Portraits of Christ in the Old Testament: The Mysterious King Priest (Genesis 14)

Tonight we're continuing in our series portraits of Christ in the Old Testament before we get going I want to remind you of a brief disclaimer that I give at the beginning of every message in this series and that is this series does not claim to cover every portrait of Christ found in the Old Testament I can't do that that would be impossible the Old Testament is so saturated with Christ so dripping with portraits and pictures and previews of the coming Redeemer that no series no matter how long could ever exhaust them all well maybe eventually if old age didn't get us first rather what we're doing in this series is taking just some of the

most prominent some of the most powerful some of the most beloved portraits of Christ in the Old Testament and walking through them one at a time so we might see him more clearly and love him more deeply now a quick look back because it's been a while we started this series some time ago in Genesis chapter 3 with the first promise the proto evangelium the very first announcement of the gospel ever spoken on this earth not the first conception of it because God had it planned from all eternity past but the first mention of it on earth the promise of a seed who would crush the serpents head remember that then we moved to Genesis 6 and 7 for the

ark of salvation where we saw Christ pictured in the wooden vessel itself that carried Noah safely through the wrath of God and pictured as the one door the only way into that ark with God himself closing that only door behind those who were safe and sound inside and by the way both of those messages are available on our snazzy new website if you'd like to revisit them or get caught up in the series I'd encourage you to do that so tonight we move forward to Genesis 14 Genesis 14 we're going to look at one of the most mysterious figures in the entire Bible a man who appears pretty much out of nowhere says a few words to Abraham and then

disappears just as suddenly as he had appeared he only shows up in three verses in the entire book of Genesis but the Holy Spirit through David and through the writer of Hebrews picks him up centuries later and then centuries after that and uses him to teach us some of the most precious truths about the priesthood of Christ that we have anywhere in Scripture his name is Melchizedek Melchizedek so the title of tonight's message is portraits of Christ in the Old Testament the mysterious king priest portraits of Christ in the Old Testament the mysterious king priest let's start by reading the text so if you're in Genesis 14 let's look at verses

14 to 24 we'll start at verse 14 and read through the end of the chapter of course I'm as I usually am I'm in the LSB the Bible says so Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive and he let out his trained men born in his house 318 in number and went in pursuit as far as Dan and he divided his men against him by night he and his servants and struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah which is north of Damascus and he brought back all the possessions and he also brought back his relative lot with his possessions and also the women and the people then after he came back from striking down Chedule Omar and the kings who were with him

the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shabbat that is the Kings Valley and Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine now he was a priest of God Most High then he blessed him and said blessed to be Abram of God Most High possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand then he gave him a tenth of all that is Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the spoils the verse goes on and the king of Sodom said to Abram give the people to me but take the possessions for yourself then Abram said to the king of Sodom I have raised my hand to Yahweh God Most High possessor

of heaven and earth that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours so that you would not say I have made Abram rich I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten and the share of the men who went with me Aner Eshel and Mamre let them take their share close quote a little bit of additional context I want you to watch the order of things here because the order intentionally matters Abraham's nephew Lot had been living in Sodom and when the four kings from the east swept through and sacked the cities of the plain they hauled off Lot with everybody else Abram took 318 men I love how specific that number is

from his own household chased those kings all the way back way north of Damascus hit him at night and brought back everything the lot the people the goods all of it now look at verse 17 who comes out to meet him first the king of Sodom the king of the city that's synonymous with wickedness the city that's going to be destroyed by fire and brimstone just a few chapters from now he's the one standing in the king's valley when Abram comes down the road and he's got an offer in his pocket we'll get to it but before the king of Sodom can open his mouth verse 18 somebody else walks in and Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine no

introduction no background Moses doesn't say where he came from he just arrives he feeds Abram he blesses Abram he blesses God Abram gives him a tenth of everything and then in verse 21 the king of Sodom finally gets his turn you see what Moses the human author of Genesis did there he put the king of Salem right in the middle of the king of Sodom's meeting Sodom came out first Sodom spoke last but in between God sent a priest there's two kings two kingdoms one of them a picture of the world the other a picture of the Lord as we'll see and Abram walks out of that valley having heard both of them and here's the part I want you to tuck away for

