Hebrews 7:1-10 - Our Eternal King of Righteousness

Hebrews 7:1-10

The King of Righteousness (Genesis 14:17–20)

1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

The priest Melchizedek was a foreshadowing of the true King of Righteousness, Jesus Christ who is the divine High Priest.  He did not actually appear out of nowhere as Melchizedek seemed to do to Abraham but has always existed and was hidden in a mystery to be revealed when He appeared as a man to be the priest who sacrificed Himself instead of transitory animal offerings which themselves only were a shadow of things in the heavens (Hebrews 10:1, 11-12, 13-14) from which the Son of God came to us.  He came that we might believe by faith and receive our Savior from sin’s penalty as our Lord to rule sovereignly over us and be obeyed in response to the gospel for both salvation and daily obedience in following all things which the great commission (Matthew 28:20) demands of us.  We cannot believe that salvation is merely an escape from judgment when so much of scripture points us to our Lord as the one to follow in all things that we may be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29, 12:1-22 Corinthians 3:18) in holiness and righteousness as we move from the elementary principles of milk to the solid food (1 Corinthians 3:2, Hebrews 5:12, 14) of growth in grace and knowledge of our Sovereign Lord.  Jesus Christ then is our priest without beginning or end, eternal in the heavens, not as the earthly priest who met Abraham as received tithes from him.  The pattern of Melchizedek receiving tithes from Abraham when he was not even of priestly lineage is fully realized in Christ as the Son of God and our true High Priest who alone deserves our offerings of the bounty of grace given us in and through Him!  Do we then read these things and brush them aside as inconsequential to the gospel or dwell on them as essential to understanding the work of Christ’s sacrifice and sacrificing of Himself to minister grace and salvation to us as we willingly obey the gospel for both our salvation and daily sanctification of living towards the goal of Christ and conformity to Him by following the word of scripture in pursuit of knowing Him and His work more fully that we have an answer to these who ask what we believe and why?  The eternal King of righteousness calls us to die daily to ourselves and pursue His kingdom in word and deed as we grow in conformity to Him and seek His will to do the works prepared (Ephesians 2:10) for we who have tasted the grace of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) by faith and grace of His work for and in us.  He ministers to us and we can always come to that throne of grace when we need help (Hebrews 4:16) to stand fast and pursue Him when we falter in sin of unrighteousness or disobedience in failing to follow all things He has taught us.  This passage gives us understanding and spiritual insight into who Our Eternal King of Righteousness is and what He has done that we may follow Him as those the Son of God delivered as our Savior and perfects as our Lord while we are being sanctified by Him through His work and our obedience (Philippians 2:12-13).