Hebrews 7:6-8 – The Power of an Endless Life

Hebrews 7:6-8

The Power of An Endless Life

But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. (Hebrews 7:6)

And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. (Hebrews 7:7)

And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. (Hebrews 7:8)

   To those who know the Lord the Spirit of God is about to take us to a place that most of us have not been before. The Spirit of God, the heavenly voice to us, will expand our minds, our hearts, our souls, and our spirits in this wonderful love that we have for our God and our Savior Jesus Christ. The Spirit takes us out of the realm of Adam to the heavenly, But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. The casual reader would find nothing of eternity in this verse, they would miss the mind of the Spirit as He compares man (in Abraham) to the Almighty God in Jesus Christ in verses 6, 7 and 8. Let us begin with the mind of Christ.

Preexistence of the Son of God and Jesus Christ

But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. (Hebrews 7:6) This verse introduces us to the God who is greater than man, He is the Blesser of those who are blessed. These three verses are about God: His Being, the preexistence of the Son of God, and the pre-existence of Jesus Christ. Men stumble at the word ‘preexistence’ when it is applied to the Son of God. They want a God like unto themselves, and not a supernatural being with all power in both heaven and earth, the Man Christ Jesus. The Lord spoke of His preexistence in the gospel of the Son of man, the book of Luke, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that He beheld Satan as lighting falling from heaven. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18) In this statement He was speaking of a time (recorded by God in the Old Testament) when He brought judgment against Lucifer, Satan, the old serpent the Devil. It was He, the Lord Jesus, who cast the devil down to the ground. This is recorded in the Word of God. (Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28). Read these sections carefully and you will get the full impact of the words from the Lord Jesus in Luke’s gospel Chapter 10.

The Eternal Priesthood and the Eternal King

   In Chapter 7 of the book of Hebrews, we are dealing with the continual priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal priesthood from before the foundation of the earth. In the book of Hebrews the first mention of His priesthood is in Chapter 2, the number of witness, verse 17. However, if we consider both verses 16 and 17 together, we will receive the mind of the Spirit in the complete manifestation of the Son of God Jesus Christ.

For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. (Hebrews 2:16)

Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17)

   In verse 16, the Lord Jesus is the promised seed given to Abraham. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16) This expands the promises given to Abraham, and not only shows the pre-existence of Jesus Christ, but the foreknowledge of our wonderful Savior. In verse 16 ‘he took’ — this was a deliberate act that only God could do. It was a supernatural act when He took upon Himself the seed of Abraham, for He was the promised divine seed. And this is the same one who took tithes from Abraham, not of the line of Aaron, but out of the tribe of Judah. He is the supernatural King and He is the supernatural Priest upon His throne.

And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: (Zechariah 6:12)

Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. (Zechariah 6:13)

   The 7the Chapter of Hebrews tells us that Christ was both the king of peace, and the priest of righteousness referring to the act of Melchisedec meeting Abraham, after the slaughter of the kings, as documented in the book of Genesis Chapter 14. This is confirmed by the Spirit of God that Melchisedec was the preexistent image of Jesus Christ. And this harmonizes with the creation of Adam because the Lord Jesus Christ created all things, witnessed by the Spirit of God, and testified in the Word of God that Christ created all things.

   He is the one who created Adam in His own image, in the image of Christ created He him. Adam was the first man to look upon the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This also was a supernatural act, and therefore, when He met Abraham, the greater came to bless the lesser. Abraham received the blessing from the hand of Melchisedec, the image of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews Chapter 2, verse 17 we read, Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. We have the continual priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ as the King of peace, and the priest of righteousness in Melchisedec: a continual priesthood — a eternal priesthood.

Christ Fulfilled the Order and Oath of Melchisedec

   When the Lord Jesus was manifested upon earth as the Son of God, and as the Son of man, He walked upon this earth with the very men, His disciples, that He had created. Through the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ we see His Melchisedec priesthood. For example: only the priest could fulfill the law of the leper, and Christ did this through His Melchisedec priesthood instantaneously. This proved His priesthood upon the earth. He told the lepers to go show themselves to the priest, and to tell the priest what great things that GOD had done for them. This was in relationship to His own power and His own Person (which we can say) was God Himself. By the law and ordinances given to Moses by God the priest was the only one who could complete the law of the leper.

   Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17) As Melchisedec (in verse 17 of Hebrews Chapter 2) He, as the high Priest of God, offered Himself for the sins of the people. In verse 17, we see Him being made like unto his brethren, this is a similitude and is not the same, this falls in line with His priesthood (as Melchisedec) Chapter 7, verse 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. (Hebrews 7:3)

Made Like — Made Like

  Let us define made like unto his brethren, and made like unto the Son of God. These references of the Spirit of God are similitudes, and these similitudes are proven by the Scriptures. Concerning His brethren: Christ had flesh and blood, however, He had no sin nature, so He was NOT like His brethren, He was MADE as a reflection of His brethren. In a body that was prepared for Him before the foundations of the earth. (Hebrews Chapter 10)

   As Melchisedec, the Son of God revealed His priesthood to Abraham. This was the very first time that He revealed His priesthood to man as the Son of God. So both Melchisedec and the Lord Jesus are one and the same. A body hast thou prepared for me. 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. (Hebrews 7:3) Made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually, this phrase confirms the continuation of the Lord’s eternal priesthood. This is a solid red line from before the foundation of the earth, and before He created all things that He was a Priest upon His eternal throne seated in divine righteousness.

   For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. In Hebrews Chapter 2, verse 16, He took on Him the seed of Abraham. This was the body that was prepared for Him. (Hebrews 10:5) Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. This body was to be the sacrificial payment for the sin of the whole world, a body completely supernatural to be made ‘like’ unto His brethren out of the seed of Abraham.

  This statement by the Holy Ghost also takes in the twelve sons of Jacob, who were brought out of Egypt as the twelve tribes. When God created a new nation out of the sons of Jacob He called His new nation by Jacob’s later name, the nation of Israel. (The name Israel means ‘Prince of God’ or ‘Prince with God’). And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (Genesis 32:28) They came out of Egypt by the blood of the Lamb, and bringing them out of Egypt, God in the Person of Jesus Christ, was fulfilling His priesthood that He would bring them out of Egypt as a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.

   When Christ appointed Aaron as the high priest, Aaron was only to be a likeness, or the similitude of the divine priesthood that was above. This also relates to the earthly walk on earth of the Lord Jesus Christ. As He walked upon the earth to become the Redeemer of men, He also walked as the Son of God, and as the Son of man, and as a Priest forever after the order or oath of Melchisedec. The fulfillment of His earthly priesthood was when He offered Himself for the sins of the people.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:5)

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (Philippians 2:6)

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (Philippians 2:7

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)

  Once again the Holy Spirit shows us the supernatural in Philippians Chapter 2. As Christ, He is equal to God, for He is one and the same. This is who He is, the image of God, and the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:14)

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (Colossians 1:15)

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: (Colossians 2:6)

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:7)

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)

   It is Christ who is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. It is Jesus Christ who IS the image of the invisible God. Jesus Christ is the complete manifestation of God Himself, and there is no other.

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; (Hebrews 9:11)

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.(Hebrews 9:12)

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: (Hebrews 9:13)

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)

  The Lord Jesus offered Himself as a Priest bringing His OWN blood to appease the wrath of God, and placed His blood  on the eternal mercy seat in heaven to be a witness throughout all eternity that He loved us into death. The Lord testified (to His disciples) to this very act of His priesthood when He told them that He would lay down His life, and that no man would take it from Him. He would lay His life down of Himself for the sin of the world, and this He did when He made His soul an offering for sin. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 5:10) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. (Ephesians 5:2) These two Scriptures tie the sacrificial offering of the Priest Himself to God in the body that was prepared for Him. Only a supernatural act of this divine Priest could complete bringing an offering and being the offering as the sacrifice for sin in His own body on the tree. He brought the sacrifice (as the Lamb of God) and offered the sacrifice (as the divine Priest of God). He was both the Sacrifice (the Lamb) and the Offerer (the Priest).

