Book 49

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 1 * PART 2 * BOOK 49

Thou Art My Only Begotten Son – Part 2

Hebrews 5:1-14

Your letters are the highlight of our day and Iris and I just thrill at the way you share how the Lord is using us to bring you either to a knowledge of salvation or to make the Scriptures more enjoyable, whatever the case may be. We just give the Lord the credit for it. Alright, so we’re here to study the Bible so let’s go right back to where we left off in the closing moments of our last program and that was in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 5.

Hebrews 5:5a

“So also Christ glorified not himself…”

Remember, we pointed out in the last lesson that no priest dared to take the role without God’s divine appointment. And so even Christ did not assume His priesthood but it was appointed to Him by God the Father.

Hebrews 5:5

“So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”

Now we’re going to go back once again where we were earlier in Psalms chapter 2 because in case someone missed the last program we want you to understand what Paul is referring to. That God the Father designated to God the Son that He should be a high priest but not in the lineage of Aaron, the humanly priesthood, but it’s going to be the priesthood according to Melchizedek and we’ll see that a little later in this half-hour.

Psalms 2:7

“I will declare the decree: the LORD (here of course, the Lord is a reference to God the Father) hath said unto me, (the Son) thou art my Son; (and remember it’s capitalized so we’re speaking here of Christ way back – 1000 BC.) this day have I begotten thee.”

Now let’s turn all the way up to Acts chapter 13 and find out what that meant when God said “this day I have begotten thee.” I pointed out, I think, in the last program, David wrote the Psalms around 1000 BC but that’s not when Christ became the only begotten Son of God – but prophecy-wise, that was when it was spoken. But in Acts chapter 13, we have the Scriptural definition of what it meant to be the only begotten Son of God.

I imagine most of us would be shocked that probably most people think that He became the only begotten Son of God at Bethlehem when He was born of the woman. But that is not so. Rather Acts tells us exactly when He became the only begotten Son. Here in Acts 13 we find Paul rehearsing how Christ was crucified, and how He was buried.

Acts 13:33

“God has fulfilled the same unto us their children, (that is the promise which was made to the forefathers) in that he hath raised up Jesus again; (that is from the dead) as it is also written in the second psalm, (that’s why I took you back there before I came into Acts) Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” (now verse 34 defines it) 34. And as concerning that…”

You know I’m a stickler for every word. The average reader just slips over this. As concerning that. Concerning what? That God declared Him the only begotten Son.

Acts 13:34

“Now as concerning that, he raised him from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.”

So when did Christ become the only begotten Son? At His resurrection! See, and this is why I’m always stressing, at least I hope I am, that salvation can be through no other way but through Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Turn to I Corinthians 15 again. For most of you this is over and over and over, but this is still the plainest portion of Scripture to reveal the gospel of the grace of God. This is where every lost person has to come. There is no salvation outside of this death, burial and resurrection.

Now you know that raises a lot of eyebrows. I had someone call again the other morning and say that their pastor (boy, I’d hate to be in his shoes) had said that after all, Christianity isn’t the only approach to God, there are many. Well, I’ve got news for him. He’s going to suddenly be shocked when he gets into eternity unless he has a change in the meantime because there IS ONLY ONE WAY. And another person called and had the same kind of a situation and the pastor had more or less said the same thing. And so he says on his way out, “Well, what do you do with John 14 verse 6? “I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” And you know what that preacher said, “Well, that doesn’t mean what it says.” Well, that’s a cop out, see?

It DOES mean what it says. There IS only one way and there is no other religion on earth that can make that claim, because Christianity is the only one that teaches resurrection from the dead. The others don’t mention it. Christianity alone teaches a resurrection from the dead. Not just a matter of dying and going to heaven but there is coming a resurrection day. Christianity alone stands on that premise. And that’s why Paul writes this 15th chapter of Corinthians then, in which there is more teaching on resurrection than all the rest of this Book put together and probably more than all the other religious books in the world.

And what’s the whole vortex of it? That if Christ be not raised from the dead then you are yet in your sin. And I’ve had some examples. Scientists especially and I’ve got one man in particular and he’s going to recognize it as soon as I share it. He said, “You know for the longest time I went to church and I had no problem with Christ’s crucifixion, that He died and that He shed His blood and that He was buried. But as a scientist I couldn’t accept the resurrection. But I was nothing more than a church member. But when I suddenly saw how that you constantly emphasized the resurrection, the Lord opened my heart and I could believe it. That yes, Christ was raised from the dead. And that’s where our Salvation lies.”

