{"id":5735,"date":"2019-10-16T20:00:21","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T03:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=5735"},"modified":"2019-10-16T22:00:18","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T05:00:18","slug":"hebrew7_1-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/hebrew7_1-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Melchizedek?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex_column av_one_full  flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding first  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  \" style='border-radius:0px; '><section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Hebrews 7:1-10 \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Hebrews+7%3A1-10++&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5736 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/191017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/191017.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/191017-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/191017-450x225.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s passage is Hebrews 7:1-10.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Hebrews 7:3 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\n<sup>3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0A few times already the writer of Hebrews has mentioned Melchizedek, saying that Jesus is a priest \u201cin the order of Melchizedek\u201d (for example, Hebrews\u00a05:10;\u00a06:20).\u00a0\u00a0Now who is Melchizedek?\u00a0\u00a0Melchizedek is a mysterious figure who is first mentioned in Genesis 14 where Abram has just returned from victoriously battling a number of kings.\u00a0\u00a0All of a sudden, Melchizedek king of Salem appears, bringing bread and wine (v18).\u00a0\u00a0In addition to being a king, Melchizedek is also called \u201cpriest of God Most High\u201d (v18) and blesses Abram (v19).\u00a0\u00a0Did you notice the parallels between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ?\u00a0\u00a0For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Melchizedek is simultaneously a king and a priest, just like Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0In fact the first mention of \u201cpriest\u201d in the Bible is with reference to Melchizedek.\u00a0\u00a0Similarly, it can be said that Jesus the eternal Son of God was and is the first ever priest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Melchizedek brings out bread and wine (Genesis\u00a014:18).\u00a0\u00a0This clearly points forward to the Last Supper where Jesus likens his soon-to-be-crucified body to bread and his soon-to-be-shed blood to wine and tells his disciples to eat the bread and drink the wine in remembrance of Him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Melchizedek\u2019s name means \u201cking of righteousness\u201d (v2).\u00a0\u00a0His title \u201cking of Salem\u201d, literally means \u201cking of peace\u201d (v2).\u00a0\u00a0Likewise, Jesus is our king of righteousness and peace.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Melchizedek\u2019s family tree, including his father and mother, are not mentioned.\u00a0\u00a0There is also no mention of his death.\u00a0\u00a0As such, the Melchizedek is described on paper, Melchizedek is \u201cwithout beginning of days or end of life\u201d and in this way \u201cremains a priest forever\u201d (v3).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Abraham gives to Melchizedek a tithe (one tenth) of everything he received (v4), just as we are to pay a tithe, a tenth of everything we receive, to Jesus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In all these ways, Melchizedek is \u201clike the Son of God\u201d (v3).\u00a0\u00a0So is Melchizedek actually Jesus?\u00a0\u00a0Some scholars consider Melchizedek to be Jesus Christ Himself.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Another interpretation is that Melchizedek is a \u201ctype of Christ\u201d, that is, a person or thing that symbolizes and points forward to the person and work of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Why is this significant?\u00a0\u00a0It shows that\u00a0<strong>many centuries before Jesus was born, the Old Testament was already speaking about the person and work of Jesus Christ<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0From this we also learn that\u00a0<strong>Jesus is our perfect priest forever, whose existence and priesthood have no beginning and no end<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Hebrews 7:4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\n<sup>4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On verses 5-10:\u00a0\u00a0After pointing out that Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek in verse 4, the writer of Hebrews dedicates the next 5 verses to talking about that fact in more detail.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s because Abraham tithing to Melchizedek teaches us a number of truths:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Melchizedek is greater than Abraham, for the one who gives the tithe is servant to the one who receives the tithe.\u00a0\u00a0When you tithe, you\u2019re acknowledging that Jesus, the one you\u2019re tithing to, is greater than you;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Melchizedek\u2019s priesthood is greater than the priesthood of Levi, Abraham\u2019s great grandson, because Melchizedek was a priest before Levi was born (v10) and Melchizedek was still around after Levi had passed away (v8).\u00a0\u00a0Also, the writer of Hebrews suggests that Levi effectively tithed to Melchizedek by paying it through Abraham (v9), since Levi \u201cwas still in the body of his ancestor\u201d Abraham (v10) when Abraham paid the tithe to Melchizedek.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Tithing is not something that came from the law of Moses, since Abraham was tithing long before Moses instituted tithing.\u00a0\u00a0<strong>Do you tithe to God faithfully?\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t let anyone fool you when they say \u201cwe are no longer subject to tithing because we are no longer subject to the law of Moses\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Here we see that tithing preceded the law of Moses.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<strong>Just as Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, we as children of Abraham ought to tithe to our Melchizedek; His name is Jesus.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Heavenly Father, thank You for Melchizedek who points us to our perfect and eternal high priest forever, Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0Just as Abraham faithfully tithed to Melchizedek, may I faithfully tithe to my King of righteousness and peace, Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s passage is Hebrews 7:1-10.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n<p>Hebrews 7:3 (NIV)\u00a0<br \/>\n3\u00a0\u00a0Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0A few times already the writer of Hebrews has mentioned Melchizedek, saying that Jesus is a priest \u201cin the order of Melchizedek\u201d (for example, Hebrews\u00a05:10;\u00a06:20).\u00a0\u00a0Now who is Melchizedek?\u00a0\u00a0Melchizedek is a mysterious figure who is first mentioned in Genesis 14 where Abram has just returned from victoriously battling a number of kings.\u00a0\u00a0All of a sudden, Melchizedek king of Salem appears, bringing bread and wine (v18).\u00a0\u00a0In addition to being a king, Melchizedek is also called \u201cpriest of God Most High\u201d (v18) and blesses Abram (v19).\u00a0\u00a0Did you notice the parallels between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ?\u00a0\u00a0For example:<\/p>\n<p>Melchizedek is simultaneously a king and a priest, just like Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0In fact the first mention of \u201cpriest\u201d in the Bible is with reference to Melchizedek.\u00a0\u00a0Similarly, it can be said that Jesus the eternal Son of God was and is the first ever priest.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5735"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5780,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5735\/revisions\/5780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}