20230312 Genesis 14: The Spiritual and Ethical Dilemmas of the Believer
Genesis: Looking Back in Order to Move Ahead Spiritually • Sermon • Submitted
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1 In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar. 8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11 So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way. 13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, 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 to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people. 17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
The Four Kings from the East (Gen 14:1-12)
Abram and the Four Kings (Gen 14:13-24)
As believers, we live in a fallen word with fallen values. In order to navigate this world we must have a Christian worldview, a consistent set of values by which we are able to understand the world and make decisions in this world. Our ability to make decisions is not only a matter of our worldview but also of our moral foundation. How should a Christian make decisions and how does my faith help me to make decisions?
Everything that happens in the world can be looked at from a theological perspective. How is God involved in this? What does God think about this? How does God want me to respond to this?
Genesis 14 introduces us to a number of situations. And in Genesis 14 we do not hear the direct voice of God or see the direct action by God.
What we do see, however, are situations with spiritual and ethical dilemmas for Abram.
What will he do? What should he do? And why should he do it?
Are the wicked worth saving?
Should we let people get what they deserve?
How should we deal with the enemy of my enemy?
When should you say no to a gift?
How do we thank the Lord?
Can we trust the Lord’s promises?
Do we live like we trust God’s promises?
Principles that guide us:
The Lord is the hero of every event in the Bible. He is the presence, the power, and the promiser of all that is good.
The Lord is the keeper of his promises which He has made to us through His covenants.
The Abrahamic covenant:
Genesis 12:13,7
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
This is the language of conquest (Jeffrey Niehaus)
In Genesis, we see Abram as a king and a prophet - the Lord will give him
(1) The response of Abram, a king and conquering prophet (Genesis 14:1-16)
6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Don’t miss it. God is the hero. In this passage we see the Holy Spirit as the true source of power and wisdom in Abram’s victory - God is the hero.
We see the Spirit involved as the source of the military wisdom of his stratagem and its success.
The Lord has chosen at various points in history to accomplish important victories for his kingdom advance by using what is small or weak relative to the opposing force, as the following brief list illustrates:
1. Abraham rescues Lot and others, defeating some forces of the much larger eastern coalition with 318 men of his own household.
2. Moses defeats Egypt, one of the world’s most powerful empires of the day, singlehandedly as the Lord works through him.
3. Joshua and Israel defeat Canaanite forces that are numerically and technologically superior.
4. Gideon defeats a superior force of Midianites with 300 men.
5. The apostles frustrate those superior in number and institutional power who would suppress the gospel, and win some 3,000 new subjects for the kingdom in one day.
Jeffrey J. Niehaus, Biblical Theology: The Special Grace Covenants (Old Testament), vol. 2 (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 47.
Biblical Theology, Volume 2: The Special Grace Covenants (Old Testament) Adumbration of Abram’s Warfare
Abram’s warfare symbolically anticipates a later warfare. Abram is a prophet who wages war against the forces of Babylon and her allies. He rescues some people taken captive by Babylonian forces. The New Testament parallels are obvious. Christ is a prophet who wages war against Babylon and her allies. He rescues people who had been taken captive by her, and he uses numerically smaller forces to do so (cf. item 5 above). The parallel is symbolically understood, since Babylon is a figure for the world dominating enterprise of Satan, not only in Revelation 17 but transtemporally.
(2) The response of Abraham, a servant and worshiper of the true God (Genesis 14:17-24)
17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
Melchizedek - priest of Most High God - his name means righteous King, king-priest over Jerusalem
God Most High El Elyon Sovereign Lord
Possessor of Heaven and Earth
God Most High who delivered enemies into your hand
Not only does Abram receive a blessing from him but he gives him a tithe - He is not Christ but he is a living symbol of the Christ.
The temptation of the King of Sodom to Abram
Abram also says the Lord, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth in v22
A thread or a sandal strap - I will not wear your values and I will not walk the way you walk - I will not take away the glory that the Lord alone deserves
There is a battle for the hearts, the values, the morals of every believer.
This is why Jesus said that we are to love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, soul, strength and mind
This is why Jesus has told us to seek first the kingdom, the absolute rule, of God
As believers we will face many situations where we will have to make spiritual and ethical decisions that honor the Lord.
Notice that Abram not only trusted in the promises of God to protect him, he also sought to glorify the Lord in a way that demonstrated that all the glory was the Lord’s, that in every way he would seek to glorify the Lord, that in every way it would be evident to the world around Him that God and God alone was the one who was to be praised. That God and only God is perfect and holy and able to do that which He has promised.
How do you live? Are you willing to take a stand against unrighteousness, even if it has a cost? Are you willing to come to the aid of those who need Christ even when it’s obvious that they have no one to blame but themselves.
Will you give your trust completely to the God who keeps His promises?
Are you, like Christ, willing to show mercy to those who need mercy, compassion to those who need compassion, justice to those who need justice, and absolute complete loyalty and devotion to the Lord when the world holds the riches and desires of the world in front of you and says, look what you’ve done, you deserve this!
May we never forget the words of the wonderful old song I’d rather have Jesus
I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I'd rather be His than have riches untold
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land
I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
I'd rather have Jesus than worldly applause
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause
I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame
Yes, I'd rather be true to His holy name
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin's dread sway
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today
The MacArthur Study Bible Chapter 14
14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem. The lack of biographical and genealogical particulars for this ruler, whose name meant “righteous king” and who was a king-priest over ancient Jerusalem, allowed for later revelation to use him as a type of Christ (cf. Ps. 110:4; Heb. 7:17, 21). His superior status in Abram’s day is witnessed 1) by the king of Sodom, the first to meet Abram returning in victory, deferring to Melchizedek before continuing with his request (vv. 17, 21) and 2) by Abram, without demur, both accepting a blessing from and also giving a tithe to this priest-king (vv. 19, 20). Cf. Heb. 7:1, 2. priest of God Most High. The use of El Elyon (Sovereign Lord) for God’s name indicated that Melchizedek, who used this title two times (vv. 18, 19), worshiped, served, and represented no Canaanite deity, but the same one whom Abram also called Yahweh El Elyon (v. 22). That this was so is confirmed by the added description, “Possessor of heaven and earth,” being used by both Abram and Melchizedek (vv. 19, 22).
14:20 Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. Credit for victory over a superior military coalition correctly went to the Sovereign Lord (El Elyon) and not to Abram’s prowess (see note at vv. 15, 16). To Melchizedek, and to Abram too, this amounted to true worship of the true God. a tithe. This is the first mention in Scripture of giving 10 percent (cf. 28:22). This 10-percent offering was purely voluntary, and may only have been a tenth of the best, not a tenth of the total (see note on Heb. 7:4). This tenth is not like the required tenths given to Israel in the Mosaic law (see notes on Num. 18:21–28; Deut. 14:22; 26:12).