A Rescue, a Blessing and our Hope

Genesis 14:10–16 ESV

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.

In this week’s episode of of Abram, Genesis 14, we have three parts to consider… A rescue, a blessing, and our Hope.

Sometimes we read our Bibles, and we don’t know how to make connections from prat to another part. Sometimes we read a story and we like to see ourselves in the characters we are reading about. And sometimes we read a story and scratch our heads trying to figure out how this all connects and what we are meant to get out of it.

To take a whole chapter and preach through it is a challenge, and sometimes it is a grind. There is a lot of info that is happening here and there are some major theological connections that need to be pointed out, and yet we cannot lose sight of the story and what we are to learn about God form all this.

I had our scripture reader start 10 verses into this story because it is full of names that are hard to pronounce and can easily be explained without having to go in depth or doing word studies. And so let me fill you while reminding you first of where we were last week.

The blessings of God were so plentiful among Abram and Lot after they left Egypt that their herdsmen were fighting over land to support the flocks. Abram told Lot to pick the land he wanted and go there. It was a tough choice to look at his nephew and ask him to go but he did it. Lot leave for an area called Sodom where the people who live there are not pleasing to God. Even though lot doesn’t know this he goes in that direction because it seems like the best choice for him given the circumstances.

Right after that God reminds Abram of the promise made to him and in the midst of all this we see Abram turning to the Lord for direction and hope. As soon as that chapter ends we have this story before us. We are left with Abram going throughout the land seeing all that God has given him as an inheritance, but while that is where Abram is, Lot is down in Sodom in the valley. Chapter 14 starts with a list of names of kings that have decided to to attack other kings. Basically it is 4 kings against 5 kings.

And unlike some fights, this time it is the 4 who pick the fight with 5 kings. The first 9 verses explain names and places that would be familiar to the original audience but is lost on us. And because there is so much to cover I am going to pick us up at verse 10.

Genesis 14:10 ESV

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.

These kings are not standing and fighting with their armies, they are fleeing. Whatever forces were coming against them, they decided to flee. Not exactly a story of nobility.

If you remember from Gen 11 bitumen was a tar like substance that was used for building. So the picture here is that the Kings are fleeing the battle because they are losing. The 4 kings are beating the 5 kings and 2 of those kings fall into these tar pits while the rest of the people fled into the hills.

Without the kings to command the armies, it would’ve left the people in harms way. With the kings stuck in tar pits there was nothing they could do to help protect them.

Genesis 14:11 ESV

11 So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way.

With the kings stuck and people fleeing, this was easy picking for the raiding kings to plunder them.

Remember that the first audience is the children of Israel under the leadership of Moses. They are hearing these stories as they wander in the wilderness, as they are now taking back the promised land. It would have been a tense story for them to hear as they are facing relatives of these fallen kingdoms hundreds of years later. But the story goes a step further than just reminding them of a historic battle.

Genesis 14:12 ESV

12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

God is making sure Moses is telling of how this is not only some history of the area they are in but how this effected Abram and Lot.

But there is one small detail I need to point out to you here. In the last chapter when Lot chose to go toward the valley of Sodom, but in Gen 13:12 it says that Lot moved his tent as far as Sodom. Lot was moving around the cities of the valley but sets up his tent near Sodom. And now, in Gen 14 it says that Lot was dwelling IN Sodom. It seems as though there is a progression from living near there in a tent to dwelling in Sodom.

So now when Sodom gets attacked he isn’t just some shepherd outside the city in his tent with his flocks, he is someone who lives in that city and needs to flee himself. At some point later in our Genesis series we will see him right back in the midst of the action in Sodom. Lot has become more affiliated with this city and the people living there, and now he must run for his life with his servants and family along with everyone else. As they are running away one breaks away to get help.

Genesis 14:13 ESV

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.

Notice two things, one escapes and makes his way back to where Abram is. This is not somewhere very close to the action. This guy goes a long way to get back to report what has happened. This isn’t like today when news spreads fast unless someone takes that news from one region to another.

Second notice that Abram has allies in the land. This may have been land that was full of idol worshippers, it may have been a land full of people who didn’t worship the true God most high as Abram did, but he has allies.

If Abram is some sort of nomad like character, people wont trust him. But Abram isn’t just some nomad in the region, he has acquired much wealth and is prominent enough for the people of that land to form an ally with him. So when the one escapes and comes back to this land, Abram isn’t by himself, but is surrounded by other people who he is friendly with. Feel the tension rise as you read this story in order to lean in to what God is revealing about himself through this.

Genesis 14:14 ESV

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.

