To Encourage You

Hebrews 7:4-7 “See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.”

In the passage above we have mention of the word “tithe.”  A tithe simply means one tenth.  The reference in this passage of Scripture regards Abraham giving a tithe of the spoils of his victory over his enemies in the account from Genesis 14 to the priest Melchizedek.  A tithe was established by God, in part, as a means of worship.  It was an acknowledgement that everything we have comes from God and by giving a tenth back to Him, it was a means of expressing thanks to Him for it.  It was a means by which a portion of all that God had given man could be sanctified, i.e., set apart to Him.  It kept man from forgetting where all the things that pertained to his life came from, for that forgetfulness is always a temptation.  Men are very prone to take their eyes off the One who has blessed them and focus on the blessings instead.  It was by giving a tenth of the spoils to the priest Melchizedek, that Abraham sought to glorify the God who had met all his needs. 

But it is in the blessing of Melchizedek to Abraham that we have a wonderful picture of Christ.  The passage above seeks to elevate the priest Melchizedek above the Levitical priests that the Jews to whom the book of Hebrews was written, understood so well. Under the Old Testament law, the people were to give their tithes to the Levites.  Both the Levites and the people from all the other Israelite tribes were the descendants of Abraham; thus, the term “brothers” above, to refer to them all.  The tithes that were given to the Levites had symbolically been given to Abraham, since Levi had descended from Abraham’s loins (Hebrews 7:10). The fact that Abraham had given tithes to Melchizedek was a means of acknowledging that that priest was greater than those of Levi’s line.  But beyond this it pointed to the greatness of the One who was typified by Melchizedek, the eternal great High Priest Who is Christ. 

Notice that we are told that Melchizedek blessed Abraham, “the one who had the promises.” You see, God had promised to give Abraham a son who would be one through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).  The fulfillment of this great promise began with the birth of Abraham’s son Isaac, but ultimately it was fulfilled by the One who would come from Isaac’s line, Jesus Christ.  As the great priest Melchizedek had blessed Abraham, so the great High Priest, Jesus, would bless the children of Abraham, i.e., those who are his children by faith, which points to all believers of every age (Galatians 3:7).  And how did Melchizedek bless Abraham?  We see from Genesis 14:18 that he brought out bread and wine.  Likewise, wonderfully, the High Priest Jesus blesses all the children of Abraham by offering them bread and wine, as well.  And what is that bread and wine?  As Jesus told his disciples before calvary, “this (bread) is my body, which is given for you. . . And . . . This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:19-20). You see, while the people of God were instructed to give a tenth of all they had to God through their tithes to the Levites, and while Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils to the priest Melchizedek, the One whom Melchizedek pointed to has given not just a tenth, but His all, His very life to us. 

How great was the priest Melchizedek, but how much greater the great High Priest to whom Melchizedek points!