It’s the stuff love stories, and movies are made of.
Danielle, told it to me like this:
“My dad’s mom Grandma Pat had a summer lot in Waseca.
We would go stay out there every summer with her for a week or two at a time.
“Mark and I were talking when we first met and he says,
‘You know your name is very uncommon.’ I said, ‘I know! I am sure you have
never met another Danielle.’
“He said ‘Yes, I absolutely have, and I’ll never
forget it. I was 11 years old, and she was 9 years old. My family and I took a weeklong
vacation up to Waseca and their campgrounds and there was a girl with long
blonde hair on the monkey bars. I went to go talk to her and play on the monkey
bars too and asked her what her name was. I will never forget it; her name was
Danielle. And she was staying with her grandma.’”
“I said ‘MARK! That was me!! I remember talking to a
boy and he asked my name and he was with his entire family in a camper.’
“He said ‘No way, there’s no way we met years ago. She
had long blonde hair and a red tank top on.’
“I initially thought that was creepy him remembering
what I wore. But I so happen to have pictures from that summer (the very little
photos I had because my mom threw most of them all away, but I remember the
Tommy Hilfiger tank top he was referring to) so I went to my tote and pulled
out the pictures.
“He says ‘THATS THE GIRL!!!’
I said….. ‘Yeaaaaa, that is me!’’’
That’s the story of my niece Danielle and
Marky.
And the story of us and Melchizedek.
He briefly appeared to Abraham in (Genesis 14:18-20). That’s
the only appearance we see in Scripture. The other mentions of Melchizedek are
in reference to this appearance.
After this appearance He disappeared for a thousand
years, then, the Lord through David, mentioned Melchizedek in Psalm 110:4.
Then, just like that, He was gone again for another
thousand years.
Until today, He reappears. This time, not just a
passing glance, but the center of attention.
Welcome to Hebrews 7.
Meet Melchizedek.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but
Melchizedek
(מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק)
- Melech (מֶלֶךְ): Hebrew
for "king".
- Tzedek (צֶדֶק): Hebrew for "righteousness" or "justice".
Who
is this Melchizedek?
People have three different
schools of thought:
1. Shem (son of Noah). Rabbi Ismael (135 BC) claimed he was Shem who lived to be 600 years old and was alive at same time as Abraham.
2. Type of Christ (A person who typified, was an example of Christ). Like, Isaac. Joseph. Joshua.
3. Christophany, Jesus Christ in human form, pre-incarnate.
The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible, so let’s
see what the Bible says about Melchizedek.
Using the three verses we just read we see that He is:
1. King of Righteousness
2. King of Salem (Jerusalem) which is King of Peace
3. Priest of the Most High God
4. Not Born. Without father, mother, genealogy
5. Eternal. No beginning or ending of life
6. Like Son of God (the word “made” is not in original text).
7. Remains Priest forever
Those seven are straight from our text.
We’re about to see that they agree with the rest of
Scripture regarding Melchizedek. When interpreting Scripture, it’s important to
remember. When the plain sense of the Word makes sense, seek no other sense, lest
you fall into nonsense.
Ten times, Melchizedek is mentioned in the
original text of the Bible.
Twice in the Old Testament. Eight in the New.
Ten, represents, Completeness, Divine Order.
Ø Genesis
14:18-20 (first appearance).
Ø Psalm
110:4
Ø Hebrews
5:6, 10, 6:20, 7:1, 10, 11, 15, 17.
Ø (Note:
KJV & NKJV and a few others, add, “According to the order of
Melchizedek” in 7:21. However not included in most ancient texts.)
First Appearance. Genesis 14:18-20.
18 Then Melchizedek
king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the
priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and
said:
“Blessed
be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And
he gave him a tithe of all.
Would you make your first appearance at the end of a
bloody slaughter, if you were the King of Peace?
That’s what Melchizedek did. He showed up as Abraham
and 318 of his fighting men returned from slaughtering four kings and their
armies.
Why’d Abe do that?
Well, Abe’s nephew, Lotta-Trouble-Lot moved in with
the wicked crowd of Sodom, and whenever you play with fire, you’re going to get
burned.
