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Mysterious Melchizedek

We know it is human nature to want to learn more, or even fill in the blanks of a story with our own conjectures. People want to learn about enigmatic Melchizedek, and Scripture almost teases us with references to him.

Abram had been called and blessed by God. We read that he was a wealthy and powerful man. There was a war going on (Gen. 14), and Abram's nephew Lot was living in Sodom. He was one of the people carried off in a raid, and Abram took his own men in battle against several kings!

Melchizedek is an enigmatic figure in Genesis 14. He was a king and priest, and Abram tithed to him. We learn later that he was a type of Christ.
The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, Dirk Bouts, 1465
After the victory, the king of Sodom met with Abram, but Abram wanted nothing to do with him. Also, Melchizedek met with Abram. Mel wasn't some guy who ran a diner in Phoenix, but the king of Salem and a priest of God. He blessed Abram, and Abe gave him a tenth of everything (Gen 14:18-20). After this encounter, a few references in the Bible explain that Melchizedek was a type of Christ. People have run several ideas up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes them, but most have serious flaws.
There is probably no more mysterious figure in all of Scripture than Melchizedek. He comes on the stage of Scripture in Genesis 14, disappears for close to 1,000 years before being mentioned again by David in Psalm 110, and then disappears off the pages of Sacred Writ for another 1,000 years before being mentioned by the writer of Hebrews. It is in Hebrews that we are confronted with some mysterious and difficult-to-understand facts about this ancient king and priest.

To learn more, click on the informative "Who Was Melchizedek?"