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6:13-20 God swore an oath to Abraham. Men also swear an oath as a confirmation that they will indeed do what they've promised. God wanted His people to be very sure that He would follow through on what He'd promised. That's why He swore an oath. The readers can be greatly encouraged because of these "two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie," (1 His promise and 2 His oath). The readers have "fled to take hold of the hope" that they've been offered through Christ. They have literally fled from their reliance on the Law and the Levitical priesthood to make them righteous in God's sight. Now they put their trust in Jesus. This hope of eternal life is "an anchor for the soul" and it enters "the inner sanctuary behind the curtain" where Jesus has entered on their behalf. He is their high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.

7:1-10 Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. We read earlier about how he met Abraham after the defeat of the kings. Click for handout. Abraham gave him 10% of the plunder. Melchizedek means "king of righteousness" and king of Salem means "king of peace." No one knows where he came from, his genealogy is unknown. "Without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever." We know Melchizedek was greater than Abraham because he received the tithe from him and blessed him. The greater one always blesses the lesser. He was also greater than the Levites because even though the Law requires the Levites to collect the tithe from their brothers, Levi essentially paid a tithe to Melchizedek through his great-grandfather Abraham. The author is showing his readers why the Melchizedekian priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood. The main point of this description of Melchizedek is not to nail down with certainty who he was. Some people think he was the pre-incarnate Christ, or an angel, or Shem, etc. But the author is less concerned about the identity of Melchizedek than he is with proving the superiority of the Melchizedekian priesthood.

v. 11-19 Obviously the Levitical priesthood could not bring about perfection otherwise there would have been no need for the Melchizedekian order. "When there is a change of the priesthood there must also be a change of the law." Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi. He couldn't have been a high priest in the Levitical system because He came from the wrong tribe. Jesus is high priest of the order of Melchizedek. He became high priest not on the basis of His ancestry, but "on the basis of the power of an indestructible life." Take a moment to think about that statement. Jesus is indestructible. He cannot be stopped. He will never die and be replaced by another. The former priesthood was set aside because it could not do what the Melchizedekian order can do. This new priesthood is "a better hope" through which believers can draw near to God.

v. 20-22 There was not an oath associated with the Levitical priesthood. But Jesus became high priest with an oath. "The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: 'You are a priest forever.'" Notice how God's oath confirms the statement and makes it more certain. He will not change His mind. What He says He will do, He will do. It's because of the oath that Jesus is "the guarantee of a better covenant." The new covenant is better than the old.

v. 23-8:2 There have been many high priests in the Levitical priesthood because a new one had to be appointed whenever the current high priest died. But Jesus lives forever and will never die. Therefore He has a permanent priesthood. Those who come to God through Jesus (not through some other means like the Levitical high priest) are saved forever because He "always lives to intercede for them." The author makes it clear that people need a high priest. Someone must serve as their mediator and intercede for them. Jesus meets this need for a high priest because He is "holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." This cannot be said about the Levitical high priests. Jesus doesn't have to offer sacrifices for His own sins because He has never sinned. He offered Himself as the sacrifice once and for all. Levitical high priests were appointed by the Law of Moses and they are weak. But God's oath which came after the Law appoints the Son of God "who has been made perfect forever." The author says "The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest" who serves in the heavenly sanctuary in the "true tabernacle set up by the Lord."

Keep in mind that the author is writing to Jewish-Christian converts who were being tempted to go back to Judaism. Click to see the diagram. The Temple in Jerusalem was still standing, sacrifices were being offered every day, and the high priest was still entering the holy of holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. They don't know that in a few short years the Temple will be destroyed. There will be nothing to go back to. The author is explaining to them that whatever they felt they lost when they became Christians has been replaced by something infinitely better. They have a better High Priest of a better order of priests. They have a sanctuary in the true Tabernacle set up by the Lord and not by men. They have had the ultimate sacrifice offered on their behalf by their everlasting intercessor. They have an inheritance far richer than the Promised Land and the traditions of their fathers. As we continue to read Hebrews we will see more details of how much they have gained by following Christ. This should be a great encouragement for us today.

8:3-6 High priests, whether Levitical or Melchizedekian, are appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices to God. Therefore Jesus also had to have something to offer. On earth He did not serve as a high priest in the Temple which was merely "a copy and shadow of what is in heaven." Remember that Moses was told to make the tabernacle according to the pattern he was shown on Mount Sinai. The physical Temple that stood in Jerusalem was only a shadow of the real Temple in the heavenly realm. The Reality in heaven casts a shadow and that shadow is physical and temporary. Although Jesus was not a Levitical high priest, His ministry is superior to theirs just like the new covenant He mediates is superior to the old covenant.

v. 7-12 What was wrong with the old covenant? "God found fault with the people and declared that a time would come when He would make a new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah. It would not be like the old covenant that He made with the ancient Israelites because they didn't remain faithful to their agreement. The Lord turned away from them because of their unfaithfulness. But now through this new covenant the Lord puts His laws in their hearts and minds rather than on stone tablets. None of them will have to teach others to know the Lord because they will all know Him. Their sins will be forgiven. In class we talked about believers having a personal relationship with Jesus and with the Father through Him. This is different than what the Israelites experienced under the old covenant. Their mediator was the high priest, not Christ.

v. 13 "By calling this covenant 'new,' He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear." This is a powerful statement that has strong implications for us today. The author is saying that the old covenant is obsolete because a new and better covenant is now in effect. An example we used in class was refinancing a house. The original mortgage had a certain interest rate and repayment date. But it is replaced by the new mortgage and the terms of the old one no longer apply. The interest rate and other terms are set by the new agreement.

The author also says that the old covenant will soon disappear. The readers probably didn't know that it would disappear within their lifetime. In 70 AD the Temple was destroyed and it has never been rebuilt. There is no longer a Levitical high priest and no sacrifices can be offered as were required by the Law of Moses. The new covenant has made the old one obsolete.

Much more about this next time.

--Sandy Blank

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