No 4
“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest
of the most high God”(Gen 14:18). He is another one of my
favourite biblical characters. His
appearance in Scripture is very short but has implications into eternity; his
name means “king of righteousness”.
In the above verse, he comes to meet Abraham who had just fought a
battle with some kings and had rescued his nephew, Lot. This is the only time that
Melchizedek plays an active role in Scripture.
The amazing thing about Melchizedek is that he is just like us; a king
and a priest. Nowhere else in Scripture
is this combination allowed. Someone could be king and prophet (David) or
priest and prophet (Ezekiel) but never priest and king; two kings tried and
they were both severely punished – King Saul (1 Sam 13: 9-14) and King Uzziah
(2 Chron 26: 16-21). But let’s get back
to how Melchizedek resembles us as Christians.
There are 2 verses in the New Testament that affirm our kingship and
priesthood – 1 Peter 2: 9
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” and
Revelation 1:6 “And hath made
us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen”.
Jesus is compared to Melchizedek in Hebrews 6:20 – “Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek”. He has no father, no mother, no descendants, no beginning, no end (Heb 7:2); I am anxious
to meet him! He is also mentioned in the
Psalm 110:4 – “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent,
Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek”. David, here, is giving a description of how
the Messiah will reign over Israel forever; just like Melchizedek, He is eternal.