Having made reference to Jesus as a priest in the order of Melchizedek, (Hebr. 5:10 & 6:26) the author now explains how this connection came to be and why His priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant. Think of chapter 7 as a commentary on Genesis 14.
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).  Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,  and he blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.  And blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”  Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Gen.14:17-20)

By the way there are two things to be aware of here.  First, the NIV has God’s name reversed in this passage.  It’s usually rendered “The Most High God”. Also the Hebrew text has a different word for Creator than is normally used, one which more accurately means possessor, as in the King James translation.  Some believe this is a clue to the meaning of Satan’s boast in Isaiah 14:14 and his actions in the Garden.  He said, “I will be like the Most High” using the same name for God that’s used in Genesis 14.  But he knew he couldn’t be Earth’s Creator, so he set his sights on another one of God’s titles.  He would possess the Earth instead, by any means fair or foul. According to Luke 4:5-6and 1 John 5:19 he succeeded, at least for now. Now for chapter 7.

Hebrews 7

Melchizedek the Priest

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, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. (Hebr. 7:1-3)

Salem comes from the Hebrew word shalom which means peace.  The city of Salem would later be called Jerusalem.  Some think that Melchizedek was a title rather than a person’s name because of its meaning and that the person being referenced was Shem, the son of Noah.  This was theoretically possible because Shem was the father of all the Semitic people and actually outlived Abraham.  In fact Noah didn’t die until 300 years after the Flood when Abraham was 50 years old.  Shem would have been highly revered, being the patriarch of the Middle East and the last pre-flood man on Earth.  Can you imagine the stories he could tell?

But I think the writer is presenting Melchizedek as a model of the Lord because he describes him as having no genealogy, no birth and no death. He can legitimately do this because where Melchizedek is concerned the Bible is silent on these matters.  When the Holy Spirit gave the text of Genesis 14:17-20 to Moses, he structured it to allow this writer to make his point. So it’s proper to see Melchizedek in this context.

Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, their brothers—even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor. (Hebr. 7:4-10)

This is a particularly Jewish point of reference.  They have a saying that if you kill a man you’ve murdered a nation because all of a man’s descendants are present in the man whose life you’ve taken.  The Jews thought of Abraham as their father and rightly so. And that made Levi, Abraham’s great grand son, present when Abraham paid his tithe to Melchizedek and received a blessing from him.  Both acts   place Abraham in a subordinate role to Melchizedek, making Levi a subordinate as well.  This alone makes the priesthood of Melchizedek superior to the Levitical priesthood.  But there’s more.

Jesus Like Melchizedek

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?  For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law.  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. (Hebr. 7:11-14)

While Melchizedek was both priest and king, the Law of Moses required a separation between the two.  The Kings were from Judah and the priests were from Levi through Aaron.  Jesus could be the King of Israel but he could not serve as a Levitical priest.  An earlier King of Judah had learned a bitter and painful lesson in this regard.  Uzziah was a powerful king who had ascended to the throne of David at only 16 years of age.  But his success brought pride and caused his downfall.  Ignoring the warnings of the High Priest and 80 other priests, he attempted to burn incense at the altar in the Temple just outside the Holy of  Holies.  This angered the Lord who afflicted him with leprosy which tormented him to his dying day. His son Jotham ruled in his place. (2 Chron. 26:16-21)

A new priesthood required a change in the Law.  The prophet Zechariah had this in mind when he wrote:

Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD.  It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ (Zech 6:12-13)

He was referring to the Messiah who would be both King and Priest. This is one of four passages where the word Branch refers to the Messiah.  Each contains one of the roles in His fourfold Mission.  In Jeremiah 23:5 He’s the King.  In Zechariah 3:8 the Branch is God’s servant.  In Zech. 6:12 He’s the Man, and in Isaiah 4:2 He’s God.

