Genesis 13:1-18

PART TWENTY-SEVEN
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM: ABRAHAM AND LOT

(Gen., chs. 13, 14)

1. The Biblical Account (ch. 13)

And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South. 2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journeys from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Ai, 4 unto the place of the altar, which he had, made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of Jehovah. 5 And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and Perizzite dwelt then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, 1 pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou take the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar. 11 So Lot chose him all the Plain of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against Jehovah exceedingly.

14 And Jehovah said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward: 15 for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it. 18 And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar unto Jehovah.
2. The Separation from Lot

We now find Abram back at Bethel, the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, unto the place of the altar; and we are told that there Abram called on the name of Jehovah. We have learned that this last statement means that he renewed the public worship of Yahweh on behalf of his household (retinue). It should be emphasized at this point that wherever Abram sojourned, there we find the altar, the sacrifice, and the priest (the patriarch himself), the elements of Biblical religion. It is impossible to harmonize this very important fact with the notion that Abram came out of Ur of the Chaldees contaminated by pagan idolatry. Abram and his household are now back at their second stopping-place after their entrance into the Promised Land.
At this point a matter of some significance takes place. The land was not able to bear the tents, flocks, and herds of both Abram and Lot. Hence, a separation became the feasible solution of the problem. Murphy (MG, 274, 275):Lot has been hitherto kept in association with Abram by the ties of kinship. But it becomes gradually manifest that he has an independent interest, and is no longer disposed to follow the fortunes of the chosen of God. In the natural course of things this under-feeling comes to the surface. Their serfs come into collision; and as Abram makes no claim of authority over Lot, he offers him the choice of a dwelling-place in the land. This issues in a peaceable separation in which Abram appears to great advantage. The chosen of the Lord is now in the course of providence isolated from all associations of kindred. He stands alone, in a strange land.. Lot now also abounds in the wealth of the East. Two opulent sheiks (elders, heads of houses) cannot dwell together any more. Their serfs come to strife. The carnal temper comes out among their dependents. Such disputes were unavoidable under the circumstances. Neither party had any title to the land. Landed property was not yet clearly defined or secured by law. The land therefore was a common, where everybody availed himself of the best spot for grazing he could find unoccupied. We can easily understand what facilities and temptations this would offer for the strong to overbear the weak. We meet with many incidental notices of such oppression (Genesis 21:25; Genesis 26:15-22; Exodus 2:16-19). The folly and impropriety of quarreling among kinsmen about pasture grounds on the present occasion is enhanced by the circumstances that Abram and Lot are mere strangers among the Kenaanites and the Perrizites, the settled occupants of the country. Custom had no doubt already given the possessor a prior claim. Abram and Lot were there merely on sufferance, because the country was thinly peopled, and many fertile spots were still unoccupied.

Lot's Choice. Note that Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere.. So Lot chose him all the Plain of the Jordan, etc. Speiser (ABG, 98): Having been orphaned early in his life (Genesis 11:28), Lot was brought up first by his grandfather Terah (Genesis 11:31). The task was then taken over by Abraham (Genesis 12:5), who went on to treat his nephew with unfailing solicitude and tenderness. Now the two must part, since each requires a large grazing and watering radius for his flocks and herds. Although the choice of territory rests with the older man, Abraham generously cedes this right to his ward. Nor does Lot fail to take advantage of this unforeseen opportunity. He picks the greener and richer portion. How was he to know what fate lay in store for Sodom and Gomorrah, or how glorious was to be the future of the rugged hill country to the west? The narrative ends thus on a note of gentle irony, the ever-present irony of history.

