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After writing three articles on the tenth, I realized that there is a need for a fourth
one to address the first mention of the tenth in Scripture. I probably should have
started this series with this article, but, in retrospect, it seems that it is the best
way to sum up this topic.
To me, based on Melchizedek and Joseph, the tenth is not about tithing but about
sonship. I realize that this might seem rather strange to some, but I trust that this
article and the preceding one (#28) give enough clarity to the matter for others to
search it out in Scripture.
At the outset, I want to start this article just as I did the preceding one. After all,
Paul wrote: To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it s a
safeguard to you (Philippians 3:1).
Sonship.
Sonship is about the Father having many sons and daughters.
(16) For you are a temple of the living God, even as God said, “I will
dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be My people.” Lev. 26:12; Ezek. 37:27 (17) Because of this, “come
out from among them and be separated,” says the Lord, “and do not
touch the unclean thing, and I will receive you.” Isa. 52:11 (18) “And I
will be a Father to you , and you will be sons and daughters to Me,” says
the Lord Almighty. 2 Sam. 7:8, 14; Isa. 43:6 (2 Corinthians 6:16-18 LITV)
Sonship is a collective term that speaks of position in God’s kingdom; it is not
based on gender, for both men and women will qualify to be sons in the coming
kingdom of God.
Individually, believers are a temple of the living God; but, collectively, all believers
are being fitted together, growing into a holy temple in the Lord, being built
together into a dwelling of God in spirit (Ephesians 2:21-22).
God’s dwelling is New Jerusalem, and it will begin to be manifested with the fall
feasts of Trumpets (first resurrection) and Tabernacles (transfiguration,
glorification) that usher in the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
Those who come forth in the first or better resurrection [men and women
(Hebrews 11:35-40)] neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they
cannot die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God,
being sons of the resurrection (Luke 20:35-36).
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Thus, sonship speaks mightily of God’s purpose and plan of the eons to become all
in all new through a family of sons.
The person who conquers will inherit these things. I will be his God,
and he will be my son . (Revelation 21:7 ISV)
The number 10.
To begin, it should go without saying that the tenth (tithe) is based on the number
10, which is one of the perfect numbers.
As E.W. Bullinger, in his book titled Number in Scripture , states:
“Ten is one of the perfect numbers, and signifies the perfection of Divine
order , commencing, as it does, an altogether new series of numbers. The first
decade is the representative of the whole numeral system, and originates the
system of calculation called “decimals,” because the whole system of
numeration consists of so many tens , of which the first is a type of the whole.
Completeness of order, marking the entire round of anything, is, therefore,
the ever-present signification of the number ten . It implies that nothing is
wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is
complete.”
As revealed in article #28, this is a vital point in our understanding of the tenth
that Jacob-Israel gave to God.
Now, it is time to see how vital it is to our understanding of the tenth that Abram
gave to Melchizedek, which is the first mention of the tenth.
Abram gives the tenth to Melchizedek.
The tenth is first discovered in the account of Abram (later Abraham) going to war
against Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him. Chedorlaomer, king of
Elam, along with three other kings, fought against five other kings, two of which
were the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. The four kings defeated the five kings and
took all the goods and food supply of Sodom and Gomorrah. Included in their
spoils was Lot, Abram’s nephew, who was captured while living in Sodom. When
he heard the news of Lot’s capture, Abram took 318 of his trained men, born in his
house, and fought and defeated Chedorlaomer, retrieving Lot and all the goods.
(15) He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants,
and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north
of Damascus. (16) He brought back all the goods, and also brought back
his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the
people. (17) Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and
the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him
at the valley of Shaveh (the King’s Valley). (18) And Melchizedek king
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of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most
High . (19) He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most
High, Possessor of heaven and earth; (20) and blessed be God Most
High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a
tenth of all . (21) The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to
me and take the goods for yourself.” (22) Abram said to the king of
Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of
heaven and earth, (23) that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or
anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram
rich.’ (24) I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten,
and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre;
let them take their share.” (Genesis 14:15-24 NASB)
And blessed be the Most High God, who has delivered thine enemies
into thy hand. And he gave him the tenth of all . (Genesis 14:20 DNT)
Most translations use the expression a tenth rather than the tenth; however, the
Darby translation uses the tenth. I am not sure which is more accurate, but I prefer
to use the tenth to be consistent with the rest of this article. Also, some translations
use the word tithe instead of tenth , but again, I prefer to remain with tenth .
