In the last section we considered six correlations between Jesus’ priesthood and Melchizedek’s. This wasn’t an exhaustive list; we actually could add more.
In this section we’ll shift our focus a little. Last time we studied how Jesus and Melchizedek are the same; this time we’ll consider why Melchizedek is superior to Abraham and even Levi. I encourage you to begin by reading Hebrews 7:4-10.
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Melchizedek Superior to Abraham
I also encourage you to review the story of Abraham and Melchizedek from Genesis 14. We studied it in the last section so I’m not going to review it here.
Abraham gave a tenth of the plunder to Melchizedek
“Now consider how great this man was – even Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the plunder to him!” (Hebrews 7:4).
When we give an offering at church, we do so voluntarily. No one requires us to place some money in the offering plate or setup a deduction from our checking account. We give for many reasons; one of them is because we recognize God’s superiority in our life. We recognize He is the giver of all we have, so, as an act of love and humility, we return a portion of it to His work in the kingdom.
Abraham, likewise, recognized Melchizedek was his superior. In response, he gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the plunder from his defeat of the eastern kings. Remembering from the last section, Abraham had defeated nine kings of that region. He probably possessed a lot of regional power at that moment. However, we see humility – not pride – in the recognition of his victory.
Melchizedek blessed Abraham
“Without a doubt, the inferior is blessed by the superior” (Hebrews 7:7).
Melchizedek’s blessing is a sign that he understood his superior position. James MacKnight wrote, “The blessing here spoken of… is not the simple wishing of good to others, which may be done by inferiors to superiors; but it is the action of a person authorized to declare God’s intention to bestow good things on another” (Guzik).
It’s also a sign that he served humbly rather than arrogantly. Melchizedek knew God was about to work a new plan. Only a few verses later, God cut covenant with Abraham thus ending the days of Noah’s covenant. Melchizedek humbly blessed the man who was to come after him.
Western culture tends to view those who come after us as superior to us. We exalt upcoming generations. However, a different mindset prevailed during Abraham’s time and even still today in the Middle and Far East. They viewed their ancestors – those who came before them – as superior to themselves. It was in this mindset that both Melchizedek and Abraham humbly recognized Melchizedek’s position of superiority.
Melchizedek Superior to Levi
The lineage of the priesthood was important within Jewish traditions. It keeps coming up as we continue to study Melchizedek. “But one without this lineage collected tenths from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises” (Hebrews 7:6). So here we go again…
The Levitical priesthood refers to the line of priests who descended from Levi, Abraham’s great-grandson. Remember – the eastern mindset honors those who come before, not the generations yet to be born.
Levi is in that still unborn category when this event took place. He was still within the seed of Abraham as even Isaac hadn’t yet been born. So, metaphorically speaking, even Levi paid a tenth to Melchizedek through the actions of his great-grandfather Abraham.
Why do we care today?
A lot of this seems pretty irrelevant for us today – especially those of us who aren’t Jewish. Yet, God gave His Word to all of us of all time. What can we learn from it for life in the 21st century?
First, the original Jewish recipients of this letter had a hard time letting go of their Jewish traditions and worship. They couldn’t see the whole picture – that God had a greater plan for the redemption of all humanity.
I wonder how often we do the same thing as Christians – especially American Christians. We focus so intently on our traditions, styles of worship, and minor differences that we can’t see God’s greater plan for reaching the world. We don’t recognize that other places and cultures do church differently. Sometimes we need to let go of how we think it looks when God works among us and recognize He may do a new work.
Second, Melchizedek gave a blessing and Abraham gave a tithe. Both of their actions recognized the superiority of the former priesthood as each humbly acknowledged his personal place in the greater plan.
Do our actions reveal our recognition of God’s superiority? Are we giving God a tenth of our plunder? If so, are we doing it humbly as we recognize all we have was from Him originally? That might be an old topic but here’s the next part - are we receiving the blessing? Abraham’s humility came not only in his tithe but also in his acceptance of the blessing. God wants to bless those who give to the work of the kingdom; are you willing to receive it? “’Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,’ says the Lord of Hosts. ‘See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure’” (Malachi 3:10).
Third, God can do what He wants to do. God decreed that the Levitical priesthood required lineage from Levi; God worked within that framework during that time period. However, God has the freedom, power, and authority to work in a different way before and after the days of the Levitical priesthood. He made Melchizedek the priest of Noah’s covenant; He can make Jesus priest of the New Covenant.
We can’t always assume that we know how God will work among us. He may have done a great and powerful work in the past but that doesn’t mean He’ll do the same thing in the future. Our job isn’t to tell Him what to do; our job is to serve willingly in the work to which He calls us.
What else do you see in this profound exchange between Melchizedek and Abraham? How else does their exchange show Melchizedek’s superiority? Even more, what can we learn from this event all these thousands of years later?
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