Hebrews 5:8a
"Though he were a Son,…"
Again, we have to remember how we've stressed that term Son in the first two chapters of Hebrews. He was not just a carpenter’s son, He was not just Mary’s son, He was the very Person of the Godhead that created everything, but He said that He was the son of man (as such He was a God-child in our humanity). And the term used by Ezekiel more than any other prophet. He was the One to Whom the rest of the Godhead imparted all the responsibility of creation and of this work of the Redemption through the Last Supper and then on the Cross and now our Salvation. Where we released into His hands our souls/spirit as well. For its not of our works that any man should boast but it is of His doing in us. And so:
Hebrews 5:8
"Though he were the Son, (He was all powerful,) yet he learned (what?) obedience (to respond to the responsibility that had been given to Him by the Godhead as a whole) yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered;" Throughout His earthly ministry to Israel and their resistance of unbelief to what He was saying, and doing. Then in that agony leading up to and going through that death on the cross. Now He did it in this fashion as our example as we're to learn of Him in the same fashion (Matthew 11:25-30) as He has already passed through it for us, we can gain the victory over all things through Him. We except it all by trusting in His Faithfulness and obedience. Now verse 9,
Hebrews 5:9
"And being made perfect, (complete, is a better word. A complete Redeemer, Savior, a complete Reconciler, and One Who forgives and saves us to the uttermost) he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him (Christ)."
Back up a page or two - we covered almost the same identical word "author" in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10. We like to use all these Scriptures because they all compliment each other.
Hebrews 2:10
"For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain (first in line, and next the same word) of their salvation perfect (or complete (Peter and Isaiah uses a different word found in 1 Peter 2:24 “healed”), but what did it take?) through suffering."
Christ had to suffer in order to become then the Captain of our salvation, or as it says here, now come back to chapter 5 verse 9, the "author of our salvation." Without the suffering it could have never happened. And again His suffering started shortly after He fulfilled all righteousness. How? By the required water baptism with John. In compliance to the Levitical Law. So it is also of us before we can leave our first stated after redemption has done its perfect work in us, in preparation for His salvation. Now verse 9 again.
Hebrews 5:9
"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
Well what’s another word for obey? Believing. In fact, we just ran across a verse in Acts and we didn’t remember ever stressing it in any teaching. It just sort of hit us like a thunderbolt as we were reading in prayer. Come back with us to Acts chapter 13. My, this is a verse we’ve missed all these years.
Acts 13:35-39a
"Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God fell on sleep, (he died) and was laid unto (with) his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, my and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: (and here it comes in the next verse) And by him all that believe are justified…"
Sunday, July 8, 2012
The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXVI
I Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: (or creation. Go right back to what I said three, four minutes ago) old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new."
Our old desires, our old appetites, they have to go, for He said this. "Behold, all things are become New." Now that’s what happens when we receive what we've believed or confessed. Alright, so this pastor asked his huge congregation including everyone in the balcony, "If you are a Christian this morning please stand." How many stood? Everybody. Not a one stayed seated, they all stood.
Then he says, "Alright, please be seated." He read the verse again, "Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a New Creation" and so forth. Now he said, "If you know that you are in Christ and you are a New Creation, please stand." How many stood? Just one here and there, just precious few. Well, what does that tell you? That’s typical, that’s why we’ve said that others have said it, and some famous pastor has said almost the same thing. "Our churches are full of unsaved church members. They’re not in Christ. They haven’t experienced a New Life. They’ve still got the old appetites. There’s nothing different."
That won’t fit do ya see? Alright, so now then reading on, this isn’t where we intended to come, we just happened to see the verse as we were turning to it. Reading on, he says in verse 18:
II Corinthians 5:18
"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;" In other words, all the things that have set us apart from God have now been bringing us back to Him, through Jesus Christ. Now what does that mean? Now verse 19:
II Corinthians 5:19
"To wit, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; (in other words, because when we become a receiver then to a believer our sin debt is paid) and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
We’re to tell a lost and unbelieving world, we’re to tell lost friends, lost co-workers, even the unbelieving, "Hey, Christ has already reconciled you if you’ll just receive what we believe." Now verse 20, it has to be our confession because Revelation says that we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our confession (Revelation 12:11) why? Because they loved not their life unto death. In other words they had died with Him on the tree being made there one with Him. No, before at the Lord's Passover table. During His inauguration of the promised New Covenant. This is their confession and ours.
II Corinthians 5:20
"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God." By receiving it and believing it! Now here’s a verse we came back to read. Verse 21:
II Corinthians 5:21a
"For he (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us,…"
Now don’t read that too casually. What does that really mean? God laid all the sin of the world, including mine, including yours, on Him. God laid all the sins of the world on Christ as He hung on that Cross, see? That’s what in Philippians we find "That He died even the death of the Cross" knowing that the sins of the world would be laid on Him. Alright reading on in this verse: He Who became sin for us, He Who knew no sin. He was perfect. He was sinless because He was law abiding even down to the commandments and ordinances. And He went through the whole process for us.
II Corinthians, 5:21b
"… that we (as lost hell-bound sinners) might be made the righteousness of God in him."
And this is what we have to receive by trust which is to then believe. We take it by His faith. And when we receive and believe for our redemption onto our salvation that He died, was buried and rose from the dead, then God imparts His righteousness into us and we’re a new creation and we’re a new person. Now we've left clues throughout this blog that reveal that there is more depth here than is shown. To get a preview look at 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verses 23 though 32 and then the four gospels on this subject and ask the Lord to reveal the depth there hidden. Now back to Hebrews again, and verse 8 still in chapter 5.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: (or creation. Go right back to what I said three, four minutes ago) old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new."
Our old desires, our old appetites, they have to go, for He said this. "Behold, all things are become New." Now that’s what happens when we receive what we've believed or confessed. Alright, so this pastor asked his huge congregation including everyone in the balcony, "If you are a Christian this morning please stand." How many stood? Everybody. Not a one stayed seated, they all stood.
