HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1483
HEB R EWS 7
page 1113
14
“I will certainly bless you,
and I will multiply your descendants
beyond number.”*
15 Then
Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
16 Now when people take an oath, they call
on someone greater than themselves to hold
them to it. And without any question that oath
is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an
oath, so that those who received the promise
could be perfectly sure that he would never
change his mind. 18 So God has given both his
promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to
lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the
hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong
and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us
through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.
20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has
become our eternal High Priest in the order of
Melchizedek.
Melchizedek Is Greater Than Abraham
This Melchizedek was king of the city of
Salem and also a priest of God Most High.
When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. 2 Then Abraham
took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and
gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek
means “king of justice,” and king of Salem
means “king of peace.” 3 There is no record of
his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no
beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest
forever, resembling the Son of God.
4 Consider then how great this Melchizedek
was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of
what he had taken in battle. 5 Now the law of
Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from
the rest of the people of Israel,* who are also
descendants of Abraham. 6 But Melchizedek,
who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a
tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed
a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God. 7 And without question, the person who has the power
to give a blessing is greater than the one who
is blessed.
8 The priests who collect tithes are men who
die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are,
because we are told that he lives on. 9 In addition, we might even say that these Levites—
the ones who collect the tithe—paid a tithe to
Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham
paid a tithe to him. 10 For although Levi wasn’t
born yet, the seed from which he came was in
7
6:14 Gen 22:17. 7:5 Greek from their brothers. 7:11 Greek
the order of Aaron? 7:17 Ps 110:4. 7:21 Ps 110:4.
Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected
the tithe from him.
11 So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the
law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the
order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi
and Aaron?*
12 And if the priesthood is changed, the law
must also be changed to permit it. 13 For the
priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at
the altar as priests. 14 What I mean is, our Lord
came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never
mentioned priests coming from that tribe.
— promises —
from God
So God has given both his
promise and his oath. . . .
we who have fled to
him for refuge can have
great confidence as we
hold to the hope that
lies before us.
H E B R E WS 6:1 8
Jesus Is like Melchizedek
15 This change has been made very clear since
a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has
appeared. 16 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the
tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17 And the psalmist pointed
this out when he prophesied,
“You are a priest forever in the order of
Melchizedek.”*
18 Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood
was set aside because it was weak and useless.
19 For the law never made anything perfect.
But now we have confidence in a better hope,
through which we draw near to God.
20 This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests
without such an oath, 21 but there was an oath
regarding Jesus. For God said to him,
“The Lord has taken an oath and will not
break his vow:
‘You are a priest forever.’”*
22 Because
of this oath, Jesus is the one who
guarantees this better covenant with God.
23 There were many priests under the old