We’ve probably got multitudes of church members who believe like this man, that Christ died the horrible death of the crucifixion but would not accept the resurrection. Without it, they’re lost. Alright, now look at I Corinthians and this is why the resurrection is at the core of our belief system. Remember now, this is all coming from “this day have I begotten thee.” What day? The day He was raised from the dead.

I Corinthians 15:1-2

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel (not a gospel – but rather The Gospel of salvation) which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; (as a believer, positionally. Now the next verse and plainer English could never be written.) 2. By which (that is this Gospel) you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you unless ye have believed in vain.” Now here is Paul’s Gospel!

I Corinthians 15:3a

“For I delivered unto you first of all (because he was the one to whom this whole concept was revealed.) that which I also received,…” In other words, the God of Glory appeared to this raging persecutor of those followers of Jesus of Nazareth – and converted him there outside Damascus – took him into the desert and unloaded on him all of these new concepts of salvation by faith and faith alone in the death, burial and resurrection. This was unknown before. Alright, now look what he said.

I Corinthians 15:3-4

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (absolutely, the Old Testament foretold it.) 4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures;”

Now that’s the Gospel you must believe to have eternal life. You can’t pick and choose two parts. You can’t say, “Well I believe that He died. I believe that He was resurrected one way or another. But I can’t believe He was dead for three days.” See that? You take it all or you’ve got nothing. But when we believe that Christ died for our sin, He was dead, He was buried, He was in the tomb three days and three nights, and God raised Him from the dead and He became then the only begotten Son of God.

And when we believe that, God moves in and transforms us and make us a new person. And without it, they can be “church-memberized” until they’re blue in the face and they’re as lost as lost as can be. But it is this Gospel that is based on the fact He was raised from the dead.

Alright now, on that same premise I want to bring you back to Romans chapter 1, which falls right in line with Acts 13. Remember what Acts said. Now concerning ‘that.’ That God declared Him the only begotten Son of God, that concerning that, it was when God raised Him from the dead that He became then the only begotten Son of God. We’ll start with verse 1 to pick up the flow.

Romans chapter 1:1-2

“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2. (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures.)” See what that says. It fits perfectly with I Corinthians that He died for our sins according to what? The Old Testament Scriptures. That He rose from the dead. According to what? The Old Testament Scriptures. And here he repeats it, see? “Which he promised before by the prophets in the holy scriptures.” Now verse 3,

Romans 1:3

“Concerning his son (the same Son that Hebrews is dealing with) Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David (that is in the flesh) according to the flesh.” Now here it comes in verse 4.

Romans 1:4

“And declared (by the Psalmist. By God Himself. And here through the Apostle Paul’s writing) to be the Son of God with (what?) power, according to the spirit of holiness, (that is the very power of the holy Godhead. by the what?) the resurrection from the dead.”

Do you see that? That’s when the power of the Son was confirmed, was consummated, was established or whatever word you can put on it. When He was raised from the dead. And without it there is no Salvation. And so if you doubt me, when you get home this evening you just read I Corinthians 15 all over again and all through the chapter, how that, the very basis of our salvation is that Christ arose from the dead. Another good one is I Thessalonians 4:14. In that passage, believing that Christ died for us and rose again is the qualification we must meet before we can go in the Rapture.

Alright now then, back to Hebrews chapter 5 and we’ll go into verse 6.

Hebrews 5:6a

“As he saith also in another place,…”

That’s in Psalms where it says “thou art a priest forever not after the order of Aaron but after the order of (who?) Melchizedek.” What a difference that makes!

We pointed this out in our Genesis study but, goodness sakes, that’s eleven years ago isn’t it? Most people have forgotten it or they’ve never seen it in the first place. Alright, let’s go back to Genesis because if Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek instead of after the order of Aaron then let’s go back and establish this Melchizedek. Genesis chapter 14, and for a little background remember that Lot had taken up residence near or in Sodom and Gomorrah and some enemy kings had overrun Sodom and took the Sodomites as well as Lot and his family captive. And when Abram got wind of that he raised up his own little private army and pursued them and utterly defeated them and took the spoil. Alright, then verse 17.

