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The Epistle to the Hebrews |
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Chapter 7
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Where Yeshua has entered as a
forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to
the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:20)
The writer declares that Yeshua is a
high priest; a high priest not according to the order of Aaron but
according to the order of Melchizedek. The writer is, of course,
applying the words of Psalm 110:4 to Yeshua, which says:
The LORD has sworn and will not change
His mind, "You are a priest forever according to the order of
Melchizedek."
Melchizedek
1For this Melchizedek, king of Salem,
priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning
from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2to whom also
Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of
all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then
also king of Salem, which is king of peace. 3Without father, without
mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end
of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest
perpetually.
The writer points us back to the Torah,
specifically Genesis 14:18-20, to remind us about
Melchizedek. He emphasizes that Melchizedek was a king, as is
plainly stated, a king of Salem; "salem" being a primitive version
of the Hebrew word "shalom," which means "peace." Not only that, the
translation of his name is "king of righteousness," with "melch" and
"zedek" being forms of the Hebrew words for "king" and "righteous."
He also reminds us of the important point that Melchizedek was not
only a king but also a priest of the Most High God. This is
important to remember as he paints Yeshua's priesthood, as Psalm
110 teaches, in the pattern of Melchizedek. There are two
additional points that the writer uses to build this point: First,
Abraham showed his subservience to Melchizedek by giving him a tenth
of the spoils he attained after his victory over the kings and,
second, Melchizedek's priesthood is not based upon lineage but
rather on immortality.
It's tempting to simply take the
writer's description of a lack of mother and father allegorically
even though he seems to cast the wording in a literal sense. To help
us understand this verse, we can look to the Syriac translation
which preserves an early understanding of this verse. There, this
verse was translated: "whose father and mother are not written
in genealogies." In other words, it's not that Melchizedek
didn't actually have any parents; the point is that we don't have a
record of his genealogy. That the writer is employing midrash is
strengthened when he says "made like the Son of God." This
implies that he’s simply seeing the Messiah in the way Melchizedek
is presented in the Torah. The Torah presents Melchizedek as a
kingly priest with no traceable lineage; specifically, and
obviously, with no traceable lineage to Levi. The writer to the
Hebrews confidently uses these facts to show how the Messiah, the
king, can be a priest without lineage to Levi.
The Supremacy of Melchizedek
4Now observe how great this man was to
whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest
spoils. 5And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the
priest's office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from
the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are
descended from Abraham. 6But the one whose genealogy is not traced
from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had
the promises. 7But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the
greater. 8In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case
one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. 9And,
so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid
tithes, 10for he was still in the loins of his father when
Melchizedek met him.
Now, the writer seeks to establish the
supremacy of the Melchizedekian priesthood. While the Levites, sons
of Abraham, have commandments in the Torah to collect tithes from
the rest of Israel, Melchizedek, on the other hand, collected a
tithe from Abraham, the father of the Levites. And, as verse 7
states, the lesser is blessed by the greater. You'll notice that his
point is not that one priesthood replaces another but rather that
one is greater than the other; that is, that the Melchizedekian
priesthood is greater than the Aaronic priesthood.
Notice how he alludes to the fact that
the Aaronic priesthood has to do with mortality, while the
Melchizedekian priesthood has to do with immortality. Additionally,
the writer presents a unique way of showing how the Aaronic
priesthood is subservient to the Melchizedekian priesthood. Since
the Levites are descendants of Abraham, Abraham represented the
Levites when he gave the tithe to Melchizedek.
The Inadequacy of the Aaronic
Priesthood
11Now if perfection was through the
Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the
Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise
according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated
according to the order of Aaron?
The implication is that the sacrifices
of the Aaronic priesthood could not secure perfection. Let's take a
look at two very important types of animal sacrifice that will
greatly inform our study of the epistle to the Hebrews.
First thing we should recognize is that
the unapproachable nature of God's manifest presence. It says at the
end of Exodus:
Then the cloud covered the tent of
meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was
not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled
on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (Exodus
40:34-35)
It's one thing for God to create a holy space here on earth and fill
that space with His presence; it's a whole other thing for man to
actually be able to enter in to that holy space. The first step for
man to be able to commune with God is for God to call him:
1Then the LORD called to Moses and
spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2"Speak to the sons
of Israel and say to them, 'When any man of you brings an offering
to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd
or the flock. (Leviticus 1:1-2)
The word for "sacrifice" or "offering,"
in verse 2, is "korban" and more literally means "draw near." To
paraphrase this verse we could say: "When any man among you
brings something to draw near, the item you shall use to draw near
must be of the animals of the herd or the flock." We should
note that most of the sacrifices were brought not to appease God and
atone for sin the way we understand atonement for sin; the purpose
of the sacrifices were not to simply appease an angry God but rather
to come into His presence and commune with Him.
