6“May Reuben live and not die,
Nor his men be few.”
7And this regarding Judah; so he said,
“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his adversaries.”
8Of Levi he said,
“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man,
Whom You proved at Massah,
With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
9Who said of his father and his mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
And he did not acknowledge his brothers,
Nor did he regard his own sons,
For they observed Your word,
And kept Your covenant.
10They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11O Lord, bless his substance,
And accept the work of his hands;
Shatter the loins of those who rise up against him,
And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.”
8O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.
9Behold our shield, O God,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!
11Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? 12For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. 13For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. 14For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. 15And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, 16who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. 17For it is attested of Him,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
18For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness 19(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20And inasmuch as it was not without an oath 21(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,
“The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind,
‘You are a priest forever’ ”);
22so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
1) How does Messiah’s better priesthood fulfill the heart of Levi’s blessing to serve and teach יהוה’s ways?
2) What connection exists between Judah’s leadership and Messiah’s royal yet priestly role?
3) How does the promise of a better covenant deepen our understanding of יהוה’s favor and faithfulness?
Shishak of Egypt Invades Judah
1When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the Lord. 2And it came about in King Rehoboam’s fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem 3with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people who came with him from Egypt were without number: the Lubim, the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 5Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak.’ ” 6So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.”
7When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of deliverance, and My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak. 8But they will become his slaves so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”
Plunder Impoverishes Judah
9So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s palace. He took everything; he even took the golden shields which Solomon had made. 10Then King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and committed them to the care of the commanders of the guard who guarded the door of the king’s house. 11As often as the king entered the house of the Lord, the guards came and carried them and then brought them back into the guards’ room. 12And when he humbled himself, the anger of the Lord turned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and also conditions were good in Judah.
13So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 14He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.
15Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, according to genealogical enrollment? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 16And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David; and his son Abijah became king in his place.
PSALM 7
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1O Lord my God, in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2Or he will tear my soul like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is injustice in my hands,
4If I have rewarded evil to my friend,
Or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary,
5Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
6Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
Lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries,
And arouse Yourself for me; You have appointed judgment.
7Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You,
And over them return on high.
8The Lord judges the peoples;
Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous;
For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.
10My shield is with God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
11God is a righteous judge,
And a God who has indignation every day.
12If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword;
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
13He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts.
14Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the hole which he made.
16His mischief will return upon his own head,
And his violence will descend upon his own pate.
17I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.