who was melchized Melchizedek was an enigmatic figure who appeared briefly on the stage of human history then disappeared despite being one of the least mentioned and most mysterious individuals in the Old Testament Melchizedek the king priest of Salem is foundational in understanding key Concepts in the Bible the question is who exactly is this mysterious figure what does this Dynamic order tell us about Christ's role as a king and a priest in Hebrew his name means king of righteousness or my king is righteous the first mention of this name can be dated about two Millennia before Christ the second around one Millennium before Jesus was born and the third in the second half of the first century after the birth of Jesus Abraham and Melchizedek Oma king of Elam and three Allied Kings went to battle against five Kings who governed territories near the Dead Sea it was a victory for the Four Kings they took Goods food and materials from Sodom and Gomorrah from among the citizens of Sodom they took away Lots with family and possessions then a Survivor who'd escaped from the invading forces on the other side of the Jordan came and told Abraham the Hebrew now he was living in the Terrapins Oaks of mambra the amorites brother of eskom and brother of Anna they were allies of Abraham when Abraham heard that his nephew lot had been captured he armed and let out his trained men born in his own house numbering 318 and went in Pursuit as far north as Dan he divided his forces against them by night he and his servants an attacked and defeated them and pursued them as far as hoba which is north of Damascus and he brought back all the goods and also brought back his nephew lots and his possessions and also the women and the people Genesis 14 13-16 Amplified Bible Abraham was greeted by the king of Sodom upon his return from Battle he refused to take anything from the King when he offered him goods Abraham refused any part of the loot because he would not allow anyone say that they made him rich he determines that God Alone should be credited for all of his success and wealth however from Melchizedek Abraham received Bread and Wine and a blessing from God most high creator of Heaven and Earth Genesis 14 18-22 Amplified Bible Melchizedek king of Salem ancient Jerusalem brought out bread and wineful he was the priest of God most high a Melchizedek blessed Abram and said blessed joyful favored be Abram by God most high Creator and possessor of Heaven and Earth and blessed praised and glorified be God most high who has given your enemies into your hands and Abram gave him a tenth of all the treasure he had taken in battle the king of Sodom said to Abraham give me the people and keep the goods Spoils of battle for yourself but Abram said to the king of Sodom I have raised my hand and sworn an oath to the Lord God most high the Creator and possessor of Heaven and Earth this man was king of Salem as we see in Psalm 76 2 where we read his Tabernacle is in Salem Jerusalem his dwelling place is in Zion we have no clue of where Melchizedek arrived from how he came to be in Canaan how he became to be a worshiper and priest of the true God and how Abraham came to know about him the only thing we know is that he was there Melchizedek was both a king and a priest which made him unique historically combining religious Authority with Civic Authority has often been dangerous God forbade the Kings of Israel to the priests and the priests to be Kings leprosy struck King uziah when he attempted to do the work of a priest in two Chronicles 26 16-23 the exemption was Melchizedek they opposed King Uzziah and said to him it is not for you as I are to turn incense to the Lord but for the priests the sons of Aaron who have been consecrated to burn incense get out of the sanctuary for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God 2 Chronicles 26 18. Melchizedek was God's most high priest El Elion signifies highest God like saying Supreme Being the priest Melchizedek worshiped God most high without being related to Abraham or any other known Convent people of God but he worshiped the true God Melchizedek served Abram Bread and Wine we read he was the priest of God most high Melchizedek as priest did two things he blessed Abraham and he blessed God Melchizedek showed that a priest must associate with God and man and have a Ministry to God a man despite looking obscure Melchizedek plays an important role in the Old Testament many have speculated he might have been Noah's son Seth or even an angel and some have even imagined he was an unfallen Adam sent to observe God's work of redemption we have no concrete biblical Foundation to confirm this the question cannot be said to be settled completely otherwise the identity of Melchizedek would have been agreed on by Bible scholars long ago Morris we can say with confidence that Melchizedek is a remarkable type or picture of Jesus we read and he gave him