Longing for Melchizedek

Where did he come from? That is part of the mystery of Melchizedek. Virtually all of the other important characters of Genesis have genealogies. But Melchizedek is here and then no reference is made to him. So all that we can say is that God must have called Melchizedek and shown him himself and brought him salvation.

Does this mean that God might somehow reveal himself to people through another way than Christ? Absolutely not! When we are reconciled with God, we are reconciled with one another. Just as God provided a way for Abram and Melchizedek to meet, God always provides true believers the fellowship of other believers. And to reject the gift of fellowship with other Christians, to reject the Church, is to reject the Giver himself.

God provided Abram a mediator named Melchizedek. God always provides a mediator.

Melchizedek is a type of Christ.

Melchizedek as King

Melchizedek means King of righteousness - He reigned and ruled justly.

King of “(Jeru)Salem” - He reigned at approximately modern day

King of “Shalom” - Notice how the context of Genesis 14 is warfare. But in contrast to this, Melchizedek was a king of peace.

Acted as priest - Melchizedek interceded for Abram and prayed for Abram. He atoned for him.

Blesses Abram - We also see that Abram teaches Abram through his blessing. His blessing is part blessing part sermon and it teaches Abram.

Saul as an aborted Melchizedek

Now, when the first divinely ordained King of Israel was established, namely Saul, Saul attempted to be the priest-king in 1 Sam 13.

The Philistines rallied against him

Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel, but his people were leaving out of fear for hte Philistines.

So Saul made the sacrifice before he was supposed to. He forfeited but the priesthood and the kingship.

As God would later tell him, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?” in other words, “Saul you don’t get it! This is not a mere ceremony. God wants your heart.” (1 Sam 15:22)

1 Samuel 15:22 ESV

And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

David as an unfulfilled Melchizedek

David makes his capital at Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:1-10)

Why Jerusalem? Because Jerusalem was where Melchizedek was!

David did several priestly things.

Ate of the showbread (1 Sam 21:1-9)

1 Samuel 21:1–9 ESV

Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women.” And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away. Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen. Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”

We see in 2 Sam 6:14 that David wore the linen Ephod that was preserved for the priests

2 Samuel 6:14 ESV

And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.

David brought the ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6)

David even installed his sons as priests (2 Sam 8:18).

2 Samuel 8:18 ESV

and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David’s sons were priests.

Why? David was modeling his kingship on Melchizedek.

So what does a true high priest do? Well he builds a temple. So David wants to build a temple. But what does God say? (2 Sam 8:4-11; 1 Chr 17:4-12) In other words - David, you can’t build my house because you are not a man of peace. and Melchizedek is the King of Peace.

1 Chronicles 17:4–12 ESV

“Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: It is not you who will build me a house to dwell in. For I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’ Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall waste them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build you a house. When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.

And so David is left to wonder, “When will the true Melchizedek come?” Perhaps this is when he pens Psalm 110:1-7. He says, one day there will be a King who is worthy to be the new Melchizedek. Maybe one day there will be a King who can be Melchizedek, for whom God will destroy his enemies. A Melchizedek who will make his people Holy, who will atone for them.

Psalm 110:1–7 ESV

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.

David is left longing for the Melchizedek, for the Messiah.

Solomon as failed Melchizedek

Solomon’s name means “peace”. King of peace.

David even tells Solomon in 1 Chr 22:6-10. But of course, David warns Solomon, in vs. 12, “only if you keep the law” will you be worthy of Melchizedek.

1 Chronicles 22:6–10 ESV

Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’

Solomon himself, when he is planning to build the temple, he quotes Psalm 110 that we just read about Melchizedek in 1 Kings 5:3-4.

1 Kings 5:3–4 ESV

“You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune.

And we do see Solomon build a temple in 1 Kings 8-9. And he leads the people in offering countless animals to consecrate the temple. And we are lead to wonder, maybe Solomon whose name is “peace” and who will be Melchizedek.

But, of course, Solomon cannot be Melchizedek because he is not righteous. He accomplished great things, but he was an oppressive tyrant. He led the people to worship God, but himself fell into idolatry. He blessed the people, but then brought the curses on himself by disobeying the rules for the Kings. He was wise, but he could not live according to the law himself.

