Two Portraits of Christ: Abram and Melchizedek

Introduction:  Pictures of Christ

We are looking this morning at Genesis 14, a fascinating chapter.  And, one that perhaps is not as well-known as some of the other stories and accounts in Genesis, but very rich, nonetheless.  Throughout the history of the church, artists have depicted Christ, they have made portraits or artistic renditions of Christ.  There’s something compelling about the scriptures and about the accounts of Jesus, and the artists want to depict it, and so they will drop paintings, make paintings of Christ or sculptures.  One of the most famous was done in 1475 by Leonardo Da Vinci.  He painted a scene entitled The Baptism of Christ, oil, and tempera on wood, kept in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.  Priceless.  Absolutely priceless.  And an incredible picture through the eyes of Leonardo Da Vinci.  Twenty-five years later, perhaps the most famous sculpture of Christ, was done by perhaps the greatest sculptor ever, Michelangelo.  In 1499, he did the Pietà, which is a moving picture of the dead Christ across the lap of his grieving mother.  It really is an incredible thing as you say, I’ve never seen it in person, but the picture, the ripples of the fabric almost seem alive, like a breeze could move them, and yet they are made of marble.  An incredible depiction of Christ.  Greek and Russian Orthodox churches have icons by the thousands, paintings of Christ, that focus their worship in a way that we do not do here.

Some people believe the most accurate portrait of Christ is found in the Shroud of Turin, a mysterious kind of image of a bearded man, which will be very familiar to us.  You look at somebody who looks like that and say, “He looks like Jesus.”  We don’t really know what Jesus looked like.  There are no physical descriptions of Christ in the scriptures, but I think it’s not far to imagine that the Shroud of Turin when it first began making its circuit in Europe, greatly influenced Western art and its depictions of Christ, and they all started to look like that image one after the other, perhaps the most famous picture and portrait of Christ physically.  For me, however, I enjoy seeing the portraits of Christ that come off the pages of scripture.  It’s not so important to me the shape of his nose or the set of his eyes, but I want to know about his character, I want to know about his great actions and deeds.  And therefore, for me, the clearest portrait or picture of Christ is going to be descriptions of those, the person of Christ, and the work of Christ found in the scriptures.  I believe the whole Bible gives portraits of Christ, not just the New Testament.

In the Old Testament, we have Christ in prophetic relief.  You are going to see portraits of Christ in the Old Testament, and they’re going to come in two different types, one of them would be what we call verbally predictive prophecy, like “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son.”  Or the prediction in Micah 5:2, that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.”  These are what we call “verbally predictive prophecies.”  Then there is a different category of portrait or a picture of Christ, what we call “types” or typically “predictive prophecy.”  Now, the way this works is that things are acted out in life.  They are just acted out in history, and they capture a vignette, a little snapshot of Christ in his work and in his person.  The animal sacrifices are great types of Christ.  Typically, “predictive prophecy,” we call it.  Every time an animal was sacrificed and its blood shed on the ground and poured out before the Lord in the fire of sacrifice, it was a picture of Christ who is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, that I think the best typical predictive prophecy of Christ.

But also, you see in redemptive history, the unfolding of redemptive history, certain vignettes or stories that depict some aspect of the work of Christ.  For example, later in Genesis Chapter 22, when Abraham and Isaac go up the mountain and God has commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, his only son, Isaac, whom he loves.  You hear very much the pre-echo, I think, of the gift of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and that, “What Abraham was asked to do,” says Michael Card, “He’s done.  He’s given his only son.”  So, that’s an acted-out type or picture of Christ.  And I think we have two of those portraits in our account today.  Two portraits of Christ.  One portrait as a mighty conqueror who rescues the captive and delivers him, that we see in Abram as he mounts up with 318 soldiers and rescues his nephew, Lot, from his abductors.  It is a portrait of Christ.  And then, also in this mysterious Melchizedek, the Priest King, we see a portrait of Christ who is both king and priest, and that’s what we’re going to unfold today.  Two portraits of Christ.

I. The Tapestry of Redemptive History:  The Wars of Pagan Kings

Redemption Woven into a Tapestry of History

Now, the portraits you could imagine are kind of woven into a tapestry.  God likes to kind of weave in pictures of Christ by his sovereign control of historical events.  Things don’t just happen in God’s world.  He’s too much of a king for that.  And so, the unfolding of human history, the tapestry of history provides the basis for the portraits of Christ that are unfolding in redemptive history.  They are woven into a tapestry of history, and a lot of that comes with the consideration of pagan wars, the wars of the pagans, and of the Gentiles.  Jesus talks about this in Matthew 24:6, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars.”  Well, that’s kind of a summation of human history, wars, and rumors of wars.  It’s not all there is but certainly very important.  Not only is human history the unfolding of the tapestry of God’s plan of salvation, redemptive history is unfolding generation by generation.  But also, we are seeing unfold before us in history, the wickedness of the human heart.  We learn more and more about just how wicked we are and how much we need a savior.  So how does it work?  Well, a small king finds himself to be a little bit more powerful than some of his neighbors, he mounts up with some strength and he conquers his neighbors, takes their land, takes their flocks and their possessions.  Then he allies with them, and he gets ever stronger and so it builds and builds.

So, the Pagans, through their lust for power and glory and possessions, build these miniature empires.  They get stronger and stronger.  Eventually, one kingdom rises up and takes over for another kingdom.  The other one falls and the second takes its place.  It enjoys its heyday, its time in the sun until it falls and the next one comes along.  And yet, God is ruling over all of this.  He is controlling it, it seems to make no sense at all, to be chaotic, but it isn’t, and God is weaving in that tapestry, redemptive history.  God uses wars to accomplish his redemptive purposes.  For example, because of the conquest of the Greeks under Alexander the Great and the Romans under the Caesars, there was an infrastructure of highways and common language and economic unity that enabled the Gospel to travel very quickly in the first 200 years of its existence.  So very quickly the Gospel spread through the Greco-Roman world because of the wars that the Greeks and Romans had fought.  Later, because of the conquest of the Roman empire by the barbarians, the Gospel made it up into the forest of Germany and across the English Channel into England, because the barbarians had broken apart the Roman Empire.  God used it.

