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The four kings that attacked the five cities of the Valley
of Shaveh plundered those cities and went off. One person who had escaped from the
fighting ran to the tent of Abram in Hebron. Notice on the following map that Hebron
wasn't too far from Jerusalem and the five cities. The five cities were located in
the Valley of Shaveh, which was at the northern end of the Dead Sea.
What was it that this escapee reported to Abram? He reported that the four kings
took all the goods and food of the five cities and also kidnapped his nephew Lot
in the process.
What was it that caused Abram to take action? Did he care about
the plunder of the five cities? Was he concerned that the people left in those cities
had no food?
Is this why Abram set off after the four kings? Was he being a hero?
Did he expect to be richly rewarded, or given a high position of importance?
No. The bible says in verse 14, that "When Abram heard that his relative had
been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men".
He was concerned
about Lot! He was going to the rescue of his nephew! He would not have mobilized
his fighting men if Lot had not been captured.
Cities stand and cities fall,
and there was no reason for Abram to be concerned with the welfare of an ungodly
group of pagans whom God was soon going to devour with fire from heaven. He was not
rushing to the aid of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela.
He was rushing
to the aid of his nephew.
So now we understand Abram's motivation for pursuing
the four kings. The next point to be understood is how Abram was able to defeat these
kings, when the combined forces of the five cities were unable to do so.
Was Abram
really that good of a military commander? Were his men really that much better trained?
Genesis 14:20 reveals the answer, and the answer is no. ("And blessed be
God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave
him a tenth of everything.")
GOD delivered the enemies into Abram's
hand. GOD defeated the four kings. GOD gave the victory, just as he gave the victory
of Jericho to Joshua, the victory of Daniel over the lions, the victory of the Israelites
over the Egyptians, the victory of David over Goliath, and the victory of Samson
over the Philistines.
The bible says that Abram pursued the four kings as
far as Hobah, which was a city to the north of Damascus. This was quite some distance
from Hebron, as can be shown from the following map:
Melchizedek tells Abram that the victory came from God. How did Melchizedek know
this? How did he know it was God, and not just the military ability of Abram and
his men?
The bible does not specifically say so, but God must have told him.
While God was giving the victory to Abram way up in the region of Damascus,
God was telling his Priest Melchizedek all about it, in Salem.
Verses 22
and 23 tell us that before Abram returned to the Valley of Shaveh, he had already
taken an oath to God that he would not accept any reward from the kings of the five
cities.
"But Abram said to the King of Sodom, "I have raised my
hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath
23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of
a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'"
The
King of Sodom had hurried out to meet Abram, and had told him that he could keep
all of the goods that he had recovered. Abram replied that he had already taken an
oath before the Lord that he would not accept anything at all. Abram made this oath
sometime after defeating the four kings, and before his arrival in the Valley of
Shaveh.
Abram, obviously, did not want the King of Sodom, who was full of such
wickedness and abomination, to be able to say that he had been the reason Abram had
become rich. Abram did not want to have anything to do with the wicked king. He did
not want a legacy of such sin. He served Almighty God, and it was Yahweh who would
bless him, not this ungodly king.
Now we come to the answer we were seeking,
as to whether there was some kind of relationship between the King of Sodom and the
King of Salem.
There was not. Melchizedek did not arrive along with the King
of Sodom, he arrived independently of him.
Why did Melchizedek arrive at all?
He came to bless Abram. ("and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed
be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.")
He came
to offer refreshment. ("Then Melchizedek King of Salem brought out bread and
wine.")
He came to give glory to the King of Heaven. ("And blessed
be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.")
He
came to accept the tithe of Abram. ("Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.")
It is easy to see that while God was giving Abram the victory, he was telling Melchizedek
to go to the Valley of Shaveh, and bless his servant Abram who would be arriving
there soon.
Not only did Abram not want to have anything to do with the King
of Sodom, neither did Melchizedek. The King of Sodom and the King of Salem were not
friends or allies. The King of Sodom arrived in order to reclaim his people. The
King of Salem arrived to give blessing to the servant of God.
There is another
point to be understood about this passage of scripture before we go on. Abram gave
Melchizedek a tenth of the plunder.
Why did Abram give him a tenth?
We
see that Abram gives it after being served and blessed. It appears as if Abram is
making a gesture of respect, honoring the Priest of God.
That is understandable,
but why did Abram choose a tenth? Why not a fifth? Why not half?
I would
submit that there are only two possibilities here, one greater than the other.
The first, is that Abram simply chose that figure at random.
Keep in mind,
that this act became the pattern that God used when He instituted the practice of
tithing for the Jews. So, if Abram came up with the figure of ten percent all on
his own, then God simply used the number Abram came up with, as His pattern.
The problem with this, is that God is the one with the Plan. He is the one who set
up the patterns, the types, and the shadows.
Ephesians 1:11 - In him we were
also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything
in conformity with the purpose of his will, (God has a Plan for us)
1st Peter
3:20,21 - who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while
the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through
water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal
of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (the flood symbolized water baptism)
1st
Corinthians 10:1,2 - For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers,
that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the
sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. (the cloud
was a pattern of Holy Spirit baptism, and the water was a pattern of water baptism)
There are many more "types" and "shadows" in the Old Testament
that God used as patterns of what was to come. Galatians 3:24 said that the Old Testament
Law was a "schoolmaster" that taught us how to come to Christ. (Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified
by faith.)
It then makes more sense, that Abram did not just pull the number
of ten percent out of a hat. He was inspired of the Lord to give to His Priest a
tithe of ten percent.
Hebrews 7:5 - Now the law requires the descendants of
Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people
Hebrews 7:9,10 -
One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham,
10 because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.
We see here in Hebrews, that the giving of ten percent from Abram to Melchizedek
was indeed, a pattern. So God moved on Abram, not just to give an offering unto His
Priest, but to specifically give ten percent.
God had his hand all over
this situation.
1) He gives Abram the victory.
2) He obtains an oath from
Abram not to accept any of the plunder from the wicked kings.
3) He tells Melchizedek
that he has given Abram a great victory.
4) He tells Melchizedek to go to the
Valley of Shaveh and bless Abram.
5) He inspires Abram to give Melchizedek a tenth
of everything.
A couple observations before we look at the next passage
of scripture:
1) Hebrews 7:7 says "And without doubt the lesser person
is blessed by the greater."
In Genesis 14:19, Melchizedek blessed Abram.
Hebrews tells us that people who do the blessing are always greater than the people
they bless.
That would mean that Melchizedek was greater than Abram.
That
is very interesting, since Abram - not Melchizedek - was called the Father of the
Righteous. (Romans 4:16 - Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be
by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring-not only to those who are
of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of
us all.)
God confirmed His covenant - not with Melchizedek, but with Abram, and
his children became the Children of God. (Genesis 17:3-8 - Abram fell facedown, and
God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the
father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be
Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful;
I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my
covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after
you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after
you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting
possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.")
So what is this all about, with Melchizedek being greater than Abram?
Why,
if this was so, did God not choose as his people the children of Melchizedek? Why
did God not make His covenant with Melchizedek? Why did God choose to be the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not the God of Melchizedek, and his offspring?
One reason is that Melchizedek never had any offspring. (Hebrews 7:3 - Without
father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like
the Son of God he remains a priest forever.) We'll get into this later.
Keep this thought in mind, because we'll be coming back to it. Why was Melchizedek
greater than Abram, and yet Abram received all of the rewards?
Remember the parable
of the talents: (Matthew 25:14-30 - "Again, it will be like a man going on
a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one
he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent,
each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received
the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17
So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received
the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts
with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five.
'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have
been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and
share your master's happiness!'
22 "The man with the two talents also came.
'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have
been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and
share your master's happiness!'
24 "Then the man who had received the one
talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where
you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid
and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26 "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest
where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then,
you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned
I would have received it back with interest.
