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Psalms
135:10-21 He defeated
many nations And slew mighty kings—Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of
Bashan, And all the kingdoms of Canaan—And gave their land as a heritage, A heritage to Israel
His people. Your name, O LORD, endures
forever, Your fame, O LORD, throughout all generations. For the LORD will judge
His people, And He will have compassion on His servants. The idols of the
nations are silver and gold,
The work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they
have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who
make them are like them; So is
everyone who trusts in them. Bless the LORD, O house of Israel! Bless the LORD,
O house of Aaron! Bless the LORD, O house of Levi! You who fear the LORD, bless
the LORD! Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the
LORD!
Father God, inspire us to pick up your
Word on a daily basis to see what is inside the covers. We pray and ask for
this in Jesus name,
Amen!
Book of Hebrews 7:1-10 NKJV
This
chapter Paul continues to make comparisons between Law and Grace. He still
draws from the Old Testament and shows the inferiority of the Old Covenant to
the New Covenant. There are many lessons for us to learn also. We are just as
guilty at the Hebrew audience that Paul is addressing. We think we have all the
answers just like the Hebrew believers did, so I challenge those that think
they know what the Bible teaches to seek out what you practice and verify it
with scripture.
1 For this
Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham
returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
For
this Melchizedek, king of Salem; Jewish
commentators, affirm that Salem is Jerusalem, on the grounds that Jerusalem is
called that in Psalm 76:2. Nearly
all Jewish commentators hold this opinion. Psalms 76:2 In Salem
also is His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion. Salem, Jerusalem, and Zion can and
often times are used interchangeably.
Jerusalem is one of the
oldest cities in the world. It is believed to have been founded in
approximately the year 4200 B.C. It has been called by the name, “Salem,” and,
after that, “Jebus.” The latter name came into being through the Jebusites
conquering Salem, thereby changing the name to Jebus.
David made Jerusalem his
capital. II Samuel Chapter 5
It served in the capacity
of the capital of Israel or Judah until it was destroyed by the Romans in 70
A.D.
The name, “Jerusalem,”
actually means “habitation of peace.”
Priest
of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings
and blessed him; This
High Priest, Melchizedek, is a High Priest of God, but we know very little
about him. He appeared out of nowhere and after his encounter with Abraham he
is not mentioned again with the exception of being referred to in Psalms and
Hebrews. We don’t know his genealogy or parents. What we do know about him is
that he is of a higher rank than what Abraham was with God. He is a High Priest
with no beginning and no end just as our Lord Jesus Christ is our High Priest
forever and ever.
Paul uses this story from Genesis
14:18-20 to show that
Christ is greater than Abraham the father of the Jewish nation, and Abraham’s
descendants of the Levitical priesthood. Therefore, the Jewish priesthood was
inferior to Melchizedek's priesthood. Thus Jesus High Priesthood is of the same
as that of Melchizedek and also greater than that of the Hebrew believers of
Paul’s time and they should open their eyes and accept there is a higher order
other than that of their Levitical priests.
How does this apply to us
today? Just like the Jewish people of Paul’s time, the Jews were practicing
“religion” and not faith in Jesus and what He did on Calvary. Today the
majority of people of the world are doing the same, practicing doctrine and
rituals of a religion for eternal life and not what the Bible teaches, that
salvation is by faith. People get set in their ways and put on tunnel vision
and reject what the Bible teaches. They would rather listen and believe what
man says.
2 to whom
also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of
righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of
peace,"
To
whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; By Abraham paying tithe to Melchizedek, he was
acknowledging him as a Priest of God, and also his superior. This is the first
example of paying tithe in the Word of God. It was practiced 430 years before
the Law.
This means that if Abraham
paid Tithes to Melchizedek, his natural and spiritual seed, which of course
includes current believers, we should continue to pay tithes to this Priesthood
of higher order also (Jesus Christ), since it has now replaced the priesthood
order of Aaron and his descendants.
So, do you give 10% to
God? I have to admit that before I was saved I didn’t, but after I accepted
Jesus as my Saviour, I came under conviction of not tithing and ever since it
has been 10% of the gross and I know this holds true for other saved
individuals also. Sometimes it is very difficult to do with the bills that come
due, but we cannot out give God and it seems there is always money to pay what
needs to be paid. Malachi
3:10 Bring all the tithes into the
storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,"
Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such
blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
First
being translated "king of righteousness,"; Melchizedek was the King of
Righteousness, which means he was a type of Christ.
And
then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace,"; He was also the King of Peace, which is
also like Christ. The Righteousness of Christ brings Peace.
3 without
father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor
end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
This verse gives us the idea
that Melchizedek was the Son of God, and because of this, commentators cannot
agree on who Melchizedek was; a real human being or the Son of God. I believe
Melchizedek was a real human being and that the Holy Spirit presented him the
way He did in the Bible to be an example to the Jewish nation of Paul’s time
and to us of our time that sometimes what we have our faith in can be wrong and
that we need to open our mind and hearts up to the doctrine of the Bible and
not that of religion.
