"Melchizedek"

Hebrews 7.16 NASU

“…not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.”

I am intrigued by the character Melchizedek, named only in Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and the letter to the Hebrews, chapters 5, 6, and 7.  

• Melchizedek is a type of Jesus. Jesus is his anti-type. [1]
• Melchizedek, like Jesus, was both a priest and a king.
• Abraham offered Melchizedek 10% of his plunder from a recent battle.
• Melchizedek offered bread and wine to Abraham.
• Melchizedek, the greater, blessed Abraham, the lesser.
• Melchizedek, like Jesus, was greater than the Levitical priesthood established four hundred years after Melchizedek.
• King David’s messianic Psalm 110 compared Melchizekek with Jesus.
• Melchizedek was a real, historical person. He was not a pre-existent visitation of Jesus, an angel, or the Holy Spirit. It is unlikely that he was Noah’s son Shem, as some commentators assert.
• Melchizedek had parents, but no genealogical record of his ancestry, birth or death has existed or been discovered since the time of Abraham.
• Melchizedek served the same one true God (El Elyon “God Most High”) that Abraham did (Elohim, Hebrew for “God”).
• Melchizedek’s station as a priest was conferred by God, not earned by virtue of his birthright.

Like Melchizedek and Abraham, no eternal merit may be accomplished through my ancestry. I bring nothing to the table. My salvation is conferred, not earned. My station in the Kingdom of God is not on the basis of an artificial physical requirement or legal association. My relationship with God is an undeserved gift freely bestowed. It is the result of God’s selfless act of redemption and His proven by His unfathomable love with the gift of His Son.

The fulfillment of His purpose in me depends solely on “the power of an indestructible life.” That is, of course, the life of Jesus Christ who lives in me.

_____________

[1] Typology is the study of person, events, or symbols that foreshadow things to come. In the Bible, a “type” often refers to an Old Testament figure who “typifies” or finds its fulfillment in Christ. For example, in Romans 5.14 NAS Paul called Adam a “type of Him [Jesus] who was to come.” In this example Adam is the “type” and Jesus is the “antitype.” To further illustrate, Noah’s ark and the flood is a “type” for which baptism is the “antitype.” See 1st Peter 3.20-21.

Image from http://mysterysolvedwithmessiahjesus.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/what-exactly-does-it-mean-to-return-to-the-jewish-roots-of-the-christian-faith/golden-star-of-david/.