THIS MAN. Hebrews 7:4-7 Abraham had a legal right to take all the spoils of war from the four kings for himself. But it would have ruined his testimony if he had enriched himself through the misfortunes of others. This may have been a great temptation for him. He could have justified his actions, but his moral testimony would have been compromised. God knew Abraham's weakness and sent help in the form of Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God. Abraham is reminded that he does not need help from the world. God is his protector and provider. Melchizedek reminds him that God is the "possessor of heaven and earth." He also reminds Abraham that he did not win the battle of the kings, but God did when He delivered Abraham's enemies into his hand [Gen.14:20]. Abraham achieved victory over the four kings, but more importantly, over himself when he surrendered to God.
Melchizedek was not an unchangeable, continuous priest like our Lord Jesus Christ because he was a human being with a human nature. Instead, he serves as an illustration in human form of the priesthood and kingship of our Lord. Word pictures used from a human perspective make us pause to “consider” the priesthood of Melchizedek, as a human portrayal of the Great High Priest, and to reflect on Jesus and His representation on our behalf. His greatness is due to God making him great, who was “found in fashion as a man.” The dignity of that position was confirmed upon him by God, who made him “priest of the most high God, and the king of Salem, the king of peace.”
The lesson to the Hebrew readers of this epistle, and to us, is to consider the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is superior to Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel and the father of the faithful. Our Lord is also superior to Aaron, who was the first high priest of the nation, and He is greater than the law that the Jews believed made them acceptable to God, even though they couldn’t keep it. These are reasons why it is such an incomparable blessing to have our Savior as our Great High Priest.
It is important for us to consider the role of the priesthood of Christ as He intercedes for us and mediates all charges laid against us due to our failures. Satan, the accuser of the brethren, takes advantage of our every sin and our consciousness of sin to defeat us. Our Great High Priest intercedes for us, and when we confess our sins and forsake them, God in His mercy forgives and cleanses us. Our Lord makes our case His own, and we can be assured that He deals with our failures and sins legally, and it is done.
The word “patriarch” used of Abraham highlights the greatness of Abraham, who received a precious promise from God. That point makes the greatness of Melchizedek even greater, and the Lord Jesus Christ so supreme that it is beyond comparison. His priesthood is eternal, and His power is infinite.
This is how it is with our High Priest. He reminds us that we do not need the help of the world, to cooperate with the world, or to compromise with it. We must separate from that and not touch it. The priesthood of Christ is a necessity for us because of our human infirmity and need. We also need Him as our Intercessor because of the holiness and majesty of God. The present work of Christ, His atonement and intercession, is not now to appease an alienated God nor to overcome divine reluctance to bless a sinner. He makes it possible for God to bless us consistently with all that He is. He allows us to "come near" to God in the view of all the heavenly host. The principalities and powers in heavenly places find in this redemption the "manifold wisdom of God."