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We are going to take a closer look at Melchizedek as king of Salem. It says in Genesis 14:18, "Then Melchizedek, king of Salem brought out bread and wine." Was he an earthly king, as some people think, during the time of Abram? If so, then what city and area did the king rule over? Some people think the word Salem is referring to Jerusalem; and Melchizedek was king in that city before it became the City of David.
This doesn't seem to make much sense to me for several reasons. If this man was a righteous priest and a king of peace, the place where he reigned should have been a place of peace and tranquility. In its earlier day, Jerusalem was anything but that. Ezekiel 16:2-4 says, "Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and say, thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your birth and nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite."
Now if you remember, in Genesis 9:25, Noah cursed Canaan the son of Ham. The children of Canaan were the people who inhabited Jerusalem until David and his army conquered it. II Samuel 5:7 says, "Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is the City of David)." There are around 60 different names for Jerusalem in the Bible.
The Canaanites were a very evil, wicked people involved deeply in heathen worship. Many of these false religions included gruesome orgies and the sacrifice of children to the gods. Henry Morris makes this statement in his study Bible; "Her (Jerusalem's) history was completely pagan until God Himself made it His "holy city" under David and Solomon. This fact seems to eliminate the possibility that Jerusalem was originally Salem, the "city of peace," ruled by Melchizedek.
I don't know of anyone who has found where Salem (a historical city) ever existed in Palestine. It seems rather evident that the word Salem is referring to peace. In Hebrews 7:2, the author says, "and then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace." It is talking about a characteristic or attribute of Melchizedek. Just as the Old Testament priest (Melchizedek) was called king of Salem (peace), Christ was also called "The Prince of Peace," in Isaiah 9:6-7.
In Ephesians 2:14 it says, "For He Himself (Christ) is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us."
Then in John 14:27 Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you."
Christ was the Prince of Peace; we could also say He was the King of Salem (Peace). In John 18:37, Jesus said to Pilate, "You say rightly that I am a King. For this cause was I born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth."
Here is something for all of us to consider. Are we living lives that promote peace? Do we know and serve the Prince of Peace? If we do, others will see Christ in us and through us as we go about our daily lives.
Comments or questions, contact me at: thoughtsonword@gmail.com
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Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published three books, "Common Thoughts on The Word" in 2016 and "Eye of a Needle" in 2017 and "Common Thoughts on The Word II" in 2019. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children's book.