Nevertheless, it is in this context that Abram gave the tenth of all the spoils of war
to Melchizedek, the first king and, most likely, founder of Jerusalem (Genesis
14:18-20).
Let us consider a few points.
First , Abram did not give Melchizedek the tenth out of his own wealth. It was
from the spoils of war. In fact, Scripture is silent on whether Abraham ever gave
anyone the tenth or a tenth out of his wealth.
Second , as the victor, Abram had the right to take the remaining spoils for
himself, but he did not for fear that the king of Sodom would think he had made
him rich. The remaining 90% of the spoils returned to its original owners, namely
Sodom and Gomorrah, the same cities that the Lord later destroyed in the sight of
Abraham because there were none righteous living there (Genesis 19:1-29). Thus,
it could be concluded that the bulk of the spoils returned to the unrighteous, which
was later lost in the fire that reigned down on these cities.
Third , according to Hebrews, Abram gave the tenth of the choicest of the spoils,
which indicates that there was something special about this king-priest who
showed up on the scene without any previous record.
Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch
Abraham gave the tenth of the [choicest] spoils. (Hebrews 7:4 KJV
[NASB])
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Actually, I believe Abram knew Melchizedek, for he was Noah’s son, Shem, which
would make him Abram’s grandfather nine generations removed.
By giving the tenth to his grand-plus father (for lack of a better term), we could say
that Abram was fulfilling the law of God to “honor your father and your
mother,” even though this had not been etched (literally) in stone at this point in
history. But surely, Abram had some knowledge of the heart of God that had been
passed on to him through Shem who, after the flood had receded, Noah blessed by
declaring: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem” (Genesis 9:26). This is a
fascinating topic unto itself, but it is beyond the scope of this article.
Fourth , the real and vital message of this account is not so much about Abram
offering the tenth to Melchizedek but about Melchizedek himself who was a type of
Christ. We must fight off the urge to view this account through the prism of the
tradition of men that wants to make this account mean Christians are to give a
tenth of their gross income to a pastor. Fight it! Melchizedek, as a type of Christ,
God’s King-Priest, is in view.
The key to understanding Melchizedek is discovered in the epistle titled Hebrews ,
which was written to convince the Hebrews who had come to believe in Jesus as
the Messiah that all associated with the old covenant and Judaism was passing
away in their day and being made totally obsolete; that is, it was passing off the
scene to be gone forever, never to be reinstituted by a later generation of apparent
Jews or a revived state of Israel with a rebuilt Jerusalem.
The epistle was written to exhort the Hebrew believers to fully let go of their
tradition and all that was associated with the earthly Jerusalem, the temple, and
Judaism itself and, most importantly, not to return to it after having come out of it.
In 70 AD, ancient Jerusalem and the Jewish temple were destroyed, just as Jesus
had prophesied (Matthew 22:7). When the temple fell, so did Judaism, along with
its Levitical-service priesthood and the Aaronic-high priesthood; all the ritualism
associated with the service of the temple, the animal sacrifices, and the annual
atoning for the sins of the priests and the people became obsolete and was replaced
with something far greater and lasting.
It is in this context that we are introduced to God’s High Priest of a greater order
who brought an end to these things through His own death and resurrection in
order to establish a new order of priests based on a new covenant.
The writer of the Hebrews epistle, presumably Paul, draws our attention to the
account in Genesis and gives us the detail needed to see Melchizedek as a type of
Christ. It is in this context that the tenth (tithe) is mentioned, but we need to be
reminded that the emphasis is not on the tenth per se but on the one who received
the tenth.
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This king was the type (prototype) of the antitype (the real thing) ― God’s King
who would come nearly 2,500 years later when the Son of God appeared on this
earth in the form of man and offered up Himself to the cross for His body (bread)
to be broken and His blood to be shed (wine) for the sin of the world.
