Hebrews 7

Genesis 14

Melchizedek is mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20. Genesis 14 is about Abraham defeating Kedorlaomer after Lot, his nephew, was captured while living in Sodom. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, with three other kings, had been subject to Kedorlaomer and three other kings (five against four) for twelve years. In the thirteenth year they rebelled, and Kedorlaomer and his allies retaliated and seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, taking Lot as well. Abraham heard of it, took 318 trained men, rescued Lot and defeated Kedorlaomer and the three other kings.

After Abraham won the campaign, on his way home, Melchizedek came out to him with bread and wine and blessed him, and Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe.

King of Salem

Salem is the ancient root of shalom, peace. Salem was also an ancient city that later became Jerusalem. So Melchizedek is king of righteousness by his name and king of peace by his city.

King and priest

Melchizedek has no birth, death or genealogy in the Bible, yet he was the only figure to be both a king and a priest in service to God. No one else in the Bible, not even Abraham himself, received the priesthood in the order of Melchizedek. Because the Bible puts no end to his order, his order “lives on”. The only person ever to receive this order is Jesus Christ, so the figure of Melchizedek was an ultimate prophecy of Jesus.

The tithe of the Levites

In Leviticus 27:30–34 God commands a tithe of everything from the land: grain, fruit, livestock. In Numbers 18:21–24 God directs that tithe to the Levites as their inheritance, in return for their work at the tent of meeting. So the sons of Levi received tithes from their own brothers, who were also descendants of Abraham.

The one who had the promises

Abraham had received great promises from God: that he would become a great nation, that God would bless him and make his name great, and bless those who bless him (Gen 12:2–3); that Canaan would be given to him and his descendants after him (Gen 17:8); and that his descendants would be delivered from their enemies (Gen 22:17). Yet Melchizedek, who was not of Levi’s line, blessed even this man, and the inferior is blessed by the superior.

Mortal men, and one who lives

The NLT reads verse 8: “The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.” The author compares Jesus with many human figures, and with angels too. The Levitical priesthood had received a divine responsibility from God, but it had its limits: the high priests were mortal men who did not live forever, and a replacement had to be found whenever one finished. Melchizedek may have been a mortal person who died physically, but his order remains open. Order means rank, sequence, line of succession, or a characteristic arrangement.

In the loins of Abraham

The NLT reads verse 10: “For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.” The line runs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), Levi, Kohath, Amram (who married Jochebed), and then Aaron and Moses: roughly 460 to 520 years. Levi, who would receive tithes, paid them through Abraham centuries before he was born.

Levi and Judah

God selected Levi’s tribe to serve as priests, but Jesus Christ is from the tribe of Judah, and no one from a tribe other than Levi could be a priest. Moses said nothing about priests for the tribe of Judah. God appointed Judah to serve as the kings and rulers of Israel, which was firmly established through King David (Gen 49:8–12; 2 Sam 7:12–16).

God allocating the Levites to serve as priests was a temporary role for the Israelites to be with God, but appointing Jesus in the order of Melchizedek bypasses the Mosaic law completely. This does not mean that what God created was imperfect and so he needed another order. It shows that the old system has been set aside to make way for a completely new order, in which Jesus serves as both king and priest.

A change in the law

The change of the law in verse 12 is a change from a law based on flesh, genealogy and weakness to a new covenant based on a divine oath, spiritual power and eternal life.

The power of an indestructible life

The NLT reads verse 16: “Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.” The new and better covenant is established by the power of an indestructible life: Jesus lives forever and is not limited by death, because he overcame it and rose from the dead.

So verse 17 says Jesus is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The author quotes Psalm 110:4 again, after Hebrews 5:6. There the quotation showed that Jesus did not take the honour of high priest for himself but was appointed by God; here it stresses the power of an indestructible life, so that Jesus is a priest forever, not for a time.

The law made nothing perfect

The Mosaic law with the Levitical priesthood could not make anyone perfect. It was given and instructed by God, but it was weak because of human weakness: the priests were sinful and mortal, and had to cleanse their own sins before cleansing the community. Even so, it served to point out sin. Through the better hope we draw near to God: believers have the privilege of going near to God through Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest.

Promise and oath

A promise is a declaration that something will be given or done. An oath is a guarantee that a promise cannot and will not be changed, no matter what happens; it acts as an absolute legal lock. The Levitical priests were made priests without any oath, but Jesus was made a priest with one.

The beginning of the verse

The author uses Psalm 110:4 again, but this time he uses the beginning of the verse, which says God has sworn to himself that Jesus Christ will be a priest forever. This refers back to 6:16–18, where God swore by himself to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear.

The word of the oath

Verse 28 returns to it. The NLT reads: “The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.” The better covenant rests on a divine oath, not on genealogy, and Jesus himself guarantees it.

Many priests, and one

Verse 23 echoes verse 8. The high priests were mortal men who did not live forever, so a replacement had to be found whenever one finished, and they became many in number. Jesus holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever by the power of an indestructible life.

He always lives to make intercession

Intercession is making an earnest request through contact with the one approached: bringing a petition to a king on behalf of someone, pleading, begging. Because Jesus always lives, he is always pleading for those who draw near to God through him, and he is able to save them to the uttermost.

Once for all

Mortal high priests had to offer sacrifices for their own sins before offering for the sins of the Israelites (Lev 16:6). Jesus did not need to, because he was holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. He offered up himself, once for all.

Weak men, and a Son made perfect

The NLT reads verse 28: “The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.” The law could not make anyone perfect, but the word of the oath appoints a Son who is perfect forever: our ultimate Great High Priest.