Melchisedec

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Hi P____,

Thank you for your very encouraging words. I am most encouraged to know that you are learning from what you are reading or hearing on iswasandwillbe. com.
You ask:

No, Melchisedec was not a high priest as Christ is, nevertheless Christ’s priesthood was “after the order of Melchisedec”, and there were several things about the priesthood of Melchisedec which are instructive of the priesthood of Christ. The first thing we need to see is who this man is. So let’s look at what is written:

Gen 14:14  And when Abram heard that his brother [ Abraham’s nephew, Lot] was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Gen 14:15  And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
Gen 14:16  And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
Gen 14:17  And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
Gen 14:18  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:19  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Gen 14:20  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Gen 14:21  And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Gen 14:22  And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
Gen 14:23  That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Gen 14:24  Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

It was Melchizedec, king of Salem, who blessed Abram, and it was to Melchizedec that Abraham tithed of the spoils of this war. Paul makes note of this in the book of Hebrews:

Heb 7:7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.

So Melchizedec, as “priest of the most high God”, is said to be “better” than Abraham. Paul goes on to point out:

Heb 7:4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

So Abraham tithed the spoils of Sodom and the kings he had slaughtered to Melchizedec the king of Salem.
But where was “Salem”, and who is this Melchizedec? ‘Salem’ means ‘peace’, and the name ‘Jerusalem’ means ‘city of peace’. So it is not that much of a stretch to see that Melchizedec was the king of Jerusalem in the time of Abram before Israel became a nation and before Abram had yet become Abraham.
In fact it is interesting to note that over 500 years later, when Joshua conquers Jerusalem, we find that the ‘Zedecs’ are still ruling in the city of Salem, now known as Jerusalem.

Jos 10:1 Now it came to pass, when Adoni zedek king of Jeru salem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;

Here is Strong’s entry for the name Melchizedek:
H4442
malki y- tsedeq
mal- kee- tseh’- dek
From H4428 and H6664; king of right; Malki- Tsedek, an early king in Palestine: – Melchizedek.

The ‘mal- kee’ part of this name, Strong’s number 4482, simply means ‘king’, and the tseh’- dek’, Strong’s number 6664 simply means ‘right’ or ‘righteousness’. So the ‘king of righteousness’ is also, by title, the ‘king of Salem’ or the king of the city of peace, Jerusalem.

Heb 7:2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

But as Strong’s notes, Melchizedec was simply “an early king in Palestine” who also happened to be “the priest of the most high God”. But so was Moses’ father- in- law, a priest of God.

Exo 18:1  When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, [ and] that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
Exo 18:12  And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God.

But Jethro, Moses’ father- in- law, had never met Abram and certainly had not received tithes from Abram, so Moses’ father- in- law, the priest of Midian, could not be used as the type of Christ as Melchizedek is used. Both were “priests of the most high God”, but it was Melchisedec who was the king of Salem and who received tithes of Abraham. Paul likens Christ’s priesthood to Melchizedek’s priesthood for these two reasons. 1) Melchisedec received tithes of, and blessed Abraham, “the less was blessed of the better”, and 2) Melchisedec’s genealogy is not preserved for us, as was required of all the priests who are of Aaron’s priesthood. That is the meaning of these verses:

Heb 7:3  Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

We are not being told that Melchisedec is still alive today. What we are being told is that the fact that none of this information is available concerning Melchisedec is a type of the fact that Christ existed before His physical birth, death and resurrection to a spiritual body to become our high priest “after the order of Melchisedec.”
We know nothing about this man except that he was the priest of the most high God, who ruled over the city of peace. We do not know when his days began or when he died. We are not given the names of his father or his mother, and so “the king of Salem (peace) is used as an Old Testament type of Christ, just as Abraham himself is called “the Father of the faithful” which is also really a reference to Christ, who is really our spiritual Father and the true Father of our faith:

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

I hope this is all of some edification to help you see who Melchisedec is. I hope you can now see that, like Abraham and Kings David and Solomon, Melchisedec is simply an Old Testament type and shadow of our Lord as our high priest, even though He was not of Aaron).

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

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