Be Greatly Encouraged Study 4 WhatsApp 5pm Monday 27th July 2020

Be Greatly Encouraged Study 4 WhatsApp 5pm Monday 27th July 2020

Hebrews chapters 7 and 8 Jesus and Melchizedek - the better covenant and us

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19-20).

At the time of writing the letter, the inner sanctuary behind the curtain was in the beautiful temple in Jerusalem. The plan of the temple followed the pattern of the portable Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) that God commanded Moses to construct in the desert (Exodus chapters 25 to 40). The writer to the Hebrews introduced the mysterious priest Melchizedek in Hebrews 5:6 in a quotation from David’s poem, Psalm 110. The writer has already said Psalm 110:1 talks about Jesus (Hebrews 1:13), and Jesus applied Psalm 110 to himself (see Matthew 22:41-46). So we can be sure Psalm 110 includes information about the Messiah, God’s anointed one. Both kings and priests were anointed with oil in a ceremony to show they were appointed by God to their separate roles. But Melchizedek was both king of Salem (meaning peace) and priest of God Most High. His name seems to mean “king of righteousness”. Melchizedek’s story occupies just three verses in Genesis (Genesis 14:18-20). It seems very surprising that king David should mention Melchizedek’s name in his poetry perhaps 1000 years after the original event. God had promised David that David’s throne would be established for ever (2 Samuel 7:16), so David expected God’s Messiah to be a king for ever. But in Psalm 110 David foretold that God’s Messiah would also be a priest for ever.

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