Posted in encouragement, love, widows

Jesus’ incredible care for widows

Posted on by elizabethprata
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:26-27)

Widow – Konstantin Makovsky, 1865

The Bible speaks so often of the widow, the landless stranger (or alien) and the orphan. This is because in tie social hierarchy of Israel and environs, these three struggled the most in poverty at the lowest of the lowest of stations. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament outline the expectations for the Israelites to take care of the people who unfortunately fell into one of these three classes.

Bible Study Tools/Bakers Evangelical Dictionary describes the plight of the widow.

Widow

Married woman whose husband has died and who remains unmarried. The Hebrew word translated “widow” is almana, and it occurs fifty-six times in the Old Testament. … The Septaugint virtually always translates almana with the Greek term for widow, chera (cf. Job 24:21 ). The same Greek word occurs twenty-six times in the New Testament.
Words that occur in the general semantic field of the term “widow” in the Bible shed light on both her personal experience and social plight. Weeping (Job 27:15; Psalm 78:64), mourning (2 Sam 14:2), and desolation (Lam 1:1) describe her personal experience after the loss of her spouse. Poverty (Ruth 1:21; 1 Kings 17:7-12; Job 22:9) and indebtedness (2 Kings 4:1) were all too often descriptive of her financial situation, when the main source of her economic support, her husband, had perished. 

Indeed, she was frequently placed alongside the orphan and the landless immigrant (Exodus 22:21-22; Deuteronomy 24:17; Deuteronomy 24:19; Deuteronomy 24:20-21) as representative of the poorest of the poor (Job 24:4; 29:12; 31:16; Isa 10:2) in the social structure of ancient Israel, as well as in the ancient Near East. With minimal, if any, inheritance rights, she was often in a “no-man’s land.” She had left her family, and with her husband’s death the bond between her and his family was tenuous.

The New Testament. Widows were prominent in the New Testament. It was no accident that one of the poorest of the poor, Anna, was privileged to greet the infant Messiah (Luke 2:36-38). The adult Jesus followed in the footsteps of his prophetic predecessors with his concern for the plight of the widow. He healed a widow’s son because of compassion for his mother (Luke 7:11-17); he protested the exploitation of widows (Mark 12:40). He reversed the standards by which people were judged with the parable of the widow’s tithe: the widow gave from her poverty while the wealthy merely offered from their abundance (Mark 12:41-42). In another parable, the church was compared with an importunate widow who kept demanding that her case be heard. Similarly, the church must persistently pray for eschatological justice, the redressing of all wrongs against her (Luke 18:1-8).

There is much more at the link. It seems that if the widow had no able bodied or willing sons, it often happened that she could not work the land well enough to retain it, which is why she is often classed with the landless immigrant.

Things are not so different now. From the US Social Security Office of Policy, we learn

Despite increased labor force participation rates among women and reforms under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, widowhood remains an important risk factor for transition into poverty, although somewhat less so than 20 years ago. Women widowed at younger ages are at greatest risk for economic hardship after widowhood, and their situation declines with the duration of widowhood. We also find that women in households that are least prepared financially for widowhood are at greatest risk of a husband’s death, because of the strong relationship between mortality and wealth.

James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Widow’s Mite

It’s worse for most women who divorce or are divorced from their husbands. They endure an immediate and often permanent plunge in their socio-economic status.

Divorce makes men – and particularly fathers – significantly richer. When a father separates from the mother of his children, according to new research, his available income increases by around one third. Women, in contrast, suffer severe financial penalties. Regardless of whether she has children, the average woman’s income falls by more than a fifth and remains low for many years. (Source: The Guardian, Men Become Richer after Divorce)

In one of the most tender scenes in the Bible, Jesus cared for His mother while He was suffering on the cross. He knew He was going to die of course. Presumably His foster father Joseph had already passed on. At the opening of the essay I’d shared the verse from John 19:26-27, when Jesus committed His mother to John the disciple and John took her in “that very hour.”

Have you ever wondered why Jesus did not speak to one of His brothers? He had brothers and sisters, that is a biblical fact.

