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Better Peace
"...and to him, Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace." – Hebrews 7:2 ESV
Greek
εἰρήνης/eirēnēs: of peace
Why It Matters
A well-loved Christmas Carol begins:
"It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From Angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold: Peace on the Earth, goodwill to men from Heav’n’s All-Gracious King”…
We sing this song of the account in Luke 2 where an Angel of the Lord brings the Good News of Jesus’ Birth to the shepherds and is suddenly joined by a multitude of Angels who are singing of the Glory of God and Peace come to Earth. Of all the lyrics that could have gotten stuck in those shepherds’ heads… Peace is what their Heavenly Father wants them singing about on their way to see this newborn King.
In Hebrews 7:2 we pick up on a description of Melchizedek, who we know from previous and future verses is a foreshadowing of Jesus. He is the Priest of God, King of Righteousness, and King of Peace. The order here is significant, first Righteousness then Peace… there is Work done on our behalf that produces Peace.
Notice that Peace follows the Work of Jesus. It doesn’t follow a full bank account or health or success. And not only do we have Peace, but the Right Standing we have with God, as a result of the Sacrifice Jesus made for us as High Priest, makes a way for us to be people eirēnēs (of peace).
So if you find yourself “beneath life’s crushing load…with painful steps and slow,” there is Peace for you and you can be a person eirēnēs to those around you. If you find yourself on a mountaintop, same thing. Praise God that there is coming a day “When the New Heav’n and Earth shall own The Prince of Peace their King, and the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.” Until then, what may God be calling you to do to be a person eirēnēs in this world?
Prayer
I am so grateful, God, for Your Gift of Peace in my life. The Gospel reminds me that if you left the Majesty of Heaven for my sake, I can trust that You’ll be with me no matter where life takes me.
Application
Who will I talk to this week about what God may be calling me to do?
Scripture
About this Plan
“It’s better this way”… “You’ll be better off”… We’ve all heard these words of encouragement from people who love us, but we don’t always believe them to be true. As we explore the richness of Scripture, the author of Hebrews will remind us that Jesus not only exercises the Authority over our lives as King, but as our High Priest, He becomes the fulfillment of a better hope for Humanity.
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