Genesis 14
At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar,[a] Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, 2 these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. 7 Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar.
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. 11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother[b] of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed
be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And praise be to God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 14:1 That is, Babylonia; also in verse 9
- Genesis 14:13 Or a relative; or an ally
For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated [those who rebelled].
Have you ever been in a circumstance that you couldn’t stand any longer? You had endured, and endured, and endured until you thought you couldn’t take it for one second longer. Maybe it was a job, or a relationship. Maybe it was a sickness or the place where you lived.
A group of kings had been subject to Kedorlaomer for 12 years, and they decided enough was enough. They banded together and rebelled. They said, “We’re not going to take it anymore. We’re going to war!”
But what happened?
They rebelled in the 13th year and were crushed a year later when Kedorlaomer and his loyal allies came out to pay them a visit. God did not support their rebellion, and their situation turned out worse than it was in the beginning.
As Christians, there are some things that we shouldn’t sit back and take. If sin is ruling over your life, rebel against the devil’s power and know that the Lord is with you.
But if there’s another circumstance weighing down your spirit, be wise. Is God telling you to rebel against that situation, or does He want you to endure it a little longer and learn something else from this time in your life?
Seek guidance from the Holy Spirit and wait for His timing and His power to bring a change in your life.
Genesis 14:12
They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
Nine kings were having a war, and Lot was caught up in the middle of it. Sure, it was partly his fault for wanting to move closer to the sin haven of Sodom, but with God's help, Abram was able to defeat the attacking kings and recover what had been lost.
In the same way, either through our own fault or no fault of our own, we sometimes get caught up in the events of life. Things happen that we have no control over. Circumstances take a down turn for us.
And like Abram and Lot in this passage, we can come out of those times victorious. With God's help, we can regain what was lost.
Has life ever caught you up? How did God make you victorious in that situation? Do you believe that He’ll do it again?
Genesis 14:14
When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit…
Abram gets bad news and calls out the 318 trained men born in his household. These are men loyal to Abram and trained to fight. They stand ready to take action.
This is the perfect picture of Christians calling on their prayer warriors. As the Church, we are trained members of God’s household who stand ready to lift each other up in prayer and to take action on each other’s behalf. We’re not going to pursue an enemy army, but we can band together to defeat the devil’s army when he comes against us.
Who do you call on when trouble comes? Are you using all of the resources the Lord has put at your disposal? Are you making yourself available for other Christian brothers and sisters to call on you when they need help?
Genesis 14:17-18
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High…
Melchizedek. He’s a very enigmatic character whom the writer of Hebrews reminds us is a foreshadowing of Christ because this person is both a king and a priest, just as Jesus is before the Lord.
But Melchizedek’s appearance in this story is interesting in itself. Notice that he was not one of the kings involved in the war with Kedorlaomer. He didn’t ally with Kedorlaomer or with the rebel kings. He was neutral. Why is that?
Let’s take a closer look at this king-priest. His name means “King of Righteousness,” and the name of his city means “Peace.” So, he’s literally King of Righteousness, the King of Peace. He doesn’t get down and dirty with the wars of his day. Instead, he remains peaceful and then, brings out refreshments for the warriors once the dust has settled. The bread and wine he brings to the battlefield is a sign of reconciliation for the two parties (you don’t eat with your enemy), just as Christ’s bread and wine at the Last Supper was a sign of the reconciliation between God and us.
The question is, how we can be more like Melchizedek? How can we show the righteousness God has given us by standing apart from the messiness and the squabbling of the world while also offering reconciliation and peace to the people of the world?
As you go through your day, look for opportunities to be a Melchizedek to the people around you.
Genesis 14:19-20
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Melchizedek, this mysterious man of God, knows the score. When everyone else would have seen Abram’s prowess in battle, Melchizedek saw the truth. God had blessed Abram and given him the victory. Yes, Abram acted bravely and did his part, but without the Lord helping him, he surely would have failed. After all, he had only 318 men against an alliance of multiple armies.
God can give you the victory over overwhelming circumstances, just as He did for Abram. When He does, don’t let it go to your head. Give Him the glory and thank Him for blessing you again. He’s a good God, and He deserves your praise.
Genesis 14:20
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
When Abram was victorious over the attacking kings, he gave a tenth of the recovered possessions to the priest, Melchizedek. Why did he give this priest a tenth of what he had received? The priest didn't fight the battle. The priest didn't recover the possessions. The priest didn't have anything stolen from him in the first place.
But Abram gave him a tenth in order to show his gratitude to God. He was thankful that God had given him such an amazing victory. And since he couldn't give the tenth to God directly, he gave it to God's representative, the priest.
We do the same thing. When we want to acknowledge the good things God has done for us by giving us certain skills and the opportunity to work at our jobs and make an income, we thank Him by giving a portion of what we have received back to Him. But we give it to Him by entrusting it to His chosen representatives, the officials of the church.
Giving God an offering out of what we have received is our way of showing our gratitude to Him. Do you need to be more giving in your offerings to God? What else can you give besides money to express your thankfulness to Him?
Genesis 14:22-23
“With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’”
When the king of Sodom offered the remaining possessions to Abram, he refused to accept. He knew that the king of Sodom was corrupt, and Abram did not want to owe anything to him. Abram trusted only God's blessings and did not want to deal with people who didn't share his values.
We can take some lessons from Abram here. Where does your money come from? Who do you do business with? Don't dirty yourself or your finances by taking money from someone you know to be of low moral value.
Don’t give the world a claim on you. Instead, do business with integrity, work for a company of integrity, buy from people of integrity, and God will bless you for it.
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