Chapter 14 in the book of Genesis reads out of a medieval story with struggles and warfare between neighboring kingdoms. Shinny knights in their full armor are off to battle for glory and honor. Yet, the story in Genesis introduces the reader to a very important character whose life is associated with our Lord and Savior. This month we will introduce Melchizedek, and for March we will show his importance in the Christian life.
After the death of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, the kings of Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar fled unto the hill country carrying away the goods from the kings of Sodom and Gommorrah, for they feared being killed or captured by King Chedorlaomer of Elam and his allies. Along with the goods of Sodom was Lot, Abram’s nephew who was taken as a prisoner. When the news of Lot’s capture reached Abram’s ear, he took with him 318 men, and during the night, Abram slaughtered Lot’s captors and returned with the goods that were taken from the king of Sodom. Along his way to the Valley of the Kings to meet with the king of Sodom, Abram met a mysterious man who was clothed in royalty but held the role of a priest. This mystery man greeted Abram and his men with food and wine, then he blessed Abram and disappeared. Just as quickly as Melchizedek arrived in the book of Genesis, he disappeared with only a trace of who he was and of his importance for the coming Messiah.
Throughout the Old Testament, the name Melchizedek appears only twice, in Genesis 14 and also in Psalm 110. In Psalm 110, the soon coming Messiah was to be a priest, not in the order of Aaron, but in the order of Melchizedek. With this in mind, several questions seem to appear to a person reading the book of Hebrews, for instance, who was this Melchizedek and why was he so important? The latter question will be discussed next month, but the importance here is discovering who this man, Melchizedek, is.
Genesis 14:18 says, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.” Melchizedek in Hebrew means “king of righteousness” or “king of justice.” Another interpretation of the name of Melchizedek is “my king is righteous” He was the king of Salem and the priest of the God Most High. The great nineteenth century preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote, “he is priest of the Most High God, and he is like the Most High God, for the Lord Jehovah Himself is, first, King of righteousness, and after that also King of peace.”
The importance of this man is threefold: his name, his kingdom and his job. In the Old Testament, a person’s name symbolized a characteristic about that person. For instance, Jacob means deceiver and you can see that in how he deceived his father as pretending to be Esau and receiving the favored blessing. You see this also with Jesus Christ where Jesus means salvation and Christ means “the sent One.”
In viewing Melchizedek’s name we see his character: king of righteousness. That is his essence; who he really is. What is important about this man is that he is right in the sight of the Lord.
A second characteristic about Melchizedek is his kingdom. Salem means peace. Jerusalem means the city of peace, although it does not live up to its name. However, Melchizedek’s kingdom is one of peace, not violence or hatred. The kingdom can live up to its name only if the king has the power and authority to keep the peace. This is the overall importance of Melchizedek, because he is a type of the Messiah.
A type is simply a person or a thing (like the tabernacle) that portrays characteristics or functions that point to, as in this case, the Messiah. Jesus is the King of Righteousness in that He who knew no sin became our sin so that we might be children of God (2 Cor. 5:21).
Christ’s kingdom will be one of peace for He has all authority over the earth and He sits at the right hand of the Most High God. There will come a time where man will turn his sword into a plowshares for there will be no more violence nor hatred towards one another (Isa. 2:4). Melchizedek is the perfect type describing the character, kingdom and function of Jesus Christ.