Lot and the whole lot of Sodom were taken captive. Abraham
rode to the rescue, slaughtered the captors, and freed the captives.
On the way home with all the people and the plunder,
the kings of Sodom and surrounding areas came out to greet Abraham.
So did Melchizedek.
Abraham ignored five kings to bow and pay tithes to
the One Melchizedek.
Melchizedek brought out bread and wine.
Melchizedek, King of Righteousness, Priest of the Most
High, King of Peace, blessed Abraham for going to war, for setting captives
free, for not allowing the enemy to steal, kill and destroy. The lesser is
blessed of the better. Hebrews 7:7.
Melchizedek served bread and wine. Like the Son of
God, Jesus Christ, broke the bread and said, this is My body broken for you,
and He took the wine and said this is My blood shed for You. He too went to war,
to set the captives free, to stop the enemy from stealing, killing and
destroying.
Second, brief mention. Psalm 110:4.
The Lord has
sworn
And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
This Messianic Psalm, only seven verses
long, depicts the defeat of His enemies, and ruling eternally, and right in the
middle it points to Melchizedek as Priest forever.
Then, that’s all the Old Testament has to say about
Melchizedek.
Another thousand years go by until...
The Grand Finale, Hebrews 5:6, 10, 6:20,
7:1, 10-11, 15, 17.
Hebrews
5:6
6 As He also says in another place:
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek”
Hebrews
5:10
10 called by God as High Priest “according to the order
of Melchizedek,”
Hebrews
6:20
20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having
become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews
7:1
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem,
priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of
the kings and blessed him,
Hebrews
7:10-11
10 for he was still in the loins of his father when
Melchizedek met him.
11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical
priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was
there that another priest should rise according to the order of
Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?
Hebrews
7:15
15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of
Melchizedek, there arises another priest
Hebrews
7:17
17 For He testifies:
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
That’s it.
Now we’ve read every mention of Melchizedek in the
Bible.
Notice the New Testament points to the Old, explaining
it, giving it Flesh and Life, even Jesus, having
become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Every mention portrays Power and Peace through Strength,
forever.
God intentionally intervenes.
When Abraham was battle worn and weary, He showed up
and brought out bread and wine.
When Abraham was sorely tested about sacrificing his son,
He showed up and provided a sacrificial ram.
He shows up when you’re battle worn and weary, when
you’re sorely tried and tested.
He brings out the bread and wine.
He provided the Sacrificial Lamb.
His Body, His Blood, strengthens, delivers, sets free,
forever.
One day, you’ll look back and see there was much more
going on than just random meetings at the monkey bars.
The King of Righteousness, the King of Peace, the
Priest of the Most High God, was there all along.
Divine connections to get your attention, make your acquaintance.
I pray it turns out for you and Him, like it has for
Danielle and Marky.
About a thousand years (or so it seems) after their
first meeting, they met again.
I’ll let Danielle tell you the rest:
We met at Clear Lake Open Bible Church Camp when Tom
(stepdad) was preaching there for the week, and I was singing. Mark was
basically forced by his bigger cousin to go and bribed him with a case of beer
and weed. So, he went to church camp thinking he was going to party, then heard
me warming up singing in the chapel by myself to music and he came in and sat
in the back of the church and listened for forty-five minutes while all his friends
were playing basketball. I thought he was some creepy boy sitting in the back
of the church. But he said I had the voice of an angel and brought him to tears
and he had to sit and listen to my entire warm up.
Today, Marky and Danielle have been married for decades, have a beautiful twenty
one year old daughter and are well on their way to living happily ever after.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we love You. Thank You for showing up in
our lives. We welcome You, always; not just in the hard times when we’re in
trouble. Please help us recognize You, always see You, hear You, never ignore
You. Use us to show others Your Presence, and lead them to You.
Thank You.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
Call or text: 612-554-2522
Email: pray4measap@aol.com
Facebook: Church at WPV
Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling
Watch online:
Facebook: Meet Melchizedek, Hebrews 7
You Tube: Meet Melchizedek,
Hebrews 7
This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
No comments:
Post a Comment