THE PRIESTLY ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

When we left off last week, Abram had just returned from rescuing his nephew Lot. King Chedorlaomer of Elam and his 3 allies had come to quell a rebellion of five Canaanite kings, which included the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. Chedorlaomer defeated the rebel kings and took captive the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with their riches. And since Lot had decided to settle in Sodom, he was right in the middle of this battle and was taken captive. Abram didn’t let the might of these 4 kings deter him from rescuing his nephew. He displayed great trust in the the covenant faithfulness of the Lord. So he took his 318 trained servants and pursued the kings. Three of his allies went with him. After they tracked the kings down, Abram divided his forces by night, defeated their armies, and rescued all of the people and riches that had been taken captive. God Most High was faithful to bless Abram and curse His enemies, just as He had promised. Let’s read our Scripture where we left off last week.

When Abram returned, 2 kings came out to meet him. One was the king of Sodom, who we have already been introduced to. But the other king is a very mysterious character. His name is Melchizedek and he was the king of Salem, which was the ancient name of Jerusalem. Not only was he the king of Salem, but he was a priest to God Most High, the true God. He went out to meet Abram and brought wine and bread. He blessed Abram and praised the Lord for His deliverance of Abram. In response to this, Abram gave him a tenth of the spoils of war. Meanwhile, the king of Sodom requested that Abram return his subjects, but offered to let Abram have all of the other spoils of war. Abram responded that he had made a commitment to the Lord that he wouldn’t take anything from the wicked king of Sodom. He didn’t want anyone to be able to say that he had acquired his wealth from this wicked king. He just asked for the share that fell to his allies to be given to them, and for what his men had already eaten. Now I want to us to take some time and look at this mysterious person, Melchizedek. There have been various speculations about who Melchizedek actually was. Some say that he was Noah’s son, Shem. Looking at the genealogies in Genesis, we can calculate that Shem live 35 years after the death of Abram. Others have suggested that he could be an angel. And still others argue that he was the preincarnate Christ. My desire is for us to leave off the speculations, and just let the Word of God tell us who this mystery man really is. This is the first and only place in Scripture that mentions him until the 110th Psalm. So let’s turn there and see what we can learn.

The Coming King and Priest

See Psalm 110:1-7...

Matthew 22:41–46 “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.”

Psalm 2:6–9 ““As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.””

A Son of David is coming who will be both King and Priest. This would be shocking news to the Jewish people, because David comes from the tribe of Judah. And the only priests under the Old Covenant were the Levitical priests; those descended from Levi. So there had never been a ruler in Israel who was both King and Priest. What kind of priest will He be, if not a Levitical priest? He will be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. So this coming Messiah will be a both a king and a priest, but that is not all. He will be God in the flesh, which is why David calls Him Lord. He will be greater than King David. You have to turn all the way to the book of Hebrews to see these thoughts elaborated on. Hebrews is one of my favorite books of the Bible, because it is all about the unrivaled supremacy and superiority of Christ. In it, we learn that Christ is greater than men and angels. He is greater than Moses. The rest that He offers is greater than the rest offered in the Old Covenant. His priesthood is greater than the Levitical priesthood. As High Priest, He is greater than Aaron. His New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant. His sacrifice was greater than the Old Covenant sacrifices. His Kingdom is greater than any earthly kingdom. It goes on and on. But Hebrews 5-7 talks about how Christ is a fulfillment of Psalm 110, and is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The Superiority of Melchizedek’s Priesthood

Hebrews 5:1-10 tells us a bit about the role of a high priest. They are chosen to represent the people before God by offering gifts and sacrifices for sin. It let’s us know that nobody can claim the role as high priest themselves. They must be appointed by God. Just like Aaron and his descendants were appointed by God to the office of high priest. Anyone who is appointed as a priest after the order of Melchizedek must also be appointed by God. They can’t claim that position themselves. Then we are reminded that Christ is the One who has been appointed by God as a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. How can someone be a high priest forever? They must be eternal. And only God is eternal. And we need a sinless and perfect substitute to pay our sin debts. And again, God is the only One who is sinless and perfect. So Christ is our sinless High Priest who doesn’t offer the blood of bulls and goats. He offers Himself, the spotless Lamb of God. And as our perfect substitute, He has become the source of eternal salvation to all who believe in Him.

Hebrews 6:13-20 speaks of God’s promise that He made to Abraham. We learn that because God’s promises and oaths are so certain, those of us who have fled to Christ for refuge can have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. Christ is a sure and steadfast anchor for our soul. Then it tells us that Christ has entered behind the curtain into the holy of holies. And this isn’t referring to the earthly temple. This is referring to the very presence of the Father in Heaven. He is a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. So through Christ’s priesthood, we have access to God’s presence in heaven.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Then in Hebrews 7, we finally see some additional details about Melchizedek and his priesthood. We are going to see that Melchizedek was a type of Christ. He was a type or shadow that pointed to the greater Priest, which is Christ!

In verses 1-10, we see that Melchizedek’s name means king of righteousness, and his title means king of peace. This truth pointed to the fact that Christ is the eternal King of righteousness and peace.

1 Corinthians 1:30–31 “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

He is the source of our righteousness. And He provided us with it by bearing our sins and giving us His righteousness by repentant faith.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Not only is He the source of our righteousness, but He is the source of our peace.

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Colossians 1:19–20 “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

We have peace with God because the Father poured out His wrath for our sins on Christ. God is no longer our enemy, but we are adopted as beloved sons and daughters of God by faith.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Melchizedek doesn’t have his birth, death, or genealogy listed. We don’t see anything about his priesthood beginning or ending. Because of that he is a type of Christ, in that Christ’s priesthood is eternal. We see that he was greater than Abraham, which is why he blessed Abraham and received tithes from him. It tells us that since Levi was still in the loins of Abraham, he paid tithes to Melchizedek as well. And with that line of thinking, not only did Levi pay tithes to Melchizedek, but all of the descendants of Abraham did, including all of the kings that came from his lineage. In light of that, we see that the Levitical priesthood is inferior to the order of Melchizedek.

Verses 11-28 goes into more detail with that thought. We read that the Levitical priesthood was incapable of making anyone perfect. We need a better priesthood. And if there is a change in the priesthood, there is a change in the Law. He inaugurates a better covenant, and sets us free from the Old Covenant. And since His priesthood is eternal, He can save us to the uttermost, since He always lives to make intercession for us. He has the power of an indestructible life, and because of that, He is able to secure eternal life for us. Thus what we see is that Melchizedek, the priestly king, is a type, a foreshadowing, of Jesus Christ. He is a historical person who points ahead to the Redeemer. He was made to resemble the Son of God, that He might point us to the coming Messiah. He is the shadow, while Jesus Christ is the reality. And only this High Priest, Jesus Christ, can save us to the uttermost! So let us find righteousness, peace, salvation, and rest in Christ alone by faith!