Lot lifted up his eyes. The spot where Abram and he were standing was the conspicuous hill between Bethel and Ai, from the top of which, according to travelers, they could see the Jordan, the broad grasslands on either bank, and the waving verdure which marks the course of the stream. The plain chosen was situated in, or at least included, the tract to the south of the Dead Sea, where at that time there were copious springs and an abundance of sweet water. It is surely obvious that Lot was looking out for number one, as we say in American slang. Jamieson (CECG, 134): In re Lot's choice: A choice excellent from a worldly point of view, but most inexpedient for his best interests. He seems, though a good man, to have been too much under the influence of a selfish and covetous spirit; and how many, alas! imperil the good of their souls for the prospect of worldly advantage. Lange (CDHCG, 398): It is the vale of Siddim (Genesis 14:3), the present region of the Dead Sea, which is here intended. That the lower valley of the Jordan was peculiarly well-watered, and a rich pasture region, is expressed by a twofold comparison: it was as Paradise, and as the land of Egypt. The lower plain of the Jordan was glorious as the vanished glory of Paradise, or as the rich plains of the Nile in Egypt, which were still fresh in the memory of Lot. The land was watered not by trenches and canals (irrigation) but by copious streams along its course, descending chiefly from the mountains of Moab. Leupold (EG, 430): The separation from Lot is a necessity growing out of deeper reasons than those usually cited. Lot is an element that is not suited to be an integral part of the chosen people, as his later deterioration shows. Circumstances soon arise which make it eminently desirable to remove this unsuitable material as early as possible. Behind the outward separation lies a deeper motivation. At the same time, the incident has always served in the church as a typical case of how to deal in a practical way with the problem of incompatibility. If persons simply cannot get along together, nothing is gained by attempting to force the issue or by discussing the point until a solution is reached. Incompatibility is best dealt with by separation: let those that cannot agree get out of one another's way. To Ambrose is attributed the saying, divide ut meneat amicitia, a procedure which does not merit the criticism, -a wretched but practicable rule-' (Delitzsch).

The Plain of the Jordan, literally, the circle or circuit of the Jordan, that is, at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Leupold (EG, 437): It is not the whole basin of the Jordan from the Lake of Gennesareth to the Dead Sea, but only that portion which extends from about Jericho down to and including the northern end of the Dead Sea to Zoar.. Now when Moses reminds us that this region was so attractive -before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,-' he clearly implies that in his time the region was sadly altered. One question will perhaps never be determined at this point and that is how far the devastating effects of the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah affected the rest of the Dead Sea region. Some hold that the Bible indicates that the entire Dead Sea is the result of that cataclysmic overthrow. We personally believe that indeed only the southern shallow end of the Dead Sea became covered with water as a result of the overthrow of these cities, as also Kyle's investigations seem to substantiate. But at the same time it appears that more or less of a blight settled upon the whole kikkar. For the author goes on to describe that it once was as -the garden of Yahweh,-' by which he must mean the garden of Eden which was in a special sense Yahweh's handiwork. The comparison must have been suitable, else Moses would not have used it. It is true that, nevertheless, the simile is a bit strong. Consequently, it is toned down by a second simile that has a fine propriety about it from another point of view: -as the land of Egypt.-'. The special propriety of this latter simile lies in this, that the region is like Egypt in that a deeper lying river winds through a fertile plain enclosed by mountains of either side. See Genesis 14:3; Genesis 14:8; Genesis 14:10, also (Job 29, n.): The author imagines the Dead Sea as not yet in existence; or else the Valley of Siddim (the name is not met with elsewhere) occupied only what is now the southern part of the Dead Sea, a depression of relatively recent formation.

Genesis 13:12, K.J.V. The old version is so much more forceful here: Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. What tragedy lay in this last statement, as strongly intimated in Genesis 13:13! Cf. JB (29): Lot chooses a life of ease and a region where immorality flourishes; for this he will be heavily punished, ch. 19. But the generosity of Abraham in leaving his nephew the choice is to be rewarded by a renewal of the promise of Genesis 12:7. The choice of this present world above God inevitably leads to Divine judgment, just as it did when Lot chose to pitch his tent toward Sodom (Genesis 18:20-21, Genesis 19:4-11).

