Pay God

DEVOTION

HEBREWS

PAY GOD

Heb 7:4-10

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, their brothers — even though their brothers 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 person is blessed by the greater. 8 In the one case, the tenth is collected by men 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.

NIV

This is still just a part of a greater teaching regarding the law and Christ, yet within this portion of that whole there lies a truth we can glean for our lives. As we look at before and must once again visit is the question as to who is this Melchizedek. It would appear the answer is so clear yet for one I cannot understand why so many scholars are so dumbfounded as to who he is. We just looked at his name and the meanings in the previous devotion and who else could he be but God himself. But the truth here is about the tenth. The order of paying a tenth of the plunder to a man without and trace of origin especially to the tribe of Levi who were established as priests with one of their duties being to collect a tenth from their bothers. I idea here was they actually paid the tenth to this high priest because they we in a sense within the loins of Abraham. So in all reality if we were still bond by this law, which we are not, then we should not be paying our tenth to some brotherly priest, but straight to the high priest, Melchizedek, or in our case God. First off, men always fail, those men of Israel had to fail in paying the tenth to the priests of Levi, because all men fail, not one is perfect. Second Abraham paid him a tenth of the plunder of war, not a tenth of all he had, not a tenth of his income from selling and trading flocks and goods. Besides the order was for the children to set aside a tenth of their produce and take it a place God showed them and they were to eat if all in His presence. True they were to set aside and store up a portion for the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows had some. If we were to follow that law, then the church should not have any, but our entire tithe should go to the strangers, the fatherless and the widows who cannot take care of themselves. The Levites did not have a salary. Our system has become corrupted by the concepts of the world. As we will see a little later this whole system, this law was replaced anyway, but no, we still have to abide by it so others can have a jobs, so we can build multiple temples on every street corner all with a different view of what God says. Man corrupts the Word of God all the time. Man fails all the time. God is the only truth and we need to pay Him directly with all we have, our very own self.