Melchizedek may be a seemingly insignificant character in the Bible. Three verses tucked away in Genesis isn’t much compared to Abraham who is covered over about 14 chapters. However Melchizedek is mentioned not only in history, but also prophetically and doctrinally as well. That puts him on a short list of noteworthy Biblical characters.
Words: 2008 / Time to read: 11 minutes
Melchizedek was a king and priest of God Most High in Salem circa 1900 BC who gave nourishment and encouragement to Abraham after a victory of war. This was the victory in which Abraham recovered his nephew Lot and the entire population of Sodom. Melchizedek is a title more than a personal name and means king of righteousness and he was king of Salem which later became known as Jerusalem, aka City of Peace. As was the cultural custom, Abraham gave the local king-priest a tithe of the war booty. During this brief exchange, Abraham declared that he would not take any of the remainder of the booty for himself. God had promised Abraham blessing (Genesis 12:1-3) and Abraham didn’t want anyone thinking his increasing wealth came from others, let alone the likes of Bera, King of Sodom. Abraham was careful to credit the Lord for the victory in battle, the increased wealth and fulfilment of promises.
In the Genesis narrative, Abraham had made several blunders on his journey but he was growing in his understanding of God and His ways. It must have been a great encouragement to Abraham to encounter Melchizedek who was a priest of God Most High. This priest, who seemingly showed up out of nowhere from a region immersed with idolatry, graciously received the tithe and gave a blessing in the name of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. Shortly following this encounter, Abraham went on to have the unique experience of an oath of the highest caliber from God in which the promise of an heir and great blessing were confirmed. Abraham believed God and was credited with righteousness (Genesis 15). So the encounter with Melchizedek seems to have supported and encouraged Abraham to the point of total trust in God alone. This was a monumental turnaround for a man who himself came from a background of idol worship (Joshua 24:2).
The role of Melchizedek was brief and he is never mentioned again in the historic portions of Scripture. He came out with bread and wine, received the tithe, blessed Abraham and praised God Most High. That’s it.
“After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,
‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
And praise be to God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.’
“Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
“The king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.’
“But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
Genesis 14:17-24
Many generations later King David wrote of the coming Messiah as recorded in various Psalms. Psalm 2 identifies the Messiah as the Son of God. Psalm 22 pictures the piercing of his hands and feet. Psalm 34 mentions that no bones would be broken. Psalm 16 predicts his ascension after death. Psalm 110 indicates he will serve eternally as a heavenly priest. Psalm 118 reveals that he will come again in the name of the Lord. There are others but we can verify that the Messiah is clearly none other than Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man – “who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 1:3-4).”
Again, in a seeming insignificant and obscure reference in Psalm 110:4, the Messiah is likened to none other than Melchizedek, the priest who showed up out of nowhere and was never mentioned again. In the middle of the Psalm that reads like a powerful proclamation of the commanding reign of the Messiah over his enemies, he is simultaneously likened to a priest – in the order of Melchizedek. No further explanation is offered at this point leaving the teachers of the law baffled as to why the connection exists between the triumphant Messiah and an ancient priest with no apparent credentials. They struggled understanding many issues as seen in Luke 20. This was undoubtedly one of the lines they discreetly ignored.
The Inspired Explanation
The unknown writer of Hebrews was led by the Holy Spirit to expound on this subject (Hebrews 5-7). We get a three chapter explanation of a three verse encounter. The significance of Melchizedek lies in his insignificance. It is precisely that he showed up out of nowhere, without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life that captures the attention of the Hebrew-Christian audience in the Letter to the Hebrews. The writer of Hebrews begins by showing how God’s Son, through his death, resurrection and ongoing heavenly ministry is far greater than anything associated with God’s Law given to Moses. Christ is God’s only begotten Son and is superior to angels; Christ is the Apostle sent from God and is greater than Moses; greater than Joshua and the Sabbath rest offered to the generations who perished in the desert long ago; greater than the entire Levitical priesthood which relied on genealogy as a prerequisite. He makes several comparisons between Christ and the origin and rituals of the Mosaic law. The point of all these comparisons is that the law, the Jewish customs and even the divinely established priesthood were weak and had become useless. The finished work of Christ on the cross and his ongoing priestly ministry is far superior than the things they had trusted in so strongly for many generations. The pinnacle of this argument is that Jesus the Messiah wasn’t even qualified to be a priest of the Levitical order – he was a descendant of Judah! So because the law was now obsolete, a change in the priesthood was appropriate. Suddenly the obscure line from the the trusted King David in Psalm 110 was used to nail down the conclusion. Christ is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek!
Now remember that the original hearers of the Epistle to the Hebrews were Christian-Hebrews who had been born and raised with the Mosaic law and covenant promises. God’s law had been given to Israel through Moses and followed for hundreds of years. The promises and miracles were real. But now that Christ had become the ultimate sacrifice, the law of Moses was now obsolete. There was no longer any need for animal sacrifices, circumcision, holy day festivals, or sabbath observance. This must have been very difficult for these early Christian-Hebrews to absorb. On the one hand, they believed the law was given by holy angels to Moses. They believed God was with Joshua in battle while conquering the Promised Land. They believed the prophets and proclamations of the covenant promises. They believed King David and others who feared and revered the Lord and the Law. On the other hand, they believed Jesus rose from the dead and was the Messiah. The problem was giving up the old and trusting completely in the new. They needed reassurance, encouragement and instruction to stop their age old rituals and embrace their new freedom in Christ. To compound the problem, they were suffering financial, social and political persecution and even death because of their faith in Christ.
The association of Melchizedek and Christ recorded by King David provided the pivotal argument that seemed to have encouraged the believers to overcome their fear and doubt. The Holy Spirit masterfully inspired the writer to explain the reference from Psalm 110:
“If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared:
‘You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.’
“The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
“And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:
‘The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
‘You are a priest forever.’
“Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
“Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.Hebrews 7:11-28
“Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.”
The historic and prophetic writings regarding Melchizedek helped move these Christian-Hebrews to true faith and endurance in their new Christian belief. There is no doubt in my mind that they concluded the reading of the letter with a hymn or two and The Lord’s Supper. I can imagine that and as they partook of the elements they experienced great peace and smiled at the fact that long ago, Melchizedek shared bread and wine with their great ancestor Abraham. Melchizedek played a part in preparing Abraham to believe God and be credited with righteousness. Centuries later many more believers are being credited with righteousness by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. We don’t believe in the law of Moses or the unwritten law of church membership, baptism, good works or moral character- we believe in the sufficiency of the death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ who is a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek!
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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