Then he says, "Alright, please be seated." He read the verse again, "Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a New Creation" and so forth. Now he said, "If you know that you are in Christ and you are a New Creation, please stand." How many stood? Just one here and there, just precious few. Well, what does that tell you? That’s typical, that’s why we’ve said that others have said it, and some famous pastor has said almost the same thing. "Our churches are full of unsaved church members. They’re not in Christ. They haven’t experienced a New Life. They’ve still got the old appetites. There’s nothing different."
That won’t fit do ya see? Alright, so now then reading on, this isn’t where we intended to come, we just happened to see the verse as we were turning to it. Reading on, he says in verse 18:
II Corinthians 5:18
"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;" In other words, all the things that have set us apart from God have now been bringing us back to Him, through Jesus Christ. Now what does that mean? Now verse 19:
II Corinthians 5:19
"To wit, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; (in other words, because when we become a receiver then to a believer our sin debt is paid) and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
We’re to tell a lost and unbelieving world, we’re to tell lost friends, lost co-workers, even the unbelieving, "Hey, Christ has already reconciled you if you’ll just receive what we believe." Now verse 20, it has to be our confession because Revelation says that we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our confession (Revelation 12:11) why? Because they loved not their life unto death. In other words they had died with Him on the tree being made there one with Him. No, before at the Lord's Passover table. During His inauguration of the promised New Covenant. This is their confession and ours.
II Corinthians 5:20
"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God." By receiving it and believing it! Now here’s a verse we came back to read. Verse 21:
II Corinthians 5:21a
"For he (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us,…"
Now don’t read that too casually. What does that really mean? God laid all the sin of the world, including mine, including yours, on Him. God laid all the sins of the world on Christ as He hung on that Cross, see? That’s what in Philippians we find "That He died even the death of the Cross" knowing that the sins of the world would be laid on Him. Alright reading on in this verse: He Who became sin for us, He Who knew no sin. He was perfect. He was sinless because He was law abiding even down to the commandments and ordinances. And He went through the whole process for us.
II Corinthians, 5:21b
"… that we (as lost hell-bound sinners) might be made the righteousness of God in him."
And this is what we have to receive by trust which is to then believe. We take it by His faith. And when we receive and believe for our redemption onto our salvation that He died, was buried and rose from the dead, then God imparts His righteousness into us and we’re a new creation and we’re a new person. Now we've left clues throughout this blog that reveal that there is more depth here than is shown. To get a preview look at 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verses 23 though 32 and then the four gospels on this subject and ask the Lord to reveal the depth there hidden. Now back to Hebrews again, and verse 8 still in chapter 5.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXV
Philippians 2:7b
"…and was made in the likeness of men:"
We’re always trying to make the analogy that in order for God to be the Savior/Redeemer of mankind, in order to be the High Priest of the order of Melchizedek, what did He have to do? He had to become one of us. He had to walk as men walk and He had to suffer the same passions of hunger, hurt and with fatigue that we do, in order to fully understand what it was to redeem mankind to the uttermost. See? So, "made in the likeness of men" so that He could become one of us and thereby not only become our great High Priest-King but also the Savior/Redeemer and then become the Captain of our salvation and our LORD of spirits. Now then verse 8,
Philippians 2:8a
"And being found in fashion as a (what?) a man,…"
A man! He didn’t look bazaar or different. He looked very ordinary and He could walk though a crowd and strangers couldn’t pick Him out by His bazaar appearance. He appeared as an ordinary man, He just blended in.
Philippians 2:8a
"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,.."
How could He? Because He was God! He could do this to Himself. He could take Himself from the realms of Glory from the power of the Creator and He could bring Himself down to be like mortal men. This He did when He meet with Abraham and ate before the door of his tent, when He wrestled with Jacob. And so He humbled Himself and by becoming that epitome of humility,
Philippians 2:8b
"…and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
What does the word obedient imply? There was a requirement laid upon Him. He had to die. There was no way out, because without His death humanity would have been totally destitute of redemption and salvation. Even the Old Testament believers would have been simply wiped out of all of it, had He not died. Because you want to remember even the Old Testament saints, the greatest of them, Moses, Abraham you name them - without that finished work of the cross, their salvation wasn’t complete either. See?
And that’s why when Christ went down into Paradise and set those Old Testament captives free, why were they kept down there instead of going on to Glory? Because their sins hadn’t been atoned for. Animal blood didn’t take away their sin. It was when Christ’s blood was shed, that’s when the redemption found in the salvation of the Old Testament saints was complete. Their atonement was now complete and Christ could take them on up to Glory. But not until. Now back to our text, and reading verse 8 again.
Philippians 2:8
"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, (and not just any ordinary death of maybe being killed with a sword, or beheaded as Paul was, but something far worse) even the death of the cross."
You see most of us just take that so glibly or lightly. And we say, oh yeah, Christ died for me. But listen that’s not the half of it. We as mere natural men can never comprehend the suffering that He had to go through beyond the physical. Remember that He could not do this by Himself, as with a sword to fall upon it or jumping from the peak of the temple, it took many men. It took the Hebrew priest's, the council and the Roman governor not to mention the soldiers, it required many hands to shed His blood and place Him on the cross.
A verse is coming to mind, and we think it’s II Corinthians chapter 5 - let’s go back and look at it. Let’s just jump in at verse 17. We're going to take the time to rehearse it because it shook us to our bootstraps and we think it should everybody. Read verse 17 of chapter 5.
II Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: (or creation. Go right back to what we said earlier) old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new."
"…and was made in the likeness of men:"
We’re always trying to make the analogy that in order for God to be the Savior/Redeemer of mankind, in order to be the High Priest of the order of Melchizedek, what did He have to do? He had to become one of us. He had to walk as men walk and He had to suffer the same passions of hunger, hurt and with fatigue that we do, in order to fully understand what it was to redeem mankind to the uttermost. See? So, "made in the likeness of men" so that He could become one of us and thereby not only become our great High Priest-King but also the Savior/Redeemer and then become the Captain of our salvation and our LORD of spirits. Now then verse 8,
Philippians 2:8a
"And being found in fashion as a (what?) a man,…"
A man! He didn’t look bazaar or different. He looked very ordinary and He could walk though a crowd and strangers couldn’t pick Him out by His bazaar appearance. He appeared as an ordinary man, He just blended in.
