Burn Your White Flags (Hebrews)Sýnishorn

Have you ever walked into a movie half an hour late? 

It’s a bit disorientating, especially if it’s a good story, because much of what comes after will depend on the earlier parts of the plot. We need the entire story from beginning to end if we are to enjoy and respond appropriately to it. 

This happened once when I thought I was walking in to watch a romantic comedy (don’t judge me) and realised five minutes later it was a Sci-Fi horror film. Needless to say I was lost.

Reading about Melchizedek can feel the same way if we are not aware of who he is and the role he plays in the Old Testament. 

In Genesis 14, Abram (later Abraham) is visited by the King of Salem (meaning 'king of peace'), Melchizedek, and is blessed by him (denoting that the Abram is inferior as he is the one blessed). In response, Abram gives Melchizedek one tenth of his portion and we don’t hear of this king again (Psalm 110 is the exception). 

What does this all mean? 

The author of Hebrews is setting up what is about to come in our next reading: he is letting us know that as great as the patriarch Abraham is, there was one that was greater than him still: the King of Salem. 

This is incredibly important to grasp as we look forward to the way that Jesus becomes a priest for us. 

As you think about these strange times, strange places, strange names, and strange customs, remember that we serve a God who transcends all of our cultural moorings and yet was willing to be subject to our culture in order to bring us home. 

Receive this beautiful (and strange) truth today.