And his name shall be Melchizedek

To be completely honest, I don’t feel that I know that much about the Old Testament.  Of all the scriptures, I find it the hardest to read.  That said, when I was completing my reading this week and came across Melchizedek, it dawned on me that I really don’t know much about the man behind the name that is used constantly in Church.  I wanted to learn and know more about him, and was grateful for an assignment geared around him, so I could do just that. 

  Melchizedek was a very righteous man.  In Genesis 14:18, it mentioned that “he was the priest of the most high God.”  In Alma 13: 17, it tells us that he was the king over the land of Salem.  The next verses really amazed me though.  Keep in mind, this is my interpretation of it.  It continued in verse 17 to say that Melchizedek's people had gone astray and were very wicked and he was the ONLY ONE who was righteous. 

  That comment made me stop.  I know what Its like to be a minority in a religious context.  We live in Germany, and drive ½ an hour to church, and my twins count for 2 of the 4 LDS kids in the 5^th grade at our school.  My eight year old is the only LDS 2^nd grader, and my kindergartner is one of the two LDS in his grade.  Yet, despite that, we do have friends that are strong in our faith and offer support.  How would it be to be the ONLY ONE?  And not only that, but Melchizedek cried repentance unto them as well!  And it gets better, because according to verse 18, “And behold, they DID repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days.”

  Right there, it’s easy to see that he had the Lord on his side.  It’s because of his actions that he was called “the prince of peace”.

  In the student manual, I also learned that the possibility is there that Melchizedek is actually Shem (Noah’s son).  There were some points to back up this possible connection and I found it fascinating.  For instance, “The inheritance given to Shem included the land of Salem. Melchizedek appears in scripture as the king of Salem, who reigns over this area. “ This seems like a viable association.\

Another connection stated, “Shem, according to later revelation, reigned in righteousness and the priesthood came through him. Melchizedek appears on the scene with a title that means ‘king of righteousness.” 

  These things, along with others, really have me pondering if it is indeed true.  If nothing else, I walk away from this assignment knowing Melchizedek was an amazing man, and deserving of our respect and praise.