later Melchizedek calls God quote possessor of heaven and earth in verse 19 then when the king of Sodom finally makes his offer listen to how Abram answers him in verse 22 I have raised my hand to Yahweh God most high possessor of heaven and earth Abram throws Melchizedek's words right back at the king of Sodom he's not refusing Sodom in his own strength he's refusing Sodom with the blessing of Melchizedek still ringing in his ears hold that thought we'll come back to it and yes he's Abram here God doesn't change his name to Abraham until chapter 17 but the author of Hebrews calls him Abraham and for the sake of simplicity I'm gonna stick

with Abraham from here on out unless I missed one we'll put me to the test Melchizedek shows up in three verses he brings out bread and wine he blesses Abraham he gives glory to God most high and Abraham gives him a tenth of all the spoils and then just like that poof he's gone I don't mean to suggest he vanished like photo Frodo putting on the ring he just walked away out of the narrative and that was that for very many decades truth is we don't hear about him again in Genesis at all we don't hear about him in Exodus or in Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth first or second Samuel first or second Kings in fact he didn't show up

again for nearly a thousand years and then all of a sudden BAM in Psalm 110 King David picks up his pen and writes just one line about him and then he disappears again for another thousand years or so until the writer of Hebrews digs him up so to speak and devotes a huge chunk of his epistle to the man something's going on here the Holy Spirit is doing something with Melchizedek and what he's doing is painting a portrait he's drawing a picture he's establishing a type and it's a type that will only come into full focus when the Lord Jesus Christ appears so here's where we're headed this evening three main points number one the mystery of

Melchizedek number

Two, the ministry of Melchizedek. And number three, the master foreshadowed by Melchizedek. Pray for preachers, we have to figure out ways to make those letters match. The mystery, the ministry, and the master. First, point one, the mystery of Melchizedek. There is something genuinely strange about how Melchizedek shows up in Genesis 14, isn't there? I don't mean strange in a bad way, I mean strange in the sense of unusual, unique, set apart, different. Think about how the book of Genesis works. Genesis is a book that is obsessed with genealogies. This is the book of the generations of Adam. These are the generations of Noah.

These are the generations of Shem. Over and over again, Genesis tells you who fathered whom, who lived how long, who died, who continued the line. That's the pattern of Genesis. And then, right in the middle of all those genealogies, Melchizedek shows up. And Moses gives us exactly nothing. Not a word about his father, not a word about his mother. Not a word about his birth, nothing about his death. He just appears, and then he disappears. No genealogy, no origin, no ending. And the writer of Hebrews, a couple of thousand years later, picks up on this and runs with it. Let me read for you what Hebrews 7 says in verses 1 through 3.

Hebrews 7, verses 1 to 3, listen carefully. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all, was, first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Listen, without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest continually. Did you catch that?

Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life. That's a remarkable description. And it leads us to one of the great debates in the history of Bible interpretation, or I think so, and that is, was Melchizedek a Christophany? A what? A Christophany. That's a fancy word, but don't let it scare you. Christo meaning Christ and phany, P-H-A-N-Y, meaning appearance. A Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. An appearance of the Son of God before he took on human flesh in the womb of Mary.

And many godly Christians throughout church history have looked at Melchizedek and said, wait a minute, king of righteousness? King of peace? No father, no mother, no genealogy, no beginning, no end? A priest forever? Brings out bread and wine? That doesn't sound like a Canaanite king. That sounds like Jesus. And I want to be fair to that view. It's not a view held by foolish people. Some genuinely brilliant Bible teachers have held that view. They look at the language, they see the parallels, and they conclude that Melchizedek must have been the Lord Jesus himself, appearing in human form to Abraham.

Kind of like the way he later appeared to Joshua before Jericho. Kind of like the way he later appeared as the angel of the Lord throughout the Old Testament. Some would say like he appeared on the throne in Isaiah's vision. That's the Christophany view. But I want to tell you tonight, after carefully studying this passage, I don't think Melchizedek was a Christophany. I believe Melchizedek was a real historical human man. A Gentile king and priest of God Most High, whom God sovereignly designed to function as a type, a picture, a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. Let me give you four reasons why I believe that. Four reasons.

