Who was Melchizedek in Genesis 14 and what city was he king of?
Melchizedek was the High Priest of Salem and King of Salem, a village that later became Jerusalem. He was not a High Priest of the Jews, since they had not yet been formed. He brought forth bread and wine, a subtle prophecy of the resurrection and the Lord's Supper.
Les explains that Melchizedek comes on the scene after Abraham had gathered a little army from his servants and recaptured the people of Sodom who had been taken captive, returning after their victory. This account is a little aside loaded with prophetic impact. Melchizedek is called the High Priest of Salem and the King of Salem, which was the little village that later became Jerusalem. He was not a High Priest of the Jews, because the Jews had not even been formed yet. Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine, which was not what they normally used in the sacrifices of Abraham's day. Les teaches that this was a subtle prophecy, because bread and wine are what Jesus later administered in Matthew chapter 26; he ties it to I Corinthians chapter 11. The subtle prophecy in Melchizedek bringing bread and wine of all things is the resurrection, and that is the whole idea of the Lord's Supper, to be a constant reminder.
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
More Questions
Was Melchizedek a priest of the Jews?
Melchizedek was not a High Priest of the Jews, because the Jews had not even been formed yet in his day.