Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. Genesis 14:18-20 NKJV

The name “Melchizedek” means king of righteousness. Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of El Elyon—the Most High God—owner of the universe, the world and everything in it. He met Abram returning from the slaughter of kings and blessed him with bread and wine. Just think how great this man was that Abram gave him a tithe of all. Melchizedek blessed Abram with bread and wine to refresh and ready him to face the next challenge, the next test or temptation.

Melchizedek was a manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ. And, the bread and the wine was a pre-figure of the Last Supper. Like Abram (our exalted father of faith), when we eat the bread and drink the wine in celebration of Jesus’ Last Supper, it becomes part of us and sustains us spiritually (John 6:53-55; 1 Cor. 10:16). The bread and wine refreshes and readies us for what ever the “king of Sodom” tempts us with (Gen. 14:21-24).

Sodom means burning, hidden wiles, secret intrigues, covered conspiracies. The “king of Sodom” (the devil) has a hidden agenda for you even after you—like Abram—have enjoyed a great victory, and have honored God with the tithe, in recognition that El Elyon (God) owns everything; he comes to you with his hidden wiles and says: “let’s make a deal.”  But because you are what you eat and you’ve been refreshed and readied, you don’t have to compromise with the “king of Sodom.”

The ‘king of Sodom will not be able to say that he has made you rich—God has (Prov. 10:22). You do not have to give in to his temptation; you must keep the attention and focus on God—not yourself. You want people to see what God has done in your life, and not what you have done. When you make a deal with the “king of Sodom”, you’ll always come out on the “short end of the stick.” Eat the bread and drink wine reverently so that your life can proclaim, i.e., retell the message of the Gospel, until Christ comes again (1 Cor. 11:26-27). You are what you eat!