Communion with Abraham in Genesis 14?
I am amazed by what the Lord has done! Not only has He graciously given us His Son as a sacrifice for our sins, but He has also graciously given us the Lord's Supper (communion) by which we can physically "show the Lord's death until He comes" (1 Cor. 11:26). God has commanded us to observe this ordinance, and by taking part in it, we are blessed, and we also honor God.
I want to go back and look at the first Lord's supper in Scripture. But first, let's look at a few other passages that tie-in.
Hebrews 7:20-25 --- Jesus is our high priest "after the order of Melchizedek". Instead of coming to us under the Levitical priesthood, Jesus came to us via the older and better priesthood of Melchizedek. And Jesus is "able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them."
Galatians 3:29 --- "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." All of us who belong to Christ are children of Abraham.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 --- "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread: and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you show the Lord's death till he comes."
So in the context of the Lord's Supper, think about these four things:
In short, the Melchizedekian priest uses bread & wine to bless Abraham's children and to bless God.
Now keep that in mind as we look at one more Scripture. (This is awesome!) :
Genesis 14: 18 And Melchiz'edek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, "Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand."
Way back in Genesis 14, we see the priest Melchizedek bring forth bread and wine, and bless both Abraham and God.
The bread and the wine of communion points to the body and blood of Jesus, and has done so since the the time of Abraham in the book of Genesis. We who belong to Christ are Abraham's children, and Jesus is our great high priest. Whenever we obey Jesus by partaking of the Lord's Supper, we receive blessing, and we also honor God. And we share a great unity with many Christians who have gone before us.
"And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 8:11).
Praise be to God!
--- Article by Joseph M. Gleason - February, 2005
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