The Lord has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)

I have long believed that the Levitical priesthood, which developed after the sin of the Golden Calf, may not have been God’s ideal, but a necessary alternative given the situation. It is a fact that before the sin of the golden calf, the consecrated first born sons were referred to as priests. For example, God said, “Let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them” (Exodus 19:22). When Israel gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Lord said of the entire nation, “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:6).

It would seem that Levi’s selection as those who would minister unto the Lord came as the result of national rebellion which then amplifies the importance of David’s prophecy that the One seated at God’s Right Hand would be “priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Perhaps, this is due to the fact that the priestly order of Melchizedek is the ideal that God ordained from the beginning — conceived before man’s rebellion.

The Bible refers to this mysterious figure, whose name means “king of righteousness,” as the “king of Salem (peace)” and “priest of the Most High God.” It is he who greeted Abraham with bread and wine and blessed him. It is also he that the writer of Hebrews said is “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, and remains a priest continually” (Hebrews 7:3). My point is the order of Melchizedek is patterned after what is eternal, not temporal; it is established according to wholehearted obedience and is not the consequence of disobedience.

This is not to say the selection of Levi was temporary or mistaken — God is God and all His works are righteous. However when all is said and done, God’s purpose and intent will be restored to what He ordained from the beginning. The One who now sits at His Right Hand will preside over all nations in righteousness. We who follow the Messiah, being conformed to His image and likeness, will serve the Most High God as priests in the same manner as He — according to the order of Melchizedek. Echoing what the Lord told Israel at Sinai, Peter says to us, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill