A STUDY IN GENESIS
We now come to the second part of chapter fourteen, which I believe is paramount for us to understand. We see another glaring glimpse into how the Old and New Testaments are technically one interwoven, beautiful account of God saving the world. Let’s read!
Genesis 14:18-24 “18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered.” 22 Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies--Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.”
This section of scripture can be divided into two parts. First with Melchizedek, and the second with the king of Sodom. Any student of the Bible knows that Melchizedek is directly connected to Jesus Christ. In Hebrew, Melchizedek comes from two Hebrew words: Melek, meaning king, and sadeq, meaning justice or righteousness. Thus, we have a King of Righteousness. One must only look at Psalm 110:4 and see a connection that this King is also a priest. To the Jewish people, this would be a huge taboo. The Kings came from the tribe of Judah, and the priests came from the tribe of Levite. Examine Hebrews 7:14, “For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.” And yet, we have a conundrum that is only answered thousands of years later with Jesus Christ. This answer comes about in Hebrews chapters 5-7. In this, you will see a connection that is foreshadowed by the King of Salem’s revelation of Jesus Christ in the future. We see a conundrum emerging with priests and kings coming from the body of Christ, as described in Revelation 5. For Israel, this separation is very real and can only be connected through a different priestly line; this is where the Order of Melchizedek comes into play. This is why we need to understand both our Old and New Testaments; this is why the Old is paramount to understand the significance of the New. We see the king give Abram a blessing and a reminder of what God has done. This is an outside source providing evidence beyond just Abram that God has intentions for Abram that are more than what might appear right now. This is why we must be careful to assume something today that people might claim or find resolute when, in fact, it might be built on a lie that is easily discernible when we have God’s Word at our hands. The father of the Jewish people was fighting to protect people long before his descendants would be there. The Jewish people have been saving others in their own land since the beginning. However, and more importantly, a foreshadowing of Jesus as the High Priest and King of Kings was represented and was blessing Abram.
Next week, we will discuss Abram’s interaction with the king of Sodom.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL