What About Melchizedek?
We talked briefly about Melchizedek at church recently and I encouraged everyone to do a little more research on who he was. The way Melchizedek suddenly appears in the book of Genesis is quite fascinating and has caused a lot of discussion over the years. He is only mentioned in three books of the Bible: Genesis, Psalms and Hebrews.
Melchizedek was a King and a priest. A picture of the royal priesthood. He was a king of Salem (Jerusalem) whose name means “king of righteousness,”. He is also introduced to us in the Bible as a “priest of God Most High” in Genesis 14:18.
Melchizedek and Abraham meet after Abraham’s defeat of Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him. Abraham presented Melchizedek with a tenth (a tithe) of all the items he had gathered after the battle. This action demonstrated that Abraham recognized Melchizedek as a priest who deserved special honor.
Some people say Melchizedek is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, or a Christophany. This is a possible theory, given that Abraham had received such a visit before.
Genesis 17:1 (NIV)
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.
Genesis 18:1-2 (NIV)
1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
In Psalm 110, which is a messianic psalm, Melchizedek is presented as a type of Christ. This idea is repeated in Hebrews, where both Melchizedek and Christ are considered kings of righteousness and peace. The writer of Hebrews also says that Melchizedek was “without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” We are left to ponder whether the writer of Hebrews means this literally or figuratively.
Are Melchizedek and Jesus the same person? Or was Melchizedek just a guy who worshipped God. You could make a pretty good case either way. At the very least, Melchizedek is a type of Christ who prefigured the ministry of Jesus. On the other hand, it might be that Abraham actually met and gave honor to the Lord Jesus Himself.
I love digging into the Bible. I hope you do as well!