Number one, Hebrews 7.3 says he was, quote, made like the Son of God. Read it again carefully. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest continually. Made like the Son of God, not he is the Son of God, not he was the Son of God in disguise, but made like the Son of God. The Greek word there is, I knew I was going to butcher this, aphomoiomenos, aphomoiomenos. It literally means made to resemble. Like a photograph resembles the person photographed. The photograph is not the person. The photograph resembles the person. Or think of it this way.

If I said to you, my son looks like me, nobody in this room would think I was saying my son is me. We all understand that resemblance and identity are two different things. Resemblance points to something. Identity is that thing. Melchizedek resembles the Son of God. He doesn't equal him. He doesn't embody him. He resembles him by sovereign design. John MacArthur puts it like this. He says, quote, Melchizedek is described as made like the Son of God, not as being the Son of God.

I believe, MacArthur speaking, that Melchizedek was a historical human being whose priestly ministry typifies that of Christ, a man whom God designed to use as a picture of Jesus Christ, close quote. So I'm in pretty good company. A historical human being whom God designed to use as a picture of Jesus Christ. Reason number two, quote, without father, without mother, without genealogy, doesn't mean he literally had no parents. Let me explain what's going on there. It's a Hebraic way of saying that the Bible doesn't record his parents or his genealogy. Surely, that would be a strange way for us to talk.

If I told you about somebody and said he has no father and mother, you'd either think the man was abandoned as a baby or that I was talking nonsense because everybody's got parents. Truly, without father, without mother sounds extraordinary. But keep reading. In verse 6, the writer describes Melchizedek as the one, quote, whose genealogy is not traced from them. From whom? From the sons of Levi. That's the issue. His priesthood doesn't rest on a documented line of descent from Levi or Aaron. Genesis simply introduces him as a priest of God Most High. No family tree, no birth account, no death account.

So, I don't understand Hebrews to be saying he had no biological parents. I understand it to be describing him as he stands on the pages of Scripture. In the Genesis account, he enters without a recorded beginning and he leaves without a recorded ending. And that portrait resembles the Son of God whose priesthood truly never ends. Makes sense? Reason number three. Hebrews 7, 15 talks about another priest according to the likeness of Melchizedek. Now, stay with me here. This can get a little, make your head spin. If Melchizedek was Christ, it wouldn't make sense to say another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek.

That would be like saying Christ arises in the likeness of Christ. That doesn't make sense. A thing is not in the likeness of itself. A thing is itself. The whole language of likeness in Hebrews 7 only makes sense if Melchizedek and Christ are two different persons, one resembling the other. The whole argument in Hebrews 7 distinguishes Melchizedek from Christ even as it draws the parallels between them. And reason number four. If Melchizedek was Christ, then Abraham was offering tithes to Christ in the flesh a thousand years before Bethlehem. Now, that's not impossible. God could have done it. He's God. He can do whatever He wants.

But Scripture as a whole doesn't prepare us for it in that way. Follow me here. The incarnation, the taking on of human flesh, was the eternal Son's one-time entrance into human history through the womb of Mary. It was a once-for-all event. I found this very convincing. Listen to Galatians 4.4 which says, But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman.

woman through a normal human birth, that was the entrance of God the Son into human flesh. And Genesis chapter 14 was obviously not the fullness of time, right? Other Old Testament appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ and the angel of the Lord, the captain of the host, are temporary and revealed themselves as divine. They show up, they accomplish a specific purpose, and they leave. Melchizedek doesn't describe or reveal himself as God. He functions as a man, a king, a priest of God Most High. He's ruling a city, he has subjects, he has an actual life and ministry there in Salem by implication and inference, of course.

So here's where I land. Melchizedek was not Christ himself. Melchizedek was a man designed by God to be a living, breathing portrait of Christ, a walking picture, a historical figure whose office, name, ministry, and silence in the genealogical record all came together by divine design to teach us about the coming King-Priest.

God, who sovereignly orders all of human history, the God who knows the end from the beginning, the God who declares what he will do before he does it, orchestrated a man's life in ministry and orchestrated silence in the written record so that nearly 2,000 years later when his son, or around 2,000 years later, when his son entered the world, entered the world in the flesh, we would have a clear picture of who he was. That's not coincidence, that's providence, that's the sovereign hand of God writing typology into history.

