, by reason of fleshly birth, were under the first covenant (Genesis 15:18; 17:7,8), but only those born again (John 3:3-7) are in the new covenant. The old was "done away in Christ" (2 Corinthians 3:14) while the new one is eternal (Hebrews 13:20). The new one, the New Testament, was dedicated by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:15-22). The old covenant was one of bondage while the new is one of freedom (Galatians 5:1). The new one is the "new and living way" (Hebrews 10:20).


   Previous to Moses' time period, sacrifices were offered by the head of the family as with Job. The priest was the father or grandfather- the oldest male in the family line. As the family grew to be a tribe, the head of the tribe came to be the king as well as the priest, so he was the priest/king of their tribe. Later on into the days of Moses, the 12 tribes had grown to be the nation of Israel which God delivered out of their bondage. A priesthood was created from Aaron, out of the tribe of Levi which became the Levitical priesthood order for the sacrificial system. Later, another family was set apart for being the kings, the family of David. The king was then to rule the people and the priest was to mediate between God and man through the sacrificial system. No king could be a priest, although but he could be a prophet. No priest could be a king, although he too could be a prophet.




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