Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
Gen 14:18-20 NKJV
Melchizedek. He is one of the least known, but most important figures in the ancient Hebrew Scriptures. His name only appears twice in the Old Testament. Once in the fairly obscure passage above, and once in the Psalms (we’ll get to it a little later). So why would I consider him as one of the most important figures in Scripture? Well, let’s explore a little.
Most students of Scripture recognize the importance of Abraham to the Jewish faith. Abram (his original name) was called out of a land called Ur by God Himself. He was led to a land that he would sojourn for many years, as a preview of the inheritance that his descendants would ultimately receive. Abram and his wife were childless for a century, and then given the blessing of a son, Isaac, through whom the entire world would ultimately be blessed. Abraham was the father, then, of Isaac, who became the father of Jacob, who became the father of the Jewish race. Out of Jacob (also named Israel, by Christ Himself), came the twelve tribes of Israel – the Jewish people.
…Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then [God] said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
Gen 15:12-15 NKJV
You might recognize this passage as a prophecy that God gave to Abraham regarding his offspring – the Jews. They would find themselves in the land of Egypt for 400 years, and God would ultimately bring them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. You may also recall that God rescued His people from Egypt through a series of miraculous plagues, which proved His sovereignty over the world and its rulers.
But before we go there, it is worth mentioning Joseph, who was sold into slavery in Egypt, yet through God’s providence rose to become the second highest official in Egypt; second only to Pharaoh himself. It was Joseph who God used to save the known world from starvation through severe famine. This salvation included Joseph’s brothers, the Jews. But over time, the Jews fell into disfavor with the king of Egypt, and were taken into harsh slavery. The Jews cried out to God, and Scripture tells us that He heard their cries. He raised up a strong leader named Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. And having brought the people out of Egypt, God appointed a specific tribe to hold the priesthood: the tribe of Levi.
“Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest , Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
Ex 28:1-2 NKJV
With these words, God bequeathed the holy Jewish priesthood to the lineage of Levi.
So we have Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the Patriarchs; we have Joseph, used by God to save the world and his people, the Jews. We have Moses, the deliverer and giver of the Law, and finally we have Aaron, through whom the Levitical Priesthood was bestowed. Mighty men of God. And yet Melchizedek was greater.
So, who exactly was this Melchizedek, and why does he enjoy a place of prestige within the pages of Scripture? Let’s go back and read the first passage:
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
Gen 14:18-20 NKJV
Melchizedek is a compound name. Let’s examine it:
Melchi (Melek) comes from a root word malak, a primitive root – to reign; inceptively, to ascend the throne; causatively, to induct into royalty.
zedek (Tsedek) comes from the root tsadaq; to be (causatively, make) right (in a moral or forensic sense) – that is to be righteous.
(Definitions taken from Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
So the name Melchizedek means “King of Righteousness”. And did you notice where he reigned? He was the “king of Salem”.
Salem comes from Shalem, which means “peaceful”. So Melchizedek, king of Salem, literally means “King of Righteousness, King of Peace”!
“So,” you say, “That’s interesting, but is that it?” Well, no. We’ll come back to the primary passage later. But let’s see what God has to say about Melchizedek later in the Scripture.
The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Ps 110:1-4 NKJV
Psalm 110 is an example of a Messianic psalm. A Messianic psalm is simply one that records prophecies of the coming Messiah. Notice the spelling of the word LORD? This signifies the sacred name of God (Yhvh). So we know that it is God that is being quoted. But who is He speaking to? Well, by context, it certainly appears to be the Messiah. He shall sit at God’s right hand. His enemies will be made His footstool. He will rule with a rod of iron. This is clearly speaking of the Messiah. But we really don’t need to guess. Let’s look at Jesus’ own words:
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 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 then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”‘?
If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
Matt 22:41-46 NKJV
Did you notice that Jesus called the subject “the Christ”? Look carefully –
“What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
And then again:
“How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The LORD said to my Lord…’”
By extension, Jesus is calling “the Lord” the Christ. But we know that Jesus was Himself the Christ. So in essence, Jesus was saying that David was writing about Jesus Himself! The LORD (God) said to my Lord (Jesus)… Now, let’s look at the rest of the passage from Psalm 110:
The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”…
The LORD has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Ps 110:1 and 4 NKJV (italics added for emphasis)
Do you see it? God is speaking to Jesus, telling Him what He is going to do. Then He bestows on Jesus a very special title – He will be a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Not according to the order of Levi (the Levitical priesthood), but according to the order of Melchizedek. Ok, so Jesus is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. What does that mean?
Let’s go back and look at the original passage again…
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
Gen 14:18-20 NKJV
We have already seen how Melchizedek is the King of Righteousness, and King of Peace. And from the passage, we know that he is a priest of the God Most High. But now let’s look at what He does… Do you remember that we introduced Abraham as the ultimate patriarch of God’s people? He was the one that God called out from among his people and blessed with the promised covenant. He was the most revered patriarch of the Jewish faith. But notice what is happening in the passage: Melchizedek blesses Abraham and gives him bread and wine! And did you notice the blessing? “Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hands.” Then, Abraham responds in a very interesting way – he gives Melchizedek a tithe – an offering! In spiritual matters, it is a truism that the greater always blesses the lesser, and the lesser offers homage to the greater. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and presented him with bread and wine. Does this remind you of something? Let’s take a look:
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
Matt 26:26-29 NKJV
In giving bread and wine to Abraham, Melchizedek, King of Righteousness, King of Peace and Priest of the Most High God was enacting a sacred rite that would ultimately be fulfilled by Jesus Himself! And as the predecessor of Jesus, Melchizedek gave a gift (representing eternal life) to the representative of God’s people, blessed him, saying that God had given his enemies into his hands, and received homage from Abraham, patriarch of God’s people. Melchizedek was indeed one of the greatest figures of the Jewish Scriptures. Could it be that he was actually Christ Himself?
… in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 8:37-39 NKJV
And now that you have walked this path with me, I invite you to read Hebrews, chapters 6 through 10. The writer of Hebrews takes what we just went through and expands on it in such a way as to give us a glimpse into Heaven’s throne room! What a joy it is to walk through the ancient Scriptures and see how they come to life in the life of Christ!
By the way… you may be interested to know that Melchizedek was the king of a city that you know well. That ancient city of Salem? You know it as Jerusalem. Selah.
God bless you in your study!
YouJi