Ezekiel 12:1-14:11, Hebrews 7:1-17, Psalms 105:37-45, Proverbs 27:3
Today is the 5th day of November welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian and it is great to be here with you like every day. It’s always good to be in the presence of God’s people and realize that we are knit together as one body and together we’re taking this journey in community through the Scriptures. And, so, let’s get to it for today. We’re reading from the Evangelical Heritage Version. Ezekiel chapter 12 verse 1 through 14 verse 11.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the book of Hebrews today we came across a name that we have come across before earlier in our reading of the Old Testament, that name is Melchizedek. And we talked about Melchizedek man like a couple of weeks into our journey back when we were in the book of Genesis. And we said, you know, later on this year we’re gonna come across his name again and begin to find out why this guy’s in the Bible. And this is one of these times when we’re gonna dive into something in the book of Hebrews, and it’s all Hebrew centric. Like we have to understand the Hebrew context for this to make any sense, which is true of so much of Christian theology. Like Jesus was Hebrew, He came in a Hebrew context, right? And He ministered in a Hebrew context. So, to try to get at the essence of the…the things He was commenting on and the things He was inviting people into is within that context. So, we have to understand that context for it to have any real…real meaning to we who are Gentiles. So, we first encounter Melchizedek in the book of Genesis chapter 14. And I will read. There’s just a couple of sentences. “And Melchizedek the king of Salem and a priest of God most high brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing. Blessed to be Abram God most high creator of heaven and earth and blessed be God most high, who has defeated your enemies for you. And Abram gave Melchizedek a 10th of all the goods he had recovered.” Okay. So, we met Melchizedek in the book of Genesis and I just read everything there is about Melchizedek there is in the book of Genesis. So, the writer of Hebrews is right. There is no ancestry here. There is like no understanding of where this person came from or where they went. Then in the book of Psalms, chapter 110, we see Melchizedek again. “The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow. You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” The order of Melchizedek. Like what is that? Is that a group of some people who have special robes, like some kind of special color lining or some sort of special belt or ring or…like how you get in the order of Melchizedek and who is Melchizedek since the Bible gives us so little? And in Psalm 110 this reference to Melchizedek is paralleling King David. So, why is this in the book of Hebrews and how is this connected to Jesus? So, basically we meet Melchizedek in the book of Genesis with Abraham and as we’ve learned from pretty much all of the writings of the apostle Paul, his conviction was that the whole thing starts with Abraham, not really, with Moses and the Torah. Abraham was the first person to receive the promise. So, this is where we find Melchizedek, with Abraham. But there’s significant time between Abraham and King David and then there’s significant time between King David and Jesus. And yet these are the times in the Scriptures when Melchizedek shows up. So, we could say that Melchizedek as a figure remained in the oral traditions of the Hebrew people and continued to capture their imagination all along. And I can remember a couple of years ago just going, “alright, I’ve heard the order of Melchizedek my whole life. What is the order of Melchizedek? How does this work? Who is this person? Like, what’s this doing in the Bible?” And you start going down that rabbit hole or that bunny trail or whatever you want to call you and it turns into a wormhole. Like you can get lost in it, things that people have thought over the millennia. It’s just vast and wild. And if that’s like right down your alley then this is the place to go for everything from pure science fiction to just really inter…interesting interpretations. But here is how we can tie it together from the Scriptures themselves. Melchizedek – Melchi - zedek does mean king of justice or king of righteousness as we’re told in Hebrews. He was the king of Salem, which also means the king of peace according to Hebrews. We can say that he is the very first priest of the most-high God, or El Elion that appears in any of the Bible. Like this is…this is midway through the book of Genesis. The Torah hasn’t been written and won’t be written for centuries. There is no Bible, at least as we now know it at all at this time. Rules for appointing priests out of the tribe of Levi, the descendants of Aaron, like none of this exists. Aaron hasn’t been born. He won’t be born for centuries. And yet we have this figure Melchizedek the priest of El Elion, the most-high God. So, if we just take the meanings of the names here, which is something that’s often done in biblical interpretations, trying to find the layers and we would…would end up saying Melchizedek was the first, named at least, righteous priests of the most high God, and a man who also happened to be the king of Salem or the king of peace. Ok, so that’s Genesis. Then if…if we jump a thousand years into the future and we come into King David’s time all the things that we said didn’t exist had come into existence, right? Moses came, people were let out of slavery, the Torah, the law was given, the Levites were appointed, how priests came to be priests had a process, they came from a specific tribe, the Levites, a set apart tribe that didn’t really own any property but were cared for by God’s people as they cared for God’s people and always continually reminded them who they were and who God was and where they’re going. And yet in Psalm 110 we see that David is being called a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek and David wasn’t a Levite. So, how does David get to be a priest forever to El Elion, the most-high God when he like…when God’s rules have been given and David is of the tribe of Judah not of the tribe of Levi? This is where it gets kid of really fascinating. So, Melchizedek was a priest of the most-high God, also the king of Salem. So, Melchizedek was a priest and a king, a priestly king. And David was king in Jerusalem. Jeru - Salem, same city. So, then the order of Melchizedek is a priestly king and David is being set apart to be a priestly king like Melchizedek despite tribal affiliation or the Mosaic law in the same city. So, if…if we’re following this line of reasoning than David’s role as a priestly king was a special exemption or a special exception - the order of Melchizedek. Okay, then Jesus, who is an ancestor, humanly speaking of the line of David seems to bring this fascination with Melchizedek, like to bring it to a conclusion. Jesus is a priestly king in the order of Melchizedek, a king of peace. And, so, since we’ve quoted Genesis and Psalms then let’s go back to, Hebrews, and I quote Hebrews. “And this became even clearer if another priest arises like Melchizedek who became a priest not on the basis of a legal requirement about physical descent but on the basis of the power of an endless life. For it has been testified in Scripture about him, you are a priest forever like Melchizedek.” So, if you’ve, you know, heard the name Melchizedek before in your faith journey and you wondered about that then here’s some ways to look at the order of Melchizedek and why that’s connected to Jesus. But if we go back one layer than this gives us a good glimpse of what…of how necessary the Hebrew perspective is in understanding the theology of our faith, at least. And then if we go back one more layer behind that even we’re beginning to understand Jesus as a priest, as a high priest, something that isn’t really part of our vernacular, an understanding of our faith right now but from a Hebrew perspective is irreplaceable. And, so, Hebrews is written to Hebrews, but it gives us the Hebrew context for the Christian faith and we’ve explored some of that today.
