Melchizawho?

Scripture Passage that caught my attention today: Hebrews 7:1-3 This “King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him”; 2 and to him Abraham apportioned “one-tenth of everything.” His name, in the first place, means “king of righteousness”; next he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

Observation: “Melchizawho?”

Application: This morning there was a story on CNN’s web page about a mysterious (and presumably attractive) woman pictured next to North Korea’s leader in an official photograph. No one seems to know who she is or, if they do, they aren’t talking. Is she his sister? His wife? His girlfriend? It’s a mystery but there’s no avoiding the fact that she’s there and it fuels all kinds of speculation (incidentally, I’m not sure if we know the identities of any of the many men surrounding the North Korean leader either, but they provoke far less interest!).

Melchizedek is one of those mystery people in the Bible. Little is known about him and what is said about him (mostly in Hebrews) is puzzling if not downright bizarre. He is mentioned but once in Genesis, once in the Psalms, and eight times in Hebrews. That’s it. That’s all we hear of him and all we know of him, but there’s no denying that he’s there.

Perhaps more intriguing to me is the focus that the author of Hebrews puts on him. Why do just about all of the other Biblical writers ignore Melchizedek while the author of Hebrews lifts him up as one of the greatest people ever?

Only God knows. Like the woman pictured next to Kim Jong Un, we may never learn who Melchizedek really is, but there’s no denying that he’s there.

Prayer: Lord, some of the mysteries in the Bible are very quite intriguing. But they remain mysteries…at least until that day when we finally meet you face-to-face. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Micah 5-7 and Hebrews 7)