"Who Was Melchizedek?"

HOW MANY times this question has been asked, and how many quires of paper have been used up in vain attempts to answer it! The number almost equals the number of those who have ever thought about the matter. Some, in answer to the question, will have it that he was Shem, and others insist that he must have been our Lord in disguise. And, strange to say, when a person has one of these ideas in his mind, it is almost impossible for any one to rid him of it.

Now to us the discussion over this question has always seemed something strange. We cannot yet conceive how it is possible for anybody with even a slight knowledge of the Scriptures, to be bothered over the matter, for the Bible tells us who Melchizedek was, in just as plain terms as could be desired. For the benefit of all who are troubled over the question, "Who was Melchizedek?" we will give a direct answer from the Bible. Turn, if you please, to Gen. 14:18-20. There you will read:—

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him [Abram], and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of Heaven and earth; and blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand."

Here we are told, not only who he was but an incident in his life. He was both king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, and in that capacity he blessed the patriarch Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the five kings. He also received from Abraham a tenth part of all the spoil. See also Heb. 7:1-4.

If this does not satisfactorily answer the question, we do not know what would. Take other instances: Who was David? Answer, He was king over Israel, and a prophet of God. Who, was Moses? He was a prophet, and the leader and commander of the children of Israel. In the wilderness of Sinai, he went up into the mount; and God spoke to him face to face. Who was Paul? He was an apostle, called of God to carry the gospel to the heathen. All must admit that these answers tell plainly who David and Moses and Paul were. And in like manner, to say that Melchizedek was king of Salem, and priest of God, fully answers the question, "Who was Melchizedek?"

Suppose that in answer to the question, "Who was Moses?" I should say, "He was John the Baptist;" or that if some one should ask, "Who was David?" the answer should be given, "He was Hezekiah; " or that if when speaking of my neighbor Mr. Jones, I should be asked who he is, and should answer, "He is Mr. Brown;" what would be thought? People would think that my mind was wandering. To us it seems just as absurd to say that Melchizedek was Shem, or that he was Christ, as it would be to say that David was Paul, or that Mr. Jones is Mr. Brown.

To be sure, we have a more full record of Moses and David and Paul, than we have of Melchizedek, but what of that? We have by no means a complete record even of their lives. It is not necessary that we should know all of a man's history, in order to know who he was. Of Enoch we only know that he walked with God and was translated; yet no Bible student ever raises the question, "Who was Enoch?"

"But," some one will say, "we know the parents and descent of these men, and of Melchizedek's parentage we know nothing." How many are there who can tell who Elijah's parents were? or who were his descendants, and how old he was when he was translated? No one knows. We are told only his office and some of the incidents of his life, just as in the case of Melchizedek. The school-boy, in his reading, chances to find references to a man by the name of Paulding. He will ask, "Who was Paulding?" His teacher, or the Biographical Dictionary, will answer, "He was one of the American soldiers who, in 1780, captured Major Andre." We know nothing of his parentage, and are told only one incident of his life, yet we do not straightway conclude that he must have been Anthony Wayne.

"Yes," says the objector, "but the Bible says that Melchizedek had no parents." If that were so, it ought to put a stop to the folly of calling him either Shem or Christ, for we know who Shem's father was, and we know the age of Shem when he died. Likewise, of Christ, we know that as to his earthly life he was born of the virgin Mary, and that before he came to earth he was known, as he is still, as the "only begotten Son of God." But the Bible does not say that Melchizedek had no parents. King James' version reads, "Without father, without mother," but this, in the Revised Version is correctly rendered, "without genealogy," thus agreeing with the margin of the old version, "without pedigree." His ancestry is not given, and in this he differs from the Levitical priests, in that their descent must be traced to Aaron. This was, that which made his priesthood a type of Christ's. Christ has no predecessor nor successor in his priestly office, and therefore he is set forth as the antitype of Melchizedek, who stands as the sole representative of his order.