Genesis 14:17-18a

“And the king of Sodom (whom of course, Abram had rescued) went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of the Chedorlaomer, (that is the one’s who had overrun Sodom) and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh which is the king’s dale. 18. And Melchizedek (this is the first time he’s mentioned in Scripture) the king of Salem…”

I think most of you know what we’re referring to but in case you don’t. S-A-L-E-M is the last letters of what city? Jerusalem! And Jerusalem in Scripture is the city of what? Peace! It has never yet known peace but one day it will. One day the Palestinian problem will be completely taken care of. One day the world won’t have to wring their hands over the Middle East. Because when the Prince of Peace comes and the city of Jerusalem becomes His capital then it will finally reach that epitome of the capital of peace. Alright, but it’s been known as the city of peace from day one. And so this Melchizedek, verse 18 again:

Genesis 14:18a

“And Melchizedek king of Salem (the city of peace) brought forth bread and wine:”

Now we covered that when we were in our Genesis study but you see, bread and wine as such were not sacrifices in Temple worship. Bread and wine were never really introduced into the Scriptures until Paul in I Corinthians chapter 11 explains it as what most of us now call the Lord’s Supper. And the Lord’s Supper, as Paul explains it so graphically, had only one purpose. And what was it? Memorial! That’s what he says “and when you do this in memory.” So you see it’s a memorial service and a reminder of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and that’s what the bread and the wine signifies. The bread spoke of His broken body and the wine spoke of His resurrection life and so whenever we partake of those two, the bread and the wine, it is simply a means of reminding us of His death, burial and resurrection. And here God is giving a little preview of it way back in the life of Abram. But that’s not the point we want to make. Verse 18, the last part. After he had brought forth the bread and wine, which was indicative of the coming death, burial and resurrection of Israel’s Messiah.

Genesis 14:18b

“…and He was the priest of (Jehovah? No it doesn’t say that? But what?) the Most High God.”

Now we have to realize there is only one God in Scripture but there are many names for Him and that confuses people. But you see, we have all these different names of God to signify a particular role in His being God. In His attributes. And so for example, when Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, and God withheld him. What was in the thicket behind him? Well, the ram! Who put it there? God did! And I always emphasize, you see, that ram was a wild ram. Remember Abraham was already three days journey from where he lived, so it was not a household pet like somebody tried to tell me one time. He was three days journey from home, so that ram in the thicket was not the family pet, it was a wild one. But, did Abraham and Isaac have any trouble getting that animal on the altar? None. Why? It was provided and it was docile, and it was a willing sacrifice. They didn’t have to struggle with it and. consequently. what did Abraham call the place? Jehovah-jireh which simply meant ‘God provides.’ Alright, so that was a name of Jehovah. Jehovah-jireh – He provides! It was just a distinctive attribute of God.

Psalms 23 is probably another one of the easiest ones. In the Hebrew it’s Jehovah-rajah, which simply means, I AM your shepherd. Well, any Jew could understand what it was like to be the sheep under the guidance and protection of a shepherd. Well, those are the various names of Jehovah to just simply explain how God would fill all these various needs of the human race.

Now, the same way then with this priest Melchizedek. He was a priest of – not Jehovah – but of the Most High God. My only way of defining that from Scripture in a real easy way is to turn to Daniel. Turn to Daniel chapter 4 and all the way through, periodically, but in chapter 4 I’ve got a couple that are real easy to pick out. And if you know anything of Bible study at all, Daniel is written of course, by the Jew, Daniel, but he deals almost exclusively with Gentile empires. Right? The Babylonian. The Medes and the Persians. And the Greeks and the Romans. All Gentiles.

Alright now, if we’re dealing with Gentiles, then it stands to reason that we’re not going to use the name of God that Israel claimed which was Jehovah. But we’re going to use the term “The Most High” because that’s how the Gentiles refer to Him. Here it is. Daniel chapter 4 starting at verse 1. Now this is the way you have to study the Scriptures.

Daniel 4:1-2

“Nebuchadnezzar the (Babylonian) King, (a Gentile) unto all the people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: (that is the then known-world) Peace be multiplied unto you. 2. I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.” Underline that. That’s how Nebuchadnezzar referred to him. He didn’t call him Jehovah. He called him the Most High God. Alright, let’s go to another verse. They’re scattered throughout the chapter, and they’re scattered throughout Daniel. But the next one I can see quickly is in verse 17, still in Daniel 4.

Daniel 4:17a

“This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth to whomever he will….” Now drop on down to verse 34.

Daniel 4:34a

“And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned to me, and I blessed the most High,…”

Now have I made my point? The name of God in Gentile language was the Most High God. Now flip back to Genesis then for just a second and we’ll see that this Melchizedek, King of the city of peace, Jerusalem, brought forth bread and wine, which spoke of His death, burial and resurrection. And now the important part for our study is “he was the priest (not of Jehovah. Not of Adonai. But he was the priest of what?) the Most High God.”