Philippians 2:8a
"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,.."
How could He? Because He was God! He could do this to Himself. He could take Himself from the realms of Glory from the power of the Creator and He could bring Himself down to be like mortal men. This He did when He meet with Abraham and ate before the door of his tent, when He wrestled with Jacob. And so He humbled Himself and by becoming that epitome of humility,
Philippians 2:8b
"…and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
What does the word obedient imply? There was a requirement laid upon Him. He had to die. There was no way out, because without His death humanity would have been totally destitute of redemption and salvation. Even the Old Testament believers would have been simply wiped out of all of it, had He not died. Because you want to remember even the Old Testament saints, the greatest of them, Moses, Abraham you name them - without that finished work of the cross, their salvation wasn’t complete either. See?
And that’s why when Christ went down into Paradise and set those Old Testament captives free, why were they kept down there instead of going on to Glory? Because their sins hadn’t been atoned for. Animal blood didn’t take away their sin. It was when Christ’s blood was shed, that’s when the redemption found in the salvation of the Old Testament saints was complete. Their atonement was now complete and Christ could take them on up to Glory. But not until. Now back to our text, and reading verse 8 again.
Philippians 2:8
"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, (and not just any ordinary death of maybe being killed with a sword, or beheaded as Paul was, but something far worse) even the death of the cross."
You see most of us just take that so glibly or lightly. And we say, oh yeah, Christ died for me. But listen that’s not the half of it. We as mere natural men can never comprehend the suffering that He had to go through beyond the physical. Remember that He could not do this by Himself, as with a sword to fall upon it or jumping from the peak of the temple, it took many men. It took the Hebrew priest's, the council and the Roman governor not to mention the soldiers, it required many hands to shed His blood and place Him on the cross.
A verse is coming to mind, and we think it’s II Corinthians chapter 5 - let’s go back and look at it. Let’s just jump in at verse 17. We're going to take the time to rehearse it because it shook us to our bootstraps and we think it should everybody. Read verse 17 of chapter 5.
II Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: (or creation. Go right back to what we said earlier) old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new."
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXIV
Alright, let’s go back to Philippians chapter 2 and we’ve used these verses before. And we don’t think there’s any way we can wear them out. But come back with us to Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 through 8. My, periodically, just in your own devotional time read these verses. Where Paul writes:
Philippians 2:5
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus;"
Now another verse comes to mind. We won’t make you go back and find it but its in Romans 12 verse 1, what does he say?
Romans 12:1
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Well, this is all the same concept see? You know what, we have to be so careful and we just went through it. When we explained salvation by trust in His faith and His faith alone. By just simply believing that Christ died, was buried and rose again. We have to immediately follow that up with, but this is not license. Now that we’ve made ourselves fit for eternity; we don’t have to worry about anything else. Can we go and live any way we want? NO! That is not the way it works. The first thing we try to impress on people, especially older people that are up in their 40’s and 50’s an even 60’s, we say, 'now look, just because I maintain that you are saved the moment you believe - remember that when you’re saved, God’s going to change you. You’re not going to be the same person that you were. If there's no change then I'd say something is wrong and I'd be for finding out what Spirit I'm of, if there's NO marked change in my life.' What do I mean by change....a hunger and thirsting for more of the word or a desire for more understanding of the righteousness of God. The seeking or searching of the scriptures, this is the change spoken of.
And the Scriptures makes it so plain, that as soon as we believe, God makes us a new person with new appetites, new desires, and we’re going to hate the things we once thought we had to have. We may even throw out all the old stuff or teachings as they leave us blank or unfruitful. And that’s what people have to realize. That when we talk about a salvation by trusting in His faith and His faith alone, it’s not a salvation that permits no change in lifestyle. There has to be a change in lifestyle or there’s not a salvation. It’s one or the other. Remember that He's taking of His rightful place within us comes after we've received what? His redemptive work through our having passed through the work of what? The Last Supper and on through death within Him on the cross, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, His ascension takes place in this case in our heart because of a death, the death to the world's influence over us and the death of sin within. As we now begin the road or the way of His working out His salvation from within.
So this is what Paul is admonishing here. Back to Philippians chapter 2, that if we have the mind of Christ, it’s not going to be that satanically driven process. It’s going to be the opposite side of the coin. We’re going to be driven now through the very thought processes of the One Who loved us and gave Himself for us. Alright, now verse 6. So the very first word of verse 6 is Christ Jesus of verse 5:
Philippians 5:6-7a
"Who being in the form of God, (the visible manifestation of God) thought it not robbery (and if you have a margin, I think the best way is ‘something that he could grasp at’) to be equal with God. But (instead for a short time He) made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant,…"
He was born in a manger (a stone slab holed out to hold livestock feed and as a symbol of the grave and the slab He was laid upon), raised in a carpenter’s shop (now this is not what we know as a worker of wood but was rather a worker of stone as well as wood as they used both as a means of making a living back then), went through three years of earthly ministry (to Israel's lost sheep) with no place to lay His head (this speaks of His dependency on the Holy Spirit's leading, as He's to be our leading and dependency also). Don’t let these television preachers convince you that He had wealth untold. Not in His earthly ministry He didn’t. He said, "Foxes have holes, birds have nests but the Son of man hath no place to lay his head." That’s exactly what it was. He had nothing of this world’s goods, and so it is to be with us as well. We're to forsake all others and cleave only unto Him. And so this is the reason, "He made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant." He lived His life in our fashion with this one purpose in mind....to be qualified to be our High Priest able to succor those who would find the keys to the kingdom. As they unlock all the mysteries of God hidden within the scriptures with most of them revealed to Paul and through his teaching.
