I'm gonna make a six.
Oh
Heavenly Father, thank you for having us on
Oh
All right, well if you'd like a bulletin
Slip up your hand and I'm sure someone will grab them and get them around to you
We're gonna need someone to hand out bulletins and take you off for tonight
So someone can be on top of that
They also
I don't have to go on about this, but if you're unfamiliar with this basically those numbers and attendance then you have
Over the right-hand side how many times that service had that number of people in it or below or above?
really
Look at the 35 attendance over the a.m. We have two services in March
That had 35 people or less so basically 34 or below 35
So anyway, that's gives a more accurate picture of the services down here rather than just throwing averages
And don't forget also if we break the record attendances for 2024
We will pop pop for it after the service. I've got
The ship bell in so we're gonna have a nice bell and make sure it has the right that has a nice low tone
I think one of those high tone clangy bells. I got a nice little one. It's not quite a gong. Although I did consider a gong
a little much to have a gong
But anyway, we'll have the bell in the ring. We've got the offerings below that and also
Congratulations to the newlyweds. Don't forget there is the
So many in Eloy on Saturday April 13th. That's this Saturday. So it's coming up quick
There's anybody
By yours
Oh
57
Yeah
Oh
12 years
And there went out to do the sodom
The king of Gomorrah the king of Adam and the king of Savoy and the king of Bela the same as oh
And they joined battle with them in the veil of Sittah with Keto and Leor, the king of Elah and the title of the king of nations
And Amurfell, the king of shiny and Erior, the king of Elessar, four kings with five
And the veil of Sittah was full of slime bits and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell there
And they that remained fled from the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their dictions and went their way
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelled Sodom and his goods and departed
And there came one that had escaped who told Abram to heal him for he dwelled on the plain of Amur, the Amur, the brother of Eschim, and the brother of Amur
And these were the confederate of Abram. When Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants
Born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto death
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, with smoke and pursued them unto hope
Which is on the left hand of Damascus
And he brought back all his goods and also brought again his brother Lot to his goods
And the women also, the people, and the king of Sodom went out to meet him
After his return to the slaughter of Keto-Leor and of the kings that were with him at the valley of Shavu
Which is the king's dam
And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God
And he blessed them, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possession of heaven and earth
And blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand
And he gave them the tithes of all
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the person to take the goods to thyself
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, the possession of heaven and earth
And that I will not take from the dread, even to the shoe lashing
And that I will not take anything that is done, lest thou shouldest save, and be able rich
Save only that which the young men had needed, and the portion of the men which went with me
And me, eschat, and manly, let them take the portion, let's pray
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this opportunity to gather together, Lord
And pray that you should feel a beacon of your Spirit
Reach unto us, Lord God, and help us to learn tonight and apply it to our lives and to be fulfilled
Lord, love you to your sons and we pray, Amen
Amen
So in Genesis chapter 14 we're picking back up a story where if you remember in Genesis 13
Abram and Lot have parted ways and Lot has chosen the well-watered plains of Sodom
And he pitched his tent towards Sodom
And you kind of see the poor decision that he made there
Kind of what carnal decisions will get you
They can get you more than you bargained for
Because in this story, of course, Lot is taken captive and Abram has to come and rescue him
So let's look again at verse 1
It says, And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Elisar
Kedarlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Nations
That these were made war with Berah, king of Sodom and Bershe, king of Gomorrah
Shinab, king of Admah and Shemiber, king of Zeboam
