Title: Melchizedek and Christ
(38) Melchizedek and Christ
(Hebrews 7:1-10)
Melchizedek is a very important figure prepared by God in Genesis for the priesthood of Christ. This Melchizedek appears like a shadow in Genesis 14 and then disappears like the wind. Strangely, in Psalm 110:4, a prophecy associated with Christ's office as high priest appears once, and it is a mysterious figure related to Christ's priesthood in Hebrews. appeared to surprise us.
1. Melchizedek in Genesis
In Genesis 14, we see that Chedorla Omer, king of Elam, was enraged at the betrayal of his neighboring countries, and waged war against Sodom and Gomorrah and neighboring countries. As they fought in the Valley of Siddim, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated by him, and the soldiers fell into a pit of bitumen and the kings barely escaped. The king of Elam entered the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, plundered all their possessions, and took the inhabitants captive. Lot, Abraham's nephew, who was living in the city at that time, and his family were also taken captive.
When Abraham heard the news of Lot, he took the 318 warriors he had brought up from his house and followed him at once, and attacked the king of Elam. Abraham, who won this surprise battle, was able to take Lot, his nephew, and all the people and possessions that had been taken captive by them. When Abraham returned from this battle, the king of Sodom himself came to meet him, and Melchizedek king of Salem came out with bread and wine to meet him. At this time, the name Melchizedek appears for the first time in the Bible, and at this place Melchizedek blessed Abraham. His blessing was, “Most High God, Lord of heaven and earth, bless Abraham. Praise be to the Most High God, who has delivered your enemies into your hands.”
2. The status of Melchizedek
According to Melchizedek's status, he was said to be the king of Salem. The word Salem means peace. It is not known where this place is, but it is a city set in present-day Jerusalem and probably was in that area. He was the king of Salem at that time and was known to Abraham, and he must have known Abraham already. If Abraham had never known him, there would have been no reason to give a tenth of his plunder to a stranger, and he would not have received a blessing from Melchizedek.
If we translate his name, Melgi means king, Sedak means righteousness, and Melchizedek means king of righteousness. Regarding his status, the Bible says that he was the king of Salem and that he was a priest of the Most High God. In Hebrews 7, Melchizedek is listed as being higher than Abraham, and it explains that he blessed Abraham and received the 11th line from Abraham.
Melchizedek is a character that must appear in the Bible to explain Jesus' priesthood and kingship. Without this man, there would be no way for Jesus to prove his office as priest and king because there is no biblical proof of his priesthood. If Jesus became the sin offering for his people, that sacrifice must be offered to God. However, according to the law, the person who was to offer the sin offering was the high priest.
If Melchizedek did not appear in the Bible, there would be no way to explain Christ's sin offering and priesthood. Then, why does Melchizedek appear here to testify that Jesus will become a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not Levi? Melchizedek was neither a Levite nor a descendant of Aaron. Aaron and Levi are people who were born into the world many years after Abraham met Melchizedek. Then, we can see that the office of priest is not necessarily limited to the descendants of the tribe of Levi, because Melchizedek had the office of priest before they existed.
Moreover, a priest could not be king at the same time. But Melchizedek was king and priest of Salem. Therefore, Jesus, who became a priest after the class of Melchizedek, can be both a king and a priest at the same time like Melchizedek.
Conclusion: God had already introduced Melchizedek in Genesis before the legal high priest was created in order to establish the legal basis for the office of Christ as king and priest. The Jesus we serve is our King and our High Priest. Jesus' status like this never changes, just like Melchizedek. We should come close to Jesus, our King and our priest, and plead with him and ask for his help.