Spurgeon said this about the mystery of Melchizedek, listen carefully, quote, of this man we know very little and it is partly because we know so little of him that he is all the better type of our Lord of whom we may inquire who shall declare his generation. The very mystery which hangs about Melchizedek serves to set forth the mystery of the person of our Divine Lord, close quote. You see what Spurgeon is saying? The very things we don't know about Melchizedek, the silences, the gaps, the missing details, are themselves part of the portrait.

God left those gaps so that when we look at Melchizedek, we would see something of the eternal mystery of our Lord. We talk about things like we understand them sometimes, like the Incarnation and all that, we don't understand that. It's a mystery. The Trinity is a mystery, and so the way he orchestrated the portrait of Melchizedek shines a light on the portrait of Christ. I hope that makes sense. That's the mystery of Melchizedek. Point number two, the ministry of Melchizedek, the ministry of Melchizedek. What did this man do? What was his ministry? What did he bring to Abraham? Because every detail matters.

Every detail is part of the portrait. Look at verse 18 in Genesis 14. Genesis 14, 18. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. Now he was a priest of God Most High. Just in that one verse, there are several things we need to see. First, his name, Melchizedek. In Hebrew, that name is Melchizedek. Melchizedek. I know I'm butchering it. It's a compound name made up of two Hebrew words, Melech, which means king, and Tzedek, and that starts with a T. Tzedek, which means righteousness. Put them together, and his name literally means king of righteousness. Hebrew 7.2 confirms this for us.

It says he was, quote, first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness. Think about that. His very name pointed to his character, or maybe better, his name pointed to what he would foreshadow. Because the Lord Jesus Christ is the king of righteousness, Jeremiah 23.6 calls him Yahweh, our righteousness. 1 Corinthians 1.30 says Christ became to us righteousness. Christ is the only king who is perfectly righteous, the only king who rules with perfect justice, the only king in whom there is no flaw, no fault, no failing. Melchizedek, king of righteousness, was painting a picture. He was a signpost.

He was pointing forward to a king whose name and nature would be righteousness itself. Second, his realm, king of Salem. Salem, or Hebrew Shalem, closely related to the word Shalom, which we've all heard, which means peace. Salem here in Genesis is commonly identified with Jerusalem, actually. Psalm 76.2 supports that connection, quote, his tabernacle is in Salem, his dwelling place is in Zion, close quote. Salem and Zion, two names pointing at least to Jerusalem. But the Spirit, through the writer of Hebrews, tells us that the meaning of Salem is the main point. Hebrews 7.2 again, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.

So put it together, his name means king of righteousness, the name of his city means peace. So he is both the king of righteousness and the king of peace. And the order is key. First, king of righteousness, and after that, the king of peace. Why does the order matter? Because peace cannot come before righteousness. You cannot have true peace until you first have true righteousness. This is something our culture desperately wants to ignore. Our culture wants peace without righteousness. Our culture wants reconciliation without repentance. Our culture wants to skip the demands of holiness and go straight to a feel-good, so-called unity.

To quote that famous worldly philosopher Rodney King, can't we all just get along? Well, Rodney, the answer is no, you can't do that. You cannot have true peace without first having true righteousness. A house built on a corrupt foundation won't stand. A peace built on injustice will not last. A reconciliation that bypasses repentance is no reconciliation at all. It's just silence between two parties who still hate each other. Listen, God doesn't do that kind of peace. He won't do that kind of peace, because the God of the Bible is holy. He cannot pretend that sin doesn't matter. He cannot wave it away.

He cannot sweep it under the cosmic rug. The penalty for sin must be paid before peace can be had. Spurgeon nailed this. He said, quote, this Melchizedek, whom we exhibit as a type, is such a king as God is. He is according to divine model. He is priest of the Most High God, and he is like the Most High God, for the Lord Jehovah himself is first king of righteousness, and after that, also king of peace. Close quote. God himself follows that pattern. He is first the king of righteousness, and after that, the king of peace. He doesn't compromise on righteousness for the sake of peace.

