Melchizedek
Genesis 14:17-24
This is our eleventh week studying Abraham (or Abram, as he's called when our story begins).Last week we watched as Abram took a giant leap of faith and attacked the armies of four kings who had kidnapped his nephew Lot. These four armies had been terrorizing the people of Canaan for several weeks and in their final campaign, had carried off the goods and people of the city of Sodom where Lot lived.
Up to this point, the four kings had been entirely successful, but when Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured along with everyone else, he took off after them. Then Abram, 318 of his servants and his three Amorite neighbors Mamre, Eshcol and Aner chased the four kings and their armies out of Canaan and recovered all of the spoils of war they had taken.
Now, after several long, adrenaline-filled days of hard riding, Abram, his servants and his three neighbors have returned home. With them are Abram's nephew, Lot, the women of Sodom and the other people which the four kings had captured. Their 150-mile journey home would have been arduous and slow because of the people who had to walk and all the goods they had to carry and because of the flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and donkeys.
I imagine the constant noise and odors and complaints from the people who had been uprooted from their homes and mistreated by their enemies would have been very stressful to a man in Abram's position; a man who was used to being the head of a well-ordered household.
Consider also that before this long trip home, Abram and his men had spent an exhausting week rushing 150 miles to find the four armies in the first place, attacking in the night and chasing them another fifty miles before turning around to go back fifty miles to where they had left the captives and goods of Sodom. All tolled, Abram and his men had travelled at least 400 hundred miles without a moment of peace; the last 150 with the added chaos of flocks and herds and hysterical women.
Personally, Abram had the additional blow of ingratitude from Lot who returned to Sodom without a word of thanks for all his Uncle Abram had done. So basically, Abram had risked his life and the lives of his servants and neighbors for nothing. The weight of responsibility rested heavy on his shoulders. How would he repay his neighbors for the favor they had done for him? How could he explain Lot's ingratitude? I imagine the cacophony of voices both human and animal blended with voices of recrimination in his own mind. The smell of victory wasn't sweet today.
Praise God no one was killed. Praise God all the goods were recovered. Yes, he had done a brave thing; taken a huge leap of faith. But so what? Lot, his only reason for risking lives in the first place had gone back to Sodom and sin. What a waste of time!
I imagine it was with some effort that he forced his attention away from his problems and began the more practical business of mentally dividing the spoils. He had had several days to look over the people and supplies. Now it was time to decide which ones he would give to his neighbors to pay for their services, and which ones he would keep for himself. The King of Sodom (who had fled to safety when his city was captured) would want to reward Abram for his rescue. That would be expected.
As he pondered this and tried to block out the pain of Lot's rejection, Abram looked up. They were approaching the Valley of Shaveh, the King's Valley. In the distance he saw people waiting to greet them. Husbands to greet wives.
Well-wishers and curious neighbors. More noise. More chaos. He squinted his eyes as he thought he recognized a face in the crowd. The king of Sodom? Yes. But someone else. Someone who brought peace to his troubled heart. Ah, there he was again. Melchizedek, the King of Salem.
As they approached the crowd, women rushed ahead to greet husbands who had fled to the hills when they had been
attacked so many weeks ago. The king of Sodom gathered his officials ready to make the exchange. Business deals
needed to be discussed. Prices fixed. But Abram wasn't interested in those reunions, or money changing hands. His
eyes were fixed on Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High.
Men greeted men who had thought each other dead, flocks and herds rushed forth at the sound of their master's voice.
The King of Sodom called to him, "Over here!" But the only voice Abram wanted to hear was Melchizedek's.
The king of Sodom shouted to be heard, "We have business to take care of, Abram of Hebron. Come on over. Let's make
a covenant between us. Let's eat and drink together as friends. I have a banquet prepared in your honor."
But the only food Abram wanted was the food in Melchizedek's hands: bread and wine. So Abram walked past the curious
onlookers, he walked through the crowds of well-wishers, he ignored the sounds of the flocks and the herds and he
ignored the King of Sodom.
His eyes and his heart were fixed on his lord and friend, Melchizedek, King of Salem, priest of God Most High. Who
was Melchizedek? And why was Abram willing to sit down with him to have bread and wine when everything around him
demanded that Abram take care of business so everyone else could go home?
What was so important to Melchizedek that he needed to interrupt Abram then? Why couldn't he wait until things were
settled and quiet?
Did you bring a friend today? Did you bring bread and grape juice? Yes? Great! Then sit down together; take time
now to eat and drink and fellowship like Abram and Melchizedek. While you're relaxing, I'll tell you about this
mysterious king. It isn't easy to explain.
Sometimes, especially in the Old Testament, God finds it necessary to meet with man face to face. But the problem is,
God is spirit and therefore has no physical face for anyone to see. So each time he appears, he wears a disguise, so
to speak. The disguise he chooses depends on the circumstances.
To Moses, he spoke through a burning bush. To Balaam, he spoke through a donkey. To Samson's mother, and Jacob, and
many others, he appeared as a man. If He ever appeared to us in his pure, true form, his brightness alone would blind
us, and his magnificence would be too much to bear.
Melchizedek, King of Salem, Priest of God Most High, was the Lord in one of his disguises.
"How do we know this is God and not just another local king?"
