“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.” Genesis 14:18-20
Just who IS this Melchizedek? In Hebrews 4:14-8:13 we read that Jesus is a high priest in Melchizedek’s order and further more, that unlike the Levitical priesthood, Melchizedek’s order is eternal. According to Hebrews 7:22, this foreverness, “makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.” In fact, in chapters 5,6, and 7 the eternality of this priestly order is mentioned 9 times! It’s the power of Christ’s “indestructible life” that makes Him the perfect High Priest.
While on earth, Jesus was “in every respect tempted as we are, yet without sin,” “beset with weakness,” and He suffered “with loud cries and tears.” But now He has been “exalted above the heavens” and from there He makes intercession on our behalf! Hebrews reminds us that the priesthood, the covenants, the tabernacle, the temple, all “serve as a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things.” So when we’re reading the Old Testament and we come across these strange accounts of priests, and kings, and bread and wine, and tithes etc… it’s so important that we look deeply into them in order to get a clearer picture of who Christ is.
Now when I asked the smarter people in my life about who was this Melchizedek, I got several answers. One dear, respected, learned man said emphatically that he was just a man. One well-known Bible scholar said this was a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. And one beloved friend said it was neither. I tend to lean toward the last option given the evidence presented in Hebrews 4-10 but that’s not the topic of this post.
Here’s the point that I think ALL of this week’s passages (Genesis 14, Psalms 121, 124, 146, Matthew 11:25-30) are driving at: GOD MADE EVERYTHING! The heavens. The earth. The sun. The moon. The seas and all that is in them. He made Abraham. He made you. He made a host of angelic beings, including Satan. He can make any kind of priest and priesthood He desires, Levitical or otherwise. And the purpose of ALL these things is singular: TO BRING GLORY TO GOD MOST HIGH.
Think of it friends. Jesus is our Great High Priest FOREVER. According to Matthew 11:27, God the Father has given EVERYTHING over to Him, including the revelation of Himself. And it isn’t the ones who think they can figure everything out on their own who get it. It’s little children. It’s those beset by weakness. It’s foolish old moon worshippers like Abraham. It’s the laboring and heavy laden to whom our High Priest offers His rest. So come to Christ, the Priest of a new and better covenant. Take up His easy yoke. “And you will find rest for your souls.”
godmadeknown 
Amen, dear friend! “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” (Heb. 4:11)
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Wow. I was just meditating on the very next verse in that passage this morning. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…” Even though I chose these passages and wrote these devos for our boys months ago, each week as we read and discuss them the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to new glories of Christ therein. The unfolding of God’s word NEVER fails to give light.
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I know it isn’t the main topic of your post, but you did ask, “Who IS this Melchizedec?” He was either a heavenly being who appeared to Abram in human form or he was a mere man with incredible credentials. Let me make some brief observations. God appeared to Abram, Isaac and Jacob on several occasions in human form (Ex. 6:2-3). Read also the accounts of Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:2-22) and Joshua at Jericho (Joshua 5:13-6:2). Abraham and sons roamed the whole land of Canaan grazing sheep for 215 years, never encountering the city of Jerusalem or such a king as Melchizedec. In fact, Abram offered up Isaac on Mt. Moriah. No city or fortress there at the time. Hundreds of years later Solomon built the temple on this same site (2 Chr. 3:1). Jerusalem was probably settled by the Jebusites, a tribe of Canaan, during the 255 years Israel was in Egypt and wandering in the wilderness. It’s hard to imagine the godless Jebusites having such a king and priest as Melchizedec. The word translated LORD is Jehovah or Jahweh. Christ appeared many times in the Old Testament as the Angel of the Lord (Adonai). Melchizedec was most likely an appearance of Christ. Great post, Julie!
Opa Jim
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Yep! That DOES seem to be the most logical conclusion doesn’t it? BUT I do think it’s worth considering that we may be creating a false dichotomy by saying EITHER Melchizedek was a Christophany OR he was just a man. We sometimes forget God was in the business of creating worshippers long before He put humans on the scene. Isn’t it at least POSSIBLE that He created a priesthood outside of the Levitical order? Just another one of Julie’s crack-pot ideas, I know. But either way, I think Hebrews is abundantly clear that just like the rest of creation, Melchizedek, the priesthood, the bread and wine etc… are all shadows meant to point to The Substance, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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Hmmmmm. . . . . Well, thought provoking subject anyway.
Opa
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I must add this thought. I think we are still stuck with the dichotomy mentioned. God established a heavenly priesthood in which kingship and priesthood are united in one person. And though He created multitudes of worshipers in the heavenly realm, they all had a beginning. Only the eternal Son, our Lord and Saviour, could qualify.
Forgive me for being a pest.
Opa
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I would never call my one and only most faithful reader a pest! I totally get what you’re saying but I’m still just not seeing how Jesus is a priest in the order of Himself. If Melchizedek were Jesus himself then Melchizedek would be another name for Christ but that’s just not how the author of Hebrews uses it. There’s certainly a lot of evidence in your favor. I just have to continue to mull it over. But thanks for digging in with me!
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