Prepare for Christmas: The Seventeenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt. . . . This is the covenant . . . I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. . . . I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:8b, 10, 12

We cannot understand these words if we do not understand that we have a high priest representing us right this very minute at the right hand of God the Father!

The old covenant required that we be faithful to the law, continuing to make sacrifices for our sins, continuing to sin after those sacrifices, and continuing to misunderstand God and be separated from him. The new covenant introduced us to our baby king, who came on that first Christmas and after 33 years made the perfect sacrifice for not just our sins but for our very sin nature, a complete and perfect sacrifice that satisfies all the demands of the old law!

When Jesus cried out, “Tetelestai! (It is finished!)” on the cross, he didn’t just mean that he would fight no more and would die! No, he meant that the New Covenant between God and man was now complete! No more separation! No more loneliness! No more struggle for man to be reconciled to God! Our high priest did not sacrifice an animal on our behalf as they had done for generations! He gave himself to be the sacrificial lamb and forever satisfied the law!

Prayer: Father, we will never understand our reconciliation, but we thank you for this incredible gift. Help us at this Christmas time to see beyond the cradle of Christ to the enormous work of our high priest. Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Sixteenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Monday, December 17, 2018

Now the law requires the descendants of Abraham . . . become priests. . . . What we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared, “You are priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 7:5a, 15-17

I almost left this one last comment about Melchizedek out of our devotional. I don’t want to belabor the point of the Old Testament theophany, but I do think it is important that we see all the evidence for that occurrence. And there is a point in this excerpt from Hebrews that is important.

All priests were to come from the tribe of Aaron. And from that priestly order, one was chosen to serve as high priest for his entire life. (Saul got into big trouble when he was king and assumed the role of priest on one occasion!) Jesus, we know, did not come from the tribe of Aaron but from the tribe of Judah!

In this Scripture the reference to Christ’s being a priest forever comes from Psalm 110:4, and it is God the Father who proclaims the word, forever. God declares the no-beginning-no-ending status of Christ’s priesthood. And as he does, he proclaims Christ as preceding the instructions given to Aaron and his descendants.

You may wonder why I think this is important, so let me take today’s devotional page to correct something that I long believed (I think erroneously), and something I still sometimes hear people say. “The Old Testament is about a God of wrath, and the New Testament is about a God of love.” When I hear that, I want to grab some kind of platform and scream in an unPatience-like tone and volume, “NO! The whole Bible is about ONE GOD! The Triune God! God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!”

He tried to tell us all through the Old Testament who he is, but we never understood! Now in the New, he comes as a tiny baby – something our minds can grasp – to tell us that he is with us and has always been with us. Emanuel! He comes as a baby who has to grow up, so we can realize that he understands our growing-up problems. He comes as an infant who has to learn, so we can trust him as we learn to comprehend our difficulty. He comes as a vulnerable child and man, so we can watch him stand without sin against his only adversary, the devil, and can have the courage to resist our own temptation! We have a high priest who started showing up visibly back in Genesis, before what we call history, during all of history, and will still be after all this world’s history is over and a new history begins!

We sing, “He left the splendor of heaven, knowing his destiny was a lonely hill on Golgotha, there to lay down his life for me. . . . And if that isn’t love, then . . . heaven’s a myth. . . .”

God has been trying for all of the years of man’s existence to tell us that he will do anything to restore the relationship we were created to have with him. The Genesis appearance of Melchizedek, the psalmist’s reference to him, and the clear revelation of his person in Hebrews is God’s way of saying to us over and over, “Learn who I am! I came as one of you so you could understand what you were intended to be – perfect and in complete fellowship with God.”

Prayer: Father, sometimes we realize that our understanding of you, of the extent to which you will go and have gone to restore our relationship to you, is almost above our comprehension. Then we see our Great High Priest lying in a manger and we are awestruck. Then as you help us grasp more and more of who you are, we sing, “Hallelujah, thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen. Hallelujah, thine the glory! Revive us again!” Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Fifteenth Day of Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Sunday, December 16, 2018

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First his name means “king of righteousness;” then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. . . . Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Hebrews 7:1-3, 25

Once again we find support for recognizing in Melchizedek an Old Testament appearance of Christ. And can’t we see a picture here of Jesus? The name of this high priest means “the king of righteousness,” and Acts 7:52 calls Jesus the promised Righteous One. Melchizedek’s name means “king of Salem” or “king of peace.” Over and over in the New Testament, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.

We know that Jesus is the “Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 22:13) – without beginning and without end. So we can be sure that the reference here is to the Lord. And verse 25 gives us great confidence as we hear again that he now “lives to intercede” for us.

Sometimes someone asks me to pray for some problem and I don’t know what to ask for. I’m encouraged and undaunted when I remember that Jesus now “lives to intercede.” So I put that fact together with his promise that “when two or three agree as touching anything” (Matthew 18:19) he will grant it. He gives great confidence in our prayers when we simply put the whole situation in his hands and pray, “Lord, we agree with you. Whatever you are praying for our friends, grant it.” I know he would never ask for anything except the Father’s will, so we can know we are praying for what God wants in that life.

As we learn more and more about our high priest, we learn to put our confidence and hope not in the apparently helpless infant in the manger but in the God/Man Christ Jesus who overcame our sin, conquered death, rose from the dead, and now sits at God’s right hand interceding for us.

Prayer: Father, Thank you for Jesus and for the realization that in all of life we need a high priest to constantly intercede for us. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Fourteenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Saturday, December 15, 2018

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20

I remember many years ago when our family was on our pontoon boat in the middle of a huge lake in south-central Kentucky. We had been back in a little cove, swimming and having a wonderful time together. Suddenly we realized that a heavy darkness was falling on the lake and knew that we should return to the dock where we kept our boat. Almost as soon as we began to move out of the cove and into the great opening of water, we found ourselves in the middle of a terrible storm. More than a little frightened, I asked my husband what we should do. Keep on moving toward the pier? Return to the cove and whatever protection we could find there? “No,” he said to all my suggestions. “The anchor is strong. Put life jackets on yourself, the children, and the dog, and get together in the center of the boat under the canopy. I’ll drop anchor, and we’ll ride it out.”

As usual, he was right. The anchor held; the lightening abated; the rain slacked; we rode it out. We drifted with the waves only a little; not much. We bounced about, but we were not in apparent danger as we had seemed to be when we tried to move against the wind and water. The experience was frightening, but the fear is not what I remember most. What I remember is how good it felt to realize that our good heavy anchor was keeping us in one spot.

I think of that experience as I read this passage in Hebrews. “We have this hope as an anchor. . . .” What is this hope? We use the word hope so casually. We hope it won’t rain. We hope we can afford a new car. We hope we do well in school. Is that the kind of hope the Hebrew writer is talking about? No! Our hope, our absolute anchor is as secure as Jesus Christ himself! In him we are firm and secure no matter how horrible the storm. Why?

No matter how severe the storms, our anchor holds!

Any good Jew would have understood the last part of this passage, but we often do not. Once a year, only the high priest was permitted to go into the holy of holy places to pray for himself and for the nation of Israel. It was considered the dwelling place of God, such a holy place that anyone who entered was in great danger. Fearing the priest might be overcome by that awesome presence with no person fit to retrieve his body, the people tied little bells around the hem of his skirt and a rope to his foot. If the bells ceased to tinkle, they’d know he was overcome, and they’d tug the rope and pull him out to either recover or to bury.

This Scripture tells us that Jesus not only went behind that curtain but split it from top to bottom. Now he ever intercedes there on behalf of the saints (that’s us), and even we can go boldly into his presence without fear (Hebrews 7:23).

Prayer: Father, thank you for the wonderful reminders we have in the word and in the church that our anchor – the Lord Jesus Christ – holds. Thank you for our high priest who rent the curtain from top to bottom so that we can join him there in praying for ourselves and interceding for all the other saints. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Thirtheenth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Friday, December 14, 2018

We have much to say to you about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still and infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:11-14

This is not a Scripture I often choose to speak to someone, but since it falls right here in the middle of this wonderful part explaining more and more to us about the importance of who the Christmas baby is, I can’t just pass it by. Why would I skip this when writing to good Christians in a good church? Because the Scripture is practically shouting to us to grow up and that is a difficult message to bring! The Bible tells us to know the word and to hide it in our hearts (to memorize it), to study so we’ll know the truth (not just reading along with the pastor on Sunday morning, but digging in on our own), and to identify sin and deal with it in private confession.

God is clearly saying milk is for babies. Be adults! Live on a diet of steak! The Bible is filled with incredible truth about the incredible God we serve – about who he is as creator, as redeemer, as giver of power and comfort. He wants us not to just worship the baby Jesus but to know and to worship our Triune God. And we will never be able to do that until we get into his word in a serious way, dig deeply for ourselves to find the treasures he has stored for us there.

He says in verse 11 we are “slow to learn,” and I often reply sadly, “I am indeed a slow learner.”