First of all, we can look at his name, and then his title. The name Melchizedek means King of Righteousness. And his
title, King of Salem means King of Peace. Sound familiar? Have you ever heard of the Prince of Peace?
How did Abram recognize him? And why this particular disguise?
There are thirty-two references in scripture where God speaks or appears to Abraham. Since God is a God of order, not
of confusion, it seems likely that God would use a consistent physical form when meeting with Abram. I think Abram
recognized the Lord like you or I would recognize a friend or loved one.
"Then why the name and title this time?"
Well, usually the Lord appears to Abram when he's alone. You know, Abram goes out to build an altar, and the Lord
speaks to him. But Abram hasn't been alone for weeks, and God needs to tell him something before Abram speaks with
the king of Sodom. So for this occasion, He takes on a form which is acceptable in these circumstances.
You see, Canaan has many small communities each ruled by kings of one sort or another. Abram has driven off four
nations which posed a threat to everyone in Canaan. Many people, many local kings, want to see the man who had the
courage to do what none of them could accomplish. In this setting an obscure king could get lost in the crowd, if he
wanted.
Still Abram could introduce him, if necessary, without having to make any awkward explanations.
"Why did the Lord need to speak with Abram before he met with the King of Sodom?"
Being omniscient, which means all-knowing, God knew what the King of Sodom would propose to Abram and he knew what was
in the king of Sodom's heart. God also knew the ramifications if Abram should take him up on his offer, and he wanted
to warn Abram not to go along.
The king of Sodom's offer sounded generous on the face of it, "give me the people and keep the goods for yourself".
But the Lord knew that if Abram did that, the King of Sodom would brag that he had made Abram rich.
"But God had already made Abram rich," you say.
That's true. But if the King of Sodom wanted to take credit for what God had done. And if he said it often enough
and loudly enough, people would begin to believe it. Besides, can you imagine how it would be once the king of Sodom
and his people returned home? They'd be living in poverty and the people would complain to the king for giving their
clothes, jewelry, cooking utensils and furniture away. Before long, they would begin to curse Abram.
Another problem with the king of Sodom's proposal stems from one of God's promises to Abram. When Abram entered
Canaan, God told him, "Whoever blesses you, I will bless. Whoever curses you, I will curse." If the king of Sodom
blessed Abram with the goods of his people, God would be bound by his own promise to bless the king of Sodom.
This presents a problem because the residents of Sodom are sinning greatly against the Lord. If God blesses them he
would, in effect, be enabling them to sin even more. See the problem?
As the king of Righteousness, Melchizedek explains to Abram the dilemma.
As the King of Peace, Melchizedek heals Abrams hurting heart.
As the priest of God Most High, Melchizedek blesses Abram, blesses God and has Abram take an oath that he will not
accept a thread or the thong of a sandal from the king of Sodom.
"Why does Abram give Melchizedek a tenth of everything?"
God has always declared the tenth to be His portion of man's blessing. Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth to acknowledge
that he recognizes that, as Melchizidek, he represents the Lord. The book of Hebrews puts an interesting spin on all
of this. Read chapters 5 through 7 if your spiritual teeth are ready for meat.
There's another reason for Melchizedek's appearance. According to Hebrews 7, Melchizidek is the perfect priest who
doesn't need to make an offering for his own sin before entering the holy of holies, because he has never sinned.
Also, according to Hebrews, Melchizedek has no mother or father, no beginning or end. Since priests stay in office
until they die, Melchizedek is a priest forever. David echoes that in Psalm 110:4.
As the perfect priest who is high priest forever, Melchizedek offers his own blood on the altar as the perfect
sacrifice to atone for all sin for all time.
"How is that possible?"
It is possible because the Lord, who appears in today's story as Melchizedek, will reappear as Jesus, who bleeds and
dies and comes back to life again. That's why he brought the bread and wine. To those who knew him in the flesh, he
is still Jesus. To those in heaven he is still the Righteous One, Melchizedek, who will place his perfect blood on
the altar, once and for all. The Lord, Jesus, Melchizedek, is eternal.
Do you remember when Mary saw Jesus at the tomb and she thought he was the gardener? (John 20) He said her name,
"Mary," and she recognized him and clung to him. But he said, "Do not hold on to me now for I have not yet returned
to my father."
Later that night he wasn't in a hurry anymore. He appeared to everyone and stayed among them for forty days before
returning to heaven again. Ever wonder what he was doing during those few hours?
Hebrews explains that he placed his blood on the altar, and then sat down at the right hand of the father. His
mission was complete. Remember when they were stoning Stephen? Just as he was about to die he said, "I see heaven
open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
I warned you this wasn't easy to explain. Does my telling you this make you angry? Confused? Or just curious? Be
careful . . . Jesus tried to tell the Pharisees about his meeting with Abraham but they were so unwilling to hear or
understand that they picked up stones to stone Jesus to death. Here is some of their conversation from the Gospel of
John chapter 8. Jesus begins:
John 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
John 8:57 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"
John 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
John 8:59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Awsome, isn't it? "Before Abraham was born, I AM!"
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If you have any questions about today's lesson, or any previous Bible Alive programs write to me at
If your mind has been stimulated by the clues we found in scripture today, I urge you to do some exploring of your own. Ask questions. Use a concordance.
You'll be blessed. I promise.