This is exemplified in the Burnt
Offering.
If his offering is a burnt offering
from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall
offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be
accepted before the LORD. (Leviticus 1:3)
The word translated "burnt" is the
Hebrew word "olah," which more literally means "that which rises."
Therefore, a burnt offering could be understood as "something to
draw near that rises." Firstly, a kosher animal without defect was
selected. As Leviticus chapter 1 continues, we find that the
worshipper was to lay his hands on the animal's head; this was
understood to be a transference of identity. Leviticus 17:11
says "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given
it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is
the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement," therefore
since the worshipper had "transferred" his identity to the animal
and the animal's blood was sprinkled on the altar, it is as if the
worshipper's blood was sprinkled on the altar. To put it another
way, by means of the animal's blood, the very life-essence of the
worshipper was offered up to God. Subsequently, the animal was
entirely burned up, resulting in the smoke of the offering rising up
to the heavens, which verse 17 states becomes a "soothing aroma
to the LORD." All of the rituals of the Burnt Offering point to
the worshipper's desire to give himself over entirely to God. The
Apostle Paul uses this symbolism in Romans 12 in reference to
our devotion to God through Yeshua:
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
(Romans 12:1)
The other type of sacrifice I would
like us to look at is known as the Sin Offering. While the
Burnt Offering was brought voluntarily and with joy, the Sin
Offering was brought under obligation. The Sin Offering was brought
to restore communion with God. In what way did the Sin Offering
restore the worshipper back to God? The best way to understand the
Sin Offering is in terms of ritual purification. The issue of ritual
purity/impurity is difficult to understand for those of us removed
from the era of the sacrificial service of the Temple. If God's
presence was to be maintained as holy, there would have to be
specific guidelines as to the level of purity the worshipper would
have to adhere to. The added difficulty in understanding what it
actually means to be ritually pure or impure is that it doesn't
refer to "uncleanness" or "impurity" as we would intuitively assume.
Perhaps the best illustration we can use is that of being
"symbolically stained."
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In other words, to be ritually impure is to
bear the symbolic stain of this physical world. Here's where this
concept gets even trickier to understand. To be ritually impure does
not necessarily imply that you have sinned, in the sense of
transgressing the Torah. For example, a woman, after childbirth, is
obligated to bring a sin offering. In the same way, a leper after
being cleansed would have to bring a sin offering. The same goes for
those who have recently touched a dead body and a nazarite who has
completed his vow. None of these examples necessarily imply sinful
behaviour. This is best exemplified by Miriam, the mother of the
Master, complying with the laws of the Sin Offering as recorded in
Luke 2:22. Obviously, Miriam had not sinned by giving birth
to the Messiah!
On the other hand, if a person
unintentionally sins, they are obligated to bring a sin offering.
The worshipper would lay his hands on the animal's head, again, to
transfer identity, but in addition to this, the worshipper would
confess the sin which occasioned the sin offering in the first
place.
What this all means is that a "sin"
offering is probably best understood as a purification offering. In
other words, it's an offering that restores a person back to a state
of ritual purity. It is brought whenever a person has become
ritually impure either through unintentional sinful activity or
things connected with the fallenness of this physical world. Again,
the sin offering does not necessarily imply sin in the sense of a
transgression of the Torah but, in a ritual sense, it restores the
individual back to a place of rightness before God. Additionally,
the priests would offer a sin offering on behalf of whole
communities and, yearly, the High Priest would offer a sin offering
on the Day of Atonement, this time for the whole nation. This was
understood to bring entire communities or the whole nation
restoration and purification on a ritual level.
These are only two of several different
types of animal sacrifices outlined in the Torah. There is obviously
much more to learn but I hope that I have conveyed at least the very
basic sense of what the animal sacrifices accomplished. The animal
sacrifices are symbolic enactments of spiritual realities. Going
back to verse 11 of Hebrews 7, we can see why the writer implies
that perfection could not be obtained through the Aaronic
priesthood.
His use of perfection should be
understood in the sense of the coming perfection of resurrection,
when our salvation is fully realized in the World to Come. Where in
the Torah does it promise that the animal sacrifices will forgive
all of our sins, cleanse our conscience from sin and grant us life
in the World to Come? The reality is that the Aaronic sacrifices do
not make us perfect nor do they change our hearts. They are vivid
illustrations and enactments of spiritual realities but they do not
actually accomplish a cleansing of conscience. When we come to
chapter 10, we will dive deeper into this truth.
Furthermore, since the Aaronic
priesthood cannot bring perfection, wouldn't it make sense that
there would be a priesthood that could? At some point, there must be
a shift to a different priesthood in order to accomplish what is
needed in order to bring perfection.
