Questions: about the Levi Inheritance and priesthood,priesthood of Mel

[nanasimmons]

Please Give me scriptures when replying so I can get understanding from studying.

Joshua 13:14,33

I hope someone has done a study on this subject, I could use some scriptures on this subject.

V.14 Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrfices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance,as He has said unto them.

My question is what does this mean in light of Christ being our sacrifice and High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, not after the order of Aaron the( Levitical priesthood, the sacrifical system). How were the Levites suppose to live on the sacrfices made by fire, when the sacrifices ended? And what about the Levi being left out of the inherited land?

Another thing,

About Melchizedek king of Salem in Gen. 14:18 it says that "he brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of The Most High God." Was the bread and wine symbolic of His broken body(bread) and His shed blood (wine) spoken of in Matt 26:26-28?

Is Salem where we get Jeru(salem)? If so what does the Jeru mean(stand for)?

Hebrews 7:2,3 says "To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all: first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is King of peace:without father,without mother,without descent,having neither beginning of days,nor end of life: but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

I did a study on Melchizedek. Gen 14:18

He was a priest of The Most High God, not the priest of Israel/Judaism, because Israel isn't even on the scene yet.

Melchizedek is the High Priest of the whole human race.

He is a picture of the priesthood Christ would fulfill. Hebrews 6:20

There had to be a High Priest not just for Israel and the Jew, but the whole world as well.

Christ,as "High Priest" is not after the order of Aaron,But rather after the High Priest of All.

Hebrew 7:11 Leaves a question,there had to be a reason..

V.14 Only the tribe of Levi could be priest

V.15 For after Melchizedek(High Priest of all)

V.16 carnal commandent(Law of Moses)

How did Christ fulfill the role of High Priest?

John 20:11-17

On resurrection morning Mary was told 'touch Me not:for I am not yet ascended to My Father'

go tell My brethren"I ascend to My Father,and to your Father;and to My God ,and to your God."

Jesus ascends in that moment of time while Mary runs to tell the twelve.Later the same day He shows himself to them and tells them to "handle Me"Luke 24:39

Why did Me tell Mary not to touch Him? He had to ascend to fulfill The High Priest.

The High Priest had to be spotless, so He couldn't even let Mary touch Him.

Hebrews 9:11,12

But Christ being High Priest of good things to come----by His blood entered in once into the Holyplace(Heaven) obtained eternal redemption for us.

Hebrews 8

V.5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle:for,"See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount."

Eph. 4:10 He that descended is the same that ascended up far above all heavens,that He might fill all things.

[Sterling]

I can't respond to your question adaquately without injecting my beliefs on Preterism so please bear with me as it is a very unpopular view. If you like you can cut and paste my beliefs to coincide with your own later as that is what most people do anyways.

I'll start off by saying that you can find a little about Melchizedek in Flavious Josephus' Antiquity of the Jews. Not much new information but a little bit. The most important thing about Melchizedek is that he was given the title of High Priest from God and not through his lineage (as the Jews were not yet born). The term Salem means Peace. I'm uncertain as to whether there was a place called Salem after the term or if it means that he was the King of Peace.

Regarding Christ's position as High Priest for evermore, you have to do a little studying into the role's of a High Priest and regretably it's been a few years for me so I might get some of the specifics wrong. If you would like me to address any of the following points directly please allow me the oppertunity to do so. Once a year the High Priest would enter into the Holiest of Holies to make intercession for the sins of the people. As I'm sure you're aware only the priest was allowed in and only on this occasion. The priest would go in and the people would wait. If the sacrifice was accepted the priest would come back out and the people would rejoice. If not then the priest was killed.

The temple was built to VERY direct specifications (right down to the exact weights of gold) as it was a direct typecast for Heaven and the way it works with regards to salvation. It was set up into three parts the Outer Courts which were refered to as the Sea which the Gentiles were allowed into, the inner court which was refered to as the Earth and the Holiest of Holies which was refered to as Heaven on Earth. This system was flawed as nothing the people could do could achieve them salvation. It wasn't without purpose though. It was a typecast for what Christ was to do for the people and they achieved salvation through Christ which was the only acceptable sacrifice suffient for our sins.

Now when Christ died he didn't go into Heaven for the three days untill he rose again. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Hades or not. No one was allowed into Heaven before Christ accomplished what he came here to do. There was what ammounted to a holding cell for the dead called the Bosom of Abraham. It was seperated into two parts Hades and Paradise. The King James boys as well as many other failed to recognize this distinction and when translating simply changed the word to Hell, death or the Grave for Hades and occasionally Heaven for the word "paradeisos" (paradise).

