Gen. 14-15:
“Abraham Rescues Captive
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study
we looked at chapters 12-13 of the book of Genesis.
1.1.1. Abraham and his wife and nephew Lot finally moved into
the
1.1.2. We saw Abraham build a few different altars in which
to worship the Lord during our study, for he was an altar builder. We saw that he was called by God a friend.
1.1.3. We saw how that a famine caused Abraham and his wife
to go down to Egypt but on the way Abraham becomes fearful of his life and he
convinced his wife to say that she was his sister so that others would not kill
him to take his wife from him. We saw
how that Abraham’s conniving placed his wife in grave danger when the Pharaoh
of Egypt took her to be his wife. But,
we saw that the Lord came to their rescue when a plague broke out in Pharaoh’s
household and then Pharaoh found out that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and that God
had given great promises to Abraham. We
saw that Pharaoh rebuked Abraham and kicked him out of
1.1.4. We saw how that Abraham and Lot divide up the
1.2.
In our study
today, we are going to look at chapters 14-15 of the book of Genesis.
1.2.1. Abraham will have to rescue his nephew lot when a band
of kings pillage the land and conquer the city of
1.2.2. When Abraham returns victorious with Lot we will see
him make a sacrifice and give a tithe to a king of
1.2.3. Finally, the Lord again appears to Abraham and
re-states His covenant with Abraham, ratifying it by performing a peculiar rite. We will see then that Abraham believes God
and that his faith is reckoned to him as righteousness. We will look at the significance of that.
2.
VS 14:1-7 - “1
And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of
Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 that they made war with Bera
king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and
Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 All these came as allies to the
2.1.
Here we see that these events occurred during the reign
of a man named Amraphel who was the ‘king of
2.2.
‘Chedorloamer’ was a king that extracted tribute
from all of the other kings around during this day. However, we see that three kings, ‘Amraphel’,
‘Arioch,’ and ‘Tidal,’ of their respective cities or lands, grew
weary after twelve years of paying this tribute and so they rebelled against ‘Chedorloamer.’
2.3.
These three kings decide to band together and go and
pillage on their own, and so they attacked the lands of kings ‘Bera’ (of
3.
VS 14:5-7 - “5
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and
defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in
Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their
Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that
is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the
Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar.” - Chedorlaomer
decides to go on the attack and attacks four other kings
3.1.
‘Chedorlaomer’
decides that he needs to put down the rebellion that has been raised up against
him so he takes his army and comes against the various cities in the region,
taking spoils and requiring tribute from everyone along the way.
3.2.
Notice here that
the first people that ‘Chedorlaomer’ conquers are called the ‘Rephaim.’ These ones are descendants of a man named ‘Anak,´
and they are found again later in the
3.3.
‘Chedorlaomer’
then conquers the ‘Rephaim,’ ‘Zuzim,’ ‘Emim,’ ‘Horites,’
‘Amalekites,’ and the ‘Amorites.’
4.
VS 14:8-12 - “8
And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and
the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they
arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king
of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings
against five. 10 Now the
4.1.
Next, ‘Chedorlaomer’
continues on his conquest and he comes against the kings of ‘
4.2.
Just as had
happened with the other kings whom ‘Chedorlaomer’ had come against,
these kings fell. The battle went into ‘the
4.3.
The result was
that ‘Chedorlaomer’ and those with him were able to take ‘all the
goods of
4.3.1. When we as people walk away from the Lord and do
whatever we want to do in rebellion against him, we become like the young man
in Jesus’ parable of “The Prodigal
Son.” Living in sin is fun for a
time, but just as happened in Jesus’ parable eventually the chickens come home
to roost, and you have to suffer the consequences of your actions. The Lord rescues us when we call upon the
Name of the Lord, and He helps us out of the mess we have created of our
lives. Hopefully, we can learn from
those experiences and not repeat our actions and like the Prodigal Son end up
once again eating with the pigs in the pig sty.
4.4.
Having initially
pitched his tent towards
4.4.1. The Lord tells us that He will not be mocked and that
if any of us sins that we shall suffer the consequences for our sins, and that
will be without partiality.
4.5.
The
“The Ebla
Tablets were discovered in northern
One contribution
is in relation to Genesis 14. Critics have have described the victory of
Abraham over Chedorlaomer and the Mesopotamian kings as fictitious and
the five Cities of the Plain (
The
5.
VS 14:13-16 - “13
Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the
oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these
were allies with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his
relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house,
three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, he
and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is
north of Damascus. 16 He brought back all the
goods, and also brought back his relative
5.1.