Now that’s a kind translation. What’s a better word? Slave, or bond-slave! "He took upon himself the form of a bond slave." How many rights did a bond slave have in antiquity? None! As a slave they were treated like dirt, and cast aside at a moments thought. But a bond slave was one who had his ear pierced through with an awl and had freedom of movement much as Joseph and Daniel had. Alright, and so He took upon himself the form of a servant:
Philippians 2:7b
"…and was made in the likeness of men:"
Philippians 2:5
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus;"
Now another verse comes to mind. We won’t make you go back and find it but its in Romans 12 verse 1, what does he say?
Romans 12:1
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Well, this is all the same concept see? You know what, we have to be so careful and we just went through it. When we explained salvation by trust in His faith and His faith alone. By just simply believing that Christ died, was buried and rose again. We have to immediately follow that up with, but this is not license. Now that we’ve made ourselves fit for eternity; we don’t have to worry about anything else. Can we go and live any way we want? NO! That is not the way it works. The first thing we try to impress on people, especially older people that are up in their 40’s and 50’s an even 60’s, we say, 'now look, just because I maintain that you are saved the moment you believe - remember that when you’re saved, God’s going to change you. You’re not going to be the same person that you were. If there's no change then I'd say something is wrong and I'd be for finding out what Spirit I'm of, if there's NO marked change in my life.' What do I mean by change....a hunger and thirsting for more of the word or a desire for more understanding of the righteousness of God. The seeking or searching of the scriptures, this is the change spoken of.
And the Scriptures makes it so plain, that as soon as we believe, God makes us a new person with new appetites, new desires, and we’re going to hate the things we once thought we had to have. We may even throw out all the old stuff or teachings as they leave us blank or unfruitful. And that’s what people have to realize. That when we talk about a salvation by trusting in His faith and His faith alone, it’s not a salvation that permits no change in lifestyle. There has to be a change in lifestyle or there’s not a salvation. It’s one or the other. Remember that He's taking of His rightful place within us comes after we've received what? His redemptive work through our having passed through the work of what? The Last Supper and on through death within Him on the cross, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, His ascension takes place in this case in our heart because of a death, the death to the world's influence over us and the death of sin within. As we now begin the road or the way of His working out His salvation from within.
So this is what Paul is admonishing here. Back to Philippians chapter 2, that if we have the mind of Christ, it’s not going to be that satanically driven process. It’s going to be the opposite side of the coin. We’re going to be driven now through the very thought processes of the One Who loved us and gave Himself for us. Alright, now verse 6. So the very first word of verse 6 is Christ Jesus of verse 5:
Philippians 5:6-7a
"Who being in the form of God, (the visible manifestation of God) thought it not robbery (and if you have a margin, I think the best way is ‘something that he could grasp at’) to be equal with God. But (instead for a short time He) made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant,…"
He was born in a manger (a stone slab holed out to hold livestock feed and as a symbol of the grave and the slab He was laid upon), raised in a carpenter’s shop (now this is not what we know as a worker of wood but was rather a worker of stone as well as wood as they used both as a means of making a living back then), went through three years of earthly ministry (to Israel's lost sheep) with no place to lay His head (this speaks of His dependency on the Holy Spirit's leading, as He's to be our leading and dependency also). Don’t let these television preachers convince you that He had wealth untold. Not in His earthly ministry He didn’t. He said, "Foxes have holes, birds have nests but the Son of man hath no place to lay his head." That’s exactly what it was. He had nothing of this world’s goods, and so it is to be with us as well. We're to forsake all others and cleave only unto Him. And so this is the reason, "He made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant." He lived His life in our fashion with this one purpose in mind....to be qualified to be our High Priest able to succor those who would find the keys to the kingdom. As they unlock all the mysteries of God hidden within the scriptures with most of them revealed to Paul and through his teaching.
Now that’s a kind translation. What’s a better word? Slave, or bond-slave! "He took upon himself the form of a bond slave." How many rights did a bond slave have in antiquity? None! As a slave they were treated like dirt, and cast aside at a moments thought. But a bond slave was one who had his ear pierced through with an awl and had freedom of movement much as Joseph and Daniel had. Alright, and so He took upon himself the form of a servant:
Philippians 2:7b
"…and was made in the likeness of men:"
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXIII
Hebrews 5:7a
"Who in the days of his flesh, (in other words, His earthly ministry) when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him who was able to save him from death,…"
Boy have you ever read that before – carefully? What is it telling us? That here again, God the Son, in His humanity, there in Jerusalem after His three years of earthly ministry, as He had gone down into the Garden of Gethsemane knowing that in a short period of time the Temple guards and a few Roman soldiers would be coming to make their formal arrest. And He knew exactly what was coming. We like to let people understand that Christ knew the end from the beginning. We've heard it said that He knew nothing of His death. But that is not what it says, He knew all things as a Prophet and an Apostle by the Holy Spirit who dwelt within Him as He was the first, to be of many brethren.
Come back with us to Luke chapter 18 for a moment. Now, most of you are aware this is the way we teach. When a verse comes to mind, we feel it’s the unction of the Spirit and we’re going to go back and look at it, because even though He was in the flesh, He suffered in the flesh. Yet, He was God. He knew the end from the beginning. Absolutely nothing took Him by surprise. Now the setting is Northern Israel up there at the headwaters of the Jordan River and it’s just at the end of His three years of earthly ministry. They will soon be making their way up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover and His crucifixion. For us and Israel a critical turning point in world events and the ending of an economy in which Israel was the primary focus of which both Israel and the world at large makes light of.
Now continuing on in Hebrews picking up in Chapter 5 verse 7 and our thought on Luke 18 beginning in verse 31.
Luke 18:31-33
"Then he took unto him the twelve, and he said unto them, behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets (the Old Testament) concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, (the Romans) and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spit on: They shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again."
Did He know what was coming? Absolutely! Absolutely, every detail. He knew every Roman that would be a part of it. He knew every Jewish voice that would be coming up against Him. He knew it all! But how much did the Twelve know? We don’t dare go without reading the next verse.