Priest and Sacrifice — The Pain

   Under the law and ordinances of God that were given to Moses an Israelite would set aside a special lamb. It would be the first born lamb, and it would be pure, both without and within. Every day this Israelite would feed and nourish this lamb knowing that one day he would need this lamb for a sin offering. One day he would have to bring this lamb to the priest. And there before the nation of Israel, he would have to confess his sin, and trespass, while placing his hand on the head of his lamb, his offering. His own hand would then have to take the life of this lamb. In this action he would deliver his lamb to the priest for an offering. The priest could not take it from him until the Israelite had taken the life of his lamb and delivered the sacrifice to the priest. The Israelite had to FEEL the pain of his own sin, and what his sin cost. How much more the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot unto God. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14) We are a delivered people. Delivered by the Sin Bearer and the sin offering: both Priest and Sacrifice in one offering for sin. This offering was delivered to the cross by Christ Himself, and by the high Priest who made reconciliation for the sins of the people. At the cross we see the pain of the offering and the pain of the Offerer. We see the pain of the eternal high Priest of God making reconciliation for the sins of the people by the death of Himself on the cross. He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him.

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11)

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. (John 10:17)

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:18)

  As the divine Priest of God man could not be allowed to take the life of Christ. Christ had to lay His life down of Himself under His own authority as the eternal high Priest because His life became an offering for sin — a sweet savor to God. (Ephesians 5:2) This was an offering for sin in the One who had no sin. He had to take on sin to become sin for us. He did this, in the power of God, He nullified all sin by bearing the sin of the whole world, and therefore, He is able to take us out of this world and make us the righteousness of God in Him. We, as the children of Adam, drove the Lamb of God to the slaughter, and although in His foreknowledge He knew the agony of the cross, yet, He opened not His mouth in protest against His death. For He must needs go to the cross, and thereby suffer for the sins of the whole world, suffering for us. Consider Isaiah Chapter 53. Christ, therefore, was not counted from the Aaronic priesthood. It was Aaron who was a type or shadow of the eternal priest in the priesthood forever after the order of Melchisedec. Both Aaron and the tabernacle were only shadows of the true which are in heaven. Jesus Christ, a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec, is the True and the substance of the shadow that Aaron in type represented.

   For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26) In this verse, once again we see the Offering and the Offerer, and He is now exalted higher than the heavens. We have such a high priest, what a wonder of God’s grace. The Lord Jesus trembled at the thought of the cross, yet, He staid the course for the joy that was set before Him.

   In Hebrews Chapter 7:6, it is Melchisedec who is once more referred to as taking tithes from Abraham, and also blessing Abraham. This is the eternal priesthood of Melchisedec, and it belongs to Jesus Christ. He is the high Priest forever: yesterday, today and forever, and this same Jesus will come again and He will reign as a Priest upon His throne.

The Priest of Earth and the Priest of Heaven

   The Lord Jesus told John the Baptist that it was up to them, both of them, to fulfill all righteousness, we have both the high priest of earth in John, and the true high Priest of heaven (Christ). John the Baptist was a true descendant of Aaron, therefore,  he had the correct genealogy to be appointed the high priest. Both John’s father and his mother were from the direct lineage of Aaron. And adding to this fact in John Chapter 1, we read that John the Baptist was a man specifically sent by God to fulfill the priesthood of Aaron by preparing a people of true repentance for the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

   At the river Jordan we have John as the priest sent of God, and there before him stood the greater true heavenly Priest and the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. John is the representative priest receiving the sacrifice from heaven in the river of death, the Jordan. This was at the exact spot that the ark of the covenant and the priest stood in the river Jordan when the waters were parted for the nation of Israel. (Read Joshua Chapter 3)

   One small point I would like to mention: the river Jordan was not like the Red Sea. At the Red Sea the waters were divided. There was death on both sides, and we see this in the drowning of Pharaoh and his hosts. At the Jordan the waters stood as a heap, death ended at the ark of the covenant. The river Jordan was held at the north side of the ark of the covenant, on the south side it was allowed to flow into the dead sea, therefore, giving us a testimony that death ended at the ark of the covenant. There was no water on the other side of the ark of the covenant showing the end of death in Jesus Christ. It is here at the Jordan that the nation of Israel was reborn out of death.

