Several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism and Islam was living in the vicinity of Ur, an ancient city located near the north end of the Persian Gulf.
For hundreds of years, the twelve celestial administrators of Earth had observed the decline of the one god concept. They were concerned that the truth of one God would decline so far and so thoroughly that it would be nonexistent when the expected celestial bestowal son to humanity would arrive in the future and that it would therefore not be available as a foundation belief for the coming bestowal son’s fresh revelation of truth to humanity.
As an emergency effort to prevent the disappearance of that previously revealed truth, Machiventa Melchizedek, one of the twelve administrators, volunteered to assume human form. He did this at Salem, part of what is now the city of Jerusalem, and began teaching his major truth revelation of God to man. After a few years, he was sending missionaries out from Salem.
Ur was hundreds of miles across the desert from Salem, but Abraham and his family heard a Melchizedek missionary in Ur and were strongly attracted to Melchizedek’s message of relationship with God. They were so attracted that the whole family set out on the long journey around the desert to Salem. When they were about half-way, they reached a city where Abraham’s brother, Nahor, urged them to stop for a while because their father’s health was failing. They stayed there until their father, Terah, died.
Through super-mortal channels, Machiventa knew of Abraham and Nahor’s gifts for leadership and had followed their progress in their journey to meet him and hear his message firsthand. Almost immediately upon Terah’s death, Machiventa dispatched a messenger to Abraham and Nahor. Imagine their surprise upon receiving the message from the priest King of Salem, whom they had never met. And the message was something like this:
Greetings to Abraham and Nahor, sons of Terah, from Melchizedek, priest of El Elyon, the most high God. I invite you to come to Salem to hear the truth of El Elyon for yourselves and to help build this kingdom of El Elyon among humanity. The offspring of you two thus enlightened and motivated brothers will be a blessing to the whole world.
Abraham and Nahor were both motivated to be powerful leaders. Now they were faced with significant life decisions. Would they pursue personal, material goals or would they seek spiritual enlightenment and service to God and humanity? The brothers pondered this invitation and its promise. Nahor decided to stay behind to found a city-state. Abraham chose to go to Salem to hear what Melchizedek had to say on behalf of God.
Abraham and his nephew, Lot, with their families, journeyed on to Salem . Not long after they arrived, the need arose for them to journey to Egypt for food supplies. In Egypt, Abraham and Lot found a distant relative on the throne. With this connection, Abraham became a commander of two successful military campaigns. He and his wife Sarah lived as royalty in Egypt.
Abraham had wealth and power but he continued to be drawn to Salem and to spreading Melchizedek’s revelation of God, and yes, he was also attracted by the prospect of being God’s general. Once again, Abraham was faced with a significant life decision, and again he chose to give up his life of ease and to go to Salem to serve Melchizedek and God.
Abraham returned to Salem with a plan to wage war on the neighboring tribes to convert them to the Salem religion. Melchizedek was able to restrain Abraham from his militarism for a while, but eventually Abraham parted from Melchizedek and moved to nearby Hebron where he established his military capital.
Abraham made war on his neighbors and was victorious. He forced them to accept and financially support the Salem religion. Melchizedek continued to counsel Abraham that force was not God’s way. But success colored Abraham’s judgement and he persisted in his plans. He hoped to conquer all of Canaan.
But then he began seriously to ponder his lack of an heir. He had no heir to carry his achievements forward. Perhaps he remembered his original invitation from Melchizedek to come to Salem. Melchizedek had spoken then of the offspring of Abraham.
Abraham went over to Salem to seek Melchizedek’s advice about his lack of an heir. These old friends talked for a long time. Eventually, Melchizedek led Abraham out into the utterly clear blue-black of the moonless night. Gesturing to the heavens, Melchizedek stated an offer to Abraham. “Abraham,” he said, “count the stars, all of them if you are able. So numerous as these will be your descendants if you will only believe God’s promises and follow his leading. God will do the rest. Trust and follow as you are led. That is all you need do.”
Abraham was faced with another significant life decision: to follow his own plan and ambition or to follow God’s will. Abraham believed Melchizedek’s promises and chose God’s way. And this decision to trust God’s promises completed the agreement offered by Melchizedek.
Abraham returned to Hebron, adopted the way of peace which Melchizedek had always taught, and ceased his wars. Sarah conceived and delivered Isaac. Abraham now became very solemn about his agreement, his covenant with God. And so he returned to Salem to have it put in writing. When the written covenant was complete, he held a formal ceremony of acceptance in which he symbolically put aside personal pride and ambition and dedicated his will to the doing of God’s will.
An interesting thing about the Abraham-Melchizedek covenant was that God made a very attractive offer and treated it as a binding contract with Abraham. But this was not a unique arrangement for Abraham only. God, after all, is no respecter of persons. No one is favored above others. Abraham is one of the few to accept the offer of God and probably the only one who put it in writing. He accepted and took the promise of God seriously. The offer was open to everyone. It still is. And still there are few takers. It is available today as an offer to you and to me and to everyone.
I thought it would be interesting to see what the covenant might look like restated for our times. So, I drafted one. In the short run this may seem like only a whimsical novelty. But I hope you will reconsider what it says from time-to-time.
Eventually, you may choose to sign this contract with God and place it with your most precious documents. God’s offer is open and available. It will never be withdrawn. All we need to do is accept it and observe our simple obligations to trust and to follow God’s leading. Examine the covenant and consider it.
Covenant
Be it Known to all,
That I, El Elyon, the one and only God, the creator and sustainer of all that is, do hereby make this offer to each of my mortal children. This offer shall become a contract between me and my child upon their willing assent to its terms.
My Beloved child, if you will only believe my promises and follow my leading, I will do everything else that is required to bring you eventually to Paradise to serve along with me.
A few of my many promises are the following:
- I will watch over you eternally.
- I will guide you constantly.
- Truth, beauty, and goodness will eventually be triumphant.
- Your sincere, unselfish desire to be like me will be successful.
- I will provide all that you need.
- I will send my other children to help you find the way.
- We can even now have a close personal friendship through association in spirit and mind.
- I will bestow my generous spiritual gifts upon you with great joy… as soon as you are receptive to them.
- I am with you always.
In all this and more, I stand eternally ready to bind myself personally to you.
In dedicated, loving, and patient service to you and with you
Signed: El Elyon
Accepted: El Elyon, Your parent, your friend, and date Your Partner in infinity and in eternity
