The New Priesthood is Unchangeable
7: 20-22
The new priesthood is unchangeable DIG: What did the Ruach ha-Kodesh never say about Aaron, that He said about Messiah? What type of transaction is in view when God makes an oath? Why did God have to swear an oath by Himself (Hebrews 6:13)? When God takes an oath in relation to a promise, with what is it always connected? Why was the covenant made with Jesus much better than the previous one? For what did Judah serve as surety? What does the Greek word enguos mean? How does Messiah serve as the enguos of the Father?
REFLECT: If you began living your life more aware of the reality that you have Christ on our side, sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding on your behalf (Romans 8:34), what might be some of the ways your life would change? We have seen that when God makes an oath, it has to do with eternal things. Though our promises can’t be eternal, we can still do all in our power to ensure that the promises we have made are fulfilled. How are you doing in that regard (Ecc 5:4-5)? Have you been lax in following through on your promises to friends, to those at work or at home? If you are married, how faithful have you been with regard to your marriage vows? Let us commit ourselves to be men and women of integrity who are known for the reliability of our words, that we may reflect the perfect character of Him who never breaks a promise.
Ha’Shem did not swear to Aaron that his priesthood would last forever. In fact, YHVH never suggested, to Aaron or to anyone else, that the priesthood would be anything but temporary. But that thought never entered the minds of the Jews, for the B’rit Chadashah was a mystery to them (Ephesians 5:32), and they could not imagine it ending. In fact the righteous of the TaNaKh believed that when the Messiah came, the Messianic Kingdom would begin immediately. Moreover, God never made an oath when the priesthood was established (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Fv – The Selection of Aaron and His Sons as Priests). What is more, God swore an oath. For no oath was sworn in connection with those who become priests (Hebrew: cohanim) now; but Yeshua became a priest (Hebrew: cohen) God swore an eternal priesthood. God said to Him, “ADONAI has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a cohen forever’ (Hebrews 7:20-21 CJB quoting Psalm 110:4 CJB, to which the writer refers to here for the fourth time in the letter: 5:6, 6:20, 7:17).” And to make the point more emphatic, David added: and will not change His mind. The fact that God took an oath proves that the new priesthood in the Order of Melchizedek will be eternal, permanent, and unchangeable.
Neither David nor the writer of Hebrews suggests that God’s oath was any more reliable or valid than His mere word. It is rather that, when He makes eternal commitments, He has chosen to do so with an oath. The oath doesn’t represent greater truthfulness, but puts the emphasis on the permanence on what He has said. For example, when God made His covenant with Abraham, He did so with an oath (Genesis 22:16-18; Hebrews 6:13). This promise was unconditional and eternal. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath (6:17). ADONAI wanted Abraham, and eventually all Isra’el, and all the rest of the world, to know that His promise was permanent. It was through Abraham that the Messiah would come, and, as a result, the blessing that every believer will experience for all eternity is a perpetual fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.
Yeshua’s priesthood is also based on an oath of YHVH, and is thereby shown to be eternal, or unchangeable. Because of this oath Jesus has become the guarantee (Greek: enguos), of a better covenant (7:22). Whenever Ha’Shem takes an oath in relation to a promise, it is always connected with Messiah, who is the eternal fulfillment of all of God’s promises. Why the New Covenant is a better covenant than with Moshe at Sinai is explained in greater detail later in the book (see Bo – Proof of the Superiority of the New Covenant). The New Covenant that ADONAI made with Yeshua is better than the first covenant at Sinai because the covenant in the wilderness was only temporary and the New Covenant is eternal (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el).
There should be no confusion; the Torah is still relevant to our lives. The heart of the Sermon on the Mount was when the Lord said: Do not think I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to complete (Matthew 5:17 CJB). These words must be understood in their context. Yeshua is still alive today and the Torah is still in effect, not for salvation – but for godly living. All believers, Jew or Gentile, should love the Torah. How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don’t stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit! Their delight is in ADONAI’s Torah (teaching); on His Torah they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams – their bear fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds (Psalm 1:1-3, 19:8, 40:9 CJB). Some twenty-five years after the start of the Messianic Community at Shavu’ot (see the commentary on Acts Al – The Ruach ha-Kodesh Comes at Shavu’ot) there were tens of thousands of Jewish believers who were zealous for the Torah (Acts 21:20). They had not lost their Jewishness when they came to believe in Yeshua as their Messiah. They were saved by grace but believed, as should we, that the principles of Torah were a blueprint for living.
There is a beautiful illustration of guaranteeing is found in Genesis. Jacob’s sons were preparing to go back to Egypt a second time to get grain for their starving families, when Judah reminded his father that the Egyptian ruler (who, unknown to them, was Joseph) told them they couldn’t expect to get more grain unless they brought their youngest brother, Benjamin, with them to Egypt. But only after Judah offered to be the security for Benjamin did Jacob reluctantly agree. I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him her before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life (Genesis 43:9). After the brothers had obtained their grain from Joseph, they were stopped on their way home by Egyptian soldiers and searched. Joseph had a plan. He wasn’t sure if he could trust his brothers. So he had planted a silver bowl in Benjamin’s sack of grain, for which he could be sent to prison. The test was to see if the brothers would abandon Benjamin as they once had abandoned Joseph. So they were brought back to Joseph in Egypt. Dismayed at what had happened, and grieved at what the loss of Benjamin would do to his father, Judah again offered to become a guarantee for his brother. After a lengthy explanation to Joseph of his concern, Judah said: Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers (Genesis 44:33). Judah was willing to go to any length to fulfill the pledge to his father that Benjamin would return home safely. This pictures the idea of Christ being the guarantee for the New Covenant.184
Yeshua is the mediator of the B’rit Chadashah (First Timothy 2:5), and in this has provided us with eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). However, He does more than mediate the New Covenant . . . He guarantees it. For all of God’s promises in the B’rit Chadashah are guaranteed by Jesus Himself and the Ruach ha-Kodesh has been given to us (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith). God has anointed us and set His seal of ownership on us, and put His promised Holy Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (Second Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:14). Therefore, Yeshua will guarantee the fulfillment of the New Covenant.
Leave A Comment