superior to the Levitical
priesthood, the writer of Hebrews shared how Jesus descended from a
different tribe than the tribe of Levi. In chapter seven and verse
fourteen of Hebrews the writer shared how“Our Lord sprang out of
Judah” where we read:
For [it
is] evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah;
of which
tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
The verse begins, “For
[it is] evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah;”. The
writer began with the word, “For” which means “because,
even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and therefore”, “it
is evident” or “it is openly known and manifest” “that
our Lord” which refers to “the writer and reader's person to
whom things belong about which he has power of deciding and master”
“sprang out of” or “rose and descended from” “Judah”
whose name means “he shall be praised” and was “the fourth son
of Jacob”. The writer referred to the fact that their “Lord”
- Jesus - “descended” from the tribe of “Judah”.
The verse goes on to say,
“of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood”.
The writer continued with the words, “of which tribe” or
“about what nation, people, offshoot, race, clan or kindred”
“Moses” which means “drawing out” and was “the
legislator of the Jewish people and in a certain sense the founder of
the Jewish religion who wrote the first five books of the Bible
commonly referred to as the Books of Moses” “spoke nothing”
which means “articulated, uttered, told, declared and proclaim not
any words” “concerning” or “about, on account of,
because of, around and near” “priesthood” which refers
to “the priestly office which produced sacred things”. “Moses”,
in the books of the law, wrote or said “nothing” about the
tribe of “Judah” being a priestly “tribe”.
When we think through
these words in Hebrews, we see the superiority of Jesus over the
established Levitical priesthood. Moses did not write laws to the
tribe of “Judah” concerning the “priesthood”,
but rather wrote to the “tribe of Levi” in the book of
“Leviticus” concerning the priestly role. Jesus descended
from the tribe of “Judah” and was different than the
Levitical priests. In order for the salvation of man to occur, there
was a need for a superior “priesthood” which was without
flaw or error. Jesus Christ was the perfect “great high priest”,
and as we understand He came through the “tribe of Judah”,
we should find ample reason to consider Him as Savior and Lord.
Next time the writer
shares when there arose another one “after the similitude of
Melchisedec”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is
more…
Look for the daily
devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to
Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”,
and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in
all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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