Then later, because of the conquest of the vicious and cruel Vikings, the Gospel spread wherever they went, because the Vikings had no power to withstand the Gospel itself.  They could come and conquer the lands of the monasteries and kill the Christians but, eventually, they would be conquered in a sweet way by the Gospel and they would take the Gospel where they had traveled.  Because of the worldwide empire-building ambitions of the English, you know the sun never set on the English or the British Empire.  The Gospel eventually made it to places as far as India and China, along the coasts and the depths of Africa.  And so, God uses military conquest for his purposes.  Because of World War II, American soldiers left the security and safety of small-town America and went and fought in places they couldn’t even pronounce, in the steamy jungles of the South Pacific, and then went home.  But the world was never the same for them again, and some of the Christians went back to Papua New Guinea and led many of those to Christ because they had been near there and were not afraid to go.  And so, God used that tragedy of World War II to accelerate the gospel.

Lot’s Faithless Choice

 Even in our time, we have seen how God has used the conquest of the Taliban in Afghanistan to open up missionary opportunities that absolutely would not have come if the Taliban were still in power.  God weaves redemptive history against the backdrop of pagan wars and rumors of wars.  If God controls sparrows, and not even a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of God, how much more does he control the rise and fall of nations?  Now, also the backdrop of this is Lot’s faithless choice.  The last time that we talked about Genesis two weeks ago, we saw how Lot decided to break away from Abram and go down in the fertile land near Sodom.  And so, he “pitched his tents,” it says, “toward Sodom.”  This brought Lot under the swirl of events surrounding Sodom and Gomorrah, and he would never have been abducted and never have been sucked into this whole maelstrom of events if he had stayed with Abram.  So, the faithless choice of Lot is also a backdrop.

The Warring Pagan Kings

Now, what’s going on here in Palestine in Genesis 14?  Well, I read kind of like a rising up of these miniature city-states, like we had in ancient Greece.  There are these little areas like Sodom or Gomorrah, little towns, and there are kings of those cities and the regions around them.  They were miniature city-states and were all kind of under the power of a regional king named Kedorlaomer.  He was king of Elam.

Now, Elam is east of Babylonia, near Ur of the Chaldees where Abraham had originally come from.  So, it really is a kind of precursor to the Assyrian and the Babylonian empires.  These conquerors were forever curving up around the Fertile Crescent, and then coming down what they called the King’s Highway through Palestine and on into the fertile areas of the Nile in Egypt.  And so, Palestine was desirable, it had good arable land, it had good natural resources, but it was also strategic because it was the crossroads of history where people could go down and cross into Egypt.  Now, look at Verse 1.  This man, Kedorlaomer, is allied with Amraphel, King of Shinar.  Shinar is the place where the Tower of Babel had been built.  It eventually became Babylon.  So, he’s aligned with the King of Babylon, with Arioch, King of Ellasar, and Tidal, king of Goiim.  They are all coming from the place where Babylon would eventually be.  This is a precursor, the Babylonian empire.  Now in Palestine, there are these vassal kings, these little smaller kings who paid tribute and money to Kedorlaomer.  They would give some of the harvest or some money, etcetera, and, basically, Kedorlaomer would leave them alone or protect them.  This kind of thing.

But in the 13th year, these vassal kings said, enough of Kedorlaomer.  If we can ally ourselves together, the five of us the king has gotten together, we can throw this guy off and we can run the thing ourselves.  And so, they allied and they rebelled.  Well, Kedorlaomer is not going to take this lying down.  He whistles up to his three allies and the four of them march, they come along the Fertile Crescent and down into Palestine to fight.  They were powerful and successful.  Frankly, they were undefeated.  It was a strong military conquest.  Look at Verses 5-7, “In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert.”  Now, after the service is over, I want you to find Steve Carrell and thank him from the bottom of your heart for reading this text.  You did a wonderful job, brother.  When I was reading over it this morning, I said, “Woe to the person who has to read these verses this morning.”  So, we compromised and thought to begin at Verse 8, and he did a wonderful job, there’s no escaping all these Hebrew names, but I thought he did a fine, fine job.

There are these five kings, they’re allied, and the four kings come, Kedorlaomer leading them, going from place to place, conquering, conquering and conquering.  Everywhere they go, they are succeeding.  Kedorlaomer seems unbeatable, and now the time has come for him to draw up the battle lines against these four or five kings that have risen up against him.  In Verses 8-9, it talks about the battle of the four kings against the five, nine kings altogether.  Well, Kedorlaomer wins decisively.  His armies destroyed the armies of the five kings and some of the men fell into the terrifying pits of the Valley of Siddim, the rest fled to the hills.  And now Kedorlaomer gets to plunder.  That’s the thing the army has always to do.  Napoleon, when he escaped off Elba and was gathering his army again for one final push that ended in the Battle of Waterloo, what was his big promise to them?  “Plunder, the cities of Europe are waiting for you.”  Oh yes, they were loyal to Napoleon, but more than anything, because he could fill their pockets.  And so, the armies have a chance to plunder the rich cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and others, and so they did.  So, in Verse 11, “The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.”  But they took one item too many.  Now, they took Lot and that was a big mistake.

Look at Verse 12, “They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.”  Now, notice that additional comment.  He was living where?  Oh, he’s living in Sodom now, I guess he’s moved.  Last we heard about Lot, he had pitched his tents toward Sodom.  Now he’s actually living in Sodom.  Notice the degeneration of Lot as Sodom has its pull on him and draws him away from righteousness, away from the godly life with Abram.  Now he’s living in Sodom.  Well, somebody escapes in Verse 13, and Abram is told, “One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.  Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.”  And so, Abram had made an alliance with some Amorites.  I don’t know if he had led them to personal faith in the Most High God, maybe he had, I hope so, but the text doesn’t say anything about that.  It does say that they were allied together with Abram.  So that sets the table for the first portrait.  And, the first portrait is a picture of Christ as a military conqueror, as a rescuer, as a powerful king who comes to deliver us from our captivity.

