Melchizedek The Mystery Man

In our study through Hebrews, we have come to the discussion about Melchizedek. He is mysterious in many ways. This has led to a lot of speculation about who he is and his importance. We find him only in a few verses in the Old Testament. In Genesis 14 he appears suddenly to bless Abraham and to receive a tithe. Then in Psalm 110, which is a Messianic Psalm, he is referenced in a desciption of the Messiah's priestly role. I am thankful we have the book of Hebrews, which shines more light on the subject.

There is a lot of disagreement about who Melchizedek is. Some say he was an angel, some say he was a certain man from history, like Shem. Others feel like he was a preincarnate appearance of Jesus. It is important not to read into Scripture more than what is there. I feel that Melchizedek was a righteous and godly King and priest, who was a foreshadow of Jesus. He pointed to the Messiah who would have an eternal preisthood and would be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The main reason I feel this way about Melchizedek is the word that the writer of Hebrews uses in chapter 7 verse 3. He says that Melchizedek is "like" the Son of God. In Greek the word is "aphomosomenos". This is the only place the word is used in the Bible, and it means to produce a copy. What the writer is saying is that the Son of God is like the picture that is painted of Melchizedek in the book of Genesis. We do not have enough information to know more about Melchizedek.

We will never know all that there is to know about many things until we get to Heaven. Believing in God and having faith in God does not mean that we have all the answers. When we get to Heaven we will see Him face to face and we will get the answers. Embrace the mystery and realize that we can trust God, even if we do not know all the whos, whats, whens and whys.

God bless, Bro. Freddy