«Melchizedek was not descended from Levi, but he collected one tenth from Abraham and blessed him, the man who received God’s promises. There is no doubt that the one who blesses is greater than the one who is blessed» (Hebrews 7:6, 7, GNT).
THE NORTHERN KINGS fought against the kings of the plain near the Dead Sea. The northerners won and took all the wealth and many captives, including Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Abraham moved quickly and organized 318 of his most prominent servants and went after the victors. According to the account of Genesis 14, they recovered the resources that were taken as well as Lot and the other the captives.
Returning from their raid, they passed through Salem. The king of the city was Melchizedek, a priest of the Lord. It is not known where he came from, nor how he was related with Jehovah. But Abraham and Melchizedek knew each other. Paul says that the patriarch accepted him as superior. Abraham was blessed by him and gave him a tithe of everything. The blessing illustrates God’s work that abundantly pours over the lives of His children, and as a result the giving of tithe is the human response that reflects gratitude and submission.
The apostle shows that Melchizedek is a symbol of Jesus’s superior priesthood. «There is no record of Melchizedek’s father or mother or of any of his ancestors; no record of his birth or of his death. He is like the Son of God; he remains a priest forever» (Heb. 7:3, ERV).
Melchizedek was a king, he was rich and respected, but he was greater than that. He was superior to Abraham, the patriarch of faith and the greatest of all the Jews. Thus, Paul compares this priest to the Levites to show that Jesus Christ is greater, because the former had a limited time, they were mortals and sinners. There is a contrast between mortals and the One who was dead and lives because He overcame death. He is as great as life is to death.
The priestly office itself is the intercession for the sinner before God. Human intercessors, all the children of Levi and his descendants, could never place sinners in direct contact with God. They did so through the sacrifices that symbolized Christ’s sacrifice.
Symbols are never perfect expressions of reality. The Aaronic priesthood was therefore imperfect. Christ is the only High Priest of the perfect priesthood, placing sinners in direct contact with God, without the need for sacrifices or intermediaries because Christ is our only and sufficient sacrifice and our exclusive intermediary.
In the days of the past millennium when I was in elementary school, there was the lower first grade and the higher first grade.
May Christ always be our First and High Priest so that our future millennium may be eternal.
#AdultsDevotional
#RadioJovenAdventista
#MeditacionesDiarias
Taken from: Daily Devotions for Adults 2021
“HIS GRACE IS ENOUGH”
From: Bruno Raso
Colaboradores: Angelica Cuate & Alexandra Perez
