Some of my questions will probably remain questions, but it certainly is worth looking at, this mystery of Melchizedek. You will see him here, in the Psalms, and in Hebrews. And nowhere else. That is part of the mystery.

But there are other, many other Bible characters that are mentioned even less. Hundreds and thousands of names in genealogies. Bit parts in stories. Why should we be so concerned about this one man who suddenly appears in the text.

I’ll tell you why. That writer of Hebrews (and there’s another mystery, but not as deep or significant) had much to say about him, but seemed to hesitate sharing his information with believers whose ears had grown a little dull of hearing. (His very words, 5:11)

That means Melchizedek is serious stuff to us, but only the most discerning will figure him out. I cannot say, to my shame, that I have arrived in this area. But let me share what I know.

The first part of my question above is the hardest. Let’s go back to Genesis, but ever mindful of the Hebrews description, too.

Genesis 14:18 says that this king, whose name means “king of righteousness”, ruled over a village or city called “Salem”, which means “peace.” Right away we can see Jesus in this. And when you add on the bread and wine he brought out to Abraham, the picture gets clearer than ever! And then Abraham, knowing this king of righteousness and peace is the priest of God in the area, gives Melchizedek a tithe. Part two of my question makes easy sense now, if part one is “No.”

So has Jesus, in a pre-incarnate body, appeared to Abraham, as this same God will appear to this same man before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?

Hebrews and this Genesis text all point in this direction. The king of Sodom is on his way to meet Abraham. But before they meet, Abraham has a more solemn, Heavenly meeting with the Priest, the King, of all.

After that meeting concludes, Abraham is fortified in his spirit, and refuses to take anything from the king of Sodom, though he has just given 10% of the spoils of the battle to this Melchizedek. To the king of Sodom he declares that he does not want to be made rich by any man. He has just been enriched by God Himself.

And the Psalms and Hebrews tell us that our Jesus is a Priest after the order of Melchizedek. The Heavenly King, the Heavenly Priest, is now given another body, by birth through Mary. But it is the same Word of God that manifested Itself to Abraham.

Second opinion? Is there really a place in old Canaan known as Salem? Not in my Bible. Jebus-salem came hundreds of years later. You see, if there was a literal place called “Salem” then Melchizedek had to be a local king of the time, and the message falls apart. Why tithes to a local Canaanite king? Why is this local king called the Priest of God, when Canaanite religion was anything but godly, and would in years to come be destroyed altogether, with its perpetrators?

No, the evidence points to a Divine Encounter, one that Hebrews says we should understand. The Priesthood of Jesus is not the same as the Priesthood of Aaron, or that of Rome, or any other religion. It is the Jesus Priesthood, entered into by all that are His, a priesthood of every true believer in Jesus, whose priests offer to Him sacrifices of praise and service, eternally.