Hebrews 7:2

Hebrews 7:2

Abraham gave a tenth of everything

So far as we are aware, Abraham was the first human being to make a tithe to someone he believed to be greater than himself. The ritual of tithing reoccurs often in Scripture, particularly in the context of our offering one tenth of our money or assets to the Lord. Leviticus 27:30 reminded the Israelites, “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it.” The instruction here goes on to set out that every tenth animal of the herd or flock will also be holy to the Lord. The rules about tithes are expanded upon throughout the Old Testament and are more complex than many might think. The point here is, that Abraham was the first, he set the pattern that his descendants would follow, and the surprise is that he tithed the spoils of his military conquests to a man he barely knew! In every way, this prefigures the relationship that the Israelites had with the Lord God and later, the Messianic rule of Yeshua over His church and ultimately, over the whole earth. 

The verse before us goes on to ensure we know exactly who is being described when we talk about Melchizedek, his name means “king of righteousness.” There is only one other being who could ever be worthy of that name, and it is Yeshua himself. Such was the importance and uniqueness of this event that a representation of Yeshua must come and meet Abraham face to face and break bread and drink wine with him! From this moment, Abraham’s role in the Covenants and development of Israel was established forever. God Himself had sealed it. 

In the same way, Jesus Christ must come in person and set in place the New Covenant and future structure of His Church, whenever we break bread and drink wine with Him, we are celebrating the New Covenant.  In addition to being the “king of righteousness” our Lord reminds us that He is also the “king of peace.” Isn’t it incredible to note that all of this took place at the site that would become Jerusalem to which Jesus must return one day to be the Saviour of the whole world? Hallelujah! 

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