Recalling Paul’s urgency we have to look at his words very closely in these passages is to filter them through the first century Pharisee’s trained eyes. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” Paul wasn’t stating a new profession of faith, in fact, he was holding the profession that had always existed. He want the people to know first exactly who Melchizedek was, and second, why it was important to know that fact.
The next verse explains this forever mindset Paul held; “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
This is the fulfillment of the “Law” …. it is also the affirmation that God will never change! Look at Exodus 28:1″And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.”
God commanded that the Priesthood should come from the people… so he would know how and why they suffer. The difference is that the earthly priesthood was capable of sinning and thereby corrupting the faith. Which they did repeatedly. So there must be a way for the people to gain remission of their sins by way of an incorruptible priesthood. Answer – JESUS!
The next logic thing would be to learn that every individual has access to this High Priest. So Paul tells us exactly that… “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
This is the story of Esther. Look at the state of the world in Esther’s day..
- Esther 1:1-8 “Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:) That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace, In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him: When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days. And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace; Where were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble. And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king. And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure.“
Sounds all too familiar….. do as thou wilt.
In Esther 3:13 we read “And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.” You would think that Satan would try something new or different in his tactics. He doesn’t have to, why?, because humans fall for it in every generation.
- Esther 4:1-3 “When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.”
It is after this depth of despair that Esther makes the following statement… “If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition…”
This is the level of faith that Paul is referring to in his discourse here in Hebrews. When the world is fully against you, the demon has you pressured… you go to ..not just any king…. to the King of Kings!
- Psalm 110:1-4 “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.“
The point of this is to discern who is the King and the Priest. When Adam and Eve there was but one King and one Priest… God/Jesus. These two offices were split by mankind. Heaven will be the restoration of the creation and the reclamation of the Kingdom and the Priesthood.
- 1 Samuel 8:19-20 “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”
- Mark 1:15 “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Next in verses three and four Paul lays out for us the difference between the Blood Covenants. The first is of the animal blood which is, according to Genesis, flawed. That blood may have been innocent from the perspective of sin but still flawed. “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake…” Gen 3:17. The curse that Adam invited into the world had an adverse effect on every living creature.
By the time Paul gets to Chapter 8 he says “A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” I would propose to you that the statement is multifaceted in its use. I believe He is speaking of the Marriage Covenant, as well as, the Blood Covenant, and the Priestly or Aaronic Covenant.
SO… here we are talking about the OLD blood covenant being held up by the blood of animals and now Jesus is offering His blood, a more perfect sacrifice, for the New Covenant. [Explained again later in Chapter 9]
- Matthew 26:27-29 “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
The juice from a grape, both fermented and not, was called ‘dam’ which is the same as the word for blood. Again Jesus is using the Passover cup to display His role as the perfect sacrifice. Next Paul moves to the priesthood and his making a new covenant there.
Hebrews 5:5-6 “So also Christ glorified not himself* to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
- Refer back to Psalm 110 “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand“
- Mark 14:62 “And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
We can see from the text that Melchizedek is the Priestly King of Jerusalem from the Genesis to Revelation. This can be none other than YHVH/Jesus in direct connection to John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
It would seem that the majority of people get lost on this idea of the forever. After reading the Bible they gloss right over all the forever commands. Look at few here:
- Leviticus 7:36 “Which the Lord commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute forever throughout their generations.”
- Leviticus 10:15 “The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be thine, and thy sons’ with thee, by a statute forever; as the Lord hath commanded.”
- Deuteronomy 4:40 “Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, forever.”
I am very confident we are living in the forever God was referring to in these passages. As long as “then” really existed and we are connected to the aforementioned “then”…. it is only reasonable to think those passages apply to us in the perpetuated forever…
The Passover is a forever statute and that means we will live out the Passover Seder in the New Jerusalem/Heaven/Eternity. The fact that the “church” throws a fit over anything “Old Testament” is nothing short of a two years old tantrum over taking a nap when they are already sleepy.
Other than the mention here in Hebrews, there are only two other instances of the word Melchizedek in the King James Bible, and they do not do a perfect job of piecing together the everlasting authority of Jesus.
- Genesis 14:18 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.”
- Psalm 110:4 “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
We have to dig deeper into the Scriptures and see this perfect and continuous story of redemption. In part 3 we will look at the Return of Melchizedek .. King of Jerusalem from beginning to end, The Alpha and Omega….
Berean Breadcrumbs 
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