Shadow of The Priest

Grow in your ability to observe and understand your Great High Priest.

I. Comprehend The King Who Comes (v.1-3) (Genesis 14 and the silence of Hebrews 7:3)

Four eastern kings under Chedorlaomer take Lot. Abram arms 318 men, pursues by night to Dan, routs them to Hobah.

He returns from the "slaughter." The KJV keeps the Greek , a cutting down, used only here in the NT. The CSB smooths it to "defeating."kopē

Two kings meet him. Sodom offers a transaction. Melchizedek brings bread and wine and blesses.

Order matters: Abram receives blessing first, then refuses Sodom. Genesis 14 comes before Genesis 19, so Sodom still looked prosperous. This is discernment in the moment, not hindsight.

Genesis 15:1 “1 After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great.” follows: God is his shield and very great reward.

The silence of verse 3:apatōr, amētōr, agenealogētos

Against the pre-incarnate Christ view: , aphōmoiōmenos “made like," is a perfect passive. Nothing is made like itself. The CSB's "resembling" softens this, so note the Greek.

Against the Shem view: Shem's genealogy is recorded repeatedly, which undoes the author's whole argument.

Epiphanius, Panarion 55, shows this debate was already live in the 4th century.

Robertson, Word Pictures (quotable): "The likeness is in the picture drawn in Genesis, not in the man himself." Straw- Wood Gold! (Borrowing the image from 1 Corinthians 3. 

Straw. Burns at a touch.

Melchizedek as Michael the Archangel.

Melchizedek as the Holy Spirit, as the Melchizedekians held.

Melchizedek as a figure still to return.

 Melchizedek as Shem himself. Shem's genealogy is recorded repeatedly, which undoes the whole argument of verse 3.

Epiphanius, *Panarion* 55, shows these were already circulating in the 4th century.

No indication in the text for any of them.

Wood. Has grain to it, held by serious men, but still burns.**

Melchizedek as the pre-incarnate Christ.

 A wooden reading: "without beginning of days or end of life," therefore literally without beginning or end.

The text itself burns it: *aphōmoiōmenos*, "made like" the Son of God. A perfect passive. Nothing is made like itself. If he were Christ, the author would say so.

The CSB's "resembling" softens this. Note the Greek. - The literary reading is the truly literal one: literally what the author intended to reveal. Gold. Stands the fire.**

 A real historical man. Born, lived, physically died.

 Most likely of the line of Shem, since God would dwell in the tents of Shem. A relative, not Shem himself.

A priest by God's call and by a transformed heart, not by physical lineage. A true believer in the Christ to come.

The Levitical priest had a start and a finish built in: service from 25, high priestly service from 30, and out at 50. Melchizedek's priesthood has no such bounds in the record.

Silence about his death is not testimony to deathlessness. Scripture doesn't record Cain's death either. The inconclusive is left inconclusive.

Deuteronomy 29:29 “29 The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.”

Conclusion, 

 He lives on spiritually. His priesthood never broke off at death.

He stands now among the priesthood of believers, worshiping in heaven, as every believer does. - So often we dont see what we have because we want to have something diffrent. If we look at what we have the way it is be received we can see more clearly what exists. The cloths on a wrack or the tree shadow in the window. There is

II. Submit to The King Who is Crowned (v.1)(righteousness before peace)

Crowned by his names, not by a coronation scene. Say that plainly.

"First" king of righteousness, "and then also" king of Salem. The order is deliberate. Ps 72 Isaiah 9:6–7 “6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.” Zechariah 6:12–13 “12 You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Armies says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; he will branch out from his place and build the Lord’s temple. 13 Yes, he will build the Lord’s temple; he will bear royal splendor and will sit on his throne and rule. There will be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them.” Zechariah 9:9–10 “9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed, and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.”

Romans 3:26 “26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 5:1 “1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” . There is no peace until righteousness is settled.

Christ's own enthronement was real but unseen: (seated at the right hand) Hebrews 1:3 “3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (crowned with glory and honor). Hebrews 2:9 “9 But we do see Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone—crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.”

III. Receive the Blessing from The King Who Continues (v.2) (the tenth freely given, the priesthood that never breaks)

Abraham tithes upward. Verse 4, consider how great this man was. Verse 7, the lesser is blessed by the greater.

The tenth is a great place to start if possible, but giving must not be reluctant. Abram was neither asked nor commanded. He gave freely after receiving.

Menei hiereus eis to diēnekesDiēnekeseis ton aiōna. means continuous, unbroken, not the usual . It appears only in Hebrews: 7:3, 10:1, 10:12, 10:14.

At 10:14 the same word describes the people's perfected standing. His unbroken priesthood, their unbroken standing.

Carry it to 7:25: he always lives to intercede. Present activity, not a past transaction.

Close

Doctrine formed by reaction (Nicaea, Chalcedon, 1689 defining what Baptists were not) versus being built up in Christ Himself.

The danger is knowing every position you're against while not knowing the Christ you're for.

Hebrews 4:14: indicative, then imperative.

"Come and offer the great high priest that which he is due."Your charge: