CHAPTER 14

(1913 B.C.)

ABRAM RESCUES LOT

¹And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; (If it is to be noticed, the Spirit of God occupies Himself with the movements of kings and their armies only when such movements are in any wise connected with the people of God; otherwise, they are of little significance!)

²That these 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, which is Zoar.

³All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

⁴Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. (These five kings had been ruled by Chedorlaomer for some twelve years, and now they rebel.)

⁵And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings who were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

⁶And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness. (In the names Rephaims, Zuzims, and Emims, and possibly even the Horites, we have, once again, the entrance of the giants, which were a product of the union of fallen angels and women [6:4]. Irrespective of their size, Chedorlaomer defeated them.)

⁷And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who dwelt in Hazezon-tamar.

⁸And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

⁹With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. (We have in Verse 8 the mention of Sodom, where Lot dwelt, and which causes the interest of Jehovah, and points to the reason for all this being included in these Passages. It is obvious from the Text that Lot was not at all in proper relationship with the Lord; however, the Lord, despite that fact, continued to monitor his every move and, in effect, to exercise a form of security and protection for him, despite his having moved in with the Sodomites. Every Believer should understand the significance of all of this. You are bought with a price; that price is the shed Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.)

¹⁰And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they who remained fled to the mountain.

¹¹And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

¹²And they took Lot, Abrams brothers son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. (Lot, in his compromised position, could neither deliver Sodom nor himself. The only way to help and bless the world is to live apart from it, in fellowship with God.)

¹³And there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.

¹⁴And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

¹⁵And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

¹⁶And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. (Abraham had little interest in the happenings, had it not been for Lot. He hears that Lot has been taken captive, and sets about to rescue him. Concerning this, Mackintosh says: The claims of a brothers trouble are answered by the affections of a brothers heart. This is Divine. Genuine Faith, while it always renders us independent, never renders us indifferent. It will never wrap itself up in its fleece while a brother shivers in the cold.)

MELCHIZEDEK

¹⁷And the king of Sodom went out to meet him (Abraham) after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings who were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the kings dale. (As we shall see here, there is no time so dangerous to the Christian as the morrow after a great spiritual victory.)

¹⁸And Melchizedek (this man appears on the scene, who is a King and a Priest and, above all, who is a Type of Christ [Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:5-6]; some Scholars believe that Melchizedek could actually have been Shem, the son of Noah; Shem was alive at this time, and actually lived for about 60 years more; in fact, some think he died when Abraham was about 150 years of age; his name means, King of Righteousness and King of Peace [Heb. 7:2]) king of Salem (Jerusalem) brought forth bread and wine (the bread and wine symbolize the broken Body and shed Blood of our Lord, which was necessary for the Salvation of mankind [Mat. 26:29; Mk., Chpt. 14; Lk. 22:15; Rom. 8:21]): and he was the Priest of the Most High God. (Melchizedek, as a Priest, symbolized the coming Christ, Who is our Great High Priest [Heb. 7:15-17]. David prophesied, about a thousand years after Abraham, The Lord has sworn, and will not repent, You [Christ] are a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek [Ps. 110:4]. Abraham is here introduced to God by a different name than he had previously known, El Elyon, meaning Most High God.)

¹⁹And he (Melchizedek) blessed him (Abraham), and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and Earth: (Melchizedek blessing Abraham means that the standing of Melchizedek was greater than that of Abraham. The reason? Melchizedek was a Type of Christ [Heb. 7:4, 7].)

²⁰And blessed be the Most High God, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. (We find here that Melchizedek did not come forth when Abraham was in pursuit of Chedorlaomer, but when the king of Sodom was in pursuit of Abraham. This makes a great moral difference. Mackintosh says: A deeper character of communion was needed to meet the deeper character of conflict.) And he gave him tithes of all. (This is the first time that tithes are mentioned in Scripture. It refers to a tenth part. Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek, who was a Type of Christ; consequently, Abrahams children, which make up the Church presently, are to continue to pay tithe to those carrying out the Work of God.)

THE TEMPTATION

²¹And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to yourself. (Satan will now use the king of Sodom, endeavoring to draw Abraham into his web. He will use money to do so.)

²²And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up my hand unto the LORD, the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and Earth (the king of Sodom may have proposed an amalgamation of sorts with Abraham; but the Patriarch proclaims to all concerned that his allegiance is totally and completely to the LORD, the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and Earth;in this, he proclaims the fact that he is beholden to no man, but yet gracious to all men),

²³That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich (the temptation is strong, and in more ways than one; however, the Patriarch passes the test with flying colors):

²⁴Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion. (Abraham was held to a much higher standard than those with him. While it was no problem for them to take some of the goods, he could not take even as much as a shoelatchet. The man of God presently should understand the lesson taught here, that while we are in the world, we are never to be of the world.)