Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
In the last message Abram had defeated the four kings of Mesopotamia and taken back all of the people, goods, and victuals of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot, his family, and his goods. Not only that, but Abram took all of the riches and goods the kings were traveling with during their campaign of conquest in Canaan. The Scriptures in Hebrews 7 tell us that Abram and his 318 trained servants slaughtered the 10 or 100’s of thousands of the Mesopotamian armies. We know Eliezer, Abram’s steward, a symbol or type of the Holy Ghost, was with Abram when they defeated the Mesopotamians. We know Eliezer was a man of God by his testimony in Genesis 24, the testimony of the unnamed servant. Abram is returning from the slaughter and passes by Salem (later Jerusalem) on his way back to his home in Hebron.
This is where we pick up in this final message of this series on Abram, later named Abraham by God, our spiritual father in this earth.
ABRAM MEETS MELCHISEDEK UPON THE RETURN FROM WAR
Abram and his 318 armed servants return from slaughtering the kings. How do we know Abram “slaughtered” the kings because it doesn’t say this in Genesis 14? We find it in Hebrews 7:1.
Hebrews 7:1
1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God [El Elyon], who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
In Genesis 14 we meet what many say is the “mysterious character called Melchizedek.” But, as we shall see, there is nothing mysterious about Him. He is none other than the preincarnate Jesus Christ.
Preincarnate = “a previous incarnation or an existence before incarnation.”
Incarnate = “God embodied in the flesh.”
We also see that both Abram and the king of Sodom know Melchizedek. This is not the first time Abram or the king of Sodom are meeting Melchizedek.
HOW DO WE KNOW MELCHIZEDEK IS THE PREINCARNATE CHRIST?
Hebrews 7:2-3
2 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;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
Nine reasons why Melchizedek is the preincarnate Jesus Christ:
1. He has no mother, no father, and no human genealogy.
2. We can clearly see this Melchizedek has existed since eternity because He has no beginning and no end.
3. He was not created like the angels and man but “made like unto the Son of God.”
4. He is the King of Peace. He rules over the city of Salem, which means “Peace.” No man can be the King of Peace. This is Jesus’ title, only.
5. He is the King of Righteousness. Melchizedek translated into Hebrew means “King of Righteousness.” No man can be the King of Righteousness except Jesus.
6. In the days of Abraham, Melchizedek was not the Son of God. He had not yet been born of the virgin Mary, but He was made like unto the Son of God in His manifestation to the ancients.
7. He was not a man because a human born of a man and a woman cannot be the eternal priestly order of God. The spiritual priestly order of Melchizedek has existed for all eternity. It never ceased when God instituted the priestly order of Aaron, the human order, that accompanied the law. Remember Moses gave the law but God gave Jesus Christ, Grace. Jesus Christ, today, is the Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 4:14 and Hebrews 5:10).
8. It was not God The Father because The Scriptures tell us in John 1:18 that “no man has seen The Father at any time.”
9. We see that Abraham knows Melchizedek as “Lord” in Genesis 18:3 when Abram refers to Him as “My Lord” or “Adonai” which is a plural possessive name for God meaning “my lords.”
Communion – First Appearance in the Scriptures
Genesis 14:18
And Melchizedek King of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and He was the priest of the most high God.
NOTICE: “brought forth bread and wine.”
The bread and wine are allegorical or a type of what is to come in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ. The “bread” represents the body of Jesus Christ that was broken for us and the “wine” represents the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for the remission of sins.
Melchizedek, the preincarnate Jesus Christ, is foreshadowing that which is to come 2000 years later when Jesus Christ performs the communion with His Disciples at The Last Supper describe in Matthew 26 and Luke 22.
Do you remember in the Scriptures when Jesus told the Pharisees and Scribes He had met Abraham, and the Pharisees and Scribes visciously tore into Him? Yes, this Melchizedek, Jesus Christ Preincarnate, met Abram several times.
John 8:56-58
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Tithe First Mention in the Scriptures
Genesis 14:20
And blessed be the most high God, Which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he [Abram] gave Him [Melchizedek] tithes of all.
NOTICE: Genesis 14:20 is the first time the word “tithe” is mentioned. In fact, “tithes” and “tenth” aren’t mentioned before Genesis 14:20. However, “offerings” are mentioned.
Tithe = Hebrew word for “tenth.”
Genesis 14:20 is the first time “THE AMOUNT” of the offerings given by Cain and Abel and Abram are mentioned. One tenth, the first fruits.
Hebrews 7:8
And here men that die receive tithes; but there He [Jesus, the Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek] receiveth them, of Whom it is witnessed that He liveth.
When we read of Abel and Cain’s tithes and of Abram’s tithes, to whom are they bringing the tithes? Yes, God, not man.
Abram’s Refusal of Satan’s Request
Abram refuses to take anything from the king of Sodom. The king of Sodom is allegorical or a type of Satan.
Genesis 14:21
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods [substance in the Hebrew] to thyself.
Jesus encounters this very same temptation from Satan in Matthew 4:8-10 two thousand years later.
Matthew 4:8-10
8 Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
NOTICE: Satan, in this temptation, said, “all these things will I give thee…” Satan was not giving Jesus the people, only the “things.” Just as the king of Sodom asked for the “people” in Genesis 14:21. Satan doesn’t change. His objectives and tactics are always the same. This is why you can easily defeat him at every turn with The Word of God spoken in faith. You can know his objectives and tactics and how to defeat them.
Satan only wants the souls of people. The “things” are just tools he uses to attract and trap the souls of people in bondage. Jesus came that we might be freed from the bondage of Satan and that Satan couldn’t use “things to trap us.”
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Abraham understood this as shown by his testimony in Genesis 14.
Genesis 14:22-23
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth,
23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Abram has lifted up his hand and made a vow before God that God would be his only supply – NOT THE WORLD.
Abram was determined the world would not be able to say THEY MADE ABRAM.
In closing, we can see in the life of Abram from Genesis 12 to Genesis 14 that he was a man who trusted in his God Jehovah. Was Abram flawless? No, not even close. He made many mistakes, some which still have consequences in the earth to this day. However, God doesn’t see man the way man sees man. Man looks on the outside. God looks at the heart. This is clear from God’s own Words about King David, “a man after God’s own heart.” David made some major mistakes, yet God said these Words about David. Thank God for His Grace, Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus and His redemptive actions, we can have a heart after God’s own heart – a heart like David’s, no matter the things we’ve done. God called Abram the “father of faith.” I encourage you to study Genesis, to read about Abraham, Sarai, Isaac, Rebeccah, Jacob, Rachel, Joseph, and the others. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are our “forefathers” of faith, so named by God Himself. If God calls them out, we should study and learn from their walk with our Heavenly Father.
Much love in Christ,
Larry