a tithe of all this referred to a tenth of his assets not his income there was almost a competition between Abraham and Melchizedek to see who could bless the other the most Abraham blessed Melchizedek out of his resources and Melchizedek blessed Abram out of his resources our community of Believers should have this attitude of mutual blessing it's also been suggested that Melchizedek was an angel who administered judgment others have equated Melchizedek with Shem the theories are all speculative however David writing about Melchizedek David composed a son about a millennium after Abraham describing his Lord as both King and priest in the first verse of this Psalm the Lord invited David's Lord to sit at his right hand in Royal splendor Psalms 1 10 4. the Lord has sworn an oath and will not change his mind you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek we read you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek he vowed that the Messiah had an eternal priesthood and that it was after the pattern order of Melchizedek melchized Inc wasn't just an everyday worshiper of the true God he held a respected position as the priest of the most high God a title that highlights his significance the Grandeur of God elevated The Prestige of melchized EX priesthood making him a noteworthy figure in history there is no mention of any father or mother of Melchizedek and he appeared without any genealogy we read you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek through this oath God showed that there is another kind of priest that is different from the priest of Aaron the priests of Israel were all from Aaron's family and they used to work in the Tabernacle later in the temple offering sacrifices and doing ceremonies according to God's rules here we see that God established another Priestly order after the pattern of Melchizedek this oath was so important that the offer of Hebrews refers to it five times his priesthood is not like that of Aaron figurative successive and transient but real and effectual fixed and incommunicable eternal and unchangeable horn one of the extraordinary features of the kingdom is that the Lord Jesus will combine and his person the jewel offices of King and priest this might be dangerous when regular leaders do it that's why people want to keep religion and government separate this is something that the world has wanted for a long time but has never known in verse 4 we learn four things concerning the priesthood of the Messiah he was made a priest by the oath of Jehovah disappointment was irrevocable his priesthood is eternal it is according to the order of Melchizedek the phrase according to the order of Melchizedek is interpreted for us in Hebrews 5 7.
there the priesthood of Melchizedek is compared and contrasted with the aaronic and levitical priesthood the priesthood of that mysterious personage macelsidik was by Sovereign appointment of God it was not inherited from his parents and there is no mention of his priesthood ever beginning or ending having neither beginning of days nor end of life in these and other ways the mikelzer deckham priesthood was Superior to that of Levi Mikhail zedek was a prototype of the Lord Jesus our Lord's priesthood was not a matter of parentage he was of the tribe of Judah not Levi his priesthood was established by The Sovereign Eternal decree of God and since he lives in the power of an endless life his priesthood will never end another way in which melchenzedek foreshadowed the Messiah is that he was both King and priest his name and title signify that he was king of righteousness and king of peace he was also priest of God most high the book of Hebrews and Melchizedek the writer of the Epistles to the Hebrew was the only author in the New Testament who sent forth the principles of Christ's priesthood Paul made one indirect connection to his priesthood Paul wrote that Christ is seated at God's right hand as king and is interceding for his people as priest the author of Hebrews by contrast devoted nearly his entire epistle to the priesthood of the son of God Christ purifies his people from their sins Hebrews 2 17. therefore it was essential that he had to be made like his brothers Mankind in every respect so that he might by experience become a powerful and faithful high priest in things related to God to make atonement propitiation for the people's sins thereby wiping away the sin satisfying Divine Justice and providing a way of reconciliation between God and Mankind he is designated by God as priest in the order of Melchizedek and became a priest in this order when God swore an oath Hebrews 6 20. where Jesus has entered in advance as a forerunner for us having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek Christ entered the most holy Place once for all in the presence of God and sat down at God's right hand when he had offered one sacrifice for sins once for all Hebrews 10 12.
