No one in the Bible became a priest because they chose it as their career path, at least not among God’s people. God established the priesthood after He had rescued the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptians, and he appointed Levi’s family to be those priests. If you were from a different tribe, no matter how well you knew God’s Word, how pious you were, or how devoted you were, you could not be a priest. But before Levi's descendents there is another priest that is mentioned, a guy by the name of Melchizedek.
We don’t really know anything about Melchizedek except what we read about him in Genesis 14 and here. His name is a combination of two Hebrew words – Melek which means, “king,” and Zedek which means, “righteous.” Therefore by name he is the Righteous King. His title is the King of Salem, and since Salem is derived from the word “Shalom” this makes him the King of Peace, too. These two titles have led some to believe that Melchizedek was an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ – Jesus appearing in this world before he was born. He is, after all, the “Prince of Peace” and our righteousness. However, in both Genesis and here, he is spoken of as a man whom God called to these tasks of being priest and king.
What the author is doing is showing his Jewish readers (and us) that it is indeed possible for a priest to be without being a descendant of the Tribe of Levi. In fact, this other priesthood was around before Levi was even a glimmer in his daddy’s eye, or indeed his great-granddaddy’s! Abraham’s son Isaac was not yet born, and he would be the father of Jacob, who was Levi’s father. So we can truly say, that, through Abraham, Levi offered a tithe to God through Melchizedek.
Moreover, it was necessary to have another priesthood, one that was superior to the Levitical priesthood because God had promised a priest who would reign forever from outside Levi’s descendants (Psalm 110:4), and who would not need to offer sacrifices for his own sin. Every priest had to deal with their own guilt which separated them from God, and had to perform many different rituals to be ceremonial clean.
So what?
Just this: we now have a high priest who is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens, yet also knows our weakness, has experienced our sorrows and is able to understand the torment of temptation. Because He is sinless, He lives forever and is able to save completely, to the uttermost, even forever. That means that when we live in the benefit of Jesus’ sacrifice we can be confident that His salvation is sufficient to fully restore our relationship with God.
As you face the problems of the day, you can be confident that God is with you. Since He provided such a way of salvation for you, you can know He is on your side, cheering for you and wanting you to be able to walk in His ways. He has taken the necessary steps to restore you when you fall into sin, and He has given you the means to overcome the world.
Father in heaven, thank you for giving me a great high priest who has saved me fully. Forgive me for not fully grasping the immensity of that salvation, and help me to know it more profoundly in my life so that I can more powerfully share it with others. Amen.
We don’t really know anything about Melchizedek except what we read about him in Genesis 14 and here. His name is a combination of two Hebrew words – Melek which means, “king,” and Zedek which means, “righteous.” Therefore by name he is the Righteous King. His title is the King of Salem, and since Salem is derived from the word “Shalom” this makes him the King of Peace, too. These two titles have led some to believe that Melchizedek was an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ – Jesus appearing in this world before he was born. He is, after all, the “Prince of Peace” and our righteousness. However, in both Genesis and here, he is spoken of as a man whom God called to these tasks of being priest and king.
What the author is doing is showing his Jewish readers (and us) that it is indeed possible for a priest to be without being a descendant of the Tribe of Levi. In fact, this other priesthood was around before Levi was even a glimmer in his daddy’s eye, or indeed his great-granddaddy’s! Abraham’s son Isaac was not yet born, and he would be the father of Jacob, who was Levi’s father. So we can truly say, that, through Abraham, Levi offered a tithe to God through Melchizedek.
Moreover, it was necessary to have another priesthood, one that was superior to the Levitical priesthood because God had promised a priest who would reign forever from outside Levi’s descendants (Psalm 110:4), and who would not need to offer sacrifices for his own sin. Every priest had to deal with their own guilt which separated them from God, and had to perform many different rituals to be ceremonial clean.
So what?
Just this: we now have a high priest who is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens, yet also knows our weakness, has experienced our sorrows and is able to understand the torment of temptation. Because He is sinless, He lives forever and is able to save completely, to the uttermost, even forever. That means that when we live in the benefit of Jesus’ sacrifice we can be confident that His salvation is sufficient to fully restore our relationship with God.
As you face the problems of the day, you can be confident that God is with you. Since He provided such a way of salvation for you, you can know He is on your side, cheering for you and wanting you to be able to walk in His ways. He has taken the necessary steps to restore you when you fall into sin, and He has given you the means to overcome the world.
Father in heaven, thank you for giving me a great high priest who has saved me fully. Forgive me for not fully grasping the immensity of that salvation, and help me to know it more profoundly in my life so that I can more powerfully share it with others. Amen.
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