The Melchisedec Priesthood
Helping us Understand the Difference Between The Book of the Covenant and
The Book of the Law
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between The Book of the Covenant and The Book of Law also known as The Law of Moses? Have you ever thought about The Melchisedec Priesthood which is mentioned in the book of Hebrews? Have you ever felt that there is more to a scripture than meets the eye? We know that many have had that happen. So, let’s start with this particular scripture because it helps us better understand The Melchisedec Priesthood and the difference between The Book of the Covenant and The Book of the Law.
Yahusha (Jesus) said in Matthew 11:11 “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Now, this is something to consider… John the Baptist was a priest in the order of Aaron, and his father, Zachariah, was as well, according to Luke 1:5. So, John the Baptist was the true high priest appointed by Yahuah (The Lord), not Caiaphas which was appointed by man.
Now, in Hebrews chapter 7 we read, starting in verse 1 “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; Heb 7:2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Heb 7:3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Heb 7:4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. Heb 7:5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: Heb 7:6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. Heb 7:7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. Heb 7:8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. Heb 7:9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. Heb 7:10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. Heb 7:11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? Heb 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. Heb 7:13 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. Heb 7:14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. Heb 7:15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Heb 7:16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. Heb 7:17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”
Here we see that Levi paid tithes through Abraham to a superior priesthood; The Melchisedec Priesthood, and the high priest of that priesthood is Yahusha (Jesus) who reigns forever. We also can see in that chapter that we are no longer under the order of Aaron, or the Aaronic priesthood. But, please keep in mind that before we can understand the end we must first understand the beginning.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
HMMMM! Isn’t the book of John where the church tells all new believers to start reading? Let’s liken that to a student trying to learn math. If teachers started their students in the latter part of the math book, their students would most likely be lost because they would not have learned any of the foundational skills or concepts from the earlier parts of the book . So, with that in mind, please consider the following scriptures:
Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
So, if they were searching the scriptures daily to see if Paul was telling the truth, what were they reading? Remember, the New Testament was not written yet, or at least not circulated yet, correct? The meaning of the word “word” is scriptures or instructions in English, but in Hebrew it means Torah. That means Yahusha and the Torah are one and the same because He is the Word, right? The Torah is the foundation, or the rock, that Yahusha says you should build your house on, not sand. There is a thread of the Torah throughout all the New Testament writings. A lot of the things that Yahusha spoke and taught about are quoted and taken from the Old Testament. Such as this verse in Deuteronomy. Deut 11:13 “And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,” is also found in Mark 12:30 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
You must remember at this point in the scriptures Yahusha (Jesus) was being asked a question. Matthew 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Mat 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment. Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. So, basically Yahusha (Jesus) is answering a question posed to Him, not adding to or taking away from the Torah. He is not saying these are the only two commandments to follow, instead, He was expressing the importance of how to love our Heavenly Father, as well as, our neighbor. The first answer summed up the first five commandments found in Exodus on how to love our Father and the second answer summed up the second five commandments on how to love your neighbor. Therefore, all ten commandments found in Exodus 20 are still in effect today. John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Also, Yahusha fulfilled the set apart times mentioned in Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23 such as, The Last Supper (which was Passover), He died on the first day of Unleavened Bread, He rose on Firstfruits, and when He returns He will fulfill The Day of Trumpets (which you read about in Revelation and Leviticus), and the marriage supper of the Lamb which is the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) also in Zechariah 14:18-19. So, if a person is going to study the New Testament, they must also study the first five books of the Bible, which is the Torah (The Word).
Now, Yahuah made a Covenant with Abraham and his seed which is found in Genesis chapter 15 all the way through when the Covenant was confirmed at Mount Sinai in Exodus 24. (Please note that this Covenant also includes Exodus 20 where the ten commandments are found.) But, this Covenant unfortunately was broken because of the molten calf incident in Exodus 32:4. When this happened Yahuah (God) wanted to wipe out all the Israelites and start over with Moses. But, Moses interceded on their behalf and the Book of the Law was imposed on them in order to show them in the natural of the spiritual good things to come (1Corinthians 15:46). It was at that time that The Book of the Law was put into place until Shiloh, who is The Messiah (Yahusha, Jesus), came and reinstituted the covenant that He had with Abraham and put it into our heart and mind. Genesis 49:10 “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” So, to reiterate, now that The Messiah has already came he made a new covenant with us that was like the covenant he made first with Abraham, but now he put that promise in our mind and in our heart, not on tablets of stone .
In Jeremiah (from the Old Testament) and in Hebrews (in the New Testament) we read that He will make a new covenant with the whole house of Israel. Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Heb 8:8 “For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:”
The one thing we must always remember is that Our Heavenly Father never changes. We are told this in the following verses:
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Mal 3:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?” and also in
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
Here are some more scriptures that helped us gain a better understanding of The Melchisedec Priesthood:
2Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
“A preacher of righteousness” is the same as Melchizedek. So, Noah was the eighth Melchizedek and he was the tenth generation from Adam.
We first see the word Melchisedec (Melchizedek) in Genesis 14:18 and again in Psalms 110:4. Genesis 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Gen 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Gen 14:21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Gen 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
Gen 14:23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Gen 14:24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
If Noah was the eighth Melchisedec (Melchizedek) and Adam was the first, then that means that the ninth Melchisedec (Melchizedek) must have been Shem. This means that Shem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the Most High, Yahuah (God).
There was only one Melchisedec (Melchizedek) allowed to be living on earth at a time. That is why Abraham was not a Melchisedec (Melchizedek) because Shem was still alive in Abraham’s day. Therefore, we also believe that Moses and King David were a Melchisedec (Melchizedek) and Yahusha (Jesus) was the final Melchisedec (Melchizedek). It is interesting that the Scriptures say He is the Son of Man, or Adam, in Hebrew.
Finally, let us get a better understanding of the difference between The Book of Covenant and The Book of Law.
Deuteronomy 31:24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, Deu 31:25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Deu 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
So, here we can see that the Book of Law was on the outside of the Ark of the Covenant and The Covenant was on the inside written on tablets of stone. Hence, the name of the ark…The Ark of the Covenant not The Ark of the Law! This is what Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 8:10 were talking about. “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their El (God), and they shall be my people.” Remember, we are now the temple, as it is no longer built by human hands! Let’s go over what was put in the ark…the tablets of stone, the jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod. Those tablets of stone are now supposed to be written on our hearts which represents The Covenant, the manna represents The Unleavened Bread of Heaven which is Yahusha (Jesus), and Aaron’s rod that budded (which, shows that the High Priest is chosen by Yahuah (God), not man). See Numbers chapter 17. Hebrews 9:3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Heb 9:4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; Heb 9:5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat;
In conclusion, we are no longer under the order of Aaron. We are all under a higher priesthood, the Melchisedec (Melchizedek), if you believe in Yahusha (Jesus), our King and High Priest, that makes us all Kings and Priests in the order of Melchisedec (Melchizedek) like it states in the book of Revelation. Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. Remember that all scripture, from Genesis to Revelation is given to us for instruction in righteousness that we must follow. 2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
This is what our Creator wanted from the beginning when He brought us out of Egypt and nothing has changed! Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Ecc 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Ecc 1:10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
So therefore, we must all join the higher priesthood!
Shalom
restoringthelatterhouse.net