SALVATION AND BLESSING
GENESIS 14:1-24
In
the previous chapter, we pondered the decision of Abram to separate himself
from his nephew
And
Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well
watered everywhere‑‑ this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and
Gomorrah‑‑ like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as
you go to Zoar. (Genesis 13:10).
The
reference to
As
we shall see in this chapter, going down to
WAR
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
1 And it
came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar,
Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 that
they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab
king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is,
Zoar). 3 All these came as allies to the
This
chapter opens with a reference to a certain set of political and military
events that took place in the ancient world of the days of Abram. It involved alliances and treaties made with
a variety of nations and city-states.
This alliance was made up of four powerful kings from the lands to the
east of
• Amraphel
king of
• Arioch
king of Ellasar: Ellasar is commonly thought to be another name for the
Sumerian city of
• Chedorlaomer
king of
• Tidal king of Goiim: The term “goyim” is
the regular word for “nations.” It seems
to be a reference to a collection of city states in northwestern
War
broke out when several of the tribute nations under the rule of Chedorlaomer
formed an alliance of their own and determined to stop payment of the annual
tribute.
·
Bera king of
·
Birsha king of
·
Shinab king of
Admah.
·
Shemeber king of
Zeboiim.
·
The king of Bela
(that is, Zoar)
These
five rebellious cities were all located in the
The passage goes on to explain that
this
CONQUEST
AND DEFEAT
5 And in
the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and
defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth‑karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the
Emim in Shaveh‑kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El‑paran,
which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En‑mishpat
(that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also
the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon‑tamar.
8 And the
king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of
Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for
battle against them in the valley of Siddim, 9 against
Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar
and Arioch king of Ellasar‑‑ four kings against five.
10 Now the
The
rebellion of the five cities of the Jordanian Plain brought about a quick
retribution as Chedorlaomer, this king of
The
route followed by Chedorlaomer was known as the King’s Highway. It was one of the major trade routes from
Mesopotamia to
These
two armies clashed and the kings of the Jordanian Alliance found themselves
overwhelmed and forced to retreat. They
were pushed back into an area that was full of tar pits. It is as though they had escaped one foe,
only to be swallowed by another.
THE
CAPTURE OF
11 Then
they took all the goods of
With
the defeat of the Jordanian Alliance, the cities of the
When
we last saw Lot in Genesis 13, he had moved down into the
Perhaps
there is a principle illustrated here.
It is the principle that proximity often leads to participation. When you allow yourself to remain in the
presence of sin, it is not long before you will soon find yourself in its very
midst and partaking of it. It is for
this reason we are give the warning: “Therefore,
come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. "And do not
touch what is unclean” (2 Corinthians 6:17).
ABRAM
IN THE LAND
Then
a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of
Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies
with Abram. (Genesis 14:13).
Now
our scene shifts. It moves from
What
has taken place? Forgiveness. Abram demonstrates a forgiving spirit toward
his nephew. We are called to exhibit the
same sort of forgiveness toward those who have wronged us. We are to forgive as we have been forgiven.
ABRAM’S
VICTORY OVER CHEDORLAOMER
14 And
when Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his
trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit
as far as Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he
and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is
north of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought
back his relative
Abram’s
concern for his nephew was quickly translated into action as he led out his
trained men. These were not a new acquisition. They had been born under his tent. They numbered 318 men. We are told in Genesis 14:24 that Abram was
also accompanied by his Amorite neighbors.
If Abram had been in their midst, building altars and proclaiming the
name of the Lord, then these companions had been present to witness that
testimony to the Lord.
Abram
caught up with the invaders in the vicinity of Dan, near to the slopes of Mount
Hermon on the northern border of
• He
divided his forces. This suggests a
two-pronged attack designed to throw the enemy into confusion.
• He
attacked by night. Such an attack under
the cover of darkness would add to the confusion of the enemy forces.
Not
only did Abram with a great victory, but he was able to pursue the defeated
forces to a point north of
AN
ENCOUNTER WITH TWO KINGS
17 Then
after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with
him, the king of
18 And
Melchizedek king of
As
Abram returns from his victory against Chedorlaomer, he is met by two kings who
come out to meet him. These two kings
are seen in striking contrast to one another.
|
Bera, King of |
Melchizedek |
|
King of Sodom,
a city of sinful pleasure. |
King of Salem,
a city of peace. |
|
Came out to
meet Abram. |
Came out to
meet Abram. |
|
He offered
riches to Abram. |
He offered a
blessing to Abram along with bread and wine. |
|
Abram refused
his offer. |
Abram accepted
his blessings and the gifts. |
|
Abram returned
all of his riches and people. |
Abram gave to
him tithes of all the spoils of war. |
These
two kings are intentionally presented in juxtaposition to one another. This is seen when verse 17 introduces the
coming of the king of
• The
king of
• Abram
meets with Melchizedek.