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread [i.e., antitype of a
broken body] and wine [i.e., antitype of shed blood] ; now he was a priest of
God Most High. (Genesis 14:18 NASB)
(1) For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God,
who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings
and blessed him, (2) to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part
of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of
righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
(Hebrews 7:1-2 NASB)
Melchizedek was king ( melchi ) of righteousness ( zedek , zadok ). He also was king
of Salem, which is king of peace. In other words, Salem means “peace” and refers
to ancient Jeru - salem , which means “the possession of peace.”
Thus, Melchizedek is a title, not a name; a title that clearly refers to Christ, the true
King of Righteousness and Peace.
Further, the word Salem refers to the ancient city of Jerusalem, which Shem
(Melchizedek) founded. The earthly Jerusalem was a shadow or type of New
Jerusalem, the celestial city of God; the city which has foundations, whose
architect and builder is God; the city Abraham spent his life seeking but never
finding on earth (Hebrews 11:8-10).
New Jerusalem and Christ are intimately connected, for New Jerusalem is the very
essence of the life of the Son of God manifested in and through the many sons of
God made alive and brought to glory in Christ (Hebrews 2:10; 1 Corinthians 15:22-
23). In fact, New Jerusalem is not a physical structure or a place of bricks and
mortar but a people called “My people” and “My sons”; it is the Son of God and the
many sons that He will bring to glory.
Melchizedek points to the Son of God.
Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he
remains a priest perpetually. (Hebrews 7:3 NASB)
This verse has caused much speculation as to the identity of Melchizedek to the
point that some believe he was Christ incarnate. There is no reason to accept such
speculation because the context of Hebrews 7 explains the reason. It also explains
why Shem is not identified as Melchizedek, even though there is historical
evidence that he was.
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The Hebrew believers were well acquainted with the Levitical priesthood that was
an integral part of the Jewish life and ritual; that is, they were well acquainted with
Judaism.
Simply, in the days of ancient Israel, starting with Moses and Aaron, the function
of high priest fell to Aaron of the tribe of Levi and his sons. One had to be of the
genealogical line of Levi to be a priest in order to service the temple, enter the
Holy Place , and carry out administrative functions for the kingdom-nation.
However, only a high priest could enter the Most Holy Place to appear before
God on behalf of the people and the priest himself, and the high priest had to be
according to the line of Aaron that came out of the line of Levi.
Consequently, the Law of Moses required that genealogy determine who could be a
priest to represent and serve the ancient Israelites and minister to God. If one were
not of the line of Levi, one could not serve in the temple, and if one were not of the
line of Aaron (also out of the line of Levi), one could not serve as high priest. The
entire priesthood was based on genealogy.
It is within this context that Melchizedek, as a type of Christ, is introduced to the
Hebrews. He was not a high priest like those who would come later from the line of
Levi to Aaron and to his sons and their descendants. In fact, he is given no
historical record in Scripture. This does not mean that he had none; it simply
means that his genealogy, which is based on a law of physical requirement ,
was not the basis upon which he became a high priest of the Most High God.
(11) Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the
basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there
for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and
not be designated according to the order of Aaron? (12) For when the
priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law
also. (13) For the one concerning whom these things are spoken
belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.
(14) For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe
with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. (15)
And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the
likeness of Melchizedek, (16) who has become such not on the basis of
a law of physical requirement , but according to the power of an
indestructible life . (17) For it is attested of Him, “You are a priest
forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 7:11-17 NASB)
Jesus came from the tribe of Judah and was not qualified according to a law of
physical requirement. In other words, under the Law of Moses, He was not
qualified to minister in the earthly temple. For this reason, Jesus never entered the
Most Holy Place on earth, and why He had to enter the true tabernacle in heaven
(Hebrews 8:2).
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The earthly temple was destroyed and a new temple, the body of Christ, brought
forth through the one sacrifice of the body of the Son of God. This was the final
sacrifice required by God; no more are required. The old Jerusalem was destroyed
and the celestial New Jerusalem continued to be built with living, precious stones,
a holy temple of the Lord, the dwelling of God in spirit (Ephesians 2:21-22). The
old covenant was made obsolete and a new and better covenant instituted based on
better promises (Hebrews 8:6) and a better resurrection (Hebrews 11:35).