The Change of Law
12For when the priesthood is changed,
of necessity there takes place a change of law also. 13For the one
concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe,
from which no one has officiated at the altar. 14For it is evident
that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to
which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. 15And this is clearer
still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of
Melchizedek, 16who has become such not on the basis of a law of
physical requirement, but according to the power of an
indestructible life. 17For it is attested of Him, "YOU ARE A PRIEST
FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK." 18For, on the one
hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of
its weakness and uselessness 19(for the Law made nothing perfect),
and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope,
through which we draw near to God.
While on the surface, verse 12 seems
problematic from a Torah perspective, it's actually an easy problem
to resolve. All that the writer is saying is that when you have a
different priesthood, there must be a different requirement for who
can be the priests of that priesthood. The priesthood of Aaron
requires its priests be a son of Aaron but obviously a different
priesthood wouldn't require their priests be sons of Aaron. The
writer makes it clear that Yeshua does not meet the requirements of
the Aaronic priesthood. Yeshua does meet the requirement of the
Melchizedekian priesthood. What is the requirement of the priesthood
of Melchizedek? To be a Melchizedekian priest, you must be immortal!
Remember, the writer said back in
chapter 2 that it is the World to Come for which we are speaking of.
Are the Aaronic priests able to secure us a place in the World to
Come? No, they can't but an immortal priest in the order of
Melchizedek can! This does not imply that Aaronic priests are
inadequate in and of themselves, as if they were supposed to secure
our place in the World to Come. No, the Aaronic priesthood and the
sacrificial service of the Jerusalem Temple were never meant to be
efficacious in regard to salvation and cleansing our consciences
from sin. We truly do have a better hope in Yeshua's sacrifice;
there should be no doubting that! Where we err is thinking that the
Messiah's sacrifice does away with the Jerusalem Temple, the Aaronic
priesthood and the animal sacrifices. This would not be an act of
the Messiah but rather an act of an anti-messiah! Yes, the former
commandment, referring to the Aaronic priests, will be set aside but
this hasn't happened yet.
Unfortunately, when reading the
Apostolic Scriptures from our modern-day, dispensational
perspective, it's easy to mistake the view point of the apostolic
writers. Generally speaking, when we place a mark of distinction
between the "old order" and the "new order," we usually place it at
the cross of Messiah when we should be placing it at the end of the
millennial reign. While we can say that the Messiah's first coming
was "the future invading the present," we obviously can't say that
we are living in the World to Come. The Aaronic priesthood, the
Temple and its sacrifices and even the whole Torah will one day pass
away but not until heaven and earth pass away (Matthew
5:18).
Heaven and earth are still alive and well, so the Torah and
everything it contains is still in force!
The Guarantee of a Better Covenant
20And inasmuch as it was not without an
oath 21(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with
an oath through the One who said to Him, "THE LORD HAS SWORN AND
WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND, 'YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER'"); 22so much
the more also Yeshua has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
There never was and there never will be
an Aaronic high priest who has a promise from God that they will be
a priest forever, since they are all destined to die. Yeshua, on the
other hand, has a promise, an oath, from God that He will be a
priest forever. As we will see in chapter 8, if the Aaronic priests
are connected with the Mosaic covenant, which is a covenant for This
World then Messiah as priest is connected to the prophesied New
Covenant, which is the covenant for the World to Come. Notice that
the writer uses the word "guarantee;" this points to the fact that
the better covenant, that is, the New Covenant, has not been fully
enacted but we certainly do have a guarantee that it will be. With
the witness of the Apostles, and the Holy Spirit’s regenerative work
in our lives, we know that God will be faithful and bring about the
fullness of the New Covenant.
Because He Lives
23The former priests, on the one hand,
existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from
continuing, 24but Yeshua, on the other hand, because He continues
forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25Therefore He is able
also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since
He always lives to make intercession for them.
The writer continues to contrast the
Aaronic and Melchizedekian priesthoods. He further cements the point
that the Aaronic priesthood is inadequate to bring about perfection
because the Aaronic priests (referred as "the former priests") are
not immortal and therefore cannot continually serve the people.
Yeshua, though, is immortal and can effect His blood, through
intercession, for His people forever. This is quite the better
hope!
Our Perfect High Priest
26For it was fitting for us to have
such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from
sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27who does not need daily,
like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own
sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once
for all when He offered up Himself. 28For the Law appoints men as
high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came
after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.
Just as the Aaronic high priest was
subject to a high standard of holiness, Yeshua is subject to the
highest standard of holiness: He has to be sinless. Since He is
sinless, He does not have to offer any sacrifices for Himself like
the Aaronic high priests do. Rather, by the one sacrifice of
Himself, the sins of the people are atoned for. The Torah appoints
mortal men to be Aaronic high priests but the oath made by God
appointed Yeshua to be perfect forever. His main point in saying
"which came after the Torah" is to once again say that Yeshua is not
a priest according to Aaron but according to Melchizedek. |
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