Now I guess I can bring you all the way back to Hebrews and finish out the half-hour. You put this all together then, we find that the priesthood of Melchizedek was not something associated with the Nation of Israel as Aaron was. But his priesthood was associated with what? The rest of the world! So the priesthood of Melchizedek was not limited to the children of Israel. The priesthood of Melchizedek was that priesthood that would envelop everybody. And you know that it wasn’t until Christ’s death, burial and resurrection that Christ turned to the whole world.

People get upset when you point out to them that when Christ came to the Nation of Israel, it was Jew only (with two exceptions), and, oh, it makes them upset. But listen, if you study your Scripture you know that’s what He was. He came only to the Nation of Israel, as we see in Matthew 15:24, and Romans 15:8. John tell us, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”

But when His own rejected him then where did it go? It went to the whole human race.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 1 * PART 1 * BOOK 49

Thou Art My Only Begotten Son

Hebrews 5:1-14

Alright, today we’ll begin in Hebrews chapter 5 and we’re going to start at verse 1. But, before we begin I would like to recap some things that we’ve said several programs ago. And that is the Book of Hebrews – written primarily to Jews, of course, that’s why it’s called the letter to the Hebrews. But these were Jews who were on the fence, and they had not made that total break from Judaism and so Paul here, who I feel is the author of the book of Hebrews, is trying or is attempting to convince these Jews to make that total break and put Judaism behind them with all their laws and rules and regulations, and step out into this whole concept of Grace by Faith plus nothing.

As I said in some of our opening remarks back in chapters 1 and 2 of Hebrews that you will not find the plan of salvation laid out in this book like it is, for example, in Romans or I Corinthians or Galatians. It is simply a book that is going to show that everything practiced back there under the Law was just simply precursors to that where we are today. That the whole concept of the Gospel of Grace didn’t just come out of the woodwork. But rather it was a progressive revelation and when Israel rejected the Messiah and God raised the Apostle Paul specifically then to go to the Gentile world with this tremendous Gospel of Grace, without works, and by faith alone.

You know most of Christendom still rebels at the thought that they can’t work for salvation, just as much as the Jews did here in the time of Paul writing to the Hebrews. So before we even look at Hebrews chapter 5, I’m going to use a verse that I use so often when I’m teaching in the Old Testament – and that would be back to Romans chapter 15. This verse is just as appropriate for our study of the Book of Hebrews as it is for our study of the Old Testament. Now of course, when Paul wrote Romans, he was referring to the Old Testament writers but since Hebrews is in that same vein, I’m going to use it for both directions. Romans chapter 15 verse 4. Where he writes:

Romans 15:4a

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime (in other words, back in the Old Testament economy) they were written for our learning,…”

See not for our ‘doctrine’ not to find ‘salvation’ but these things were written aforetime for our learning. To give us basic understanding of the thoughts and the ways of God and how this is all progressed on up through human and Biblical history to the time of where we are. Alright, so these things were written for our learning –

Romans 15:4b

“…that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” That word Scriptures means what? The whole Word of God. And now we can use it from cover to cover. And we can take comfort from them and it’s from the Scriptures then that we have hope for the future.

Of course, we realize, especially since September 11th, we’re living in tremendous times. We’re living in, I think, the end-time scenario. We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg, and to coin a phrase, “We ain’t seen nothing yet.” It’s going to get worse and it’s all leading up to the final seven years when God will finally pull the plug, so to speak, and His wrath will flow across the planet. But for now, you and I as believers, take comfort from the Scriptures. We don’t have to be alarmed by what’s going on. My, I had the sweetest letter the other day where a gentlemen recapped, he says, “Back on December 7th, 1941, when I was a young lad of 19, I was stricken with fear for myself and for my country. But, when September 11th struck, he said, there was no fear because in the meantime I have come to trust that Christ died for my sins, and that He was buried and rose from the dead and now I have nothing to fear!” Well, what a testimony!

And that’s where we as believers are in a unique position. The rest of the world may fear and tremble but we can just simply, almost smugly say, well, we knew this was coming. We knew this was part of the picture and it just shows us that the end is getting closer and closer.

Alright, so we take comfort from not only the Old Testament now, but from all the Scriptures and so we approach the Book of Hebrews in that same light. It’s the Word of God even though it was directed to Hebrew people who were having a time separating from the old program, yet it is full of things that are appropriate for us today. And I trust that even in all the previous programs in Hebrews (which is 3 books now) we are just simply cementing the basis of our faith as believers.

