Hebrews 7 - Mysterious Assurance
Verse 25 contains one of the most significant statements ever made!
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13 For when God made a promise to Abraham,
since he had no one greater by whom to swear,
he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will
bless you
and multiply you.”
15 And thus Abraham,
having patiently waited,
obtained the promise.
16 For people swear by something greater than themselves,
and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.
17 So when God desired to show more convincingly
to the heirs of the promise
the unchangeable character of his purpose,
he guaranteed it with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things,
in which it is impossible for God to lie,
we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul,
a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf,
having become a high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7 (ESV)
1 For this Melchizedek,
king of Salem, priest of the Most High God,
met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything.
He is first, by translation of his name,
king of righteousness,
and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
3 He is without father or mother or genealogy,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life,
but
resembling the Son of God
he continues a priest forever.
4 See how great this man was
to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils!
5 And those descendants of Levi
who receive the priestly office
have a commandment
in the law
to take tithes from the people,
that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.
6 But this man
who does not have his descent from them
received tithes from Abraham
and blessed him who had the promises.
7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men,
but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
9 One might even say that Levi himself,
who receives tithes,
paid tithes through Abraham,
10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor
when Melchizedek met him.
11 Now if perfection had been attainable
through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law),
what further need would there have been for another priest
to arise after the order of Melchizedek,
rather than one named after the order of Aaron?
12 For
when there is a change in the priesthood,
there is necessarily a change in the law as well.
13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe,
from which no one has ever served at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord
was descended from Judah,
and in connection with that tribe
Moses said nothing about priests.
15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest,
not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent,
but by the power of an indestructible life.
17 For it is witnessed of him, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For
on the one hand,
a former commandment is set aside
because of its weakness and uselessness
19 (for the law made nothing perfect);
but on the other hand,
a better hope is introduced,
through which we draw near to God.
20 And it was not without an oath.
For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath,
21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:
“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’ ”
22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,
24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
25 Consequently, he is
able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him,
since he always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest,
holy,
innocent,
unstained,
separated from sinners,
and exalted above the heavens.
27 He has no need,
like those high priests,
to offer sacrifices daily,
first for his own sins
and then for those of the people,
since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests,
but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
Hebrews 7 Summary
CHAPTER SHIFT: This is the last day of our 'chapter shift,' where the actual chapter divisions don't align with the topics in each passage. Chapter 7 should begin at 6:13, but at least it ends at a good transition point.
MYSTERIOUS MELCHIZEDEK (mel-ˈki-zə-ˌdek): If you're really confused by this character named Melchizedek, you're in good company. We really don't know very much about him. He makes a cameo appearance in two verses in Genesis 14, his name is dropped in Psalm 110, then all of the sudden he's vaulted to star treatment in the book of Hebrews.
I would count 7:3 as one of the most mysterious verses in the Bible: Melchizedek has no earthly parents, is without beginning and end, and he resembles the Son of God. This chapter indicates that since Abraham - the patriarch par excellence for the Jews - paid tithes to Melchizedek, it shows that Melchizedek, the king of righteousness and peace (v2), was greater than Abraham.
Since all Jewish priests descended from Levi, an offspring of Abraham, the fact that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek rather that Levi signifies that Jesus is a greater priest than any of the Levite descendants.
Dig Deeper
This all may (or may not!) seem fascinating to you, but it's a fair question to ask what this has to do with you! This passage has massive implication for you. First, because Jesus lives forever and is a permanent priest,
He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them (v25).
Second, because Jesus was "holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners and exalted above the heavens (v26)," the sacrifice He made on the cross was not for His own benefit, but was for your benefit.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Your Father is the unchangeable God (6:17), who is the greatest of all that is (6:13).
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Draw near to God through your eternal priest & mediator, Jesus Christ (7:19)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