Luke 18:34
"And they (the Twelve) understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken."
See that’s how God can keep things from people’s understanding. And so when they get to Jerusalem in a few days with all the hubbub of the Passover, did the Twelve have any idea of what was about to happen? No! They had no idea He was going to die. They thought He was still ready to bring in the Kingdom offered to Israel. But, the Lord knew.
Alright, now back to Hebrews chapter 5 and maybe that will help just a little. And so during the days of His flesh, while He’s there in Gethsemane when He had sweat drops of blood, and He asked the Twelve to pray with Him. And instead of praying what did they do? Hey, they slept. And He woke them up and He told them to pray with Him, and He went a little further distance from them, and again what did He find the Twelve doing? Sleeping! Does that speak volumes to us as we find the church sleeping still in our day. For sleeping speaks of spiritually not being awake to what God is about and the fact that like Lazarus their eyes and ears remain covered or veiled ( John 11:1-44) because of its lawlessness and crime which is the sin of what? Unbelief. The same veil that the Hebrews to this day have covering their hearts, or as Paul calls it a partial hardness of heart (Romans 11:7-12).
But oh, He was going through the agony knowing what was coming. Alright, and so He did, He prayed and made supplication to God the Father from His and our humanity. Now, we always have to stop and realize. By the same token, He wouldn’t have had to ask God to bring ten legions of angels, He could have commanded it Himself. And He said it in so many words. "If I wanted to be saved from this, God the Father would send those legions of angels." But, He never asked for that, see?
Hebrews 5:7
"Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared:"
Now the fear here is the beginning of wisdom. Godly fear is the beginning of wisdom. And so it wasn’t that He was afraid of what was coming, but in His respect for all that was involved in His death and He cries out to God the Father. In fact, you know what some of His prayer was. "If it be possible, Let this cup be taken from me." What cup was He talking about? The cup of suffering the wrath due us. But it wasn’t possible. It had to happen. And again this is beyond mere human understanding and we think it is so for any human. How that through all this suffering God was able to save/redeem, to the uttermost, those who believe. This means to simply to put our trust in Him, as we'll see later in chapter eleven. This is just beyond most of us. But, nevertheless, this was part and parcel of the suffering that He went through leading up to the Cross and even on through it. To get a deeper understanding see our note on the Lord Last Supper or Pascha [including the animals, young lambs of three years old without spot or blemish, all shadows of Christ].
Alright, let’s go back to Philippians chapter 2, we’ve used these verses before. And we don’t think there’s any way we can wear them out. But come back with me to Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 through 8. My, periodically, just in your own devotional time read these verses. Where Paul writes:
"Who in the days of his flesh, (in other words, His earthly ministry) when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him who was able to save him from death,…"
Boy have you ever read that before – carefully? What is it telling us? That here again, God the Son, in His humanity, there in Jerusalem after His three years of earthly ministry, as He had gone down into the Garden of Gethsemane knowing that in a short period of time the Temple guards and a few Roman soldiers would be coming to make their formal arrest. And He knew exactly what was coming. We like to let people understand that Christ knew the end from the beginning. We've heard it said that He knew nothing of His death. But that is not what it says, He knew all things as a Prophet and an Apostle by the Holy Spirit who dwelt within Him as He was the first, to be of many brethren.
Come back with us to Luke chapter 18 for a moment. Now, most of you are aware this is the way we teach. When a verse comes to mind, we feel it’s the unction of the Spirit and we’re going to go back and look at it, because even though He was in the flesh, He suffered in the flesh. Yet, He was God. He knew the end from the beginning. Absolutely nothing took Him by surprise. Now the setting is Northern Israel up there at the headwaters of the Jordan River and it’s just at the end of His three years of earthly ministry. They will soon be making their way up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover and His crucifixion. For us and Israel a critical turning point in world events and the ending of an economy in which Israel was the primary focus of which both Israel and the world at large makes light of.
Now continuing on in Hebrews picking up in Chapter 5 verse 7 and our thought on Luke 18 beginning in verse 31.
Luke 18:31-33
"Then he took unto him the twelve, and he said unto them, behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets (the Old Testament) concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, (the Romans) and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spit on: They shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again."
Did He know what was coming? Absolutely! Absolutely, every detail. He knew every Roman that would be a part of it. He knew every Jewish voice that would be coming up against Him. He knew it all! But how much did the Twelve know? We don’t dare go without reading the next verse.
Luke 18:34
"And they (the Twelve) understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken."
See that’s how God can keep things from people’s understanding. And so when they get to Jerusalem in a few days with all the hubbub of the Passover, did the Twelve have any idea of what was about to happen? No! They had no idea He was going to die. They thought He was still ready to bring in the Kingdom offered to Israel. But, the Lord knew.
Alright, now back to Hebrews chapter 5 and maybe that will help just a little. And so during the days of His flesh, while He’s there in Gethsemane when He had sweat drops of blood, and He asked the Twelve to pray with Him. And instead of praying what did they do? Hey, they slept. And He woke them up and He told them to pray with Him, and He went a little further distance from them, and again what did He find the Twelve doing? Sleeping! Does that speak volumes to us as we find the church sleeping still in our day. For sleeping speaks of spiritually not being awake to what God is about and the fact that like Lazarus their eyes and ears remain covered or veiled ( John 11:1-44) because of its lawlessness and crime which is the sin of what? Unbelief. The same veil that the Hebrews to this day have covering their hearts, or as Paul calls it a partial hardness of heart (Romans 11:7-12).
But oh, He was going through the agony knowing what was coming. Alright, and so He did, He prayed and made supplication to God the Father from His and our humanity. Now, we always have to stop and realize. By the same token, He wouldn’t have had to ask God to bring ten legions of angels, He could have commanded it Himself. And He said it in so many words. "If I wanted to be saved from this, God the Father would send those legions of angels." But, He never asked for that, see?