Abram's Reward (Genesis 13:14-18). Smith-Fields (OTH, 69, 70): Abram now began to feel the evils of prosperity. The land could not support his own cattle and Lot'S. Their herdsmen quarreled, and Lot probably put forward his rights as head of the family. Abram's faith did not fail this time. Remembering that he was -the heir of better promises,-' he gave the choice of present good to Lot. Their encampment looked westward on the rugged hills of Judea and eastward on the fertile plain of the Jordan about Sodom, -well watered everywhere, as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt-' he had only lately left. Even from that distance, through the clear air of Palestine, can be distinctly seen the long and thick masses of vegetation which fringe the numerous streams that descend from the hills on either side to meet the central stream in its tropical depths. It was exactly the prospect to tempt a man who had no fixed purpose of his own, who had not like Abram obeyed the stern call of duty. So Lot left his uncle on the barren hills of Bethel, and chose all the precinct of the Jordan, and journeyed east. Abram received his reward in a third blessing and promise from Jehovah, who bade him lift up his eyes and scan the whole land on every side, for it should be the possession of his seed, and they should be unnumbered as the dust of the earth. Yahweh also enjoins him to walk over his inheritance, and to contemplate it in all its extent, with the repeated assurance that it will be his. To be understood not as a literal direction, but as an intimation that he might leisurely survey his inheritance with the calm assurance that it was his (PCG, 200). Genesis 13:15Leupold (EG, 441): True, Abram becomes possessor only in his seed. But such possession is none the less real. It is none the less real simply because it is guaranteed by God, who is the Owner of all things (Psalms 24:1; Psalms 50:12; 1 Corinthians 10:26): and only He could give a completely clear title to any human being.

3. Abram's Third Altar: from Bethel to Mamre.

(Bethel became especially conspicuous in the time of Jacob (Genesis 28:11-22; Genesis 31:13; Genesis 35:1-15). It was allotted to the tribe of Ephraim later (1 Chronicles 7:28) and bordered the territory of Benjamin (Joshua 18:13). The Israelites resettled the town calling it by the name Jacob had given to the scene in his vision, instead of the name Luz which it apparently bore at the time of the Conquest (Judges 1:23). It became a sanctuary in the time of Samuel who visited it annually (1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 10:3): this means undoubtedly that it was a center of the school of the prophets (1 Samuel 7:16-17; 1 Samuel 10:5-11; 1 Samuel 19:18-20; 2 Kings 2:1-3), the famous line which originated with Samuel and culminated in John the Immerser. The name Bethel means house of God.). HSB (23): The strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot represents the -first threat to the promise of God that Abraham would possess the land. Abraham lived above this threat in faith, and his gracious attitude toward Lot was rewarded by another confirmation of the promise of God. (Cf. Genesis 13:14-17, also ch. 15). Thus encouraged, the Friend of God (James 2:23) pulled up stakes again and traveling southward took up his abode (tent) under the spreading oaks of Mamre, named after an Amorite prince, with whom and his brothers Eschol and Aner, the patriarch later formed an alliance for the purpose of rescuing Lot, Genesis 14:13; Genesis 14:24. The place was near Hebron, a town of great antiquity, having been built seven years before Tanis in Egypt (Numbers 13:22; cf. Exodus 6:18), which seems to have been known also at this time as Kiriath-Arba, city of Arba, from Arba, the father of Anak and the ancestor of the giant Anakim (Genesis 23:2; Genesis 35:27; Joshua 14:13-15; Joshua 15:13-14; Joshua 21:10-12). Evidently on being taken by Caleb it recovered its ancient name (Joshua 14:13-15). The town is some twenty miles south of Jerusalem and a like distance north of Beersheba. It became the burial place of Abraham and his family in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23:19; Genesis 25:9; Genesis 49:29-33); from this circumstance the place is revered by the Mohammedans who call it El-Khalil, The Friend, i.e., the Friend of God, the name which they give to Abraham. David first reigned as king in Hebron, and here, too Absalom began his tragic revolt (2 Samuel 5:1-5; 2 Samuel 15:7-12). It will thus be seen that Hebron had a long and varied history, under several masters: first, in all likelihood, a Shemite, then the Amorites (Genesis 14:13), then the Hittites (Genesis 23:10-20; Genesis 25:9), then the Anakim (Numbers 13:22; Numbers 13:28; Joshua 14:13-15; Joshua 15:13-14), then Judah, and lastly the Mohammedans. Hebron became Abraham's more or less settled abode throughout the rest of his life. There Abram built his third altar. A third altar is here built by Abram. His wandering course requires a varying place of worship. It is the Omnipresent whom he adores. The previous visits of the Lord had completed the restoration of his inward peace, security, and liberty of access to God, which had been disturbed by his descent into Egypt, and the temptation that had overcome him there. He feels himself again at peace with God, and his fortitude is renewed. He grows in spiritual knowledge and practice under the great Teacher (MG, 278). Lot in the meantime has not only pitched his tent toward Sodom, but evidently has moved on into the city itself.

