Now consider how great this man was,
unto whom even the patriarch Abraham
gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily
they that are of the sons of Levi, who
receive the office of the priesthood,
have a commandment to take tithes
of the people according to the law,
that is, of their brethren, though
they come out of the loins of Abraham:
but he whose descent is not counted
from them received tithes of
Abraham, and blessed him that
had the promises.
Hebrews 7:4-6
I do hope your Thanksgiving Day was a good one, you ate much, maybe slept much, watch football, played games, and enjoy family and friends. But most of all I do pray that you took time to be thankful for all you have and especially that gift of eternal life freely given to you by Jesus Christ.
Sometimes it is easier to skip over those verses that are difficult to understand and hold fast to those easy and more loving verses that make us feel good. God, the Holy Spirit, inspired men to write, not just what would make a person feel "good" or "holy," rather to write so we can fully understand what He has done through His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. In the beginning of our walk with the Lord we feast on milk, then comes a time whereby we must mature and eat meat. This is meat. When we come to understand what God has said, His promises, His covenants, and that He reveals Himself through life, the circumstances of life, and how He has used means to reveal Himself and how He as brought salvation to man, then, our faith grows and we mature, we eat meat.
Melchisedec for many is a mysterious person as he is mentioned in the account with Abraham and now again here in Hebrews, so, what is important about this man? Remember, we have no account of his birth, or death, and that he was the king of Salem, and was in rank superior to Abraham, received a tithe from Abraham, he blessed Abraham. Was not Abraham given promises by God? Yes! So then, why was he not superior to Melchisedec because we read of any promises to him by God? The greatness of Melchisedec is revealed in this account and that not only a king, but also a priest of the Most High God. This greatness is demonstrated by Abraham giving him a tenth of the spoils, and the blessing given by Melchisedec. Levi, the priesthood of Israel also received tithes, by commandment, tithes from the people. Levi was in the loins of Abraham and it can be said that through Abraham he gave tithes to Melchisedec. In other words, Levi by his ancestor paid tithes to one greater than Abraham, a higher priest than Levi. Now, this may seem hard to understand but it must be remembered that this account of Melchisedec was to be an example for us for he was a type, a type of One who would be superior to the Levitical priests. Abraham paid tithes to one greater than himself, and there would come another priest higher than the Levitical priests. They would need to pay tribute to Him as did Abraham to Melchisedec.
Abraham already had the promises of God, and yet, Melchisedec gave him blessings, therefore the lessor was blessed by the greater. Abraham was gladdened by Melchisedec's blessing and tithing to the greater did not lower the dignity of Abraham. Abraham was in covenant with God. To him (Abraham) God had given to him exceeding great and precious promises. This truth must not go unnoticed: man is happy, and rich, he has the promises of life now, and life to come. These promises come from Jesus Christ who is superior to man, to the Levite priesthood, and from Him who has no beginning, nor end, and is even superior to the one who served as His type. The promises of Jesus are promises from God Himself and only God could give promises that are sure to be fulfilled. Jehovah Witnesses who believe that Jesus is a created being, an angel, created by God to be the Savior are not just wrong, they put God into a quagmire, He could never be sure that Jesus would perform what was needed to save man, in fact He could not as an angel, did not angels fall from grace? Yes! Some did not, but this only occurred when they were faced with the dilemma to choose God, or Satan. Jesus would have to choose and choice opens the door for possibility, there would be no assurance, Jesus would not be the antitype, that which was foreshadowed by a type (Melchisedec) who was a type and symbol in the Old Testament and prefigured Jesus Christ in the New Testament the One who would also be King of Peace, High Priest, the One who could bless mankind. The one who give a blessing is greater than the one receiving the blessing and Jesus Christ give an everlasting blessing of eternal life to all who believe upon Him, as God, as Savior, as the One promised and prefigured in the Old Testament to be that One promised by God. Jesus Christ was a priest after the order of Melchisedec, not Levi, for Jesus was of the line of Judah, the line of the kings of Israel. Jesus was not just king, He was and is our High priest.
Now, as Authentic Christians, we must submit to Him in simplicity to trust Him, and to enjoy His blessings, to seek peace, the peace of His kingdom, and to now understand that we can expect with full assurance that He is the One from whom alone can bless and promise and give and keep both for eternity. Let us go forth in our daily walk, in our spiritual conflicts that life throws at us, to live in His strength, and to trust in His word, to rest in His grace.
He hath showed thee, O man,
what is good; and what doth
the LORD require of thee, but to
do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:8
God is revealed to you: in His word
Richard L. Crumb
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