He upholds righteousness perfectly, and then brings peace through that righteousness. And this is what the cross is all about, right? At the cross, God's righteousness was fully upheld and fully satisfied. The penalty for sin was paid in full. Justice was served, and then, because righteousness was satisfied, and only because righteousness was satisfied, peace was made between God and sinners through the blood of Christ. Romans 5 1 puts it this way, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. See that? Justified first, peace second. Righteousness first, peace after that.

The whole order of redemption is foreshadowed in Melchizedek's name and title. Do you see that? How cool is that little nugget? So simple, so profound. Scripture is amazing. His name, his realm, then third, his office, a priest of God Most High. He was, the scripture says, a priest of God Most High. The Hebrew there for God Most High is two words. Well, one little word and then a contracted word, or a hyphenated word. El Elyon, or El Elyone. El means God. Elyon means Most High.

high or supreme. So Melchizedek is a priest of the most high God, the supreme God, the God above every other so-called God. And this is remarkable. All of this is happening before the Levitical priesthood, before the law was given, before the line of Aaron, Moses's brother, was established, before there was a tabernacle, a tent of meeting, a codified sacrificial system. Sacrifices happened but not a codified sacrificial system. This is Genesis 14. The priesthood of Aaron and his sons isn't established until Exodus 28 and 29, hundreds of years later in the biblical story. So Melchizedek's priesthood predates the Levitical priesthood.

He's a priest of an older order, a more ancient priesthood, a priesthood that doesn't depend on being a descendant of Levi or a descendant of Aaron, because Levi and Aaron don't even exist yet. That's a little nod back to why we don't have a genealogy. He didn't need one. And that fact alone lays the groundwork for the whole argument of Hebrews 7, because Hebrews is going to say Christ is not a priest from the order of Aaron. Christ is a priest from the order of Melchizedek, an older order, a higher order, an order that predates and supersedes the Levitical system entirely. We've looked at his name, his realm, and his office.

Fourth, his offering, bread and wine. His offering, bread and wine. And when I say offering, I don't mean that in the terms of sacrifice. I just mean what he offered to Abram. Look at that verse again. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. Now he was a priest of God Most High. Bread and wine. Now, we shouldn't overpress this. The text doesn't say this was a sacrifice. I should have not used the word offering at all. Bread and wine were common refreshments offered to weary travelers in the ancient Near East. Abraham had just come back from a long, hard military campaign.

He and his men were tired and hungry, and Melchizedek brought out refreshment for them. But you cannot read this passage as a New Testament Christian and not see the foreshadowing, right? Because what does Christ give to his people in the Lord's Supper? Bread and wine. What does Christ point to as a picture of his own body and blood, broken and poured out for sinners? Hello, bread and wine. Folks, the first priest of God Most High mentioned in the Bible brings out bread and wine. And for the Christian reader, those elements naturally bring the Lord's Supper to mind. But hear me on this.

I'm not saying Melchizedek was somehow administering the Lord's Supper before there was a Lord's Supper. That would be reading too much into the text. Roman Catholic teaching sees this, his bread and wine as prefiguring the offering of the Mass. We don't take that step. Genesis says he brought out bread and wine. He does not say he offered them as a sacrifice. What I am saying is this. Roughly 2,000 years later, the greatest priest of God Most High would take bread and wine and say, this is my body and this is my blood.

We can reflect on that connection while recognizing that neither Genesis nor Hebrews explicitly identifies Melchizedek's bread and wine as a picture of the Lord's Supper. The connection is unmistakable even without forcing it, I think. Think about this meeting again in Genesis 14. Abraham comes down to the King's Valley and the King of Sodom is already standing there waiting on him. He's got an offer ready, but before he can make it, Melchizedek steps in with bread and wine. He feeds Abraham. He blesses him. And listen to where he puts the credit. Blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand.

Not well done, Abraham, but God did this, Abraham. Then the King of Sodom speaks in verse 21. He says, give the people to me but take the possessions for yourself. That sounds pretty generous, doesn't it? But Abraham has just been fed and blessed by a priest of God Most High and he sees that offer for what it is. He refuses to let the king ever say, I have made Abraham rich. He won't let Sodom take credit for what God has promised to provide. What looks like a gift could become a leash. And notice how Abraham refuses him. He says, I have raised my hand to Yahweh God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. That's Melchizedek's phrase.