And the king of Bela, which is Zoar
All these were joined together in the veil of Sidom
Which is the salt sea
So you kind of get what's taking place in here now
And then it backs up in verse 4
Twelve years served, they served Kedarlaomer
And in the thirteenth year they rebelled
And in the fourteenth year came Kedarlaomer
And the kings that were with him
And smote the Rephaims, and Asheroth, and Carnaem
And the Zuzims, and Ham, and the Emims
And Sheveth, Kyra, Thaim, and Horites, and Mount Seir
And Elperan, which is the wilderness
So they're getting together and basically
These kings, you just have these two factions of kings that are going to war
You know, there's a bunch of people that are dead
We really don't know who these guys are
It's not that significant who exactly they were
But basically the real significance here
Is that when this goes down
That Abram is tipped off that they've come and taken Lot along with them
It says there in verse 9, verse 10 rather
And the vale of Sittim was full of slime pits
And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and fell there
So the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah are going out against the other group of kings
They've got their kings
So it's just this big regional war that's taking place
With these different city-states
And it says in verse 11
And they all took the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah
And all their victuals and they went their way
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son
Who dwelt in Sodom and his goods and departed
So the problem here is that Lot is being taken captive
Abram's hearing about it and he's going to go do something about this
But before we get into that
I want to point out one thing here
The way this reads
If you look there it says
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son
Okay, so the Bible does
What would we say that today
How would we put that
If we were to bring that into our modern vernacular
We would say nephew, right
But if you remember
Nephew in the Bible has a different definition
In the Bible nephew means grandson
So that's why it puts it
Abram's brother's son
So that we know this is not his grandson
But rather his nephew, right
Because we all understand
The relationship there
When it's your brother's son
That's your nephew
That's what we would call it today
But this is just
And there's a broader point to archaic meanings
I'm going to get into tonight
And it's an important point
And this just serves as one example
Leading into the latter half of this chapter
Where I'm going to make a broader point
About archaic terms, okay
It's important to understand
That language changes over time
And that words change meaning
Even with the Bible, okay
We're talking about a book
That's over 400 years old
Okay, almost four and a quarter centuries years old
Almost
So obviously there's going to be words
That we've used down through
Those centuries that have changed meanings
Okay, and it's not
That doesn't mean we have to throw out
The King James Bible
And get a new Bible
Or update the Bible
It just means that sometimes
We have to do a little
Do our due diligence
You know
And heaven forbid
You know
Go
Google something
You know
Look up
Get a dictionary out
And actually just look up a term
Right
It's not that difficult
You know
People want to throw out
The baby with the bathwater
When it comes sometimes
Sometimes when it comes to
These archaic terms
And it's foolish
Okay
Now they are there
And I think that nephews
Is a perfect example of that
If you would go to 1 Timothy 5
1 Timothy number 5
We'll see an example of this
There's also another example
In Judges chapter 12 verse 13
Which reads
And after him
Abdon the son of Hillel
A pyrothonite
Judged Israel
And he had 40 sons
And 30 nephews
So this guy
Abdon
Right
Had 40 sons
And 30 nephews
Now the Bible doesn't really
I mean what
What's the significance
Of nephews
No one really brags about
How many nephews they have
Right
No one gets up and says
You know
I can't wait till I'm older
And I have a lot of nephews
Right
What we do say is
I can't wait to see
My grandkids
Right
You know
We look forward to that
Today
We say
Man I hope I
If every one of my children
Has as many children as I have
Then I'll have 25 grandkids
And won't that be something
Right
I don't really think about
How many nephews
I'm gonna have
Right
That's you know
He had 40 sons
And 30 nephews
Because nephews is talking about
His grandchildren
1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 4
If any have children or nephews
Let them learn first to show
Piety at home
And to requite their parents