By the way, each of the four gospels emphasizes one of these roles.  Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah, the king of Israel, and traces His genealogy from Abraham through David and Solomon, the royal line.  Mark depicts Jesus as the suffering servant and as you’d expect with a servant does not mention a genealogy.  In Luke Jesus is the Son of Man with a genealogy that goes clear back to Adam.  John wrote to show us Jesus as the Son of God with the most remarkable genealogy of all.  He was with God in the beginning and has been God from the beginning.

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.” [Psalm 110:4] (Hebr. 7:15-17)

Having been able to present Melchizedek as one who lives forever, the writer can now close the loop by showing Jesus to have been appointed to the priesthood of Melchizedek on the basis of his own indestructible life.

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:
“The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’ ” Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.(Hebr. 7:18-22)

The law wasn’t given to help us bring ourselves to perfection but to demonstrate our need for someone who could do it for us. (Romans 3:20)  Levitical priests inherited their office, but God swore to make Jesus our priest forever.  Since the High Priest was the guarantor of Israel’s covenant, their fate was linked to his acceptability to God.  Our High Priest is God’s own Son, with whom He is well pleased. (Matt. 17:5)  How much more certain of God’s favor are we?

Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebr. 7:23-25)

It was the High Priest’s job to intercede with God for the people.  The Levitical priests couldn’t secure eternal life for themselves let alone for others.  But now comes a Priest who lives forever.  Therefore He’s literally always available to meet our needs, saving us to the uttermost.  The word permanent means unchangeable and non-transferable.  No new set of laws is going to come along and undo what our priest has done for us.  The Lord swore an oath on it!

Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.(Hebr. 7:26-28)

The Levitical priests were all hopeless sinners who had to offer sacrifices for their own sins first before they could attend to the needs of the people.  But our High Priest is sinless, and doesn’t offer an endless succession of bulls or goats who can never atone for our sins.  No, He offered His own blood, once for all time.  He’s not only our High Priest, He became our perfect sacrifice. God has accepted His sacrifice as sufficient in itself for our redemption.  As soon as we apply it in faith, the work of our salvation is finished forever and we enter into our life long Sabbath rest.  Truly this Priest of the Order of Melchizedek is superior to any Levitical priest.

In our next session we’ll continue in this vein showing how the Levitical priesthood was a copy of the priesthood of Melchizedek and served in a copy of the sanctuary that is in Heaven.  Why would anyone go back to the copy when the original has come?  See you then.

We’ve come to the place in our study of Hebrews that’s familiar even to those who haven’t read any other part of the letter.  Did the writer intend to warn us that our salvation is conditional and therefore subject to loss?  And even more frightening, did he say that once lost it could never be regained?  Many people think that’s exactly what’s being said here.  Never mind that the rest of the New Testament contains dozens of assurances that our salvation is secure forever, the Letter to the Hebrews (especially chapters 6 and 10) is said by those who argue against eternal security to contain the “fine print” in our contract with God, imposing conditions upon His grace that aren’t mentioned elsewhere. Let’s see if they’re correct.

Hebrews 5:11-6:20
Warning Against Falling Away
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.(Hebr. 5:11-14)

The Hebrew Christians, many of whom had been priests of the Old Covenant (Acts 6:7) should have seen the references in their Scriptures of the Coming Messiah and the doctrine of Grace He would illuminate. Genesis 22 and Psalm 51 are two examples among many.  Having this background should have uniquely prepared them to be the teachers of those who lacked their depth of knowledge.  Instead they themselves were in need of further instruction.

Hebrews 6
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. (Hebr. 6:1-3)

The elementary teachings about Christ to which the writer refers are those having to do with our salvation. By his examples he shows that what he’s about to say does not apply to the salvation experience, which includes repentance, faith, baptism and such, but things that are important to more mature believers. So what does come after salvation?  Walking in victory and enjoying the blessings that come from being in fellowship with God.

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebr. 6:4-6)

This is perhaps the clearest example in the Bible of the importance of reading in context.  If we just lifted these two verses out of the text and looked at them all by themselves we could conclude that the writer was telling his readers that once they’ve been saved if they ever fall away there’s no coming back, ever. But that view conflicts not only with the context of the preceding verses but with the entire thrust of the New Testament.