FOR MEDITATION AND SERMONIZING
Pitching One's Tent Toward Sodom

Genesis 13:12

Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. His choice was determined solely by contemplated personal advantage, by the prospect of a more abundant earthly life: his highest values were those of this present evil world. Greed, with the prospect of ease and luxury, proved to be too alluring for him to resist it. Having pitched his tent toward Sodom, he finally went all the way and became a resident of that den of iniquity. No matter to what extent his righteous soul was sore distressed (2 Peter 2:7-8) by the lust and violence which all but engulfed him, he lacked the moral stamina to get himself and his family out of it. Flabbiness of character showed itself in everything he did. The root of his tragedy was that his values were all distorted: he did not know how to put first things first. His life story reminds us of a similar tragedy portrayed in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. This tragic tale leaves one emotionally depressed by its sordidness; nevertheless, it does inculcate a tremendous moral lesson. The protagonist, Willy Lomana salesman whose escapist tendencies blinded him to his real mediocrityworshiped only one god, the great god Success. In pursuing this false god, he sacrificed his home and family, and he himself could find no exit except by suicide. Such is always the tragic end of one who pitches his tent toward Sodom, that is, unless he comes to himself and resolutely comes back to the Father's house.

What happened to Lot happens to every man who pitches his tent toward Sodom unless and until he heeds the cry, Come out of her, my people (Revelation 18:4). In what ways, then, do men and women in our time pitch their tents toward Sodom: They do it in various ways, as follows: 1. By getting into the wrong crowd (Psalms 1:1; Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 4:14; Proverbs 9:6; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17; Ephesians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:16). 2. By assuming the posture of piety (piosity, religiosity), while conforming more and more to the ways of the world (the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, 1 John 2:15-17; cf. Romans 12:2). 3. By neglecting the appointments of the Spiritual Life (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; Romans 6, Romans 11:23-30; Hebrews 10:25). Where there is life, there is growth; where there is no growth, the living thing stagnates and dies (Romans 14:17, 2 Peter 1:5-11; 2 Peter 3:18). 4. By turning from the Word of God, the Foundation that stands sure and strong (2 Timothy 2:19) to the vain babblings of human speculation, philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men (Colossians 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:20, 2 Timothy 2:16).

What of parents who move from one community to another without ever giving any thought as to what effects the new environment will have on the moral character of their children? How many put the demands of their business or profession above the spiritual welfare of their families? Are not these instances of pitching one's tent toward Sodom?
But the greatest tragedy of all is the fact that every human being, on reaching the age of discretion, pitches his tent toward Sodom. Romans 3:23all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.

Lot himself would have perished in Sodom had not God come to his rescue. Likewise, all sinners will eventually perish in hell, unless they heed God's call to repentance. (Luke 13:3, Matthew 25:46, Revelation 6:16-17).