Abraham heard it in the blessing just a few minutes earlier and now he's standing on it. The bread and wine came first. The strength to say no came second. The one king reminds Abraham who gave him the victory. The other offers him the goods. And because he heard and heeded the first one, he can refuse the second. And church, that's the question these two encounters put before us. Who gets the credit? Who do we credit for our salvation, for our deliverance? Who are we trusting to provide? Our own selves or Christ? Abraham will receive the blessing but he will not let Sodom become the benefactor for his life and the victory.

Melchizedek's name, his realm, his office, his offering, and fifth, his blessing. His blessing. Look at verses 19 and 20. Then he blessed him and said, blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand. Melchizedek blesses Abraham and he blesses God. Now hold on, think with me about this. Who is Abraham at this point? He's the patriarch, the man who would become the father of the faithful, the man with whom God himself had entered into a covenant just a couple of chapters earlier.

Abraham is in one sense the most spiritually significant man on the face of the earth at this moment in Genesis 14. And yet, Melchizedek blesses him. The writer of Hebrews picks up on this in chapter 7 verse 7. Listen carefully. But without any dispute, the lesser is blessed by the greater. The lesser is blessed by the greater. Now understand this, Abraham in this scene is the lesser. Melchizedek is the greater. Abraham doesn't bless Melchizedek. Melchizedek blesses Abraham, which means Melchizedek occupies a position of higher dignity, higher office, higher spiritual authority than Abraham. Than Abraham!

That's a staggering statement when you think about it. His name, his realm, his office, his offering, his blessing, and sixth, and finally, the tithe, the tithe. The end of verse 20, then he gave him a tenth of all. Abraham gives Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had recovered in the battle. Now think about this for a minute. Abraham, the same Abraham who's going to refuse to take even a sandal strap from the king of Sodom in just a few verses, voluntarily gives a tenth of the recovered goods to Melchizedek. Why? Because Abraham recognized who Melchizedek was.

Abraham didn't need a theology lecture, he didn't need an explanation, he didn't need a genealogy. The minute Abraham saw this king-priest of God Most High, he knew, he understood, and he immediately gave honor where honor was due. And the writer of Hebrews makes a fascinating argument from this, Hebrews 7 verses 9 and 10, which say, listen carefully, and so to speak, through Abraham, even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Catch that?

The writer of Hebrews is saying, when Abraham paid the tithe to Melchizedek, in a real sense, Levi was paying the tithe too, because Levi was still in Abraham's loins, yet to be born, yet to become the priestly tribe of Israel. So the entire Levitical priesthood in seed form was paying tithes to Melchizedek, which means the Levitical priesthood acknowledged Melchizedek as superior. This will all make sense in a minute, I think. The whole priestly system that was going to come paid homage to this older, higher priesthood. And that is the foundation for everything Hebrews is going to say.

about Christ's priesthood being superior to the Levitical priesthood. So, main point number one was the mystery of Melchizedek. Point number two was the ministry of Melchizedek. Now let's come to the climax, our final main point, point number three, the master foreshadowed by Melchizedek. Everything we've looked at tonight, every detail, every name, every action, even every silence or gap in the genealogical record was sovereignly designed by Almighty God to prepare us for one person, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Fast forward about a thousand years from Abraham, King David is sitting on the throne of Israel, the Holy Spirit moves him to write Psalm 110 and listen to what David writes specifically in verse four, Psalm 110 verse four, Yahweh has sworn and will not change his mind, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. David is writing about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ himself confirms that in Matthew 22, he quotes Psalm 110 and he says in essence, David's called the Messiah his Lord, the Messiah is the one David is talking about. So David is writing about Christ and what does David say about him?

You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, not according to the order of Aaron, not according to the order of Levi, according to the order of Melchizedek. Think about that. By the time David writes this, the Levitical priesthood had been running for centuries. It's the only priesthood Israel's ever known, it's the priesthood the law established, it's the priesthood the tabernacle and the temple were built around.