And after him, only one other King even tries to be a “priest-king” and himself fails miserably and is plagued by leprosy and dies alone.

Longing for Melchizedek

Isaiah

And yet, the hope for Melchizedek does not die out. in particular, the prophet Isaiah cries out “A King will reign in righteousness” (Is 32:1). There will be another Melchi-zedek - King of righteousness. There will be.

Isaiah of course prophesied this prophecy about immanuel, but listen how much this prophecy about Immanuel sounds like Melchizedek (Is 9:6-7). A King reigns in peace and righteousness. It’s the Melchizedek that is to come.

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

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. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Maybe Melchizedek will be from among the priests

The Macabbean and Hasmonean Kings were priest-Kings.

But of course, they were neither kings of righteousness nor of peace.

The dawning realization was that God himself would have to be Melchizedek. God himself would have to reign in peace and righteousness. God himself would have to be their king.

Christ is the new and greater Melchizedek

And of course Christ is that Melchizedek.

King of righteousness? Matthew 3:15, 5:17

Matthew 3:15 ESV

But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.

Matthew 5:17 ESV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Reigning in Jerusalem? Is that not where Jesus himself was crowned, not with a crown of gold, but a crown of thorns.

Making peace? Has he not “made peace by the blood of his cross”? (Col 1:19-20)

Colossians 1:19–20 SBLGNT

ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησεν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαι καὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα εἰς αὐτόν, εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ, [διʼ αὐτοῦ] εἴτε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἴτε τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς·

Is he a priest? Hebrews 5:1-10

Hebrews 5:1–10 ESV

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Does he bless? Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

As Jesus himself tells us: Matthew 22:41-44

Matthew 22:41–44 ESV

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” ’?

Melchizedek is come, Christ is King, he reigns over all things and ever lives to make atonement for me. He is my King, my priest, my prophet, my Messiah.

Application

Christ is Priest - If Jesus is my priest, then I can walk before God as one whose sins are atoned for, not in part but in whole. I can have true peace with God. Christ has made the once-for-all sacrifice. He alone is how God has earned salvation for me. He alone is how God has achieved what I could not achieve. God has provided a mediator who has not sacrificed an animal for me, but who has sacrificed himself. Which means that forgiveness is offered to us as a free gift of God, and to refuse that is to insult the one who gave himself tto us.

Christ is King - But if Christ is my King, then he ought to have control. He ought to reign. He ought to be in charge of my life. I ought to give him every ounce of self. I ought to walk in all his ways. I ought to try to learn his commandments. I ought to try to learn his wisdom. After all, is not his “yoke easy and his burden light”? Because what better King could there be than this, the King of peace, King of Righteousness?

Appendix: Priests

Melchizedek as Priest

Melchizedek’s priestly actions

First person named “priest” in all of Scripture. The model of a true priest.

Implied that he made a sacrifice.

Brings out “bread and wine.”

He blesses Abram

He teaches Abram

He receives a tenth

Melchizedek was righteous

How the Levites were modelled after Melchizedek

Like Melchizedek they took the name “priest”

Like Melchizedek, they are the ones who make sacrifices for all of Israel

Like Melchizedek, after their sacrifices, they would also provide part of the sacrifice as a meal for the person making the sacrifice (Ex 12; Lev 1-9)

Like Melchizedek, they would bless the people of Israel (Num 6:24-26)

Like Melchizedek, they were supposed to teach the law (Lev 10:11; Deut 24:8)

Like Melchizedek, they were supposed to receive a tithe (Lev 27:30-32)

Like Melchizedek, they were clothed in elaborate clothing that was supposed to symbolize righteousness (Ps 132:9)

But the Levites quickly failed in their ability

Ex 32, Aaron the High Priest made a sacrifice to golden idols, led them into a curse and disregard of the law

This is why Leviticus 8-9 required Aaron and his sons to atone for themselves before they could ever atone for Israel

Throughout the history of Israel we see the priesthood polluted again and again and again (The grandson of Moses, Eli and his sons)

2 Chronicles 15:3 gives us this sad assessment during the era of the Kings: “For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law,”

This is why God cursed the priests in Malachi 2:1-9; Hosea 4:4-6

And yet, Jeremiah promised that

Related Media

Related Sermons