“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,” (Genesis 14:18, NIV)
"On the way back from defeating the kings and recovering the captives, Abram is met by the king of Sodom, who is accompanied by Melchizedek, king of Salem. Melchizedek, identified as a priest of God Most High, immediately offers a blessing to Abram, giving God the glory for his success." [1]
The point of the story is less about Melchizedek and less about the blessing. The point of the story is to show that Abram's motivation is not for personal gain, but for the glory of God. But before we get there we need to deal with this person Melchizedek. Who is he?
"“Melchizedek,” meaning “my king is righteousness,” is described as the “king of Salem,” i.e., the “king of peace.” The appearance of Melchizedek, a worshiper and even priest of “God Most High” (cf. Ps. 78:35), is unexplained. No parentage or lineage, beginning or end is mentioned. He is taken, then, as a type of the priesthood of Christ (Heb. 7:1–10), whose priesthood is not connected with Aaron." [2] To read much into this story about Melchizedek would be presumptuous. He does not appear immediately as a type of Christ.
"That Melchizedek blessed Abraham is understood by the author of Hebrews to indicate that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham (Heb. 7:7)." [3] There was no tithe ordered by God to Israel at this point so we don't assume that Abram was responding to such a precept when he gave a tithe to Melchizedek. We assume that it was common place to give to one's superior a portion of one's spoils of war.[4] By tithing to the king and receiving a blessing from him, Abram was giving honor where honor was due.
The blessing of Melchizedek upon Abram revealed that the God of the Bible, the God who called Abram out of Ur, had been revealed to the King of Salem. He said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand . . ..” (Genesis 14:19–20a, NIV)
"The this is the first biblical occurrence of the phrase el elyon. The meaning of el is uncertain, though it is likely associated with “strength.” Elyon comes from the root “to go up.” In v. 22, the title is combined with the name Yahweh, so the biblical writer apparently identified Yahweh and El Elyon." [5] God is revealed as the all-powerful owner of Heaven and Earth. Certainly by the grace of God, Abram had been successful in defeating his enemies, but Abram's response to possessions indicates that he refused to see himself as the owner of what he had. No, ultimately God owns it all.
Father, all that I am and all that I hope to accomplish, that has any redemptive value must be accomplished by You. Unless You labor, Lord, I labor in vain. You are the Strong and Mighty God. You are the Creator, Sustainer and Possessor of all. There is no success apart from You. Grant to us this day a servant's heart. Grant to us today the joy of passing all praise to You and taking no glory to oneself. You are worthy. Amen!
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1. Barry, J. D., Grigoni, M. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ge 14:17–24). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
2. Believer’s Study Bible. 1991 (W. A. Criswell, P. Patterson, E. R. Clendenen, D. L. Akin, M. Chamberlin, D. K. Patterson & J. Pogue, Ed.) (electronic ed.) (Ge 14:18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
3. Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version (Ge 14:19). Nashville: T. Nelson
4. "On the analogy of Num 31:25–41, this is a one-time payment. A 10th payment to a king is known from Ugarit and later becomes the expectation of an Israelite king (1 Sam 8:15, 17)." Barry, J. D., Grigoni, M. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ge 14:20). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
5. Barry, J. D., Grigoni, M. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ge 14:18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
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