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. (Mark 6:3)

So why, then, did Jesus arrange for His mother to be housed with John, and not immediate family of James, Joses, Judas, or Simon? Likely it was because his half-brothers did not yet believe in Him. (John 7:5). In His agony, every breath a struggle, He commanded John to take in His mother, whom He addressed with an honorific of “Woman.”

MacArthur’s Commentary on John states,

Even as He was dying, bearing man’s sin and God’s wrath, Jesus selflessly cared for those whom He loved. (cf. 13:1, 34, 15:9, 13) Evidently His earthly father, Joseph, was already dead.  The Lord could not commit Mary into the care of His half brothers, the children of Mary and Joseph, since they were not yet believers (7:5). They did not become believers in Jesus until after His resurrection (Acts 1:14, cf.1 Cor. 15:7, thought he James referred to in that verse may be the Apostle James). 

Therefore He entrusted her to John, he became as a son to her in His place, and from that hour he took her into his own household. This may seem a very mundane thing to be concerned about in His hour of greatest sacrifice, but the beauty of the Savior’s love and compassion for His widowed mother, in the face of His own excruciating pain, reflects His love for His own.

Widow’s Walk, by Maja Lindberg Source

There are many tender scenes in the Bible where women are honored, cared for, healed, loved, and honored. Hagar, badly mistreated, received a visit from a pre-incarnate Jesus who gently spoke to her in her hour of need. The Woman at the Well, a sinner shunned by her townsmen, was given the privilege of a personal evangelistic moment with Jesus one-on-one. He did not rail at her for her sins, not like He did the Pharisees, but instead simply told her everything she ever did, revealed Himself to her as Messiah, and offered Living Water. After Eve sinned along with Adam, we read in Genesis 3:21 that God personally made skins from animals and clothed her (and Adam). And once again I refer to the quote above from the Bible Dictionary about the Lord’s extolling of widows such as Anna, the persistent widow, and the widow with the mite.

His eye is on the sparrow. (Matthew 10:29). It is on the actual tiny, insignificant sparrow but it is also on the metaphorical sparrow, the small and insignificant widow dwelling in poverty and hanging on to the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder. We have a good and gracious God whose eye sees all, knows all, and cares for those who love Him.

Exalt His mighty name today, His care is unparalleled. If you are grieving a lost, widowed and feeling marginalized, insignificant, sad and hidden, fear not. Our wonderful Lord is watching out for you. If His pain on the cross did not stop Him from arranging care for Mary, His mother, you can be sure He is arranging good and gracious care for you at this moment.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. (Luke 12:6)

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. (Psalm 37:25)

Posted in cotopaxi, ecuador, end time, eruption, prophecy, revelation, volcano

Ecuadoran Volcano Erupts for the First Time Since the ’40s (UPDATED)

Posted on by elizabethprata

UPDATE: Ecuador declares state of emergency over Cotopaxi volcano activity

“We declare a state of emergency due to the unusual activity of Mount Cotopaxi,” Correa said during his weekly Saturday address. “God willing, everything will go well and the volcano will not erupt.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ecuadoran Volcano Erupts for the First Time Since the ’40s
By Erik Klemetti

ECUADOR WAS GREETED this morning with a coating of ash from Cotopaxi. This eruption would be its first since explosions rocked the volcano in 1940 and possibly 1942. Today’s eruption was quite small—two explosions that rained ash (see below) on the southern edge of Quito. Climbers on Cotopaxi heard the explosions in the early morning hours, both of which happened after earthquake swarms over the past few days. … Cotopaxi needs to be closely monitored as eruptions in 1877 produced lahars (mudflows) that travelled over 100 km from the volcano. You can watch Cotopaxi on the IG webcam. 

UPDATE 12:45 PM EDT: It looks like Cotopaxi is continuing to have explosions—check out the recent Tweet with a shot of the growing plume.

Valley of Volcanoes. Wikipedia

My husband and I spent a month in Ecuador with two of his friends. We had met some Ecuadorans when they came to Maine for an exchange program and we flew there to visit them in return. We rented an apartment in middle Quito and branched out from there with our friends ushering us around their stomping grounds.

