HEBREWS 7:1-10
PATRIARCH, POTENTATE PREDICT
PERFECTED PERSON
I. PATRIARCH:
A. Progenitor.
B. Prostration.
C. Passing.
II. POTENTATE:
A. Positions.
B. Pronouncement.
C. Prototype.
III. PERSON:
A. Promise.
B. Provision.
C. Permanence.
We come to the third time in this short book where the author tells his readers that serving Jesus is better than living in the old way or living under the Old Law. He does this by dipping into the rich history of Israel and bringing to light an event of which his Jewish readers were well aware. He brings to the light something that happened centuries ago between Abraham and Melchisedec and then drives home a point about how both of these who were so great in their days, yet they pale in the presence of Christ the Better One.
He did not need to spend much time in his writing but by merely recounting a strange happenstance centuries ago, he drives home his point that these two more than life figures were used by God to serve as something far greater which would come in the years ahead. As he weaves his lesson together to prove his points, he starts from the lesser, Abraham, then moves to a greater one, Melchisedec and then to the Greatest One, Christ. By moving up the scale of these three giants, he arrives at the pinnacle of his lesson and proves the superiority of Jesus.
As I study these first seven verses of Hebrews seven, I have to admire the skillfulness of this particular writer. He knew his audience well and was careful to relate the events in such a manner in which no one could dispute his argument about Who was the greater both in the history of this proud race and of the present day when his letter was being disseminated and read among both the Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity.
It is no secret that Father Abraham was regarded with the utmost awe by those who knew his story. Likewise, it was beyond doubt that even as important as he was, he paused one time in his life and gave reverence to a Gentile king who-at that time-was greater than him. Yet both of them died and although they were great-they served to point to Someone who would be and is greater than both of these mortal men.
I see three distinct personages in these verses and they form the anchors to my sermon. The first is the PATRIARCH, Abraham. The next person of importance, as I move up the scale from the least to the greatest, is that strange personage, Melchisedec; the Bible portrays him here as a very important POTENTATE. Then, I reach the zenith of the lesson at hand by looking at none other than the very PERSON, Christ Himself.
I. THE PATRIARCH: Where would three of the major religions of this world be with out Father Abraham: the Jewish, the Christian, and the Moslem faiths? All three of these religious entities claim Abraham to be the founding father of their religious belief. Taken together, these three faiths account for over one half of the world’s population and these three faith combine far outnumber all the other religious creeds in this world.
However, for this study, I want to zero in on Abraham as the Progenitor of the Jewish people and their faith. History records how this man, living in the land or Ur, was mysteriously visited by God and instructed to leave the locale in which he was living, take up his goods and search for a city. I do not know about you, but I view this as one great leap of faith. He and Sara were living comfortably in Ur. They had everything they needed and when God spoke-Abraham obeyed.
Leaving his civilization of that time, he took to living in tents, wandering across the desert with his flocks and servants. Out there on the back side of nowhere, he must have spent many an hour wondering why. We do not have those thoughts recorded for us, but he must have wondered why God asked him to leave his Los Angeles home and start to wander Death Valley. Yet, he obeyed. Along his journey of searching for that City, he fathered two boys and laid his beloved Sarah to rest in a purchased grave. Yet, this one man produced two sub groups of human beings-the Jews and the Arabs. Both of his boys: Isaac and Ishmael produced twelve sons apiece and from the one man, there arrived on this earth 24 different yet closely related tribes of people. Not only did he become prosperous in producing these different tribes, he married again after Sarah died and fathered more children. He prospered well in producing children and grandchildren.
This man also grew wealthy, very wealthy in his wonderings. His herds increased. His tents increased, and so did his servants. He was no longer the man of Ur, living in side of a city with limited resources, but now he was a man of wealth in his own right and his holdings were numerous. He not only over saw the shepherding of his flocks and servants, but his wealth grew until he had to hire servants whose purpose was of military nature. He needed protection for his vast holdings. Hence, part of the jobs of his servants were not only to be watchers over the flocks but also to be trained in the use of arms to ward off marauding thieves. In effect, he became a benevolent war lord. It was in this mode of operation he assumed when he had to go and rescue his nephew Lot.
