| THE TWELFTH MAN |
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| truth, revealing God's righteousness. Kings were to put righteousness into effect, as head of the government. Priests were to see that God met his people in worship: they represented God to the people, and the people to God. According to the God-given Israelite constitution, kings and priests always came from different tribes: a priest from the Levite family and a king from the Judah family. Ordinarily, a king could not be a priest. Total Leadership The Messiah, however, must be a total leader: a perfect king governing justly, a perfect prophet revealing God's truth, a perfect priest bringing God and people together. But how could he be all three, when priests and kings were supposed to come from different families? Wouldn't that violate God's law? Psalm 110 suggests (and Hebrews 7 amplifies) the answer. Just as a football player need not necessarily come from the athletic dorm, so Melchizedek's example proves that a priest need not necessarily come from the proper family. Melchizedek was not even a Jew, let alone from the Levite family. He knew nothing about the temple or the Old Testament law, for these came after his time. Yet his spiritual power impressed Abraham. Melchizedek showed the kind of leadership Christ was to bring. He was both a priest and a king. Psalm 110's brief praise provides a thread between the Old and New Testaments. It hints that the Messiah would be greater than David, while David's descendant. And by tracing the Messiah's roots to Melchizedek, it established his credibility as both priest and king. Life Questions: What are the "proper channels" you expect to see spiritual leadership come from? Has God ever led you through someone outside those channels? |