(4) Melchizedek

 

(4) Melchizedek

Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14:18-20. "Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. He blessed Abram and said, 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.'" Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all he had. The Bible clearly states that the subject of the war is God.

Melchizedek is a combination of the words malak (king) and tzadek (righteousness). He is a king of righteousness. Righteousness represents justice. Isaiah 32:1 says, "Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice." Righteousness is tzadek.

Jeremiah 23:5 "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch; and he shall reign as king and rule wisely, and shall execute judgment and righteousness (tzadek) in the land."

In Malachi 4:2, it says, "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness (tzedakah) will rise with healing in its wings. Then you will go out and skip about like calves released from the stall." Tzadek represents the Messiah.

Melchizedek is introduced in detail in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 7:1-3 states, "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. He is first, by interpretation, king of righteousness, and then also, king of Salem, that is, king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually."

This shows that Melchizedek is greater than Abram, because Abram gave a tenth to Melchizedek. Melchizedek is shown blessing Abram. Therefore, Melchizedek represents Christ. He brings out bread and wine.

Matthew 26:26-28 "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, gave thanks and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'"

Melchizedek was said to be king of Salem, and Salem (king of peace) means Jerusalem, which means Christ.

Psalm 110:1-5 "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.' The Lord will send the scepter of your power out of Zion; rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in the splendor of your holiness; your young men will come to you like the dew of the morning. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.' The Lord at your right hand will shatter kings in the day of his anger."

Matthew 22:41-45: "Now when the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 'What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?' They answered, 'The son of David.' He said to them, 'How then does David, inspired by the Spirit, call him 'Lord,' saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet''? Since David calls him 'Lord,' how is he his son?"

David was king of Jerusalem, and in the Psalms, David refers to the Lord (who sits at the right hand of the Lord) as following the order of Melchizedek. The Lord becomes Christ. Ultimately, the Messiah is the eternal high priest following the order of the kings of Salem.

Hebrews 7:8-10: "And here they that are dead receive tithes; but there he receiveth them of him of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. So also Levi, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, in a sense, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him."

Christ is eternal. God works in history through Christ. Melchizedek is depicted as a priest.

The priest is the mediator (ho logos) for sin. After the war, Abram gave a tenth to Melchizedek. This war was a war in which sovereignty belonged to God (Christ). Therefore, he was essentially giving a tenth to Christ. In the Old Testament, the tithe is an expression that sovereignty belongs to you, not me. The tithe is an offering of spoils of war. The Exodus people used the gold and silver spoils to make the temple furniture.

Genesis 14:17 "Now the king of Sodom came out to meet Abram after he returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

Lot lived in Sodom, and the king of Sodom is represented as the representative. Lot allied with the king of Sodom, and Abram with Melchizedek. The key is who one is allied with. Sodom, which allied with Lot, is judged, while Lot, which allied with the king of Sodom, is saved from judgment. Abram does not receive the spoils given by the king of Sodom (a symbol of the worldly ruler). This tells us that believers are united with Christ and not with the world. This is the story of the war waged by God as sovereign.