September 7, 2007

• Torah Class Lesson 5 question

  in that text version it says:

  It is also interesting that Hebrew Tradition is that that mysterious biblical King and Priest of Shalem, called Melchizedek, who Abraham would bow down to and give tithes, was actually Shem. And, the timing is such that it most certainly could have been……because Shem was still alive then.

   

  but I brought that up last night at Home Church when the subject was on tithing that Melchizedek could have been Shem and Pastor said it could have been Jesus since he had no beginning or ending of days.  See Hebrews 7:2-6

  (but I was thinking that to Abraham it would seem as if Shem had no beginning or ending of days because Shem was born before the flood and we have no mention of when he died....so.... but I just searched for Shem in the Bible and apparently he only lived to be 600 years old and according to Bible time-line,

• Shem died at the age of 600. Shem lived after the flood 502 years and after Noah 152 years. He talked with Abraham 150 years and with Isaac 50 years. He outlived Lot's wife by 52 years. (1846 B.C.)

so is Shem Melchizedek ???)

also in Lesson 14 of Torah Class

Some of the ancient scribes said that Melchizedek was actually Shem, the son of Noach. Now, you may ask, does that mean like a 2nd coming of Shem, or a Shem-like individual, or maybe even a descendant of Shem? No, these scribes meant that Melchizedek was the actual, real, literal Shem. And, that is entirely possible because Shem, by biblical records and chronologies, was still alive at this time! And, of course, Shem was to be the line of good that extended from Noach, and if ANYONE alive at this time were completely loyal to the One God, it would have been Shem, who rode out the Great Flood.

and in Lesson 15

So, without necessarily advocating that Shem was Melchizedek, it certainly would make a lot of sense and is a much better guess than Jesus.  First, Shem was still alive. Second, the land of Canaan, which is where Shalem was located, was a very pagan place. And, yet, in the midst of this, here is this man who speaks of the God Most High…… the God Abraham was just beginning to get to know. And, he seems to speak with deep understanding of the One True God, yet never does he make himself to be God. Third, Abraham seemed to know who this man was, and he had the deepest reverence for him. In fact, Melchizedek’s presence seems just matter-of-fact and expected. Without any explanation at all, Abraham gives one-tenth of all the recovered property to this man. And, by the way, be careful not to attach the tithing label as we think of it in the church today to this act. This 10th that was given was standard payment due a King for the spoils of war. This is a ONE-TIME payment, not an ongoing obligation.

 

(I agree on the tithe thing, I didn't bring it up at Church but it irks me that they acknowledge xmess and ishtar but Passover and Sukkot are "OT" things that are done away with....but every church out there likes to bring up Abraham tithing to Melchizedek and Malachi chapter 3 ....and I just want to say "but I thought the OT was done away with?"  )

and it says this also in the lesson:

So, what can we say in conclusion about Melchizedek? He was a real man, the High Priest and King of the city of Shalem that possibly eventually became called Jerusalem.  He was a type of Christ, but he was NOT Christ. He was a shadow of the Messiah that was to come. And, very likely, he was Shem, son of Noach.

 

lesson 15 also says:

It’s amazing what becomes clearer when we put the Jewishness that was removed like an inflamed Appendix out of the Bible, back into the Bible…. And a prime example is the story of Abraham and Melchizedek. The traditional Roman and Western Church’s answer to “who is Melchizedek” has been that he was Jesus. Much like the way the Church also suggests that anytime a human attribute is ascribed to God, like when God was walking in the Garden of Eden during the time of Adam, it must have been Jesus. I don’t want to get too far in to that, nor do I wish to sound at all dogmatic about my views because this side of Heaven, this deal is a mystery for sure. But I must admit I am not convinced by the Church tradition in this matter.

 

 

It's so interesting to know things and then be able to find out why some people think the way they do...because some church in their lifetime told them something...so it must be so right?  and "everything you hear on tv is correct."  WHATEVER!!