July 10, 2008

• Hebrews 7 Part 2 by Pastor Don

  Part One of this teaching can be found here. 

  Because Abraham obeyed God and did not deal with the King of Sodom, rather tithed to Mekchizedek, God was able to release the following to Abraham.

  Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

  God rewarded Abraham for the tithes and for entering into right relationship. God would not have punished Abraham for making an error in Genesis 14, but when Abraham refused the King of Sodom’s offer, Abraham received God as his reward.

  No other nation except the Hebrews gave honor to Melchizedek, King of Salem, King of Peace, who brings bread and wine – a new covenant as communion. Because of the bread and wine, we know that He is part of God. The greater one always blesses the lesser one. Abraham received a blessing from the greater.

  When God needed to send for Abram, he needed someone in Canaan who could do the job.

  If the King of Salem is only a man, not God, why did the Bible not include the rest of the story of His life? The only other mention of the King of Salem is not until Hebrews 6-7.

  Abram received his promise and then 25 years go by. He held onto that one vision for 25 years. Most of us can’t stand waiting for an answer from God for 2 weeks.

  When we are born again, a weight was lifted off of us.  Something in our lives gets tied to our hopes and we give it to Him, then we can breathe fresh. The burden is gone. The Lord took that burden. He can do in us what He wants to do with the old stuff. We really have to trust in Him.

  Hebrews 7:1-2 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, 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,”

  (Heather’s note: I put back up 1-2, just to let you see the whole passage. In our study at this point, we were just looking at verse 3)

  Hebrews 7: 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.

  No father, no mother, no genealogy, no beginning of days or end of life. this is IMPORTANT to our faith. There are those who try to sell degrees for people to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek for $25.  People misquote this passage a lot. NONE OF US are kings in the order of Melchizedek. We have a mom and a dad, a genealogy, and a beginning and an end to our days. Unless we have all those conditions detailed in verse 3, we cannot be qualified to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

  Hebrews 7:4-5 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 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;

  The sons of Levi received tithes, and that was a priesthood established. The Jews brought the tithe to God, 1/10 (actually they gave about 22%) and some was brought to the temple, some to charity, food, clothing, lodging on their travels to the feast days, and the Levites received a portion of the tithes. But because they received the tithe does not qualify them to be a priest in the order of Melchizedek. We know the genealogy of the Levites. We know the genealogy of any priest in this day and age who calls themselves a priest under the order of Melchizedek.

  Hebrews 7:6-7 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.

  The lesser (Abraham) was blessed by the better (Melchizedek).

  Hebrews 7:8-9 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,

  Levi received tithes through Abraham, for he was related to Abraham through that genealogy.

  Hebrews 7:10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

  Levi was not born yet when Melchizedek blessed Abraham. All the Levites still have their genealogy through Abraham.

  Verse 8 tells us that they are mortal men, and they received their tithes through Abraham.

  Hebrews 7:11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?

  The Levitical priesthood did not produce perfection, for they were under the law, and were imperfect in keeping the law. If they would have been able to perfectly keep the law, there would not have been a need for any other priest to have come from the Order of Melchizedek. And yet, one other priest came under the order of Melchizedek (Jesus). And we need to remember that this order of priesthood was BEFORE that of the Levites.

  Hebrews 7:12-13 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.

  Jesus. Yeshua stands in that category of life. All Levitical priests were mortal men like us. Unlike Jesus, they cannot bring to the altar a full payment for our debt of sin. Only the priesthood before the Levitical priests (Melchizedek) could fill that category to men. Melchizedek is NOT MORTAL.

  In Verse 12 there was a change of law. The law was in effect in the hearts of men since Adam. Seth, Cain, Abel, and Noah knew what was in the mind and heart of God and choose to do either good or evil. They knew what was good or evil before it was written out. People messed up so much, and so Moses gave the law in a more tangible form.

  God’s desire, as shown in Ezekiel, is that we would not need a teacher, but that the law would be written on our hearts and that everyone would know God, from the least to the greatest. The promise of the dry bones, that we would receive new flesh, a new heart, a new mind, and know God.

  Hebrews 7:13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.

  Melchizedek was a priest unto the Lord BEFORE THE LAW, before Moses led the people out of Egypt, even before the people went to Egypt.

  Hebrews 7:14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

  Judah, Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah, and until later there was no priest out of Judah. Jesus was not a Levite.

  Hebrews 7:15-16 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

  The Law is good. People needed the law so that they would know how to live life God’s way. Jesus was of the tribe of Judah and became a priest. Jesus was not a priest according to his genealogy, not from a mortal line, but from the order of Melchizedek. Since Jesus is God, he fits the qualification of ENDLESS LIFE.  Jesus is the only one who existed with the Father in Heaven before time, thus has an endless life. His flesh was in the tomb, but Jesus never died. He was never spiritually dead to the Father.  We were spiritually dead, we all sinned and didn’t repent. Jesus is the only one who never died.

  Pastor Don spoke about the statement from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  This was written in Aramaic, and Jesus never spoke in Aramaic. Pastor Don looked up the literal translation of this verse, and it did not imply that God forsook Jesus. What it says, is “My God, My God, I have been forsaken for this purpose.”

  God has a Spirit body, not a physical body.

  God has emotions and a mind. When Jesus was human he had a body, now Jesus has a resurrected body. We can recognize Him because the Spirit has a body. The Spirit body also has a mind, will and emotions.

  The Holy Spirit has emotions – for we are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The Spirit loves the Lord.

  Our souls have a mind, will and emotions. At the time of Judgment, we are in the Spirit. When we die, our physical body goes into the earth, but our spirit takes dominion, and it also has mind, will and emotions.

  There is no such thing as soul sleep as the Jehovah Witnesses teach, for we are told that to be absent from the Body is to be present with the Lord.

  Hebrews 7:17-18 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying:  “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates

  Melchizedek was a preincarnate form of the Word of God (Jesus). He knew who He was, that He was God. And we see him again in the form of Jesus.

  Heather

  • 7:48 am
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