When word reached him that Lot was carried off by warriors of area kings, Abraham gathered up a small army and road off to over take his nephew. With a little over 300 men, well armed and well disciplined men, Abraham did the impossible-he beat back the rebels and captured Lot. If one reads the Genesis 14 account of this conflict, one gets the picture that these various kings and army leaders were a threat to the stability of the region and God used Abraham and his small armed band to corral these renegades and to bring peace back into the region, by capturing Lot and defeating the opposing forces of good.
This conflict in which Abraham ventured was so successful that he not only captured Lot and routed the malcontents, but now the entire area lay at his feet in thankfulness and awe. He was the hero of the day and year. On his way back to his tents he passed by close to what is now Jerusalem, which at that time was simply called Salem. News preceded his coming and the king of Salem, Melchisedec came out to great Abraham with his thankfulness. The scene about to unfold between these two was dramatic, to say the least.
Here came Abraham with his bounty of Lot and captured goods along with being victorious over all who opposed him, yet when he met Melchisedec, he bowed in Prostration and did homage to this Gentile King. Imagine the scene for a moment. Here was the founder of Judaism, the founder of the Jewish race, a victor, a rich war lord, if you please, doing homage to a Gentile King and falling at his feet. Who was the greater of these two men at that time? It is obvious. Only the lesser bows to the greater. Not only did Abraham bow in recognition of his lesser position, but he also gave a tenth of his booty to Melchisedec. This was before the principle of tithing was instituted be Moses centuries later. And, with the establishment of paying title, Moses made it clear that the lesser paid tithe to the greater: the Jewish worshippers had to pay tithe to the Levites who were to be the priests of Israel. Again, may I ask, “Who is the lesser of these two men at that time: Abraham or Melchisedec?” The answer is evident. This is the exact point the writer of the Hebrews was trying to establish for his readers.
However, regardless of how important Abraham was, regardless of his being the founder of the Jewish nation, regardless of him being a brilliant desert fighter and regardless of his stature at the time he met Melchisedec, this mighty man humbled himself to one who was greater than he and proved a point-he was a man, a mere man. Yes, He was important, but he was a man and he did like all other men, he eventually died. However, in his Passing from this world, he still served a purpose-he pointed to his eventual Son Jesus Christ.
Christ, the off spring of Abraham, would come and start a new race. Christ would begin with little of this worlds goods yet would go on to inherit the universe. Christ would take His servants and while thy would tend to His flock, they would be a mighty army that would eventually shake the walls of hell. Along the way, His soldiers would pay homage with Him to His Father and as we Christians give our tithe to One who is Greater, He will one day give all of His holdings to His Father and peace will eventually come to Salem. The writer to the Hebrews drew a bead on the important ones from Israel’s history and prove that all served to point to Christ-the Heir of Abraham.
II. THE POTENTATE: The writer of Hebrews moves up the scale of who is important by reviewing a very strange person: Melchisedec. The Bible is implicit about the lineage of this man-he has no lineage. This is indeed a very strange thing for any Oriental to fathom. Knowing who one’s parents are, knowing from where one descended and knowing one’s family roots are very important to the people of the East. This Melchisedec appears suddenly and disappears just as quickly. But while here on this Earth, he served as an integral part of God’s plan for those who follow Him.
The first things I note about this mysterious man has to do with the two Positions he held while on earth. The Bible says that he was a King of Salem. It was as a king of Salem which later came to be known as Jerusalem, who ventured out to congratulate Abraham on his return from capturing Lot and bringing peace to the region. As a king, as one of high stature, as a leader of men, he came out to meet another person of nobility, of high stature, and one who was a leader of men: Abraham. Together, out on the plains of what later became Israel, these two men of equal rank met and conversed. Yet, this Melchisedec was more than just a king of Salem, He was also a Priest of the most High God. It was in the latter position which vaulted him above the PATRIARCH Abraham. It was at this crucial point that these two men differed and regardless of who Abraham was, or how high he was regarded, he failed to become equal with this priest of God.
