Chapter VII

Verses 1-2. “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated ‘king of righteousness,’ and then also king of Salem, meaning ‘king of peace’ . . . .”

The first translation of the name Melchizedek is king of righteousness. He is made like the Son of God. He is king in doing righteousness in both big and small things. In him there is not even the slightest carelessness concerning righteousness. In his mind, he did not give any advantage to the flesh. He chose rather to suffer loss himself. That is why he is called “The King of Righteousness.” To what extent are we following him in this area? This was how he obtained the standing of a king both in the flesh and in the Spirit. If we want to be kings and priests forever, then we must follow him in righteousness. A little unrighteousness ruins our royal dignity and impairs our priestly service. Let us remember this in our daily life when we have to make decisions in various matters.

Secondly, he is called the king of Salem, that is “The King of Peace.” First righteousness, then peace. In this world, people strive for peace but they forget about righteousness. A consequence of this is a lack of peace; neither can we find the law of righteousness by means of legalistic works because it can only be found by faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way. He is the center of all righteousness and peace. Without Him, we cannot receive either of these.

Verse 3. “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, [he] remains a priest continually.”

All we read about Melchizedek is that he met Abraham when he was returning from the slaughter of the kings, that he blessed Abraham, and that he was the king of Salem. Nothing is said about when he was born or when he left this life. Therefore it is written that he had no beginning of days nor end of life, and that he was made like the Son of God. Neither is there anything said of his father or his mother or his genealogy. Here also he is like the Son of God.

If, during all the days of our exile, we remain faithful to Him who was crucified, then we will be His true wife throughout all eternity. This is the City that descends from heaven in whose light all the nations of the earth shall walk. Rev. 21:10, 24.

Verses 4-7. “Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 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. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the greater.”

To get an accurate understanding of how great Christ is, Melchizedek, who is His forerunner, must be made great. The patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoils and received his blessings, though he himself had received the promises. But it is obvious hat the promises referred to the person Christ, and so, since Melchizedek was made like the Son of God, the Son is greater than he who received the promises about Him. In other words, Abraham, though he was a prophet and a prince, was subordinate to Melchizedek.

Jesus had to forsake His Father and His mother to be joined to His wife. He is not with His wife as the first Adam was with Eve. No, Jesus became a life-giving spirit and He poured out His soul. Isa. 53:12. The first Adam was a living soul. Gen. 2:7. Jesus also had a soul, but He poured it out. In this way, family ties according to the flesh were broken, so that He could say, “Woman, behold your son!” He did not call her “Mother.” If He had done that from His heart, then He would not have been free from her. This is what it means to lose one’s life when it comes to earthly family bonds. Jesus had to do this to win His bride, she who is redeemed from the earth and from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. Rev. 14:3-4.

Furthermore it is written that the Father forsook Him at the moment of death. The Father had followed His beloved Son all through life, but now, when He was to lose His life, the Father had to forsake Him. The grace of the Father had to depart for a moment, so that the Son could be a perfect sacrifice. And not only that, but also that he could be given wholly and completely to His bride. Again we have to say with Paul, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” The two shall be one flesh. Jesus brought His flesh into death. The bride must go the same way, and that is why it is written, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” This is the reconciliation in the body of His flesh through death. Col. 1:21-22.

Melchizedek’s lineage was not from Levi, who had the right to receive tithes from his brethren according to the law. Yet Levi gave a tithe through his father Abraham, for Levi was still in the loins of Abraham when Abraham gave Melchizedek tithes. In other words, he who had the right to receive tithes, paid tithes, and he paid them to a person who was not of his lineage. Levi was blessed by Melchizedek in the same way as Abraham, and thus Melchizedek blessed the whole priesthood of Israel, for Levi was yet in the loins of Abraham when Melchizedek blessed Abraham. This is how great this man was. For it is always the lesser who is blessed by the greater.

Verse 8. “Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.”

How much is said in these few words! Here it is mortal men who receive tithes, not only in the old covenant but also in the new. One mortal man receives tithes from another mortal man. But there is One who has the testimony that He lives. Not only that, but He also has the testimony that He died.

A man will give everything that he has for his life. When Jesus died He gave everything that He possessed; they even cast lots for His garments. That was considerably more than ten percent. It is also the same with us who are always being delivered to the death of Christ. We always lose our life, and with it all that we possess. That is much more than a tenth, but we receive as an eternal possession Him “of whom it is witnessed that he lives.”

With Him we receive the inheritance itself. What an excellent exchange! We receive the Son. How pathetic it is, then, to continue with tithing, and how much a person loses out in that way. Only people who are earthly continue with such things, in unbelief. Their vision of Him, of whom it is witnessed that He lives, is lacking in understanding and confidence, for it is He who said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” He still has the testimony that He lives and that He is able to accomplish what He promised. It is the word of faith that we preach.

Verses 9-11. “Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?”

The Levitical priesthood was not the perfect or final priesthood, because Levi—who had the right to receive tithes—paid tithes through Abraham. The people longed for a priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, not one who was descended from Aaron. The most God-fearing people in Israel understood this, even though they lived in the dispensation of the old covenant. Despite their precise and diligent observance of the law and all their sacrifices, they could not be perfect according to their conscience. Animal sacrifices were of no avail, for the sin dwelt in human bodies, not in the bodies of animals. Therefore, because the children have partaken of flesh and blood, Jesus likewise had to share in the same. “A body You have prepared for Me.” In this body, sin was condemned. Rom. 8:3. This is the perfect priesthood.

Verses 12-14. “For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.”

Moses required the sacrifice of animals with their ashes for the purifying of the flesh. Christ offered Himself in the power of an eternal Spirit. “A body You have prepared for Me.” This body was sacrificed according to the will of God. The law of Moses could provide an outward cleansing, the forgiveness of sins. The law of the Spirit of Christ cleanses the inner life. Remember that it is called the law of the Spirit. The laws are contained in the Spirit, who writes them in our hearts and minds. As followers of Christ, we become filled with the laws of the Spirit of Christ. These are the laws of wisdom, for Christ is the wisdom of God. The priesthood has changed, and the law has changed from being the law of a carnal commandment to being the law of the Spirit of life.

Verses 18-19. “For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

In the dispensation of the old covenant, sin had not been condemned in the flesh. Christ had not yet come in the flesh and put sin in the flesh to death. The work was not yet completed. That is why the flesh was so powerful that it made the law weak and unprofitable, even though in itself, the law was holy, just, and good. Sin in the flesh was so overwhelmingly mighty and powerful, that even though they had received the law by the direction of angels, they were not ale to keep it.

However, now a better hope is brought in so that we can draw near to God. The same spiritual power by which Jesus offered Himself now comes over us, and then it succeeds for us. This spiritual power is neither weak nor unprofitable; for in this power we can, by faith, crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. By walking in this power of the Spirit, the righteousness of the law will be fulfilled in us, and so a better hope can be brought in by which we can draw near to God.

Verses 21-22. “(For they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: ‘The Lord has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”‘), by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.”

God could not possibly swear that His will would be fulfilled through the old covenant, or by the priesthood of Aaron; for the ministry of the old covenant only cleansed to the purifying of the flesh, that is, to an external purity. All sin in the flesh remained just as firmly ingrained and expressed itself every now and then, even in the lives of the best of the people. But God swore that it would succeed through Christ. He came with a body to do God’s will. “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh . . . .” Rom. 8:3. Sin in the flesh was condemned; it was never able to prevail or rule. It was thus condemned and put to death on the cross in and by the body of Christ. Sin was put to death on the cross by Christ’s obedience unto death. The prince of this world was never able to have any part in Him. That is the reason that God was able to swear that Jesus would be High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Christ has now become a surety of a better covenant, a new covenant for us, so that we who are His followers can also succeed in doing God’s will just as Jesus did. His ministry as High Priest for us and the help that He imparts will work so powerfully in us that we will receive power to do God’s will and to live a victorious life. Our heavenly High Priest is a surety for this, as long as we desire it as much as he does.

Verse 24. “But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.”

Our heavenly High Priest continues His ministry from one generation to another. His priesthood is eternal. In the areas where we have not attained unto perfection in Him, He has already been perfected, and can give us grace and power to help in time of need. For grace reigns through righteousness unto righteousness for everyone who avails himself of it for eternal life.

Verse 25. “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

In other words, this is a personal matter for each individual. God does not want servants who have to be forced. Everything takes place according to the perfect law of liberty.

Verse 28. “For the law appoints as high priest men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.”

He was perfected by taking away sin through the one sacrifice, so that we too, by His victory over sin, will be able to triumph over it. This then becomes a victorious life for us as well, so when we are tempted, we say “no” to sin. We receive grace and power for this through the word of the oath.