- [Narrator] Melchizedek is one of the most
intriguing characters the Bible says very little about.
He's only mentioned in three books of the Bible.
He is briefly introduced in Genesis 14.
He is introduced by way of Abram.
God had told Abram to leave his country and kindred
and go to a land he would show him.
Promising to make him a great nation, bless him,
make his name great,
bless those who bless him,
and curse those who may curse him.
Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran
with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot,
and the wealth and souls they had amassed,
and traveled to Shechem and Canaan.
Then he pitched his tent to the east of Bethel.
Because of the massive increase
in both Abram and Lot's animals,
the pair decided it was best to separate.
After the separation, Lot relocated to Sodom.
It wasn't long before Lot's location got him into trouble.
Lot was caught in the crossfire
between five Canaanite kings and four Kings from the east.
During their conquest of the five Canaanite kings,
the eastern armies took spoils from the region,
including Lot and his family.
Word reached Abram that Lot had been captured
so he assembled his 318 trained men
to go get his nephew back.
With them, Abram pursued the armies all the way to Hobah,
north of Damascus.
And indeed he brought back his relative Lot and his goods
as well as the women and other people.
Abram's daring military venture
liberated far more than Lot and his family.
It is here that Abram meets Melchizedek,
king of Salem and a priest to God Most High.
Genesis 14:18-20,
"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine,
and he was the priest of the Most High God.
And he blessed him, and said,
'Blessed be Abram of the Most High God,
possessor of heaven and earth,
and blessed be the Most High God
which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.'
And he gave him tithes of all."
Melchizedek means king of righteousness
and Salem means peace.
The city of Jerusalem, for example, means city of peace.
As a result, this person is also known as the king of peace.
The unusual thing about him
is that he is both a king and a priest.
Kings rule over the people,
while priests serve as a conduit between the people and God.
No Jew has ever held both offices.
Melchizedek is mentioned in the Bible
to explain Jesus's position to Christ's followers.
Melchizedek is described in Genesis 14
as the king of Salem, later Jerusalem,
and a priest of the Most High God.
Abram recognized Melchizedek's priesthood
by tithing his battle spoils, Genesis 14:16.
Surprisingly, this incident occurred
prior to the establishment of the Aaronic line,
part of the Levitical priesthood,
which was to mediate between God and man
under the Mosaic law.
Melchizedek was not a priest of Israel
because that nation did not yet exist.
Abraham had no children.
The Levites would not become a priestly tribe
for another four centuries.
The king priest also offered bread and wine,
both of which were used in remembrance of Christ.
This is why the author of Hebrews says Jesus was a priest
and a king in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:1-7.
"For every high priest taken from among men is ordained
for men and things pertaining to God,
that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins,
who can have compassion on the ignorant,
and on them that are out of the way,
for that he himself is also compassed with infirmity.
And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people,
so also for himself, to offer for sins.
And no man taketh this honor unto himself,
but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
So also Christ is glorified
not himself to be made a high priest,
but he that said unto him,
'Thou art my Son.
Today I have begotten thee.'
As he saith also in another place,
'Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,'
who in the days of his flesh,
when he had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears
unto him that was able to save him from death,
and was heard in that he feared."
Jesus is the true and eternal king
of righteousness and peace
and he is the great high priest who bridged the gap
between God and humanity.
Melchizedek is a type of the Son of God.
In a Messianic Psalm, Psalm 110:4,
David addresses the order of Melchizedek specifically
after describing the victory and glory of the Messiah.
David says, "The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind.
You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek."
Psalm 110:4.
In Hebrews 7:17, the author of Hebrews refers to Christ
and quotes this verse.
So Genesis provides context for Melchizedek's identity.
Psalm 110 connects Melchizedek to the Messiah.
And Hebrews chapters five, six, and seven
describe Jesus' supremacy as the great high priest
using Melchizedek's role as an illustration
of Jesus' priesthood and kingship.
Hebrews 7, "This Melchizedek was a king of Salem
and a priest of God Most High.
He met Abraham returning from the defeat
of the kings and blessed him,
and Abraham gave him a 10th of everything.
First, the name Melchizedek means king of righteousness,
then also king of Salem means king of peace.
Without father or mother,
without genealogy,
without beginning of days or end of life,
resembling the son of God, he remains a priest forever.
Just think how great he was.
Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a 10th of the plunder.
Now the law requires the descendants of Levi
who become priests to collect a 10th from the people,
that is from their fellow Israelites,
even though they also are descended from Abraham.