The key phrase here is, “but
made like the Son of God”. He was made “like”
the Son of God as an example so that we will place our faith in the proper
thing, and that being the Cross. It is to rock us out of our rut of life and
see the light. Melchizedek’s appearing to have no father, mother, genealogy,
beginning or end, and that he appeared before the Jewish laws, shows us that we
need to wake up and seek the truth about what we have our faith in for eternal
life. We need to seek the truth about the religion we practice.
4 Now
consider how great this man was,
to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
Now
consider how great this “man” was;
The first part of this verse tells us that Melchizedek was a man and
not of spiritual nature.
To
whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils; This sets the standard for tithing. If
Abraham saw fit to tithe to someone of a higher order for their Godly work,
then we should also follow Abraham’s role in tithing for the Kingdom of God.
5 And
indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a
commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is,
from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;
And
indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a
commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is,
from their brethren; Paul
is giving us another example here with the last verse and this verse, and that
example being the difference between Law and Grace. Abraham gave tithe which
was before the law came into effect. The Israelites and people of Paul’s time
gave tithes because it was the Law for them to give. We give tithe because of faith
in the death and resurrection of Jesus. So Abraham and current times Christians
tithe because of faith in Jesus and all that He does for us, whereas the Jews
of Jesus and the Apostles times tithed because they were required to by Law.
Though
they have come from the loins of Abraham; Even though these Hebrew believer came from the loins of
Abraham, they are to follow Abraham’s example and tithe out of faith and not
because they have to. They are to come out of their lifestyle of living
according to laws of the Old Covenant and live by faith in the New Covenant.
The Jewish people prided
themselves that they came from Abraham’s loins, so Paul is showing them there
is a new way to salvation and that is of faith and not law. We need to grasp
this also and follow Abraham’s lifestyle of faith.
6 but he
whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and
blessed him who had the promises.
But
he whose genealogy is not derived from them; “He” in this phrase is referring to Melchizedek and he is
not of a Jewish heritage.
Received
tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises; Abraham tithed to Melchizedek before
the Law therefore setting the example of all believers of Jesus Christ to
tithe, whether Jew or Gentile. If we claim to be Born Again Christians, then we
claim to be children of Abraham. Galatians 3:7 Therefore
know that only those who are of
faith are sons of Abraham.
Abraham received a
blessing from Melchizedek even though Abraham had Gods promises. You would
think it would be the other way around, but Melchizedek was a type of Christ,
therefore greater than Abraham.
7 Now
beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
What this verse is telling
us is that there is no disagreement or contentions that Melchizedek was
superior to Abraham, thus telling the Hebrew’s and us that Christ is better
than any other system, and is the only One who can properly bless. It isn’t
always the tradition or heritage that is always better, sometimes we need to
challenge ourselves and get out of that box we are bound in and see what is on
the outside. In other words it is out with the old (Old Covenant) and in with
the new (New Covenant).
This is something that is
very hard for people to accept. Not just the Jewish people, but us also. We get
complacent in our religion and just continue day after day practicing the same
thing. We are creatures that do not like change or even think about change. We
have been brought up all our life in a religion and have just accepted it
without challenging the doctrine that is taught and practiced. The Jewish
people of Paul’s era were the same way and are still the same way. So the
lesser is the Old Covenant which is trying to obey laws for salvation, which is
not achievable because of our inherited sin nature. The greater or better is
the New Covenant which is by us as human beings realizing that we are sinners
by nature and that we don’t have the capability of obeying all the laws 100% of
the time, therefore we confess this fact and live by faith in the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
8 Here
mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives
them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
Here mortal men receive tithes; Paul is referring to his time period
and speaking of the Levitical priest receiving tithes. The majority of the
Jewish nation was still practicing Judaism and tithing to the priests.
But
there he receives them; This phrase
is referring back to Genesis and the tithing that Abraham gave to Melchizedek.
Of
whom it is witnessed that he lives; Melchizedek
was a type of Christ meaning that we don’t know about his beginning (has no
beginning) or end (has no end), which represents Jesus Christ.
9 Even
Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,
10 for he
was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Paul explains in these two
verses that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek even though he wasn’t born yet. Just
because tithes were paid to Levi, the priestly order of the Jews, doesn’t signify
that it was the superior order, in fact Paul shows the Hebrews the complete opposite.
If
Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, and Abraham is the father of the Jewish
people, then Levi also paid tithes to Melchizedek. This placed the whole of the
Jewish system as second to that of Jesus Christ. This makes the New Covenant
better than the Old, which is the argument of the Book of Hebrews.
In fact anyone that has accepted
Jesus as their Saviour has paid tithes to Melchizedek, because we are children of
Abraham being saved by Grace.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All
things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill
Wiesbrock https://www.facebook.com/bill.wiesbrock?ref=tn_tnmn
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus
I know I am a sinner. I confess my sins
to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a
sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all
of my sins. I believe that only you can
forgive sin. I commit my life to you and
ask you to come into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” (John 3:16,17;
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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