   If we return to Egypt and take their path through the Red Sea all who came out of Egypt perished in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb. This was a new people born in the wilderness, and brought to the Jordan to receive new life in a new land. Israel was given life as a new people. A people whom God took from the devil, who is represented by both Egypt and Pharaoh. And then God took the land from the serpent. This land was full of milk and honey. At the Jordan we have the witness (in Chapter 3 of the gospel of John) that a man must be born again. He must enter into death to have new life, and the ark of the covenant (which is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ) must be there to stay death and to give life.

    Back to the river Jordan and John the Baptist . . . . John was representing the nation as the high priest when he went down into the Jordan. His earthly priesthood was consumed with the eternal priesthood from heaven above which is Jesus Christ. The heavenly Priest of the order of Melchisedec came to deliver a people from death, and to deliver them from sin, and deliver them TO eternal life, and TO a new city, and TO a new land, the eternal city of Jerusalem (which is above, the mother of us all). But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26) This is a lot for us to comprehend. I feel the Spirit of God within me would have more detail in what has just been written. So here goes . . . .

The Word — His Word — The Eternal Word

   Let’s rewind the history of mankind through God’s word. From the fall of man in Adam God gave the first revelation of His divine counsels and His intentions both WITH man and FOR man. He gave His first written revelation to Moses. God spoke to Moses through both words and thoughts that Moses could understand, and consequently, we have the first five books of our inspired and preserved Word of God. This was the first written revelation of God to man in the written form that we have today. It was supernaturally given, and it is supernaturally kept, and supernaturally preserved by the power of the Spirit of God.

  Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ confirmed God’s Word several times. He referred to heaven and earth passing away, but His Word would abide forever, that not one jot nor tittle would fail, and that man would not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. So therefore, using God’s Word which is anointed of God, which is settled in heaven, let us begin in Genesis Chapter 1.

   Although creation is seen in Chapter 1, this Chapter is the revelation of the eternal God to mankind as the Creator of all things. Chapter 1 is about God as the Creator. Who was there when God created? Man was not there, so God had to reveal Himself as the Creator of all things. A question is asked in the book of Job, Where were you when I formed the earth? There is no earthly testimony of man through the creation of heaven and earth. It was a divine act, and only the Creator of such an act could reveal this to man, and the Almighty revealed it to Moses. Even the earth will reveal some of its secrets, however, as mankind is under sin he cannot unlock these secrets in a truthful manner: for he is under sin and his thoughts are not God’s thoughts because the world itself is also under sin. For sin came into the world through man, and the earth, the creation of God, moans and groans waiting to wit the adoption of the sons of God. (Romans 8) Man cannot tell you about creation for man was not present. When God said, Let there be light, there were no eyes of man to behold God’s glorious light. Man cannot go back to the source, or to the point of creation and find the divine source of all light. That light has to be divinely revealed to man, and it is in Jesus Christ that you will find the light and glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (Now we are through with our wandering, and we are ready to go into the land).

A New People — A New Land — A New Position

  Joshua (Savior) has gathered all the people, and  told them that they will pass over the Jordan in three days into the new land. And he proclaimed to them this wonderful truth that ye have not passed this way heretofore. In all their wanderings they had not been in this position before as a new people, born in the wilderness, and prepared for new life and a new land. This was a new movement of God with the children of Israel. Out of all the tribes of Jacob, finally, they could be called Israel, a prince with God. They were a new people for all who came out of Egypt had perished. The old man had stayed behind in the wilderness buried in the dust from whence he came. This was because of the hardness of their hearts. (Hebrews 3)

  Only Joshua and Caleb (of the original Jews who had crossed through the Red Sea) were allowed by God to pass through the Jordan. Who does Joshua represent? He represents the servant Savior. His name translates into Savior. Who does Caleb represent? Caleb (wholehearted) out of the tribe of Judah represents the lion warrior, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, who is Jesus Christ.

Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea. (Joshua 14:6)

Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. (Joshua 14:7) 　

Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. (Joshua 14:8)

And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. (Joshua 14:9)

And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. (Joshua 14:10)

As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. (Joshua 14:11)

Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. (Joshua 14:12)

And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. (Joshua 14:13)

Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. (Joshua 14:14)

And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war. (Joshua 14:15)

   From the testimony of the Word of God we see a man in Caleb although more than forty years of wandering his strength (as Moses) had not diminished. He was a warrior prince out of the tribe of Judah. He exclaimed to Joshua, Give me this mountain. Showing not only his might, but his strength to fulfill his desire, and to fulfill the blessing that Moses had given unto him.

   Let us return the banks of the Jordan, the scene before us, these are the people who have failed miserably in the wilderness. (Hebrews 3) They were truly representatives of Adam under sin, yet, God would fulfill His promises that He made to Abraham. And as these promises are fulfilled through the time and history of mankind, this was part of the promise of giving Abraham’s descendants this land of promise. And even though they failed in the land, God would continue to fulfill His promise progressively despite the sinful nature of man. And He has fulfilled and will continue to fulfill His promises to Abraham. Even though mankind failed, God never fails. For the promises to Abraham one day will be completely fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth where God will dwell among men and it will be completely under His divine righteousness.

Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, (Joshua 1:1)

Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. (Joshua 1:2)

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. (Joshua 1:3)

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, (Joshua 1:10)

Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it. (Joshua 1:11)

And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. (Joshua 3:3)

Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. (Joshua 3:4)

Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, (Joshua 4:2)

And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. (Joshua 4:3)

Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: (Joshua 4:4)

And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: (Joshua 4:5)

That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? (Joshua 4:6)

Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. (Joshua 4:7)

And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. (Joshua 4:8)

And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. (Joshua 4:9)

For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. (Joshua 4:10)

And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people (Joshua 4:11).

On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. (Joshua 4:14)

And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, (Joshua 4:15)

Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. (Joshua 4:16)

Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. (Joshua 4:17)

And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before. (Joshua 4:18)

And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. (Joshua 4:19)

   Fast forward from Joshua at the Jordan to John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ at the Jordan. Christ came as the servant Savior, although He is the Son of God, He took upon Him the form of a man and became a humble servant of His own Godhead.

   The Spirit of God documents that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were both from the tribe of Levi. One of the points that many miss, Mary was a cousin of Elizabeth, that gives us a connection to Levi through Mary and to our Savior and God Jesus Christ. Although the Lord Jesus was out of the tribe of Judah, for His father had preeminence over Mary’s descent and genealogy, the Holy Spirit connects that holy thing within the womb of Mary to the tribe of Levi. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were direct descendants of Aaron. They could prove their genealogy all the way back to Aaron. The Holy Spirit confirms this by mentioning their direct connection to the first high priest Aaron. This Annas and Caiaphas (both high priests of Israel at the same time) could not do. Their appointments were political appointments, and this is why the Lord said of them, They were of their father, the devil. For they had usurped the position of high priest away from John the Baptist who was the rightful heir of Aaron. Annas and Caiaphas had no connection with the divine appointment of God.

   The Holy Spirit records in the gospel of John that John the Baptist was a specific man sent by God. God had sent John to take his rightful place among the people, so in God’s way, the one crying in the wilderness was the true high priest of Israel. And it would be up to John the Baptist, the true earthly priest, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to present to the people of Israel the Lamb of God.

Heaven and Earth Meet in Jesus Christ

   Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to show us the scene at the Jordan with both John and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us behold the wonder of this moment when heaven and earth meet in the Son of God. As man the Lord Jesus brought man to God, as the Son of God from heaven He brought heaven and God to man for the sole purpose to go to the cross. And there at the cross He joined both together (the Son of man, and the Son of God) as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. The cross would hold Him with stretched out arms over the whole world, He would be suspended between heaven and earth bearing the sin of the world and speaking the words of heaven, Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

   At the river of death, we have a man sent by God whose name was John, he was there to prepare a way for the Lord, he was bringing a people of repentance to meet their God. He was preparing Israel to receive the promises and blessings that had been given to Abraham. We are at the Jordan, the river of death, and we are at the exact spot when Israel, as a new born nation, crossed over with God and Joshua.

   The Holy Spirit leads us to Matthew Chapter 3 to show us who John rebuked. The Levites and the priests unquestionably were there to cause division and dissension among the people concerning this man from the wilderness. John stated that they were vipers, poisonous snakes to poison the minds and hearts of the people. They were the children of the serpent, the old and well-weathered serpent the devil.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7)

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: (Matthew 3:8)

And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (Matthew 3:9)

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Matthew 3:10) This was the strongest rebuke that they had received from God to this point. God specifically rebuked them through John. He called them by what God saw in them. Even though they were the priests and the Levites, God saw them as vipers, John spoke the Word of God when he rebuked them because they were ambassadors of death and not life. John the Baptist pointed to the twelve stones of Joshua and told them that God was able from these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. John spoke of the power of resurrection. He reminded them that God had taken His people through the river of death and had given them new life in the land. That all the children of Israel who had previously walked by faith were part of these stones and would be raised at the last day in the power of resurrection. Although weathered, these stones were God’s testimony against the priests and the Levites. The witness of a repented people on the banks of the Jordan, being baptized unto God Almighty, was a testimony to the priesthood of John the Baptist.

   We also have the questions by these Levites, Pharisees and scribes not asked in good faith, but devious questions for they wanted to find a way to condemn John. They asked him if he was Elias, if he was that prophet, and if he was the glorious one to come? John, in all humility, answered them as recorded in John 1:19-28.

And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? (John 1:19)

And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. (John 1:20) And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. (John 1:21)

Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? (John 1:22)

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. (John 1:23)

And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. (John 1:24)

And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? (John 1:25)

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; (John 1:26)

He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. (John1:27)

These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:28)

   The Holy Spirit gives us a panoramic view over the banks of the river Jordan. God had gathered out of every tribe, for the Lord knows His own, and it was the power of God that had gathered them. It was the power of God that brought His servant John. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (John 1:6) God had prepared a man. God had prepared a people. God had brought even the corrupt priests and Levites to witness a miracle from heaven to witness the revealing, the unveiling, of God’s divine sacrifice in the Lamb of God, His Son Jesus Christ. This point in history could never be denied for God had created a great cloud of witnesses to witness the presentation of the redemption of man in the Lamb of God. When the Pharisees and the Levites had asked John who he was they already knew who he was because they knew the righteousness of John’s father and mother. They knew of the circumstances of his birth. They knew that according to the laws of Moses John’s father, Zechariah (which means God will remember) was the rightful heir to the position of the high priest. They knew that Zechariah had been denied of his rightful position by the poisonous religious vipers (the Levites and the priests). These religious men would rather have men of darkness than a man of light in the position and authority as priest over Israel. Zechariah’s son, John, knew their hearts that the venom of the serpent ran through their veins. And later the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, would call them devils.

  They never asked John if he was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. They already knew that he was their proper child who had been set aside and anointed by God. They already knew that he was sent by God because of his miraculous birth. These things were not done in a corner, or in a closet, or in a secluded community.

   The multitudes gathered to him because God had given him the power and the voice of repentance towards God to draw the people to the Almighty God. The Pharisees and the priests did not ask him if he was the true high priest for they knew that the hand of God was on him. They knew he possessed an inward humility that they did not have. They were the boasters of their own political priesthood that had been usurped from God. In their cunning way they hid their true hatred for John. They hated John almost as much as they would hate the Son of God Jesus Christ. Remember — Hatred has no vision.

   The apostle Paul had to be blinded before he could see. Paul’s hatred for Christians had blinded him to the truth which is in Jesus. It took a supernatural miracle by truth Himself Jesus Christ to show Saul of Tarsus, and to deliver him as Paul (a new man with a new name) to heaven. And even today, the blindness of religion hates the work of the Spirit. Hatred opposes the work of those who are called of the Spirit because they tread the path of God with that same inward humility as we see in John the Baptist. The Lord Jesus said of those vipers that they were the blind leading the blind, and both would fall into the ditch. They understood that Christ spoke of the eternal fires of that lake of fire and death where there is, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth for those who have denied the Almighty God. This is where all vipers will end up. We are called (like John) with God’s mercy. As the servants of God we should proclaim the mercies of God to a world that denies God’s Christ. This power has been given to us as God’s servants to proclaim God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ. Later in the gospels the scene is documented where the woman anointed the Lord Jesus for His burial, He said of that woman she did all that she could. Oh, that this testimony would be our testimony; that no matter what the trial, no matter what the road block from men we should all do what we can to promote and proclaim the glories of Jesus Christ our Lord. Art thou that prophet? I am not. Art thou Elias? I am not. Just a voice echoing the cries of the past, Come and see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is this not the Christ? Is this not the Son of God? Is this not the high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec? Make straight the way of the Lord. Now John, the chosen of God, the man sent by God, the prophet that was fulfilling the prophetic word by him the true high Priest would be announced. For there stands one among you who ye do not know. We have John from the seed of Aaron, to the seed of Abraham, and he presented the divine seed which is Christ. He saw Christ coming unto him, and said this to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (Matthew 3:13)