This is the first
time the word ‘Hebrew’ is mentioned, and the word means “one from
beyond.” The name is believed to be
derived from a man named Eber whom we saw earlier in the book of Genesis, and
from whom Abraham descended.
5.2.
Here we see that
for the time being that Abraham is living in peace there in the
5.3.
Abraham is living
at this time by the ‘oaks of Mamre.’
We saw in our last study that ‘Mamre’ meant “fatness or
strength” and that living where God wanted him to live brought “fatness
or strength” to Abram’s life.
5.4.
We see from this
verse that Abraham has become very wealthy and important. He is able here to assemble 318 ‘trained
men born in his house´ for a military force, and then he is able to take
them and go and defeat “Chedorlaomer” and his forces using a stealthy
nighttime attack strategy.
5.5.
More so than this
though we see that the hand of the Lord is with Abraham for 318 men is surely a
very small force in comparison with the multitude he and his men went up
against. Abraham’s force might be
comparable to the force the Lord Gideon to assemble after the Lord pared them
down to those who passed the drinking test by bringing up the water to their
mouths to drink rather than bending down and lapping up the water like a dog.
5.5.1. When God is on your side, you don’t need to worry how
many men are with you.
6.
VS 14:17-20 - “17
Then 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
6.1.
This is the first
mention of a ‘tithe’ in the scripture.
The word means “a tenth.”
We have discussed a few times already that whenever you see those who
are God’s people being required by God to do something before the giving of the
Law of Moses that this means that this is something that God’s people of all
ages are supposed to do.
6.2.
Now we come to
this very unusual story about a very unusual character, ‘Melchizedek.’
6.3.
‘Melchizedek’
means (“king of righteousness”) and he is the king over the city of ‘
6.4.
‘Melchizedek’
is unusual also because he is both a ‘king’ and a ‘priest.’ The only other character in the scriptures
that is both a ‘king’ and a ‘priest’ is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ stands alone in history as being
a “prophet, priest, and king.”
6.5.
What is
interesting also is the fact that Abraham realizes that this man is a ‘priest
of God Most High.’ The world was
full of idolaters in Abraham’s day, yet here is a man who serves the true God,
and even serves as a ‘priest’ to the Lord.
6.6.
Notice also what
‘Melchizedek’ brings to Abraham and his men, the elements of ‘bread
and wine’ which we know served as the symbols of that future covenant that
Jesus Christ made with His disciples, elements that were “symbols of His
body broken and blood shed for sinners on Calvary’s cross.”
6.7.
Notice that ‘Melchizedek’
blesses Abraham.
6.8.
Abraham submits
to the authority and priesthood of Melchizedek, even giving a ‘tithe’ of
all to him, and thus Abraham recognizes Melchizedek as his superior. We might ask then if Melchizedek is Abraham’s
superior why it wasn’t the case that Melchizedek would be the one who would be
the patriarch of God’s people and bring a blessing to all mankind? Why was it Abraham that received the
covenant?
6.9.
The text isn’t
clear whether Abraham gave a tenth of the victory spoils to ‘Melchizedek’
or a tenth of all that he possessed to him.
6.10. Several times in the Old Testament the Lord appeared
to men in human form, what is called “a theophany.” Many have speculated that this man
Melchizedek who is a type of Jesus Christ, might actually be such an
appearance, and be the Lord Himself.
6.11. What adds more mystery to this man named ‘Melchizedek’
is the fact that in the Psalms it speaks of the Messiah and states that his
priesthood will be after that of ‘Melchizedek’ : Psalm 110:4, “4 The Lord has sworn and will not change His
mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
6.12. The author of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament
writes that book in order to encourage those who are Jewish Christians to press
on in real spiritual growth, since so many had grown very lethargic and still
held to their Jewish traditions. While
referring in several places to this man ‘Melchizedek’ he tries to both
show in what ways Jesus Christ’s priesthood is like that of ‘Melchizedek,’
and also show the superiority of the priesthood of Jesus Christ to that of the
Levites in Judaism presenting various arguments based upon His priesthood being
according to the order of Melchizedek.
6.13. The following are the verses from the book of Hebrews
that mention this man ‘Melchizedek.’ :
6.13.1.Hebrews 6:20, “20 where Jesus has entered as a
forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order
of Melchizedek.”
6.13.2.Hebrews 5:4-10, “4 And no one takes the honor to
himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to
become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “You
are My Son, Today I have begotten You”; 6 just as He says also in another passage, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” 7 In the days of His flesh, He offered up both
prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save
Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. 8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from
the things which He suffered. 9
And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the
source of eternal salvation, 10
being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of
Melchizedek.”
