Hebrews 7 is a new testament Scripture used to promote
the requirement for Christians to tithe; however, the purpose of this chapter
is not to promote tithing in the church, but to explain the change in
priesthood from men who are limited by death to that of Jesus whose priesthood
is FOREVER. Death, hades, and the devil could not stop him from being a priest
FOREVER. It is very important we understand who Melchizedek is; let’s see what the Scriptures
say about Melchizedek.
Melchizedek
is NOT Jesus.
Genesis 14:18 – “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and
wine; he was the priest of God Most High.” (NKJV)
This verse clearly describes Melchizedek as a king
that existed in the days of Abraham, he was the king of Salem. The amplified
bible elaborates on Salem in parenthesis “ancient Jerusalem”. Joshua 10 also
makes reference to Salem and the king at the time, Adoni-Zedek. Adoni-Zedek of
Jerusalem (formally Salem) went to war against Joshua with 4 other kings; he
and the four kings fell before Joshua. This shows us that Salem was an actual
place that existed in the days of Abraham; Salem had kings and Melchizedek was
one of their kings who reigned in the days of Abraham. Adoni-Zedek was also the
king of the same Salem (Jerusalem), but he existed in the time of Joshua.
Reference to Melchizedek as the king of Salem is not a figure of speech or some
mystical expression to hide his true identity.
The name Adoni-Zedek is actually similar in meaning to
Melchizedek, it means king of righteousness or my lord is righteousness. Melchizedek
means king of righteousness (Hebrews 7:2); so, both Adoni-Zedek and Melchizedek
mean king of righteousness, and both were kings of Salem i.e. king of peace.
And like Melchizedek, there is no record of Adoni-Zedek’s father, mother,
siblings, and genealogy. Do these
comparison between Adoni-zedek and Melchizedek sound familiar? These are some
of the similarities between Jesus and Melchizedek, which inevitably they share
with Adoni-Zedek who is not a priest of God, nor is there any indication that
he walked with, or believed in The Lord God. So if there is no indication that
Adoni-Zedek walked with The Lord, I believe it is safe to say that some might
be reading too much into the interpretation of the name of Melchizedek to
conclude that he is Jesus. As Hebrews 7 points out, there are comparisons to
make between Melchizedek and Jesus, but the purpose behind these comparisons is
not a case for tithing. Before we go into Hebrews 7, let’s look into some other
Scriptures about Melchizedek; I believe this will give us a
clearer picture of the comparison the Word of God is making between Melchizedek
and Jesus.
Psalm 110:4 “The Lord has
sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the
order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:6
- As He also says in another place: “You are a
priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek”;” (NKJV)
The
emphasis in this psalm is that the priesthood of Jesus is FOREVER, just as the
priesthood of Melchizedek never ended. This psalm is quoted twice in Hebrews 5
to imply the same thing: Jesus is a priest FOREVER after the order of
Melchizedek. Under the Levitical priesthood, when priests died, someone else took
their place; however, there is no record of anyone taking over the priesthood
of Melchizedek, neither will anyone take over the priesthood of Jesus.
The first time Melchizedek is mentioned in the bible
is in Genesis 14:18; prior to this verse, we are not told anything about him.
The bible normally tells us who the father and, or mother of a person of
interest is; in the case of Melchizedek, we are not told who the parents are.
The reader is also not told who or when he was anointed/appointed priest or
king, neither are we told anything about the people Melchizedek is king over!
The lack of this type of records on Melchizedek has led to several theories on
who he is. There is a sense of mystery
when Melchizedek is brought up on the pulpit or in conversations; some have
concluded that he is a preincarnation of Jesus in the Old Testament, while
others have just given up on trying to know who he is. I was one of the people who
resigned myself to getting to know who Melchizedek is when I get to heaven, but
a good pastor friend of mine asked me the question:
who is Melchizedek? I simply answered “he is what the bible says he is”. My
friend laughed at my response; because I had to attend to some matters, we
ended the conversation there. However, the question never left me: who is
Melchizedek? I picked up my bible and prayed for understanding on who he is;
The Lord answered my prayer and showed me who he is. I am going to share this with you. First we
need to realize that Melchizedek was made like Jesus; a likeness is not the
same as the object it is made like. However, the likeness bears resemblance to
the object it is made like. God created man in his image, after his likeness;
this does not make man God the father. Now let’s read the first verse where
Melchizedek is mentioned in the bible:
The change in Priesthood
After
Genesis 14, the next time we see Melchizedek mentioned is in one of the Psalms
of King David; this Psalm is also quoted by the writer(s) of Hebrews:
Hebrews
6: 19 – 20 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the
forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.” (NKJV)
These
verses in Hebrews 6 further highlight the actual comparison being made between
Jesus and Melchizedek. Verse 19 talks about how Jesus has gone behind the veil,
which the Levitical high priest did yearly to offer sacrifices for both the
priest and the people with the blood of animals. The Lord Jesus went in once
and for all, having become High Priest FOREVER in the order of Melchizedek! We
know that Melchizedek did not die for our sins, so there is only one comparison
here between Jesus and Melchizedek, it is the unending FOREVER priesthood! Now
let’s take a look at Hebrews 7.
Hebrews 7
Hebrews
7:2 “Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to
Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem
means “king of peace.” (NKJV)
Hebrews 7:2 reemphasizes exactly what Abraham paid a
tithe of, the spoils of war; this verse does not say that he gave a tithe of
his personal belongings nor that he ever gave Melchizedek a tithe at any other
time. To say this was one of many times that Abraham paid a tithe to
Melchizedek would be adding to the bible; the bible does not say nor imply this.
Hebrews 7:3 “without
father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor
end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.” (NKJV)
Verse
3 shows us again the actual comparison the writer is really trying to make here
– both Melchizedek and Jesus continue to be a priest perpetually. This verse
actually states that Melchizedek was made like Jesus.
Hebrews
7: 5&6 “And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the
priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to
the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of
Abraham; but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from
Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.” (NKJV)
Under
the law, the sons of Levi are commanded by God to receive tithes from their
brothers, but Melchizedek whose genealogy is not in the line of Abraham
received tithes from Abraham. On the other hand, Jesus is also not from the
tribe of Levi, but as we saw earlier, He went behind the veil to perform
priestly duties by presenting his blood for our sins. The comparison here is
that both Melchizedek and Jesus performed priestly duties that were, under the
law, only the responsibilities of the Levitical priests.
Hebrews
7: 8&9 “Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom
it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes
through Abraham, so to speak,” (NKJV)
“Mortal
men” in verse 8 is referring to Levites, not pastors like some have interpreted
it to mean; verse 9 clearly states this: “…even Levi …”. “But there he receives
them” is referring to Melchizedek, not Jesus as some have inferred. It is
important to point out here that the comparison in verse 8 and 9 about
receiving tithes is between Melchizedek and the Levitical priesthood, not Jesus.
Jesus is never recorded in the bible, nor is his disciples, to have ever
received tithes from anyone while physically on earth. With this understanding,
we see that the true purpose of these verses is another comparison between
Melchizedek and Jesus, HE LIVES! Unlike priests under the Levitical priesthood
who die and their successors take over from them, in the case of Melchizedek it
is witnessed that he lives; like Melchizedek, JESUS LIVES! He rose from the dead
on the third day and he lives forever. The declaration in these verses in
Hebrews 7 is that Jesus is our High Priest and HE LIVES FOREVER! Amen!
