Gen 14 - Who is Melchizedek?
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Alright, Good to be back in our study of the book of Genesis. Of course we entered into a focus upon the life of Abraham a few weeks back and we will be following Abraham and his descendents through the rest of the OT. Ultimately to get to our Lord Jesus Christ some 2000 years Later.
So last week we followed Abram and Sarai into Egypt and saw how God had laid down a pattern of a place of Refuge and Persecution, a place to flee to and then a place to flee from.
After leaving Egypt we had another crisis point with the clash of Abram and Lot’s herdman where saw a real growth in faith of Abram. Here Abram displays his faith by agreeing to capitulate to Lot’s decision on where to go.
Abram could have demanded, he was the elder after all, to choose his direction first but it seems that he was willing to wait on Gods direction which was any where but with Lot.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.
9 “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.”
10 Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.
11 So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other.
12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom.
So Lot chooses that bright lights of the City of Sodom and moves away. It is then after Lots departure, that Abram completes the original command of God, to leave his fathers family, that Yahweh meets with Abram again and adds to the original blessing.
So tonight we pick up in Chapter 14 and meet a very mysterious character,
1 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,
2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
3 All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
6 and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness.
7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
8 And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim,
9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
10 Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country.
11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed.
12 They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.
13 Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram.
14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.
Here the story appears a little backwards, at least to me. It like Abram fights on behalf of the bad guys.
So if we examine it we have 5 Kings of Hamite lineage at war with 4 Shemite kingdoms and Abram is being dragged in to rescue the Hamites.
In verse 1, the 4 Shemite Kings are named beginning with Amraphel king of Shinar. In the article I sent out today we have some other interesting info on Amraphel.
Article- Amraphael or Amraphel
He was the the king of Shinar where we had the Tower of Babel and was later to be known as Babylon. Our Narrative makes it clear he was contemporary with Abram so it was about 1900 BC. What is also interesting that there was another famous King of Babylon in secular history, at the same time, named Hammurabi. He was famous for the Law Code aka The Code of Hammurabi. So scholars believe that Amraphel and Hammurabi are the same person.
Also included with the 4 kings are Arioch King of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer King of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim. Goiim means Nations in Hebrew.
Of these 4, Chedorlaomer was the leader. Does anyone remember what did Elam become? Persia or now Iran.
These four were to the east and the north of Israel in the Fertile Crescent area of Mesopotamia.
The five Hamite Kings represented Sodom and Gomorrah, Zeboiim and Bela. These were all in the area of what is now the Dead Sea according to 14:3. Interestingly current archaeological studies near the dead sea have found evidence of the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
we learn;
3 All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled.
So Chedorlaomer and his fellow Shemite Kings came down to make them pay.
Keep in mind that the area of Babylon was a long way from the promised land, about 900 miles to Jerusalem and took Ezra about 4 months.
These next verses 5-12 document the conquest of the 4 kings;
Genesis 14:5–12 (NASB95)
5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
These tribes are particularly interesting. Rephaim, Zuzim, and the Emim are Nephilim Tribes, Giants that lived in the land. The same as we saw in Gen 6. They were of the seed of the fallen Angels.
6 and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness.
7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
8 And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim,
9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
10 Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country.
Many have sought to find oil in these areas because of passages like this.
11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed.
12 They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.
Now as we move forward we will discover that Lot, righteous Lot was not just living in Sodom he was on the city council! Sitting in the Gate.
More importantly God’s promise to Abram will come into play;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
The story continues;
Genesis 14:13–16 (NASB95)
13 Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram.
Apparently someone from Lot’s people came to tell Abram. First mention of the name Hebrew. A derivative of “Eber” and also means “from beyond the river.”
14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.
In these 3 verses we see some remarkable things.
Abram had his owned army. 318 all raised in his house.
Dan indicates as far North as one could go in the promised land. As much as 500 miles.
Abram’s army of 318 took out 4 kings who had just wiped out 10 kingdoms.
He recovered all the goods, Lot and his stuff, all the women and the people. Wow.
It should have been impossible yet it wasn’t. We’ll get the reason why in a minute..
Now we meet one of the most mysterious individuals in scripture;
17 Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.
19 He blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
He gave him a tenth of all.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.”
22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
23 that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
24 “I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”
So who is this Melchizedek? His name means “King of Righteousness” and was the king of Salem, or King of Peace. (This reminds us of Jesus!)
As a quick aside, there is another character that comes up in the book of Joshua 10, named Adonizedek, who is the King of Jerusalem. His name meaning lord of Righteousness and who turns out to be a type of the Anti-Christ.
The name Melchizedek is only mentioned here in Gen 14, and in Ps 110, and in the book of Hebrews where he is written about in Chapters 5,6, and 7.
Now from our text, here in Genesis, we learn that he was the priest of the “God Most High. In Hebrew it is El Elyon. BTW - the Hebrew word for Priest is Cohen. Pronounced Co-hain.
Also notice, He is a King and a Priest. This was forbidden and only three can claim this title; Melchizedek, Jesus, and the Church (according to Rev 1 and Rev 5)
We noticed also that Melchizedek serves Abram bread and wine and after he blesses them. This exactly what Jesus would do at the last supper. He reveals in the blessing just how Abram was able to have such a great victory.
Genesis 14:19–20 (NASB95)
19 He blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
He gave him a tenth of all.
The victory came from Yahweh. The battle belongs to the Lord!
One other interesting point here from the narrative, notice, Abram pays a tithe or a tenth of all to Melchizedek.
Now as we look at the other scriptural references. First;
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Here in this Messianic prophetic Psalm, The Lord declares that His Messiah would be a priest forever but not according to the Levitical Priesthood, but according to the order of Melchizedek.
You ask what was wrong with the Levitical priesthood? In short they had a sin problem just like all of us.
Hebrews 5:1–6 (NASB95)
1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins;
2 he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness;
3 and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself.
4 And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”;
6 just as He says also in another passage,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Now we get more info, look at Heb 7;
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.
3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.
The writer to the Hebrews tells us that this Melchizedek,
in verse 3;
Is without Father or Mother
Without Genealogy
Without beginning or end of life
He remains a priest forever
So who is He?
Well I personally believe He is a Christophany, A visitation of the pre-incarnate Word of God, Jesus. Not every one sees it this way but to me it seems clear.
At the very least Melchizedek is type of Christ, albeit a very mysterious one.
Our narrative ends with the king of Sodom offering all the recovered goods to Abram but he turns him down with this;
22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
23 that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
Abram wanted only God to receive the Glory for everything, and every blessing in His life.
Don’t take any glory but reflect all glory back to King Jesus!!
Pray