Who was/is Melchizedek?

I have put Mrs. Anita off long enough. She asked me a question about Melchizedek about 9 months ago, and do you know how I answered the question?

I answered with those three magical words which are I DON’T KNOW.

Well, I kept studying, and I believe the Holy Spirit illuminated me somewhat about Melchizedek. If you do not know who Melchizedek is, let me tell you this for a fact. He is a rather mysterious individual. He is mentioned in both the Old and the New Testaments, and great honor is given to him in the Bible. Since God’s desire is for His Word to be understood and not mysterious, I just had to be receptive to what the Holy Spirit wanted me to see about Melchizedek.

With that said, let’s see what we can learn about Melchizedek.

I. The appearance of the mysterious Melchizedek.

Melchizedek’s mysterious appearance is found in Genesis 14. We don’t have time to read it all, but the background information contained in the 14th chapter of Genesis is important, so I will summarize it for you, but it would do you some good to read the entire chapter.

In the 13th Chapter of Genesis, Lot and Abram start having a family scuffle resulting in both going their separate ways, but Abram, even though it was right to choose, let Lot choose the direction he wanted to go first.

Genesis 13:10–11 ESV

And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.

There is a lot in those two verses to unpack, but we will unpack it on another occasion. Lot chose Sodom and Gomorrah. In the 14th Chapter of Genesis, we meet this fellow, and every time I need his name pronounced I am going to let Mitzie pronounce it. His name was Chedorlaomer.

In Genesis 14:9, the Bible says that Chedorlaomer was King of Elam which was an ancient civilization in modern-day Iran.

Chedorlaomer was a bad man. You would not want him moving into the neighborhood. He was a fierce fighter, and he was very formidable. Well, Chedorlaomer formed an alliance with some other kings who rebelled against him, and that was a bad mistake as Chedorlaomer just pulled the strap down and jumped off the top rope on those jokers.

Well, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah thought they would join the fray, so they decided to go out and fight against Chedorlaomer, and that fell into the category of WE THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA, BUT WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

Chedorlaomer routed the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they, along with their men, started running from the battle.

As the men of Sodom and Gomorrah were running from the battle, some of them fell into the tar pits found in the Valley of Siddim.

Those that did not fall into the tar pits were taken prisoner and carried off by Chedorlaomer including all of their possessions, but Chedorlaomer made one mistake. One of the men he captured was Lot, and a member of Lot’s company escapes and runs to tell Abram what happened to Lot.

Responding to this news, Abram took 318 men and took out after Chedorlaomer.

Genesis 14:14–16 ESV

When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

How did Abram accomplish this with only 318 men against several kings and all of their armies being led by Chedorlaomer who, along with his armies, was such a fierce warrior?

The answer is because the mysterious Melchizedek appeared.

Genesis 14:18–20 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

Evidently, Melchizedek appeared and delivered Abram’s enemies into his hands as they were slaughtered in the Valley of Shaveh.

II. Melchizedek appeared as the Pre-Incarnate Christ.

Do you know the difference between the Incarnate Christ and the Pre-Incarnate Christ?

The Incarnate Christ refers to the birth of Jesus Christ as a human in Bethlehem and it is that incarnation that we celebrate at Christmas, but Christ has always been, and at times in the Old Testament, Christ would appear to someone. He appeared before He was born which is not hard to understand if you know who Jesus is.

Hebrews 7:1–3 “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.””

Jesus Christ has always been. He appeared in the Old Testament. He could appear at His discretion.

“Jimmy, how can you be so sure that Melchizedek is the Pre-Incarnate Jesus Christ?”

Let’s consider Melchizedek as a name.

Melchizedek means King of Righteousness.

In the 14th Chapter of Genesis, Melchizedek is also called the King of Salem.

The King of Salem means King of Peace.

Who is the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace? None other than Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

That verse sums up clearly who Jesus Christ is.

It is through Jesus that we die to sin and become righteous. It is by Jesus Christ that we have been healed and have peace with God.

Hebrews Chapter 7 in the verses we read say that Melchizedek did not have a beginning or ending which tells us that he is not a normal human being because all human beings have a beginning and an ending.

The writer of Hebrews says Melchizedek resembled the Son of God and that he was a priest forever. Do you know why? Because Melchizedek is the Pre-Incarnate Christ. He is the Son of God.

Jesus Christ had no beginning, and He has no ending. He left what He was to exist in time as a human being so that He could be our forever priest as our salvation and protection.

The arrival of Melchizedek just after the defeat of Chedorlaomer was a sign to Abram that God was his salvation and his protection.

Just as Melchizedek delivered Abram’s enemies into his hands for the victory. Jesus Christ delivered us from our enemy so that we can have the victory over sin and death.

Look back at Genesis 14:18 again.

Genesis 14:18 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)”

Melchizedek brought out bread and wine to Abram and his weary men. He was offering them fellowship.

What does Jesus Christ offer us?

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Jesus Christ offers to every lost person the opportunity to fellowship with Him.

In the 110th Psalm, David refers to Melchizedek as the forever priest. Jesus refers to this Psalm Himself when addressing the Pharisees.

Matthew 22:42–43 “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,”

Matthew 22:44–45 ““ ‘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?””

What is Christ saying to the Pharisees? He is telling them that He is the forever priest. They scoffed at what He had already told them.

John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.””

Before Abraham, Jesus was. He is the forever priest.

Hebrews 7:24–26 “but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”

Hebrews 7:27–28 “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.”

The Pre-Incarnate Christ could appear anytime He wanted in the Old Testament. He was not confined by the limitations of time since He is the beginning and the ending. He appeared as Melchizedek in Genesis 14, and He appeared to Abram again in Genesis 17 and unto Abraham in Genesis 18.

The Order of Melchizedek in the Bible is a reference to Jesus Christ as only Jesus Christ can fulfill the office of the Melchizedek priesthood.

Hebrews 6:20 “where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Conclusion:

The mysterious appearance of Melchizedek unto Abram was an appearance of the eternal righteousness and peace that is found only in Jesus Christ. He is our Protector and our Peace.

There are cults that have arisen and abused the priesthood of Melchizedek.

People may wonder why from time-to-time why I consider Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses as cults no different really than other cults throughout history.

According to Mormon doctrine, the Melchizedek priesthood stopped until it was reinstituted through the ministry of Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith invoked Melchizedek to establish priestly authority for himself and other men who can be ordained into the priesthood of Melchizedek.

Well, I have news for the Mormons. Joseph Smith cannot be their forever priest. He is not qualified as only Jesus is the One who can bring me into righteousness and peace.

As you begin to dig deeper into the Bible, you really start to understand what God did for you. It is Jesus Christ who makes fellowship with God possible. He is the way, the truth, and the life. It is a declaration of exclusion. Jesus is the only way, but that exclusiveness opens the door for all to be included.