This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi,
yet he collected a 10th from Abraham
and blessed him who had the promises.
And without doubt, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
In the one case, the 10th is collected by people who die
but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living.
One might even say that Levi, who collects the 10th,
paid the 10th through Abraham,
because when Melchizedek met Abraham,
Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.
If perfection could have been attained
through the Levitical priesthood
and indeed the law given to the people
established that priesthood,
why was there still need for another priest to come,
one in the order of Melchizedek,
not in the order of Aaron?
For when the priesthood is changed,
the law must be changed also.
He of whom these things are said
belong to a different tribe
and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.
For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah,
and in regard to that tribe,
Moses said nothing about priests.
And what we have said is even more clear
if another priest like Melchizedek appears,
one who has become a priest
not on the basis of regulation as to his ancestry,
but on the basis of the power of the indestructible life.
For it is declared,
'You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.'
The former regulation is set aside
because it was weak and useless,
for the law made nothing perfect,
and a better hope is introduced
by which we draw near to God.
And it was not without an oath.
Others became priests without any oath
but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him,
'The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.
You are a priest forever.'
Because of this oath,
Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
Now there have been many of those priests
since death prevented them from continuing in office,
but because Jesus lives forever,
he has a permanent priesthood.
Therefore he is able to save completely
those who come to God through him
because he always lives to intercede for them.
Such a high priest truly meets our need,
one who is holy, blameless, pure,
set apart from sinners,
exalted above the heavens.
Unlike the other high priests,
he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day,
first for his own sins,
and then for the sins of the people.
He sacrificed for their sins once for all
when he offered himself.
For the law points as high priests
men in all their weaknesses,
but the oath, which came after the law,
appointed the son who has been made perfect forever.
Without father or mother, without genealogy,
without beginning of days or end of life,
resembling the son of God, he remains a priest forever."
In other words, Melchizedek appears in history
with no record of a genealogy or ancestral line,
no record of his birth,
and no record of his death.
The point is that Melchizedek
appears to transcend earthly existence.
This makes him a type of Christ
who truly transcends earthly existence
as the eternal king priest with no predecessor
or successor in his high office.
One implication of Jesus' priesthood
in the order of Melchizedek
is that the Mosaic law was insufficient to save.
"If perfection could've been attained
through the Levitical priesthood
and indeed the law given to the people
established that priesthood,
why was there still need for another priest to come,
one in the order of Melchizedek, not on the order of Aaron?
For when the priesthood is changed,
the law must be changed also."
Hebrews 7:11-12.
Not only is Jesus the compassionate high priest,
Hebrews 14:14-16,
but he is the king as well, Revelation 19:16.
Jesus will physically reign as king in Jerusalem,
Psalm 110:2,
and his kingship will be everlasting, 2 Samuel 7:13.
Much like Melchizedek was both priest and king,
Jesus is also both priest and king.
He is the eternal mediator between God and man
and the final authority as reigning king,
soon to return and establish his physical kingdom
in the same city where Melchizedek was from, Jerusalem.
The point is that Melchizedek is a prototype of Jesus,
the true king of righteousness and peace.
As the divine Son of God, He had no beginning of days.
And as the resurrected Lord, He has no end.
Like Melchizedek, Jesus is both a priest and a king.
Such a dual role was unheard of in Israel
where the offices of priest and king
were intentionally distinct.
The Levitical priests didn't rule
and the king didn't perform priestly duties.
Nevertheless, resembling the Son of God,
Melchizedek is an Old Testament illustration
of what Jesus Christ would be like.
Jesus has a unique priesthood that
like the priesthood of Melchizedek, brings blessing
and renews the spiritual strength of His people
with the bread and wine of communion
so that we can live in spiritual victory.
Not only is Jesus different from the Levitical priests,
since He's both priest and king,
but He's also superior to them.
How so?
Because He's a priest like Melchizedek.
The author draws attention to the fact
that Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek.
The Levites also collected tithes.
They received them from the people of Israel,
Abraham's descendants.
But without a doubt,
the inferior is blessed by the superior.
In other words, as great as Abraham was
as the father of Israel,
he was inferior to Melchizedek
because Melchizedek blessed him.
Abraham acknowledged his submission to Melchizedek
and expressed his gratitude by giving him a tithe.
And notice this,
he didn't tithe to get a blessing,
he tithed out of thankfulness for the blessing he received.
The Bible also tells the story
of a blessed woman called Esther.
To watch the story of Esther, click here.