Abram Rescues Lot

Abram Rescues Lot

(Genesis 14:1–24)

What is this story about? It is about Lots abduction, Abram’s pursuit, his victory, and his returning encounter with Mechizedek and the king of Sodom.

What is this story telling us? It is telling us that God is faithful to his promises!

God makes generic promises to all Christians.

In addition, God makes special and personal promises to some Christians.

(Acts 9:15–16) "15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”"

In either case, God will be faithful to his promises.

A.On Reading Biblical Narrative

The Bible is full of Narrative. Genesis in the OT, and Acts in the NT are both examples. What is left out of biblical narrative is as important as what is included. Genesis is a good example.

Gen 12-25 tells Abram’s story. These 14 chapters cover a period of about 100 years. However, these chapters only recount about 17 incidents in the life of Abram. Why these and not others? That is the big question. The answer is that the author of Genesis is making a point. Each story has been preserved because it contributes to the overall purpose. What is the author’s (Moses’) purpose behind the life of Abraham? You should always ask this question when reading biblical narrative.

In the case of Abram, the master story, the big picture theme, is God’s faithfulness to his promises. Abram’s story begins in Genesis 12 with seven clauses of promise.

Show Transparency: Promises to Abram

The rest of Abram’s life is the outworking of God’s faithfulness to those promises, despite Abrams vacillation from faith to unbelief and back again. A second theme is the constant and gradual growth of Abram’s faith. His faith grows as he experiences God’s faithfulness. It grows so much that he is eventually willing to sacrifice the focal point of all the promises, Isaac, knowing that God is so committed to his word that he must and will raise Isaac from the dead.

We approach the study of Genesis 14 with the same question. Why is Genesis 14 here? What does Genesis 14 add to this overall storyline or plot?

Answer: It is another story about God’s faithfulness to his promises.

B.Context:

Five kings in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea) have paid tribute to Chedolaomer and his allies for twelve years. They have decided to refuse tribute. This put the four Kings of the East, headed by Chedolaomer, in a quandary. They can either ignore this challenge to their rule or go to war. They decide for war.

Chedolaomer and his allies make the long journey South. They invade the Negeb and conquer the Amalekites and the Amorites, then they head North with the intention of enforcing tribute on the five Kings of the Salt Sea. They conquer Sodom and Gomorrah. Amongst the booty is Lot, his family, and all of Lot’s possessions.

14:11-12 “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.

Lot sends a messenger to Abram who is living under the Oak of Mamre at Hebron. Abram talks to his neighbors, who are his allies, and together they pursue the Kings of the East as far North as Dan. A decisive battle occurs at night. Abram’s enemies flee and Abram pursues them as far as Damascus.

As Abram returns, loaded down with plunder, he is met by two men in the Shaveh Valley, just outside of Jerusalem.

The first is the King of Sodom.

The second is Melchizedek, King of Salem and priest of God Most High.

Abram receives Melchizedek’s blessing and tithes to him.

However, he refuses to take any enrichment from Sodom.

At the end of our story Lot returns to Sodom, and Abram returns to Hebron.

See Map: Abram’s Journeys and Gen 14

C.God is Faithful to his promises

God is faithful to his promises to Abram. That faithfulness appears in two incidents.

1.God blesses Abram’s military aggression

First, blesses Abram with allies who are willing to accompany him. God gives Abram favor with his Canaanite neighbors—Mamer, Eschol, and Aner.

God also blesses Abram with 318 trained men born in his house

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.

They were not hired men. They were born in his house.

God gives Abram a supernatural victory. It cannot be explained by human ability, power, or ingenuity.

It is important to remember that the blessings are to Abram and his descendants. Last week we saw that Lot is not Abram’s descendants. However, because of his relationship with Abram, God blesses Lot anyway.

2.Melchizedek blesses Abram

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.

Who was Melchizedek? His name means ‘King of Righteousness.” He comes out from Jerusalem, “City of Peace.” And the text tells us that he is “priest of God Most High.” So, he is God’s priest, he is theKing of Righteousness, and he rules over the City of Peace.

Where did he come from? The text tells us nothing about his origin, his genealogy, or his future.

He is a mystery figure.

What did he do? He provided Abram with a meal of bread and wine. In addition, he blessed Abram. Remember, God’s promise to Abram was that God would bless anyone who blessed Abram.

Why is he important?The Epistle to the Hebrews describes Melchizedek’s priesthood in Chapters 7-10. Melchizedek is the head of an order of Priests that supersede the priesthood of Levi. This text occurs five centuries before God inaugurated the Levitical priests. Christ is a priest, not in the order of Levi. He is a priest according to the order of Mechizedek. In fact, Christ is our great High Priest.

How did Abram respond to Melchizedek? Abram tithed to Melchizedek. His tithe confessed Melchizedek’s superiority. It also established the tithe as the norm for biblical stewardship.

Melchizedek’s blessing of Abram was important. He was Abram’s superior. As a Christ-figure his blessing seconded the Father’s blessing in Gen 12.