The better resurrection is the first resurrection, which is when the first fruits
anointed of the sons of God come into immortality (1 Corinthians 15:22-23, 53;
Revelation 20:5-6), which is based on the power of an indestructible life . This
refers to the sons of God that will be manifested to reign with Christ in the next
eon of 1,000 years.
(5) And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office
have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that
is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham.
(6) But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a
tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. (7)
But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. (8) In this
case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of
whom it is witnessed that he lives on. (9) And, so to speak, through
Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, (10) for he was
still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. (Hebrews 7:5-
10 NASB).
To drive the point home that a priest in the likeness of Melchizedek is of a much
higher and greater order, Paul makes it clear that the Levitical and Aaronic priests
could not trace their priesthood back to Melchizedek, for Melchizedek had no
recorded genealogy for them to do so. In fact, since they came from the loins of
Abraham, they too participated in giving the tenth to Melchizedek. Thus, the lesser
priest, the more inferior, gave to the greater priest, the far superior. Priests were
mortals who received tithes, but, in type, Abraham gave to Christ through
Melchizedek, the One who has the promises and a life that lives on, for there is no
genealogy associated with Melchizedek, no beginning and no end. Mortal priests
died and had to be replaced with new mortal priests. But Melchizedek is forever,
for He has overcome death and now intercedes on behalf of all who draw near to
God through Him (Hebrews 7:25). He has the power of an indestructible life, a life
that is beyond death.
Now, in regard to the tenth, it should be apparent that the Levitical-Aaronic
priesthood has been replaced with a much greater priesthood according to the
order of Melchizedek.
To state it empathically: The Levitical priesthood of mortal men is dead; it
has been made obsolete and is no longer in the plan of God. It has been
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replaced with a new priesthood based on a better covenant, better
promises, and a better resurrection.
What is presented in the Hebrews epistle is quite clear, so why is it that so many in
our day feel that they must tithe to a priesthood of mortal men that stand in a
pulpit week after week until they die, retire, or the committee kicks them out
because they don’t like their message or, perhaps, their wife? Have the pastors-
teachers-priests of our day become the modern-day version of the Levitical
priests? It would appear so in many quarters of Christendom. But should they be?
The answer is no. If God has put away that order, then we have no right to
resurrect it, so to speak, and give it the tenth.
Some might answer that the pastors-teachers-priests of today are the priests
according to the order of Melchizedek. But this begs for a question: Have they been
placed as sons in the kingdom apart from the manifestation of Tabernacles? No
one has been placed as a son of the kingdom, for the first resurrection has not
occurred, at least, not as of this writing.
Based on Scripture, Christ as Son is intimately connected with Christ as priest
according to the order of Melchizedek , and all that are in Christ who
conquer through His life will enter this new order in the coming kingdom of God
and of His Christ.
The connection between sonship and the order of Melchizedek is easy to prove,
starting with two psalms.
(6) “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy
mountain.” (7) “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to
Me, ‘ You are My Son , today I have begotten You. (8) Ask of Me, and I
will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of
the earth as Your possession. (9) You shall break them with a rod of
iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’” (Psalm 2:6-9 NASB)
(1) The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your
enemies a footstool for Your feet.” (2) The LORD will stretch forth
Your strong scepter from Zion , saying, “Rule in the midst of Your
enemies.” … (4) The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek .” (Psalm
110:1, 2, 4 NASB)
Psalm 2 refers to Christ as God’s Son and God’s King. Psalm 110, which is a psalm
of David, directly identifies kingship with Melchizedek and makes David a type of
Melchizedek as well. The scepter from Zion refers to kingship. David was from the
tribe of Judah, and he became the king of Israel and a type of the greater Son and
King that would come from Judah in fulfillment of Jacob-Israel’s blessing on his
son (Genesis 49:10).
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These two psalms are quoted several times in the New Testament to insure that
this verity is not lost, which first comes into view with the baptism of Jesus when
the Father pronounced sonship on Jesus.
(21) And it happened, in the baptizing of all the people, Jesus also
being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened; (22) and the Holy
Spirit came down in a bodily form as a dove upon Him. And there was a
voice out of Heaven, saying, “ You are My Son , the Beloved; in You I
have been delighting.” [Psalm 2:7; Genesis 22:2; Isaiah 42:1] (Luke 3:21-22
LITV)
The pronouncement of sonship comes into view again when Jesus is transfigured
on the mountain as three of His disciples looked on.
