January 26 - Abram and Melchizedek

We will continue reading the life of Abram today, as we read Genesis 14. 

 

At that time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Ber king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorroah, Shina king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All the latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 

 

In 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 and the Hornets in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. Then 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. 

 

Then the king of Sodom, the King of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyimm and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the valley of Siddim against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arch king of Ellasar-four kings against five. Now 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. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. 

 

A 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. When 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. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovers all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.

 

After 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). 

 

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

 

Blessed be Abram by God Most High, 

Creator of heaven and earth. 

And praise be to God Most High, 

Who delivered your enemies into your hand. 

 

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 

 

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

 

But 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, that 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.’ I 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.” 

 

 

Ok, let’s take this apart a little bit here. 

 

First you have Amraphel the king of Shinar. If you have a study Bible, you probably see a note next to the name Shinar. This is actually what would later be called Babylon. Remember I told you about Babylon. What was the main problem that Babylon always represented? 

 

-Selfish pride. 

 

Babylon is the embodiment of the thought that we can do it on our own, and in our own strength. It is symbolic of this concept that we know better than God. 

 

And this is the theme throughout this story. 

 

King Amraphel was king of Shinar (Babylon). 

 

He joined forces with 3 other kings, one being Kedorlaomer king of Elam. . Now he is the king that is really behind this battle. See, for 12 years he has subjugated all these other lands, and in the 13th year, they began to rebel against him. So they went out against all these lands and conquered them and then raided their cities taking whatever they wanted - including Lot. 

 

But Abram brought just 318 men into battle and defeated these kings, rescuing his nephew Lot. 

 

But this is the key part of this story. 

 

At this, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. . . What does this symbolize? 

 

Well Holy Communion. Before it was ever instituted by Christ, Before the passover or any other symbolism the bread and wine could have represented, Melchizedek brought this communion to Abram. Then he spoke a blessing over Abram, 

 

Blessed be Abram by God Most High, 

Creator of heaven and earth. 

And praise be to God Most High, 

Who delivered your enemies into your hand.

 

And what was Abram’s response? Vs 20 - Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 

 

So Melchizedek brought him a reminder of the work God was doing, and Abram gave him a tenth of everything. See, when you truly want to please God, it costs you. We talk a lot about the blessings of God and the reward of following him. But the truth is, it will cost you something if you are truly going to follow the Lord. If we are trying to build a name for ourselves, we won’t receive the blessings of God in our lives. 

 

Which is funny. How do we associate the amount that people are blessed? 

 

By the materials possessions they have. 

 

We see someone who has a nice care and a great house, fine cloths and lots of money, and we think they are blessed. 

 

But I can tell you, 

 

I live in someone else’s house, struggle to find jobs to pay the bills, have the same clothes I’ve had for years, and have the blessing and favor of God more on me now than I have ever experienced it! 

 

Because it’s not about making a name for yourself. When you are able to say that you don’t want anything to point toward your name, but you would rather honor God. . . You will be blessed beyond the material things that you feel fulfill you. 

 

After being blessed by Melchizedek, and after giving a 10th of everything to the Lord, listen to what Abram told the king of Sodom. . . 

 

Vs 21

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

 

But 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, that 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.’

 

Abram is making sure there is a distinction between what the world has to offer, and what God has for him. 

 

Remember the promise from Genesis 2 that Abram received? 

 

God told him, 

 

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

 

Abram knew that it was God who would build him and use him for the Glory of God. Nothing any human or even his own hand could do would ever amount to this type of purposed fulfillment. So he was clear - I will not accept anything that isn’t completely saturated with the presence of God. He is my provider, my defender, my strong tower, and my God. Him and him alone are my portion. 

 

I wonder, 

 

How often do we give in to things, ideas, concepts, jobs, bosses, that we think will make us famous, or give us a name. Trust me, it is so easy for us to think that our job title gives us prestige and power. It’s easy to thin that the size of our company or the number of employees we oversee all have something to do with a blessing from God. The truth is, those all relate to our ego and our name. The only thing that matters though, it how much we bless the name of the Lord. We have got to be people who do not give in to the influence of other people who would stroke the ego to build a name for ourselves. 

 

The king of Babylon would suggest that our accomplishments and our power are signs of our worth. But Abram clearly displayed that his worth is found in how quickly he was willing to give God the glory. 

 

Question for you as we close? 

 

In what area have you quickly given into the king of Sodom and accepted the wealth of building your own name? In what areas have you taken the credit to say you deserve to be honored, or that people should recognize how good you are and how powerful you are? 

 

Trust me, it is the natural tendency of human life. We all want to be noticed and feel like we are valued. But true value comes from honoring God and realizing that He has seen you and blessed you enough to be full of life and promise!

 

So whatever it takes, strip away the layers of pride that make you feel like you have to build a name for yourself. Allow God to do whatever work he needs to do in and through you, so at the end of the day, you will be able to look back and say, “Everything I’ve done today was through the power of the Holy Spirit, and so I will bless the name of the Lord in all I do! He alone deserves the glory!