The volcano Pichincha was front and center in the middle of the huge capital city of Quito. If I wanted to see the top, I’d have to stand on my tiptoes and lean over the sink and crane my head upward.

I was amazed that 2,671,191 people live within mere miles of an active volcano. As a matter or fact,t he entire Valley of Volcanoes, the spine of Ecuador, is filled with active volcanoes. Some population center or another is always threatened. We bathed in hot springs fed by underground magma chambers at Papallacta. We washed our clothes in hot springs tricking down the volcano sides at Baños. Baños means baths. Volcanoes are a way of life to Ecuadorans.

The fences surround little private hot tubs heated by volcanic thermal springs
at Papallacta. You can see the steam on the right behind the pumpkin
and in the middle next to the hut. EPrata photo

Here is a photo of part of populous Quito:

EPrata photo

Here in northern Ecuador near Cayambe, another volcano dominates the skyline, even through the low hanging clouds.

EPrata photo

Naples Italy is another huge population center living among a growling bear. Wikipedia says,

Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards explosive (Plinian) eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.

I feel for all the people around the globe today who are under threat of active volcanoes. Japan and Indonesia are other places where people have been recently evacuated. As we go about our daily life we trust that certain things will work, like the trains, subway, planes, roads, electricity, etc. When there is an interruption like the ah fall on South Quito, it makes life harder than it is already, especially for so many people in Third World countries.

Worse is that these kind of natural interruptions and natural disasters will only continue to increase. We think that we can manage around some light ash falls, some cracks in the road after a temblor, but eventually we will not be able to manage. The seriousness of natural disasters will exceed man’s ability to not only endure them, but even to comprehend them. (Revelation 16:21, Revelation 9:3-4, Revelation 6:14 etc.)

When the rapture happens and we are gathered to Jesus He will unleash all His stored-up wrath and the earth will literally go crazy with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hailstorms, heat, floods, and more.

Revelation 6:12 says “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;”. The sentence is constructed in a way that seems causal. Earthquake occurs, and within the same sentence with no period, the sun turns sackcloth and the moon turns red. Can an earthquake cause this? Yes, if it sparks a volcano eruption. Read more about this below at the link “Of volcanoes, dry fog and sun as sackcloth“

The time is drawing nearer and nearer when sin will be loosed to do its worst, when disasters will top each other again and again- daily. All those who are not true believers will be left behind to face that. Many who think they are believers will shockingly discover they are not, when the true brethren suddenly are gathered up at the last trump into glory and they are left behind.

Just a friendly reminder, that we are not on earth to play, but to work, pray, witness, and labor for the Master.

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Further reading

Of volcanoes, dry fog and sun as sackcloth

CNN: Cotopaxi sends huge ash plumes into the sky

In-Depth Economic Times: Volcano in Ecuador spews huge column of ash

Posted in discernment, ligonier, rc sproul

Ligonier Ministries: The State of Theology "We are in a new dark age"

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is a wonderful info-graphic from Ligonier Ministries.

The State of Theology

It is Ligonier’s desire to serve the church in fulfilling the Great Commission. This survey has helped to point out common gaps in theological knowledge and awareness so that Christians might be more effective in the proclamation, teaching, and defense of the essential truths of the Christian faith. 

View the infographic, listen to Dr. R.C. Sproul discuss these findings on Renewing Your Mind, or download the official white paper and survey with key findings. You can also download the entire study in a .pdf.

Remember the point of absorbing this information is to educate yourself, but then to go forward and witness properly to others, either Christians or non-Christians. Now you know where the gaps in biblical knowledge are and can be part of helping to fill that in for people.

Thanks goes to Ligonier Ministries for this information and all their enduring hard work.