Please notice now that Abram isn’t moved to get involved in this fight until he hears that Lot, his Kinsmen, or family is involved. It is one thing when we hear there is an attack in the world but another thing altogether when we know the people involved.

Look at how many men where born in his house. 318 of them. How many people were in the total company of Abram? While we don’t have that number you can assume that this is a big group of people. And notice these are not the total men but the trained men. Meaning he had men trained to protect, this was like a small army. Abram doesn’t have kids of his own yet, even though he is old, and yet he has so many people working for him that he has 318 trained men who can fight and protect them if they need it.

One last though before moving on, notice that Abram, who is older than 75 yrs old and very wealthy doesn’t just send the trained men but he is the one who leads them. This is the same guy who feared for his life in front of Pharaoh, the one who lied about his wife. It seems as though Abram is trusting the Lord here, because someone his age and with his wealth would be an easy target and most likely wouldn’t be the one to lead men into battle.

Genesis 14:15–16 ESV

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.

Now look how far Abram has to go. He pursued as far as Dan it said in the last verse and now says he went as far as north of Damascus. That means he had to leave the promised land that he was living in to go rescue Lot.

Abram comes up with a military strategy and executes this with his men. They not only win but now they come back with everyones possessions that the plundering forces took. As opposed to the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah who fled, Abram lead his men to not only fight and win but to carry everyones stuff back, and their people who had been captured.

The rescue of Lot shows Abrams trust in the lord as he leaves the promised land and it shows God’s protection as Abram could’ve been lost for many reasons but was safe because there is a promise yet to be fulfilled. Abrams faith has been tested in so many ways already. First in his obedience to the call to leave all and follow God to the land of promise, then in the midst of a severe famine and really bad fearful decisions. Next when he has to say goodbye to what family he had left and now when he has to face danger in rescuing that family.

While some may make much of Abrams faith, I would be quick to point out that the testing of his faith is exactly why God will make a covenant with him later in Genesis.

When God makes promises he doesn’t fix life so that there are no problems, but gives repeated opportunity to trust him for those promises.

For us in Christ now, we have eternal promises to hold fast too. Not just eternal life but receiving all our sustenance from God and his providence for us as his children. We have a promise of hope, that heaven is our true home and we will inherit a glorified body… And that we will be rewarded as his servants… in this life and the one to come. We have promises that should motivate us to look past our current struggles and give us new opportunity to trust God daily.

So, the rescue we see from Genesis 14 speaks to how God allows life to provide opportunity to trust him in the midst of chaos. This would’ve been a great comfort to those who first heard it and it should be a comfort to us as well. But this chapter gets so much better than this… Look at what happens next.

Genesis 14:17 ESV

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).

So now, Abram has returned and people are coming out to congratulate him, and here comes the King of Sodom. There is not a lot to point out here other than, everything that will happen after this, the King of Sodom will witness and this can be part of an account against him and his city later because he will not be a righteous person and his city will get much worse, even though they are about to witness worshipping the Lord.

Genesis 14:18–20 ESV

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.

Now, we have a new character that we have not heard from before and we will not see after this other than what may seem like cryptic mentions moving forward. Here is what we know from an initial reading of this story. This King of Salem is also a priest of God Most High. This is the first time we see that God has any other people in the land. Also it is very uncommon for a king to also be a priest, in fact we will only see it in one other place in scripture.

One thing I would point out to you is that Melchizedek, the King of Salem and Priest of God the Most High, is someone who there is no explanation of where he comes from or what happens to him. He makes an appearance for a very specific reason and then we do not see him anymore.

Now please notice what he does. He is a priest and he blesses Abram, and publicly blesses God for the victory. But before that he brings out Bread and Wine. Every christian in the room should hear this and the hair on the back of your neck should stand up because of what we know about bread and wine. Maybe you never caught it before, but think about it now… What does this mean?

I can tell you that for that culture this meant they were having a full dinner banquet. Bread and wine is “Sustenance and celebration”. But for that first audience, the ones who experienced the passover and were yearly celebrating it, bread and wine reminded them of God’s deliverance and blessings. And notice that He is priest and worshipping God here. And while this is not the first place in the bible that the word worship appears, it is certainly one of the earliest places that you see elements like this in worshipping and thanking God. What am I saying?

The blessings of God are visibly seen in their public worship

The blessing here became public worship, where the king and priest of the Lord declares blessings on Abram and to God for victory.

And finally notice what Abram does… He gives him a tenth of all the spoils. This is where we first see the idea of a tithe, which means tenth. and while I will not get into it here and now, you can see that it becomes part of how believers have always worshipped the Lord by giving of monetary funds in worship so as to declare that it all belongs to God and the worship of him should not exclude our finances.

