Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

Have you ever read a passage of scripture and had no idea what to make of it? For me, Hebrews 7 is that passage. I’m certain I read this passage at least four times searching for clarity. Who is Melchizedek? What is the Levitical Priesthood? These are a few of the questions that hindered me from seeing the meaning behind this sort of history lesson the author of Hebrews Chapter 7 presents us.

In order to have the context necessary to understand this passage, it’s important that we backtrack a few verses. Let’s look at 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 the High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

These two verses explain the why behind Chapter Seven. When this letter was written, many new Christians, specifically Jewish converts, had difficulty understanding Jesus’ authority as a “high priest." It was difficult for them to grasp Christ’s ability to “go behind the veil” for us. According to Old Testament Law, priests were chosen from a single familial line in the tribe of Levi. This priestly line is called “The Order of Aaron,” and originates from Moses’ older brother Aaron from which its name is derived. Jesus’ earthly ancestry originates from the tribe of Judah. So, with that knowledge, it’s easy to see why the Jewish people had such a hard time grasping how Jesus had authority on Earth to do things like performing miracles on the Sabbath as in Mark 3:1-6.

So, how does the author reconcile what seems to be a violation of the law by Jesus himself to the early church? This is where Melchizedek comes in. Melchizedek was a priest who lived at the same time as Abraham long before the Levitical Priesthood was ever established. Scripture even describes his genealogy as unknown. His authority as a priest came directly from God the Father and transcended even that of Abraham as scripture describes Abraham paying tithes to Melchizedek. Is any of this sounding eerily familiar to another priest in the New Testament? Jesus received his priestly authority from God himself just as Melchizedek did thousands of years before. This is why the author describes Jesus as coming from the seemingly higher order of Melchizedek in verse 11 solidifying Christ’s authority as a priest.
All of this begins to make more sense as we progress through the chapter into verses 20-28. Here, the author is laying out the basis of the New Covenant that was established through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.
In paraphrasing, Jesus “swore an oath” (vs 21) to be our priest and intercessor forever. Where human priests from the Order of Aaron were imperfect, having to make sacrifices daily for both themselves and others, Christ, who was made priest from the order of Melchizedek, established a new and better covenant in which He committed a single but everlasting sacrifice. His perfection and holiness establish a new and better way to receive grace and forgiveness through a relationship with Him. This chapter effectively explains how the hope we have in Jesus and His new covenant can be “both sure and steadfast” as described in Hebrews 6:19.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Take time to reflect on God's goodness, grace, and forgiveness in your life. Thank Him for sending Jesus to establish a new a better covenant.

Family Devo: Hebrews 7

By: Carrie Hobson

When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.   

Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset  

Head 

Hebrews 7 is full of some pretty fascinating things! There’s some guy you hardly hear about in scripture except for here, a small bit in Psalms, and Genesis. His name Melchizedek. There’s a lot of talk about high priests and something about “the order of…”. There’s a lot to unpack in a fairly short chapter. Let me give you a little background. Back in Genesis we first meet Melchizedek. He’s King of Salem and priest of the Most High God which means he was appointed by God not because of his family line. He blessed Abraham and fed him after a battle, and Abraham gave him his tithe. He realized there was something greater in Melchizedek than there was in himself. Melchizedek was also special because God didn’t allow the kings of Israel to be priests or the priests to be kings, but Melchizedek was BOTH. He didn’t have a beginning or end, and he didn’t have a father or mother, but scripture tells us he was “made resembling the Son of God, he continues to be a priest forever”.

Scripture doesn’t have a lot to say about Melchizedek. There’s some talk that Melchizedek was a heavenly being since he didn’t have a beginning, end, or parents. Some even say he was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus himself. What we do know is that Melchizedek is a picture of what Christ would be like. The writer of Hebrews compares Christ’s/Melchizedek’s priesthood with the tribe of Levi to show us how superior Christ is. Now the tribe of Levi was under the old law. They were all from imperfect humans. Levite priests would pass away and new priests would be born. They couldn’t save people and could only pray at certain times. They had sins that needed to be forgiven. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah which was from the order of Melchizedek. He lived a sinless life. He lives forever. He is always a priest. Jesus gave himself as a sacrifice so that all can come to God through Him. He is holy, innocent, sinless, higher than the heavens! The law couldn’t make us perfect before a perfect God. Only Jesus, who lived a perfect life, was able to make us perfect through His sacrifice. The old law could cover up sin, but only through Jesus are our sins completely removed! Jesus came to fulfill the law so that we didn’t have to live under it anymore!  

Heart

Do you ever wonder if Jesus is upset with you over something you did in the past? Jesus is our perfect priest forever! His word tells us that “He is able to save the uttermost”. That means that He saves us completely. Our sins are completely gone thanks to Him.  

Hands

Go back and visit the Old Testament sometime this week. There are so many biblical truths that point to Jesus. Read Genesis 14:18-20 and Psalm 110 and see if anything we learned today shows up there! 

Prayer: God, thank You so much for sending Jesus to be our priest forever! Thank You that we don’t have to live under the old laws, but that the law has been fulfilled with Your Son. We love You! Amen.