6.13.3.Hebrews 7:1-22, “1 For this Melchizedek, king of
Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from
the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of
all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name,
king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. 3 Without
father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor
end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually. 4 Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham,
the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. 5 And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive
the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the
people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from
Abraham. 6 But the one whose
genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed
the one who had the promises. 7
But without any dispute the lesser
is blessed by the greater. 8 In this case mortal men
receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is
witnessed that he lives on. 9
And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid
tithes, 10 for he was still in the
loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. 11 Now if perfection was through the Levitical
priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further
need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of
Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity
there takes place a change of law also. 13 For the one concerning whom these things are
spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.
14 For it is evident that
our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke
nothing concerning priests. 15
And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the
likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become such not
on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an
indestructible life. 17 For it is attested of
Him, “You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For, on the one hand,
there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and
uselessness 19 (for the Law made nothing
perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope,
through which we draw near to God. 20 And inasmuch as it was not without an oath 21 (for they indeed became priests without an oath,
but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “The Lord has sworn And
will not change His mind, ‘You are
a priest forever’ ”); 22 so much the more also Jesus has become the
guarantee of a better covenant.”
6.14. The ways that Jesus Christ is like Melchizedek are
presented in the book of Hebrews as the following:
6.14.1.Jesus Christ came out of nowhere just as Melchizedek
came out of nowhere.
6.14.2.Melchizedek was “without father and mother,”
and the Jews really didn’t know who Jesus’ parents were.
6.14.3.Melchizedek has neither beginning of days (we don’t
know his birth) nor end of days (his death isn’t recorded), and Jesus Christ
was God the Son from all eternity, the “alpha” (beginning letter of the
Greek alphabet) and the “omega” (the ending letter of the Greek
alphabet).
6.15. The ways in which Jesus Christ’s priesthood is
superior to that of Levi are presented in the book of Hebrews as the following:
6.15.1.Levi was giving tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham,
because he was in Abraham’s loins at this time, therefore through Abraham Levi
was demonstrating Melchizedek’s superiority to himself.
6.15.2.Jesus was a better priest than even the best Levitical
priest because He was the Son of God (divine), had never sinned and therefore
his motives weren’t tainted nor His prayers ever hindered, He truly empathizes
with all that we as people go through since He shared in flesh and blood.
6.15.3.Melchizedek’s priesthood is a perpetual priesthood,
whereas the priesthood of Levi was meant to only be temporary. A perpetual priesthood therefore must be
greater than a temporary one.
6.15.4.Jesus Christ in His priesthood intercedes for God’s
people even today for He, “ever lives to make intercession for us.”
7.
VS 14:21-24 - “21
The
king of
7.1.
Just as Abraham
let Lot choose the land for himself, taking the rest as his own possession, so
here Abraham refuses to take for himself any of the possessions (not even ‘a
thread or a sandal thong’) of the people of Sodom, whom he was liberating,
and he does so here because he does not want anyone to think that he has done
these great things and somehow made himself rich. In other words, Abraham wants the world to
know that it is only the Lord who has done great things in his life. He desires only God’s glory not his own, just
as all of God’s people should desire.
7.2.
Abraham has
already seen his own sinfulness when he schemed in
7.3.
All that Abraham
tells the king of
8.
VS 15:1-5 - “1
After these things the word of the Lord
came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to
you; Your reward shall be very great.” 2 Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the
heir of my house is Eliezer of
8.1.
This is the first
mention in the scriptures of the Lord being a ‘shield’ to His people (a
theme that gains much traction in the Old Testament, particularly in the Psalms),
and also of the fact that the Lord will give His people a ‘reward.’ The Lord tells Abraham that his ‘reward
shall be great.’
8.2.
The scriptures
tell us over and over again that the Lord will protect us as His people and
that we need not fear any fear, for instance :
8.2.1. Psalm 3:3, “3 But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory,
and the One who lifts my head.”
8.2.2. Psalm 18:2, “2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my
rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my
stronghold.”
8.2.3. Psalm 91:4, “4 He will cover you with His
pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield
and bulwark.”
8.2.4. Moses’ words of encouragement to the Joshua and the
children of Israel before they went in to conquer the land of Canaan in
Deuteronomy 31:6, “6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble
at them, for the Lord your God is
the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.””.
8.3.
Abraham is trying
here to figure out how it will come about that his descendants will bless all
of the people on the face of the earth, because the fact is that his wife Sarah
has still not been able to conceive a child.