Much discussion has been generated about just who Melchisedec served as a Priest, but the bottom line is that Abraham recognized something spiritual about his new found ally and bowed in worship and gave him his tithe. Remember, it was the Most High God who communicated with Abraham. This Father of the Jewish race was cognizant of the dealings of God. He would never have dared to give a tenth of his spoils or to bow in reverence to any one who was not on speaking terms with this God who had previously dealt with him. It can be certain under these circumstances that Abraham recognized that this Melchisedec was a true Priest of God-long before the Priesthood was established by Moses.
There is a lesson here for us today. We had best be certain to whom we give our allegiance, our worship and our tithes. We who have heard and sensed the presence of God in our lives had best make sure that we keep company with like minded saints. If God has dealt with us before, we best make sure we keep in His graces and not commune with others nor support others who are not of God. Abraham recognized the Spirit of the Most High God in Melchisedec and gave obeisance to him by paying his tithe to him. I then notice the Pronouncements this King/Priest made: he blessed Abraham. Again, only the greater blesses the lesser. The intent of the writer of Hebrews become clearer as we continue to read his writings. Melchisedec, at this time, was the greater of the two. Due to his acceptance of the reverence and tithe given to him by the great Abraham.
But what are we to make of this mysterious man? He who had no lineage, who appears and then disappears without a trace must leave us a lesson to be gained. That is exactly what the writer of the Hebrews meant. This Melchisedec serves us as a Prototype of He who was to come years later. This fulfillment of the image of Melchisedec’s type, would be Christ who would come with no earthly parents and leave with no earthly children yet would be reverenced by the Jews and Gentiles as a Priest of the Most High God. While Melchisedec would be greater than Abraham, the Antitype would be greater than Melchisedec. We serve the Greater.
III. THE PERSON: Now we catch the full impact of what the writer is intending for us to see as he takes us from the lesser to a greater, to the Greatest-Christ.
The first thing I note in regards to this Greatest of all is the fact that He was/is the result of the Promise made by God to we humans. All else who came before Him, only paved the way for this one Man’s entrance into this world to be the Savior of mankind. He is the Better One. God sent others along the way to point to the coming of Jesus. The Old Testament is full of prophets, types and shadows of the coming One. Yet these all passed away. They served for a time to point towards Christ and His coming, yet they were all inferior in one way or another. However, the coming of Christ was indeed the Better One to come. Melchiesedec’s life, his role as a Priest of God only helped to underline the Promise of the Better One.
Not only did these giants of old: Abraham and Melchisedec serve as types of the coming Great one, this Better One would be able to do what no one else could ever do: take away the sin of mankind. Melchisedec received the homage and tithe of Abraham proving he was superior to the father of the Jews, yet this Melchisedec could not take away the sin of one man. Neither could the priests of the Old Law
and the Old Covenant take away one‘s sins, only the Greater, the Better One could do this. Not only can He receive the worship and tithes of his followers, but He can forgive and purge away the sins of those who come to Him bearing their tithes and reverence-something no one could ever due. The Provision of this Son of Abraham and the fulfillment of Melchisedec’s role made the fulfillment of the ages as the final act of God in restoring mankind to Himself.
Finally, we come to the crux of the writer’s lesson for his readers. We see where he built his case of just who was the better of all three of these persons mentioned in his text, and that is no one other than Jesus the Better One. But there is more than just proving the superiority of this Better One, it lies in the fact that this Jesus, this Last One, this one who has no human lineage of an earthly father or family, is one who is Permanent. All others came, lived for a brief time and then died. Abraham the great PATRIARCH, the Progenitor of the Jews, yet the lesser of Melchisedec died. Melchisedec, the great Priest of the Most High God, greater than Abraham yet lesser than Christ, lived and died. The only One who is greater than both of these two men of our text, is He who never died but rose and lives for ever. He is the One who is Permanent. All else pales in comparison to He who is not only Better than all else, but is the Best of all.
