If one needs proof that the Bible is God’s word, look no further than the Bible itself. I have been fascinated my entire Christian life with the Jewish city of Jerusalem. The simple meaning of the name “City of Peace,” fills my heart with a strange emotion. Psalm 48 calls Jerusalem “the city of God.”
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. In the city of our God, In His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.” (Psalm 48:1-3)
So many life-changing events happened in that city. For instance, Mount Zion, the symbol of God’s presence is on the northern slope of the Temple Mount, a small plateau inside the walls of the old city of Jerusalem.The Temple Mount is the place where Abram offered Isaac as a sacrifice to God. I say offered because the Hebrew considers Abram’s act of plunging the knife into his only son as a completed action. Abram fully intended to kill his son until the angel of God abruptly stopped him right in the act.
The city, once known as Salem, was occupied by a strong Canaanite people, the Jebusites, who inhabited the city of Jebus. They were there long before David became king of Israel (1 Chron. 11:4-5). They had possibly been in that land for centuries. The old Salem was located on the exact spot where the modern city of Jerusalem is today (Gen. 14:18; Psa. 76:2-3). The Temple Mount is a holy site to both the Jews and the Muslims.
Abram and Sarah possibly pitched their tent not too far from this mountain. It is my guess that Abram did not want to be far from Lot who lived among the Sodomites. Sodom and Gomorrah had been paying a tribute to Chedorlaomer of Elam to maintain peace. They felt that they had paid long enough, so they quit paying. Chedorlaomer put together a four-king army and went to teach the Sodomites a lesson.
Abram received some urgent news. King Bera and the rest of the kings of the green fields had been attacked and pillaged by this army. They kidnapped Abram’s nephew, Lot (Gen. 14:12). Bad move! Abram put together a small group of his trained family members. They were probably joined by some of his friendly Hittite neighbors, who were very fierce fighters that respected Abram (Gen. 14:14). Together they pursued Chedorlaomer’s four-nation army. Amazingly, they routed their enemy and rescued Lot and recovered the wealth of the kings of the valley of the green fields.
As Abram and his small army was returning from battle, King Bera, the king of Sodom, was waiting for him. He was poised to seize full credit for Abraham’s victory. Bera tried to act humble and give Abram a great reward for bringing his treasure back and rescuing Lot. King Melchizedek – who had come down from Salem, only a short distance – came between Abram and Bera and served Abram bread and wine. Melchizedek reminded Abram that he was to have communion with El Elyon, God Most High, who had given him the victory over his enemies. It was a warning to Abram not to take credit himself.
Abram, now flushed with worship for the living God, put Bera in his place. Abram said that he would not take anything from Bera lest Bera say that he had made Abram rich. Abram asked only for Bera to reward his small army (Gen. 14:24).
It is interesting that Melchizedek was a king/priest. He was the living example of the only king/priest that there would ever be, the Lord Jesus Christ. One could be a prophet and a priest and a king and a prophet at the same time but never a king/priest. This role is given to Jesus Christ alone.
What a beautiful picture. It was from Melchizedek that Jesus Christ would receive His priesthood, not from Levi. Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah – the tribe of the kings. But it would have disqualified Him from the priesthood. But note these words from the psalmist. “The Lord has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’” (Psa. 110:4). Christ’s priesthood would come through Melchizedek.
Repeatedly in Judges 1 it says that when Israel was strong, they put the Canaanites under tribute but did not completely drive them out (Judges 1:27-36). Everyone prior to David had failed to take the city of Salem. The Jebusites taunted him, saying “even our old men can defeat you.” But God revealed to David the Jebusite’s secret. They had a secret source of water. With an unlimited source of water, they could quench their thirst and also grow and store food.
The Canaanites dug in solidly on the top of the old city of Salem. Salem stood on a high hill surrounded by many jagged rocks. It was not a very large piece of land, just a few acres. It was a hard place for an enemy to conquer. The Jebusites protected their families, their food supply, and they hid their amazing source of water. It was this source of water that caused the Jebusites to last so very long in the old city of Salem. It was a mystery to their enemies. Where did they get the water?
Now David put out a challenge – and here is the key. David said, “Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), he shall be chief and captain” (2 Sam. 5:8). A water shaft dug through the mountain led down the to the Gihon Springs located in the Kidron Valley on the eastern side of Mount Zion. The Kidron valley was between there and the Mount of Olives.
David’s general, Joab, took the challenge. He formed a seal team six of Jewish rangers to climb up through the water shaft by night and surprise the Jebusites. They probably took them quickly and without much bloodshed.
“Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him” (2 Sam. 5:6-10; 1 Chron.11:4-6).
Blessings!