Hebrews 5:7
"Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared:"
Now the fear here is the beginning of wisdom. Godly fear is the beginning of wisdom. And so it wasn’t that He was afraid of what was coming, but in His respect for all that was involved in His death and He cries out to God the Father. In fact, you know what some of His prayer was. "If it be possible, Let this cup be taken from me." What cup was He talking about? The cup of suffering the wrath due us. But it wasn’t possible. It had to happen. And again this is beyond mere human understanding and we think it is so for any human. How that through all this suffering God was able to save/redeem, to the uttermost, those who believe. This means to simply to put our trust in Him, as we'll see later in chapter eleven. This is just beyond most of us. But, nevertheless, this was part and parcel of the suffering that He went through leading up to the Cross and even on through it. To get a deeper understanding see our note on the Lord Last Supper or Pascha [including the animals, young lambs of three years old without spot or blemish, all shadows of Christ].
Alright, let’s go back to Philippians chapter 2, we’ve used these verses before. And we don’t think there’s any way we can wear them out. But come back with me to Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 through 8. My, periodically, just in your own devotional time read these verses. Where Paul writes:
Monday, July 2, 2012
The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXII
Alright now, if we’re dealing with Gentiles, then it stands to reason that we’re not going to use the same name of God that Israel claimed which was Yhovah. But we’re going to use the term "The Most High God" because that’s how the Gentiles referred to Him. Here it is. Daniel chapter 4 starting at verse 1. Now this is the way we have to study the Scriptures.
Daniel 4:17a
"This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives to whomever he will…." Now drop on down to verse 34.
Daniel 4:34a
"And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High,…"
Now have we made our point? The name of God in Gentile language was the Most High God. Now flip back to Genesis then for just a second and we’ll see that this Melchizedek, King of the city of peace, New Salem or Jerusalem, brought forth bread and wine (symbols of a covenant meal), which spoke of His death, burial and resurrection. And now the important part for our study is "he was the priest (not of Yhovah. Not of Adonai (Master). But he was the priest of what?) the Most High God."
Now guess we can bring you all the way back to Hebrews. You put this all together then, we find that the priesthood of Melchizedek was not something or some one associated with the Nation of Israel as Aaron and the Levities were. But his priesthood was associated with what? The rest of the world! So the priesthood of Melchizedek was not limited to the children of Israel. The priesthood of Melchizedek was that priesthood that would envelop everybody. And you know that it wasn’t until Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension that Christ turned to the whole world.
People get upset when we point this out to them that when Christ as the son of man, Jesus, He came to the Nation of Israel, it was Hebrew only (with two exceptions). And, oh, it makes them upset. But listen, if you study your Scriptures you'll know that’s what He was. He came only to the Nation or house of Israel, the assembly where judgment first comes because as we see in Matthew 15:24, and Romans 15:8. John tells us, "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." And Matthew chapter 22 and verse 5 tells us that not only does Israel "make light" of Him the that the nations also make light of Him and His Gospel which we proclaim, through Him and Paul's revelation. Which was given to him by the ascended Lord from Glory.
But when His own rejected Him then where did He go? He went to the whole human race.
Alright, we’re going to go right back into Hebrews chapter 5 and now verse 7. Speaking of this Priest after the order of Melchizedek. We'll not spend any more time on His Melchizedek Priesthood because when we get to chapter 7, that whole chapter will be dealing with it and so we're going to save a little for when we get there. But now moving on with regard to Christ being a Priest after the order of Melchizedek, verse 7,
Hebrews 5:7a
"Who in the days of his flesh, (in other words, His earthly ministry) when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him (the Father of spirits) who was able to save Him (Jesus) from death,…"
Daniel 4:17a
"This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives to whomever he will…." Now drop on down to verse 34.
Daniel 4:34a
"And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High,…"
Now have we made our point? The name of God in Gentile language was the Most High God. Now flip back to Genesis then for just a second and we’ll see that this Melchizedek, King of the city of peace, New Salem or Jerusalem, brought forth bread and wine (symbols of a covenant meal), which spoke of His death, burial and resurrection. And now the important part for our study is "he was the priest (not of Yhovah. Not of Adonai (Master). But he was the priest of what?) the Most High God."
Now guess we can bring you all the way back to Hebrews. You put this all together then, we find that the priesthood of Melchizedek was not something or some one associated with the Nation of Israel as Aaron and the Levities were. But his priesthood was associated with what? The rest of the world! So the priesthood of Melchizedek was not limited to the children of Israel. The priesthood of Melchizedek was that priesthood that would envelop everybody. And you know that it wasn’t until Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension that Christ turned to the whole world.
People get upset when we point this out to them that when Christ as the son of man, Jesus, He came to the Nation of Israel, it was Hebrew only (with two exceptions). And, oh, it makes them upset. But listen, if you study your Scriptures you'll know that’s what He was. He came only to the Nation or house of Israel, the assembly where judgment first comes because as we see in Matthew 15:24, and Romans 15:8. John tells us, "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." And Matthew chapter 22 and verse 5 tells us that not only does Israel "make light" of Him the that the nations also make light of Him and His Gospel which we proclaim, through Him and Paul's revelation. Which was given to him by the ascended Lord from Glory.
But when His own rejected Him then where did He go? He went to the whole human race.
Alright, we’re going to go right back into Hebrews chapter 5 and now verse 7. Speaking of this Priest after the order of Melchizedek. We'll not spend any more time on His Melchizedek Priesthood because when we get to chapter 7, that whole chapter will be dealing with it and so we're going to save a little for when we get there. But now moving on with regard to Christ being a Priest after the order of Melchizedek, verse 7,
Hebrews 5:7a
"Who in the days of his flesh, (in other words, His earthly ministry) when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him (the Father of spirits) who was able to save Him (Jesus) from death,…"
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The Epistle to the Hebrews part CXI
Hebrews 5:6a
"As he said also in another place,…"
That’s in Psalms where it says "thou art a priest forever not after the order of Aaron but after the order of (who?) Melchizedek." What a difference that makes!