(29) While He was praying, the appearance of His face became
different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. … (35) And a
voice came out of the cloud, saying, “ This is My Son , the Beloved; hear
Him!” [Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 42:1; Deuteronomy 18:15] (Luke 9:29, 35 LITV)
Then at Pentecost, Peter let the sons of Israel know that he was quoting Psalm 2,
declaring the fact that Jesus is God’s Son.
(32) And we preach the gospel to you, the promise made to the fathers,
(33) that this God has fulfilled to us, their children, raising up Jesus; as
also it has been written in the second Psalm, “ You are My Son , today I
have begotten You.” [Psalm 2:7] (Acts 13:32-33 LITV)
And then, we come back to the epistle to the Hebrews that again quotes Psalm 2
(twice) and Psalm 110.
For to which of the angels did He ever say, “ You are My Son ; today I
have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him, and He shall
be a Son to Me. ” [Psalm 2:7] (Hebrews 1:5 LITV)
(5) So also the Christ has not glorified Himself to become a high priest,
but He speaking to Him, “ You are My Son ; today I have begotten You.”
[Psalm 2:7] (6) As He also says in another place, “You are a priest
forever according to the order of Melchizedek, ” [Psalm 110:4] (Hebrews
5:5-6 LITV)
Notice that becoming a high priest and being declared “My Son” are brought to-
gether and then joined with Melchizedek. We could say that when Psalm 2:7 is
quoted, it is declaring, as if in the same breath, that the Son of God is a priest
according to the order of Melchizedek. When Jesus was baptized and the Father
declared that “This is My Son,” He also was declaring that “This is My Priest
according to the order of Melchizedek.” When Jesus was transfigured in
glory while on the mountain and the Father declared that “This is My Son,” He
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also was declaring that “This is My Priest according to the order of
Melchizedek.” Likewise, Peter declared the same thing as he stood before the
mass of people gathered together on the day of Pentecost.
But God the Father is not after one Son and Priest but many sons and many priests
who are fully conformed to the image of His only begotten Son. Jesus suffered in
order to bring many sons unto glory for His Father (Hebrews 2:10).
Sonship and priesthood go hand-in-hand, and together they point to the coming
kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15) when, as a result of the
first resurrection and transfiguration, many sons of glory will be called forth to be
made a kingdom [kings] and priests to God (Revelation 5:10)―the kingdom
of conquerors that will be made a pillar in the temple of My God and have
written upon them the name of My God , and the name of the city of My
God, New Jerusalem , and My new name (Revelation 3:12). They will be
priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand
years (Revelation 20:6). He who conquers will inherit these things, and I
will be his God and he will be My son (Revelation 21:7).
The sons of Zadok.
Only the conquerors, the ones that were faithful to the Lord while occupying
bodies of death, will be priests according to the order of Melchizedek in the coming
kingdom of Christ. We need to recognize that not everyone who says “Lord, Lord”
(Matthew 7:21-23) will be counted worthy to enter the kingdom as a son in the age
to come. Some will be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27).
As a reminder, this does not mean that they will lose the promise of immortal life.
It just means that they will not come into it until the Great White Throne
judgment. It is a matter of timing.
As Paul wrote to Timothy, if we (i.e., believers) are faithless, He remains
faithful, for He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13 NASB).
Christ cannot deny Himself, which means, ultimately, He cannot deny His body,
but it does not mean that He cannot delay the entrance of some members of His
body into His kingdom.
Now, through Ezekiel the Lord has given us a prophetic picture of two groups of
Levitical priests, one unfaithful and the other faithful. The unfaithful ones typify
those that will not enter the coming kingdom as sons, for they strayed from the
Lord. The faithful ones typify those that will enter the coming kingdom, not only as
sons, but as priests according to the order of Melchizedek, for they remained
faithful to the Lord while the others strayed.
