Hebrews 7:1-2 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
The author begins to develop more the idea of Jesus as a special high priest. To do this, the author looks in Scripture for an example and finds one in Melchizedek. Little is known about this person. He is mentioned briefly in Genesis 14:18 and Psalm 110:4. A lot of things about him are symbolic of Jesus. His name literally means “king of righteousness.” We could ask if this was a title, nick name, description of his reign, or actual given name. He was king of the city of Salem, which is a derivative of “peace.” This city later became known as Jerusalem. David conquered this city and it became known as the “City of David.” Again, later it was the location of the temple on Mt. Zion. These historical ideas have prophetic significance: Jesus, the righteous king of the holy city of Israel who has direct access to the Holy of Holies in the Temple as the high priest. Melchizedek went out to Abraham with a blessing. The righteous king blessed the one who had received the promises of God. Blessings in the ancient world had spiritual and often physical significance. This was a significant affirmation from Melchizedek to Abraham. As priest of God, Melchizedek may have had special insight into God’s plan and purpose for Abraham. Abraham’s response was to give a tithe of the spoils of his successful war against the kings. This was a sign of gratitude for this blessing and an act of worship to God who carries out the words of the blessing. Jesus comes as the righteous king who blesses those who follow God’s promises in faith.
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