The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and
majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him today and what came to my heart and mind in Hebrews 7:11-17,
"If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical
priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that
priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in
the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when the
priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of whom these
things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that
tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord
descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing
about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another
priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on
the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the
power of an indestructible life. For it is declared: 'You are a priest
forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'"
The writer of Hebrews is wonderfully considerate in helping us
understand the things of Jesus Christ. Here he provides an explanation
as to why Jesus Christ is recognized as our great high priest when he
didn't descend from the tribe of Levi as the law God gave required.
Jesus was from the tribe of Judah.
Earlier, in Hebrews 3:1 we read, "Therefore, holy brothers and
sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on
Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest." Jesus is
called our "merciful and faithful high priest in service to God",
Hebrews 2:17. He is not just any high priest but our "great high
priest", Hebrews 4:14.
A priest represents the people to God. The high priests offered gifts
and sacrifices for their own sins as well as for the sins of the
people, Hebrews 5:1-3. But the blood offered on the altar by the high
priests under the law was the blood of animals. Jesus, however,
offered his own blood as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind for
all time, thereby becoming our great high priest.
The writer of Hebrews quotes psalm 110:4 to explain that the levitical
priesthood has not been the only order of priesthood in God's economy
of things. We read of Melchizedek, king of Salem (Jerusalem) in
Abraham's day, 2 millennia before the birth of Jesus Christ. In
Genesis 14:18 we read, "He [Melchizedek] was priest of God Most High".
Jesus is likened to the order of Melchizedek in that he was not a
descendant of Levi (Levi was not born yet!). In the Scriptures we read
nothing of Melchizedek's parents, nothing about his lineage, nothing
about his birth or death. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and though
he entered into the human race through Mary, as the God the Son, he
has no beginning and no end recorded because he is eternal. This is
why we read in verse 3 about Melchizedek, "Without father or mother,
without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life,
resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever."
The Levitical priesthood is not the only priesthood in God's order of
things as Hebrews points out. You and I are priests as well! "As you
come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and
precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a
spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:4-5. Also, 1 Peter
2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
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