Melchizedek

I. Melchizedek
A. Means "King of Righteousness"
B. Lived in the time of Abraham about 2085 BC
1. Worshiped and was a priest of the most high G-d
2. Elder of the city of Salem
3. Met Abraham in the "valley of Shaveh"-king's dale
4. Gave Abraham a blessing and fed his troops with bread and wine.
5. Received a tenth of all treasures taken
a. tithe was a practical acknowledgement of the his divine priesthood
b. tenth was the offering presented to deity, according to custom
C. Thought that...
1. Bread and wine were sacrificial
2. He was type of Messiah
3. He was appearance of Messiah Himself
D. He was...
1. Both priest and king
2. Typical of Yeshua the Messiah,
a. Spiritual priest and king
E. Order of Melchizedek
1. Means "likeness in official dignity"
2. Object of the Hebrew
a. To show that Messiah was the king and priest of the new dispensation
3. Objections to Yeshua being priest
a. Not of the tribe of Levi and father not a high priest
1, Ex. 29:29-30
b. Mother fell short of the requirements of the Law
1, Lev. 21:13-14
c. His descent must have been preserved in the records and have been pure from stains on both parents’ sides
d. Was to become a priest by education and high priest by consecration with holy oil
1, Ex. 29:9
e. Must hand over his office to a successor before his death.
f. Didn't carry out these Levitical ideas, therefore not priest after the order
F. Psalms predicted that David's greater son will be ordained by G-d to an eternal priesthood"after the order of Melchizedek",
1. Psalms 110:4
G. Heb. demonstrates that Melchizedek's priesthood is superior to Aaronic priesthood
1. A timeless priestly authority
a. "without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life"
b. Heb. 7:3
2. Priestly line of Aaron, then present in the loins of Abraham, acknowledged Melchizedek's superiority in Abraham's act of paying a tithe
a. Heb. 7:4-10
3. God's oath ordains an eternal priesthood for the one who takes up Melchizedek's role, while the Aaronic priesthood is destined to be set aside.
a. Heb. 7:11-28
4. He prefigures Christ's priesthood
H. Tradition identifies Melchizedek as;
1. Shem,the son of Noah (Gen. 11:11)
2. Philitis, the builder of the great Pyramid of Egypt
3. A Canaanite, like Job, an example godly non- Israelite
I. He comes to us in Scriptures
1. In history - Gen. 14:18-20
2. Heb. 5:6-10
3. In doctrine - Heb. 6:20 - 7:28
4. In prophesy - Psalm 110:4
5. Isaiah 11:4-9
II. Salem
A. Shalem means "peace".
B. Means Jerusalem
1. Psalm 76:2
2. Called "Uru-salim" (city of peace) in the Amarna Letters
C. Eight Roman miles from Scythopolis (Bethshean)
D. Contained ruins of the palace of Melchizedek
E. Some identified it with Jerusalem
F. Plain of Salem
1. Mountains of Ebal, Gertzim and Shechem on west end
2. Hills on which Salem stands on its east end.
III. Resources
A. Smith's Bible Dictionary
1. "Melchizedek", page 197.
2. "Salem", page 265.
B. The Revell Concise Bible Dictionary
1. "Melchizedek", page 377-378
C. Herbert Lockyer, All the Men of the Bible
1. "Melchizedek", page 234-235
D. The Full Life Study Bible
1. Page 28, (Expositional study notes)
E. Unger's Bible Dictionary
1. "Melchizedek", page 710-711
2. "Salem", page 955