Prayer: Father, as we neglect your word, help us to realize that we are neglecting you, starving ourselves and stunting our growth. Forgive us for our negligence. Help us to grow up in our understanding of you through your word! Amen

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Twelfth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Thursday, December 13, 2018

No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son. . . . You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:4-6

The priesthood in the traditions of the Hebrew people was built on the call of Aaron to be the first high priest when God had given the law and set up the structure for teaching, judging, and worship for his people. And Aaron was to occupy that position for his lifetime, serving as the spiritual guide for the nation, until another was chosen to take his place – also for a lifetime.

And now we meet again a high priest – Melchizedek, and God himself speaks of his Son as being of the order of the Old Testament priest who we met back in Genesis 14 (the place where I believe we witness a theophany). And remember when Melchizedek appeared in Psalm 110? God said that Jesus would be a priest – not like Aaron for a lifetime but like Melchizedek – a priest forever! This is the Scripture that causes me to believe that what we witnessed in Genesis 14 was a theophany.

In the Scripture above, we see the eternal, called-forever high priest – Jesus! He did not come for his own glory but for his Father’s. He did not come because he wanted “the job” but because he was called. The Christmas infant grew up to be a man, a teacher, a suffering servant, our risen Lord and King. He is the only one whom God ever allowed to be both a priest and a king!

We have pastors here on earth, and we hope they are ‘the called of God.” But, like Aaron, they are called for a lifetime, and at their deaths, another will take their places. Not so with Jesus. There is no other to take his place. He is, was, and always will be our high priest. The one who knows us best, understands our needs, fears, and dreams, who waits for us to call on him, and who loves us enough to die for us is our priest forever!

Prayer: Father, the deep need in our lives is to be understood. We express ourselves poorly; we make mistakes; we struggle to be accepted. We feel alone. Remind us that our high priest is none other than Jesus Christ. Remind us to turn to the only one who truly know us. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com

Prepare for Christmas: The Eleventh Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we possess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Hebrews 4:14-15

These two verses should be as comforting to us as any in the Bible, yet we seldom hear them mentioned, and I don’t believe I have ever heard a sermon based on verse 15.

Though I am not a counselor, I make myself available as a listening ear when people tell me they just “need someone to talk to.” And how do they often begin our conversation? Like this: “I don’t know anyone who really understands me, really knows what I am going through, or cares about how I hurt.”

I seldom stop them there. I just let them talk. But when I have listened to all their agony, all their feeling of being rejected or misunderstood, or unloved, I read Hebrews 4:15 to them. Who better to listen than someone who has been tempted to do all the bad things we have done, but resisted the temptation and didn’t do those things? Who better to talk to than someone who can sympathize with what we are saying because he has been there? Our high priest is not one of a cloister who does not come in contact with the ugliness of the world that we face daily. He has heard the cursing in the streets. He has seen man’s inhumanity to man. He has been enticed by his adversary the devil who tried to get him to do all the bad things that God abhors! Yet he did not give in, even when he sweated blood as he dreaded the cross that was before him. He knows how hard it is to resist, but he also knows it is possible to succeed in resisting. We have a great high priest who not only tells us what is right but also empathizes with our struggle to do what we know is right.

I can almost hear him, sometimes, when I tell him something I want to do that I know is not right. Speaking in the vernacular of our time, he’d probably say something like, “Been there! I know how you’re struggling, but remember my challenge. Just ‘Hold on to the faith you possess.’ And Remember, I am right there with you.”

Our high priest doesn’t wear a fancy robe or speak in lofty language. We don’t have to make an appointment to see him. When he diagnoses our problem, we will understand what he is saying. He knows sin, and he successfully stood firm against it during his whole life. He’s right there in the midst of our marital struggles, our bruised relationships, or our desires to do things that we see others doing that we know are wrong. He understands our mundane sins like overeating or gossiping or being in a bad mood or being irritated by someone who talks too much or seems to be nosy! Common ordinary things of our lives that we face and try to avoid calling them sin, Jesus understands! But understanding doesn’t mean he overlooks them! Someone has to pay for all the evil of the world, and in his understanding our weakness, he took our place, allowing our ugly sins and our sin nature to be nailed with him to the cross, replacing all the evil with a heart-felt desire to please God.

That’s our high priest! He is the one about whom the whole Bible is written as God reveals himself to us. He is the Melchizedek we met in Genesis and the one we find here in Hebrews who, when he sees us tempted to sin said to himself, “Hold firmly to the faith.”

Prayer: Father, thank you for reminding us that you know us as no one else does. Forgive us when we cry that no one understands. Remind us that you not only understand but empathize and forgive. Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

messiahcob.com