The
Hebrew writer, when sharing about the “confirmed”
promise of God, expressed the “hope
we have as an anchor of the soul”,
and in chapter six and verse twenty of
Hebrews we are reminded how “Jesus”
Christ “the forerunner is for us entered”
where we read:
Whither
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus,
made an
high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
The
verse begins, “Whither the forerunner
is for us entered, even
Jesus,...”. The
writer began with the word, “Whither”
which means “whereas and wheresoever”, “the
forerunner”
or “the one who comes in advance to a place where the rest are to
follow” “is for us”
which means “is exceedingly above and on our behalf” “entered”
which means “gone in and made entrance”, “even
Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” and was “the Son of
God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate”. Jesus Christ served
as “one who comes in advance” for us into the Holy of Holies to
be offered as a sacrifice for our sins.
The
verse goes on to say, “...made an
high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”. The
writer continued, “made” or
“come into existence, began to be and happened as” “an
high priest”
which means “the chief of priests” “for
ever” or
“to the eternal and never ending” “after
the order”
which refers to “the arrangement, fixed succession, post, rank and
orderly condition” “of Melchisedec”
which means “king of righteousness” and was “the king of Salem
and priest of the most high God who lived in the days of Abraham”.
Jesus did not come from the Levitical
“order”
of priest, but was made special and specific according to the “rank
and succession” of “Melchisedec”
who was a “theophany” or early appearance of Jesus in the Old
Testament.
When
we consider these words in Hebrews, we begin to comprehend the
awe-inspiring testimony of Jesus Christ's life. He served as the
“forerunner” or “one who goes before” for us, and His
status as “high priest” goes beyond all who ever held that
office before. Should there be any doubt as to who Jesus is, we only
have to look at the rarity of this one called “Melchisedec”
to find the uniqueness of his “order” of priesthood. Let
us rejoice in this great plan of our salvation from God the Father
above, and triumph in our predecessor who was the perfect one to
atone for our sins.
Next
time we
begin a new chapter as the writer shares more about “Melchisedec,
king of Salem”,
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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