Taking Care of Business - Genesis 14

Copyright March 10, 2019 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

Abraham and Lot had parted company. Lot went to live near Sodom. In those days the political structure of the area invited turmoil. The towns were ruled by their own kings which made it pretty easy for stronger kings to come in and make them subjects. They did this by conquering the city and making the people continue to work and taxing them heavily.

There was a group of these cities that were subject to a King Kedorlaomer (kedorlāʿōmer). These cities had been in subjection to the King for 12 years and decided they had had enough. So they decided to rebel and withhold payment. Perhaps they figured they were far enough away the King would not bother with them. Of course, they were wrong. The next year, the King and his allies were out at war and when they had defeated yet another enemy, they turned back to deal with these rebellious cities.

The cities came out to valiantly wage war but,

As it happened, the valley of the Dead Sea was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains. 11The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the spoils of war and the food supplies. 12They also captured Lot—Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom—and carried off everything he owned. 13But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram’s allies.

Put yourself in Abraham's shoes. What do you do? Lot chose to live in the valley, he chose to pitch his tent near Sodom, he chose to eventually move into Sodom. He was captured by a sizable arm and veteran fighters. It would have been tempting to turn away. It was not Abraham's problem. But our text tells us,

14When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. 15There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives.

Abraham doesn't seem to have hesitated in the slightest. He took his 318 experienced fighters and went after the allied forces who took Lot and the others Not only does he do that . . . he caused the army to run away! (It took around 150 miles to catch the armies and then another 100 to catch up with Lot and the others).

It is easy to read this story with a great deal of skepticism. Are we really supposed to believe Abraham and his 318 men could make an entire army run away? Let me point out three things.

First, Abraham apparently went to war with his allies at his side. So, the odds were not as lopsided as it may seem. In verse 24 Abraham says,

I will accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.”

Second, Abraham was not working alone. God is stronger than ANY army. The same God who protected Abraham when he got into trouble with the Pharaoh of Egypt over Sarah was going to stand with Abraham in this fight. God had promised that He was going to bless Abraham and stand in the way of anyone who tried to mess with Abraham.

Third, Abraham wisely surprised the camp at night. You likely remember the story of Gideon and his 300 men. They attacked the superior Midianite troops and much the same thing happened. In the middle of the night there is no way to know what kind of army you are facing. You just know you are under attack and you ASSUME you are being attacked by a strong army.

Abraham rose up to do what was right and rescue his nephew Lot. God helped him not only rescue Lot but also the other captives and their belongings.

Let me draw a parallel now to a passage in the New Testament book of Galatians. I think there is something we can already apply from this account of Abraham.

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. (Galatians 6:1-3)

We are to view each other in the church as brothers and sisters. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that when one part suffers we will all suffer (if we are loving the way we ought). And, when someone gets involved in something that gets them in trouble, we should not ignore the need, we should not be embarrassed and choose to distance ourselves. Instead, we should make every effort to rescue our brother or sister in Christ. This is what families do.

Unfortunately, this is often not the case. Someone falls and we immediately point fingers, blame, criticize, and ostracize. We are embarrassed, disappointed, and even angry that someone has disrupted our peaceful existence. I have seen Christians be some of the meanest people around. For some reason when someone falls, feelings of self-righteousness rise up from within us and we forget that we are all sinners.

The other response is often that of indifference. We see someone struggling and conclude "that this is not my problem." It is like watching someone struggle to keep from drowning and saying, "How horrible, I'm glad that isn't me." Our job is to support, love, strengthen and restore one another and we can't do this unless we risk getting involved.

We need each other.

Yes, we must accept responsibility for our own lives. We shouldn't always look for someone else to bail us out. But when we see someone else struggling Paul instructs us to help someone back to the path with gentleness and humility. The place of failure has been a very lonely place for many people.

This is true for,

failed relationships

doctrinal confusion

financial mismanagement

jail or imprisonment

addictions

embarrassing behavior

This love and support may take several forms. It can range from a hug of acceptance to long term accountability and prayer. This is not a one-size fits all involvement. The goal is not simply to get someone through the initial crisis, it is to bring them to the point of repentance, restoration, and health. This is the kind of love we are called to in the body of Christ. It is the kind of "all-in" kind of love Abraham had for his nephew.

Two Kings

Our story is not over.

17After Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

18And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. 19Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing:

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Creator of heaven and earth.

20And blessed be God Most High,

who has defeated your enemies for you.”

Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.

21The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered.”

22Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ 24I will accept only what my young warriors have already eaten, and I request that you give a fair share of the goods to my allies—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.”

There are two Kings, two approaches, and two responses. The first King is from Sodom. He wants the people back and told Abraham he could keep the spoils of war. There does not seem to be any sense of gratitude or recognition.