(10) “But the Levites who went far from Me [i.e., did not conquer] when
Israel went astray, who went astray from Me after their idols, shall
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bear the punishment for their iniquity. (11) Yet they shall be ministers
in My sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house and
ministering in the house….” (13) “And they shall not come near to Me
to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to
the things that are most holy; but they will bear their shame and their
abominations which they have committed. (14) Yet I will appoint them
to keep charge of the house, of all its service and of all that shall be
done in it .” (Ezekiel 44:10-11, 13-14 NASB)
The unfaithful Levites are a picture of unfaithful Christians that will not be
qualified to be placed as sons of the kingdom in the next eon. If they are alive on
earth during the next eon, they will be placed into service for the Lord, but they
will not be immortal. In type, they will continue to wear wool garments.
They will have to wait for the Great White Throne judgment, at which time they
will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:15). Then they too will put
off mortality and put on immortality and be constituted as New Jerusalem, just
like their conquering brethren had been 1,000 years earlier.
(15) “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of
My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come
near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer
Me the fat and the blood,” declares the Lord GOD. (16) “They shall
enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me
and keep My charge . (17) It shall be that when they enter at the gates of
the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments ; and wool
shall not be on them while they are ministering in the gates of the inner
court and in the house. (18) Linen turbans shall be on their heads and
linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird
themselves with anything which makes them sweat. (19) When they go
out into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall
put off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay
them in the holy chambers; then they shall put on other garments [i.e.,
of wool] so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their
garments.” (Ezekiel 44:15-19 NASB)
The sons of Zadok were the Levitical priests that were singled out for special
service because of their faithfulness to the Lord when the rest of their Levite
brothers were unfaithful. In other words, they stuck with the Lord while the rest of
their brethren from the tribe of Levi strayed from the Lord.
In type they were Levites, but in antitype they will not be Levites but of an entirely
new order. This is why they are related to Zadok. As we have seen, zadok means
“righteousness,” which is the same as the word zedek . They are the sons of
righteousness, for they became the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians
5:21). Consequently, the sons of Zadok are a type of the king-priests according to
the order of Melchizedek.
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T HE T ENTH ― T HE O RDER O F M ELCHIZEDEK
The sons of Zadok are a type of the conquerors made immortal in the first
resurrection and transfiguration.
There is so much lack of teaching in this area that I feel compelled to repeat it
whenever I get a chance, so I apologize to those who might tire of reading it.
With glorified, celestial bodies the sons of God will be able to minister to the Lord
among the celestials. In type, this is likened to putting on linen garments, which
refers to taking on a spiritual body that can freely enter the celestial or heavenly
realm of God. They will be like the angels are today.
However, the sons of God must be able to minister to the mortals as well, and to do
this, they will take on physical bodies much like the Lord Jesus had after His
resurrection. In type, this is likened to putting on wool garments, which refers to a
body of flesh and bones.
The tenth.
As stated at the beginning, the tenth is not about tithing but about sonship. The
tenth (a prophetic blessing) that Jacob-Israel gave to Joseph, a type of Christ,
signifies the birthright and the bringing forth of many sons of God. The tenth of
the choicest spoils that Abraham gave to Melchi- zedek , a type of Christ, signifies
the bringing forth of a new order of priests, the sons of Zedek , to minister to God
[linen] and mortal mankind [wool] (Luke 24:15-16; John 20:19, 26; 21:4).
Putting these together, we see that the number 10 or the tenth signifies “the
perfection of Divine order, nothing is wanting, and the whole cycle is complete.”
Abraham giving Melchizedek a tenth of the choicest spoils of war is a prophetic
picture of completeness. Melchizedek is a type of God’s Son, the King-Priest of
God, and in Him all things are made complete. As Paul wrote, in Him you have
been made complete (Colossians 2:10). Again, in type, Abraham the patriarch
gave the tenth to one who was much greater than he was (Hebrews 7:4). Christ is
the great one, and He alone completes the whole cycle of not only priesthood but of
sonship. He is the Son who will bring forth many sons to be His complement, His
fullness. All the fullness dwells in Him, and this is what the tenth signifies.
DNT
International Standard Version
KJV
King James Version
LITV
Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
NASB
New American Standard Bible
Article: #29, February 2010
by: Stuart Pouliot
web: kingdomandglory.com
email: upwardcall@yahoo.com
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ISV
Darby New Translation