The Story Never Told

Here lies so and so.

The whole point of the story of Melchizedek is what it doesn’t say. The entire point of the author of Hebrews in introducing Melchizedek is based upon the mystery and silence surrounding this priestly king from Salem. There are only two passages in the Old Testament that reference Melchizedek. Genesis 14 and Psalm 110:4. This is a man who vanishes as quickly as he appears.

So we must share a little of the background in order to understand what is going on. There are 4 kings from the North East that form a pact to invade the territories to the East of the river Jordan because the 5 kings in that region refuse to pay tribute to King Chedorlaomer. 4 Kings against 5 they were victorious, and in the process they took Lot, Abrahams nephew captive. Remember that Lot had chosen to settle in the land east of the Jordan because Abraham and Lot had too much livestock to inhabit the same land. This is the Land of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Eventually Abraham receives word that his nephew has been taken captive and he musters up an army of an impressive 318 men, who pursue them all the way north as far a Damascus and ambush them. Being victorious in battle he wins back Lot and the women and all of the bounty that was stolen. Our Untold story begins here on his way back home in the valley of Kings just outside of the ancient city of Jerusalem.

The one thing that stand out in this passage is the superior priesthood of Melchizedek.

1. He is King

This is something that is unique. We talked about earlier that there was a distinction under the Mosaic law between the offices of King and the offices of Priest. The King was to represent God to the the people. He was to bring order and justice to the people through the law. The Priest was to bring the people to God, that is he stood as their representative or mediator between the people and God. Offering sacrifice for sins. But these two offices were not to be fused. However what makes Melchizedek so mysterious is that this ancient priest is also a king.

This priest-king from the ancient Canaanite city of Salem worshipped the same God that Abraham did. There are numerous tablets that have been discovered that coincide with the biblical account that show that there were others besides Abraham who worshipped the Most High Creator God. Job was one of them. Remember that this is very early probably somewhere around 2000 BCE. Before Moses before the OT scriptures, before the law and the Levitical priest hood. Achaeology confirms this and tells us that there was probably a de-evolution over time of the Cannanite religions. That some worshipped the creator God just like Abraham but over time the worship of that true God like became corrupted and worship of the polytheistic god’s replaced it. The Cannanites eventually became associated with the Baal the God of rain and thunder the god of fertility.

Genesis purposely gives a very short account of Melchizedek. We are told in scripture that he is first king of Righteousness that is what his name “zedek” means righteousness means, but also he is from Salem the ancient city of Jerusalem, which would eventually house the temple of God. This is a precursor to the effect that the Gospel has on not just the Jews but to the uncircumcised world of the Gentiles. Remember this is pre-covenant of circumcision neither Abraham nor Melchizedek both gentiles by the way were circumcised.

Romans 1:17 ESV

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The Gospel is good news of peace with God, and how is this peace established? Ultimately through the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is imputed to all who believe and worship Him. So in righteousness and peace Melchizedek is a type of Christ. He blesses Abraham bringing peace upon the one who held the promises of God.

Psalm 110 ESV

A Psalm of David. The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

2. He lives forever

There is some question about who this Melchizedek is. Is he a Christophany, is he an angel, is he an ordinary man. And to be honest with you the text is intentionally obscure and does not tell us. However , my opinion and is that this was a man who lived and was a king in Ancient Jerusalem among the Canaanites. He was a man like any other yet God chose to leave out the details of his lineage to make him a type of Christ. Christ is the anti-type that is the reality of what Melchizedek is figure of. The antitype determines the type not the opposite. In other words Christ is superior high priest whom Melchizedek a man represents. I think that this is good evidence to show that Melchizedek actually was a man who in the scriptural account we know nothing of his origin or his death. A requirement of the priest hood of Jesus patterned after Melchizedek was that he was from among men, that he was one of us. The entire point of the Priestly line of Levi is that we know their lineage and their deaths are recorded. Here lies the High Priest he lived and then he died. Not so for Melchizedek his priest hood was not hindered by death but a man nonetheless. The emphasis lies not on his parentage but on his eternality.

3. He receives tithes

Think about this to a Jew who is greater than Abraham. He is the Father of all the Jews. In a similar passage in John Jesus is attesting to His diety and the Jews pick up on this.

John 8:51–53 ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Abraham in the scriptures is called “the prince of God” to his neighbors, he is called “friend of God” by God Himself. But when these two men gathered in the valley outside of Jerusalem Mechizedek was the greater of the two. It was common pagan practice to offer a tithe or a 1/10. But the reality is the the tithe is given to the greater. You do not come before a king as a servant with out something to offer. The point he argues here is that the Israelites gave a 10th to thier kin the Levites and yet this man who was not of thier lineage was give a 10th by Abraham. The Levites through Abraham were acknowledging the superior priest hood of Melchizedek.

4. He blesses

Application here is pretty tough, because He is laying the foundation for the rest of the chapter but one point of application is something that we often miss in our culture. Since they recognized the idea of headship, that one person represented even exists within their parentage. They recognized the importance of passing down the lineage and faith to the next generation. When we think about our lineage, we don’t often think much past our own children and maybe our grandchildren, but our lineage is important the way that we train our children to love the Lord and the things of the Lord, and to train not just our childrens, children, and thier childrens children. We must realize that it is our job to pass down the faith to our children, and so we better get serious because they aren’t going to catch it if we havent.

The Story of of a Kingly Preist has been told through out history and is one that is even yet in the telling being unfolded page by page. Christ being our High Preist has called us to serve with Him in like manner. He is our prototype, having made us a kingdom of Priest after his very same order, priests who serve with out the fear of death.

1 Peter 2:4–10 ESV

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Every religion even from the time before Abraham had priests. Though the image they reflected was the image of God’s creation he made us as worshippers, and as ones who were meant to bring others to Him in worship this sacred duty has been tarnished by sin. Think about it, we have examples even before the temple even with Abraham who erected altars to worship the Lord acting in the role of a priest. When Israel in the wilderness with the tabernacle, and after conquest conquered this very city of Salem and built God’s temple. In John 4 the Samaritans worshipped on the mountains in Samaria. At the day of Pentecost the Spirit came upon the people in power with fire and their bodies became mini temples, in 1 Cor 3:16-17

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 ESV

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

We as the Saints of God shall rule with him as a servants and a kingdom of priests in the holy City of Jerusalem.