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Further reading

Wretched: Drive By Theology

Phil Johnson’s List of helpful Theology Bookmarks

Posted in death, hell, judgment, prophecy, second coming, sin, wrath

Preaching wrath-sin-death-judgment as well as salvation-grace-redemption-hope

Posted on by elizabethprata
“Wrath”. EPrata photo

A third of the Bible is prophecy. There are fulfilled prophecies, prophecies that have been fulfilled and will be again (double prophecies, Pentecost, Acts 2:14-21), and prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled. (Christ’s second coming)

There are complicated prophecies, (Book of Obadiah, Daniel’s prophecies) and simple prophecies. (Messiah will be born of a virgin, (Isaiah 7:14). Prophecies that involve war upon nations (Ezekiel 35:4) and prophecies that involve just one individual. (Eve will be the mother of all the living, Genesis 3:20; Mary a virgin would give birth, Luke 1:35).

Many Christians are fascinated by prophecy and study them diligently. But there is a prophecy that many people don’t like to study and it is one that affects all people, Christian and non-Christian alike.

Jesus said He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. (Ecclesiastes 3:17; Jeremiah 17:10). Non-believers will be judged based on their works and condemned, and believers will be judged not unto condemnation but still, judged according to our works.

No Christian likes to be thinking about the prophecy of being weighed in the scales and found wanting. No one likes to think they have disappointed Jesus. We all want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23). Not all of us will. Some will enter heaven by the skin of their teeth. (1 Corinthians 3:15).

Yet Christians are told several times about our coming judgment (not unto condemnation, but according to our works).

Believers are judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10-12). We will all have to give an account of ourselves. Jesus will judge the decisions we made, whether they were founded on the flesh or upon Him.

One subset of judgment will be teachers of His word. Teachers of the Bible will be judged more strictly-

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1).

Grumblers will be judged-

Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! (James 4:11, James 5:9).

“Doom sky”. EPrata photo

All non-believers will be judged. As much as a Christian cringes at the thought of being judged by the Mighty Righteous God, non-believers absolutely hate us even mentioning it to them! The lost person becomes angry at the very thought of them having failed the standard God sets forth. Yet it will happen, at what is called the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15.

This judgment does not determine salvation because the lost person’s eternal state is fixed at death. Everyone at the Great White Throne will be an unbeliever who has rejected Christ while they were living and is therefore already doomed to an eternity in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12). The judgment they will be experiencing is their life works projected like a mirror against a holy and righteous God and the level of their torment assigned. Yes, there are different degrees of punishment in hell.

Believers should think about this most difficult subject for several reasons. First, because as each person is cast (thrown) into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15) we can easily what John Bradford said. He was a martyr, imprisoned for the faith in 1553. As prisoners were paraded to the execution stake, Bradford would exclaim,

The pious Martyr Bradford, when he saw a poor criminal led to execution, exclaimed, “there, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.” He knew that the same evil principles were in his own heart which had brought the criminal to that shameful end. (Source A treatise on prayer by Edward Bickersteth (1822).

Over time the phrase has been amended to say “There but for the grace of God, goes I.” Any one of us could be that person facing the wrath of Jesus, condemned and tossed into the torment forever, unless it had been Him sovereignly saving us. We are no longer under wrath, but at one point in our lives, we were. Don’t forget that.

Second, the Christian should ponder these things because we must give the full counsel of God as we witness. (Acts 20:27). We must share the bad news before we can get to the Good News. The bad news that there is no one righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10). We all fall short of the glory of God and are destined for the Lake of Fire forever, to be punished for our sins by the Judge. We tend to shorten the witnessing moment because we expect the outrage and anger when sharing that the person we are talking with is a sinner in need of the grace of Jesus. It’s hard to make someone angry. Even pastors shorten the counsel of God, by omitting the sin-death-wrath-punishment part and then quickly get to the part that they think is more palatable, or “attractive.”

“Red heaven” EPrata photo

The full counsel means both sides, His sovereign choice of the people He elects to salvation, and the personal responsibility of each man to repent and believe else be eternally responsible for their sin. Spurgeon said of the full counsel of God–

Running away with half a Truth, they are like men that go through the wilderness wearing only one shoe—they become lame in one foot—and that makes them limp all over. It does not matter which foot it is that is lame—the man is a cripple if either foot is thus afflicted.

