"War breaks out in the land of Canaan and the surrounding area. The kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela are defeated in battle by the kings of Elam, Goiim, Shinar, and Ellasar. Lot is taken captive as Sodom was destroyed in battle. Abram finds out that Lot is taken prisoner, and he assembles 318 trained men to attack the captors. Abram and his men rescue Lot, other people held captive, and all their goods. Abram and his men defeat Chedorlaomer and the other kings who were allied with him.
The king of Salem, Melchizedek, gives Abram a blessing for coming to their aid. Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth of everything gained in battle. Abram gives every possession and all the people back to the king of Sodom."
Reading from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..
- "And they also took [captive] Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and left, for he was living in Sodom." v.12
- "Then a survivor who had escaped [from the invading forces on the other side of the Jordan] came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the terebinths (oaks) of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner—they were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his nephew [Lot] had been captured, he armed and led out his trained men, born in his own house, [numbering] three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far [north] as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and attacked and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus."v.13-15
- "Melchizedek king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine [for them]; he was the priest of God Most High. And Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,
Creator and Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High,
Who has given your enemies into your hand.”
And Abram gave him a tenth of all [the treasure he had taken in battle]." v.18-20
My personal observations and reflections...
- WAR OF THE KINGS. Whoa... Reading this felt like I'm watching a movie.. Allies, rebellion against the most powerful king, betrayal, kidnapping, rescue at night, victory and defeat.. Before Israel as a nation has been established, and before they had the idea to have a king, here we see countless (possibly pagan) Kings/kingdoms warring and allying. Lot was taken captive, and God allowed for Abram to know it through a survivor (from the allies of Abram). God has really continually developed Abram's leadership as he planned to fight, and rescue and retrieve Lot from his captors.
- GOD'S LOVE. Why rescue Lot, when he is already on his own? This to me, is a picture of God's love, through His blessed and faithful servant and follower, Abram. He assembled an army from his household, that one might think if that is enough to defeat the enemies. Just like what was asked in the link I shared above, "Does it seem unusual to you that a shepherd like Abraham could take out FOUR ARMIES with such a small strike force?" Abram has God on his side! That's why he is victorious!
- PRIEST OF GOD'S MOST HIGH. What else is known about Melchidezek? He just suddenly come out of the picture! But the Bible has a lot of good things to say to him, and I love how he blessed and honor Abram. Such a great example of brotherhood (or godly relationship)! Praising God for your fellow men's victory.
"We have no idea of where Melchizedek came from, how he came to be in Canaan, or how Abram came to know about him. We only know he was there. The name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness.” He is the king of Salem, and Salem is the original Jerusalem, and Melchizedek is the priest of God Most High. He is a worshiper and priest of the true God, ruling over Jerusalem even in those ancient times.
Melchizedek served Abram bread and wine. Perhaps he even served them in a manner looking forward to our redeeming sacrifice, as the bread and wine of Passover and the Lord’s Table look at our redeeming sacrifice, Jesus Christ. –David Guzik"
*as well as this from the same link:
"It seems that on the basis of this one story, later Jewish writers would treat Melchizedek like a model for all priests. One songwriter said that when the Messiah comes he will be “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4 NLT). A New Testament writer said Melchizedek was greater than “priests who collect tithes” (Hebrews 7:8 NLT). Do you think that was a bit of an overreach on the part of the Jewish writers, or do you think they knew something we don’t know?"
- CONVO WITH KING OF SODOM. Now, there is an interesting conversation with Abram and King of Sodom as well.. Abram is committed to his oaths and promises with God, so even if the Sodom king said otherwise, he did not follow it. To me, Abram did not take advantage of the opportunity or change his mind just because of other people's suggestion or idea.. because who knows they might have a wrong motive behind it? It's still best to stick with our integrity before God.
Not to mention, Sodom is kinda notorious and shady, so no thanks! It seems Abram did not want to do anything with them (sin city)! As Christians surrendered to the will of God, we must also be like that, we should not want to have anything to do or to partake in sin.
Plus, Abram's main goal is just to rescue Lot, nothing else. He did not went to war to collect goods and riches, which may be the motive of others when going to war, to claim other's lands or goods through violence and power. Abram is truly a man of God. One of the reason he may want to rescue Lot is to help him have a new beginning somewhere else, far from Sodom and Gomorrah. But we will later see that Lot just came back to the same place..
- 10%. This is the first time we have read this, is this some kind of foreshadowing? The same link ask this discussion question: "After Abraham recovered everything the invaders had taken, he kept nothing for himself. He returned everything to the victims, though he asked the people to give a share of it to his allies. He also gave a 10 percent share to a mysterious priest named Melchizedek. Why do you think he gave this gift to this particular priest? And why 10 percent , since it would be several hundred years before God would give Moses any instructions about tithing?"
Bible Footnotes:
Genesis 14:18 Heb El Elyon and so throughout the chapter. The supreme Ruler of all the universe; His dominion is all encompassing and everlasting.
Read the Bible here:
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