1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually. 4 Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. 5 And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. 6 But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. 7 But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. 8 In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. 9 And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
The writer of Hebrews comes back to Melchizedek to compare his priesthood with Christ’s. The first comparison is that they are priests of the Most High God. See 7:17. Melchizedek’s name is King of righteousness and is also known as King of Salem which means king of peace. These are titles that belong to solely to God. Third, Melchizedek in verse three is said to not have a father or mother, genealogy or beginning of days or end, but is like the Son of God and a priest in perpetuity. Melchizedek is a King and Priest.
The above descriptions indicate that Melchizedek is not a human being yet verse 4 says “Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils.” He has the appearance of a human. His name and title indicate a Theophany (an earthly appearance of God the Father) or a Christophany (an earthly appearance of Christ prior to His incarnation. Another characteristic of God seen in verse one is that Melchizedek met Abraham. God pursues humanity. Jesus states in John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” God pursued Moses, Joshua and all His servants. Here Melchizedek met Abraham after the battle of the Kings and blessed him.
Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe of the spoils. What Abraham gave was of the best. Abraham did not take any spoils that belonged to the King of Sodom because he would not allow the king of Sodom to proclaim that he had enriched Abraham. Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek. Something needs to made clear. A gift, offering, or tithe are given to God as a recognition of His sovereignty and blessing over your life.
You are not giving an offering, gift, or tithe to a “church,” “ministry” or “pastor.” Each does benefit from what is given, but it is first and foremost given to God. Your giving recognizes His ownership of your life. He is the Master, and you are the servant. It is God who gives you the ability to make wealth. When Melchizedek met Abraham “He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all. Genesis 14:19–20 (NASB95)
Abraham is giving to the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace. God is worthy of worship. Further Melchizedek is identified as not having a father, mother, genealogy that can be traced, a beginning or end. To be in the Levitical priesthood, one had to trace their genealogy back through Aaron and to Levi. If they were not able to, it disqualified the individual from being considered a priest. We are told he (Melchizedek) is like the Son of God and “remains a priest perpetually. That means he is alive even now. Therefore, I hold that Jesus and Melchizedek are one and the same based upon his perpetual priesthood, and his names being king of righteousness and king of peace. I see him as a Christophany.
In Genesis chapters 12 through 18 God appears to Abraham. In Chapter 12 God tells Abram (his name before God changed it to Abraham) to leave where he was a go to the land He would show him. In Chapter 13 God appears again and tells Abram to walk the length and width of the land that God is giving him. Abram moved his tent to the oaks of Mamre which is near Hebron. Chapter 14 is the War of the Kings where Abram fought and after the victory, he meets Melchizedek. In Chapter 15 God speaks to Abram and promises him a son. Abram questions God since he and his wife are well beyond the age of childbearing and rearing. God takes him out into the night sky and tells him if he can count the stars that will be his descendants. Chapter 16 is the conflict between Sarah and Hagar and the birth of Ishmael.
In Chapter 17 there is a 13-year gap between Chapter 16 and 17. Ishmael is 12 or 13 years old, and God promises that Abraham will have a son by Sarah, and he will be named Isaac. God changes his name from Abram to Abraham and establishes the covenant of circumcision. He also changes Sarai’s name to Sarah. Abraham literally falls on his face and laughs being 99 years old and is promised a son. It is God who names Isaac, which means laughter, as a reminder to Abraham and Sarah that nothing is too difficult for God. In Chapter 18 the Lord appears again to Abraham where he lives by the oaks of Mamre. In the afternoon “three men” appeared. Two were angels who were going to Sodom to destroy it along with Gomorrah. One was a Theophany. Abraham had a feast prepared for the three visitors and while it was being prepared God spoke to Abraham telling him that at this time next year He would return, and Sarah would have a son. Sarah is in the tent laughing to herself and God questions Abraham why Sarah laughed. She was afraid and denied it, but God said “No, you did laugh.”
The chapter continues with a discussion between God and Abraham regarding the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleads with God not to destroy the cities because his nephew Lot and his family live in Sodom. God promises that He will not destroy the cities if ten righteous people live there. My point in this excursus is to show that the Bible uses anthropomorphic language at times to describe heavenly beings and uses the terms “man” or “men” to describe them as they interact with God’s people.
What did Melchizedek do? He blessed Abraham and he blessed God who delivered Abraham’s enemies into his hand. The greater, Melchizedek, blessed the lesser, Abraham. The lesser gave an offering to the greater, even though the lesser, Abraham, is the recipient of God’s promises.
In the Law that would come many years later, the priesthood was to collect a tithe from the people who were ministered to. The writer of Hebrews states in verse 8, “In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.” Even though the Levitical priesthood is nearly 500 years down the road, the writer indicates that Levi who “received tithes paid tithes for he was in the loins of his father.” All of this to say that the priesthood of Jesus is superior to the Aaronic/Levitical priesthood because “the order of Melchizedek” is superior to the order of Levi because Melchizedek and Christ’s priesthood is forever and has no end.
Do not put your trust in a religion or denomination. Your trust must be in a relationship between you and God because of Jesus’ priesthood. He offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sin.
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