If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical
priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why
was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of
Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when the
priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of
whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that
tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our
Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about
priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another
priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis
of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an
indestructible life. For it is declared: “You are a priest
forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 7:11-17)
As
noted before, the “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” quote
is from Psalm 110. David wrote it about a lord who was greater than he, his son
who would reign forever. David knew the law. He knew that his son could never
be a Levitical priest. It’s likely that he knew that Saul had attempted to act
as a priest, and that the throne had been taken from him as a result. If David’s
son was to reign forever, and act as priest, he had to do so under a different
set of regulations. Melchizedek provided a perfect model, acting as both priest
and king.
Fifteen
hundred years later, a descendant of David did come along. He could not be a Levitical
priest because he was not a descendant of Levi, he was a descendant of Judah.
He established that priesthood based on a new covenant in His blood, and having
paid the price for our sins with that blood, and having risen from the dead to
live forever more, He has been established as being of the order of
Melchizedek.
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