Think often of the prophecy of the Second Coming of Jesus. He spoke of it more often than anything else. The Bible refers of it constantly. Within the Second Coming are a host of different prophecies. I agree, they are interesting to study. However, we need to remember that we labor for a holy God and He will return to judge the living and the dead.

Acts 10:42
He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

Romans 14:9
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.


2 Timothy 4:1
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction

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Further reading

What does it mean to preach the whole counsel of God

The whole counsel of God

What is the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming?

Posted in blackaby, experiencing God, false prophets, henry blackaby, mysticism

Blackaby’s Experiencing God: if we’re to find out where God is at work and join Him there, then where is God NOT working?

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was a baby Christian when the church to which I belonged at the time fell under the hoopla regarding Henry Blackaby’s “Experiencing God” study (published in 1990). Even though the study had been produced and circulating for about many years already, it had taken a bit of a while to get to our small church in rural Georgia.

I remember the promises that were made by the people promoting the book/workbook/study. “It will change lives.” “It will transform the entire church”. “There is nothing like it.”

I like to study and I went along with the flow and participated in it with a small group. Perhaps I am a natural skeptic, but from the outset I was leery of anything that promised life change that was not the Bible. As the study concluded, I decided that it was not for me, there were parts I didn’t understand and it made no change in me at all. The parts I didn’t understand were not because the material was complicated or overly theological or in another language. Even the most difficult or demanding of material I’ve studied in the Bible eventually becomes clear through hard work, proper study, and prayer. The Spirit makes it clear.

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all (2 Pet. 3:16); yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them (Ps. 119:105, 130). (Westminster Confession of Faith 1.7)

Experiencing the Experiencing God study caused confusion in me, not clarity. It’s what always happens when something I’m studying goes away from the Bible. The Bible is always clear to me. When things are not based on the truths found in the bible, they are cloudy, unclear, murky, opaque. This is how, through discernment, I know what is edifying and what is not.

It’s been 9 years since I took the Experiencing God study. I have learned quite a lot since then, by the Grace of Jesus and the edifying work of the Holy Spirit. I know that Mr Blackaby and co-author Claude King will have a lot to answer for when they stand before Jesus. Mr Blackaby opened the door to mysticism, (aberrant orthodoxy) and he opened the door to an experiential method of getting to know God and living it. (aberrant orthopraxy). The credentials that he had, of being part of the North American Mission Board, the International Mission Board and LifeWay, opened the door to allowing and encouraging both extremely poor orthodoxy and poor orthopraxy in the most conservative denominations of the faith.

John MacArthur commented on this remarkable and rapid insinuation of the EG study’s main precepts into even conservative sections of the faith in his essay False Prophets and Lying Wonders,

Similar ideas [that God gives extra-biblical persona, revelation] have found sweeping acceptance even among non-charismatic Christians. Southern Baptists have eagerly devoured Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King, which suggests that the main way the Holy Spirit leads believers is by speaking to them directly. According to Blackaby, when God gives an individual a message that pertains to the church, it should be shared with the whole body. As a result, extrabiblical “words from the Lord” are now commonplace even in some Southern Baptist circles.

I’m saddened that the Experiencing God study is not only still used, but is still a best seller. According to Amazon.com, Experiencing God is ranked #42 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Education > Adult. That is amazing for a religious book/study published in 1990, twenty-five years ago. Many people have reviewed the study and tested it against the Bible. I won’t go into lots of parsing today. I have just a few questions about the book/study.

First, here are a few links to reviewers that have examined the Experiencing God study and why it comes up short when tested against God’s word.

The main point of Experiencing God has been touted again and again as this:

“Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” has a simple -– but challenging -– message: Find out where God is at work and join Him there. (source)

Here is my first question. Where is God NOT working?

Anyone? Anyone?

Yet the Bible says,

But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” (John 5:17)

The answer of course its that God is working everywhere.

If one digs beyond the motto of the study, there are 7 main points that the study brings up. None are bad on the surface. As a matter of fact, some are good. The trouble with this study is that it combines so much biblical truth with some lies that it makes it past the gate of all but the most discerning. Mixing biblical truth with doses of lies makes for a dense evangelical fog.

Here are the study’s 7 main points, which King and Blackaby call “7 realities”:

So, as number 1 says if God is always at work around us, why does the study always urge us to “Find out where God is at work and join Him there”. Why do we have to ‘find out’? Why do we have to go there to join Him? If I stay here, and don’t go there, am I in a dead zone, a spot where God is not working? Worse, do we obey God by using our visual senses to make a determination as to what God is doing in a particular place? What about the missionary who worked for years and had not one convert? Was God not working there? What happens when we ‘find out’ where God is working because it is a happenin’, exciting church, and then it plateaus, and we scoot off to another happenin’, exciting place, as Rick Warren says, surfing the experience? Have we not covenanted with the people we worship alongside? Do we just abandon them because we see a better prospect somewhere else?

Or is the seed that was planted and then watered by another dead in the ground … or was it simply waiting on God’s timing to grow it? (1 Corinthians 3:6). Do we wander off into where we “see God is working and join him there? Or there? Or how about over there?

Anyway, you can see the inconsistencies in the 7-point bullet list generated by Blackaby and King. Number 7 is particularly troublesome.

Not to mention the most personal experience of God of all. When we repent and believe, He sends the Spirit to dwell IN US. This is the most personal, intimate, wondrous experience on can have with God, His very self dwelling in us making our body His temple. What a poor substitute Blackaby offers, the temporal and fleeting experience of human experience to determine how to know God.

While some things that last are edifying (the Bible, The Valley of Vision, Pilgrim’s Progress), other things that seem like they are lasting (Experiencing God) are not edifying, and indeed, their popularity bespeaks this warning:

Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. (Luke 6:26).

Posted in abram, jerusalem, king, melchizedek, priest

Melchizedek: one of the Bible’s most mysterious characters

Posted on by elizabethprata

One of the most mysterious characters in the Bible is Melchizedek. There are only a few bare references, and what we do know according to the Biblical record, only makes us ask more questions than apparently God has granted answers.

  • What does it mean when we read Melchizedek has a priesthood that will last forever?
  • Why did God establish a priesthood superior to the Levitical priesthood, and is it a precursor to the priesthood of Jesus?
  • How did Abram know Melchizedek ?
  • Is the bread and wine that Melchizedek brings to Abram a precursor of the bread and wine ministration Jesus put into effect at the Last supper?
  • Why doesn’t Melchizedek have a genealogy?
  • Is Jesus Melchizedek in a pre-incarnation?

Sigh.

Anyway here is what we do know about Melchizedek.

His name means “King of Righteousness”: he was both king and priest of Salem, an early name for Jerusalem. Melchizedek blessed Abraham. Jesus Christ succeeded to this role and became a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. 

Melchizedek was both king and priest. As a king, Melchizedek entertained Abraham. (Genesis 14:18 See also Heb 7:1.) 

As a priest, Melchizedek blessed Abraham. (Genesis 14:18-19). 

Abraham acknowledged Melchizedek as a priest of the LORD. (Genesis 14:20,22). Melchizedek here points ahead to Jesus Christ, who is also priest and king. 

The status of Melchizedek 

David appropriates Melchizedek’s office and authority for himself and his descendants Ps 110:1-2,4 The word “order” here means “in succession to”, meaning that Christ assumes the status and function of Melchizedek. 

The Davidic Messiah (Christ) inherits the office of Melchizedek. Jesus Christ was at that time being acclaimed as the “Son of David” and by implication here claims to be the Messiah. 

Jesus Christ as high priest after the order of Melchizedek
Heb 5:8-10; 6:19-20 Only the high priest could sacrifice for the sins of the nation in the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. 

The characteristics of the order of Melchizedek according to Hebrews 7:2-3,
Melchizedek’s order of priesthood was one of kingship, peace and righteousness; it did not depend on genealogical descent (unlike the Levitical priesthood); it is eternal, without known beginning or end. (See also Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:21). 

