Hebrews 7:6-10
 
Heb 7:6 (KJB)
But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
 
(Gen 14:19 KJV) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: Melchisedec's genealogy is not from the tribe of Levi since the tribe of Levi did not come into existence for about another 150 years neither was Melchisedec the forerunner of the tribe of Levi because Levi came through Jacob who came through Isaac who came through Abraham. Yet, Melchisedec was an eternal priest and blessed Abraham who had the promises. The great promise Abraham had was the Lord Jesus Christ would come through his physical lineage creating an eternal spiritual lineage.
 
Heb 7:7 (KJB)
And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
 
As God blesses His children, we know that those who receive the blessing are the lesser of the two as God is the greater. In the case of Abraham and Melchisedec, we see that Abraham received the blessing from Melchisedec making Melchisedec the greater of the two.
 
Heb 7:8 (KJB)
And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
 
This verse is speaking of the Levitical priesthood in that each one serves their time on earth but death ends their service and then someone else is appointed to take their place in service. Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec who was living. Now this is an interesting contrast between the two priesthoods. Tithes are given to the Levites when they are living and, of course, no tithes can be given them when they are dead but we are being told that Melchisedec lives. The word “liveth” in the Greek is in the present tense and not the past or perfect tense. This would mean that at the time of the writing of Hebrews that Melchisedec was still alive. Keep in mind that in verse 3 we are told that he had no “end of life.” This is why I believe deeply that Melchisedec was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
 
Heb 7:9 (KJB)
And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
 
Levi was a descendant of Abraham through Jacob and so in a manner Levi had received tithes and had paid tithes to Melchisedec. Of course, there was about 600 years between Melchisedec and the Levitical priesthood receiving tithes in the time of the Mosaic law. So this was a non-literal paying of tithes since Levi had not been born yet. This verse shows us that the priesthood of Melchisedec was far greater than the priesthood of Aaron. It teaches us that Levi, being a temporal priesthood, was in deference to the eternal priesthood of Melchisedec. The lesser paying tithes to the greater. As the people of Israel brought the tithes to the storehouse of the Temple or Tabernacle in response to God’s method of funding the Levitical priesthood and the offerings of the people for various reasons from sin to thanksgiving, so the true born again believers operate the same way. The storehouse is not necessarily the local church but it can be a missionary organization or some type of outreach ministry. However, if someone belongs to a local church which has a good missions program then they should be supported but that does not mean every penny has to go to them. The responsibility of the believer is to send forth the gospel to the ends of the earth till the Lord returns and this is partially done by sending offerings to ministries preaching the true gospel.
 
Heb 7:10 (KJB)
For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
 
As Levi was still in the loins of Abraham and was not to be born for about another 150 years. Yet because God is eternal, He sees the beginning from the end and saw that the temporary Levitical priesthood was lesser than the eternal priesthood of Melchisedec. The only way one priesthood can be greater than the earthly priesthood is if it is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. The priesthood of the believer is also an eternal one but the difference is that every believer had a beginning of days.
 
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