And yet, the Holy Spirit, through David, reaches back past the Levitical priesthood, past Aaron, past Moses, past the law itself, and grabs an obscure figure from Genesis 14, a man mentioned in three verses there, a man who hadn't been talked about for a thousand years. And the Holy Spirit said, that's the order, that's the kind of priest the Messiah will be. Why? Why Melchizedek and not Aaron? The writer of Hebrews takes that question and spends a whole chapter answering it. Let me give you the highlights. And I recommend you go back and listen to Pastor Chris' sermons on Hebrews 7, for the details.

But here are five key points from Hebrews 7. First, the order of Melchizedek is older than the order of Aaron. It's older than the order of Aaron. Melchizedek predates Aaron by hundreds of years. So Christ's priesthood isn't a new invention, it's actually older, going back to a more ancient order than the Levitical priesthood was always supposed to give way to. Second, the order of Melchizedek is greater than the order of Aaron. It's greater than the order of Aaron. We saw it already, Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. The lesser is blessed by the greater. Levi and Abraham's loins paid tithes to Melchizedek.

So the Levitical priesthood itself acknowledged Melchizedek as superior or greater. Third, the order of Melchizedek is permanent, while the order of Aaron is temporary. Permanent versus temporary. Hebrews 7, 23-24 says, And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing. But Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. See, the Aaronic priests kept dying, one after the other. They came, they served, they died. They had to be replaced, generation after generation. They were limited by death. But Jesus, He lives forever.

And so He holds His priesthood permanently. Hebrews 7, 25 says, Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Amen! He always lives to make intercession for us. Fourth, the order of Melchizedek combines two offices the Aaronic order could not. It combines two offices that the order of Aaron could not combine. King and priest. Under the law of Moses, being king did not make you a priest. David's royal line came from Judah. The priesthood belonged to Aaron and his descendants from the tribe of Levi. Different families, different offices.

A crown did not give you the right to serve at the altar. In fact, when King Uzziah tried to cross that line in 2 Chronicles 26, when he entered the temple to burn incense, the priests confronted him. That's not your place, Uzziah. That belongs to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. And they told him to scat. But he got angry. And when he did, the Lord struck him with leprosy right there on the spot. That's in 2 Chronicles 26, verses 16 to 21, if you want to look at that. So a king from David's line could not simply take on the Aaronic priesthood, or even its functions. His crown gave him no right to that office. But Melchizedek was both.

He was both king and priest. He was a king-priest before the law was given. So he wasn't violating any law. He was operating under an older and higher order. And in the Lord Jesus Christ, those two offices come together perfectly. Jesus is from the tribe of Judah. So he's the rightful king, son of David, lion of Judah. And he has every legal right to the throne. The genealogies of Matthew 1 and Luke 3 make that case in detail. But he's also our great high priest, because his priesthood is not from the order of Aaron, but from the order of Melchizedek, which combined both offices from the beginning.

This is one of the most beautiful theological truths in the entire Bible. We have a Savior who is both our king and our priest. Not one or the other, both, and at the same time. I want you to think about what that means. As our king, he has the authority to defeat every enemy. He has the power to crush every foe. He has the sovereignty to govern every detail of our lives for his glory and our good. Oh, and he also has the absolute right to demand our obedience. He rules, he reigns, he's on his throne. But at this very same time, as our priest, he has the compassion to sympathize with our weaknesses. He has the mercy to receive sinners.

He has the love to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father. He stands on our behalf, he pleads on our behalf, he prays on our behalf. A king without a priest is a sovereign without a sympathizer. He might rule us well, but who would represent us before God? And a priest without a king is a sympathizer without a sovereign. He might pray for us well, but who would defeat our enemies? Who would ordain our circumstances and place enforceable limits on our trials? In Christ, we have both power and pity, authority and advocacy, the rule of heaven and the heart of a friend, even an older brother. He's what every sinner needs in one person.

Zechariah 6.13 prophesied this hundreds of years before Christ came. Listen, quote, Indeed it is He, with a capital H, who will build the temple of Yahweh, and He who will bear the splendor and sit and rule on his throne. Thus, listen, He will be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices. That's wild. A priest on his throne, king and priest in one person. And Hebrews tells us who fulfills that prophecy, Christ. A priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, king of righteousness. And you see where Zechariah says the counsel of peace will be between the two offices?