28 "'Take the talent from him
and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be
given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has
will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.)
The focus of this parable
is most often placed on the man who hid his talent in the ground, but I want to bring
out a different aspect of it. When the master reclaimed the one talent that had been
buried, he decided to give it to one of his servants. Which one did he give it to?
Both servants seemed to have the same amount of skill; they both doubled what
they started with. However, the master gave the talent to the one that had acquired
the most: the servant who made five talents.
Both of them doubled what they
were given to work with. One gained two talents, and one gained five. Why was the
one who gained five talents rewarded with the extra talent? Why was the talent not
split between the two productive servants?
Regardless of what they started with,
the master looked at the results. One man brought him five talents, the other only
two. Therefore, he rewarded the one who was responsible for the most profit, even
though it might appear to us that the skill of the two servants was equal.
To make this parable relevant to our study, if Melchizedek and Abram were both servants
of God, and if Melchizedek was the greater of the two, then why did Abram receive
the rewards? We should be able to read in the bible where Melchizedek received some
kind of reward, or great blessing from God, one that was greater than what Abram
received.
We don't read of any such thing. What could be greater, in any case,
than being the father of God's People? What could be greater than having God establish
His covenant with you? What would be greater than being called the first part of
"the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob"?
Something seems amiss,
here. Could Melchizedek's reward have been that he was made a Priest of God? There
have been many priests of God. Before Abraham, every man acted as his own priest,
just as Cain and Abel offered their own sacrifices to God.
After the time of
Abraham, the head of the household became the priest. At the time of Moses, the Levites
were made priests. And when Jesus came, he abolished the priesthood, becoming the
High Priest for all mankind.
So we're not left with a clear answer as to
why Melchizedek would have been greater than Abram. Let's keep the thought in mind,
and see if an answer presents itself later on.
The second observation:
2)
Melchizedek blessed God, in Genesis 14:20. (And blessed be God Most High, who delivered
your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.)
Doesn't that seem to contradict Hebrews when it said that he who blesses is greater
then he who is blessed? Wouldn't that mean that Melchizedek was greater than God?
No
it wouldn't. The bible has as a footnote explaining that "blessed be" could
also be interpreted to mean "praise be to". Therefore the passage would
read "And praise be to God Most High…", which makes better sense. So Melchizedek
blessed Abram, but gave praise to God.
Let's move on now to Psalms
110:4 - The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."
We have already established that this
is a prophetic statement made by God through David, to Jesus. We learned that Jesus
was a member of Melchizedek's Priestly Order, and determined that if we could find
out more about this order, we would learn more about Melchizedek.
Let's look at
the complete passage of Psalms 110:
1 The LORD says to my Lord: (God says
to Jesus)
"Sit at my right hand (God's hand)
until I make your enemies
(Jesus' enemies)
a footstool for your feet." (Jesus' feet)
2 The LORD
will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; (God will extend Jesus' scepter)
you
will rule in the midst of your enemies. (Jesus will rule in the midst of Jesus' enemies)
3
Your troops will be willing (Jesus' troops)
on your day of battle. (Jesus' day)
Arrayed
in holy majesty, (Jesus will be arrayed)
from the womb of the dawn
you will
receive the dew of your youth. (Jesus will receive)
4 The LORD has sworn (God
has sworn)
and will not change his mind: (will not change God's mind)
"You
are a priest forever, (Jesus is a priest)
in the order of Melchizedek."
5
The Lord is at your right hand; (God is at Jesus' right hand) ("Lord" in
this case is "Adonay", which is an emphatic form of 'lord', used as the
name of God only)
he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. (God will crush…God's
wrath)
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead (God will judge)
and
crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
7 He will drink from a brook beside the
way; (God will drink)
therefore he will lift up his head.(God will lift His head)
What this makes clear to us, is that God has instituted Jesus with an oath, as a
Melchizedekial Priest.
Why is this significant? Because the Levitical Priests
were not instituted with oaths. They were instituted by reason of their ancestry.