We pointed this out in our Genesis study. Most people have forgotten it or they’ve never seen it in the first place. Alright, let’s go back to Genesis because if Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, a spiritual priesthood having NO beginning and NO end, instead of after the order of Aaron, the priesthood of an external or material realm. Then let’s go back and establish this Melchizedek. Genesis chapter 14, and for a little background remember that Lot had taken up residence near or in Sodom and Gomorrah and some enemy kings had overrun Sodom and took the Sodomites as well as Lot and his family captive. And when Abram got wind of that he raised up his own little private army and pursued them and utterly defeated them and took the spoils. Alright, then verse 17.
Genesis 14:17-18a
"And the king of Sodom (whom of course, Abram had rescued) went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of the Chedorlaomer, (that is the one’s who had overrun Sodom) and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh which is the king’s dale. And Melchizedek (this is the first time he’s mentioned in Scripture) the king of Salem…"
We think most of you know what we’re referring to but in case you don’t. S-A-L-E-M is the last letters of what city? Jerusalem! And Jerusalem in Scripture is the city of what? Peace! And friendly, made ready. It has never yet known peace nor has it yet been made ready but one day it will. One day the Palestinian problem will be completely taken care of. One day the world won’t have to wring their hands over the Middle East. Because when the Prince of Peace comes and the city of Jerusalem becomes His capital then it will finally reach that epitome of the capital of peace. Alright, but it’s been known as the city of peace from day one, as this according to legion is one and the same city as it sits on mount Zion. Though a little later you'll see mount Zion as the spiritual mount of God, the place of the New Jerusalem’s resting. And so this Melchizedek, verse 18 again:
Genesis 14:18a
"And Melchizedek king of Salem (the city of peace, friendly and made ready) brought forth bread and wine:"
Now we covered that when we were in our Genesis tour, you see, bread and wine as such were not sacrifices in Temple worship. Bread and wine were never really introduced into the Scriptures until, Melchizedek and then by Jesus. Who used them as symbols of His body and blood of the what? New Covenant. Then Paul in I Corinthians chapter 11 explains it as what most of us now call the Lord’s Supper. And the Lord’s Supper, as Paul explains it so graphically, had only one purpose. And what was it? A Memorial! That’s what he says "and when you do this in memory." So you see it’s a memorial service and a reminder of Christ’s both the exchange of our nature (Adam-Satan nature for the God-child nature or Newness of Life) through death, burial and resurrection and our part with Him in it and that’s what the bread and the wine signifies. Now the elements as used by Israel those being a roasted leg of lamb, biter herbs, sweet savory fruit and salty water all speak of Christ. Christ as the Lamb of God or son of man in mans humility and shame as the flesh of the lamb, the biter herbs for His grief of sufferings, the salty water for His tears in the garden and the sweet savory for His resurrect and ascension through He would bring many sons to God in His Faith and righteousness. In and by the Spirit of Holiness. The bread spoke of His broken body and the wine speaks of His resurrection in the power of an Endless Life, the Endless Life which His blood contained and so whenever we partake of those two, the bread and the wine, it is simply a means of reminding us of His death, burial and resurrection. And here God is giving a little preview of it way back in the life of Abram. But that’s not the point we want to make. Verse 18, the last part. After he had brought forth the bread and wine, which was indicative of the coming death, burial and resurrection of Israel’s Messiah and suffering King.
Genesis 14:18b
"…and He was the priest of (Yhovah? No it doesn’t say that? But what?) the Most High God."
Melchizedek is a gentile priest of the gentile version of Israel's God who they knew as the Most High God because the pagan gentiles had many gods and goddesses of all kinds. Most of them steaming back from the Tower of Babel (which are in all actuality fallen spirits and angels, but that"s for another time and teaching). Now we have to realize there is only one God in Scripture but there are many names which are actually titles for Him and that confuses people. But you see, we have all these different titles of God to signify a particular role in His being God or as we'll see are His Grace activities. In His attributes. And so for example, when Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, and God withheld him. What was in the thicket behind him? Well, the ram! Who put it there? God did! And we always emphasize, you see, that ram was a wild ram. Remember Abraham was already three days journey from where he lived, so it was not a household pet like somebody tried to tell us one time. He was three days journey from home, so that ram in the thicket was not the family pet or of his livestock, it was a wild one. But, did Abraham and Isaac have any trouble getting that animal on the altar? None. Why? It was provided and it was docile, and it was a willing sacrifice. They didn’t have to struggle with it and consequently, what did Abraham call the place? Yhovah-yireh which simply meant ‘God provides.’ Alright, so that was a title of Yhovah, Yhovah-yireh – He provides! It was just a distinctive attribute of God's Fatherly nature.
Psalms 23 is probably another one of the easiest ones. In the Hebrew it’s Yhovah-rayah, which simply means, I AM your shepherd. Well, any Hebrew could understand what it was like to be the sheep under the guidance and protection of a shepherd. Well, those are the various names or titles of Yhovah to just simply explain how God would fill all these various needs of the human race. Now back to Melchizedek.
Now, the same way then with this priest Melchizedek. He was a priest of – not Yhovah – but of the Most High God, known as the Ancient of Days. The only way of defining that from Scripture in a real easy way is to turn to Daniel. Turn to Daniel chapter 4 and all the way through, periodically, but in chapter 4 we’ve got a couple that are real easy to pick out. And if you know anything of Bible study at all, Daniel is written of course, by the Hebrew, Daniel, but he deals almost exclusively with Gentile empires. Right? The Babylonians. The Medes and the Persians. And the Greeks and the Romans. All Gentiles.
Alright now, if we’re dealing with Gentiles, then it stands to reason that we’re not going to use the name of God that Israel claimed which was Yhovah. But we’re going to use the term "The Most High God" because that’s how the Gentiles referred to Him. Here it is. Daniel chapter 4 starting at verse 1. Now this is the way you have to study the Scriptures.
"As he said also in another place,…"
That’s in Psalms where it says "thou art a priest forever not after the order of Aaron but after the order of (who?) Melchizedek." What a difference that makes!
We pointed this out in our Genesis study. Most people have forgotten it or they’ve never seen it in the first place. Alright, let’s go back to Genesis because if Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, a spiritual priesthood having NO beginning and NO end, instead of after the order of Aaron, the priesthood of an external or material realm. Then let’s go back and establish this Melchizedek. Genesis chapter 14, and for a little background remember that Lot had taken up residence near or in Sodom and Gomorrah and some enemy kings had overrun Sodom and took the Sodomites as well as Lot and his family captive. And when Abram got wind of that he raised up his own little private army and pursued them and utterly defeated them and took the spoils. Alright, then verse 17.
Genesis 14:17-18a
"And the king of Sodom (whom of course, Abram had rescued) went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of the Chedorlaomer, (that is the one’s who had overrun Sodom) and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh which is the king’s dale. And Melchizedek (this is the first time he’s mentioned in Scripture) the king of Salem…"
We think most of you know what we’re referring to but in case you don’t. S-A-L-E-M is the last letters of what city? Jerusalem! And Jerusalem in Scripture is the city of what? Peace! And friendly, made ready. It has never yet known peace nor has it yet been made ready but one day it will. One day the Palestinian problem will be completely taken care of. One day the world won’t have to wring their hands over the Middle East. Because when the Prince of Peace comes and the city of Jerusalem becomes His capital then it will finally reach that epitome of the capital of peace. Alright, but it’s been known as the city of peace from day one, as this according to legion is one and the same city as it sits on mount Zion. Though a little later you'll see mount Zion as the spiritual mount of God, the place of the New Jerusalem’s resting. And so this Melchizedek, verse 18 again:
Genesis 14:18a
"And Melchizedek king of Salem (the city of peace, friendly and made ready) brought forth bread and wine:"
Now we covered that when we were in our Genesis tour, you see, bread and wine as such were not sacrifices in Temple worship. Bread and wine were never really introduced into the Scriptures until, Melchizedek and then by Jesus. Who used them as symbols of His body and blood of the what? New Covenant. Then Paul in I Corinthians chapter 11 explains it as what most of us now call the Lord’s Supper. And the Lord’s Supper, as Paul explains it so graphically, had only one purpose. And what was it? A Memorial! That’s what he says "and when you do this in memory." So you see it’s a memorial service and a reminder of Christ’s both the exchange of our nature (Adam-Satan nature for the God-child nature or Newness of Life) through death, burial and resurrection and our part with Him in it and that’s what the bread and the wine signifies. Now the elements as used by Israel those being a roasted leg of lamb, biter herbs, sweet savory fruit and salty water all speak of Christ. Christ as the Lamb of God or son of man in mans humility and shame as the flesh of the lamb, the biter herbs for His grief of sufferings, the salty water for His tears in the garden and the sweet savory for His resurrect and ascension through He would bring many sons to God in His Faith and righteousness. In and by the Spirit of Holiness. The bread spoke of His broken body and the wine speaks of His resurrection in the power of an Endless Life, the Endless Life which His blood contained and so whenever we partake of those two, the bread and the wine, it is simply a means of reminding us of His death, burial and resurrection. And here God is giving a little preview of it way back in the life of Abram. But that’s not the point we want to make. Verse 18, the last part. After he had brought forth the bread and wine, which was indicative of the coming death, burial and resurrection of Israel’s Messiah and suffering King.
Genesis 14:18b
"…and He was the priest of (Yhovah? No it doesn’t say that? But what?) the Most High God."
Melchizedek is a gentile priest of the gentile version of Israel's God who they knew as the Most High God because the pagan gentiles had many gods and goddesses of all kinds. Most of them steaming back from the Tower of Babel (which are in all actuality fallen spirits and angels, but that"s for another time and teaching). Now we have to realize there is only one God in Scripture but there are many names which are actually titles for Him and that confuses people. But you see, we have all these different titles of God to signify a particular role in His being God or as we'll see are His Grace activities. In His attributes. And so for example, when Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, and God withheld him. What was in the thicket behind him? Well, the ram! Who put it there? God did! And we always emphasize, you see, that ram was a wild ram. Remember Abraham was already three days journey from where he lived, so it was not a household pet like somebody tried to tell us one time. He was three days journey from home, so that ram in the thicket was not the family pet or of his livestock, it was a wild one. But, did Abraham and Isaac have any trouble getting that animal on the altar? None. Why? It was provided and it was docile, and it was a willing sacrifice. They didn’t have to struggle with it and consequently, what did Abraham call the place? Yhovah-yireh which simply meant ‘God provides.’ Alright, so that was a title of Yhovah, Yhovah-yireh – He provides! It was just a distinctive attribute of God's Fatherly nature.
Psalms 23 is probably another one of the easiest ones. In the Hebrew it’s Yhovah-rayah, which simply means, I AM your shepherd. Well, any Hebrew could understand what it was like to be the sheep under the guidance and protection of a shepherd. Well, those are the various names or titles of Yhovah to just simply explain how God would fill all these various needs of the human race. Now back to Melchizedek.
Now, the same way then with this priest Melchizedek. He was a priest of – not Yhovah – but of the Most High God, known as the Ancient of Days. The only way of defining that from Scripture in a real easy way is to turn to Daniel. Turn to Daniel chapter 4 and all the way through, periodically, but in chapter 4 we’ve got a couple that are real easy to pick out. And if you know anything of Bible study at all, Daniel is written of course, by the Hebrew, Daniel, but he deals almost exclusively with Gentile empires. Right? The Babylonians. The Medes and the Persians. And the Greeks and the Romans. All Gentiles.
Alright now, if we’re dealing with Gentiles, then it stands to reason that we’re not going to use the name of God that Israel claimed which was Yhovah. But we’re going to use the term "The Most High God" because that’s how the Gentiles referred to Him. Here it is. Daniel chapter 4 starting at verse 1. Now this is the way you have to study the Scriptures.
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