The Priesthood of Christ

Hebrews 6:20Jesus. having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

The terms Messiah (Hebrew), Christos (Greek), and Christ (English), all mean The Anointed One. Jesus the Christ (or Jesus Christ) is, then, The Anointed of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:14-15). It was the custom by Divine warrant in Old Testament times to formally anoint into office those who were called to be prophets, priests, and kings. See Exodus 28:41; Leviticus 16:32; 1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Samuel 15:1; 1 Samuel 16:12-13; 1 Kings 19:15-16, etc. This anointing was emblematic of investiture with sacred office, and of particular sanctification or designation to the service of God. To anoint meant, says Cruden, to consecrate and set one apart to an office (s.v., Concordance). The element used in the ceremony of anointing was olive oil (Exodus 30:22-25). This holy anointing oil was typical of the comforting and strengthening gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit.

To accept Jesus as Christ, therefore, is to accept Him as prophet to whom we go for the Word of Life, to accept Him as our great high priest who intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father, and to accept Him as King from whose will there is no appeal (because, of course, He wills only our good). (Cf. 1 Timothy 2:5; John 8:31-32; John 16:14-15; Matthew 28:17; Ephesians 1:19-23; Ephesians 4:5; Colossians 1:13-18, etc.).

According to the teaching of the Bible, there are three Dispensations of true religion. (Religion is that system of faith and practice by which man is bound anew to God, from the root, lig, and the prefix, re, meaning to bind back or bind anew.) Dispensations changedfrom the family to the national to the universalas the type of priesthood changed. The Patriarchal Dispensation was the age of family rule and family worship, with the patriarch (paternal head) acting as prophet (revealer of God's will), priest (intercessor) and king, for his entire living progeny. The Jewish Dispensation was ushered in with the establishment of a national institution of worship (the Tabernacle, and later the Temple) and a national priesthood (the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood). The Christian Dispensation had its beginning with the abrogation of the Old Covenant and ratification of the New, by one and the same eventthe death of Christ on the Cross (although the Jewish institution was permitted to remain as a social and civil institution some forty years longer, that is, down to the Destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of its people by the Roman armies, A.D. 70). (Cf. John 1:17, Galatians 3:23-29, 2 Corinthians 3:1-11, Colossians 2:13-15, and especially the Epistle to the Hebrews, chs. 7, 8, 9, 10). Under the Christian System all Christians are priests unto God, and Christ is their High Priest (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 5:10, Romans 12:1-2; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 2:17, also chs. 3, 5, 7; 1 Timothy 2:5, 1 John 2:1, etc.). It will be recalled that Alexander Campbell referred to the Patriarchal Dispensation as the starlight age, to the Jewish Dispensation as the moonlight age, to the special ministry of John the Immerser (to the Jewish nation) as the twilight age, and to the present or Christian Dispensation (which may rightly be designated also the Dispensation of the Holy Spirit) as the sunlight age, of the unfolding of the divine Plan of Redemption. These successive ages, therefore, embrace the successive stages of the revelation of true religion, as set forth in the Scriptures. Refusal to recognize this fundamental unity of the Bible as a whole can result only in confusion, presumption, and, ultimately, eternal separation from God and all good (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

The subject matter of the Epistle to the Hebrews deals with the superiority of Christianity to Judaism, of the New Covenant to the Old Covenant (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34, Heb., ch. 8). This is proved by the superiority of Christ, the Son of God, to angels, to Moses, to the Levitical priesthood, etc. Judaizers, in and out of the church, were contending, it seems, that if Jesus was truly Messiah, as High Priest He must have sprung from the tribe of Levi, because that tribe alone had been set apart as Israel's priesthood. But, said they, Jesus actually hailed from the tribe of Judah, and this fact disqualified Him for the priestly office. The writer of the Epistle, replying to this argument, frankly admitted that the Lord Jesus did hail from the tribe of Judah, the tribe from which no high priest was ever supposed to come, according to the Old Testament writings. But, said he, referring to Psalms 110:4, God Himself declared in days of old (affirmed by an immutable oath) that the Messiah's High Priesthood should be after the order of Melchizedek, not after the order of the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood; that, whereas the Levitical priesthood was authenticated only by the power of a carnal commandment, the priesthood of the Messiah, like that of Melchizedek, was authenticated by the power of an endless life; hence, that whereas the former was temporal and imperfect, the latter was eternal and in every respect perfect or complete. Moreover, the Messianic High Priest, like Melchizedek of old who was King of Salem and Priest of God Most High, was destined to combine in His own Person both the Eternal Kingship and the Eternal Priesthood. (See Hebrews, chs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.) This is true simply because of the fact that our Lord Jesus, God's Only Begotten, is the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the Living One (Revelation 1:4; Revelation 1:8; Revelation 1:17-18; cf. John 1:1-14; Ephesians 1:3-14; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:1-12; Colossians 2:12-20; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Philippians 2:5-11, etc.).

