April 9, 2024
Read Numbers 29, Psalm 110-112
Growing up, one of my favorite movie trilogies was the Back to the Future series with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. An action/comedy movie with a plot about how the past can change the future and vice versa. In Psalm 110, a psalm of David, we have a messianic prophecy that points to Jesus in the future and wording in verse one has a little of the same back to the future vibe.
Psalm 110 opens with, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Jesus discusses this verse with the pharisees in the Synoptic Gospels asking about the identity of the Messiah. How could the son of David also be David’s Lord? The only answer that makes sense is that the Messiah is of godly origins and not just another human descendant of David.
Psalm 110 also holds a rare name of someone only mentioned twice in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament. “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek” v. 4. Melchizedek was King of Salem and a priest. Abram paid him a tenth when they rescued his nephew Lot from the other kings in Genesis. He is a mysterious king with no origin or family line known about him. He is not mentioned again until the New Testament book of Hebrews. The author of Hebrews expounds into detail about Melchizedek and compares him to that of Jesus. Many will say that Melchizedek is a preincarnate Jesus that Abram gave the tithe to.
Aside from this lesson in prophecy and history, we can know for sure that Jesus is our priest, the one who represents us before the Father. Jesus acts as the priest who makes intercession for us by his death on the cross for our sins.
What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.
DId God Really Say... 