October 9, 2005
Scripture:
Scripture;
Can we go back to Isaiah 6; I stopped the story a little early. We read about the very affecting vision, the scene Isaiah saw that struck him. He saw the holiness of God in all His might and majesty, so great he pronounced a woe upon himself (If we study the previous chapter, we find Isaiah pronounced 6 woes). “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (v. 5). The good news is that there is not only a throne, but also an altar. “Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (vv. 6 & 7). Precious indeed, for in our day we know what it is speaking of. We have the altar, and the One who died on that altar and offered Himself. We too can have our iniquity taken away and our sin purged through His blood. “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not” (vv. 8 & 9). And so the story goes. As we marked, Isaiah pronounced a “Woe.” The Seraphim pronounced a “Lo.” After He is purged, Isaiah offers himself to God, and God pronounces a “Go.” We were unclean; we know that we are washed clean and can go and do his service. Part of that service we can do right here: offering our sacrifices of praise. May we go forth as royal priests proclaiming that the One who is in Heaven can make us fit for His presence with a live coal from off the altar. Oh, may we sense the holiness of the One with whom we have to do.
Hymn 312–Jesus loves me, this I know, Prayer • What is love? Love can be shown though kindnesses, helping others, etc. One example of love is a story of a young boy. One year, a severe drought came to the farm where he lived, and water was very precious. One day, His mother noticed Him walking into the woods behind their house; he came back a few minutes later and disappeared around the side of the house. Soon he returned, walking back to the woods very slowly. His hands were cupped and he seemed to have something in them. He again went into the woods and came out a few minutes later. This happened several times. Finally, the mother went out to see what he was doing without his seeing her. He went to an outside tap, cupped his hands and filled them with dripping water. Then he carefully made his way to the woods. The mother noticed a pair of deer standing there and was a bit apprehensive of her son going up to them. Then she noticed a little fawn on the ground, almost dying of thirst. The boy knelt down and put out his hands, letting the fawn lap up the water. When he turned around, he saw his mother and together they got a bowl and gave the fawn water. That is an example of love. • John 15:13—The Lord is the One who laid down his life for us. In so doing he showed His love for us. Why do we love Him? I John 4:19 tells us that it is because he loves us. • I John 4:11—This is what we should do. You can recognize a police officer or a fireman because of his uniform. John 13:34 & 35 says that people should be able to recognize us as Christians because we show love. For example, when you are playing in your backyard, do the neighbours hear loving words going back and forth, or do they hear arguments. We can and should be good examples to other people. • Hebrews 6:10—These people had not done anything great, just simple kindness to other saints. Still, God did not forget their labour of love.
Hebrews 7:1–6 • Melchisedec comes onto the scene in Geneses 14 when Abraham comes back from a battle. Abraham gives him one-tenth of the spoils. There are many things we can learn from Melchisedec. Now the writer is not bringing in a new character here; any Jew who knew the ancient scrolls would have known about Melchisedec. He is an example of the Lord, in how He was our high priest outside of the Levitical tribe. Melchisedec was brought on the scene even before Aaron. Verse 3 seems to tell us that he was rather mysterious, having no parents, descendants, beginning, or end. In the book of Genesis, we know the genealogy of everyone except Melchisedec. We see him once, and then never again. It certainly seems that he was “Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” He was not an eternal supernatural person, but was a picture of the Lord. How else could God give us a type of His Son who was “Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life”? • The Melchisedec priesthood is forever; the Aaronic priesthood had a beginning and end. The exercise of the Lord as a “priest after the order of Melchisedec” is mainly in the millennium, primarily for the Jews. Right now, he is our High priest, in the Aaronic way. How? Melchisedec is seen blessing Abraham; that will happen in the millennium. Aaron was always offering sacrifices and the Lord is daily taking up our cause and offering our prayers to God. One day our need for a high priest will end, like Aaron’s priesthood did. However, Jesus’ Melchisedec priesthood will never be finished. • Melchisedec’s priesthood speaks of blessing. Melchisedec gave Abraham bread and wine, which can typify life and joy. As our high priest, the Lord has given us life and joy. • We have the Lord brought before us as greater than Melchisedec, greater than Abraham, etc. In chapter 1, He is shown to be greater than angels. Hebrews brings out the superiority of the Lord in many aspects. • Vv. 4 & 5— Before God even gave the law for Israel to tithe; Abraham was giving 10 % of his spoils to Melchisedec. When God did give this law, the Levites, who were not given any inheritance, were able to live off that 10 %. See Numbers 18:20–26. • In the Old Testament, we have Melchisedec and Aaron as the high priests. In Hebrews, we see the Lord as our High priest. Then in Revelation 1:5 & 6 and I Peter 2:5, 9, & 10, we are priests. We are holy priests, entering into the Holy of holies to praise Him. Our second function is to be royal priests before the world. We belong to royalty and should act like it. Aaron was a high priest and had priests under him. The Lord, too, is a high priest has priests under Him. EG Hymn 369–I claim for my own a king on the throne, Prayer