Melchizedek is a great name. I wonder if anybody is called that today. Easily shortened to an informal Mel, but majestic in its entity and surely ranking among the grandest, most significant names in the bible. An added bonus for a young Mel K would be the difficulty of telling someone off with such a name. Your parents wrath might instinctively be held back by a sense of deference to such a grand and messianically significant title. "Melchizedek, go to your room!" just doesn't sound right. Rather than scold you they might even give you 10% of their income as pocket money!
But enough frivolity, this is an awesome place in the bible to stop and look around. Let me describe where I am. Abram has just returned from rescuing Lot from the clutches of four King's who kidnapped him along with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The King of Sodom comes out to meet him in the Valley of Shavah. Melchizedek, the king of Salem (NIV says that refers to Jerusalem) and "priest of God most high" brings out bread and wine and blesses Abram. Abram then gives him ten percent of all the booty he got form the four kings.
When we came back from hols Steph Liston had just preached on Melchizedek at Newday (http://www.newdaygeneration.org/). I've just download it and had a quick listen. During the week he had been working his way through the book of Hebrews and in the last session had got to chapter 7 which has tones of stuff on Melchizedek. Psalm 110:4 also mentions Melchizedek but for now I'll resist the urge to refer to either of these places and just concentrate on the Genesis passage.
The first thing to note here is that Melchizedek was both a King and a priest. This is odd as in Israel, priests were descended from Abram's great grandson (Jacob's son) Levi and Kings from his great grandson Judah. There was only one other person in the whole of the bible who was both a King and priest and that was, (drum role) Jesus so right off the bat I know something significant is going on here.
The second thing that that jumps out at me is that he brings out bread and wine. Again, that seems odd and obviously reminds me of the other person to take out bread and wine: Jesus. We know Jesus broke bread and poured out wine to symbolise God's new covenant (or arrangement) with mankind. Abram however has no idea about that, nor does anybody else at this point yet Melchizedek's actions are not remarked upon as odd. Abram doesn't say "what are you doing that for?". Maybe it was a bit like turning up to a dinner party with a bottle and chocolates? A kind of social mechanism speaking of friendship, acceptance, enjoyment, and being together? In that part of the world particularly there was a strong tradition of showing hospitality and eating together and bread and wine are staples of a good meal. It has been suggested that he may have had enough to refresh Abam's whole army after the battle.
So this King/priest is inviting Abram into friendship with him. Not quite "let's grab a pint together" but not far off. Jesus "came eating and drinking" (Mat 11:19) and got a lot of flak for it. He went to peoples' houses and enjoyed meals with them. He reclined at the dinner table with his disciples then taking the bread and wine in his hands, said some very powerful and graphic statements about himself: "this is my body, given for you" (Luke 22:19), "this is my blood poured out for many " (Matt 26:28). No one who hears those things could ever look at bread and wine in the same way again.
