For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
The author of Hebrews seeks to establish that Jesus is of a priestly order higher than that of the Levites.* To do this, the author must 1) demonstrate that the priestly order of Melchizedek is higher than that of Abraham, and 2) that this order is eternal.*
Establishing the superiority of Melchizedek to Abraham is simple as we see that Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and Abraham paid tribute to him.* This is drawn from the story of Genesis 14:17-20. This is important because if Melchizedek is superior to Abraham (which no one even held the high status of Abraham in Jewish tradition other than Moses and David), then it follows that Melchizedek was superior to the great-grandson of Abraham: Levi (of who the Levites and the priesthood came).* Thus, the order of Melchizedek is superior than the order of the Levitical priests.*
Establishing the eternity of the order of Melchizedek is also a simple task as the author of Hebrews leverages a common exegetical approach to Scripture.* The author of Hebrews uses a well-attested Jewish interpretive principle that states that what is not mentioned in the Torah does not exist at all.* Because Scripture does not mention a beginning or end to Melchizedek or his priestly reign, the beginning and end of Melchizedek does not exist.* This is explicitly stated in Psalm 110:4.*
Why is this important? It’s important because the author of Hebrews is seeking to establish the superiority to Christ and His role to all others in history. It’s also important, however, because we too must grapple with the role that we allow Christ in our lives.
When Abraham met Melchizedek, he was coming off of the heels of a great victory. With only 318 followers, Abraham defeated a great alliance of Palestinian superpowers.* He saved the people of Sodom, including his nephew Lot (the motivation of his actions).* Before returning to Sodom, Abraham runs into Melchizedek in Salem. After war, Abraham encounters the one who servers as king of righteousness (from the meaning of his name) and the king of peace (from the name of his city).*
We do not know from Scripture the exact nature of the blessing that Abraham received from Melchizedek, but we do know that the response of Abraham was to give the first tenth of what he owned (symbolic in Scripture of stating that all that He had belonged to Melchizedek).* After this blessing from and submission to the king of righteousness and peace, Abraham is approached by the King of Sodom.* The King of Sodom offers Abraham riches and a position of honor in the corrupt and immoral culture of Sodom.* There is but one string attached: Abraham would have to compromise his morals.*
Because of his encounter with and response to Melchizedek, Abraham is able to resist.*
In your place of work, there will be times that you find success. Offers of wealth and honor will be extended to you. Socially, chances for acceptance and popularity will present themselves. The world will find you and offer those things that your soul has longed for. There is one string attached, however: your morals.
It is in these times that we must lean on our allegiance to Christ. We must remember the blessings that He has given us. We must look at our lives and remember that all we have is His (as established by giving the first ten percent). Only our submission to Him will allow us to resist corruption.
There are priests and kings of this world, there are priests and kings of religion, but there is only one Priest and King worthy of our allegiance for He is superior to all: Jesus Christ.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember to whom your allegiance should lie: Jesus. Perhaps today God wants you to hold fast to Him despite the temptations to compromise. Maybe today God wants you to consider the response of the ten percent to the blessing that He has given you and who He is. Perhaps today God would have you remember who He wants to be in your life: righteousness and peace.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 7:1–3). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 337–347). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 90-93). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (pp. 252–254). Zondervan Publishing House.