Here are some examples of where the word Hell is used in place of Hades (KJV)

Mat 11:23, Mat 16:18, Luk 10:15, Luk 16:23, Act 2:27, Act 2:31, Rev 1:18, Rev 6:8, Rev 20:13, Rev 20:14

Please note that Luke 16:23 gives an interesing account. This is not the eternal damnation or heaven that's being refered to. This is the Bosom of Abraham. Also, Acts 2:27 is where I draw an excellent example of my conclusion that this was Christ's immediate destination after the cross.

Now when Christ died he went down into Hades and ministered to the people down there. After he rose from the dead and then asended he went into Heaven (the literal Holiest of Holies) to make intercession for our sins. Now the rest of the new testament was written while waiting for Christ to return signifying that the sacrifice was accepted and ushering in the dawn of the New Covanent or more accuratley the perfection of the Old. Now there was to be a spiritual fullfillment of the old temple system. The High Priest was to be Christ, an eternal and perfected priest. The Sacrifice was to be Christ, an eternal and perfected sacrifice. The King was to be Christ, an .... you see where I'm going with this?

What that means for us the people; The temple is no longer a physical dwelling place for the Lord. The old things have passed away. The temple is now a spiritual one. There is no more death or hell (both refering to Hades not physical death or eternal Hell). We can come to God through Christ our High Priest who is forever making intercession for our sins. We can get into heaven.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Now this is a real stumper of a verse for a lot of people. But if you recognize the idioms refering to the way the old temple was set up you can clearly recognize that this means there will be no more distinction between Jews and Gentiles in the courts of God.

I'm sure there are more questions and points that I haven't answered but please contact me for anything else you'd like to discuss. I pray that you won't take my word for it but look these matters up on your own. All scriptures are good for teaching and God is not the Author of confusion. There is an answer and if you look for it with the knowledge that you might be wrong in you presuppositions then God will surely direct you to the knowledge of him.

God Bless

[EricH]

I moved this to the doctrinal forum from the welcome forum. It is more appropriate there

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings Nana Simmons,

You might want to download E-Sword Bible Software. You can add numerous commentaries and research tools to it - ALL FOR FREE, but donations are accepted. You may even get the basic on CD for a minimum donation, and then add to it. You will find a wealth of very good information in it.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[Sterling]

I'd also recommend reading the works of Flavious Josephus. He was a first century Jewish historian and wrote a lot of interesting things including an account of Jewish history from creation on. It's not scripture and has its flaws but it will at the very least give you insight into the idioms and culture surrounding the time the New Testament was written. They did use figures of speech in the bible that are, for the most part, lost on us today. If I wrote a novel and said that it was raining cats and dogs in 2000 years I doubt people would know that the statement was hyperbolic.

Also Josephus goes into some detail on things the bible doesn't. His recount of the Flood, for example, states that there were survivors of the flood apart from Noah's family and also explains the lineage of the Caananites a little more indepth. Interesting read anyways.

[Guest yod]

Joshua 13:14,33

I hope someone has done a study on this subject, I could use some scriptures on this subject.

V.14 Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrfices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance,as He has said unto them.

My question is what does this mean in light of Christ being our sacrifice and High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, not after the order of Aaron the( Levitical priesthood, the sacrifical system). How were the Levites suppose to live on the sacrfices made by fire, when the sacrifices ended? And what about the Levi being left out of the inherited land?

The levitical system has been replaced with a better system. When the Temple was destroyed, so was their livelihood. They received no particular land but were supported in the lands of every tribe.

If you are looking for some kind of spiritual interpretation, the levitical priesthood represents intercession for the lost

About Melchizedek king of Salem in Gen. 14:18 it says that "he brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of The Most High God." Was the bread and wine symbolic of His broken body(bread) and His shed blood (wine) spoken of in Matt 26:26-28?

not necessarily. It was common hospitality to feed a guest...and bread/wine is what everyone ate/drank

Is Salem where we get Jeru(salem)? If so what does the Jeru mean(stand for)?

Jerusalem means "City of Peace" (ha!)

In Jerusalem, they believe that Melchizadeck (which literally means "King of Righteousness") was the ruler of this city during Abraham's day before even the Jebusites lived there

I did a study on Melchizedek. Gen 14:18

He was a priest of The Most High God, not the priest of Israel/Judaism, because Israel isn't even on the scene yet.

Melchizedek is the High Priest of the whole human race.

He is a picture of the priesthood Christ would fulfill. Hebrews 6:20

some believe this was a prefiguration of Yeshua just like the angel Manoah saw....or the 3 angels who spoke to Abraham...or the face Moses saw on the mountain.

There had to be a High Priest not just for Israel and the Jew, but the whole world as well.

and there is....Yeshua!

[nanasimmons]

Thank you Dad, I downloaded E-sword like you suggested I love it already and iv'e only spent a couple minutes with it. How do you get more software for it? Iam having a little trouble figuring out thier site.Thanks...

Sterling how might this Josephus help my study?

