INTRODUCTION (ACTING AND VOLUNTEERS)
Today our series called The Journey comes to an end. I hope leaning about Abram’s journey to become a man of faith has been helpful to you. We end this series on a high note. Abram is worshiping God in the mountains of Israel at Bethel (which is Hebrew for God’s House.) He is on the mountain top in his faith, a least right now
So, what does faith in God look like when we’ve reached a mountaintop? What difference does this kind of faith make? And how does it compare to worldly faith or the things this world trusts? Today we look at Genesis 14 and Abram’s Journey to king Melchizedek to find out.
The first part of this passage is a bit confusing when we read it. I have been dreading trying to explain it. So, I figured I would use a few props and a two people to help me explain what is going on.
Can I get two volunteers? I am going to represent the 4 powerful kings from the East or Mesopotamia, so I will take the big shield and large spear, because my alliance is powerful. You are going to represent the 5 not so powerful kings from the Jordan valley. You get the small shield and little sword. And you are going to represent Abrams tiny army of shepherds. You don’t get any shields or any weapons! You trust God!
In verse 1-3 we read that 4 Eastern Kings of Mesopotamia fought the 5 Kings of the Jordan Valley. The 4 Eastern Kings won and they oppressed or subjugated the 5 Kings and their people who lived in the Jordan Valley. Basically this means that these 5 Kings had to give money or tribute or pay taxes to these 4 Kings to rule these cities. So they oppressed their people to pay these kings and keep themselves rich. These 5 Kings did this for 12 years.
Then we read in verse 4 that after 13 years these 5 kings in the Jordan valley rebelled against the 4 Eastern Kings. (This means they probably quit sending money to them). So in the 14th year the 4 kings amass a large army and ransacked the cities of the Jordan Valley to get the money these kings were not paying them (The Green Line on the Map) The 5 kings of the Jordan valley saw this coming, so they got their army together and fight the 4 Eastern kings. The 5 Kings of the Jordan Valley lose big time, and the 4 Eastern Kings take off with the wealth and food of these cities. They also kidnap many of the people in order to make them their slaves.
Verse 12 tells us that Abram’s nephew Lot is one those who are kidnapped, so Abram gets his 318 trained men together, has his alliance do the same, then goes off after this huge Army. Abram has NO FEAR!! He and his little band of shepherds develop a strategy to divide their forces and sneak attack after dark. They WIN, and chase the 4 Kings and their large army out of the area recovering all people, wealth and property these 4 Kings stole.
TEXT
Ok give these volunteers a hand. This is the context for the portion of Scripture we are going to look at today. Please turn to Genesis 14. I will begin reading with verse 18 and end with Genesis 15:1.
"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 blessed be 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, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong 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, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.” After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”"
Again, Abram is having a mountain top experience when it comes to his faith. His faith is strong!! In the passage I just read, Abram is continuing on his Journey of Faith. He is walking toward Melchizedek and his kingdom of righteousness and peace, and does not get sidetracked by the worldly king of Sodom. As Abram continues to journey towards Melchizedek three things have become characteristic of his life of faith: 1. He loves others, 2. He Loves God, and as a result 3. He brings righteousness and peace to the world.
LOVES OTHERS
The first characteristic of Abram’s mountaintop faith is this: He has a strong love for others! Let’s think about this for just a moment. Love isn’t just a feeling or an emotion. True love puts the other person above self. … This is what Abram does in this chapter. Lot is taken captive. Lot is going to become a slave and Abram rescues him from the 4 evil kings. He demonstrates love for his nephew by putting Lot’s interests and well-being above his own and in so doing Abram risks a lot.
First, he risks his friendship and alliance with Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner. His friends could say, “Are you crazy? Did you see how these kings totally creamed the 5 kings in the valley below us? No way! And by the way, you are not a member of our little alliance anymore. You’re foolish and dangerous. We don’t want you around.” Abram risks his friendships and alliances to help another.
Would you risk your friends and alliances to help or stand up for someone that needs it? Let me stop for just a second. Remember Jr. High and High School? I do. Do you know what I remember? I remember being more concerned about what my friends my alliances than standing up for the person that was picked, bullied, and made fun of. Some of those who were made fun of were my friends when we were younger. But I chose to do nothing. I loved myself more than them.
Second, Abram risks the 318 men that work for him. I am sure that the 5 Kings of the Jordan Plain had many more men than Abram and they were totally routed by the 4 Kings Abram is about to battle. If Abram’s men are hurt or killed in this battle to save Lot, his herds cannot be taken care of properly and could die. He could lose a vast portion of his wealth! Are you willing to give up a portion of your earnings, a portion of your time to help rescue people like Lot who have made some poor decisions, who have begun to journey down the wrong path, who have become enslaved to their sin?
Third, Abram, himself, could be killed. But that is the price he is willing to pay to help his nephew. Abram demonstrates a true love for others. A love Christ commands us to have in John 15:12-13:
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
Imagine if our lives of faith demonstrated this kind of love to our spouses, our friends, our relatives, our fellow Christians? Imagine how non-Christians might be attracted to us? Imagine what kind of place this gathering would be, if we all demonstrated this kind of love.
We are called to love others!! That is a lot of people. That can be overwhelming! Where do we begin? Begin with the people you know. Begin with the people you are close to. That what Abram does. If we all did this we could make a huge impact on the world around us.
Abram loves Lot so much that he is willing to give up his life to rescue Lot. What is he rescuing Lot from? Slavery! Bondage! Exile!
Have you ever heard this theme before in the Bible? It’s everywhere isn’t it? The whole story of Israel is about deliverance or rescue from slavery, bondage, and exile.
