Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, met Abraham after the rescue of Lot, brought out bread and wine, blessed him, and received a tithe (Genesis 14:18-20). His name means King of Righteousness, and Salem means peace, so he is also King of Peace (Hebrews 7:1-2). Only God could be King of Righteousness or King of Peace, since no human is righteous and men have not known the way of peace. He was no Canaanite, and Abraham knew who he was. Hebrews 7:3 says he was without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, so he is self-existent deity rather than a mortal whose birth records were lost. He cannot be God the Father, whom no man has seen, since he was the Father's priest, and he was made like the Son of God. Hebrews says he abides a priest continually, even while Christ is High Priest, and Christ's order is named after him just as the Aaronic priesthood bears Aaron's name. Two High Priests are impossible, so Melchizedek and Jesus Christ are one and the same Person. Christ's death does not contradict "no end of life," because death could not hold Him. As High Priest He died for sins and rose again, leading the way to salvation as its author and finisher.

Melchizedek's encounter with Abram in Genesis 14:18-20 reveals that tithing predates Moses and the Levitical priesthood. Abram, blessed for his faithfulness, gave a tenth to God through His representative, the priest, in recognition of God's rulership and providence. Jacob later knew of tithing, most likely taught by Abraham and Isaac. Because the tithing law existed long before the Levites, it did not die with the Old Covenant. Hebrews 7 argues that the Levitical priesthood has no authority under the New Covenant, so the ritual laws pertaining to that priesthood are no longer valid. The priesthood now belongs to Jesus Christ, High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20). The change of the law in Hebrews 7:12 applies only to the administration of tithing, not to the tithe itself. Tithes are therefore now given to Jesus Christ, our High Priest, for the church's use in preaching the gospel and feeding God's people.

Tithing first appears in Scripture when Abraham, the father of the faithful, gives Melchizedek a tenth of all his goods, an act showing trust in God and worship of Him. Melchizedek's is a priesthood that predates even the patriarchs, so tithing was an ongoing financial law long before Israel's civil code was formally instituted. In Hebrews 7, Paul uses tithing as an illustration that the Melchizedek priesthood supplanted the Levitical priesthood upon the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, our High Priest. All Levitical authorities and responsibilities, including the receiving of tithes, have therefore transferred to Christ, who is also the Head of the church. Jesus gives His ministers authority to conduct His work on earth in His stead, which is the greatest basis for the church's receiving tithes today.

Melchisedec was the High Priest of God in patriarchal times, holding a rank that outranks every priestly office and that Jesus Christ now holds as High Priest "after the order of Melchisedec" (Hebrews 6:19-20). He is a divine Being, one of the God Family, who has "neither beginning of days, nor end of life" and has been High Priest from the beginning, even from Adam. Under him the patriarchs financed God's ministry by tithing. Abraham, who kept God's commandments, paid him a tenth of the spoils and received his blessing, which proves that tithing did not begin with Moses. Hebrews 7 compares the two tithe-receiving priesthoods. Because the lesser Levi paid tithes through Abraham, the Melchisedec priesthood is superior and has precedence. When the Levitical priesthood was replaced, the tithing law was not abolished but changed to fit the new priesthood, and it was restored as it was from the beginning. Since the Melchisedec priesthood is restored in Christ, tithes now finance His ministry, paid to His true ministers as His representatives. Little is revealed of how Melchisedec's ministry operated, but it was spiritual, and the Gospel was preached beforehand to Abraham.