• The
king of
We
are meant to look at these two kings and we are meant to contrast and compare
them. Why? Because they are both representative of more
than meets the eye.
The
king of
The
contrast is with the king who comes from
1 God is
known in
His name is great in
2 And His
tabernacle is in
His dwelling place also is in
“
That
is an interesting name for
Melchizedek was the king of
The name “Melchizedek” is a compound of
two Hebrew words which have been joined together.
• Melech is the Hebrew
word for “king.”
• Zedek means “righteousness.”
The name means “king of
righteousness.” We would not normally
attach any special significance to this name, but the New Testament commentary
on this passage makes a point of the meaning behind the name (Hebrews 7:2). What’s in a name? When we name children, it is often only
because we like the sound of it. But
names in the ancient world were full of meaning, especially among the Jews. Names were given to tell something about the
character of the person.
This is why you occasionally see a
person whose name is changed. This was
the case of Abraham — his name was changed from Abram (“father of high places”)
to Abraham (“father of a multitude”). It
was also true in the case of Jacob (“con-artist”) whose name was changed to
Melchizedek appears in our passage as
he ministers to Abram. He comes bringing
bread and wine as Abram returns from the long, tiring march. The parallels with the New Testament coming
of Jesus are striking.
|
Melchizedek |
Jesus Christ |
|
His name means “king of
righteousness.” |
He is the Righteous King. |
|
We are given no genealogy
or narrative of his origins. |
Though he has an genealogy,
His true origins are from all eternity. |
|
He is the king of the city
named “Peace.” |
He is the Prince of Peace. |
|
He was the first priest
ever mentioned in the Bible. |
He is our Great High Priest
who fulfilled every Old Testament priesthood. |
|
He brought bread and wine
to Abram. |
He offered His own body and
blood, symbolized today by bread and wine. |
Melchizedek comes with bread and wine
and with a blessing. He pronounces a
blessing upon Abram in the name of God Most High. This blessing recognizes, not a mere tribal
deity, but the Possessor of heaven and earth.
Abram’s response to this announcement
of God as Possessor of heaven and earth is to give to His priest a portion of
those possessions. The idea of giving a
tenth of one’s possessions was not unique to the people of
ABRAM AND THE KING OF
21 And the
king of
22 And
Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the LORD God Most High,
possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or
anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich.' 24 I will
take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who
went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share."
(Genesis 14:21-24).
The
encounter of Abram with the king of
It
seems almost anticlimactic, for the battle had already taken place and the
victory had been won. Why does the
author include this dialogue? It is
because we are to see this as a conflict of a different sort. Abram is being faced with a temptation as to
his motivations. Did he rescue
The
king of
Why
such an oath? Because if Abram had taken
a reward, then people would have said that the king of Sodom made him rich
rather than recognizing that such blessings came from the Lord. Abram was demonstrating to all in the land
that his dependency was upon God alone and that he riches were solely due to
God’s grace in his life.
What
is the attitude of a Christian ministry when they are offered a great sum of
money?
If
they think of it at all, there is a tendency to begin coming up with all sorts
of reasons why they ought to take it.
Abram did not fall prey to this temptation.
At
the same time, Abram does not hold his Amorite companions to the same standard
of conduct. He does not preclude their
acceptance of the portion that is due to them.
This is perhaps Abram’s greatest victory of all. It is a victory over self-righteousness. This if often the most difficult victory to
win. After you have won a great victory,
your tendency is to show off your “great spirituality” by putting down a
believer younger than yourself and by pointing at how they ought to be
following your example. Abram does not
fall prey to this temptation. He
recognizing it to be acceptable for his companions to be recompensed for their
time and energy.
In
closing, there is a contrast to be seen between Genesis 13 versus Genesis
14. It is a contrast in action and it is
a contrast in promises and blessings.
|
Genesis 13 |
Genesis 14 |
|
Begins with strife between
the servants of |
Begins with strife between
the Elamite kings and the cities of the |
|
Lot moves into |
Lot is taken from |
|
As a result of the strife,
Abram separates from |
As a result of the strife,
Abram goes to |
|
After his separation from |
After Abram’s rescue of |
|
God promises to give the |
Abram gives tithes to
Melchizedek. |
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[1] As in the instances of circumcision (though infant
circumcision does not seem to be documented outside