⁶ But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. ⁷ But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.

Point: Melchizedek was not a descendant of Levi, and yet he received a tribute from Abraham and then also blessed him. And this makes Melchizedek greater than Abraham. The idea was astounding, if not unexpected—that the Jews would see any other human outside of the Jewish heritage as being greater than Abraham. They thought of themselves as being special among all the nations of the earth; and they were, by God’s own promise to Abraham. But they concluded that therefore they were greater than all others. It was nothing short of Jewish exceptionalism, they stood above everyone else. They were supposed to be superior to all others.

But, as exceptional as the Jewish people were and are, there is an exception to their greatness, and that is precisely the point of our passage today. Melchizedek is seen to be greater than Abraham, as the Jewish record itself reveals. The Jews need to remember this, that God was dealing with Abraham long before the Law of Moses came into being, and He is not limited in His dealing with the Jews to acting toward them as revealed in that Law. In other words, there is now something greater than Moses and the Levitical priesthood going on, and it began before Moses—in fact it goes all the way back to Abraham and this incident involving Melchizedek.

What is the force of this “blessing” that he pronounced on Abraham? In Scripture we see the concept of blessing someone many times, one of the most notable being when God says He will bless Abraham (Gen 12). Then Abraham blesses Isaac, Isaac blesses his two sons and Jacob, his twelve sons. A blessing often was a pronouncement of possessions being passed on to children. But even in non-material things, such a pronouncement carried great significance in the future of those being blessed. Certainly, the Scripture attaches great importance to these statements as a guideline for understanding the outworking of God’s hand in the affairs of His people.

Melchizedek finds himself in good company as one along with God who blessed Abraham. The patriarch refused offers of blessing from the likes of the King of Sodom and others. This fact serves us well in understanding the importance of Melchizedek in the outworking of God’s plan, as it was to be revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, help me to understand and appreciate the significance of Melchizedek in Your whole plan of salvation. I believe You think this is important.