II. Christ-like Portrait #1:  Abram and the Military Rescue of Lot

Look at Verses 14-16, “When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.  He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.”

Abram’s Courageous Rescue of Lot

Now look at Abram’s courageous rescue of Lot and notice some things here.  First of all, note Abram’s gracious attitude toward his nephew.  Lot has been selfish.  He’s grabbed the best part of the land for himself, but Abram doesn’t hold it against him.  He’s risking life and limb and his own men to go rescue this nephew, this wayward nephew.  And so, notice his gracious spirit toward this nephew.  Notice also Abram’s courage and leadership.  A relatively small force.  Now, it says they were trained men, but a relatively small force going after an undefeated army of four kings.  Incredible courage.  Incredible boldness.  Notice also Abram’s skill as a general.

The incredible boldness and initiative, the nighttime attack, the division, the tactics, the division of the men in the middle of the night into groups, the surprise factor.  You could probably study this at West Point and see some of the techniques that Abram the general used.  And notice also then how beautifully as you put all this together, Abram stands as a type or portrait of Jesus Christ.  You know, Jesus Christ rescued us, it says in Colossians 1:13, from the dominion of darkness and brought us over into his own kingdom.  He in effect came over or went through the walls of the devil’s kingdom, and he rescued, he plundered us.  Now, Jesus talked about this contest in Luke 11:21-22.  He said, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.  But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.”  Jesus is the second one.  He comes and takes away from the devil what the devil thought was his, namely you and me.  Colossians 1:13 says, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”  It also says in Galatians 1:4, Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age.”  And so, he rescues us.  Jesus, a portrait of Jesus here in Abram.

Charles Spurgeon’s Comments

Listen to what Charles Spurgeon said, I think this is so beautiful.  “What a splendid type is Abram, in the narrative before us, of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us read this story of Abram in connection with our Savior, and see how full of meaning it is.  Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the abundance of his love, had taken us to be his brothers, but we, through our sin, had moved into the land of Sodom, and Jesus Christ dwelt alone in his safety and his happiness, enjoying the presence of God.  The hosts of our enemies, with terrible force and cruel fury, carried us away as captives.  We were violently borne away with all the goods which we possessed, into a land of forgetfulness and captivity forever.  Christ, who had lost nothing by this, nevertheless being a brother born for adversity, pursued our haughty foes.  He overtook them, he smote them with his mighty hand, he took their spoil, and returned with crimsoned clothing, leading captivity captive.  He restored that which he took not away.  Abram was that righteous man raised in the East, to whom God gave his enemies as driven stubble to his bow, and so the Lord Jesus has driven our enemies like chaff over to the wind, for they fled at the presence of Jehovah Jesus, and by the valor of the atoning Lamb they have been utterly broken in pieces forever.”  Amen and amen.

God’s Commitment to Rescue His Own:  Both Lot and Abram

Jesus is a conqueror.  He is a mighty King, and he came after us to rescue us.  So, also, Abram did for Lot.  Notice also God’s commitment to rescue his own.  He’s going to, in the account in Genesis, rescue Lot twice.  First through Abram, this military rescue, and then second through the two angels that he sends to rescue Lot from the real danger, namely the wrath of God about to be poured out on Sodom and Gomorrah.  And so, we see that God has a total commitment to rescue his own and to get them out from danger.  The great grief to me in this story and you really have to read between the lines to get it, is what in the world did Lot do, moving back to Sodom after the first rescue?  See how stubborn our hearts are, how much we love to live in Sodom, and how he should have taken some good advice and gotten back with his Uncle Abram at that point, but instead, he goes back to Sodom for more and God has to send the two angels and rescue him later.  Oh, how wicked and wayward are our hearts, and we don’t take the escape that God gives to us.

And so, Abram goes out, he goes out boldly, he goes out courageously.  It says in Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked man flees though no one pursues, the righteous are as bold as a lion.”  Why was Abraham so bold?  Well, he had a promise from God, “I will make you into a great nation.”  That kind of makes you immortal until it happens, right?  And so, he’s like, nothing is going to happen to me.  And it also said in Genesis 12, “I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse.”  And so, let’s get 318 guys, which may even be too many for this job, 318 guys and go take on four kings with an undefeated army, and we are going to win.    Note the boldness and the courage of Abram as he trusts in God’s word and goes out and rescues.

Now, what did it cost Abram?  Well, in the end, it didn’t cost him anything.  It could have gained him a lot of wealth.  But what did it cost Jesus to rescue you from your captor?  It cost him his very life.  He had to pour out his lifeblood on the cross to rescue you from sin and death, and from the accusing law which stood over against you to condemn you.  He had to give his own life to rescue you.  It says in Matthew 20:28, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  That was the price for him, that’s what he paid.  Far more expensive than what Abram paid in his type, or his picture of Christ, to rescue Lot.

Now, this image or picture of Christ as a conquering king who comes to rescue his own will only be fulfilled in the future in Revelation 19, when the heavens will be open, and Jesus leads the armies, the legions of heaven on a white horse, it says in Revelation 19, “He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords,” and he will return to earth as a mighty conqueror, not riding humbly on a donkey as he did the first time, but coming in a military fashion to conquer and to destroy and to rescue his own.  And so, this image, this type, awaits its final and complete fulfillment when Jesus returns to the earth a second time.

Abram’s Faith-filled Pledge to the King of Sodom

One final note concerning this aspect here, and that’s Abram’s faith-filled pledge to the king of Sodom.  Verses 17, 21-24, look at it with me.  “After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).”  Verse 21 and following, “The king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.’”  Tempting offer, a tempting offer.  “But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, “I made Abram rich.”  I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me −to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre.  Let them have their share.’”

