Hebrews 7:1-10
Melchizedek was a righteous man. His name is a combination of two Hebrew words, one meaning king and the other meaning righteous. He was a righteous king. He was also the king of Salem and the name Salem means peace. He was a king of peace. His names did not dictate who he was but they were descriptive of his character. Before Abraham became the father of a great nation, Melchizedek already knew and served God Most High. As a priest of God, Melchizedek was greater than Abraham was. He demonstrated this when he blessed Abraham because blessings flow from the greatest to the least. Abraham demonstrated this when he offered a tithe to God through Melchizedek. Melchizedek was greater than the Levitical priesthood because he came first. Now Christ has come as a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

To us, and to the Jewish Christians the writer of Hebrews is addressing, this is all ancient history. Why is he spending so much of his letter on this subject? His readers already know this information. He is reminding them strongly because he is convinced that while they know the information they do not know the implications of that knowledge. He is reestablishing the facts and getting ready to reveal what those facts mean. His revelation will be the unveiling of a truth that should have been self-evident, but was not. Too often humanity does not recognize truth that it is right in front of our eyes because we have become too familiar with it. We have seen the subject so many times, that we no longer see it at all.

Christ is not a reflection of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was the facsimile of which Christ is the reality. Melchizedek was a reflection in the past of Christ from the future. Christ is king of righteousness and peace in the fullest sense. Melchizedek was a reflection of Christ; as Christians, we want more. The light of the Holy Spirit within shines forth the reality of Christ.