So, once Abram had secured the people and spoils from the camp of the Emperor, he was visited by two individuals of note: 1) the king of Sodom and 2) Melchizedek, the king Salem. The former is nameless and ultimately irrelevant, but Melchizedek is an interesting figure.
Melchizedek, though a relatively obscure figure, appears three times in Scripture; the first is in this passage in Genesis, the second is in Psalm 110:4 on the lips of David, and finally in a lengthy discussion on the Melchizedek’s office being linked to the office of Christ in Hebrews 7.
It seems the lore of Melchizedek is introduced in three stages; in Genesis the author simply talks about Melchizedek’s blessing of Abram and praising of God, in Psalm 110:4 David is describing Melchizedek’s office as an eternal priesthood, and the writer of Hebrews sees this as an inspired prediction concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest.
So, even though Melchizedek is a relatively minor figure; the symbol of his office is not. Some have claimed that Melchizedek is a christophony, or an Old Testament appearing of Christ. While this is appealing, there is no evidence in the Genesis passage that Melchizedek is divine. Also, while David thus proclaims the future Messiah to be a priest forever, he says so in reference to Melchizedek’s office, not Melchizedek himself. So, Melchizedek is most likely a type (as in typology) of Christ rather than an actual appearance of Christ.
Whoever Melchizedek is, he does two things: 1) he brings bread and wine (men gotta’ eat and relax!) and 2) he pronounces blessings on Abram and God Most High who delivered Abram’s enemies into Abram’s hands. It is said that Melchizedek is a “priest of God Most High;” this brings up an interesting question: how is he a priest when there is not yet a Levitical priesthood? The Scripture does not really explain this mystery, but God appeared to individual family groups during the days of the Patriarchs, so it would not be surprising to see a king whom was devoted to Yahweh and served as a priest as well. The author of Genesis certainly wants us to see Abram’s positive response to the ministry of Melchizedek and until the New Testament that is all we get. A study of the book of Hebrews would be necessary for that subject and cannot be done here.
Abram then gives Melchizedek a tenth of everything before the king of Sodom can claim it. It is interesting why Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth and one can almost see a justification for the Levitical priesthood to be taking shape. However, it is a mistake to assume that the author threw this in here to justify tithing to priests. The point is that Abram acknowledged the ministry of the king of Salem before God and tithed a tenth to God by giving it to Melchizedek.
This brings up the sticky issue of tithing: Do we tithe today? First, let’s not use any Scripture passage to justify either disobedience or miserliness; New Testament generosity involves all one has not a tenth of it! Second, we need to understand that Abram’s act is not repeated until the need to tithe to support the Levitical priesthood; the Levites needed the tithe to be able to keep up the Tabernacle ministry and to survive. Third, we do not have a Levitical priesthood today; while we are asked to take care of the less fortunate and those who make their living by ministering the gospel (especially missionaries), there is no mandate to give ten percent to the local church to do with how they see fit.
Having said this, I must encourage those of you who go to institutional churches to tithe. Though there is not a biblical command to do it, your church stays functioning on what you tithe for good or for bad. I am among the number of those who would like to change this in the future, but right now most of our modern church models demand larger sums of money to keep our ministries going, so we need to be willing to support our church’s need for support. I also want to add that you need to give beyond ten percent to the work of the kingdom of God.
I am not going to tell you where to place it, God can do that just fine, but the Scripture is clear about giving to help the poor, orphan, and widow. Scripture is also clear about supporting frontier missions to bring the Gospel to all nations. We need to place most of our money where God is using it the most; if your local church is actively doing that then you are truly blessed. If it is not then, you need to 1) pray for your church, 2) maybe begin an initiative or spark conversation to change this, 3) find organizations that you can support (Compassion International, Voice of the Martyrs, Charity Water, Kiva, etc.) that is involved in not just involved in declaring the Gospel but also in demonstrating it, and 4) this drives some churches crazy and may earn you cross looks, but you can designate your funds to “benevolence” and the church has no choice (legally under IRS non-profit laws) to put your money where you designated it.
Once again, make sure that you tithe to keep the ministry of your local church going, but that does not mean you have to put most of your money there, especially if your local church is allocating money toward areas that may not be as important (I will leave that to you to determine what that is) to the work of the kingdom outside of the church building.
Now, the king of Sodom also offered to give Abram something, the things he captured from the Emperor. Now, many modern pastors would say things like, “Sure, I’ll take the devil’s money!” However, this is not the attitude Abram takes. In fact, Abram tells the king of Sodom outright that he has taken a vow to God not take anything that the king of Sodom wanted to give him. Wow, that is pretty harsh statement! Remember though, what the author of Genesis has said earlier about Sodom when Lot chose his lot with them?
Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. – Gen. 13:13 NIV
It was clear then, that Abram wanted nothing to do with being made prosperous by Sodom. His response is telling:
“that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you may never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’”- Gen. 15:23 NIV
Abram wants nothing to do with ill gotten gain; remember what the prophet Ezekiel says of Sodom?
“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. ” - Ezek. 16:49-50 NIV
Abram was well aware of Sodom’s evil (and that leaders of it perpetrated that evil) and I wonder if he said this in the hearing of his nephew Lot so that he could truly understand where he had placed his allegiance; if he did, it did not do any good…Lot went right back to Sodom.
However, Abram did not let his own personal conviction keep his allies and men from being rewarded; he made sure that they received the payment they deserved while still setting himself apart to God and from the wealth of Sodom.
In the next chapter, things begin to change; including Abram’s name. From then on he would be known as Abraham, father of many nations.
Filed under: Thoughts on Genesis