Hebrews 7:20,21 (…"Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became
a priest with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not
change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.'") - This passage is speaking of
Jesus. Jesus became priest with an oath.
Hebrews 7:15 ("And what we
have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one
who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on
the basis of the power of an indestructible life.") - This passage also speaks
of Jesus. It says "another priest like Melchizedek", speaking of Jesus.
It goes on to describe the type of priest Melchizedek was. He was a priest that
was instituted not on the basis of his ancestry, but on the basis of an indestructible
life. This passage says that Jesus was just like this Melchizedek.
To be clearer,
the Levites were priests because they were born into the priesthood. The Lord had
decreed that the Levites would be priests. There was no need for an oath to be taken,
in order to become a priest. If you were born into the house of Levi, you became
a priest automatically. There were no tests to take, no qualifying exams, no competency
evaluations, and no oaths to swear by. If you were born a Levite, you were "in".
However,
what makes the Melchizedek order of priest different, is that the person is not born
into the priesthood. He is not a member of the house of Levi. He is of another house,
and he is "sworn into the office" of Priesthood.
Hebrews 5:4-6 says
that no one can just decide for himself to become a priest. It is a position that
must be ordained of God. ("No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be
called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So Christ also did not take upon himself the
glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today
I have become your Father." 6 And he says in another place, "You are a
priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."')
It says that Aaron
was called by God to be a priest, and so was Jesus Christ. In fact, it says that
the manner in which Jesus Christ was called to be a priest was the same manner as
Melchizedek had been called.
So we begin to see what the Melchizedek order was
all about. It was based on an oath, and the power of an indestructible life, not
on a person's ancestry.
If Jesus was called in the same manner as Melchizedek,
then it follows that we can look at Jesus, see how he was called, and then we would
know that the same manner held true for Melchizedek. After all, the scriptures say
that Jesus was another priest just like Melchizedek.
So what do we see about
Jesus? Hebrews 7:13,14 - He of whom these things are said ( Jesus) belonged to a
different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 14 For
it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses
said nothing about priests.
1) He was not born into the Priesthood.
Hebrews
7:20,21 - And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath,
21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has
sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.'
2) He was
instituted into the Priesthood with an oath.
Hebrews 7:16 - one who has
become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis
of the power of an indestructible life.
3) He was selected to be instituted
into the Priesthood and given the oath, due to his indestructible life.
If
these three things can be said about Jesus, and if Jesus was a priest like Melchizedek,
specifically a priest of Melchizedek's order, then it is safe to say that these same
three points are true of Melchizedek, as well.
Hebrews 7:6 verifies that Melchizedek
was not born into the priesthood. (This man, however, did not trace his descent from
Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.)
When
you see that the scriptures say that man cannot decide to become a priest on his
own, but must be called of God, then we know Melchizedek had to have been called
of God.
When you see that the scriptures say that Jesus was a priest like
Melchizedek, and that Jesus was called with an oath, then you can see that Melchizedek
must have been called into the priesthood in the same way that Jesus was: with an
oath.
Again, it follows that if Jesus was selected to this priesthood by virtue
of his indestructible life, and if Jesus patterned Melchizedek, then this had to
have been the same reason Melchizedek was also selected to be a priest in the first
place.
Hebrews 7:15,16, in fact, confirms this point. (And what we have said
is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, 16 one who has become
a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of
the power of an indestructible life.)
Those three points again:
1)
He was not born into the Priesthood.
2) He was instituted into the Priesthood
with an oath.
3) He was selected to be instituted into the Priesthood and given
the oath, due to his indestructible life.
Scripture confirms that statement
number one is true of Jesus in Hebrews 7:13,14.
Scripture confirms this for Melchizedek
in Hebrews 7:6.
Scripture confirms point number two to be true for Jesus in
Hebrews 7:20,21.
Scripture confirms this for Melchizedek in Hebrews 4:5-6 when
it says that Melchizedek was called by God, and that Jesus was given an oath in the
same manner as Melchizedek was. If Jesus was given an oath, then Melchizedek was
given an oath. (They both had to be given an oath because neither were born into
the Priesthood.)
