Saturday 18 September, 2021

7 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. 4 Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! 5 Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. 6 This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8 In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. 9 One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, 10 because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

The writer of Hebrews is trying to paint a picture of how Jesus fits into things that would have made sense to the readers. He has just spoken about the unshakeable hope that we can have in Jesus and what He did for us. Just the same way that Abraham found hope in the blessing of Melchizedek.

Unshakeable hope. Such an interesting thought at this shaky time. Unshakeable. Is that where you are with your relationship with God? It is very tricky to be unshakeable. Even the ground, which seems so solid, is not unshakeable given the right circumstances (earthquake etc). But God says we can have unshakeable hope in Him and His promises. What an idea. That God is always trustworthy even when circumstances don’t support that view.

What are your circumstances at this moment? Listen to what God is saying to you regardless of those circumstances. He loves you beyond imagining, Jesus was sent to give you salvation, He is always with you – always. There are so many other promises. Grab a hold of them today.

Thank you, Lord, that you are the place of unshakeable hope, that you are trustworthy in all things and that your promises are available to me. Please help me get those ideas into my head. Build a strong foundation in me so that I am unshakeable even in the midst of something that shakes me like an earthquake. Give me a picture of HOPE that I can carry with me always. Amen.

Written by Therese Manning