Mysterious Mr. Melchizedek.

Psalm 110:4

  The Lord has sworn
     and will not change his mind:
    “You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

Who is this mysterious Mr. Melchizedek?

We need to take a hard look at the Old Testament to learn more. The land of Canaan was occupied by lots of small tribal groups. One of these tribes was the Jebusites, who most likely were descended from Ham (one of Noah’s sons). Historians tell us that the tribes living in this region spoke Semitic dialects.  But one of the interesting things about these people is that they shared the same word for God as the Israelites used, which as you know is El.

The Jebusites lived in and around a town called Jebus, which is where they get their name; people who live in Jebus i.e., Jebusite.

Factoid: Going off on a tangent for just a moment, Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, in the episode “Save me Jebus”, uses ‘Jebus as the name for Homer’s new god, when he becomes a missionary and is flown out to a small island in the south Pacific to convert the natives. Coincidence on Groening’s part, or well-versed in scripture, who knows?

Back to Canaan and the City of the Jebusites,

Jebus, we’re told is located in the land of Canaan in the mountain region, near a ridge, not far from the coast. When the books of Genesis and Judges were written, historians estimate that the town/city of Jebus had a population of around 2000 people. The population is estimated by the footprint or size of the city/town. These city-towns were ruled over by tribal chiefs or Kings, and we know that at the time of Abram, Jebus was ruled over by Melchizedek. Over time the city name Jebus got changed to Salem, and then again to what it’s known by today, Jerusalem.

In Judges 19:10-11 we learn of the town of Jebus, in the account of the Levite and his concubine

But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine. When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let’s stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.”

It’s no wonder we get confused, as place names get changed. When this happens, very often the physical location also gets lost. For example, St Petersburg, became known as Petrograd, and then Leningrad, all names for the same place, but because this happened in living memory, it’s easily remembered today. Don’t mention Derry-Londonderry, I said don’t mention! let’s move on.

Melchizedek, King of Jebus

We know that one of the Kings of Jebus was none other than the mysterious Mr. Melchizedek. We first find him mentioned in the book of Genesis in chapter 14:18-19

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.

Background: This event follows Abram’s rescue of his nephew Lot in battle, then after returning to the hill country, he is met by Melchizedek, King of Jebus, who we see as also holding the position of “Priest of God Most High”,

in this passage Abram and Melchizedek join together in the worship of God Most High (El), with Abram then giving Melchizedek a tribute, equal to a tenth of his spoils of war. Through this gift offering and sharing of bread and wine, an alliance is formed. Abram’s gift is in recognition of their agreement and by it, he submits to the Status of Melchizedek. In return, Abram receives God’s blessing proclaimed through Melchizedek.

*It's also worth remembering that Abram and Melchizedek existed a long time before Moses and the giving of the law. This is important because when the Law was given to Moses, the priesthood was also established, with the decree that all priests had to come from the tribe of Levi.

Sharing a meal of bread and wine.

As we've seen, a meal of Bread and wine was a way of forming an alliance and declaring peace between potential rivals. Melchizedek the King of Jebus, and priest of God Most High, blesses Abram in the name of El, the God Most High.

In the use of the Semitic word for God, "El", we see that the knowledge and worship of our creator God from the beginnings, or Genesis, right down through Noah, had been retained and passed on through Ham’s descendants right down to Melchizedek.

Today, it’s hard to avoid the symbolic parallels between Abram and Melchizedek sharing a meal of bread and wine, and when we Christians share in the bread and wine of Holy communion. A meal by which we remember and celebrate the peace that Christ won for us through his work on the cross.

Often the rituals that we find in the Old Testament, we see the signs that point forward in time to the framework of the religious practices by which we worship and commune with our Lord and Saviour, and the very means of our salvation.

Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God, but he was not a priest from the line and tribe of Levi, he was a descendant of Ham. Jesus was a descendant of the tribe of Judah and therefore by the Law of Moses, he couldn’t be a Levitical priest. But like Melchizedek, Jesus was a King and a priest.

When David wrote in Psalm 110 “the Lord says to my Lord”. David was saying the Lord God came before me, and yet also after me.  Because here David was writing about God the Father, and Jesus the Son of God who was also his descendant.

“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

One final thought, what does it mean to be of the order of Melchizedek?

For me, it's clear that to be in the order of Melchizedek is to be ordained solely by God and not by man, or the religious laws of man.

Have a great day, and God bless,

Trev.