October 16, 2005
Scripture:
Ministry:
Can we look for a minute again at Isaiah 53:10; “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.” This bruising has been before us this morning, as in our last hymn. Surely it brings us to Calvary. We were reminded of the suffering that went along with the bruising. As our brother read the 22nd Psalm, reminding us of that suffering, my feelings went on to the One who is being addressed: “My God.” He is silent as to what He thought. But here in Isaiah we see that “it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.” He sent him into this world so that one day He could be bruised, and then see the fruit of the travail of His soul. However, I’d like to connect that with Colossians 1—Colossians 1 is a beautiful chapter, it brings God’s Son before us. V. 18: “He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” It pleased the Father; yes, “it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.” We can see the way that sin will not dominate. Also, we can see how the work of the Lord could please the Father so that “in Him should all fulness dwell” and as is said in the previous verse: “that in all things he might have the preeminence.” It pleased the Father to give Him that place, as it also pleases us. We worship Him this morning.
EG Hymn 300– If little children knew the love Prayer • See handout “How Great Thou Art” for lesson details. • Psalm 8:3 & 4—We should consider the “moon and the stars” to see God’s greatness. • Genesis 1:16—This verse says that God “made the stars also.” Just one short phrase, but we will see that there are trillions of trillions of stars. • Isaiah 40:26—We are told to lift up our eyes to behold the Creator of all things and all He has made. • Psalm 104:24 • 1Corinthians 15:52—We will travel all those billions of light-years between Earth and Heaven in a moment, the twinkling of an eye. Our bodies will be changed then. When we go into the presence of God, we will not be blinded as Saul was. We will be able to see our holy God.
Hebrews 7:4–10 • We have been speaking of the superiority of the Melchisedec priesthood over the Aaronic priesthood. V. 4 starts by saying “How great this man was.” He comes in in Genesis where most of our cardinal doctrines are stated. Melchisedec is greater than Abraham and Abraham is greater than Levi, from whom the Aaronic priesthood came. The tribe of Levi was chosen as the sacerdotal tribe they were the people who dealt with the sacraments. They were given a command to take tithes from the other tribes. Now Melchisedec, even though he wasn’t a Levite (Levi was not even born), he takes tithes from Abraham. Abraham is looked on with respect by all the Jews. He received the promises and was blessed by God and Melchisedec. The reason Melchisedec is greater than Abraham is clearly seen in verse 7: “the less is blessed of the better.” Talking about the Aaronic priesthood, v. 8 says “here men that die receive tithes.” The Aaronic priesthood was successive; one high priest would reign, die and a new one would take over. But the remarkable thing about Melchisedec is that there is no recording of his death or birth (We know he did, because he was a normal man, but not recording them is God’s way of typifying his eternal Son). We know that Melchisedec brings blessing to Abraham from God, but in Genesis 14:20, we see Melchisedec blessing God on Abraham’s behalf. This is like the Lord as intercessor for us, bringing us God’s blessing and taking our prayers to God. “To all our prayers and praises Christ adds His sweet perfume.” • We see in v. 10 that Levi also was blessed because Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec. • V. 11–This verse asks the question, “If the Aaronic priesthood was perfect, why is the Lord a Priest after the order of Melchisedec?” The answer is that the Aaronic priesthood was not perfect. The new Melchisedec priesthood is better. Throughout the book of Hebrews we see old things changing to new and better things; for example, we will have a new offering, a new sanctuary, etc. It ends with new worshippers. One problem with the Aaronic priesthood is that the high priest kept changing; a new high priest would not know your circumstances and could not succour you. Also, the Aaronic priesthood exercises could not bring freedom to a guilty conscience. The Lord can do both through his Melchisedec priesthood. The Lord was from the tribe of Judah; no one of the tribe of Judah ever stood at a Jewish altar (vv. 13–14). It is precious to see how God had this in mind back in Genesis, before even the Aaronic priesthood. EG Hymn 213–Thou my everlasting portion, Prayer