Today’s passage is Hebrews 7:1-10. After his great victory over the kings, Abraham met Melchizedek, who blessed him. Abraham gave him ten percent of the plunder. Melchizedek, whose name means king of righteousness and is king of peace, has no genealogy and remains a priest forever, like the Son of God. Melchizedek is greater than Abraham because he gave the blessing. The Levi priesthood, who are descended from Abraham, receive tithes from their brothers while Melchizedek, who is descended from no one, received a tithe from Abraham, father of all and of God’s promise.
Do you give ten percent of what you receive to God?
What kings must you defeat?
Melchizedek shows up for three verses in Genesis, but Apollo devotes entire chapters to him in Hebrews, showing his surpassing greatness and connecting him to Jesus.
Since the letter is to Jews, who have been raised with their priesthood since the time of Moses, it is crucial to Apollo’s argument that he connect Jesus to the first priest in the Bible and the blesser of Abraham himself.
But I confess that, for me, the Melchizedek argument seems strained.
Not for the first time, I ask myself why something in the Bible is there.
Why am I missing the point?
Why can’t I understand what God wants me to learn from meditating on this passage?
These are not idle questions because either the entire Bible is the inspired and revealed word of God or it’s not.
And since I believe it is, then I’m on the hook if I run into something that feels like hitting a brick wall.
This is one of those passages.
Previous troublesome passages have been the various genealogies sprinkled throughout the Bible.
But, through prayer and meditation and talking to others, I was able to come to understanding and application in my life.
From that experience I trust I will be able to interpret something of my life in today’s passage.
When Abraham defeated the kings, it was a rescue mission.
His cousin Lot had been captured in the war of the kings on the plains of Sodom.
Abraham took his 318 trained men and defeated the armies of the kings and rescued Lot and his family.
On the way back to Canaan, Abraham is met by Melchizedek and the King of Sodom.
Abraham gives ten percent of the plunder to Melchizedek. He tells the King of Sodom that he can have all the rest except for what is owed to Abraham's men as their rightful share.
Abraham himself will take nothing. That, for me, is the issue in today’s passage.
The kings of the world that I have to continually battle are the ninety percent of my money and my prideful imagination.
It took me a long while to fully accept the spiritual necessity of giving a tithe to the church.
First I had to decide whether a tithe meant before or after taxes.
It was clear that it meant before taxes.
It was a tithe on the total of what I receive from all sources.
My worldly mind had a hard time dealing with that because I wanted to keep all of my money and easily rationalized why I needed it. After I tithed, though, I always had enough, perhaps in part because I became more frugal, more aware of the meaning and value of money. But that’s another story.
Abraham didn’t keep ninety percent.
He didn’t want the King of Sodom saying that he had made him, Abraham, rich.
Abraham trusted to God only.
He trained his 318 fighters in the ways of God.
My pride sometimes looks to the fantasies of being principal of a rich school, of having one of my stories become a bestseller, of a long lost relative dying and leaving me a castle in Spain.
Abraham had no need of the plunder.
He had fought the kings to rescue his cousin.
He didn’t let wealth distract him from his life of worship in Canaan where he trained fighters in the way of God.
He had ninety percent from his past. He had God’s strength to resist accumulating worldly wealth and God’s blessing on who he was, the heir of promise.
Out of my ninety percent I am able to pay my way and give mission money to my church and pay for some Sunday School kids to go to QT camp.
My ongoing battle is with the kings of selfishness.
I can only fight them with the trained warriors of Sunday and Wednesday worship, daily QT, mokjang and continuing to give ten percent to the Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Application: continue to tithe with joy and the knowledge I am blessed.
Lord, let me not be seduced by the world but keep me faithful to your training and carrying my cross behind you.
