19This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 6:19-20
The Priestly Order of Melchizedek
1This 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. 2Then 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.” 3There 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. 4Consider 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.
5Now 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. 6But 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. 7And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed. 8The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on. 9In 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. 10For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.
Hebrews 7:1-10
Jesus Compared to Melchizedek
11So 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? 12And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it. 13For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests. 14What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe. 15This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. 16Jesus 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.
17And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 18Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. 19For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, 21but 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.’” 22Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.
23There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25Therefore 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. 26He 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 honour in heaven. 27Unlike 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. 28The 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.
Hebrews 7:11-28
I am sure you will have noticed what I have done with the Scripture included in this Gem. I left the link from the closing two verses of Chapter 6 as the introduction to what follows. The author of Hebrews has cleverly repeated his theme or teaser related to “the Priest in the order of Melchizedek”. He digressed to look at two examples of why he has been developing this particular theme. Now he returns to the theme in order to compare Christ and Melchizedek. I promised you in Gem 2100 that I would construct a table of the comparisons between them.
Feature | Jesus | Melchizedek |
---|---|---|
Names | Prince of Peace The Word of Righteousness The righteousness of God | King of Salem King of Peace My King is righteous(ness) |
Relationship to God | Son of God | Priest of the Most High God |
Beginnings | God Word Became Flesh Uniquely virgin born with two genealogies | without father without mother without genealogy |
Beginning of Days | Always existed as God | without beginning of days |
End of Life | Lives forever Suffered death for us as the once for all sacrifice resurrected from the dead | has no end of life |
Son | anarthrous Son Son of God – the exact expression of God | Resembles the Son of God |
Priesthood | The Great High Priest Priest in the order of Melchizedek | Priest of the Most High God Not a Levitical Priest |
I told you in Gem 2099 that many have tried to determine just who this Melchizedek was or where he came from.
The alternatives suggested are:-
- Shem
- an angel
- the Son of God, a Christophany
Or I would say none of the above. There are no references that Melchizedek existed and as the chart above has summarised, he had no father, no mother, no genealogy, no beginning nor end. Yet Abraham met him and paid tithe to him. How? Why? To show that Melchizedek represented a higher order of priesthood than the Levitical Priesthood. As the author of Hebrews has just told us, this Melchizedek was not of the Levitical Priesthood and by extension he was not a descendant of Abraham. He represents a new order entirely. He just appeared. It is tempting to suggest he was an angelic form but the author has gone to great pains to show Christ is far greater than the angels. This Melchizedek resembled the Son of God but wasn’t the Son of God; in other words he was not a Christophany in the strict sense of the word. So what was he? I don’t have an answer but he was sure a pre-figuring of a priest of a new and different order. Well, how could he have existed back then? I don’t know but he clearly did. If God can work out that the names in the nine generations after Adam can spell out the purposes of God in Christ as I have told you both in the Nuggets and Gems, then He can also arrange to have a mystical king / priest who has no beginning nor end nor genealogy, present in the time of Abraham . It is almost like God planned this teaser back in the days of Abraham.
However one thing is for sure, we are left with a puzzling challenge to explain these words:
The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on. 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. 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.
Hebrews 7:8-10
And that my friends is where I will leave you today.
In a land of milk & honey you require cows & bees so you must deal with stuff, stings and mysteries too!
Ian
Most of my advances were by mistake. You uncover what is when you get rid of what isn’t.
R Buckminster Fuller
The best teachers show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see. (See Gem 872)
Anonymous
One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to spend time alone with God and hang on His every word daily.
Ian
Can’t we just ignore this Melkizadek guy. It messes up my Picture of God, Jesus and Holy Spirit. There’s not enough evidence of him. And most of what we have is in Hebrews. As David Mc used to say.
If you don’t understand it just put it on the side of your plate and ask God later
Kev
This passage has always intrigued me… thank you Ian but not that you solved it… you just systematically went through more questions than I had and the key one is left hanging “he lives on”
It is not left hanging as such Margareth. The point appears to be found in the fact that Melchizedek has no beginning or end of days (recorded). Thus by analogy he fits with Jesus who has the same and so as such “he lives on” as a type of High Priest who has no beginning or end of days in a metaphorical sense. But it goes without saying that Christ’s “living on” is different from that of Melchizedek.