I don't feel to good about the fact he claims there were other survivors besides Noah's family,It sends RED flags up in my mind.

[Sterling]

Sterling how might this Josephus help my study?

I don't feel to good about the fact he claims there were other survivors besides Noah's family,It sends RED flags up in my mind.

That particular issue sent up a lot of red flags with me actually, but I've since come to grips with his difference of opinion from the mainstram church. It's important to remember that it's not cannon. He mearly reiterates the oral traditions passes down through the Jews. There were a few points of contraversy such as whether the Flood was global or local that pretty much got lost in the sands of time but there were a lot of people who believed that the flood was local. Josephus subscribed to this theory. He was pretty maticulous in his accounts. Don't forget that there was also contraversy over the book of Enoch which is now a technically banned book in a large portion of the world and Jesus Himself quoted out of it.

The reason I think it may be of help to you is because it's an impartial point of view to what was happening in the time of Christ (he was a Jew who never converted to Christianity.) Also, he speaks of Jesus and it's pretty cool to see what he has to say about the old testament in general. He picks up on the events of the Jews after the bible drops off on the subjest (about a 500 year period of time) and he has a bit to say about the what the Jews of the time thoguth concerning things like the Flood and Melchizedek.

That's all. Remember it's NOT cannon and should never be thought of as such but as interesting a read as the Book of Enoch.

God Bless your search.

[BrandonL]

To understand the meaning of the term "of the order of Melchizedek" you have to read Hebrews 7. Remember that the writer of Hebrews was writing to Hebrew Christians (as the name suggests) who were thinking about converting back to Judaism. By comparing Christ to Melchizedek, the writer was essentially saying that Christ was a High Priest of an order that had no beginning or end. See, it was Hebrew custom that taught that Melchizedek was an eternal High Priest. See, in V. 3, "having neither beginning of days, nor end of life."

1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

Now, of course the Hebrews understood that Melchizedek had a beginning and an end, but it's not recorded anywhere and Hebrews were very obsessed with the idea of having a father and know who that was all the way back as far as possible. Hence, the writer also mentioning that Melchizedek was "without father, without mother." Again, it was just a metaphor to try to explain the Priesthood of Christ. Since so little was known about Melchizedek, and since the only thing that was known about him was the Abraham gave Melchizedek 1/10th of everything he had, and that Melchizedek was a Priest of the most high God, they sort of accepted that Melchizedek was the most supreme High Priest ever.

What the writer of Hebrews was doing here was essentially proving that Christ was better than the Priesthood. He was saying that if Melchizedek is higher than Aaron, and Christ is higher than Melchizedek, then Christ is above the Preisthood altogether.

Now, you are right that Melchizedek wasn't really a "High Priest" at all, since the Priesthood didn't come around until much later. The writer of Hebrews addresses this, too, since Jesus didn't fall into the Priesthood, either.

4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. 5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:

Here, again, the writer is pointing out that Melchizedek out-weighed the Priesthood. See, he points out that even Levi (from whom the Priesthood extends) paid tribute to Melchizedek "out of the loins of Abraham." It was Jewish tradition that you existed before you were born in the loins of your father. In other words, whatever your father did was passed on to you. So if Abraham paid tribute to Melchizedek and Abraham was a father of Levi, then it can be assumed that Levi did the same. In our society, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but Jewish remember that this was written to people who knew about Jewish tradition.

9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

In Verse 11, as you pointed out, the writer asks a question concerning why it was necessary for a Priest to come from outside the family of Levi.

11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

He answers this question later in the chapter

26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

Here, he is saying that Christ was necessary because the Priests were not perfect. They were made priests by the law (v. 28) from men who have infirmity, but Christ was made Priest by the word of the Oath (meaning God's oath in Hebrews 6:17) and He was consecrated once for ever. He also points out that the priesthood had to sacrifice first for themselves then daily for the people, but Christ's sacrifice was good enough to cover all mankind forever with only one sacrifice. Christ also never needed to sacrifice for Himself.

Yes, Salem was Jerusalem before Jerursalem existed.

[nanasimmons]

Sterling,

I just saw Josephes on the e-sword downloads,maybe i'll give it a look-see. God is pretty faithful about not letting me go astray. He is my all in all .

I've never read Enoch either but I knew a guy that use to talk about him alot.

The other night I was doing a study and every time I went to a deeper study I would find another wow! so i would look into that and another wow! So I ended up not getting a deep study on any one thing .I found myself overwelmed.

I really feel that I need to get deeper on this Levite thing and the tabernacle of David and the prophecies of the restoration and the Prophet(Jesus) that God told Moses about. The wording of those scriptures stands out to me..So doesn't many thing in Genesis...and Hebrews..

Do you see what I mean.

I'll check out Josephus and post my comments. Thanks again, Nana