Hebrews 7:1-10 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings… I. THE TITLE OF MELCHISEDEC, AS KING. "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem." It were idle to discuss here the various conjectures which have been started as to who this Melchisedec was — considered as he is by some to have been Enoch, by others to have been Shem, by others to have been an angel, by others to have been the Holy Spirit, by others to have been the Eternal Son of God Himself; it seems only needful to remark, that the nature of the apostle's argument throughout the chapter positively requires that Melchisedec should have been a man, and a man, too, living, and performing the functions here attributed to him, in the time of the patriarch Abraham. Melchisedec becomes a remarkable person, were it only from the singular conjunction of the two offices of king and priest — a conjunction which of itself would suggest his being a type of Christ. Thus he is a type of Christ even with regard to his kingship, and that both in his acts and in the titles by which he is distinguished. Even the first act recorded of him m Genesis we can hardly think was without some spiritual significance. You will observe, he is there represented as coming out to "the father of the faithful," bringing him a present of bread and wine, in order that his followers might be refreshed after the toils of conquest, and be sent on their way with lightened and rejoicing hearts. What is this but a picture of the way in which Christ, the true Melchisedec, rewards and refreshes all the followers of faithful Abraham? Are they wearied with the toils of their spiritual warfare? He is wont to say to them, "Come unto Me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will" refresh you. Are they tired out with the world's disappointing vanities, having "spent their money for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which satisfieth not"? His language is, "He every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; yea, come ye, buy wine and milk, without money and without price." Nay, are they desirous of realising nearness of spiritual communion — of being brought more closely into the presence of their God and Saviour? Are they desiring to " see the King in His beauty," and to receive from Him tokens of reconciliation and peace and love? He comes forth like Melchisedec bringing " bread and wine," offering to believing hearts the blessed sacrament of His passion, that in the memorials of His body broken, and the blood of redemption shed, believers, like the faithful followers of Abraham, may go down to their homes in peace! Still more typical of the Redeemer's royalty are the titles here given to Melchisedec. You will observe it is said of him — "first being by interpretation, king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is, king of peace." These are the titles of the typical Melchisedec, and as applied to him may probably mean no more than that such names were given to him by the common consent of his subjects — as one who was distinguished for the righteousness which characterised his regal administration, for the integrity and uprightness of his judicial decisions, for the amicable relations which he maintained with all neighbouring states, and for the tranquillity which marked his government at home. But who sees not at once the application of these titles to Christ in the exercise of His spiritual royalty? He is a "King of righteousness." If He cannot satisfy every demand of a violated law, if He cannot meet all the conditions of unsullied holiness, if He cannot cancel every claim which Heaven may have against our souls, nay, if He cannot present my soul as unblameable — as pure from stain or blemish as His own — the ground of my confidence is gone. A mere king of compassions, a king of love and pity, will not suit me, He must be a "King of righteousness." "and after that also king of Salem, which is king of peace." This, again, is a beautiful type of Messiah's kingship. "Therefore being justified by faith" — (there is the righteousness) — "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." II. THE PRIESTHOOD. "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God:" Now, that to which I would specially direct your attention here is, that Melchisedec is the first instance we have in the sacred record of a person specially set apart for the office of the priesthood. You will observe that he is not one of a line succeeding to the sacerdotal office in a certain family order; he is not one who has received that sacred appointment by the investiture of others, according to any prescribed order of ecclesiastical polity, but he is one who, long before the Levitical priesthood had been established, stands alone in a strange country, challenging homage from the greatest saint of antiquity as an ordained priest of the most high God. Now, we see at once in this certain resembling features to Christ, the true Melchisedec. He is not descended of any line of human priesthood; there was no laying on of hands to designate Him to the sacred office; yet there rested on Him tokens of a Divine consecration. The opened heavens testified to the power of the Lord's anointing; "the Spirit of the Lord" was upon Him, and when He had "made His soul an offering for sin," when He had "borne the sin of many," when He had "poured out His spirit unto death," believing souls were drawn to His cross, and exercising faith in the great oblation hailed Him — "Thou art a Priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec." And then observe, that special office of the typical high priest here mentioned by the apostle, namely, that of benediction, "who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him." Have we not here a close resemblance to Christ? Benediction, we know, seems never to have been off the lips of the holy Saviour. With streams of blessing did He open His first