Melchizedek: He was a priest of the Most High?

Question

1. I do not understand why Melchizedek is said "priest of God Most High" (Genesis 14:18) while to my humble knowledge, priesthood started in the law of Moses and at that point of time the law of Moses did not exist. Or, am I missing something?
2. Hebrews 7:3 ".....resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever". I believe Christ is the only one Priest Who exists for ever who is with His Father God for ever.
3. Hebrews 7:15,16 "15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest,..". Namely, Christ priesthood is after priest Melchizedek? Thus, where is Christ a priest forever?

Answer 1

Yes, the Aaronic priesthood was established many centuries after Abram met Melchizedek the priest, according to the timeline of the biblical story. But priesthood is not unique to the religion of YHWH. Many religions, then as now, have priests. The Hebrew Bible also mentions priests of Egypt (e.g. Gen.47:22) and Midian (e.g. Ex.2:16) prior to the revelation to Moses, as well as priests of other gods afterward, including Dagon (e.g. 1Sam.5:5) and Baal (e.g. 2Ki.10:19). That Melchizedek is called a priest in Genesis 14:17-24 prior to the institution of the Aaronic priesthood is not a problem in itself.

The challenge comes when Melchizedek, priest of El Elyon, and Abram appear to serve the same god. ‘Melchizedek’ literally means ‘Sedeq is king’, and he is called a ‘priest of El Elyon’ and the ‘king of Salem’. All three names – Sedeq, El Elyon, and Shalem – are associated with gods of the pagan Canaanite pantheon. Here's the problem: the Hebrew god YHWH didn't appropriate the titles El and El Elyon (‘God Most High’) until centuries after this story’s putative setting. Consequently, many scholars see in these stories – which found their final form well over a millennium after Abraham is supposed to have lived – evidence of an evolution from Canaanite polytheism through Hebrew monolatry to Jewish monotheism. As history, the Melchizedek story is problematic, which is perhaps what prompts this question.

But if Melchizedek is understood not as a historical person but as a character in the founding myth of the Jewish nation, any anachronistic aspects of his story are unimportant. He appears at the beginning of the Bible as the archetypal king/priest of Jerusalem, a model of righteous and peaceful governance for later Jewish and Christian accommodation.

Answer 2

Melchizedek is the generation of Noah after world was destroyed with wateer… Mâlâkh the brother of Shâlâh, the son of Cainan and grandson of Arphaxad, is the father of Melchisedek, and Yôzadhâk, his mother And Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after he came forth from the Ark. And when he was sick unto death, Shem, and Ham, and Japhet, and Arpakhshar, and Shâlah gathered together unto him. And Noah called Shem, his firstborn, and said unto him privily, "Take heed, my son Shem, unto what I say unto thee this day. When I am dead, go into the Ark, wherein thou hast been saved, and bring out the body of our father Adam, and let no man have knowledge of what thou doest. And take with thee from this place provision for the way, bread and wine, and take with thee Melchisedek, the son of Mâlâkh, because him hath God chosen from among all your descendants that he may minister before Him in respect of the body of our father Adam. And take the body and place it in the centre of the earth, and make Melchisedek to sit down there. And the Angel of God shall go before you, and shall show you the way wherein ye shall go, and also the place wherein the body of Adam shall be deposited, which is, indeed, the centre of the earth. There the four quarters of the earth embrace each other. For when God made the earth His power went before it, and the earth, from its four quarters, ran after it, like the winds and the swift breezes, and there His power stood still and was motionless. There shall redemption be made for Adam, and for all his posterity. Now this story, or mystery, was handed down to us from Adam in all generations. Adam commanded Seth, and Seth commanded Ânôsh, and Ânôsh commanded Kainân, and Kainân commanded Mahlâlâîl, and Mahlâlâîl commanded Yârêd, and Yârêd commanded Enoch, and Enoch commanded Methuselah, and Methuselah commanded Lamech; and behold, I command thee this day. And take heed that this story is never mentioned again in all your generations. Get thee up, and take the body of Adam, and deposit it secretly in the place which God shall show thee until the day of redemption." And when Noah had given all these commands unto his son Shem, he died, being nine hundred and fifty years old, in the month of Îyâr, on the second day thereof, at the second hour of the first day of the week. And Shem his son embalmed him, and buried him in the city which he had built, and they made a mourning for him forty days.

These are the commands of Shem from Noah to Melchizedek when they got to center of the earth where body of Adam was buried….

And Shem said unto Melchisedek, "Thou shalt be the priest of the Most High God, because thou alone hath God chosen to minister before Him in this place. And thou shalt dwell here continually, and shalt not depart from this place all the days of thy life. Thou shalt not take a wife, thou shalt not shave thy head, and thou shalt not pour out blood in this place. Thou shalt not offer up wild beasts nor feathered fowl, but thou shalt offer up bread and wine always; and thou shalt not build a building in this place. And behold, the Angel of the Lord shall come down to thee and visit thee continually.

Answer 3

Melchizedek could only be the Holy Spirit. He cannot be Jesus which I previously thought. According to Hebrews 7:1 Melchizedek was priest to the most high God. If one studies the scriptures it will be seen that the most high God is Jesus, so it doesn't make sense that he is priest to himself. As well as the Most High and also the Highest refers to Jesus. Acts 16:17, Psalms 78:14-15 and 51-and 56 is Jesus. Philippians 2:9 and Ephesians 1:17-23 both say roughly that Jesus has a name above all names. Genesis 14:19 says blessed be Abraham of the most high God, possessor, (H7069)which means creator of heaven and earth. We know Jesus created the world...John 1:1 Melchizedek (H4442) is the order of the priesthood to which Christ belongs. Psalms 110:4 the LORD hath sworn and will not repent, thou (Jesus) art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. That "order" should have already been established by God, don't you think? Hebrews 5:6 says "You are a priest forever after or according to, the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:9 is talking about Jesus. Now I read verse 10 as saying that Jesus was "Called of God, an high priest, after the ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK. THEREFORE I think God was saying He was the high priest and that he called Jesus to be the author of eternal salvation Verse 6.

Hebrews 7:3 states that this King of Salem was without father without mother without descent having neither beginning of days nor end of life. That could only be the Father-or the Holy Spirit. Revelation 3:14 says Jesus was the beginning of the creation of God. So, Melchizedek could not be Jesus. Hebrews 7:6 states that Melchizedeks is NOT from them....Levi or Levitical line, verse 5. Hebrews 7:15-16 after the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth another Priest.....this then must be Jesus who is the other priest.