Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

ABRAHAM AND LOT 14:17-24
a portion taken out ‘of the whole, and representing the
whole. What further concerns the greatness of Melchi-
sedec the Apostle declares in the ensuing verses, , . . The
sole reason that can be given for the greatness of Melchi-
sedec is, that God raised him up, and disposed of him into
that condition of His own good pleasure.” (Comments by
John Owen on Heb. 7: 1-7).
It should be noted that in response to Abram’s un-
solicited manifestation of the most devout regard for
Melchizedek (actually, no doubt, for the twofold office
vested in him), that the latter is said to have pronounced
a twofold blessing himself, namely, he blessed Abram (of
God Most High), and he blessed God Most High (El Elyon)
also. Leupold (EG, 465-466) : “Melchizedek’s blessing is in
every way what it should be: it ascribes the glory to God
and lets Abram appear merely as what he is, an instrument
God deigned to use-so the second half of the blessing. The
first half had represented Abram as standing in need of
the blessing of El Elyon and therefore bestowed that bless-
ing from the hands of the Omnipotent Creator. . . . There
can be no doubt about it that whether long or short this
blessing was a clear-cut confession of him who gave it
and a strong testimony to the truth, given at a solemn
moment under memorable circumstances also in the ears
of an ungodly and unbelieving group of neighbors. No
doubt, on Moses’ part the object of recording so memor-
able a piece of history connected with one of the major
cities of the blessed land, was to impress the people with
the glorious record that truth had had in the earliest day
in some of these venerable cities.”
Thus it will be seen that both of these factors, namely,
Abram’s manifestation of profound regard for Melchi-
zedek, and the latter’s twofold benediction in response,
accompanied by his provision of food for the rescuing
forces, surely point up the fact that the timelessizess at-
tributed to Melchizedek in the Epistle to the Hebrews
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