We started out, remember, in chapters 1 and 2, establishing that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son. And as the Son, He was given intrinsic authority. And then as we’ve seen in chapters 3 and 4, God detests unbelief. There is nothing that upsets God more than unbelief. Now of course, God hates sin in all it’s forms, but unbelief is the top of the list.

Then in the last three verses in chapter 4, as I say so often, Paul just sort of shifts gears and he slips up into the approach of the ‘high priesthood’ of Christ. And then in our last verse, as we closed our last program, we are now in a position as believers by Faith in the finished work of the Cross, to come boldly into the throne room in our prayer time. We don’t have to come with fear and trepidation. We don’t have to come before Him wondering if we’re good enough to be accepted. But rather we come boldly, only because of what Christ has already done.

Alright now as we slip into chapter 5 verse 1, we’re going to start having a comparison then between the priesthood of Christ and the priesthood of Aaron and the Old Testament economy.

Hebrews 5:1a

“For every high priest taken from among men (from the Nation of Israel) is ordained for men in things pertaining to God.” Do you see the relationship there? The whole role of the priest was to present the needs of mankind to the Holy God. Alright, but now we’ve got another point to make in another verse or two, so we’re going to put that on hold. But this human high priest, starting with Aaron of course, came to God with:

Hebrews 5:1b

“…things that pertained to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:” They had to take care of the sin problem that man constantly was bugged with, and the high priest brought this before God. Now verse 2. This high priest of Israel, following in the line of Aaron then, was a man:

Hebrews 5:2a

“Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way;…” In other words, there was no one too low on the totem pole for the high priest to be aware of and to present him before God. So this high priest:

Hebrews 5:2

“Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.”

The high priest was human, and he was plagued with the same sins and temptations and passions as anybody else. So just because he was the high priest, that did not mean that he was above reproach. Or above sin.

Hebrews 5:3

“So by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer (that is a sacrifice) for sins.”

Now let’s go back all the way to Leviticus because we always like to compare Scripture with Scripture, and I guess our letters are constantly reminding us that they appreciate the fact that whatever we say, we back up with the Scriptures. And so when you come back to Leviticus chapter 16, we have the Day of Atonement when the high priest would go in behind the veil and sprinkle the blood on the Holy of Holies, or the Ark of the Covenant. Let’s drop in at verse 14 and we’ll just pick out the ones that pertain to establishing the fact that the high priest was just as much a sinner as the average Jew.

Leviticus 16:14-15

“And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; (that is in behind the veil) and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. 15. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:”

And here we find that he makes the atonement for himself first, and then for Israel. Well, now maybe I should back up a little further to verse 6 to make it a little more plain.

Leviticus 16:6

“And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.” Do you see that? That tells us then that Aaron was just as much in need of a sinner’s approach to God as the ordinary Jew. Then down in verse 14, he was to take the second bullock and sprinkle that blood then for the sins of the people. Alright, I hope I made my point, that the priesthood of Aaron was a human priesthood and they were just as much in need of forgiveness and the atonement of their sins as the ordinary Jew on the street.

Come back then again to Hebrews chapter 5. And so not only was the high priest human so that he could identify with the everyday experiences of the people but also that he recognized that he was a sinner and was just as much in need of forgiveness as the ordinary Jew. Now then verse 4 of Hebrews chapter 5.

Hebrews 5:4

“And no man (not even Aaron) taketh this honour (that is to be the high priest) unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” Get the picture? Who commissioned Aaron to be the first high priest? God did! Let’s go back again and look at the Scriptures. Let’s go back to Exodus 28 where we see the beginning of this whole system of religion. The building of the tabernacle, and the establishing of the priesthood, and the clothing that he would wear. This is all back here in Exodus. But let’s just look for now at how that God commissioned Aaron to be the high priest. Moses didn’t appoint him nor anyone else. Only God could do that, and here is His instruction to Moses.

Exodus 28:1

“Take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.”

Then the rest of the chapter is covered with instructions for their clothing. On the other side of the coin, turn with me to Numbers 16 and the strange fire of Korah. Now Korah was a member of the tribes of Israel and he got a little arrogant and puffed up and he just didn’t feel that Moses and Aaron were the only fish in the pond. And so he took it upon himself to play the role of a priest. And so here in Numbers 16 we find the account.

