The Oath
Hebrews 7:15: And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.17 For He testifies: "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." 18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: "The Lord has sworn And will not relent, 'You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek' "), 22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. (NKJV)
In the preceding passage, the writer of Hebrews, Paul, wrote of the need for the coming of Christ to earth. God wants perfection from His people.
However, the Law of Moses failed to provide that perfection. The system of rules and regulations established in the Old Testament, especially the sacrificial system, failed to provide the perfection that God sought from His people.
So God sent His Son to be perfection. Through the perfection of Jesus Christ sinful man could be seen as perfect by God. The blood of Christ washed away all the sins of men, for those who would accept Him and His sacrifice.
Paul began this passage with “And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest” (v. 15). This Priest is Jesus of Nazareth.
Paul continues with “who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life” (v. 16). Jesus came, not as the Levitical Priests, mortal men who were appointed by the Law that God gave to Moses. Instead, Jesus came as a priest who would live forever.
Next, Paul writes “For He testifies: ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ " (v. 17). David wrote in Ps. 110:4 of Jesus as a priest like Melchizedek. They were the only two priests whose priesthoods would last forever.
Now, Paul turns to the matter of the Law. He writes “For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness” (v. 18). The Law of Moses would be “annulled”, because it was weak and no longer useful.
So, Paul writes “for the law made nothing perfect, on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope” (v. 19a). The Law was not perfect. There was a better hope. Christ, was “introduced” by His coming as the “better hope”.
Paul continues “through which we draw near to God” (v. 19b). It is through this hope, Jesus, that we are able to be seen as perfect in the eyes of God, and are able to draw near to God.
God never moves. We are the ones that move away from Him.
He loves us and wants us to draw near to Him. The present tense of the Greek verb translated “draw near” means that this is continually possible. We are always able to draw nearer to God.
Next, Paul writes “And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath” (v. 20-21a). The literal translation of the Greek is: “And by how much not without oath-taking, those truly for without oath-taking are priests having become,
The meaning is that those Levitical and Aaronic priests have been made priests because God chose the tribe of Levi to become priests. They did not become priests by an oath from God.
Paul continues with “but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: "The Lord has sworn And will not relent, 'You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek' ") (v. 21b).
Christ became a priest with an oath. This oath can be found in Psalm 110:4: “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’ "
Melchizedek was made a priest “forever” by God in the days of the patriarchs, prior to the Law and the Levitical and Aaronic priesthoods. Now, by this oath, Christ, like Melchizedek, was also made a priest “forever”.
So, unlike the Levitical and Aaronic priesthood of men, Christ became a priest through an oath from God. God swore by His oath, and will not change his mind. The Greek word translated “change his mind” is from the word meaning “to repent”. God will never repent, or turn from, the oath, the promise, He gave to Christ.
Paul concludes this passage with “by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant” (v. 22), The word translated “surety”’ is the Greek word “engyos”, which means “guarantor or security”. The word was used in the papyri in legal and promissory documents to designate a guarantor, or one who stands security.
Christ is our security that this new, and better covenant, will never change. Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
The priesthood of men was part of the old covenant, the covenant written of in the Old Testament. Now, with the coming of Christ, we have a new, better, covenant, that written of in the New Testament.
Covenants and priesthoods stand, and fall, together. When the covenant of the Old Testament was replaced by the covenant of the New Testament, the Levitical and Aaronic priesthoods of the Old Testament were replaced by the priesthood of Christ.
We no longer need to go though a human priest. We can go though Christ, the High Priest, who represents us before God, the Father.
Furthermore, God will not “change his mind” regarding this New Covenant. Christ is the guarantee of that.
So, God has made us a promise, the oath. This oath assures us that we have a High Priest forever who will represent us before God.
We can go to our High Priest, Jesus, at any time with the knowledge and assurance that He will represent our interests before the Father. He is our lawyer, and sits at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven.
He speaks for us, much more effectively than we can speak for ourselves. He loves us and is always working for our good, in every situation (Ro. 8:28).
We would want no other to represent us. He is the best. He never loses a case.
Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary