Perhaps the most mysterious person in the whole Bible is Melchizedek. No one knows who he was or where he came from. He was both a king and a priest; his genealogy is unknown; he was without father or mother, having neither beginning of days nor end of life (Heb. 7:3,6). There have been many attempts to identify him, ranging from Shem to Job to the Holy Spirit, but no one really knows. He remains a man of mystery. He is first mentioned in Scripture in the story of Abraham's conquest of the kings that attacked Sodom and Gomorrah as related in Genesis 14:17. According to the story, Abraham and 300 of his faithful servants chased after the attackers, defeated them, rescued Lot and his family, and took much spoils. Then he proceeded to give a tithe of the spoils to Melchizedek, king of Salem and high priest. Melchizedek is unique in that he is the only one mentioned in the lineage of ancient Israel that held both of these offices. In fact God was very careful to set the tribe of Levi apart from the politics of Israel as sole progenitors of the priesthood, thus establishing a separation of church and state, of religious and political power.

David was the first king of Israel chosen by God, and he was of the tribe of Judah. From thereon, all subsequent kings were from that lineage. As we look back through history, we can see what a wise arrangement this was for the preservation of man's free will. Every time this separation of church and state has been violated there has resulted religious persecution and a stifling of religious freedom. The millions of martyrs who have given their lives on the altar of religious freedom are a testimony of the tragic result of religion backed by the power of the state. Those who were the writers of the US Constitution recognized the importance of this separation, and they wrote into this sacred document what is called the establishment clause, a prohibition of the establishment of a state church. However, even with this guarantee, the question of the separation of church and state is a current one, and some of the problems are very complex. Questions dealing with public school prayer, pledge of allegiance, and school vouchers are in the news and have been taken before the Supreme Court for resolution. We know that someday soon every constitutional provision for religious freedom will be abrogated.

The second chapter of Daniel describes a great image with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, thighs of brass, legs of iron, and feet and toes of iron and clay representing the kingdoms of this world. Then a great stone cut out of a mountain without hands strikes the image and grinds it to powder. The stone represents the kingdom of God which He will set up on this earth, and Jesus will be the king, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, but He will also be a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4). As both priest and king, He is "the Melchizedek Connection."