That has been, those two offices are no longer separated. They no longer have to be balanced or weighed against each other. In Christ, they're perfectly united. Royal power and priestly advocacy, holding counsel together in the heart of one Savior, for a united purpose, righteousness and peace. That's glorious, folks. Just glorious. Back to our Hebrew 7 highlights, 5th and finally, the order of Melchizedek brings better promises, a better hope, a better covenant. Better promises, better hope.

covenant really the whole book of Hebrews uses that word better a lot you remember that as we're going through Hebrews the hope he gives is better the sacrifice he offered is better the intercession he makes is better and it all rests on this he is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek Hebrews 722 says so much more Jesus also has become the guarantee of a better covenant that means our salvation isn't guaranteed by Abraham or by Aaron it isn't guaranteed by a long line of dying priests it isn't guaranteed by the blood of bulls and goats it's guaranteed by Christ himself the king priest of the order of Melchizedek who lives

forever and intercedes for us forever I look back for just another moment at verse 23 please I'm running a little long bear with me we've seen it already I know but it bears repeating and emphasizing because this is the application that applies to you as a believer today right this minute verse 23 in verse 23 the former priests were prevented by death from continuing you realize that's a problem with every intercessor you've ever had on earth they stop eventually they stop the best pastor you ever had moved or retired or died or he will move or retire or die wait we're not letting pastor Chris move or retire but you get my point the

grandmother who prayed for you every morning there came a morning when she no longer did so or there will come such a morning the friend who stood with you in the hardest season of your life couldn't stand there forever could they not because they didn't love you but because they're human and humans are quote prevented by death from continuing verse 24 and 25 say there's one who isn't he always lives to make intercession for them because he continues forever and holds his priesthood permanently right now believer in Christ right this very minute while you're sitting in this room the Lord Jesus Christ is before the father and your name is on

his lips not your pastor's lips not your grandma's lips not your friends lips we pray your own all those lips to but Christ's lips in heaven in the throne room of the father and he's not ever going to move or retire or die he did die once but never again so here's the question Church who are you counting on to stand for you because every earthly intercessor you've got will one day be prevented from continuing there's only one who won't are you counting on him please count on him come to him lean on him trust him so as we close three verses in Genesis one verse in the Psalms in a chapter and a half roughly in Hebrews that's all we have about

my kids a deck but what a portrait a king of righteousness pointing to the one who is our righteousness a king of peace pointing to the prince of peace who is our peace a priest of God most high pointing to our great high priest hmm a man without recorded beginning or end pointing to the eternal Son of God the second person of the eternal Godhead the Alpha and the Omega without beginning or end a king and a priest pointing to the one who unites both offices forever and does so perfectly a bringer of bread and wine pointing to the one who would give his body and blood for sinners a blesser of the man of faith pointing to the one who blesses

his people with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places the scriptures say every detail every word every silence all of it leaning forward toward Christ now briefly if you're not in Christ tonight hear me because this is for you you don't have a priest nobody standing before God on your behalf nobody's pleading your case you're standing there alone under the weight of your guilt hoping in your own righteousness and you have none you heard what Melchizedek's name means righteousness is a king's name it's not yours but understand this you do have a king whether you want one or not Psalm 110 verse 1 says sit at my right hand until I put

your enemies as a footstool for your feet the same King the same King who intercedes for his people puts his enemies under his feet there's no third category you're you're either one for whom he pleads or one whom he will tread upon whom he will tread and here's what you need to understand about that day the mercy of God is not an open-ended offer that sits on the table forever it's in Christ and only in Christ all of it the king priest is the mercy of God Most High and if you reject him there's no other priest coming behind him with a second offer you will bow before the king every knee will bow but you'll bow before a king who has no

additional or optional mercy to show the man who rejected the mercy he showed at the cross so I'm not asking you tonight God is commanding you repent come to Christ not when you cleaned yourself up you can't not when you figured it out you won't know come now because he is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through him and the ones who don't draw near he'll put under his feet and in hell sir ma'am the king is coming out to meet you on the road tonight bow down while he's holding out bread and wine don't wait till he's holding a sword come to him tonight let's pray