Melchizedek’s blessing mattered because he was a man. As a man it brought God’s blessing down upon Melchizedek’s priesthood and upon the city he ruled, Jerusalem.

3.God curses Sodom

God’s promise to Abram in Gen 12:3 was “Him who dishonors (disdains) you I will curse.” Sodom disdains or dishonors Abram, and this dishonoring brings to pass the curse that will come to Sodom and Gomorrah in Geneis 19.

The four kings from the East conquered Sodom, but Abram conquers the four kings.

Abram is the local conquering hero. Like Melchizedek, Sodom comes out to greet Abram on his return from the battle. However, the king of Sodom has a hidden agenda. He has been humiliated. He lost the battle and then lost everything to his enemies. But, Abram, the hated Hebrew, with a tiny army, has conquered the same kings. However, the king of Sodom seem unwilling to humble himself. Instead, he seems to disdain Abram, and Abram disdains Sodom in return. Sodom demands his rights.

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.”"

Abram disdains Sodom. He will not take any spoils that belong to Sodom, for he does not want anyone to ever be able to say, “Sodom made Abram rich.” It would be like someone today not wanting others to make a connection between their wealth and the Mafia.

Sodom and Gomorrah are already under God’s judgment. Sodom’s disdaining of Abram compounds that judgment. God fulfills his promise to curse those that curse or disdain Abram.

D.Application: God is in Deadly Earnest about Keeping his Promises

God promised to bless Abram and curse his enemies. God was faithful to this promise. He gave Abram victory over Chedorlaomer and his allies. In addition, he sent Melchizedek out to bless him. Last, he cursed Sodom. All of this was fulfillment of Gen 12:2-3.

In the same way, God has made many promises to us.

The cross is the measure of God’s passion to keep his promises.

1.God has not promised us an Easy Life.

God has not promised us freedom from persecution.

(2 Timothy 3:12) "12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will bepersecuted,"

God does not promise us freedom from suffering.

(Romans 8:17–18) "17 Fellow heirs with Christ,provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

God does not promise us an easy life.

(1 Peter 4:12) "12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."

He does not promise us family tranquility and unity.

(Luke 12:49–53) "49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! …! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law

against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”"

2.God has made many Wonderful Promises

For those who believe the gospel, and persevere in faith, God promises wonderful blessings—

1stGod promises to make us one of Abram’s stars or one of his grains of sand.

2nd God promises us the earth, not just Canaan. This means an eternal inheritance in the New Heavens and Earth.

(Psalm 2:8) "8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession."

3rdGod promises to forgive our sins—to remove them as far as East is from West.

(Psalm 103:12) "12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."

4th God promises to adopt us into his family (Eph. 1:5).

5thGod promises to never withdraw his love from us (Rom 8:35-39).

6thHe promises to cloth us in his righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).

7thHe promises to immerse us in “Love that surpasses knowledge” (Eph 3:19), “Joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet 1:8), “Peace that surpasses understanding” (Phil 4:7).

3.Melchizedek: God’s Guarantee

We often say that the cross displays the glory of God. By that we mean that it unveils the character and goodness of God. At the heart of God’s goodness is his faithfulness to his promises.

Psalm 110 tells us that Jesus was a “priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”The priestly work of this second “Melchizedek” guaranteed God’s promises to Abram. He also guarantees God’s promises to us. Let me explain.

A prerequisite to the fulfillment of God’s promises is reconciliation between God and man. Priests exist to reconcile God and man. That is their job! The OT priests were according to the order of Levi. They were called Levitical Priests becausethey were all descended from Levi. They were sinners because they were descended from sinners. This means their work of mediation could not really reconcile God and man. Their priesthood could not guarantee God’s promises. However, they made the attempt anyway. Here is how they tried to do it.

The OT Priests offered animal sacrifices to propitiate God’s wrath. First the worshipper brought a sin offering. Why? Sin needed to be forgive before worship could occur.

Second, the worshipper presented the priest with a burnt offering. The purpose of the burnt offering was worship.

As we have seen reconciliation was a precedent to God’s fulfillment of his promises.There were several reasons why the priests according to Levi could not get the job done, and why only a priest according to the order of Melchizedek could effect the needed reconciliation. Here are the contrasts. (See Chart)

Issue / Levitical / Melchizedek
Sacrifice? / Animals / Self
Frequency? / Repetitive / Only Once
Covenant? / Covenant Of Works / Faith & Repentance
Intercess.? / Sinful Inadequacy / Melchizedek is God.

Summarize:

God made promises to Abram in Gen 12:2-3.

Gen 14 is the story of God’s faithfulness. Abram conquers an army much greater than himself. Melchizedek blesses and feeds him. Sodom is cursed according to the promise.

Ultimately, Jesus was the High Priest to which Melchizedek pointed. At the expense of his life, Jesus guaranteed God’s promises to Abram and his seed.

In other words, God was so intent on being faithful to his promises that he gave up his Son, a sacrifice of infinite cost, to bringhis promises to pass.

(Galatians 3:13–14, 29) "13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, …29 If you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

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