The only one in Abraham’s house that he considers to be like a son to
himself is this man ‘Eliezer of Damascus.’ Abraham questions the Lord if this man might
be the one who will fulfill these great promises to Abraham?
8.4.
The Lord tells
Abraham that the descendant or ‘heir’ who shall fufill these promises
shall ‘come forth from your own body.’
We will see later in the book of Genesis that when an heir has still not
come from Abraham’s body that Abraham and Sarah scheme together how to bring
about such an heir might come from Abraham’s body. The result is a son in Ishmael, whom the Lord
says will not be the son of promise from whom Abraham’s descendants He has
promised shall come.
8.5.
The Lord seeks to
encourage Abraham’s faith in this promised seed that shall come from him
telling Abraham that his descendants will be as innumerable as the stars that
are in the heavens.
9.
VS 15:6 - “6
Then he believed in the Lord;
and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” - Abram believes God’s promise for a son and
descendants as numerous as the stars and the Lord reckons his faith as
righteousness to him
9.1.
Here we come to
this verse that has had such a great importance in the New Testament doctrines
pertaining to salvation. In a few
different places the New Testament quotes this passage and speaks of Abraham as
being one whose life reveals to us that “salvation is received by faith,”
including:
9.1.1. Romans 4:3-6, “3 For what does the Scripture say?
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
4 Now to the one who works,
his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in
Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing on the
man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works.”
9.1.2. Romans 4:9-10, “9 Is this blessing then on the
circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it credited? While he was
circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.”
9.1.3. Romans 4:20-25, “20 yet, with respect to the
promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving
glory to God, 21 and being fully assured
that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore it
was also credited to him as righteousness.
23 Now not for his sake only
was it written that it was credited to him, 24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be
credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 He who was delivered over
because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
9.1.4. Galatians 3:6-14, “6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore,
be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the
Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
9 So then those who are of
faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. 10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are
under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed
is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law,
to perform them.” 11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God
is evident; for, “The righteous man shall
live by faith.” 12 However, the Law is not
of faith; on the contrary, “He who
practices them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law,
having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of
Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith.”
9.1.5. James 2:23, “23 and the Scripture was fulfilled
which says, “And Abraham believed God,
and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness,” and
he was called the friend of God.”
9.1.5.1.Notice how that Abraham’s
being called “the friend of God” was the result of his being reckoned
righteous because of his faith.
9.2.
Note here that this is the first mention in the scripture
of righteousness being “imputed.”
9.3.
You might be thinking, “Wait, weren’t the Israelites
considered to be God’s people by the keeping of the law, not by faith?” The answer to that is, “No!” First of all, no one could consistently keep
God’s law, and only keeping it sometimes was a disqualification in the first
place. Secondly, a Jew would demonstrate
his faith in God by keeping the law, which he was commanded to do. A Jew was considered one of God’s people by
his faith which produced his works, not by his works alone, for then none would
ever measure up. This all revealed that
the old covenant was flawed.
10.
VS 15:7-21 - “7
And He said to him, “I am the Lord
who brought you out of
10.1. This covenant ratification ritual is interesting for
two different reasons:
10.1.1.The Lord implemented a method that was common in
Abraham’s day for ratifying a covenant.
10.1.2.After Abraham had at the Lord’s command taken the
heifer, cut it up into pieces, and then laid the pieces opposite of each other,
notice that the Lord alone walks between the pieces. Because Abraham wasn’t required to walk
between the pieces this indicates that “the covenant was unconditional.”
10.2. As the Lord is executing the ratification ritual for
this covenant He tells Abraham about his descendants the Israelites who will be
in
10.3. The Lord tells Abraham that He will live a long life,
for he says he ‘will be buried at a good old age.’
10.4. The land that the Lord promises Abraham is ‘from
the
10.5. Finally, the Lord even tells Abraham that he will give
to his descendants several different people groups: ‘the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the
Girgashite and the Jebusite.’ Moses did not live to see the literal
fulfillment of this promise, for he was forbidden to enter the promised land
and died before Joshua took the people in as recorded in the book of Joshua.
11.
CONCLUSIONS:
11.1. Are you trusting in what Jesus Christ upon
11.2. Learn from those times that the Lord rescues you from
the mess you have made from your life.
Do what we will see
11.3. Learn to trust in the Lord as your protection and
reward.
11.4. Rest in the completed work of Jesus Christ who died on
the cross to pay your full debt of sin.
Learn that the only righteousness you will ever have is imputed righteousness
that comes to those who walk in faith in the Lord trusting in Jesus Christ and
His work on the cross on our behalf.