Adonizedek, the Mysterious King of Jerusalem

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In the ancient prophetic text of Joshua, there is a king named Adonizedek who is called the king of Jerusalem.  What is the mystery hidden in his name?  Is he the true king of Jerusalem? Explore with me as we discover this mystery. 

As we continue our journey through this Biblical narrative written by Joshua himself, we find this very interesting king in chapter 10 verse 1:

Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;  That they feared greatly…. 

This fear led Adonizedek to make a pact with four other kings of city-states in the land of Canaan and to persuade them to fight with him against Gibeon who had come under Israel’s protection and to fight against Joshua and his army as well.

But how can this be?  Adonizedek comes from two Hebrew words Adonai which means sovereign and is translated Lord, and Zedek which means righteousness.  How is it that the Lord of righteousness who is king of Jerusalem can come against God’s people the Israelites to destroy them?  

Before we answer this, let’s see what the Hebrew letters can tell us about this king. First let’s look at Adonai, the letters Aleph Dalet Noon Yood.

        

Aleph is the strong leader.

      

Dalet is a picture of a doorway and can lead to life or death.

Noon is the picture of life or activity.

Yood is a work or a mighty deed.

So the first part of the name of this king tells us that he is a strong leader that will do a mighty deed opening a doorway that leads to life. 

The next part is Zedek which contains the letters Tsade Dalet Qoof.

Tsade is a picture of a fishhook and can mean just or righteous.

Dalet as we just saw means a doorway.  It can be a place where change takes place.

 

Qoof is a picture of the back of the head and means the last or the least. 

Now we can see what the second part of the name tells us. The king is going to make a pathway for the least to be made just or righteous.  

The letters in the name Adonizedek tell us this strong leader will perform a mighty deed which will open a doorway for the least of us to be made righteous and to obtain life. 

The mystery here is that this King of Jerusalem in Joshua chapter 10 is the opposite of what we expect. This king is a type of a future king that will also be the opposite of what his name implies. 

Who in the future will lead the kings of the earth against God’s people and declare himself Lord of all and demand to be worshiped?  In what place will he make this declaration? 

In the ancient text, we see the prayer of the prophet Daniel to Yehovah YHWH in Chapter 9. He writes in verse 7:

O Lord, righteousness belongeth to thee….. 

That is “Adonai, Zedek belongeth to thee…”  This is the true king of Jerusalem.  This is the one who will perform the mighty deed, the blood sacrifice that will make a pathway to righteousness for those lost in sin and will lead them to eternal life.

Daniel writes further in Chapter 9 verse 26 that:

…..and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

The Rabbi Paul tells us more about this prince that will come in his second letter to the church at Thessalonica Chapter 2 verse 3 and 4:

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.   

The king Joshua had to fight to protect the people under his protection and was a type of the prince that is to come, the son of perdition, the antichrist. Rabbi Paul reminds us that the day will come when this false "lord of righteousness" will sit in the temple of Yehovah in Jerusalem, declare himself to be God, and demand to be worshiped. 

He will gather the kings of the earth to make war on all those who dwell on the earth, but especially those who love the true Lord of Righteousness, Adonizedek. What will be the end of this false lord?  Does the account in the ancient text in the Book of Joshua give us any clues?

Remember that Joshua is a type of Yeshua.  What did Joshua do to the kings that came against him led by the false lord of righteousness?

Yehovah Himself herded the five kings to a cave at Makkedah, which interestingly means “herding.” When the army of Joshua had secured victory, the five kings were brought out, executed, and then buried in the cave with a huge pile of stones over them. 

What will be the fate of those caught up in the future battle brought about by the false lord of righteousness?  In the last book of the ancient text, we have a prophecy given to John by Yeshua. In this book, called the Revelation of Yeshua, in chapter 6:15-17 we find this written:

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

All those who stand against our true Adonizedek will hide in caves and plead for the rocks to bury them. Many will get their wish just as those who stood against Joshua. 

Remember the Dalet in Adonai can be a pathway to death as well as life. 

This doesn’t have to be your fate. The true Lord of Righteousness, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach, has provided a path to life for you through the blood sacrifice He provided on the cross. Accept His gift and share in His righteousness and discover the life He has promised you. 

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