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The Tabernacle 30 which the Lord pitched, and not man," He is a Priest after the pattern of Aaron. Melchisedec foreshadowed the eter- nal deity and glory of Jesus, our King-Priest; Aaron's service in the earthly sanctuary foreshadowed His minis- try for His redeemed children. Christ Is ttBetter Than" Aaron in His Person «A Priest for Ever after the Order of Melchisedec" This two-fold truth concerning the Person and work of Christ, our Great High Priest, is set forth in the pro- found, majestic Epistle to the Hebrews. The Christian Jews, to whom this letter was addressed, were being cruelly persecuted for their testimony, and were, therefore, in danger of returning to Judaism. The temple was still standing (Heb. 10: 11) ; unbelieving Jews were still ob- serving the ritual of the Mosaic Law. The Hebrew Chris- tians, who had separated themselves from the Christ-reject- ing nation, needed instruction, warning, and encourage- ment. Therefore, the Holy Spirit wrote this epistle to prove to them that Christianity is far "better than" Judaism, as seen in its Founder, Christ. Having shown conclusively that Christ is «better than" the prophets, angels, Moses, and Joshua, then He went on to prove, in the heart of the epistle, that Christ is "better than" Aaron, Israel's first high priest-the best that Judaism had to offer. And in all this profound treatise the Holy Spirit set forth, in words that glow and burn their way into our hearts, the beautiful message that Jesus, the Son of God, of whom the prophets wrote, whom the angels worship, in whom Moses and Joshua trusted for their salvation, of whom Aaron was but a type--that this eternal One is our ever-living, ever-loving Great High Priest and coming
The Tabernacle King. As a Prophet, He had given to a sinning world His Father's message of divine and eternal and vicarious love. As a Priest He had died for His creatures' sins, and had entered into the Holiest of All, even heaven itself, there to minister on behalf of His blood-bought, redeemed children. Now Aaron was Israel's first high priest, and he was rightly held in honor and esteem by his people, Israel. But long before Aaron was born, another king-priest had met Aaron's ancestor, Abraham; for Levi was the great- grandfather of Aaron; Abraham was the great-grandfather of Levi. This king-priest who met Abraham, and who was greater than this father of the Hebrew nation, was none other than Melchisedec. Only three portions of the Word of God tell us of Melchisedec: Gen. 14:17-20; Psalm 110:4; and the Epistle to the Hebrews (5:5-7:28). (Note the difference in the Hebrew and the Greek spelling of the name.) Melchisedec was "king of Salem" and "priest of the most high God." "Salem" was the ancient name for "Jeru- salem," and means «peace"-"Jerusalem" means «City of peace." By interpretation, therefore, Melchisedec's name means "King of righteousness" and "King of peace." And in these beautiful and significant names he becomes a type of the Lord Jesus, "King of righteousness," indeed; and "Prince of Peace." Moreover, the Scriptures tell us nothing about the gen- ealogy of Melchisedec, who "met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him" after the patriarch had delivered his nephew, Lot, from captivity. Some Bible teachers hold that he was, indeed, a manifes- tation of God Himself to Abraham; but after careful
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