Abraham, my Friend 22

Melchizedek, revealer of God

Last week we began to think about Abraham’s encounter with the priest Melchizedek and we began to ask our questions. Who was this man and why did his meeting with Abraham have such a profound effect on Abraham? We made ‘communion’ or ‘fellowship’ our focus; this week we will consider another aspect of priesthood.

Priesthood, but not as we know it

There’s that word again, priest! Every time I use it I almost feel compelled to say but ‘not what most people understand as priests’. It has been one of Satan’s most successful strategies to obscure Bible truths by producing counterfeits of them. A heresy is just an idea pushed past the limits of Biblical revelation and without regard to complementary truths. Faith which is not based on true revelation is superstition; it matters little whether pagan, Catholic or Evangelical. For most people ideas of church are bordered by the ideas of priests, pulpits, pews and fixed services. It can be very disturbing to be told that true biblical Christianity needs none of these and that often they are more hindrance than help. However, men do make counterfeits of things which are authentic, and every fake pound or dollar note is based on a genuine one. When Christ said He was the True Bread and True Vine, besides contrasting the True with the Type, the True can sometimes contrast with the Fake. Where there is a counterfeit, it implies that a genuine may be found, if we search.

Fake priesthood always develops into priestcraft — the control of the people. The priest holds information or powers which enable him to control those who are without that information or those powers. The fake priest then dispenses these things to the people on condition of their submission and obedience. He has become a mercenary; in return for honour or cash or obedience he will dispense his wares. The man who was intended as a gift from God becomes parasitic; his gifts are only available… on condition. 

In Melchizedek we see how differently a true priest functions; his gifts are genuine gifts which cannot be purchased. The true priest makes possible things which would be impossible without him: fellowship with God, blessing from God, and revelation from God; and again, in the opposite direction he becomes the route through which man gives to God. We have already given some thought to the priest as the conveyor of blessing, and the mediator of fellowship. Now it is time to consider the priest as a channel of a revelation of God.

The God of Melchizedek, possessor of heaven and earth

Melchizedek is the possessor of a revelation of the nature and character of God; he knows God in a way that Abraham does not. Let’s pause to be sure we are appreciating Abraham’s developing walk with God; he is learning. He began as part of a family that ‘served other gods’: 

 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.  (Josh 24:2 ASV)

There is a link in this verse between god and geography. It was the way in which ancient people often thought and lived. There is a classic example in the wonderful story of Naaman: 

   And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a present of thy servant. But he said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. And Naaman said, If not, yet, I pray thee, let there be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Jehovah. (2 Kgs 5:15–17 ASV)

Naaman wants to continue to serve Jehovah but links Him inseparably with the land of Israel. However, Naaman has a neat solution; he will take a little bit of Israel’s land with him. As Jehovah is linked with the land this will mean that Jehovah will still be able to have some jurisdiction in Syria even though it isn’t His land. The Assyrian empire’s expatriates expressed a similar feeling: 

  Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the law of the god of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the law of the god of the land. (2 Kgs 17:25–26 ASV)

 Of course we are much wiser now; we wouldn’t think of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, or to Toronto or Pensacola to be closer to God… would we?

The God of Abraham

Bible scholars like to call Abraham’s faith ‘incipient monotheism’. By this they mean that Abraham was a practical monotheist but that he probably still believed that other gods had jurisdiction over other geographical areas. We won’t defend ‘incipient monotheism’ here but I do want to make the important point that Abraham had not read Calvin’s Institutes or graduated from a prestigious Bible college; intellectually he knew much less than you and I  about God. He was ‘walking’ and learning with every step. He will learn something from Melchizedek in this encounter — something that came to Abraham as a revelation. 

Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, speaks to Abraham in the name of the ‘Most High God’ who is ‘possessor of heaven and earth’. ‘What is so special about that’ you say, ‘the children in the Sunday School know that.’ They do, but Abraham didn’t and it was through the ministry of a genuine priest that it was revealed to him. But then this is part of true priesthood — to bring revelation from God, freely and without price.