For that is good and acceptable
Before God
So it's talking about
You know
If a widow is in need
How the church support her
Before she's taken into the number
You know
She has to meet certain stipulations
And also one of those things
You know
Has to be taken into consideration
Is whether or not
She have any children or nephews
Right
So the Bible's not saying here
That you have to provide
For your aunt
Okay
Although there's nothing wrong
With taking care of your
Your auntie
Right
There'd be nothing wrong
With that if you wanted to
But it's not commanded
By scripture
Right
However
Grandchildren should take care
Of their grandparents
That's something the Bible
Does command
So that's another example
Of the way nephew
Is used in the Bible
And I'm making the broader
Point
Okay
That archaic terms do exist
In the scripture
And they're simply archaic
Because of the fact
That we
Are using
We don't use them
We use different terms
Okay
Just words change meaning
We could
They could become
Unarchaic tomorrow
If we all started
Using them again
But they're not going to
Now
If you would
Keep something there
In Timothy
We're gonna
First Timothy
We're gonna go over to
Hebrews 6 here
In a second
So that's right there
Right next to
You know
First Timothy
Titus
We're gonna go over that
There
But go back
To Genesis
Chapter 14
So again
We've seen the story
Abram's going to
Rescue Lot
And it says
In verse 13
And there came
One that escaped
And told Abram
The Hebrew
For he dwelt
In the plain of
Mamre
The Amorite
And brother of
Eschol
And the brother
Of Einor
And these were
Confederate with
Abram
So he's got
You know people
That he's friendly
Confederate
He's at peace
With
He's kind of
Dwelling among them
Because remember
He's dwelling
In a strange land
Okay
Now I don't believe
That Abram
Goes on the war path
Here as some kind
Of a political move
He's not trying
To get wealth
We see
He actually
Is offered the wealth
By Sodom
He says
I don't want it
His main reason
For going to war here
Is for the sake
Of Lot
And nothing else
The Bible's
Very clear about that
Is
His nephew
Lot
Right
He's talking about
His brother's son
Lot
You say
Well why is he calling him brother
Well it's just
It's just a term
You know
To express the fact
That he's his kindred
Okay
So in the Bible
It's time to be redundant
His brother's son
He's just saying
His brother
Right
He's a relation
He armed his trained servants
Born in his own house
318
And pursued them
Unto Dan
And he divided himself
Against them
Which is on the left hand
Of Damascus
Now
That's actually
You know
One of these
Again one of these
Little things
That you just kind of
Mentioned in scripture
It's actually
Quite profound
That he's taking
These guys
318
And then splitting
That force
In half
Right
And then going
Pursuing these
Other kings
These five kings
And chasing them off
Right
It's pretty cool
You talk about
Trained servants
And all those courses
And everything else
I mean
They must have really
Been training hard
In his house
That's another sermon
Which should be
Probably be preached
Another time
But he goes out
And he just
You know
Uh
Runs them down
And it says in verse 16
And he brought back
All the goods
And also brought again
His brother Lot
And his goods
And the women also
And the people
And the king of Sodom
Went out to meet him
After his return
From the slaughter
Of Kedor Laomer
And of the kings
That were with him
At the valley
Of Sheva
Which is the king's
Dale
And Melchizedek
The king
King of Salem
Brought forth
Bread and wine
And he was
The priest
Of the most high
God
Now this is the part
I want to focus in
On here
Because this is a
Pretty well known
Story
It's referred to
Quite a bit
A few times
And quite at length
In one particular
Chapter we're gonna
Look at
In the book of Hebrews
Here
Hebrews chapter number 6
And so we see in the
Story as Abraham's
Coming back
From the slaughter
Of the kings
After having rescued
Lot
That he is met
By Melchizedek
King of the most
Or priest of the most
High God
He's coming out
And he's bringing
Bread and wine
With him
Now when it comes
To this story
There's really
Two ways you can
Interpret it
One you could say
Is a literal appearance
Of the Lord Jesus Christ
In the Old Testament
And I believe that
That's very possible
That certainly could be
The case because of the fact
That you see the Lord
Jesus Christ
Showing up and appearing
Elsewhere in the
Old Testament
And God often would be
Manifest in the flesh
Even back then
He would show up
And it was him
No question about it
So
That's one interpretation
You could look at this
And say
And you could read
Hebrews 6
And elsewhere in Hebrews
Hebrews 6 and 7