But for himself, he takes nothing.  He does not want their stuff.  It doesn’t hold any attraction to him.  And why?  Because the love of the world is adultery against God.  For everything in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, the stuff of Sodom, he has no interest in that.  “The world and its desires pass away,” 1 John 2:17 tells us, “. . . but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”  I don’t think it’s an accident that the very next verse after that is Genesis 15:1, look at it.  “After this,” right after this, it says, “the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.’”  You don’t need the stuff of Sodom, you are going to get something better, you are going to get me.  I will be your very great reward.  It’s an incredible promise from God, and that is exactly what Abram wants, God and God alone, that’s all he wants.  And so, we see a beautiful portrait or a picture of Christ in Abram, the conqueror.

III. Christ-like Portrait #2:  Melchizedek the Priest-King

We also have a mysterious portrait of Christ in this man Melchizedek, and we get just a brief mention of him here.  But look at Verses 18-20, “Then Melchizedek King of Salem brought out bread and wine.  He was a priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.  And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.’  Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

Who Was He?

Now, who was this man?  Well, his name “Melchizedek” literally means king of righteousness.  His city was Salem, or Jerusalem.  So, he’s the king of Salem, or the king of Jerusalem.  Now, the word Salem is the Hebrew word for peace.  So, he’s the king of righteousness, and he’s the king of peace.  He’s the king of Jerusalem.  Now, it’s a little bit of an ironic name, Salem.  Peace.  Is Jerusalem a city of peace today?  How long has Jerusalem not been a city of peace?  David conquered it from the Jebusites, and then Nebuchadnezzar conquered it from the Jews.  And then Cyrus the Great conquered it from the Greeks for the Persians, and then Alexander conquered it, and then the Romans conquered it, and then the Muslims conquered it from the Byzantine Empire.  And then the Crusaders came and tried to conquer it and got it for a little while, but the Muslims took it back until World War I when the British conquered the Ottoman Turks.  And then in 1948, during the partition of Israel, Jerusalem was set up to be a Muslim/Christian/Jewish city, and it’s been nothing but trouble ever since.  Hardly the city of peace.

Jesus himself spoke about this in Luke 19:42, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace −but now it is hidden from your eyes.  The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.  They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.  They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.’”  Jesus alone is the peace of Jerusalem, and it will have no peace until they recognize Jesus as their Savior.

But here is Melchizedek, he’s the king of Salem, the king of righteousness.  And it’s interesting because he is both a priest and a king.  It says he was a priest of God Most High.  He is a king, king of the city-state of Salem, and he is also the priest of God Most High.

What Did He Do?

Well, what did he do?  Well, first he brought out bread and wine.  Why did he do that?  Our Catholic friends would say this is a precursor of the Lord’s supper.  I don’t really find the Lord’s Supper here, even though the name Melchizedek is mentioned every Sunday at mass.  When I was growing up as an altar boy, I wondered who Melchizedek was.  It wasn’t until after I came to Christ and read the Book of Hebrews that I learned who Melchizedek was.  But he brings out bread and wine to refresh Abraham and his troops.  That’s all.  It’s not a precursor of the Lord’s Supper.

But also, it says he blessed Abram.  “Blessed be Abram by God Most High” and he blessed him with authority.”  There’s a sense of his authority even over Abraham or Abram, and he received a tithe, or a tenth, of Abram’s plunder.  Now, we wouldn’t know much about Melchizedek if it weren’t for two other scriptures:  Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7.  Look with me at Psalm 110 for a moment.  Psalm 110.  Psalm 110 is a messianic Psalm, a prediction written by David.  Jesus quoted it in Matthew 22 and said that David was speaking by the spirit in Psalm 110, and he was writing about Christ.  Now, look just with me, if you would, at Psalm 110: 1-4.  It was read earlier, Eric read it, but look with me if you would.  Psalm 110:1-4.  It says, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’  The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies.  Your troops will be willing on the day of your battle.  Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.”

Now, verses 2 and 3 speak of a mighty scepter, of a conquering king coming forth from Zion.  This is the kingship of the Messiah, and he will be a king.  He’s the son of David, he’s the lion of the tribe of Judah.  And it says in Genesis 49:10, “The scepter will not depart from Judah . . .  . . .until he comes to whom it belongs. . .”  And so, Jesus will be from the tribe of Judah and He will hold the scepter, for He is the son of David.  But He is greater than David because David calls him Lord.  “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”

Psalm 110:  King David’s Inspired Meditation on the Christ

So, here’s the king of Judah, he is the king of Zion, a picture of a king.  But then out of nowhere in Psalms 110, Verse 4 it says, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’”  So here you have a king from the tribe of Judah, a descendant from David, the son of David, and He is a ruler, He’s got the scepter in his hand, and yet He is sworn, God swears to him a promise and an oath, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”  Well, for us, that’s not a problem because we’re not Old Covenant people, but back then there was a strong division between the priesthood and the kingship.  The kingships were from the line of David, from Judah.  It was from Judah that the scepter would never depart.  Judah.  But meanwhile, the priesthood is a Levitical priesthood.  From the priests, they were all of the Levites, and there could be no mixture of the two.  Indeed, any kings from the line of Judah who tried to be priests received the curse of God like leprosy in one case.  There could be no mixture of the two under the Old Covenant.

But he says, “You’re not a priest in the order of Levi or Aaron.  You’re a priest in the order of Melchizedek.”  And Melchizedek from Genesis 14 was both king and priest, and the two were together and there’s no division between the two.  And so, this is the picture of Jesus.  The kingly power of the Messiah, and also, the priestly ministry of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 5 and 7:  The Inspired Commentary on Genesis 14 and Psalm 110

Now, look over at Hebrews 7, and we’ll see the full understanding of this.  Take a minute and look at Hebrews 7.  In Hebrews 7, the author of Hebrews unfolds the mysteries of this issue of Melchizedek.