Numbers 16:1-3a

“Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 2. And rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3. And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, ye take too much upon you.” See their arrogance? They’re telling Moses and Aaron, hey, you’re trying to be the big wheel. We’re going to have just as much a part of this as you. And so they say:

Numbers 16:3b-5

“…Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, everyone of them and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? 4. And when Moses heard it he fell upon his face: (and the thought how can anyone be so brazen) 5. And he spake unto Korah and all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him who he hath chosen will he cause to come near.” Now this is Moses’ instruction to Korah and those that were following him.

Numbers 16:6-9

“This do; Take you censers (that is the fire), Korah and all his company; 7. And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD tomorrow; and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy; ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. 8. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: 9. Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?” Well, anyway, I think you know what happened, as the next day comes around and here comes Korah and these 250 and they’re going to play the role of the high priests. Now come on down to verse 20.

Numbers 16:20-25

“And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 21. Separate yourselves from among this congregation that I may consume them in a moment. 22. And they fell upon their faces and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth (angry) with all the congregation? And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak to the congregation? 23. And the LORD spake unto Moses saying, 24. Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 25. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.”

Now come on down and now verse 28. Moses is going to give an example and he said:

Numbers 16:28-30

“And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 29. If these men die the common death of all men, (in other words, if they continue on living and die from whatever other reason) or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. 30. But(Moses says, now take notice) if the LORD makes a new thing, and the earth opens her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.”

Alright, now we come down to the confrontation.

Numbers 16:31-33

“And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave (or separated) asunder that was under them (that is under Korah and his followers)32. And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. (In other words, those who had connected themselves with him in his rebellion) 33. They and all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit, (that is into Sheol) and the earth closed upon them and they perished from among the congregation.”

That’s how seriously God dealt with false priests. And so always remember that when God stipulated certain things it was not to be taken lightly. We saw in the book of Hebrews in one of our earlier programs, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. Well, Korah and his family found out.

Now if you’ll come back with me to Hebrews again, so that Aaron was designated by God Himself, as the high priest and those that followed him. No man dared assume the role of a priest without God’s commission and that’s why I wanted you to see for yourself the account of Korah. Alright now then we’ll move on into the next verse and we move on into the priesthood again of Christ Himself. Now remember, the priesthood of Aaron was among men. They were human, they had the same failures, the same sinfulness as anyone else but God had commissioned them. But this priest, Christ, is not of man but the priesthood is a follow-up of what Aaron began. So, the functions of the priesthood are relatively alike but here we had a human priest and here we have the Son of God.

Hebrews 5:5a

“So also Christ glorified not himself…” In other words, now here’s where it gets ticklish doesn’t it? When we start dealing with the Trinity, the Triune God, it is so hard for us to reckon the fact that on the one hand Christ was totally human. On the other hand He was totally God. And we have to take this by faith. So now here we see Christ from His humanity, not demanding that He be made a priest, but rather what? God declaring that He’s the priest. Just like He did with Aaron. Okay, now look at this very carefully.

Hebrews 5:5

“So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.” Now go on and read verse 6 and if we have time we’ll come back and look at verse 5.

Hebrews 5:6a

“As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” Now look, who’s speaking it? God the Father. To whom? God the Son. And yet we know that the Son is a part of the Godhead the same as the Father. But here we’re separating them just like in His earthly ministry. In His earthly ministry, I think I pointed out a few programs back, why does Jesus, especially in John 17, pray to the Father? Well, He’s praying from His humanity and then He can pray to the Father.

On another instance, He can make the same statement as the Father and so here’s where we have to separate these things by a study of the Scripture and just simply take it by faith. It’s beyond human comprehension. But nevertheless, here we find that God the Father designates to God the Son that He is to be the high priest, not patterned after Aaron, but after Melchisedec.

Now, I’ve only got two minutes left and then I get into a dilemma. I don’t want to go where I can’t continue, so I think we’ll go back to Psalms chapter 2 where Paul is quoting and whatever time we have we’ll use up and then we’ll pick it up in our next program.

Psalms chapter 2 where we have it word for word as Paul is using it here in the book of Hebrews.

Psalms 2:7

“I (God says,) will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; (so who is speaking to whom? Well, God the Father is speaking to God the Son) this day have I begotten thee.” Now we have to be careful, when did David write the Psalms? Well, somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 BC. Was that when Christ was begotten, the only begotten Son of the Father? No, this is prophecy. This is something that is going to take place years and years out into the future. But, here’s the setting God the Father has spoken to the Son and He says, “this day I have begotten thee.”

Psalms 2:8

“Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”

So then you come all the way down through this chapter – it’s a delegation of the authority that God imparts to the Son.