Melchisdek emerges from history in Genesis 14, then
disappears as quickly as he'd come (until mentioned in the New Testament in
Hebrews 7)
After Abraham defeated the coalition of kings (see blog posting "Night
Fighting") he is greeted by a mysterious ruler named Melchisdek, King
of Salem. Interestingly, Abraham "tithes" his spoils of victory to this King (Hebrews 7:2,4), and calls him "the lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven
and earth" (Gen 14:22) Also, in Hebrews 7 it calls him "king of
Righteousness" and "king of peace".... "Without father,
without mother, having neither beginning of days nor end of life abide to a
high priest continually." (Heb 7:1-3) It essentially says that he has
existed from eternity, from "everlasting to everlasting", and is a High
Priest "continually"... And the end if the chapter it says that as
High priest He "ever lives to make intercession for us". There are many wise, Godly people who would postulate different identities to this gentleman (i.e that he was only a "type" of the Christ Who would come), but I believe that
this "Melchizedek" was a pre-incarnate bodily manifestation of The
Lord Jesus Christ Himself . It would not have been the only time!
(Check out
Genesis 18, Joshua 5 and Daniel 3:25, among others...)
In Genesis 18 we read that "the Lord visited Abraham" (verse 1), had dinner with him (verse 8), and carried on a conversation with Sarah (verses 9-15), and with Abraham (17-33).In Joshua 5 we read that Joshua has gone for a
prayer walk prior to the battle of Jericho and he comes upon a "Man" (verse 13) who identifies Himself as the
Captain of the Hosts of The Lord (verse 14). Then, when Joshua calls him "Lord" and bows in worship, he receives it (verses 14-15)
Psalm 24, and many other places call The
Lord Jesus "the Lord of Hosts." Also, throughout the Bible, when the awe-inspiring angels are worshiped by men, they rebuke the worshiper and tell them to save their reverence for the Most High God (see Revelation 19:10, 22:9) This "Man" however, received Joshua's worship as the "Lord of Hosts"...the Most High God...the Lord Jesus Christ.
So according to the scriptures, God has taken on human form many times throughout history. However, His most famous and anticipated trip was when He came to be an "offering for sin" and to "bear the sin of many." (Isaiah 53:12)
Praise the Lord that He "visited His people" (Luke 7:16) in order to "taste death" for all (Hebrews 2:9).
Would love additional thoughts and/or differing viewpoints to be shared.
Why does it say that M is LIKE Christ? Can He be a manifestation of God if Christ IS God and M is like Him? I don't disagree with you. Just still am not sure!
ReplyDeletePaige that’s a great observation! Now let me preface by saying that there are many wise, Godly people who think that the phrase “made LIKE” means that Melchisdek was a type of, and not the bodily manifestation of Christ. Also, the viewpoint on whether or not Melchisdek was or was not Christ Himself has no bearing on our salvation, or sanctification:)
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I think it’s important to look at where else in the new Testament the phrase “made LIKE” is used, and in what context to see if we can find any “clues” as to the identity of this guy. Here are some that I”ve found, and there definitely could be others.
Romans 1:23-here it’s talking about people making images of things in nature, then worshiping them, rather than worshiping the God Who made them.
Romans 9:29-Paul is quoting from Isaiah and seems to be saying that if it were not for the coming Savior, we would truly be “dead in our sins.”
Hebrews 2:17- the context of the passage starts in Hebrews 1:1 really, where it says “God”, then goes on to make the case with the precision of a legal proceeding in a court of law, that Christ is the “image of the invisible God”, and in 2:17 specifically it seems to be saying that in order to be our Savior, Christ had to be “made like unto His brethren”, or as it says in Philipians 2 “made in the likeness of men.”
Hebrews 7:3-obviously is talking about Melchisdek, and is the verse in question. I think it’s interesting though that it’s sitting between “No father, No father, no beginning, no end,” and, “abides a high priest continually.” I think that whomever Melchisdek is, the entirety of verse 3 applies to him. If he’s a mortal man, I don’t think the verse makes sense (at least not the first and last part). However, if it’s Christ Himself, I feel it does, and is consistent with 7:25 where it says that this high priest “ever lives to make intercession for us.”
In all these, the common denominator seems to be something that we might could substitute the word “image” for, or something like that.
Either way, Melchisdek is definitely a “type” of Christ, and the question is simply whether he was mortal or immortal. Whatever your views are on this interesting character, I encourage you to base them on what is written in God’s Word…like you’re already doing. Way to be! Keep it up. Thanks for the comment…