Until now. The writer of Hebrews made mention of Melchizedek and that Jesus is a priest after that ancient order Hebrews ; ; The last such mention was in the last verse of the previous chapter. And this time, the Hebrews writer fully explains what he means. Who is Melchizedek? The theme of the Hebrews letter is that Jesus is better. He is better than the prophets, and He is better than the angels, and He is better than Moses, and He provides a better rest than that which was promised by Joshua.
In the last several chapters, we have seen that Jesus is a better high priest. This automatically brings a objection: How can Jesus be a better priest if He is from the tribe of Judah? All priests in the Old Testament were required to be of the tribe of Levi and specifically from the descendants of Aaron. The answer to this objection will be that Jesus is of a priesthood which predates that of Aaron—one which goes back all the way to Abraham. We do not know much about Melchizedek, but there are several things that we do know.
His name: By the translation of his name, king of righteousness When we name children, it is often only because we like the sound of it. But names in the ancient world were full of meaning, especially among the Jews. Names were given to tell something about the character of the person.
This is why you occasionally see a person whose name is changed. His Domain: King of Salem, which is king of peace Before this city became the capital of Israel, it belonged to a people known as the Jebusites. But remember, names have meaning. And the meaning of which we are reminded is the fact that it was named as a city of peace. Now that is an interesting name for Jerusalem, for the history of this city has been a history of war and of conquest.
It has been anything but a city of peace—with one notable exception. It was the city where the Prince of Peace came to present Himself. It was the city where the God of Peace located His temple. The kingship of Israel could only trace their roots back to David.
The priesthood of Israel could only trace their roots back to Aaron. But there was a priest-king residing in Jerusalem, the city of God, long before the time of either David or Aaron. His Genealogy: Without father, without mother, without genealogy… The past kings of Israel before the Babylonian captivity traced their genealogy back to king David.
The priests of Israel traced their genealogy back to Aaron—those priests returning from Babylon who could no longer give evidence of their genealogy were not permitted to serve any longer as priests.
But the first priest-king had no genealogy. He appears from obscurity out of the pages of history. We know nothing of his origins and we know nothing of his death. And in like this, he is likened to the Son of God. How can you say that Jesus is like Melchizedek because he has no genealogy? Though he has a human genealogy, He also existed before He was born. The priesthood of Jesus is a better priesthood because He never had a beginning and His priesthood has no end.
He will always be the basis for our forgiveness and our fellowship with God. This is the basis for our disagreement with Islam.
Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet from God, but that they have a better prophet in Mohammed. But the Bible teaches us that the priesthood of Jesus is an eternal priesthood. It will never go out of date. It will never be superseded the way that the Old Testament priesthood has been superseded.
The superiority of the Melchizedek priesthood is evidenced by the fact that Abraham gave a tithe—a tenth of all the spoils of war. Why did Abraham give this offering to Melchizedek?
Now we come to the point of comparison. Both Melchizedek and the Aaronic priesthood are legitimate priests of God.
But the most that you could say about the Levitical priests is that they receive tithes from the children of Abraham. They never received tithes from Abraham himself. But Melchizedek did. Sons of Levi Melchizedek Descendants of Aaron. No father or mother mentioned.
Priests of God. Priest of God. They receive tithes of the descendants of Abraham He received a tithe from Abraham Any work related to the temple, singing Psalms , teaching people about God, and maintenance of the temple is performed by the Levite. A priest is a man who helps people reach and contact god.
The priesthood was practised for a long time, which is quiet before the Levi tribe ever existed. According to ancient Israel culture, the Law of Moses, given by the lord, stated of an official priesthood in Israel, and since then, priests have been an important, respected holy people at the temple.
The priest is chosen from all the Levite men existing in the tribe. According to the ancient laws, men were only given the authority of being priests. Further, for a Levite to be a priest requires perfection in all criteria such as physical features , qualification, age, etc. He must also be able to perform all the religious duties so as to connect people to the mighty lord.
Priest among all the Levite is considered to be the purest and is only permitted to enter the holy place. He performs duties like animal sacrifice, serving at the tabernacle, etc.
There also exists a high priest under whom all the other priests work. Thus, it was a very important and serious matter. Any mistake, neglect, or shortage would have been a kind of iniquity. The priests were required to fulfill their charge without making mistakes so that their priestly service would not have any iniquity. The priests were to keep the charge of the sanctuary, the tabernacle, and of the altar v. The whole tabernacle was the sanctuary.
In the Bible the word sanctuary is used in a very ambiguous way; it may refer to the Holy Place, to the Holy of Holies, or to both. The sanctuary typifies Christ and also the church.
The altar, which was outside the sanctuary, signifies the cross of Christ. Therefore, the sanctuary and the altar typify Christ with the church and His cross. The Levites served under the priests in caring for the sanctuary and the altar.
For instance, when the children of Israel were commanded to move, the Levites packed and carried the tabernacle and all its furnishings. When the people arrived at a particular place, the Levites set up the tabernacle and everything related to it.
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