Aspects of Comparison

Look at Hebrews 7:1-4.  “This Melchizedek” it says, “was King of Salem and priest of God Most High.  He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.  First, his name means ‘king of righteousness;’ then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of Peace.’”  Verse 3, “Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.  Just think how great he was:  Even the patriarch, Abraham, gave him a tenth of the plunder!”

So, Melchizedek is a picture of Christ, a type of Christ.  He is a priest and a king, and so was Christ.  The name “King of Righteousness” will only be fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ.  The name “King of Peace” is only fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ.  The symbolic eternal origins.  It says, “Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days” that’s only fulfilled in the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ.  His symbolic eternal priesthood, in that he never dies, Melchizedek never dies in the Scripture, is only symbolic but fulfilled ultimately in Jesus Christ.  “Whoever lives,” it says, “To make intercession for you and me.”  He is higher in rank than Abram, therefore Abram gives him a tenth of everything.  He rules over him, and that is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  As Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing Jesus’ day, he saw it and was glad.  And so, we have a glorious composite portrait of Christ.

Glorious Composite Portrait of Christ

Jesus Christ, the perfect king and also the perfect priest.

Was Melchizedek Actually the Pre-incarnate Christ?

Now, the question comes, was Jesus actually or was Melchizedek pre-incarnate Christ?  Was this really Jesus showing up here?  Some scholars think so, but I don’t.  Notice that it says in Hebrews 7, “like the son of God, he remains a priest forever.”  Well, what would you be comparing?  It would be Jesus like Jesus and it doesn’t make any sense.  Therefore, I think Melchizedek was really a man, really a king, he really lived, he was flesh and blood, he had a life, he was a king of Salem, he was also priest of God Most High, and he came out physically and blessed Abram.  But there is in his life a portrait of Jesus, the priest-king.

IV. Theological Significance of Melchizedek: Christ Our Eternal High Priest

Central Message of Hebrews: Superiority of Christ and the New Covenant

Now, what is the theological significance of this?  Well, first of all, the superiority of Christ and the New Covenant to the Old.  We live in the New Covenant, and therefore we don’t have to bring animal sacrifices, we don’t have to pour out blood on altars, we have a New Covenant, and Jesus is the priest and the mediator of a superior New Covenant.  And as a result of that, as Eric did earlier, we have an invitation to come right to the throne of grace and receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.  The Old Covenant told you to stay away.  Barriers.  You couldn’t get into the Holy of Holies.  You couldn’t draw near.  But the New Covenant says it’s wide open.

Specific Message of Hebrews 7:  Christ is Our Eternal High Priest

In the body of Jesus, we have a new and living way open for us right into the very presence of God.  And what do we find when we get there?  We find a merciful and faithful high priest who became a man and was tempted in every way, just as we are.  Yet, He never sinned.  And therefore, when you’re tempted, when you are weak, when you are struggling in your Christian life, you go to the throne of grace and say, “Oh, merciful, faithful high priest, help me.  I’m struggling.”  And if you’ve already sinned and you wonder, “Can God ever forgive me?”  You come to the throne of grace and you receive full cleansing through the blood of Christ, far superior to anything the Old Covenant could ever do.  We have opened up for us a priestly ministry through Jesus Christ, and he invites us, and he offers the perfect sacrifice once for all, his own blood shed on the cross, and he stands at the right hand of God and is constantly speaking into his Father’s ear on your behalf.  And oh, does the Father love the Son.  And on the basis of that, you are forgiven and protected, and you’ll be brought ultimately into the very presence of God.

V. Application

Now, what kind of application can we take from Genesis 14?  Well, first of all, worship Christ, honor him.  It says in Philippians 3:3, We are those “who worship by the Spirit of God” who boast or “glory in Christ.”  Boast in Christ.  Jesus rescued you from your captors.  Far more powerful than Kedorlaomer was Satan over you.  Far more powerful than Kedorlaomer was sin and death.  Could you ever have wriggled yourself free from them?  No.  Death stands like an undefeatable enemy, and it mocks everything you do if it’s not for Jesus.  But Jesus comes and rescues you from death, He rescues you from sins, so honor him, worship him, give Him thanks today for your salvation.

But don’t forget that He’s a king.  Melchizedek is a priest king; He is a king.  Jesus is Melchizedek’s king.  He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.  And before him, every knee will bow.  And so, bow your knee to Jesus the King.  Could it be that, speaking in the language of Genesis 14, you are like Lot and little by little getting sucked towards Sodom?  What’s going on in your life?  What are you watching?  What entertains you?  How do you spend your time?  Are you enamored with this world?  Would it be hard for you to give it up?  Are you kind of acting more like Lot or like Abram, a man of faith who saw through it all and raised his hand and said, I took an oath.  I’m not taking anything from you.  I don’t want anything from you.  And if you find the Lot principle inside you getting sucked toward the world more and more, then come near to the throne of grace and say, “Lord, rescue me.”  That’s what he came for, to deliver you from sin and bring you close.  And trust in your eternal high priest.

His priestly ministry is perfect, he pleads his own blood.  The Father is open-hearted toward hearing the intercession, it will not fail, and he will not stop pleading for you that your faith will not fail until the day he sees you face-to-face and until the day you receive your resurrection body perfected in him.  So, trust in him, your High Priest.  If you’re feeling right now because of your sinfulness or things that you’ve done, that you’re separated from God, you are far from Him, then come close, confess the sin.  He’s inviting you to come close.  He’s saying, “Just as I am, without one plea, I come to you, Lord.”  We come close to him.  Then come.  Don’t try to rid yourself of one dark blot, but let him do it and cleanse you.

And then finally, look at the courage of Abram.  It may be that you don’t have a sin problem, you’re not feeling distant from God, you’re walking with Him, but are you being courageous in your life?  When was the last time you got scared for Jesus?  When was the last time you went out on a night attack for the Kingdom of God?  Are you doing anything that calls for valor and courage and boldness?  Let me speak especially to you fathers on Fathers’ Day.  How are you modeling courage to your sons and daughters?  How are you a man, standing firm like Abraham did when he said, “Let’s go get him.”  Are you displaying courage?  Are you bold in evangelism?  Are you bold in putting sin to death in your own life?  Are you bold at the workplace to stand up for Christ?  Are you bold like Abraham was?  Remember, the wicked flee though no one pursue, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.