And say this is obviously
Christ come
In Abraham's
In Abraham's day
Now that's
You know
That's something that
I've kind of been
On the fence about
For a very long time
And
Here we are
In Genesis 14
I guess I have to just
Kind of come clean
About where I stand
On that
Alright
I personally do not
Believe that this was
The Lord Jesus Christ
Himself
I believe that it's a great
Picture of Christ
Okay
I believe that it is
A similitude
Of Christ
That it is a picture
Of Christ
For example
He's bringing bread
And wine
You know that reminds us
Of Christ
Who is the bread
That came down from
Heaven
And how the wine
Is a representation
Of the blood
Of the New Testament
Right
And this
Melchizedek being
A priest
He's referred back to
As the priesthood
That came before
The Levitical priesthood
Which is the priesthood
That Christ took after
Okay
And there's a lot to
Unpack there
In Hebrew 7
But I'm really just
Going to try and
Make my case tonight
As to why
I do not believe
That this is a literal
Appearance of the
Lord Jesus Christ
In Hebrews chapter
Excuse me
In Genesis chapter number 14
So let's look at
Hebrew 6
Which talks about this
At length
It says there in verse 13
For when God
Made promise to Abraham
Because he could swear
By no greater
He sware by himself
Saying,
Surely I will bless thee
In multiplying
I will multiply thee
And so after that
He had patiently endured
He obtained the promise
For men verily swear
By the greater
And an oath of confirmation
Is to them
An end of all strife
Wherein God willing
More abundantly
To show unto
The heirs of promise
The immutability
Of his counsel
Confirmed it
By an oath
That by two
Immutable things
In which
It was impossible
For God to lie
That we might have
A strong consolation
Who have fled
For refuge
To lay hold
Under the hope
Set before us
Now look
Hebrews 6, 7
There's a lot going on
In this chapter
Okay
You know
It's talking about
The two immutable things
Right
One is that God
Sware by the greater
Himself
Right
That's the first immutable thing
That God is the greatest
You can't swear
By any greater than God
God swear
By himself
Of himself
By the greater
He confirmed it
With an oath
Right
The second immutable thing
Is that God cannot lie
That's why
We have
A strong consolation
Because
No one's gonna trump
God's word
And two
God cannot lie
Alright
We have a strong consolation
Who have fled
For refuge
To lay hope
On the set before us
So I'm just trying to give you
Explain some of these verses
As we read through it
It says in verse 19
And
Which we hope
Have
Which we have
As an anchor
Of our soul
Both sure
And steadfast
Whether
The forerunner
Is for us
Entered
Even Jesus
Made an high priest
Forever
After the order
Of Melchizedek
Now you say
Why is it that
I believe
That this is not
A literal appearance
Of Christ
In the Old Testament
In Genesis chapter 14
Because
Of
The verbiage
The diction
That is actually
In these passages
That we're gonna look at
You know
Whenever I've read this
Whenever I've just
Read through these chapters
You know I've always
Kinda had a sense
That it was just talking
About Christ being a
Or Melchizedek rather
Being a type of Christ
And not literally
And I
You know that's the sense
That I get just
From reading it
Okay
For exi
For instance
End of verse 20
He's
Made a high priest
Forever
After the order
Of Melchizedek
Meaning
In that way
That Melchizedek
Was a priest
So is he
Right
He doesn't say
He was that priest
He's saying
Meaning in the same way
Okay
Again Melchizedek
Was a type of Christ
That's what I believe
He's a picture
Salem being the
Meaning peace
Meaning
He is the
You know
He's the
Prince of peace
Right
Christ is the
Prince of peace
You have the
King of Salem
Right
Prince
Principle
So again
Melchizedek
Being
A king of peace
Or king of Salem
Christ being
A prince
Or a king
Melchizedek
Is a picture
Of Christ
Okay
I do not believe
He is
The literal
Appearance of Christ
Though
And again
This is brought up
Elsewhere
Hebrews chapter
5 verse 6
As he saith
Also in another place
Thou wert a priest
Forever
After the order
Of Melchizedek
Not thou art
The priest
That was
Melchizedek
He's
After the order
Of Melchizedek
In the same way
So let's just look at Hebrew 7 now and consider again the verbiage that is being used here in Hebrews chapter number 7.
It says in verse 1 of Hebrew 7,
For this Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the Mosiah God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation of righteousness and after that also king of Salem,
which is king of peace, without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life,
but made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually.