The priestly office is necessitated (1) by the difference in rank between the divine and the human, (2) by the very structure of human nature and its needs. Man has always felt the need of confession and intercession. This is a recognized psychological fact: catharsis, the draining off of one's burdens by sharing them with a trusted friend is the first step in the psychoanalytic cure; every minister of the Gospel and every physician knows this to be true. If a famished man is not supplied with food, he will seize anything within his reach; and if the wants of the soul are not lawfully satisfied, the soul will seek unlawful and unholy gratification. If Christ does not fill the heart, some monstrous idol or some human priest (or even some supreme object of devotion such as Party or Cause, to the monolithic Leninist) will fill it. People need a confessor and intercessor. And if they do not learn to make God their Confessor, prayer their confessional, and Christ Jesus their Intercessor, they will heap to themselves a human confessional and a human priesthood, and so degrade true religion into superstition.

A true priest must possess three qualities or excellences:
1. He must have authority. Authority is moral power, and moral power is right, that is, the right to possess something, to do something, or to require something to be done. Who, then, truly has this power? Not the Jewish priests of old, because they were compassed about with infirmities. They had no authority to forgive sin in any sense of the term: all the High Priest of Israel could do was to go into the Holy of Holies on each Day of Atonement and offer sacrifices for the people; but even this did not procure the forgiveness of their sins. God merely laid them over, put them out of His Mind, so to speak, until the next Day of Atonement; and so the weight of human sin, laid over from year to year, grew into what was veritably a crushing burden until the one Sin-offering was made once for all, on the Cross of Calvary (Hebrews, ch. 9). John 1:29note the singular here, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

Who has this moral power? Not the priests of either pagan or papal Rome. They are men, and their assumption of it is a monstrous imposition upon the credulity of the masses. Jesus expressly forbids our calling anyone Father in a spiritual sense, except our Father in Heaven (Matthew 23:9): He alone is entitled to be addressed as Holy Father (John 17:11; John 17:25).

Who, then, does have this authority (moral power) to forgive sin, to be intercessor for the saints? Only one Person has itJesus of Nazareth: He hath this priesthood unchangeable; He alone is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him (Hebrews 7:24-25); He alone ever liveth to make intercession for His saints. This authority is His by virtue of WHO HE IS, The Living One: He who is alive for evermore; He is without beginning or end (Revelation 1:1; Revelation 1:4; Revelation 1:8; Revelation 1:17-18; John 8:58), and therefore His power is that of an endless life (Hebrews 7:16). While in the flesh He exercised this moral power as He saw fit (cf. Luke 5:17-26; Luke 23:39-43); now that He is Acting Sovereign of the universe and Absolute Monarch of the Kingdom of God, He alone has the right to intercede for His people at the Right Hand of God the Father (Mark 16:19; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:33; Acts 5:31; Acts 7:55; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20-23; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22). All authority (moral power) has been given unto Him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18); and He must reign until He has put all His enemies, including death itself, under His feet for ever (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Philippians 2:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:4).

