July 14 - Melchizedek not Levi

July 14 - Hebrews 7:4-10 - Melchizedek not Levi

You have to read this passage closely to catch all of the innuendos of hierarchy, even down to the point of Levi paying a tithe to Melchizedek because he was still in the body of his ancestor. Now, that's a pretty far reach for me, except that the author is clearly trying to make the point that Melchizedek was highly honored by God and by man.

There are several points to be made here. Melchizedek as the head of the order of priests that Jesus comes from, is superior to any that will follow.

Abraham, the father of all of the nations of Israel, paid him a tithe. Then, Abraham received a blessing from Melchizedek. Hebrews 7:7 says that "Without a doubt, the lesser person is blessed by the greater," so, in other words, Abraham is actually less than Melchizedek.

There is actually no record of Melchizedek's death, yet we know that all of Levi's sons and descendants died normal deaths and the role of priest was handed down throughout the line.

Finally, as I said before, Levi is lesser than Melchizedek because as Abraham was less than him due to the reasons stated above, so was all of Israel who had yet to be conceived.

Neither Melchizedek nor Jesus were dependent on the qualifications of the Levitical priests. They operated outside the order founded by Aaron. Because of this independence, the corruption that occurred within the priests which was seen throughout the Old Testament in the allowing of idol worship and many other sins, and then in the New Testament as they corrupted the sacrificial system, would not be propogated any longer. A new order was here in the man of Jesus, through the order of Melchizedek.