whereas Christ having offered the one sacrifice the all-sufficient sacrifice of himself for sins for all time sat down signifying the completion of atonement for sin at the right hand of God the position of Honor in Hebrews 7 the writer emphasizes the superiority of the melchizedekian priesthood over levitical priesthood Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God most high which meant that he was a king of righteousness zetek and peace Salem in addition to ruling his King Melchizedek was a priest without genealogy Hebrews 7 Amplified Bible for this Melchizedek king of Salem priest of the most high God met Abraham as he returned from the slaughter of the Kings and blessed him and Abraham gave him a temp of all the spoil he is first of all by the translation of his name king of righteousness and then he is also king of Salem which means king of peace without any record of father or mother nor ancestral line without any record of beginning of days birth nor ending of Life death but having been made like the Son of God he remains a priest without interruption and without successor now pause and consider how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils it is true that those descendants of Levi who are charged with the Priestly office are commanded in the law to collect tithes from the people which means from their Kinsmen though they have descended from Abraham but this person Melchizedek who is not from their levitical ancestry received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who possessed the promise of God yet it is beyond all dispute that the Lesser person is always blessed by the greater one furthermore here in the laphatical priesthood tithes are received by men who are subject to death but in that case concerning Melchizedek they are received by one of whom it is testified that he lives on perpetually a person might even say that Levi the father of the Priestly tribe himself who received tithes paid tithes through Abraham the father of all Israel and of all who believe for Levi was still in the lines unborn of his forefather Abraham when Melchizedek met him Abraham now if Perfection a perfect Fellowship between God and the worshiper had been attained through the levitical priesthood for under it the people were given the law what further need was there for another and different kind of priest to arise one in the manner of Melchizedek rather than one appointed to the order of Aaron but when there is a change in the priesthood there is a necessity of a change in the law concerning the priesthood as well for the one of whom these things are sent belonged not to the Priestly line of Levi but to another tribe from which no one has officiated or served at the altar for it is evident that our Lord descended from the tribe of Judah and Moses mentioned nothing about priests in connection with that tribe and this becomes even more evident if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek who has become a priest not on the basis of physical and legal requirement in the law concerning his ancestry as a descendant of Levi but on the basis of the power of an indestructible and endless life for it is attested by God of him you Christ are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek for on the one hand a former commandment is canceled because of its weakness and uselessness because of its inability to justify The Sinner before God for the law never made anything perfect while on the other hand a better hope is introduced through which we are now continually drawn near to God and indeed it was not without the taking of an oath that Christ was made a priest for those Levites who formerly became priests received their offices without its being confirmed by The Taking of an oath but this one was designated with an oath through the one who said to him the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind or regret it you Christ are a priest forever and so because of the oath's greatest strength and force Jesus has become the certain guarantee of a better Covenant a more excellent and more advantageous agreement one that will never be replaced or annulled the former successive line of priests on the one hand existed in greater numbers because they were each prevented by Death from continuing perpetually in office but on the other hand Jesus holds his priesthood permanently and without change because he lives on forever therefore he is able also to save forever completely perfectly for eternity those who come to God through him since he always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf with God it was fitting for us to have such a high priest perfectly adapted to our needs holy blameless unstained by sin separated from Sinners and exalted higher than the heavens who has no day by day need like those High priests to offer sacrifices first of all for his own personal sins and then for those of the people because he met all the requirements and did this once for all when he offered up himself as a willing sacrifice for the law appoints men as high priests who are weak frail sinful dying men but the word of the oath of God which came after the institution of the law permanently appoints as priest Azan who has been made perfect forever the high priest Jesus is distinctive in the way he carries out his duties compared to the levitical priests he doesn't have to perform sacrifices on a daily basis because he did it once and for all he also doesn't have to make sacrifices for his own sins as he is without sin one of the most astounding ways in which he differs from the previous priests is that he willingly sacrificed himself for the sins of the people he offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice the grace of Jesus is truly unpaired and excellent the law sets out priests who are personally imperfect they are characterized by weakness and failure they're only ritually holy gonzoth given after the law appoints the son as a priest who has been perfected forever this oath was referred to in verse 21 of this chapter and quoted from Psalms 110 4.
