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The Mystery of Melchizedek

Daily Reflection / Produced by The High Calling
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The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

Psalms 110:4

In Psalm 110, the LORD (in capital letters, meaning Yahweh, the LORD God) speaks to the Lord (the human king of Israel); (110:1). God honors the king, extends his kingdom, and renews his strength (110:2-3). Then the LORD says a most curious thing to the king: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (110:4). What does this mean? And how does it speak to us?

Melchizedek, whose name means “King of Righteousness,” is one of the most mysterious figures in the whole Bible. He appears only in three verses of Genesis 14, where he is identified as “the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High” (14:18). Melchizedek blesses both God and Abram, in response to which Abram tithes upon the spoils of his recent military venture.

Melchizedek is mentioned in two other biblical texts: Psalm 110 and Hebrews 5-7. In Hebrews, Melchizedek helps to explain the unusual and superior priesthood of Christ. Even though he was not a Jewish priest in the ordinary sense, Jesus was indeed a “priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (7:17). Thus, Jesus was able to offer an eternally effective sacrifice for sin.

As you might well imagine, the mystery of Melchizedek has spawned reams of scholarly speculation about his identity and purposes. I won’t even try to enter into that conversation here. Rather, I want to underscore two basic truths of our faith. First, God and his ways will always exceed our understanding. The mystery of Melchizedek reminds us that there is so much that we cannot understand, at least not this side of Heaven.

Second, Jesus Christ, as foreshadowed in Psalm 110, sums up in himself the whole of the Old Testament. In particular, he is both the divinely anointed king and an eternal priest in the order of Melchizedek. Thus, the more we study the Old Testament, the more we will come to understand who Jesus really is and what he accomplished.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: What do you do when you come upon something in Scripture that you can’t understand? What reminds you of the awe-inspiring mysteriousness of God?

PRAYER: Gracious God, today I’m reminded that I fool myself when I think I have you all figured out. Yes, you have graciously revealed yourself to human beings in nature, in history, in Scripture, in the community of your people, and most of all in Jesus Christ. Yet there is always more about you than I can grasp. When I try to put you in some tidy little theological box, inevitably you break out.

Help me, dear Lord, to continue to strive to know you better. Keep me humble, so that I might be open to learn new things from your Word. And when something about you is beyond my understanding, give me the grace to trust you.

In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Rethinking Scarcity

We all know the pinch of limited resources. Whether it's a crunch for time, a shrinking bank account, or a competitive workplace, we often experience life dissatisfied and craving more. At The High Calling, we are Rethinking Scarcity, attempting to understand how both real and perceived scarcity influences our thoughts and behaviors. We also will explore scarcity’s influence in our decisions and how reimagining constraints not only changes the way we respond to our circumstances, but ultimately may change our circumstances themselves. Join us for the conversation!

Featured image above by martinak15. Used with Permission. Via Flickr.