The uniqueness of Jesus Christ’s high priesthood in the order of Melchizedek Heb 7:6-7 Melchizedek was superior to Abraham and therefore to the Levitical priesthood descended from Abraham; Ps 110:4 The priesthood is secured by God’s oath. See also Heb 6:17-20; 7:16,20-22,26-27; 8:1-2. 

Jesus Christ’s high priesthood makes the Levitical priesthood obsolete Heb 8:13 See also Heb 7:11,18-19; 8:7-13

Source: Manser, M. H. (2009). Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser.

Melchizedek in the Old Testament

Genesis 14. Melchizedek first appears after Abram’s victory over Chedorlaomer (Gen 14:1–12). The king of Sodom and Melchizedek, “king of Salem” and “priest of God Most High” (Gen 14:18 ESV), approaches the victorious patriarch. Melchizedek shows hospitality to Abram and pronounces a poetic blessing upon him. Abram responds by giving him a 10th of his spoils (Gen 14:18–20). 

Genesis provides no additional details about the identity of Melchizedek and doesn’t explain how a Canaanite city-king came to be a priest of God Most High. Further, Melchizedek does not appear in any genealogy. 

McKeown focuses on the function of Melchizedek within the narrative, drawing on the contrasting parallels between the kings of Salem and Sodom. Both kings approach Abram after the battle, but only Melchizedek comes bearing gifts. The first words of the priest-king form a poetic blessing, while the king of Sodom issues a command: “Give me the persons” (Gen 14:21 ESV). Within the broader context of Genesis, Melchizedek reminds the reader that Abram has been blessed by God. The character turns Abram’s victory into “a sign of God’s ability to deliver on the promises that he has made” (McKeown, Genesis, 88). 

Psalm 110. Melchizedek’s only other Old Testament appearance is in Psa 110, a psalm addressed to the king of God’s people. In it, the LORD promises to bring victory in battle and to establish the king as “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psa 110:4 ESV). The psalmist then declares that God will stand at the right hand of the king, using him to bring judgment upon the nations (Psa 110:5–6). 

This eschatological reading of Psa 110 piqued the curiosity of Jews and later Christians, especially in regard to Melchizedek. Hughes illustrates: “Psalm 110 declared that God was going to do something new by bringing into history a priest-king like Melchizedek. His priesthood would last ‘forever.’ He would be appointed directly by God. A divine oath guaranteed it: ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.’ What an intriguing prophecy. God was going to establish a totally new priesthood” (Genesis, 215).

The New Testament. 

The first reference to Melchizedek in the New Testament is a quotation of Psa 110:4 found in Heb 5:6. The writer quotes the passage to affirm that Christ was appointed as heavenly high priest: “And being made perfect, [Christ] became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 5:9–10 ESV). Hebrews 7, a commentary on the Old Testament appearances of Melchizedek, elaborates on this teaching. 

The author of Hebrews then turns to Psa 110, citing God’s promise to appoint a priest “after the order of Melchizedek” as indication of the Levitical priesthood’s imperfection (Heb 7:11 ESV). Christ fulfills the eschatological hope of the psalm not by meeting the legal requirement of descent, but by the eternal quality of His life (Heb 7:13–17). He is a superior high priest, bringing a new covenant which grants salvation to all who believe (7:18–25). 

Melchizedek provides Christians with a template for understanding the heavenly priesthood of Christ. This challenges our attempts to substitute human mediators for the divine, revealing a high priest whose saving work cannot be confined to any one culture or bloodline (Thompson, Hebrews, 164). 

Brockway, D. (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). Melchizedek. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Melchizedek blesses Abram

‎Abram’s remarkable victory made him a hero in the land wherein he dwelt. His return from the battle field of Dan was a triumphal march. The king of Sodom came to thank him and bade him keep the grain and treasures which he had regained; but Abram returned everything to the Sodomites, “Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me,” his allies. 