Prayer:
Father we thank You for that. We thank You that we can just mine the Scriptures, that we can continually go deeper and there is no end. And with the guidance of Your Holy Spirit then we…we get enlightened we become aware, we see more and more and more. Of course, trying to do this without the guidance of Your Holy Spirit, then everything just gets so weird so quick as we can see in all of the various interpretations over millennia about this figure named Melchizedek. And, so, what we’re asking for is that You lead us into all truth. We ask it often. You’ve offered…You’ve offered to do that. You’ve given it as a gift and a promise and so we want that. We want to walk toward the truth every day of our lives, every moment of our lives. And as we become aware of Your Holy Spirit’s guidance that’s exactly what’s happening. And, so, we thank You for this context as we move forward through the book of Hebrews and we invite Your Holy Spirit to lead and guide and direct us in everything that we should see and everything that we should come to understand and everything that we should be aware of. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
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Community Prayer and Praise:
Good morning DAB family this is John __ from South Sudan __ in Nigeria. For the past four months even though I was listening to the podcast but I couldn’t record any message. I wanted so badly to send messages to request prayer because I was right there in __ when all the mayhem was happening. But I thank all of you who have prayed and all the people who have brought up the request for prayer. I just came back yesterday to __ South Sudan and I’m right now going into a 14-day quarantine. But anyway, God is good. I have learned and what I sense in my spirit about my nation, Nigeria is that is to do what the angel of the Lord Gideon to do. He told Gideon to demolish the altar of Baal that was set up by his grandfather and then replace it with the altar of the Lord. I…I…I…I got a message and my spirit that Nigeria is suffering from evil alters that have been raised all over the nation and it is time believers begin to demolish these alters and replace it with the altar of the Lord.
Hi Daily Audio Bible family it’s Faithful hope in the UK. Firstly, just thank you so much to those of you who’ve been praying for me and for my children. It is greatly appreciated. Words cannot express how grateful I am for your prayers. So, thank you. As I was receiving those prayers, in a way, the Lord brought my attention to Psalm 56. I just wanted to share that with you. It says be merciful to me oh God for men hotly pursue me. All day long they press their attack. My slanderers pursue me all day long. Many are attacking me in their pride. When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God whose word I praise in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me. All day long they twist my words. They are always plotting to harm me. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps eager to take my life. On no account let them escape. In your anger God bring down the nations. Record my lament. List my tears on your scroll. Are they not in your record? Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me. In God whose word I praise the Lord whose word I praise in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? I am under vows to you oh God. I will present my thank offerings to you for you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling that I may walk before God in the light of life. And I thought that was for someone else and not just me at this time. God bless you. Love you all. Bye.
Hello and greetings to all the DAB family. This is Walking in the Light in Tennessee. I’ve been listening for about two years…a little over two years. I lost my husband about two years ago and just have found such an incredible resource in the Daily Audio Bible. I’ve shared the link with so many people, friends and family. Not sure who’s listening who’s not, but I know that it has certainly encouraged by soul and my heart and my spirit. I’m calling tonight because first of all I’ve been so lifted by so many of you and pray for so many of you. My heart has been touched by the songs, the messages, through prayers, the…even the struggles. You know, we are…we are common because of our struggles. But I wanted to call tonight because my oldest son, I have three sons, my oldest son has actually been going through a whole lot of things and putting me through a whole lot of things because of it. And I know that the enemy that takes opportunity and end roads through our families sometimes to discourage us and distress us. But I will be not discouraged. Even though I feel discouraged I refuse to surrender my joy because I understand that the joy of the Lord truly is my strength and it’s your strength too. And, so, just the first-time caller. So, delighted. I ask for prayers. Again, this is Walking in the Light in Tennessee. I’m so, so, so happy to be part of this Daily Audio Bible family. What a gift we have. And thank you all for listening and I hope to talk to you soon. Good night.
Hey guys this is Katie from Kentucky and I wanted to call in and just say thank you for everybody who calls and shares a bit of who they are. I remember when I was in high school and I had a very narrow view of what a Christian looked like and it was basically, you know, what I was raised with and the way I looked. When I hear all of your prayer requests, I realize that God is so much bigger and loves us all so much, but we all go through our own struggles. And coming to know Jesus does not mean that all those struggles go away immediately or even, I mean, there are things that last the rest of our lives. And I just want you guys to know that I am praying for you and praying with you but you’re also changing me so much with every call to hear parents praying for their children to hear children praying for their parents to hear people praying about drug addiction. You guys have opened my eyes to how much bigger God is then I had known before joining this community. So, thank you and I’m praying with you. Bye.
Good morning is Ganda I’m from Missouri. I’ve been fighting cancer since 2015…2014. I’m not feeling very good tonight. Just pray for strength and prayer for me if you could it would be appreciated. Again, Ganda from central Missouri. This is my second time calling but I’ve been a listener maybe two years. Thank you so much for providing this program since I have very little use of my hands and I can’t turn the page of the Bible anymore with this __. __ the Bible every day. Thank you, thank you, thank you.