The first thing I want to point out here is the way in which it refers to Melchizedek.
This Melchizedek. Little words matter. This Melchizedek is something,
and then if you go down to verse 4,
now consider how great this man was. It's saying this Melchizedek, this man, right?
He's referring to one person and then he's going to refer to Christ as a separate person.
Look at verse 22. By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament,
but this man, because he continued with ever half an unchangeable priesthood.
So when he's referring to Melchizedek, he's saying this man, this Melchizedek,
when he's referring to Christ, he's saying this man, right?
It's like he's making a distinction. There's this man and then there's this man, okay?
They're not the same guy. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, made like unto, verse 3, the Son of God.
It doesn't say he was the Son of God, right? It said he was made like unto him.
Another reason I believe that Melchizedek was not a literal appearance of Christ
is because, again, of the words that are used in Hebrews chapter number 7,
such as similitude and phrases like made like unto, right?
Again, this goes back to what I was saying about archaic terms.
Similitude today, you know, simply means the quality or state of being similar to something, right?
A striking similitude between the brother and the sister, right?
They look alike. They have things in common, right? But they're not the same person.
You know, I recently saw a brother and a sister. It was very evident that this man was this woman's brother.
You know, but he didn't look feminine, you know, and she didn't look masculine.
But there was some striking similarities between them. You know, there was a similitude there, okay?
Now, the archaic definition of similitude is literally a comparison between two things.
Keep that in mind when you're reading this, right? It's a comparison between two things.
He's saying this Melchizedek, this man, Jesus, right?
And he's saying that there was a similitude there,
a person or thing resembling someone or something else.
He's made like unto the Son of God. He abided the priest continually.
So here's the thing. If Christ was literally manifest in the Old Testament,
in the story in Genesis chapter 14, wouldn't it just be easy to say that?
Couldn't the Bible just be crystal clear about that?
Couldn't the Bible just flat out tell us this was Christ?
I mean, because in other Old Testament appearances, the Bible does exactly that.
It makes it very clear. Genesis 18, okay, I'll just read to you, verse 1.
And the Lord appeared unto him, Abram, in the flames of Mamre,
and he sat in a tent door in the heat of the day.
The Lord showed up and met Abram in the heat of the day and sat in his tent.
And it's very explicit. It was the Lord, right?
We're not going, well, was it the Lord or was it somebody like the Lord?
No, it's the Lord, right? Daniel, when they're in the fiery furnace,
when the three Hebrews are thrown into the fiery furnace, right?
And then the king looks in and says, lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire
and they have no hurt. And the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God.
It's telling us he sees the Son of God there in the fire with them, right?
How about Joshua? When Joshua goes out by the river, the bank of the river Jordan
before they go and invade Jericho the day before,
and he sees a man walking on the riverbank and he asks him,
are thou for us or for our adversaries? And he said, nay,
but as a captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come?
And Joshua falls on his feet. He worships him.
And he says, what doth saith my Lord unto a servant?
And the captain, the Lord's host, said unto Joshua,
loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place where I now stand is as holy.
And Joshua did so, which hearkens back unto when Moses was confronted by the Lord in the burning bush.
He also was told to loose his shoes from off his feet.
OK, so the Bible is real clear.
When the Lord appears, oftentimes in the Old Testament, he just makes it abundantly clear.
There's no question about it.
You know, there's nothing in Genesis 14 that would tell us that's Christ.
When we go to Hebrews, then that's when we start to make this connection
and say, well, maybe it was Christ. And again, maybe it was.
I just when I read Hebrews 7, when I'm reading Hebrews 6,
when I'm reading things like this Melchizedek and this Jesus, this man,
when he's making, you know, saying this is one and this is another, basically.
When he's saying that the king of peace was made like unto the son of God.
Right. He wasn't the son of God.
You know, that's that's when I start to think, well, it's just a similitude.
It's just he's made like unto me. It's not literally Christ.
Look at verse four of Hebrews, chapter number seven.
It says, Now consider how great this man was unto whom even the patriarch
Abraham gave tenths, tenth of the spoils.
