Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! ⁵ Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸ In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. ⁹ One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰ because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

‘Better’ is a key word in Hebrews.

As we now consider Jesus’ ‘better’ priesthood, the first point made (in this chapter) is the better order of Christ’s Priesthood. The priests came from the tribe of Levi. Jesus was, therefore, not qualified to be a priest by natural descent. He came from Judah. He is a Priest for ever in the order of Melchizedek; and Melchizedek is seen as superior to Levi in that:

• He is without beginning or end (apparently!);
• It could be argued that the tribe of Levi was ‘in’ Abraham at the time when the latter paid the tithe to Melchizedek. (Also, the greater blesses the lesser, and it was Melchizedek doing the blessing. Abraham was the recipient).

All of this points to Jesus belonging to a superior priestly order. Everything about Jesus is ‘better’ when compared with what came before in Judaism. Yet some of the readers of this letter were tempted to go back. The writer is fighting, arguing to prevent this fatal regression.

Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

As we work through Hebrews 7 we are going to find a repeated emphasis on the eternal Priesthood of Jesus. I don’t believe the writer is arguing that Melchizedek actually was eternal. The point is that he appears on the pages of Scripture as being ”without genealogy”, so he seems’ to be without beginning or end.

Raymond Brown helpfully comments:

”He makes special mention of the fact that in Genesis we are given no ancestral details when Melchizedek’s name is mentioned, a little surprising in view of the numerous genealogies found in that book. The author does not wish for a moment to imply that because Melchizedek’s human parents are not mentioned they did not exist. The main point here is that In Scripture nothing is said of these things. So ‘in the silences as well as in the statements’ Melchizedek is ‘a fitting type of Christ’ (Bruce). This priest-king is in this sense timeless and as such he resembles the Son of God who continues a priest for ever…It is not Jesus who resembles Melchizedek, but Melchizedek who resembles the Lord Jesus. ‘Melchizedek was thus the facsimile of which Christ is the reality (Hawthorne).” (‘Christ above all’, p. 129).

 First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 

There is an indissoluble link between ”righteousness” and ”peace”.

Where Jesus reigns over lives in righteousness, we will also experience Him as the Prince of Peace.

Someone said that the ‘best sleeping pill’ is a clear conscience.

Is there some sin troubling the waters of your soul right now, and whipping up the waters? Surrender it to Jesus and find peace in His righteous rule.

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, ² and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.

In this seventh chapter, the writer to the Hebrews references the mysterious figure of Melchizedek. Apart from here, he is mentioned elsewhere only in Genesis 14:18-20 and Psalm 110:4. It is the Genesis account that our author is drawing on here.

We will come back later in our readings to the significance of Abraham ‘tithing’ to Melchizedek. But for today, I simply want to make the point that this was no chance meeting. It was divinely orchestrated. God brought about this encounter. Let’s try to go into each day, open to the possibility of such ‘divine appointments.’

‘Jesus…wants us to see that the neighbour next door or the people sitting next to us on a plane or in a classroom are not interruptions to our schedule. They are there by divine appointment. Jesus wants us to see their needs, their loneliness, their longings, and he wants to give us the courage to reach out to them.’ Rebecca Pippert

PRAYER: Lord God, may I ‘bump into’ people today who you want me to meet. I am available. Please use me in your purposes

 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰ where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (New King James Version).

‘Our hope is in what Christ has done. By his life, death, resurrection and ascension Jesus has achieved a momentous and eternal victory. He has gone into the holy presence of God as the forerunner. This term (prodromos) was used in Greek literature to describe the function of a small party of soldiers sent fully to explore the way ahead prior to the advance of an army. Christ is our prodromos. He has gone ahead of us. He prepares our way to glory (2:10). With such a leader who has opened the way through his own sacrificial death (10:20), there is no room for anxiety regarding his future purposes or doubt concerning his former promises. With such an anchor here and such a priest there, we must not fear and we need not fail.’ (Raymond Brown: ‘Christ above all’, p.122).

Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. ¹⁹ This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. ²⁰ Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. (New Living Translation)

‘We are in this world as a ship at sea, in danger of being cast away. Heaven is the harbour to which we sail. We have need of an anchor to keep us sure and steady. Gospel hope is our anchor. It is sure and steadfast. It is sure in its own nature; it is not a flattering hope made out of the spider’s web, but it is a true work of God. It is steadfast as to its object; it is an anchor that has taken good hold. It does not seek to fasten in the sands, but enters within the veil, and fixes there upon Christ; he is the anchor-hold of the believer’s hope.’ Matthew Henry.

 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷ Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰ where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

We who believe in Jesus are the true spiritual heirs of Abraham through faith (Gal.3:7,9). The promise God made to him, ”and confirmed it with an oath” is now ours: we who trust in Christ and have become God’s people, God’s family. We will obtain our full inheritance in heaven. This is a rock-solid certainty. The ”two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie” are His Word and His oath. Therefore we can be ”greatly encouraged”.

We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek. (18-20: ‘The Message’).

‘Our hope in Christ is like an anchor for the soul. The anchor was a popular symbol in the early church. At least sixty-six pictures of anchors have been found in the catacombs…this spiritual anchor is different from material anchors on ships. For one thing, we are anchored upward – to heaven – not downward. We are anchored, not to stand still, but to move ahead!‘ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘New Testament Commentary’, p.819.

 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”¹⁵ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” A.A. Milne,  Winnie-the-Pooh

We have just read in 6:12:

 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Emphasis mine).

Years ago, I was asked to give a series of studies on ”the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal.5:22,23). In my preparation, I learned so much. I remember reading Stephen Winward’s excellent book on the subject, published by ‘Inter Varsity Press.’ Writing about ”patience” he said we not only are called to wait on the Lord; we also have to learn to wait for Him. This was the case with Abraham. There was a time lag between the promise and the fulfillment.

Alex Haley was interviewed about his bestselling book ‘Roots’, which was also turned into a blockbusting television series. He was asked what he thought the secret of his success to be. He replied, ”Well, I remember something my grandma used to say: ‘You never know when the Lord’s going to come – but He’s always on time!’

Listening in the Wilds

The good, the enlightened of all ages and nations, have found pleasure and consolation in the beauty of the rural earth. Prophets of old retired into the solitudes of nature to wait the inspiration of heaven. It was on Mount Horeb that Elijah witnessed the mighty wind, the earthquake, and the fire, and heard the “still small voice”; that voice is yet heard among the mountains! Saint John preached in the desert; the wilderness is yet a fitting place to speak of God. Thomas Cole