If salvation is by grace through faith (Ephes. 2:8-9), if the one condition is belief in the death and resurrection of the One God sent to die in our place (John 3:16 & Romans 10:9), if the Holy Spirit is sealed within us at the moment of our belief (Ephes. 1:13-14), if God Himself accepts responsibility for our security, (2 Cor. 1:21-22) if He’s faithful to complete the good work He began in us, (Phil. 1:6) if no one can snatch us out of His hands (John 10:29) and if nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, (Romans 8:38-39) how does one go about falling away?

Placed back into the context of the letter, it’s clear that the writer had to  have something other than salvation on his mind.  If we can’t see that by applying the whole counsel of God, we can refer back to verses 1-3 where he told us so himself.

Going back into religious works to keep the salvation they were freely given brings disgrace to God.  Sacrificing a lamb for their sins each day was saying that the “once for all time” sacrifice that the Lamb of God had made for them was insufficient.  They would be relegating His death to the same status as that of  an animal, requiring endless repetition.  If salvation comes by faith, it’s kept by faith.

Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Hebr. 6:7-9)

Here the writer could have referred us to John 15 and 1 Cor. 3.  Like those passages the issue here is the crop we produce, called fruit in John 15 and our work in 1 Cor. 3.  A person produces no crop just by being saved.  Producing a crop depends on what you do after you’ve been saved.  In John 15 Jesus made it clear that unless we remain in fellowship with Him we can bear no fruit, and would be of no more value to the kingdom than the barren branches of the vine, which were fit only for the fire. (John 15:6) Again, He’s not talking about staying saved but about how we live after we’ve been saved.

In 1 Cor. 3 Paul said that our work will be judged as if by fire.  If it burns up in the flames it means   our work has no value, but we ourselves would still be saved. (1 Cor. 3:15)  These examples make it clear that even though one must precede the other, the salvation we’ve been given is a completely different matter than the crop we produce for the Kingdom.

Remaining in fellowship with the Lord gives us power and blessing, and He promised to do whatever we ask.  Apart from Him we can do nothing. (John 15:5,7)   In Hebrews 6:7-9 the same thought is being expressed.  This is not a salvation passage.  It’s a fellowship passage, and as such is consistent with the writer’s earlier analogy of the Israelite who accepted deliverance from bondage in Egypt but refused to walk in faith into the Promised Land.  He was still redeemed, still provided for and protected, and still one of God’s people.  But he was doomed to live a life of defeat in the wilderness. He would bear no fruit, do no work, and produce no crop. It’s the same for us now as it was for them then.

Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Hebr: 6:9-12)

Could he have made it any clearer?  He’s not writing about salvation but things that accompany it.  Better things that God has in store for those who walk in faith and patiently achieve the victorious life He promised us.

The Certainty of God’s Promise
When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” [Genesis 22:17] And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. (Hebrews 8:13-15)

Abraham didn’t work to earn God’s promise and he didn’t work to keep it.  It was a matter of faith.

What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” [Genesis 15:6]  Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:3-5)

Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 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. 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 offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebr. 6:16-20)

Neither His Word nor His oath are subject to change.  What was true for Abraham is true for us (Gal. 3:29) because it’s impossible for Him to lie.  Like the Israelite of old who fled to the nearest City of Refuge in the hope of receiving protection from the Avenger of Blood, we have fled to the Lord Jesus, who is our refuge, and whose offer of protection is certain and unchanging.

In times when only natural harbors existed, ships that were too large to enter had to anchor outside in open waters, subject to blowing winds and changing seas. To make their ship secure in uncertain weather the sailors rowed their anchor in a small boat to a place inside the harbor and dropped it there, where changing seas and blowing winds couldn’t dislodge it.  In the same way, our Lord has taken the the hope of our salvation, the anchor of our soul, into the Holy of Holies where nothing can ever change the nature of our relationship with our Creator and Redeemer.

With these two illustrations, the author has confirmed the certainty of our security in the Lord. There is no possibility of change and no fear of loss.

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40) Once saved, always saved.