2. The true priest must be characterized by purity. This fact manifests itself in our desire for the prayers of a good man in times of trouble; even a dying man would summon all his energies to spurn the prayer of a hypocrite offered in his behalf; such a prayer is an abomination to God and to man (James 5:16; Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46-49; John 15:16; Colossians 3:17). A preacher is not a priest, except as every Christian man is a priest; but he is called upon to discharge certain priestly functions, to comfort the sorrowful, support the weak, pray with the dying; and the demand for his personal purity is as righteous as it is instinctive and universal. The Jewish high priest wore on his forehead a plate of pure gold, on which was engraved, Holiness to the Lord, God thus affirming the holiness of his ministry.

Now our High Priest alone meets this demand for personal purity. Hebrews 7:26Such a high priest became us, holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. Note the saying, Such a High Priest is becoming to us, that is, appropriate, be-fitting. Not that it is fortuitous that we have such a High Priest, but that it is necessary: no other could fill the office of the eternal Priesthood. Consider, then, the High Priest of our Christian profession. Living on earth, yet undefiled with sin; keeping company with the outcast, but only to bless and save them. Our purity is soon lost; we leave it in our cradles. We lay off our innocence with our child garments. But the Son of Man lived a holy and undefiled life. How beautiful! How wonderful! that human life of pain, hunger, sorrow, thorns, temptation, and death, without sin! (Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:14-15; Hebrews 10:19-25).

3. The true priest must be characterized by sympathy. Perhaps compassion would be the better word: pity for the undeserving and the guilty (cf. Luke 23:34, Acts 7:60). We need a priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He must be pure, to appear before God. He must be filled with all human sympathies, to win our love and bear our burdens. It is the human heart of Jesus that qualifies Him for the eternal priesthood. It behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that is, to take upon Himself their human nature, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:14-18). These words declare, not simply that he was made in all things like unto his brethren, but that it was necessary that he should be made in all things like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. It was absolutely necessary for Him to assume our human nature and experience its frailities, in order to qualify for this eternal Priesthood. Hebrews 13:8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Men sympathize with those of their own class or kind, but the rich can hardly sympathize with the poor, the learned with the ignorant, adults with children and youth. Let every tempted and struggling child be taught to go boldly to Christ, and find mercy and grace in the time of need. We need not be afraid to trust the faith of the child because he cannot appreciate the evidences of the divine origin of the Gospel. Salvation is in the Gospel, not in its evidences. Life is in the air we breathe, and not in any knowledge of its causes and chemistry. Our High Priest sympathized with all who needed mercy and salvation: with frail and impulsive Simon Peter; with the sisters of Bethany, Martha and Mary, at the grave of Lazarus; with the woman taken in the act of adultery (no doubt a victim of the social evils of her day); with the publican Zaccheus; with all who needed the true Burden Bearer of all time. Our High Priest, while in the flesh, was often tired and hungry; suffered loneliness such as only His sensitive soul could suffer; felt despair, as when He cried out on the Cross, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? He was tempted in all points as we are, and yet without sin. His sympathy is for all humankind, not for their sins, but for their frailities and struggles. (Cf. Psalms 103:13-18).

He knows all our sorrows. He knows all our struggles. He knows all our frustrations. He knows all our problems. He is our great High Priest who knoweth all our infirmities. The trouble with us is that we will not come unto Him that we may have all these blessings. What hope can we have of heaven without such a High Priest? What hope does the man have who ignores Him, who rejects the only salvation ever offered, the only Atonement provided, the only Intercession available? If we who are in Christ so often feel our unworthiness so much that we question whether we shall ever be able to attain, what must be the sad condition of the one who does not even make the effort, the one who proudly asserts his own goodness instead of reclining on the grace and advocacy of Christ? If the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear? (1 Peter 4:18).

(The quotes appearing above are from a sermon by John Shackelford, in Biographies and Sermons of Pioneer Preachers, edited by Goodpasture and Moore, Nashville, Tenn. 1954.)

REVIEW QUESTIONS

See the end of Genesis 14 (Genesis 14:1-24).