And verily, they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood,
have a commandment to take tithes of the people according law, that is, of our brethren,
though they come not out of the loins of Abraham.
But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham
and blessed him that had the promises.
Now, whose descent is not counted, as it says in verse six there?
It's talking about Melchizedek. OK.
And this is what some people will say. They'll say, well, see, he has no genealogy.
His descent is not counted. Therefore, it is not counted.
Therefore, it is Christ, because Christ, you know, he's, you know, from the beginning,
you know, he's been the son of God. He's eternally the son of God.
OK, we understand that, you know, his earthly lineage that came through,
you know, Mary and Joseph, but he has been with the father ever since,
that he senses without beginning. Right.
His descent is not counted. You can't trace back Christ to the very beginning.
He is the creation. Right.
So people say, well, that's an obvious clue that that is referring to the fact that he is,
that Melchizedek is Christ. But that's not what it says.
It simply says that his descent is not counted. Right.
That makes him a, that's why he's made like unto the son of God. Right.
Because we don't have a lineage of Melchizedek.
He just kind of appears like he's always been there. Right.
It doesn't say he doesn't have a descent. It doesn't say that one couldn't have been counted.
It just simply says that it is not counted, that we don't have the record.
We don't have a genealogy. It's as if he just came out of nowhere. Right.
And that's kind of like Christ, that he's just always been.
Look at verse nine. He says,
And as I may say also, may say so, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham.
For he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him,
if therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law.
What further need was there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchizedek,
and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed,
there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth unto another tribe,
of which no man gave attendance at the altar.
For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah,
of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
So again, Paul is making the comparisons between Melchizedek
and Christ. Melchizedek has no genealogy. He comes before the Levitical priesthood.
And if you remember in the Levitical priesthood, genealogies mattered.
You had to prove your genealogy if you were going to go into the priesthood.
You had to prove that you were of the tribe of Levi.
And if you couldn't, you were put out from the priesthood.
And he's saying here that just as the Lord sprang out of Judah,
of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood,
and yet it is far more evident for that after the similitude of Melchizedek,
there riseth another priest.
So just in the same way that Christ does not come out of the Levitical priesthood,
so Melchizedek does not come out of the Levitical priesthood.
Which is why Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
He predates the Levitical priesthood.
And that does not necessarily mean that Melchizedek was Christ.
Again, it says in verse 15, and yet it is far more evident that after the similitude of Melchizedek,
there riseth another priest, referring to Christ.
There arises another priest which is similar to Melchizedek.
It doesn't say that he was Melchizedek.
It's after the similitude of Melchizedek, right?
That he is without descent.
His genealogy is not given.
He does not come from the tribe of Levi.
He does not come from the Levitical priesthood.
He predates it.
Verse 16, who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment,
but after the power of endless life,
for he testifieth thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
So let's jump down here, verse 22.
By so much was Jesus made a surety for a better testament,
and they truly were many priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death,
but this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
So, you know, that's my case for it anyway,
and I really haven't heard any compelling evidence to the contrary.
I haven't really, you know, I've heard the other side of it,
and I've definitely seen where people are coming from
when it comes to this issue of whether or not Melchizedek was Christ,
and I've definitely thought in the past, you know, that's certainly a possibility,
and it certainly could be.
What all I'm saying tonight is that when you read just what the text says,
it seems to me that when he's using terms like similitude,
after the order, made like unto,
when the Bible could just be abundantly clear,
and when it could just state it as plain as day,
I mean, why be so cryptic?
Why be so vague?
You know, why have to have, you know, the uncertainty in the text?
Because even people that'll say,
oh, no, it was definitely Christ in Genesis chapter 14,
appearing as Melchizedek,
even they'll say, but, you know, we could be wrong
because the Bible isn't crystal clear about it, right?
Well, you know, it seems like it's a little clearer to me
that it wasn't Christ that was appearing then.
But, you know, again, this isn't something that we have to split hairs over.