Introduction:  Pictures of Christ

Throughout the history of the Western Church, there has been a river of artwork focused on the person and work of Jesus Christ

In 1475, Leonardo Da Vinci painted a scene entitled the Baptism of Christ, oil and tempera on wood, presently kept at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy

Twenty-five years later, perhaps the most famous sculpture of Christ is Michelangelo’s Pieta, a six foot high block of marble transformed in 1499 by the exquisite skill of the greatest sculptor in history into a scene of moving power… the dead Christ laid across the lap of His grieving mother, Mary

Greek and Russian Orthodox churches are filled with icons, artistic renditions of Christ

Some people believe the most accurate portrait of Christ is the mysterious stain on the Shroud of Turin

Artists have filled the earth with renditions of Christ… BUT

None of the portraits of Christ can rival or replace the words of Scripture

Christ is never described physically in the Bible… but there are numerous portraits of his character and his ministry, and some of the best are in the Old Testament

In our text today, we have TWO PORTRAITS OF CHRIST

Abram a type of Christ in his courageous and powerful rescue of Lot

Melchizedek a type of Christ in his status as a Priest King.

Thus today we are studying a chapter with two portraits of Christ!

In the Old Testament there are three major offices for important men:  Prophet, Priest, and King

In the Old Covenant, a Priest could be a Prophet… for such was Ezra the Prophet/Priest

And a King could be a Prophet… for such was David the Prophet/King

BUT NEVER could a Priest be a King in the Old Covenant… the two offices were separated

But in our text today we meet a Priest King, a magnificent and prophetic picture of Christ… one of the best in the Old Testament.  His name was Melchizedek, the ancient King of Jerusalem long before it became the City of David

I.  The Tapestry of Redemptive History:  The Wars of Pagan Kings

A.  Redemption Woven Into a Tapestry of History

1.  “Wars and rumors of wars”

Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

a.  human history the unfolding of the wickedness of the human heart

b.  small kings rise against other small kings… they move by greed and lust for conquest;  pride and love for plunder motivate them

c.  one kingdom rises, another falls before it… then that one also falls before the next one

d.  God uses wars to accomplish His redemptive purposes

·      Because of the conquests of the Greeks under Alexander and of the mighty Roman legions, the infrastructure for the rapid advance of Christianity was laid… the roads, the common language, the trade and commerce, the Pax Romana

·      Because of the conquests of the barbarians of the Roman empire, the gospel spread to the wilds of the German forests and the steppes of Russia

·      Because of the conquests of the Vikings, the gospel eventually conquered them as well… enslaved people courageously preached the message of Christ and they came to believe

·      Because of the worldwide ambitions of the English, the sun never set on the British Empire… and the gospel spread to India and to Africa

·      Because of WWII, American soldiers left the comforts of small-town America and fought in the south Pacific, in remote islands they’d never even heard of… and later some of them returned to Papua New Guinea to evangelize Stone Age tribes there

·      Because the Taliban was conquered by the America military, missionaries are now able to preach the gospel openly in Afghanistan

Moral:  God uses wars and rumors of wars to advance the cause of His redemptive plan

2.   Sparrows

Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

If God controls the fall of sparrows, how much more does He control the ebbs and flows of pagan history to achieve His ends

3.  God unfolds His redemptive plan on a tapestry of great and small secular events

Literally NOTHING seemingly minor is insignificant

Literally NOTHING seemingly major is out of God’s control

B.  Lot’s Faithless Choice

1.  Last week, we saw Lot make a selfish and faithless choice

Genesis 13:10-13  Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)  11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.

2.  This brought Lot under the swirl of events centered around wicked Sodom

3.  Had he stayed with Abram, this would never have happened to him

4.  His own selfishness and love for ease and pleasure put him in harm’s way

C.  The Warring Pagan Kings

1.  A series of city-states, like ancient Greece

2.  Each city and its surrounding region had a king

3.  Major regional King:  Kedorlaomer of Elam

a.  Elam was east of Babylon, near Ur of the Chaldees where Abram started

b.  he was allied with

vs. 1  Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, and Tidal king of Goiim

Shinar is the place where the Tower of Babel had been built, and eventually became the city of Babylon

Ellasar is just up the Euphrates river from Ur and from Ellasar

So… Kedorlaomer was an early version of the King of Babylon… the leader of a small form of Gentile empire

c.  vassal kings in Palestine

i)  Palestine was valuable: rich soil, lots of natural resources

ii)  Palestine was strategic:  en route to Egypt

iii)  Babylonian emperors forever were following the fertile crescent along the Tigris and Euphrates, coming down the King’s Highway to conquer and dominate

iv)  Kedorlaomer, king of Elam had conquered these five kings in Palestine:  the Kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboiim, and Zoar

v)  for twelve years they paid their tribute to Kedolaomer

4.  Thirteenth year:  Vassal kings rebelled

a.  five kings allied and rebelled

b.  so Kedorlaomer whistled up three other vassal kings and came to re-establish his authority

c.  the four kings first conquered a bunch of other small states

vs. 5-7  In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.

Kedorlaomer was strong and powerful… he was undefeated and now came after Sodom and Gomorrah

d.  battle lines drawn up:  the four kings vs. the five (vs. 8-9)

5.  Kedorlaomer wins decisively

Kedorlaomer’s armies destroyed the armies of the five kings, and some of the men fell into the terrifying tar pits of the Valley of Siddim… the rest fled to the hills

6.  Kedorlaomer plunders

Most armies fight so they may plunder their enemies…

Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, commander of the Catholic forces in the Thrity-year’s war said every soldier is entitled to three hours of plunder

So it was in this case:

vs. 11  The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.

