The
writer of Hebrews shared how “Melchisedec” “met
Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him”,
and in chapter seven and verse two of Hebrews the writer
shares more about now “Abraham gave a tenth part of all”
where we read:
To whom
also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation
King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is,
King of peace;
The
verse begins, “To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of
all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness,...”. The
writer began with the words, “To whom also”
which means “To Melchisedec even and indeed”, “Abraham”
which means “father of a multitude” and was “the son of Terah
and the founder of the Jewish nation” “gave a tenth
part” or “distributed,
divided, bestowed and imparted a tithe or ten percent” “of
all” which refers to “each,
every, all, the whole and everything”: “first”
which means “the first in rank, influence and honor ” “being
by interpretation” or
“explanation in words, expounded and translated what has been
spoken or written in a foreign tongue into the vernacular” “King”
which means “leader, prince, commander and lord of the land” “of
righteousness” or “the state
of him who is as he ought to be and the doctrine concerning the way
in which man may attain a state approved of God”. When “Abraham”
encountered “Melchisedec” after
defeating the foes of Sodom and Gomorrah, he gave him ten percent of
his spoils and knew “Melchisedec”
as the “leader and lord of the manner of living that is approved by
God”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and after that also King of
Salem, which is, King of peace;”. The
writer continued with the words, “and after that” or
“thereupon, then and afterwards” “also”
which means “even so and indeed” “King of Salem”
which refers to “the leader of the people, prince, commander and
lord of the land of peace where Melchisedec
was king and thought to be the ancient name of Jerusalem”, “which
is” or “who is called”,
“King of peace”
which means “the leader, prince, commander and lord of security,
safety, prosperity, felicity”. In addition to being known as the
“King of Righteousness”,
“Melchisedec” was
also known as the “King of”
the land of “peace”.
When
we think through these words in Hebrews, we see the significance of
“Melchisedec” and his relationship to Abraham. We also see
the parallels to Jesus Christ. “Melchisedec” was a
“theophany” of Jesus Christ (an Old Testament appearance of
Jesus) to whom Abraham gave homage by “tithing”. Ten
percent of Abraham's spoils from his conquests was in honor of who
“Melchisedec” was – the “King of Righteousness and
Peace”. Jesus is the “King of Righteousness and Peace”
for all who believe in Him as Savior and Lord, and those who desire
to honor Him not only do so with their “ten percent” or “tithe”
but also with their lives. Let us be as “Abraham” was to
“Melchisedec” who not only gave monetary blessings to him,
but also blessed him with the honor he so well deserved.
Next
time the writer shares how “Melchisedec”
was
“Without father, without
mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of
life”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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