sermon on the mount; with hands of blessing He drew the little children to His embrace; with the uplifted voice of blessing He went up to the right hand of Power; blessed are the sleeping dead who die in His faith and fear; and when at last He shall separate the great congregation of risen dead, He shall first call to His redeemed ones, saying, "Come, ye blessed children of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world." Yes, blessing was the first act of our High Priest, after He had "returned to the Majesty on high": "Unto you first God having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you"; and never will He lay down that His special prerogative of mercy, until He hath blessed us "with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." But observe, another act of the typical Melchisedec noticed by the apostle is his receiving a portion of the spoils. "To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all." There can exist no question but that this act of the patriarch was a separation of a portion of his newly acquired wealth to the service of God. It was an offering to God through Melchizedec His appointed priest. Abraham had been prosperous; he had been honoured and eminently successful in the mission he had undertaken; how could he do otherwise than dedicate the firstfruits of his success to God? "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits?" The passage plainly throws some light on the perpetual obligation of almsgiving, independently of all dispensations whatever; and seems to prescribe to us the minimum of our substance which we ought to set apart for God's service. If you have been prosperous in the work of your hands, if you are returning like Abraham with the spoils of conquered difficulties, if your spiritual Melchisedec has met you with tokens of acceptance, give unto Him a tenth part of all. Let one strength, one help, one hope, one outstretched arm be recognised in all your successes: — showing that on earth you will lay all your prosperity, even as in heaven you will lay all your crowns, at the feet of Him who was ordained a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. III. THE MYSTERY OF MELCHISEDEC'S ORIGIN. He is declared to be, in the third verse, "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." Melchisedec is a person of whose death or birth no record had been preserved, both of which would have been if he had ever bad any accredited place in the Jewish polity. But this man has no record, has no genealogy: he starts up on the page of sacred history, exercising the mysterious functions of the priesthood, shrouding in a veil of impenetrable obscurity all the antecedents of his history, as well as all that relates To his "end of days." All this was especially meant to perfect the typical character of this Melchisedec. It was, in fact, to show to us that Christ Himself was not to succeed to His office in the order of any human priesthood — that He should not claim office in virtue of any transmitted rights, but that He should receive consecration direct from the hands or God: "a Priest" of the Most High God, "after the order of Melchisedec." And then see how we are to apply to Christ the last remarkable words applied to Melchisedec — to Christ, the true, the spiritual Melchisedec. He is said to be "without father"; is not this true of our Lord's human nature? He is said to be "without mother": is not this true of our Lord's Divine nature? He is said to be "without beginning of life, or end of days": must not this be true of Him whom prophecy describes as "the Ancient of days," as the Father of eternity, as One who throws out the challenge to every finite intelligence, "Who shaft declare His generation?" nay, as One whom God Himself had solemnly designated and set apart. "Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." IV. THE INTRANSMISSIBLE CHARACTER OF MELCHISECEC'S PRIESTHOOD. This is declared in the third verse: "He is made like" — namely, that He "abideth a Priest continually." Then turning to the twenty-fourth verse of this chapter you read — "But this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood" — a passage which, on looking at the margin, you will find thus rendered, "a priesthood which passeth not from one to another." Now, to understand this, you must remember the stress of the apostle's argument. It was a new theology to the Jews to suppose that Messiah was to be "a Priest" at all; they thought of Him, they expected Him, only as the "Lord" Christ, as the King of righteousness and peace. But suppose Christ were to be a Priest, then the Jew would say, "He must be a Priest according to the order of Aaron." Then says the apostle, "Christ can have no claim in this behalf; for He sprang from the tribe of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood." What, then, is the conclusion? Why, that the real type of Christ's priesthood is to be found, not in men having infirmity under the law, but in that remarkable personage expressly raised up of God in a particular age of the Church, in order that he might be a perfect, or, at least proximately perfect, type of Christ, as one who neither received his priesthood from any, nor yet transmitted his priesthood to any; and therefore, in so far as there was no delegation of the sacred functions, he might be said to "abide a priest continually." Herein he becomes a glorious and eminent type of Christ — the type of Him, who as He received His priesthood from none, so will He delegate it to none, not to human priesthoods, not to saints and angels, not to the ten thousand mediators of a corrupt and apostate church, but rather will continue, in all the might, in all the prevalency, in all the sovereign sufficiency of an unchangeable priesthood, "ever living to make intercession for us." (D. Moore, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; |
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