More Than a Name
It was a busy Monday morning clinic. The nurse was calling the patients by name, “Next..Milky Siddiq…” she shouted. A handsome graceful young man who is an engineering student stepped into my office.
He corrected the nurse “My name is Melchizedek”… The nurse was a renewed Christian, still didn\’t click.
First I thought he was joking, I just laughed, after a while I thought, its actually quite good and an unusual name. This could stick out all his life as a witness to the unique character in the Bible. While we talked he told me who Melchizedek was and how proud he was to get a name from his parents. I thought about his parents who must have been very courageous to give a child this name. I salute them.
What\’s in a name?
Of course everything, I say. An unusual name has the advantage of making the bearer stand out from the crowd.
A child’s name can be either a blessing or a curse. A good name can be a gift we give our beloved child. A bad name? It may be a sore all his life. Choosing a name for the child is very difficult and challenging. I have come across several funny names of patients-mainly children whose ego was eternally bruised and entire life will be scarred.
To be honest ,I didn\’t like my name (Paulose) my parents put, it was not romantic at all until I worked in the Middle east where lot of Mediterranean and East European patients were fond of my name, as it was very honored name in their countries. These days youngsters are very conscious of their name, girls won\’t fall in love if your name is not romantic. But time is changing, now they like the names like Chakochan, Mammootty because of the film idols behind it.
So who is Melchizedek?
He is a very strange character in the Bible.
Abraham presented Melchizedek with a tithe (a tenth) of all the items he had gathered. By this act Abraham indicated that he recognized Melchizedek as a fellow-worshiper of the one true God as well as a priest who ranked higher spiritually than himself. Melchizedek’s existence shows that there were people other than Abraham and his family who served the one true God.
Christ of Old Testament
In Psalm 110, a messianic psalm written by David, Melchizedek is seen as a type of Christ. This theme is repeated in the book of Hebrews, where both Melchizedek and Christ are considered kings of righteousness and peace. By citing Melchizedek and his unique priesthood as a type, the writer shows that Christ’s new priesthood is superior to the old levitical order and the priesthood of Aaron (Hebrews 7:1-10).
Some propose that Melchizedek was actually a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. While possible, this view is unlikely. Melchizedek was the king of Salem. Would Jesus Christ have come to earth and ruled as an earthly king over a city? Melchizedek is similar to Christ in that they are both priests and kings; therefore, Melchizedek could be called a “type” of Christ, but they are not the same person.
Truly amazing!