Abraham seems to want nothing to do with this King. It is a reminder that though we are in the world we must not compromise with those around us. There are no shortcuts to God's blessing . . . even though it seems that way. Shortcuts to blessings are actually traps. The same kind of traps Satan used with Jesus in the temptation when he offered Him all the kingdoms of the world if only He would bow down and worship him. Abraham didn't take the bait.

The second King is from the city of Salem which would in the time of David be renamed Jerusalem. His name was Melchizedek. He is identified as a priest of "God Most High." At a time when there were so many gods, to meet a priest of the true and living God was something rare. This King brings Abraham (and likely his men) some bread and wine to refresh them after their hard-fought battle. He also brought a blessing from the Lord.

In this blessing from the Lord God got the credit for the victory. We are told Abraham then gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the bounty from the victory.

What makes this brief encounter so significant is the fact that David mentions this priest in Psalm 110:4 and says the coming Messiah will be a priest from the order of Melchizedek. In other words, Jesus would be a different kind of priest from the Jewish priests who were all from the line of Levi. (Jesus was from the tribe of Judah). Jesus would be a King and a priest just like Melchizedek. In Israel a person could not be a priest and a king because priests came from the line of Levi, Kings came from the line of Judah. Jesus would be both, like Melchizedek.

In the book of Hebrews this theme is taken up again. In Hebrews 7 the parallel between Jesus and Melchizedek is drawn out even further. The author of Hebrews goes to great pains to show that this priesthood is superior to the Jewish priesthood. His argument is: since Levi was a great-grandson of Abraham, there is a sense in which this grandson also honored Melchizedek through Abraham. The one who receives the gift is the one who is the superior, therefore Melchizedek is superior to the Levitical priesthood. Jesus, according to Hebrews, is like Melchizedek because his is both a priest and a King.

Lessons

The Life of a Christ-Follower is not an easy road. Jesus warned us that our lives would not be any better than His. As people misunderstood him, so they will misunderstand us. We will face conflicts. Sometimes those conflicts will be with people, sometimes they will be with circumstances. Our job is to be ready to stand or follow courageously, no matter what the issue.

We may not be called to fight to rescue a family member, but we may be called to stand up for what God says is right (with the right spirit and methods) even though the world says it is wrong. We may be attacked for our faith. And if we are, it is our job to stand resolutely not trusting our strength but His.

Our job is to rely on His strength. I agree with the words of this commentator

The people of God must champion righteousness in the way that God has instructed them to do so, which today requires spiritual weapons. The church cannot defeat spiritual wickedness by overthrowing corrupt governments or legislating better laws and ordinances. The conflict is far greater than such efforts and calls for divine power for the victory. This passage shows that God is fully able to give his people victory over the world. They must faithfully obey his Word and contend for his cause.[1]

We have a responsibility to each other and the wider Christian Community. Somewhere in the course of our life something will happen and we will benefit from having others rally to our side. We can't just be "takers" here, we need to also be "givers." As a community, we are pretty good at rallying to help each other in a crisis. The question: Will we be just as willing to rally around each other when there has been a failure or someone is caught up in some kind of sin?

We also have a responsibility to the wider Christian community. We need to support and pray for missionaries. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are imprisoned because of their faith. People are threatened with death if they do not recant their faith. We must support these people with prayer and encourage legislation and aid packages. You might even be called to do something more hands-on.

We have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters who are homeless, abused, discarded or treated like a commodity. There are fellow believers who are poor and weak who desperately need their fellow believers to help them. This is our responsibility as the family of Christ.

We are to live in such a way that God gets the credit. Abraham honored God when he met the kings. He honored Him by not taking riches from the King of Sodom and by giving a tithe to Melchizedek. Abraham knew who was to get the credit for their victory. It was not he, but the Lord, who won the battle.

Melchizedek also honored the Lord,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Creator of heaven and earth.

20And blessed be God Most High,

who has defeated your enemies for you.”

Someone has written, "One life will soon be past and only what's done for Christ will last."

We live in a world where we are urged to promote ourselves and get everything we are entitled to. Compliments and credit tend to puff us up. It makes us think we are better than we really are. Before you know it, we are lording it over others, looking down our noses, and forgetting about the grace of God that saved us and made us new.

The Bible tells us the truth. within just a few generations we will be completely forgotten. We will just be names in a book. When we live for ourselves we pass up the opportunity to praise and honor the One with who we will spend all of eternity.

Casting Crowns sings a song called "Only Jesus” that compares the philosophy of the world with that of the Christ-follower. Listen to these lyrics,

Make it count, leave a mark, build a name for yourself

Dream your dreams, chase your heart, above all else

Make a name the world remembers

But all an empty world can sell is empty dreams

I got lost in the light when it was up to me

To make a name the world remembers

But Jesus is the only name to remember

And I, I don’t want to leave a legacy

I don’t care if they remember me

Only Jesus

Abraham pursued the inheritance that will never perish, spoil, or fade. And if we are wise, we will learn to be just as discerning.

[1] Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 301–302.