Study Desk

For when God made his promise to Avraham, he swore an oath to do what he had promised; and since there was no one greater than himself for him to swear by, he swore by himself

Therefore, when God wanted to demonstrate still more convincingly the unchangeable character of his intentions to those who were to receive what he had promised, he added an oath to the promise;

This Malki-Tzedek, king of Shalem, a cohen of God Ha‘Elyon, met Avraham on his way back from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him ;

also Avraham gave him a tenth of everything . Now first of all, by translation of his name, he is "king of righteousness"; and then he is also king of Shalem , which means "king of peace."

There is no record of his father, mother, ancestry, birth or death; rather, like the Son of God, he continues as a cohen for all time.

inasmuch as he was still in his ancestor Avraham's body when Malki-Tzedek met him.

but Yeshua became a cohen by the oath which God swore when he said to him, " Adonai has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a cohen forever.'"

But because he lives forever, his position as cohen does not pass on to someone else;

"‘None of them will teach his fellow-citizen or his brother, saying, "Know Adonai !" For all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest,

he entered the Holiest Place once and for all. And he entered not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus setting people free forever.

Further, he did not enter heaven to offer himself over and over again, like the cohen hagadol who enters the Holiest Place year after year with blood that is not his own;

Now every cohen stands every day doing his service, offering over and over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

from then on to wait until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet .

He inaugurated it for us as a new and living way through the parokhet, by means of his flesh.

For the One we know is the One who said, "Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay," and then said, " Adonai will judge his people."

But the person who is righteous will live his life by trusting, and if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."

By trusting , Hevel offered a greater sacrifice than Kayin; because of this, he was attested as righteous, with God giving him this testimony on the ground of his gifts. Through having trusted , he still continues to speak, even though he is dead.

By trusting , Noach, after receiving divine warning about things as yet unseen, was filled with holy fear and built an ark to save his household. Through this trusting , he put the world under condemnation and received the righteousness that comes from trusting .

By trusting , he lived as a temporary resident in the Land of the promise, as if it were not his, staying in tents with Yitz'chak and Ya‘akov, who were to receive what was promised along with him.

By trusting , Avraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Yitz'chak as a sacrifice. Yes, he offered up his only son, he who had received the promises,