A REVELATON OF....... THE 3 PRIESTHOODS

A look at the 3 priesthoods of the Bible and what their progressive development means for us today.

INTRODUCTION
We continue and conclude our look at the priesthood of Melchizedec.

THE PRIESTHOOD OF MELCHIZEDEK continued

GAPS IN THE BIBLE

To get a true understanding of the developing revelation of God in the Bible it is necessary to understand that the Old Testament, rather than being a group of books covering a single time period, is really split into two, with a break of 400 years between them, of which there is no record. There is also a similar break of 400 years of unrecorded history between the Old Testament and the New.

Therefore, the Bible is split into three:
1. Genesis,
2. Exodus to Malachi and
3. Matthew to Revelation.

This means that there is to be an individual priesthood that applies to each of the three.

MELCHIZEDEK - PRIEST TO A FAMILY

Abraham was chosen by God to reestablish His godly line upon the earth. God made a covenant (today a contract) with Abraham, promising him, who had no children that he would be the father of a godly line, which continues spiritually, through to believers today.

Genesis 15 :1-6


The godly line would only pass down through one member of the next generation, through Isaac and Jacob, thus continuing to limit the godly blessing to a specific family.

Presumably the reason for this is found in the nomadic nature of the people of the time. As the sons grew up, they would get married, leave their parents and form their own nomadic group, or family. The godly line remained restricted to a family until Jacob and his sons went to Egypt, where effectively, the Jewish nation was born.

We do not know how long Melchizedek was around, or even whether he met Abraham again, let alone Isaac or Jacob. But the family based principle of the Melchizedek priesthood was established through what is recorded in Genesis.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD
Most of what we know about Melchizedek is contained in the New Testament book of Hebrews. The writer would have known of Melchizedek through Jewish tradition, handed down from generation to generation, but must also have had a revelation from God about the special role he played.

1. MEANING OF HIS NAME:
In these times, your name reflected you character and role in life.

Hebrews 7:2b


2. AN ONGOING PRIESTHOOD:
Without entering into arguments about his immortality, the key revelation here is that, like Jesus, his ministry is eternal. While we cannot fully understand this, the key point is the ministry of Melchizedek remains, even to today.

Hebrews 7:3


3. GREATER THAN ABRAHAM, FATHER OF THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD:
By implication, the priesthood of Melchizedek was greater than the Levitical one. This is then confirmed, when it is said that the Levitical priesthood effectively tithed to Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:4, Hebrews 7:9-10


4. OF THE SAME ORDER AS JESUS:
Wow! Amazing! Beyond our comprehension!

Hebrews 7:17


5. OF SIMILAR CHARACTER TO JESUS:
Being of the same order implies a similar character. Hence why Melchizedek was greater than Abraham, who in spite of his admirable attributes, had his share of human failings also.

Hebrews 7:26


6. PERFECTION NECESSARY TO ENTER THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD:
Jesus is the only other one who has reached the mark of proven perfection to become a member of the Melchizedek priesthood.

Hebrews 5:7-10

A GAP OF 400 YEARS

Between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus there is a 400 year gap of unrecorded history.

Of course this does not mean that nothing was happening! Over the 400 years of living in Egypt the family multiplied and became a nation. The Egyptians taught them agriculture and crop production, which was necessary to a settled, as opposed to a nomadic lifestyle. The Egyptians also gave the Jews a written language and taught the governance skills necessary for a settled society to maintain itself.

In people terms, we move from Joseph to Moses. Over this time the Jews lived in the same physical location growing the formerly nomadic families into a settled nation of many, many people, perhaps 2.5 million. They had become a vital cog in Egyptian society, hence why the Pharoah was so reluctant to let them leave!