Later in the Bible story we will see the development of Israel’s priesthood and we will see the same themes of things made possible through priesthood which would be impossible without it: blessing from God, fellowship with God, and revelation from God, etc. In the prophecy of Malachi God brings his final Old Testament accusations against Israel, and it is the failed priesthood that he holds responsible: 

 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts. But ye are turned aside out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts. (Mal 2:7–8 ASV)

It is an accusation that God brought against His people on more than one occasion: 

Cause Me to remember; let us enter into judgment together; sum up for yourself, that you may be justified. Your first father sinned, and your interpreters transgressed against Me. And I will defile the rulers of the sanctuary, and will give Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reviling. (Isa 43:26-28 Green’s Literal Version ) 

Some versions have ‘teachers’ here but the Hebrew word ‘lûts’ is frequently translated ‘interpreter’. What a privilege and responsibility it is to be an ‘interpreter’ for God. 

A word for the preachers

I have some personal experiences here. I have preached through ‘interpreters’ in more than 20 countries and it is interesting to see how different the experience can be. For what it is worth, here is my advice. I prefer interpreters to translators; I want my message to pass through the soul of the man (or woman) at my side. I have experienced translators of technical brilliance and I expect every word was translated perfectly. I have also experienced ‘interpreters’ whose language skills were not nearly so polished but through whom the message flowed. 

Here is some more advice for those who will use interpreters; let ‘him’ get to know you. Spend time together; let him see how you live. He will need to be able to trust you; be in fellowship with him. (If you would be God’s interpreter my advice is the same.) 

Let me illustrate. If I am in a new setting where the people hardly know me I will sometimes begin by saying ‘Don’t believe a word I tell you…’ Most translators can’t cope with this; they don’t know me, they don’t trust me implicitly. My interpreter in  Poland has done the job for almost 20 years; he knows me and trusts me. He will convey just what I said so that I can add ‘…unless this Book says the same.’ His interpretation flows from his relationship with me and our mutual trust.

True interpretation is not a mechanism, it is a relationship. Did you ever notice this little gem:

 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach…  (Mark 3:14 NKJV)

We can only really interpret to others what we have learned by being with Him. 

Ineffective priests and a faithful one

The priest-nation of Israel was expected to interpret the will of God to the nations; they loved the privilege but failed in the responsibility: 

   Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. (Rom 2:17–20 NKJV)

But Melchizedek was a faithful interpreter of his revelation.

Abraham immediately built that revelation into the foundations of his understanding of God, as we see from his later reply to the king of Sodom: 

  But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth…”  (Gen 14:22 NKJV)

There is an important truth to understand here with regard to all revelation. Abraham received this truth and immediately risked his life upon it. Biblical truth is usually moral revelation; it must always have a consequence in the way in which we live our lives. Paul writes: 

 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak…  (2 Cor 4:13 NKJV)

Faith is never ‘alone’

Faith is our necessary response to revelation, but faith will never stand alone in this; there will always be a ‘therefore’. A change in behaviour must always follow genuine faith; the logical next step is ‘therefore’. 

I am an Englishman and I believe that the Rolls Royce is the finest car in the world, but this ‘belief’ has never affected my life or behaviour in the slightest degree. This kind of ‘belief’ is not biblical ‘faith’; it is mental assent. Sadly, there are many who give mental assent to Bible propositions and their lives have no ‘therefore’. Revelation must precede response, but life-change must accompany genuine faith. Abraham received the revelation by means of the priest Melchizedek and it altered his whole way of thinking. He abandoned his defence covenant with the Amorite brothers and forfeited his right to the plunder simply because of this revelation. Faith based on revelation will result in new relationships and new dependencies.

The entrance of Your words gives light

There is another priest of which Melchizedek is only a dim-reflection. Part of His work is to reveal God: 

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (John 1:18 NKJV)

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (Joh 1:18 NASB) 

This word is used in Greek literature of one who unfolds or interprets truth. To receive His testimony is to receive Him. The Scriptures make this point frequently too. To ‘receive Christ’ biblically is to receive His testimony/words, His unique revelation of God. Trace the word ‘receive’ through John and test the truth of this. To refuse the revelation is to put ourselves in the condemned cell: 

 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil…” (John 3:18–19 NKJV)

To refuse the revelation is to choose condemnation. 

Your testimonies are wonderful;
Therefore my soul keeps them. 
The entrance of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple. (Ps 119:129–130 NKJV)

It is the entrance of His words that give light; refusing them brings inevitable condemnation. To reject His testimony to our hearts is to turn from light to darkness.

Abraham is learning these truths in his own way and his own day. Each right response to revelation from God brings him closer to the next revelation. And so he grows step by step, day by day, into Abraham, My Friend… and so may we.