Prepare for Christmas: The Fifth Day of Advent

And Who Is Melchizedek?

Thursday, December 6, 2018

. . . To the Son he says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness . . . ; therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions.” You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of your hands. Hebrews 1: 8-10

I always hope that you will read the entire passage when I quote a tiny portion of a chapter. Though I try to get enough of the Scripture for you to understand its context, sometimes that is a bit of a strain. For example, here the writer makes a clear distinction between God’s angels and his Son. The angels, though bright and powerful, are lesser beings than the Son who is king forever (v. 8). Both are present at creation but only one laid the foundations of the earth and with his hands formed the heavens.

Just as Melchizedek simply “appeared” in the Genesis account we read earlier, a king who had no beginning and no end, here as in many places in the Bible we see Christ in that same light. He was in the beginning and his throne is forever and ever!

If you wonder why this is important, I hope you will continue to read for a day or two more, as we see the greater meaning of eternal – that is, not just no ending out in the future but no beginning in the past, existing before anything else was! We are so inclined to think of Jesus as having come to earth at Christmas, when actually he has been involved with and coming to earth in and since creation. It’s just that at Christmas, he came in a form we can imagine, an infant, so we could see him and relate to his growing up just like we did, just like our children do.

He was actively involved in creation; he was/is the eternal king. We cannot comprehend there being no such thing as time. Our finite minds cannot comprehend a being who preexisted time. We actually cannot comprehend God. So God came as an infant at Christmas because he understands how difficult it is for us to fathom preexistence. He knows a little baby boy we do understand.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, that Jesus came to show us in flesh your very person whom we struggle to understand. We cannot think in timeless terms when there was no heaven and no earth, when there was only You – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – moving about with your angels but longing for someone like yourself to commune with. But when you came to us as a baby, “grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:2) even as we must do, when you walked on tired feet from town to town, wept with your earthly friends as they sorrowed, and longed for company when you were in distress, we can almost see you. Thank you for your every effort to reveal yourself to us. Thank you for not only showing us the Man Christ Jesus but for revealing to us the preexisting Christ Jesus so we can at least try to imagine you – our no-beginning, everlasting God! Amen.

And Who is Melchizedek?

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for Rehobeth United Methodist Church, Winter 2012,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

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