BUT they went one item too far:

 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

Notice the additional statement:  since he was living in Sodom

Originally, Lot had merely lived NEAR Sodom… now he was living IN Sodom… that was the root of his problem

7.  Abram is told

vs. 13 One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.

Abram had made allies with the Amorites… perhaps had led some of them to an active faith in the living God

Together with them, he set out to rescue Lot

II.  Christ-like Portrait #1:  Abram and the Military Rescue of Lot

vs. 14-16   When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

A.  Abram’s Courageous Rescue of Lot

1.  Note Abram’s gracious spirit toward his selfish nephew

2.  Note Abram’s courage and leadership… a relatively small force going after an undefeated army of four kings

3.  Note Abram’s skill as a general:  the incredible boldness and initiative, the night-time attack, the division of his men into groups, the surprise factor

4.  Note how beautifully Abram stands as a type of Christ, who also rescued us from capture

Colossians 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves

Galatians 1:4  Jesus Christ  gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age

B.  Charles Spurgeon’s Comments

“What a splendid type is Abram, in the narrative before us, of our Lord Jesus Christ! Let us read this story of Abram in connection with our Savior, and see how full of meaning it is. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the abundance of His love, had taken us to be His brothers; but we, through our sin, had moved into the land of Sodom, and Jesus Christ dwelt alone in His safety and His happiness, enjoying the presence of God. The hosts of our enemies, with terrible force and cruel fury, carried us away captives. We were violently borne away with all the goods which we possessed, into a land of forgetfulness and captivity forever. Christ, who had lost nothing by this, nevertheless being a “brother born for adversity,” pursued our haughty foes. He overtook them; He smote them with His mighty hand-He took their spoil, and returned with crimsoned vesture, leading captivity captive. He restored that which He took not away. … Abram was that righteous man raised in the East, to whom God gave his enemies as driven stubble to his bow; and so the Lord Jesus has driven our enemies like chaff over to the wind, for they fled at the presence of Jehovah Jesus; and by the valor of the atoning Lamb they have been utterly broken in pieces forever.”

C.  God’s Commitment to Rescue His Own:  Both Lot and Abram

1.  Lot, however sinful, is still one of God’s own

2.  God does not send Abram after all the victims of Kedorlaomer, but just Lot

3.  God will later send two angels to rescue Lot from a far greater danger in Sodom… His won wrath

4.  Peter’s comments on Lot

2 Peter 2:7-9  if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)– 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.

God rescued Lot from Sodom twice… this is the nature of God’s commitment to His own children… even if they sin foolishly by choosing to live in Sodom

5.  So also God knows how to deliver Abram from His enemies… Abram had every reason to be bold as a lion and utterly fearless in this matter… God had made him a promise!!!

Genesis 12:2-3  “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

God would personally see to Abram’s protection, and any who rode with him into battle would also come under his umbrella of blessing… Abram literally could not lose!!

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Abram completely shocked the victorious armies of Kedorlaomer, perhaps drunk with the excesses from their plunders.  He attacked them at night and routed them all the way to Damascus, not letting up until the victory was complete and total

See how also Abram won a blessing for all the vanquished nations of Palestine over the forces from Elam and Babylon!!

Abram in this is a type of Christ… the righteous Son of God who went into battle to set the captives free

So Jesus announced His mighty mission in the synagogue in Nazareth:

Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed

The accomplishment of our release from captivity to Satan, sin, and death would be more expensive to Christ than it ever was to Abram… IT WOULD COST HIM HIS VERY LIFE

 Matthew 20:28 The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

D.  Abram’s Faith-filled Pledge to the King of Sodom (vs. 17, 21-24)

17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). …  21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me– to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

1.  Two Kings come out to Abram

The way the account is written, it seems that both the King of Sodom and the King of Salem came out to meet him at the same time

2.  The King of Sodom, with material blessings

3.  The King of Salem, with spiritual blessings

4.  The King of Salem, Melchizedek, Abram respects… his blessing Abram desires

5.  The King of Sodom Abram does not respect… his blessing he totally rejects

The King of Sodom perhaps had himself literally fallen into the slime pit of themselves

NASB   Genesis 14:10 Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them.

So here is the immoral and disgusting king of Sodom, covered with the stinking slime of the tar pit of Siddim, wanting to offer a reward to Abram

Abram is different than Lot… he wants literally nothing from Sodom… nothing at all.  So he relates the depth of his commitment in this matter:

vs. 22-23  But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

Abram’s eyes are on the rewards that only God can give.  It is not by accident that the very next interaction in Genesis is this one:

Genesis 15:1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

THAT is the reward Abram wanted… God Himself, and God alone

However, he does intercede for the Amorites that rode with him:

vs. 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me– to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

III.  Christ-like Portrait #2:  Melchizedek, the Priest-King

vs. 18-20   Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

A.  Who Was He?

1.  His name:  Melchizedek

literally means “King of Righteousness”

2.  His city:  Salem = Jerusalem

Salem is the Hebrew word for Peace… security, well-being

The beginning of a long history of the rulers of Jerusalem

Ironic first name:  City of Peace

Jerusalem has been anything but peaceful… rather a long history of one conquest after another

Abram met with this King and would later go to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on Mt. Moriah near Jerusalem

·      David conquered Jersualem from the Jebusites in 1005 B.C.  …from then on the Jews called it the City of David

·      Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar conquered it from the Jews in 587 B.C.

·      Persian King Cyrus the Great conquered it from the Babylonians in 538 B.C.

·      Greek King Alexander the Great conquered the city and its Persian army in 331 B.C.

·      Roman commander Pompey conquered the city from the Greeks in 64 B.C.

·      Egyptian Muslims under Caliph Omar took the city from the Byzantines for Islam in  A.D. 637

·      European Crusaders conquered it for Christendom from the Muslims in 1099.

·      Egyptian Muslims under Saladin reconquered it from the Crusaders for Islam in 1187… the Crusaders tried numerous times to dislodge the Muslims, briefly succeeding from 1229-1244.

