| THE TWELFTH MAN |
| He came "out of nowhere" to win great respect. |
| "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." 110:4 |
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| In Dallas, Texas, on January 22, 1922, Texas A&M fought it out in the first bowl game ever played in the Southwest. Coach Dana Bible watched helplessly as, one by one, his running backs limped off the field with injuries. As the game neared halftime, he had only one reserve left. What to do? He remembered a small, wiry back who had not made the traveling team. He had told Coach Bible, "I'll be in the stands if you need me." Bible sent a messenger to search for the young player, King Gill, and get him to suit up for the second half. The Texas A&M tradition of "the twelfth man" began. Since then, a series of "twelfth men" have come from the student body to help Texas A&M teams. At some schools football players are a breed apart. But Texas A&M, with its "twelfth man" tradition, remembers that a football player may come "out of nowhere." Help doesn't always arrive in the proper uniform. Mystery Man The Bible has a kind of twelfth man, a shadowy figure who is mentioned only three times, yet has great importance. Melchizedek came "out of nowhere" in Genesis 14:18-20 as a priest whom Abraham honored. Melchizedek never reappeared. But Psalm 110 mentions him in referring to the Messiah, the conquering king whom Israelites expected. And in the New Testament, the book of Hebrews devotes more than a chapter to Melchizedek's significance. Why so? The answer has to do with Israel's longing for great leadership. Much as the United States government recognizes three branches of government, Israel had three important kinds of leaders: prophets, priests, and kings. Prophets told the |