Our Great High Priest: A Study Of The Book Of Hebrews. Day 17, Who Was The High Priest Melchizedek Of Genesis And Why Is Christ Compared To Him? Part One

Since the main theme of the book of Hebrews is to present Jesus Christ as the great high priest, and since Jesus is not of the priestly tribe of Levi but rather of the royal tribe of Judah, the author makes a comparison between Jesus and a mysterious priest from Genesis known as Melchizedek. Melchizedek lived in a time before the law was given and before the priesthood was established. He lived before the nation of Israel existed and he was not a Jew. We have no idea what this man's lineage was. God---because He is God---is free to choose whom He pleases to stand before Him as a mediator between Himself and man. We are going to be taking an in-depth look at the mysterious figure of Melchizedek and we are going to develop a clearer understanding of why God the Father told God the Son that He was making Him a priest "in the order of Melchizedek".

When we concluded yesterday we found the author telling his readers that God keeps His promises. But as he stated earlier in Hebrews, not everyone places himself in a position to receive the blessings of God. He used the example of the nation of Israel in the wilderness following their rescue from Egypt. Some did not enter the promised land because they were rebellious and faithless toward God. God kept His end of the bargain. He did deliver the nation of Israel to the promised land. But some did not enter the promised land because of their unbelief. The author has been warning his readers not to allow themselves to miss out on the blessings of God. God keeps His promises, but those who are rebellious and faithless won't receive them. The readers are encouraged to stand firm til the end. It can be difficult for us, as human beings, to be strong when we have waited a long time to see the results of our prayers. When unpleasant circumstances continue day after day with no improvement in sight, it's easy for us to become discouraged. This is why the writer says we must encourage each other daily. (Hebrews 3:13) It helps to have someone come alongside us and tell us they've been where we are and that they prayed for a long time (years maybe) and that the answer finally came. 

Living in this broken word calls for patience on our part. The author now uses Abraham as an example for us. "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. And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised." (Hebrews 6:13-15) God promised Abraham a son, and through that son a great nation. (Genesis 22:17) He also promised that through one of Abraham's descendants (Jesus Christ) all nations on earth would be blessed. (Genesis 22:18) Abraham lived to see the first promise fulfilled, and because God kept that promise Abraham knew He would keep the second promise as well. 

God not only made a promise on oath to Abraham, but He also made a promise on oath to His Son. We are living in a time when this promise has been fulfilled. Christ came in the flesh and gave Himself for us, dying on the cross for our sins, being buried in the tomb, rising from the dead, and ascending to the Father where He lives forever to make intercession for us as our great high priest. "People 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 set before us may be greatly encouraged." (Hebrews 6:16-18) God cannot lie; therefore His promise and His oath cannot be broken. He swore by Himself because He is the highest authority of all, and He swore by Himself because His integrity is unchangeable. We mustn't lose hope, for God will fulfill every promise He has ever made. It's impossible for Him not to keep His promises.

Nothing in heaven, on earth, or in hell has the power to change the promises of God. This means our hope is based on a firm foundation. "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:19-20) Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place behind the curtain, and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement. On that day he would sprinkle the blood of an animal sacrifice on the mercy seat and he would make intercession between the people and God. But these things only served to roll back the sins of the people for one year, and the next year he would have to go behind the curtain and do the same things all over again. Christ, however, sprinkled His own blood on the mercy seat of heaven, and because His sacrifice is enough to roll back our sins for all time, and because He lives forever, we have a hope that can never be taken away. We have a great high priest who intercedes for us like no other---a high priest whose service is honored by God like no other. 

Tomorrow we will move deeper into the comparison between Christ and the mysterious priest known as Melchizedek. We will begin to see the similarities between them and we will study the top three theories of who this man Melchizedek was.