Hebrews 7-8: Melchiza-WHO?

We trace the brief, strange story of Melchizedek in Genesis 14 and show how Hebrews 7–8 uses it to reveal Jesus as the eternal High Priest who brings a better covenant. The heart-level shift from law to life leads to a simple challenge: give God not a tenth, but your whole self.

• Melchizedek’s role and meaning in Genesis 14
• Why Jesus’ priesthood surpasses Levi’s
• Once-for-all sacrifice versus daily offerings
• Earthly copies versus the true heavenly sanctuary
• New covenant promised by Jeremiah 31
• God’s law written on hearts, not stone
• Practical surrender under the new covenant

What are you holding back? That’s the thinking out loud thought for the day

Chapters

• 0:22 Setting The Stage In Hebrews
• 1:53 The Melchizedek Backstory In Genesis
• 4:26 Why Melchizedek Matters More Than You Think
• 6:25 Jesus And The Better Priesthood
• 8:46 The New Covenant On Better Promises
• 11:10 Living Fully Under The New Covenant

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:11

Hey, welcome back to the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast. This is Mike, and we are smack dab in the middle of the book of Hebrews. Now we've been reading through Hebrews, realizing that it plays out kind of like a sermon, a well-thought-out, well-organized message to try to convince those who are stuck in the Jewish laws and regulations and traditions that Jesus has come to set about a new way of doing things and he's involving all people. And it does mean setting aside some of the things that you expect, some of the things that you thought were true, now are no longer true because God's doing something new. And what do we believe as Christians in light of what Jesus demonstrated and did here on earth? So there's a lot of Old Testament references that the author of Hebrews is using to now say, all right, this is what you know, this is what we saw in the Old Testament, this is what that means now in light of Jesus. And Jesus is offering us a better example of some of the things that really were just kind of shadows and foretellings in the Old Testament. One of those things, as he mentioned in the last episode that we read, was to say that Jesus is a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Now, if you were with me back toward the beginning of this podcast when we went through the book of Genesis, that may ring a bell. Or frankly, if you've just read Genesis anytime recently, you may know uh the name. But the story tends to get lost, honestly, because it isn't very long and it's a little bit confusing, and it's hard to know exactly what to do with it. So before jumping into where we're going to continue in the book of Hebrews, I'm going to go back to Genesis 14. Now, this isn't the story of Abraham, by way of a little bit of context in Genesis, because I know it's been a minute. Abraham has moved his entire family to this promised land that God had brought him to, a land that he did not know, a land far away from where he grew up. And now his family is growing. He has a nephew, Lot, who has grown his own flocks and families, and there was just not enough room for Lot's family along with Abraham's family, so they split ways. Lot went towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and well we know how that ends. But before that happened, Lot was captured by some of the local kings. Abraham heard about it, who is Abram at this time, and he went to go rescue Lot from these other local kings and tribes. So Abram went and rescued Lot, freed him and his family, brought him back, and then a stranger enters the scene, someone we had not known before and will never see again. Let's read this in Genesis 14, starting in verse 17, and this will be the new living translation for this story. After Abram returned from defeating Keterlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shava, that is, the king's valley. Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God most high, and he blessed Abram, saying, Blessed be Abram by God most high, creator of heaven and earth, and praise be to God most high, who delivered your enemies into your hand. Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And that's it. That is the story of Melchizedek. Short and random and weird, isn't it? We don't know anything about him, we don't know where he came from, we don't know what happened to him. Apparently he was a priest of God before God established the role of his priests in the book of Exodus and Leviticus. But his relative anonymity here in the story is precisely the point, and that is what the author of Hebrews is going to unpack for us a little bit here, thankfully, to help make sense of this random episode of this priest in the book of Genesis, and what his relationship is to the whole meta-narrative of Scripture that all ultimately points to Jesus. Let's check it out here. We're going to read Hebrews chapters 7 and 8 today in the New English Translation. Now, this Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. To him also Abraham apportioned a tithe of everything. His name first means King of Righteousness, and then King of Salem, that is, the King of Peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but is like the Son of God. And he remains a priest for all time. But see how great he must be if Abraham the Patriarch gave him a tithe of his plunder. And those of the sons of Levi who received the priestly office have authorization, according to the law, to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, although they too are descendants of Abraham, but Melchizedek, who does not share their ancestry, collected a tithe from Abraham and blessed the one who possessed the promise. Now, without dispute, the inferior is blessed by the superior. And in one case, tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive. And it could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid a tithe through Abraham, for he was still in his ancestor Abraham's loins when Melchizedek met him. So, if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood, for on that basis the people received the law, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aaron's order? For when the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come as well. Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever officiated at the altar. For it's clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about the priests in connection with that tribe. And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For here is the testimony about him: you are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. On one hand, a former command is set aside because it's weak and useless, for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God. And since this was not done without a sworn affirmation, for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation, but Jesus did so with a sworn affirmation by the one who said to him, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever. Accordingly, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. And the others who became priests were numerous because death prevented them from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever. So he's able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. For it's indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need to do every day what those priests do to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once and for all. For the law appoints as high priests men subject to weakness, but the word of solemn affirmation that came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever. Now, the main point of what we're saying is this we have such a high priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary, and the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. So this one, too, had to have something to offer. Now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. The place where they serve is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, just as Moses was warned by God as he was about to complete the tabernacle, for he says, See that you make everything according to the design shown you on the mountain. But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. But showing its fault, God says to them, and this is from Jeremiah 31, Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with a house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant, and I had no regard for them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my law in their minds, and I will inscribe them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countrymen, or each one to teach his brother, saying, Know the Lord, since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, for I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer. When he speaks of a new covenant, he makes the first obsolete. Now, what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear. Let's stop there. Isn't that fascinating? I love this section of Hebrews to really make sense of what is the Old Testament and what is the New Testament. What a great section. Super thankful for that. So what can we do about this? Well, just as Abraham recognized that Melchizedek was a priest of God, we, now that we can recognize that Jesus is the greater high priest, should be all the more willing to offer him not just a tenth of everything, but our whole life, because he gave his life in order for this new covenant, this new relationship with God, where he puts his word in our hearts to be possible. That's how we live in this new covenant, this new testament. We give him all of us our thoughts, our hopes, our dreams, our actions, our words, our time, our money, our resources. What are you holding back? That's the thinking out loud thought for the day.