Melchizedek, whose name means King of Righteousness and who was King of Salem, King of Peace, appears in Genesis 14 with no father, mother, or genealogy, which marks him as eternal with an endless life. He is most likely Christ Himself. Hebrews 7 uses Abraham's giving of tithes to him as the second great example of Abraham's faithful obedience, after the offering of Isaac. Paul argues that the lesser pays tithes to the greater, so Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. Levi, and therefore Aaron, was still in Abraham's loins and also tithed to him, so Melchizedek's priesthood surpasses the Aaronic. Because Christ is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, rising by the power of an endless life rather than a fleshly commandment, the priesthood changed. The law of tithing did not change, only the recipient. The original law sent tithes to the Melchizedek priesthood. For the period of the physical nation Israel they went to Levi, and with Christ as High Priest the law reverted to Melchizedek's priesthood, so tithes now belong to Christ. The annulled commandment was the one directing tithes to Levi, which was weak and unprofitable, since the law made nothing perfect. Under Christ's priesthood tithing helps lead to perfection and eternal life. Paul never says to stop tithing, and he uses tithing as an ongoing illustration. Hebrews' readers, dull of hearing, needed milk rather than solid food, and Melchizedek was a matter they were too immature to grasp.

Melchisedec, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, met Abraham after the rescue of Lot, blessed him, and received a tenth of the choicest spoils (Genesis 14; Hebrews 7). Abraham and Jacob knew to give ten percent because God was instructing those He worked with through Melchisedec, who dealt with the heads of households, and they in turn taught their families. Melchisedec was Jesus Christ. Hebrews 7:1-3 describes Him as without father, mother, or descent, with neither beginning of days nor end of life, and Hebrews 1, Colossians 1:16-17, Ephesians 3:9, and John 1:3 show that Christ was the Creator and the God of the Old Testament. Because Abraham tithed to Melchisedec, Levi, who later received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. Levitical priests died, but Melchisedec, who lives, receives tithes. The Levitical priesthood could not perfect anyone or change the heart, so Christ's sacrifice and the gift of the Holy Spirit were required, and He became High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. Hebrews 7:12 says that a change of priesthood necessitates a change of law. The tithing law was not abolished but restored as it was from the beginning, now administered under the Melchisedec priesthood as God's system for financing the ministry of Jesus Christ. The Levitical priesthood was set aside, though Ezekiel 40-48 shows its sacrifices will resume, and a new ministry is given to those the Father calls out in the end time.

Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, is probably Jesus Christ in the flesh, as Hebrews 7 explains. When Abraham returned from rescuing Lot, Melchizedek met him with bread and wine, the symbols of redemption and of Christ's broken body and blood, which marks this as the act of a high priest bringing something greater than a meal. His blessing teaches why Abraham tithed. By saying "Blessed be Abram of God Most High," he reminded Abraham that he belongs to God, bought and owned as a slave. By calling God "possessor of heaven and earth," he declared that God owns everything. By calling Him "God Most High," he declared that God rules everything. By saying God "delivered your enemies into your hand," he showed that even Abraham's victory was God's work through him. Abraham answered by giving Melchizedek, God's high priest and representative on earth, a tenth of all. No command to tithe appears here. The tithe was a free response of a godly man with the mind of God to what God is and does. Because Abraham is the father of the faithful, his giving to Melchizedek is the model of the proper response of those redeemed and owned by God, who give a tenth as a free gift rather than a grudging payment.

Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, appears suddenly in Genesis 14 with no warning. Apart from the prophecy in Psalm 110:4, He is not mentioned again until Hebrews. His appearance is the Bible's first mention of a priest, yet no sacrifices are recorded, because He is the One later called Jesus Christ and needs no propitiation to come before God on another's behalf. He meets Abram after Abram's victory over the kings who had taken Lot captive, and He brings out bread and wine, the symbols of the New Testament Passover, rather than the lamb and bitter herbs of the Passover in Egypt. This makes the scene probably the first recorded Passover observance, a precursor to the Night to be Much Observed 430 years later. Because the priest approaches Abram on God's behalf, and not the reverse, God initiates the relationship, and man cannot worship Him properly without His prior involvement. Melchizedek blesses Abram in the name of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, and ties that title to the fact that God delivered Abram's enemies into his hand. This shows how interested the Most High is in human affairs, and that He blesses His people with defense and deliverance. Abram receives the blessing and gives Melchizedek a tithe of all.