Read Hebrews 7:11-25

Melchizedek is generally accepted as a type of Christ. He appears for one brief episode in Genesis and then disappears from the record forever. But what he did must have been extremely important because the writer of Hebrews devotes an entire chapter to him.
Read Hebrews 7:11-25

As typified in Melchizedek, the priesthood of Christ is not only superior to that of the priests of ancient Israel. Christ’s priesthood supersedes the old system. The animal sacrifices could never secure sure and lasting relief from the sin that separates all of us from God.
Read Hebrews 7:11-25

Were the animal sacrifices without purpose? Was the Law of Moses useless? Far from it. They prepared the way, pointing ahead to the day when God would establish a new order. The weakness of the old law with its animal sacrifices and endless regulations was that it had no power to change the human heart. It could tell us what to do, but was without power to help us do it. It had no way to bring us into God’s presence. This is the Christian’s Good News. God has done something new. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. Jesus secures for us what the old Law could not, direct access to God. He has power to change hearts. Melchizedek means “king of righteousness.” The name of his city, Salem, means “peace.” So his title points to Jesus who is both King of Righteousness and the Prince of Peace.

Read Hebrews 7:1-10

Once long ago Abraham went out to fight against some enemies. Having defeated them, freed captives, and recovered stolen property, he headed home. A priest of God named Melchizedek came to meet him. Abraham was one of the richest, most powerful men of his day. How do we know Melchizedek was greater? Because Abraham humbled himself before him, paying him tithes and receiving the priest’s blessing (Gen. 14:18-20).

Abraham and Melchizedek were real people and they did what Genesis records of them. But their story is another example of the book of Hebrews’ two-story approach. The report in Genesis is full of symbolism, becoming an allegory of Jesus’ position as our high priest. Melchizedek made the first move toward Abraham. Christ made the first move toward us. Melchizedek brought Abraham bread and wine, symbols of nourishment and joy. Jesus offers us a life nourished and made joyful by the presence of his Holy Spirit living within us. Melchizedek had no known ancestry, no beginning, no end. So Christ is God, without beginning or end, eternal, undying. Melchizedek was not from the tribe of Levi, source of all the priests in ancient Israel. Jesus, on his human side, was descended from Judah, never before associated with priesthood. Abraham received Melchizedek’s blessing and paid him tithes. Christ blesses us and to him we owe our tithes. Like Melchizedek, Jesus’ priesthood is a totally new thing. And Jesus is forever.

Read Hebrews 6:13-20

An anchor is a symbol of hope. The author says we have a hope that is an anchor for our souls. What is he talking about? He points to Abraham as an example of one who, by patient faith, received God’s promised blessing. God made Abraham a promise—descendants—swearing an oath that it would happen. God does not change, so that vow could not change. God fulfilled his promise to Abraham in the birth of a son, Isaac.

Since God does not change, the Christian has equal hope that we can count on God’s promises of salvation from our sins and eternal life to come. Referring again to the high priesthood of Christ, he says our hope is absolutely sure because Jesus has entered “the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” The high priests of ancient Israel, after rigorous preparation lest they come before God unprepared and die for their negligence, entered the Most Holy Place, the innermost part of the temple, behind the heavy curtain called the veil of the temple. They did this once a year to make atonement for both their sins and those of the people. This was the shadow, pointing toward the reality to come. Jesus’ death and resurrection was that reality. He has entered God’s heavenly Most Holy Place. Unlike the priests of ancient Israel, he never dies. He atoned for our sins once for all and now sits at the Father’s right hand.

Read Hebrews 6:1-12

The Christian life is a curious blend of opposites. Rest in the Lord; strive to keep your faith. Have faith as a little child; be mature in faith because the hallmark of maturity is discernment. Trust the Lord to lead you; study to show yourself approved of God. Don’t forget the pit of sin from which you were rescued; look ahead to God, the author of your faith.

The writer has rebuked his readers harshly for their immaturity. But he does not stay there. “Let’s move on,” he says. His idea of moving on is to indicate half a dozen of Christianity’s most basic doctrines. The first is repentance, which is, as he says, turning from “acts that lead to death.” After the negative of repentance comes trust, receiving God affirmatively. He quickly ticks off four more basic Christian teachings: baptism, laying on of hands (that is, the rites and ceremonies of the church), the resurrection, and final judgment.

He swings back to another warning. These are first principles and we build on them. But faith unused disappears. If we don’t walk the walk, talking the talk is useless. It’s the old use it or lose it principle.

He has brought us from rebuke, through warning, to encouragement. Now assurance shines before us. Keep at it. God sees your work. Forget what is behind. Reach for what is ahead. You can do it. Push toward God’s prize, eternal life.