You know, if you want to sit there and believe that that was Christ
that showed up in Genesis 14,
that's fine. You know, you can still come to church here.
We could still be friends.
You know, I'm just preaching what I believe tonight
because that's what I believe.
You know, I've thought about these things.
I've heard preaching about it.
I've had to come to my own conclusion.
You know, I'm not just going to tow a line to make everybody happy.
You know, I'm going to preach what I believe.
And, you know, maybe I didn't articulate it
as eloquently as I would have liked to tonight.
But if you just read the text whenever I've read it,
you know, that's the end of the story.
You know, if you just read the text whenever I've read it,
you know, that's the impression that I get.
That Melchizedek was a similitude.
That Christ was made after the order of Melchizedek.
That he was not literally Melchizedek.
And that there's certain attributes that they both share.
Right?
So, let's just finish up the chapter in verse 19.
It says,
And he blessed him and said,
Blessed be Abram the Most High God,
Possessor of heaven and earth.
And blessed be the Most High God,
which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand.
And gave him tithes of all.
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram,
Give me the persons and take the goods to thyself.
And Abram said unto the king of Sodom,
I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord the Most High God,
the possessor of heaven and earth,
that I shall not take from a thread even unto a shoe-latchet,
and that I will not take anything that is thine,
lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abraham rich.
So, the king of Sodom says,
Hey, you know what?
You did all this work.
You're the one who went to war.
You know, we were done for.
It was over.
All the people have been taken.
We would basically not exist if it wasn't for you, Abram.
Just give us back the people
and you keep all the wealth and keep all the riches.
Abram's saying, I'm not going to do it.
And the reason why is because he doesn't want the king of Sodom
to be able to turn around and say,
Well, Abram has all that wealth because of me.
Because, you know, he took what was once mine.
You know, although I gave it to him,
although, you know, you could say he deserved it,
you know, if it wasn't for me, the king of Sodom,
then Abram wouldn't be the wealthy man that he is today.
And Abram's saying, No, I'm not going to do it.
I'm not going to take anything from you
because I don't want the credit for my success
and my prosperity to go to the world.
There's a great lesson here is that we need to learn
to rely on God in our lives.
You know, God wants to bless us.
God wants to make us prosperous,
but we have to trust in him.
And that's not always easy to do.
But if we give it time and we walk with the Lord
and we live for God and we give God the glory
for the things that he accomplishes in our life,
you know, God will in time lift us up.
And in time we will give God the glory for that.
And we have to trust God for that,
that in time he will lift us up.
So he ends there, verse 24,
Save only that which the young men have eaten.
Obviously, that's kind of hard to give back.
I'm not sure you'd want that back.
You know, stuff that somebody's already eaten.
And the portion of the man that went with me,
Aner, Esgal, and Mamre, let them take their portion.
He said, you know, let these other guys have what they want.
Give them whatever they need.
But ask for me. We don't need your stuff.
We're good. We're all set.
And, you know, I'm going to give glory to God
for everything that he's done for me.
That's basically what he's saying.
So, you know, it's kind of an interesting story.
There's a lot there.
We could have dove into some other things,
but I really kind of wanted to just at least give my take,
albeit brief, on why I don't believe
that Melchizedek is a literal Christ in the Bible.
And I think I don't want to be redundant and just repeat myself.
So let's just go ahead and close in a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, again, thank you for the Bible.
Lord, thank you that we have a high priest, Lord,
in Christ that has anchored our soul within the veil, Lord,
that he has come after the order of Melchizedek
and he has paid the price for our sins, Lord,
and he has made a way for us to approach you
in the holiest of holies, spiritually,
to come boldly before your throne.
Lord, we thank you for that.
We thank you for the beautiful pictures of Christ
throughout the Bible and all of its significance.
We thank you for such a great book.
We pray you'd help us to read it, to love it,
and to know it.
In Jesus' name, amen.
All right.
We'll go ahead and sing one more song before we go.
If you could please open up your song.
It's a song number 31.
Let's give it a song number 31.
It's a song number 31.