Scripture confirms point number three to be true for Jesus
in Hebrews 7:16.
Scripture confirms this for Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:15,16.
So we now have learned some things about the Priesthood of Melchizedek, and why it
was different from the Priesthood of Aaron.
Aaron's priesthood was imperfect
because anyone born into the family of Levi could be part of it. You didn't have
to be anyone special. As such, no oaths were taken. Those who became Levitical Priests
were selected due to their ancestry; they did not have indestructible lives.
Look at what scripture says about Aaron's Priesthood:
Hebrews 7:11 - If perfection
could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it
the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to
come-one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?
Hebrews 7:18,19
- The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the
law made nothing perfect)…
It says that Aaron's Priesthood was not a perfect
one, even though this priesthood became the basis for the law. It was eventually
set aside, because it was weak and useless.
Another priest had to come and
set up an order that would allow perfection to be attained. Who was it that came?
Another priest like Melchizedek appeared. This priest was Jesus Christ. If Jesus
Christ was perfection, and if he was like Melchizedek, then Melchizedek also must
have been perfection.
If Melchizedek's order could not attain perfection, then
why would Jesus have been part of it? Aaron's order was imperfect. If Melchizedek's
order was also imperfect, then what was the point of Jesus becoming part of Melchizedek's
order? Why not just come under Aaron's order?
The bible has already explained
this. The reason is because Melchizedek's order was, in fact, perfect.
Hebrews
7:11 - If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood…
why was there still need for another priest…in the order of Melchizedek, not in the
order of Aaron?
If perfection was possible through Aaron, then there would
have been no need for anything or anyone else. The truth was, that perfection was
not possible through Aaron, and therefore it was necessary for a priest in the order
of Melchizedek to come.
Why a priest in the order of Melchizedek? Because through
Melchizedek's order, perfection was attainable. As I stated earlier, if perfection
through Melchizedek was not attainable, then it makes no sense for Jesus to have
become a part of it. Jesus might as well have come through Aaron's order, if they
both were imperfect.
But the scriptures tell us that one order was imperfect,
and one was perfect. The perfect one was Melchizedek. This was the difference between
the two priestly orders.
What does this tell us about Melchizedek? It tells
us he was perfect, just as Jesus was perfect.
How can a mere man be perfect?
The Commentator Matthew Henry wondered the same thing, and posed a series of
musings which parallel my own:
It is difficult to imagine that any mere
man should be said to be without father, without mother, and without descent, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life, Heb. 7:3. It is witnessed of Melchizedek
that he liveth, and that he abideth a priest continually (v. 3, 8); nay (v. 13, 14),
the apostle makes him of whom these things are spoken to be our Lord who sprang out
of Judah. It is likewise difficult to think that any mere man should, at this time,
be greater than Abram in the things of God, that Christ should be a priest after
the order of any mere man, and that any human priesthood should so far excel that
of Aaron as it is certain that Melchizedek's did. 3. The most commonly received opinion
is that Melchizedek was a Canaanitish prince, that reigned in Salem, and kept up
the true religion there; but, if so, why his name should occur here only in all the
story of Abram, and why Abram should have altars of his own and not attend the altars
of his neighbour Melchizedek who was greater than he, seem unaccountable. - Matthew
Henry
What exactly is perfection? The word "perfection" is teleiosis",
and comes from the word "phusioo" (to inflate, puff up). It means "the
act of completion, verification, performance". Taken together, the meaning is
"to expand until complete". Perfection then, is not a perfect state of
devoid of any flaw, but instead is a state of full maturity. We need to become fully
mature in the Spirit, and this is only possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
who was without sin, yet became sin for us. (Hebrews 10:10 - And by that will, we
have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.)
Ephesians 4:13-15: until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge
of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness
of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the
waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in
love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
This is to be our goal, and this is what is meant by "perfection".
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