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1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. ~ Hebrews 7:1-3
Today, we transition into Hebrews 7 where the writer of Hebrews continues his explanation of how the Lord Jesus' priesthood is greater than those of the Old Testament. This chapter is the main chapter in the epistle to the Hebrews, because it tackles the one question that concerned the Jews most, and that was the question of the priesthood.
In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means 'king of righteousness'; then also, 'king of Salem' means 'king of peace.'"
An Old Testament type is a picture of the person and work of Christ. For example, in the Old Testament we read about a brazen serpent being lifted up, and all who looked upon it were healed from their snake bites. And then we are told in John 3 that the serpent was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In John 3:14-15 we read, "14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him."
Melchizedek, as you will remember, was an Old Testament type of Christ. He met Abraham in Genesis 14 and gave to him bread and wine which are the symbols used during the observance of the Lord's Supper. Abraham, in turn, gave tithes of everything he possessed to Melchizedek. The Old Testament tithe was always the mark of ownership. To pay a tenth is to indicate that God owns it all. In symbol, therefore, Abraham was saying to Melchizedek, "The One whom you depict has the right of ownership over everything in my life."
One of the goals of the writer of this letter to the Hebrews was to prove that there’s a greater priest than any Hebrew Old Testament priest, one who doesn’t need to make atonement for His own sins. And the problem with the Jewish priesthood was that it was so inadequate. They had to do it over and over again. There was never any final satisfaction. Every time someone sinned, he had to make another sacrifice. The priest's work was never complete.
So, the Holy Spirit, in the book of Hebrews, shows that what we need is a new and better priesthood, a new and better sacrifice, and points out that both of those are realized in the Lord Jesus Christ who Himself was a better sacrifice and a better priest. Melchizedek, the King-Priest of Salem, is foundational for understanding how Jesus occupies the dual offices of king and priest.
Four times in today's passage, we are told Melchizedek was king. Four times in two verses, it tells us this man was a king and a priest. This was totally foreign to the Levitical priests in Israel. There was never that combination. Israel’s priests were never king and priest. That was unknown in Israel. No priest was royal. But, this is the point! The Lord Jesus Christ is both priest and king so that He not only takes men to God, but He rules men for God. Here we have justification and sanctification.
In Zechariah 6:13 we read, "It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two."
So many years before the Lord Jesus came to earth, Zechariah clearly prophesied Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ would come as a priest who would sit on His throne, a royal priesthood.
In v.3 of today's passage we read, "Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever."
There is no mention made of Melchizedek's ancestry in the Old Testament. That is strange given how often genealogies show up in the Old Testament. The absence of a genealogy for Melchizedek causes us to consider just who this one was. And, since the Lord Jesus often in the Old Testament reveals Himself ever so slightly, it makes sense that Melchizedek was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the very heart of Judaism was the priesthood. Man had to have a go between he and God. And, as pictured in the Old Testament priest, Melchizedek, the Lord Jesus is man's eternal high priest.
Since, the Lord Jesus is eternal and He is our high priest, we are never out of His presence. And, as a result, having believed in Him as our Savior, we are never shut off from His resources. We are never separated from His wisdom, His peace, or His truth. This is what it means for the Lord Jesus to be in the order of Melchizedek. His priesthood is complete and satisfying.
All we know about Melchizedek comes out of three verses in Genesis 14. But the whole place that Melchizedek occupies in sacred history is one of the most remarkable proofs of inspiration and the unity of the Scripture as written by the divine Spirit. The whole concept of Melchizedek is an amazing insight into the fact that God wrote the Bible.
For example, in the book of Genesis, we have these three little verses about Melchizedek. A thousand years later, we find a Psalm with just a single verse about Melchizedek. And in that, God Himself swears to His Son that he will be a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. That’s Psalm 110:4.
Another thousand years passes by, and another verse becomes the seed of this wonderful exposition about Melchizedek. And you know you can see nothing less than the divine order of the mind of the Spirit, guiding Melchizedek and guiding Abraham with a view through all of these thousands of years to coming up to a perfect picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Melchizedek and Abraham had no idea what was going to happen 2,000 years at least after them. The psalmist had no idea, and yet God knew exactly what He was doing with the person of Melchizedek. All of this screams the very same God that wrote the book of Hebrews also wrote the book of Genesis.