But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (Matthew 3:14)

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. (Matthew 3:15)

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3)

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: (Isaiah 40:4)

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 40:5)

The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: (Isaiah 40:6)

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. (Isaiah 40:7)

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8)

   What a scene, what a testimony of the Spirit of God, for this is the Spirit’s view that the Spirit of God recorded for us in the Word of God. This was the divine testimony of those things that transpired at the river Jordan. The people were drawn by the Holy Spirit of God (out of every tribe) to listen to John the Baptist, here at the Jordan the twelve stones of Joshua rang out with the testimony of the past.

And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. (Joshua 4:20)

And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? (Joshua 4:21)

Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. (Joshua 4:22)

For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: (Joshua 4:23)

That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. (Joshua 4:24)

   The testimony of the past testifying before the nation of Israel — the river of death, the Jordan — the prophet of repentance towards God — and standing before them was all grace and truth in the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ who is the true and faithful high priest from heaven above. He presented Himself to fulfill all righteousness, and this included the sacrifice of Himself on the cross of Calvary.

The Dual Blessing

As the hart panteth after the water brooks (Psalm 42:1) so my soul panteth after the Lord. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. (Hebrews 7:7) In this verse we have the personal blessing of God on Abraham, The greater comes to bless the lesser. The great God, Jesus Christ, is blessing His servant Abraham with both an earthly blessing (for Abraham’s seed shall be as the sand of the sea) and then the Almighty includes the heavenly blessing in Christ Jesus our Lord that THAT seed would be as the stars of heaven.

   As a Christian, you might not realize that when God saved you that you then became a new creature in Jesus Christ, and through Jesus Christ you are eternally connected to the seed of Abraham in Christ Jesus. You are tied to the nation of Israel by the thread of blood out of the tribe of Judah through the Lord of glory Jesus Christ. And you (as Abraham) are blessed of the greater in the supernatural God Jesus Christ.

   As we walk through the Word of God we would like to finish this article in verse 8 of Hebrews Chapter 7. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. (Hebrews 7:8) This verse has eternity in mind as it encompasses the mortality of mankind, it also shows us the immortality of God, the God of both earth and heaven, both man in Adam, and the man in Jesus Christ the one who belongs to the power of an endless life. Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16) God presents the truth of this endless life that it is in Christ and Christ alone that He being God, the Son of God, and the Son of man throughout the history of mankind has been drawing out a people for Himself.

   The Lord Jesus is truly the same yesterday, from the very words, Let there be light, and there was light. He is truly the same today for He is the light of the world, I am the light of the world. He is truly the same forever through His victory over death, the casting away of sin, and the defeat of the devil. He accomplished all this by His death upon the cross of Calvary in the body that God prepared from before the foundations of the earth to glorify the Man in heaven the Lord Jesus Christ.

   This is today, this is today, this is today, and forever. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8) We, the redeemed of the Lord, have this witness within ourselves that the Spirit of Christ declares to you, Come and see for never a man spake like this man. Come and see that the wind and the sea obey Him. Come and see as He healed the lepers. Come and see as He cast out the demons. Come and see the heavens opened before Him. Come and see the power of His resurrection. Come and see the power of His endless life. Come and see that the Lord is good. Come and see my Savior and God Jesus Christ. I beg you by the mercies of God, Come and see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Come and see.

© Copyright 2018, Michael Haigh

Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.

All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)