Now back to the story, don’t forget that the King of Sodom is watching all this happen. How will he respond to this, knowing that he is not a God worshipper?

Genesis 14:21–24 ESV

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.”

What does Abram say to the King of Sodom’s request? NO WAY… I am not keeping all this stuff because you are not going to take credit for making me rich.

Notice how Abram dealt with the King of Salem and the difference with the King of Sodom. Abram wants nothing to do the King of Sodom, he certainly will not allow him to brag that he had anything to do with this victory or any wealth of Abram.

But there is one thing I think is an interesting thought here. If Abram could rally his fighting men and win such a decisive victory over the invading kings, why did he not just decide to take the Land of Canaan for his own? I would submit to you the idea that Abram was a man of Faith who trusted God and was willing to wait for the promise without having to to it himself. I think it is evident in his attitude to the King of Sodom, and so even applies to himself. No one will take Glory away from God in making him wealthy and protecting him and making him into a great nation.

So this episode ends with Abram being a man of Faith who is upright in his dealings with those around him. But we cannot end it there. Sure for the first audience this was a great encouragement that while Abram didn’t fight for the land, that was left to them to do, as God has supernaturally brought them out of slavery in Egypt. They hear this story and have a sense of manifest destiny in their current life facing the enemies in the land. They know their history and they see how Abram didn’t just go through the land and slaughter them, because he was righteous. How much more should they go into the land and take what is rightfully theirs.

But what about for us reading this? What are we meant to glean form it? We have a different focus. Our focus is going to narrow in on this Melchizedek. He is only mentioned a few more times in scripture.

We do not know anything about where he comes from… No earthly lineage, no origin, and no end.

What we do know is that he was a Priest King of Jerusalem, or Salem as it was known before being named Jerusalem. We know he was hospitable to Abram and pronounced blessings over him publicly. We known that Abram then gave a tenth of the spoils to this Priest King. After this point we do not see a lot about priests until the Aaronic priesthood is established. And that priesthood becomes corrupted and defiled. And yet there is a promise of another Priestly King that will come and be after the order of Melchizedek???

But look at this… the names King of Salem and Melchizedek have specific meaning. Salem is translated - Peace… So King of Peace. And Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”. So this one person hold both titles King of Peace and King of Righteousness. Is anyone picking up on who this is meant to point us to??? Well King David Makes mention that will help us...

Psalm 110:1–7 ESV

1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. 4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. 7 He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.

Notice this person will FOREVER be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. There is only one who would qualify for such a title. And the book of hebrews confirms this… Incase you think I am making a stretch here, claiming it is Jesus… Listen to the author of Hebrews lay it all out for us to understand.

Hebrews 6:20 ESV

20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is the high priest after the order of Melchizedek. But that isn’t all. we need to understand why this everything to us. Because Jesus was made perfect through suffering.

Hebrews 5:7–9 ESV

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Unlike the Aaronic priest Jesus was made perfect and suffered un obedience to the Father never becoming defiled like they did.

The high priesthood of Jesus Christ is far superior to the priests of old that served in the tabernacle, because he was not only perfect and sinless but lives forever, and cannot be destroyed.

Hebrews 7:16 ESV

16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.

Jesus’ ministry is founded in God’s promises starting in the garden, and fulfilled what God promised to Abram, and is inaugurated in the new covenant. God makes an oath, and we will hear more of this next week in Genesis 15, He declared that Jesus will forever be a priest and that he himself will guarantee the covenant...

Hebrews 7:20–22 ESV

20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’ ” 22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

Jesus is our High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek… and what does his priesthood do for us as his people? Why should this story today awaken in us such passionate praise and worship for Christ??? Why is Jesus better than all other priests for his people??? Listen up...

Hebrews 7:23–25 ESV

23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

In case you are a little new to this… Have you rejected your sin by repenting and asking Jesus to forgive you of all your sins??? Are you a Christ follower and a believer? IF you are this means that Jesus, who is the Living Christ, because he was raised from the dead, is our great high priest. That means that he is alive and is in the presence of God Almighty the Father, right now, on our behalf and he is presenting himself and his finished work of sacrifice in intercession for us!

Jesus is making a constant appeal or intercession for us sinners who would, “draw near to God”, because he is able to save us to the uttermost!!! Nothing can unsave us, he will save us fully and completely! And because he is our Great High Priest who will always live and make intercession for us, God will never reject us… never never never, because Jesus is alive! This is good news. and we must celebrate with Bread and wine when we remember our great priest king Jesus!