Genesis 14: Abram Rescues Lot

Genesis 14

¹At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim,

²these 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).

³All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley).

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⁴For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

⁵In 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 ⁶and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. ⁷Then 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.

⁸Then 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 ⁹against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰Now 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. ¹¹The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. ¹²They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

¹³A 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 of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. ¹⁴When 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. ¹⁵During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. ¹⁶He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

¹⁷After 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).

¹⁸Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
²⁰And praise be to God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

²²But 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, ²³that 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.’ ²⁴I 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.”

Genesis 14 (NIV)

Lot, who at this point was separated from Abram and now living in Sodom ended up being a captive of war and Abram had to go save him.

Abram gathered 318 men born in his household and went after these kings who had won numerous battles so far. God was with Abram and he was able to defeat these kings and take his nephew back.

Lessons from Genesis 14

Rebellion is an outcome of oppression: one who rules by means of oppression produces rebels. A good leader is one who has the people’s best interest at heart and leads by example.
Being at the wrong place at the wrong time opens you up to trouble: Lot, who previously had moved to Sodom for its green pastures, ended up being captured along with his possessions and Abram had to go and save him. Being at the wrong place cost him his safety.
When you leave God out of your decisions you make the wrong choices: Lot made the decision to settle down in Sodom because of what he saw there. The pastures there were green even though the people were wicked. He was led by his lust for wealth but he ended up in captivity. When you leave God out of your decisions and follow your own selfish motives, you always end up making the wrong decisions. In all you do, be led by the Spirit and driven by love, everything is not always what it seems.
Stay away from evil people even if it looks like they are thriving. Nothing good comes from associating with evil people, even for a good course.
Bringing God with you into your battle guarantees a win: Abram and his men went against kings who had been victorious in so many battles in the past, and they won. God was with Abram. When you bring God into your battles you can be sure that He who is with you is greater than the enemy, your win is assured.
The tithe: When Abram met Melchizedek who was a king and priest, he gave him a tenth of everything as tithe. Tithing is a very important principle talked about in the Bible: bringing a tenth of everything to God so that there may be food in the house of the Lord. When you tithe, God will pour out abundant blessings on you and rebuke the devourer for your sake. As heirs of Abraham, we should be tithers like he was.
Trusting in God makes you certain that He will provide for you and you don’t need to be greedy: Melchizedek offered Abram goods in exchange for the people captured in the war but he turned it all down because he did not want anyone thinking that his wealth came from men. He recognized God as his source and refused to be greedy.
It is not right to deny people their blessings: Even though Abram turned down Melchizedek’s offering to him out of honour to God, he did not impose it on those who were with him to do the same, he let Melchizedek give them what was theirs to have. It is not okay to force people to do exactly what you do, make your own decisions and let them make theirs. Whether they want to accept or turn down the offer presented to them, that is their choice to make, not yours. (As long as they are consenting adults)

Reflection

Are you involving God in your decision making process?
What drives your actions and motives?
Are you led by the Spirit or driven by what you see?
Would you turn down an appealing offer if you knew it didn’t please God?

Prayer

Father, forgive me for the times I made decisions out of selfish interests. Today, I invite you into every decision I make, big or small. Lead me by your Spirit so that I will make the right choices and make decisions that honour you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.