‎Here also occurred that mysterious meeting with Melchizedek, king of Salem, of whom the Bible says, “he was the priest of the most high God.” It would seem, therefore, that God was still worshipped by some people of Canaan. Melchizedek, His minister, came forth from Salem, which may have been Jerusalem; and he bore bread and wine to Abram. The priest king blessed the victor, and Abram gave him a part of all the spoils. Then they separated, apparently forever, two mighty servants of the Lord, who had recognized each other for a moment in passing, and then gone each his way.

When we get to heaven, won’t it be wonderful to seek these answers from the people themselves? If the LORD permits, that is. On the other hand, perhaps some of these questions we find so burning today will wither under the glory of truth shining from the from the face of Jesus. In any case, it will be humbling and thrilling to worship El Elyon alongside such a mighty and worthy king as Melchizedek, whose very name means “Righteousness.”

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Further Reading:

The Priesthood of Melchizedek

Bible Q&A: Who was Melchizedek?

Posted in discernment, gentle speech, rebuke

Gentle speech, curses and rebukes

Posted on by elizabethprata
EPrata photo

The Christian life is one of constant awareness. We are constantly aware that we are bought with a price, and that we we all to Him. Jesus has standards for His ransomed people in which He wants us to live. And because He is our Beloved King, we strive to follow His standards.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do when. We pray for everyone unceasingly (1 Thessalonians 5:17)…until we are told not to pray for such a one anymore. (1 John 5:16).

We must share the Gospel with all people (Matthew 28:19) … until we are to shake the dust off our feet (Mark 6:11)…and not give pearls to swine (Matthew 7:6).

I’m not saying the Christian life has contradictions, but I am saying that God knows best in situations what to do and we must stay repented up, prayed up, and studied up in order to discern what His will is when encountering situations that we find ourselves in.

Another situation that demands discernment is our speech. The Bible says a lot about our speech. It is supposed to be patient, gentle, and filled with love. And yet sometimes we read in the Bible that the Apostles were sharp, insulting, and berating.

Here are two essays which speak to the two different ways we’re called upon to speak His wisdom and truths.

Love is how we speak truth, not how we avoid it.

Anyone who spends any time at all in the Bible will soon realize there is a continuous emphasis placed on actively loving one another (i.e.: Leviticus 19:18, John 15:12, Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8, 1 John 4:21), even those who qualify as enemies (Matthew 5:44). First Corinthians 16:14 tells us to “do everything in love.” But many people struggle with this all-encompassing directive especially when they find themselves facing the difficult task of confronting sin in a family member or co-worker. Inevitable questions arise like, “Is it even possible to lovingly rebuke someone?” and if it is, “Does lovingly rebuking sin in someone else mean that we cannot be direct and forthright with the person we are confronting?” As Christians, do we have to sugarcoat what we say to others in order to fulfill God’s command to love them?

And yet there seems to be times when it is necessary to use sharp, cutting language.

Surprised by Scripture: Love and Spirit-inspired insults

Our expectation of the Spirit-filled person is that they would sincerely love people; that they would be manifestly gentle; that they would speak with kindness and patience in all circumstances. And those are good, biblical expectations. But the book of Acts shows us the Spirit-filled life is full of surprises. … Here’s where our expectations about the Spirit-filled life get upended:

But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” (Acts 13:9–10)

…This doesn’t sound like what we would call kind or civil or gentle. These are biting words, pointed words, sharp words directed at a particular person. In this case, the fruit of the Spirit is name-calling, insults, and harsh words. In this case, Spirit-prompted boldness means not mincing words about the wickedness of this magician. When Spirit-Inspired Insults Are Necessary:

Read both essays to see the bookends of speech we are expected to think about when we are confronting a person in sin. These things are not contradictory, and they are not for all Christians all the time. Some people, usually leaders, can and do make Spirit-inspired insults…and yet sometimes the pointed confrontation is necessary to employ against the sinning one, even to the extent they are ushered from the church under discipline and handed over to satan. (1 Corinthians 5:5).

The idea is that we are always striving to walk in the center line of His ways, constantly seeking Him to determine the proper course of action in any given situation, so that His name is glorified.