·      Muslim Mamluks and later Turks controlled the city for Islam until the British conquered it during WWI in 1917

·      The British controlled Jerusalem until they departed the divided city to a coalition of Jews and Muslims on May15, 1948… the Arabs immediately attacked the Jews and one Jewish-Arab war after another has resulted

All of this from the city originally called “Peace” in the time of Melchizedek

Jesus Himself acknowledged the root cause of the warfare of Jersualem

Luke 19:41-44  As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

Not until the Jews acknowledge the true King of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, will the city of Jerusalem be truly the city of peace

3.  His office as King

Melchizedek was King of the City-state of Salem, much like the other kings in this chapter… he was the leader of the city

4.  His office as Priest

He was also called a “Priest of God Most High”

This should show us that God was doing more things in the world at that time than just working through Abram… He had His godly remnant, men like this mysterious king who knew the true and only God as did Abram

B.  What Did He Do?

1.  Brought out bread and wine

2.  Blessed Abram with authority

3.  Received a tenth of Abram’s plunder

C.  Psalm 110:  King David’s Inspired Meditation on the Christ

Psalm 110:1 Of David. A psalm. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 2 The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies. 3 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth. 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

1.  The Pedigree of the Psalm:  Christ’s Quotation

Matthew 22:41-46  While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, 44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘ 45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

2.  Christ’s basic point:  David was NOT writing about himself, but about the Christ

3.  Kingly might and power are expected and prominent

a.  the “Son of David” would certainly be a King in the order of David… for so it was prophesied

ESV Genesis 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Jeremiah 33:17 “For thus says the LORD, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel…’”

b.  the kingly power of the Messiah is clearly prominent

Psalm 110:2-3 The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies. 3 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.

4.  But what then can this mean?

Psalm 110:4  The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

5.  Did David understand this?  Probably not!!!

1 Peter 1:10-12  Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

David could not have plumbed the depths of his own words when he wrote,

“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Full revelation of the implications of Christ’s priestly ministry would

D.  Hebrews 5 & 7:  The Inspired Commentary on Genesis 14 and Psalm 110

1.  First mention in Hebrews 5

2.  Hebrews rebuked for immaturity and ignorance

3.  Hebrews 7:  Extended meditation on theme

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek”

E.  Aspects of Comparison

Hebrews 7:1-4  This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. 4 Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!

1.  Melchizedek was a Priest-King and so was Christ

2.  The name “King of Righteousness” is perfectly fulfilled only in Christ

3.  The name “King of Peace” is perfectly fulfilled only in Christ

4.  Symbolic eternal origins is perfectly fulfilled only in Christ

5.  Symbolic eternal priesthood is perfectly fulfilled only in Christ

6.  Higher in rank and able to bless Abram… again perfectly fulfilled only in Christ

7.  Received a tenth from Abram, standing in Christ’s place as representative

F.  Glorious Composite Portrait of Christ

Jesus Christ is the perfect King and the Perfect Priest

G.  Was Melchizedek Actually the Pre-incarnate Christ??

IV.  Theological Significance of Melchizedek:  Christ Our Eternal High Priest

A.  Central Message of Hebrews:  Superiority of Christ and the New Covenant

Hebrews 7:22  Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

B.  Specific Message of Hebrews 7:  Christ is Our Eternal High Priest

Hebrews 7:24-26  because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest meets our need– one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

C.  Secondary Message of Hebrews 7:  Old Covenant Priesthood is Obsolete

Hebrews 8:13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

All earthly priests are limited by their sinfulness and mortality

All earthly kings are also limited by their sinfulness and mortality

Jesus Christ is the sinless Priest-King… sinless so His reign is perfect and so is His priestly ministry; deathless so His priestly ministry and Kingly reign are eternal

V.  Application

1.  Worship Christ, the Conqueror of Our Abductor

a.  see the immense courage of Abram in rescuing sinful Lot from his captors

b.  see the even greater courage of Christ in rescuing us from our danger:  rescued from Satan;s dark kingdom, rescued from eternal death in hell, rescued and given eternal life

c.  see how much Christ’s rescue of you cost

d.  YET note that Lot’s own foolishness and sinfulness is what made him vulnerable to this captivity

e.  are you lining in Sodom, taking in their ways, drifting little by little into the lifestyle of Sodom, and sharing also their scourges, their wars, their punishments, their fate??

f.  then cry out to Christ to rescue you again from Sodom… and when he does, don’t go back and live there again as Lot did

2.  Trust in Christ, Our Eternal High Priest

a.  Melchizedek was a picture of Christ, a Priest-King

b.  Christ is also your eternal, high priest… He constantly lives to stand at the right hand of God and plead His own blood on your behalf

c.  it Christ’s priestly ministry ALONE that can rescue you from the wrath to come and bring you safely to eternity in the presence of God

d.  trust in Christ, trust Him wholly… His blood and His prayers will finish your salvation

3.  Submit to Christ, Our Eternal King

a.  Melchizedek was named King of Righteousness… Jesus lives it every moment

b.  submit gladly to His righteous rule over your life

c.  is He commanding you to do something?  Perhaps to move away from living in downtown Sodom

d.  perhaps you are spending your time in the entertainments or allurements of the world… in pursuing personal pleasure or power or prosperity in America as Lot did in Sodom

e.  perhaps Christ is calling you to serve Him with your spiritual gifts, or to give more money, or to evangelize, or to put a certain sin to death

f.  He is your KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS… will you not obey Him today??

4.  Pattern Yourself After Abram, the Faithful, Not Lot the Faithless

a.  Abram was bold as a lion and courageously rescued one of God’s people

b.  EVANGELISM also takes courage

c.  so does rescuing a brother or sister from sin

d.  resolve not to defile yourself with the loot of Sodom… set your hearts fully on God as your only true reward

e.  don’t be like Lot, who as soon as Abram rescued him from capture, immediately returned to live in Sodom…