It’s all over the New Testament as well. In fact, Jesus redefines what deliverance, rescue, or salvation will look like. In Jesus’ teaching salvation is not the rescue or deliverance from the Roman Oppressors that his contemporaries expected. Instead it is deliverance from the sin, in one’s heart, that causes the oppression, bondage, exile and slavery in the first place. Remember, it was Lot’s selfishness, in choosing the well watered Jordan River Plain that caused him to be become a slave to the 4 Kings in the first place.
That is what sin does! It enslaves us and it enslaves our world! In John 8:34 Jesus says, “…I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." And the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 talks about creation being in bondage to decay due to sin.
Our selfish sin ruins our lives and our world! Abram leaves his mountaintop in the house of God to save Lot from the slavery Lot’s sin has caused. That is what true love does! That is what Jesus did! Romans 5:8 says: “But God demonstrated his love for us in this, while we were still sinners (selfishly hurting God), Christ died for us!”
Are you a slave to your sin? Are you a slave to your selfishness? God offers freedom in Jesus Christ! Talk to me after the service and I will tell you how Jesus can free you from your selfishness!
My guess is that there are some people here this morning that have friends who are becoming entangled and enslaved in sin and selfishness! Maybe they have hurt you with their selfishness, taken advantage of you? Lot took advantage of Abram. He used Abram to get rich and then took the best land from him.
Abram could have said, “You used me. You pitched your tent near these evil cities. You knew what you were getting into. You made your bed now lie in it! But he doesn’t! He goes after the prodigal. He loves the prodigal! Do you? Will you put the prodigal that you know, above your interests? This is what it means to truly love others! This is a mark of mountaintop faith!
LOVE GOD
The second characteristic of the Mountaintop Faith of Abram is this: He loves God! To love God is to put God’s mission, God’s reputation and God’s worth above our own. This is exactly what Abram does!
God’s mission is to rescue people from their slavery to selfishness that ruins his world. Abram put God’s mission first, before his safety, his needs and his wealth. Abram also puts God’s reputation and worth above his own reputation and worth. This is counter-cultural. The world does not do this!
The way of the world is to put our reputation, our needs, our worth above God and above others. Look at verses 17 and 21.
"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)…"The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”
King Bera of Sodom represents the world’s way. The world is concerned with riches and reputation and the king of Sodom’s request tempts Abram in the way of the world. How? It gives Abram the chance to be rich and have a good reputation. Abram can keep the goods and at the same time be praised as a generous warrior by returning the people!
The King of Sodom offers Abram Wealth and Reputation. From a worldly perspective, this is a tremendous opportunity. Wealth and reputation are Abram’s for the taking! To the world, wealth and reputation are the only 2 things that matter, … and selfishness and sin can always be traced back to these two things!
But Abram does not succumb to the temptations of this world. Look how Abram responds to the king of Sodom in verses 22-24:
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong 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, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
Abram, says I will take nothing from you! Why? Because I don’t want people to think you made me rich! I want them to know my God takes care of me! Abram’s primary concern is God’s reputation!
How would our lives be different if this was our primary concern? How would your decisions be different if God’s reputation was your primary concern? What would happened if we oriented our entire lives around building and protecting God’s reputation?
This is hard! I don’t know if I would have turned down Bera’s offer? How about you? Heck, I might have kept both the money and the people, because the law back then said I could have it! But the world’s law, the world’s way is not God’s way! Abram gives up his right to these riches to protect and enhance God’s reputation. Abram is committed to God above all else! He raised his hand and took an oath of commitment to put God above everything else!
One of the great weaknesses of the church in the US today is that so few people are willing to be absolutely consistent in their commitment to Christ and his Kingdom. …If you look at Abram He was committed God. He was committed to the place God called him, and to the people God placed in his life
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND PEACE
So the characteristics of mountaintop faith are: 1. A deep love and commitment to others, 2. A deep love and commitment to God and the people of the place God has called you. Finally these commitments bring righteousness and peace to the world.
Abram’s faith journey brought him to King Melchizedek of Salem. King Melchizedek was very different than the King of Sodom. The King of Sodom said Give Me! That is what the world says. They want wealth and reputation. Melchizedek did the opposite. He didn’t concern himself with wealth and reputation. Instead, he serves Abram and his men a meal and he blesses Abram! God’s way is the way of serving and blessing others. Why? Because, people who serve and bless others bring righteousness and peace to the world.
Look at Hebrews 7:1-2. It describes the character of king Melchizedek:
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”
Melchizedek was a righteous king. He was a king of peace. Righteousness and peace were characteristic of him and his rule. His right actions brought peace to his city!
Back to Lot for a moment, Lot’s actions were not right and did not bring peace. Lot was about wealth. He wanted the best land so his herds or his financial portfolio would grow. We will find out later that he wanted a reputation as well. In Genesis 19 we learn that he sat at the Sodom city gate. Basically, this means he had developed a reputation in the city. He had become an elder and political leader in Sodom.
Did Lot’s selfish concern for material possessions and worldly reputation bring rightness and peace to his life or his world? NO! In this chapter we learned that Lot is carried into slavery after pitching his tent near Sodom! His selfishness and sin enslaves him! It doesn’t bring peace!
Again Sodom pictures the way of the world. They way of the world is selfishness. In chapter 13 we learned that Lot used his uncle Abram to get rich! He selfishly took the best land. The city where Lot ended up was Sodom. It is a city that was selfish to the extreme. The people of the city were known for their sexual depravity. They used and oppressed each other for sexual gratification. Was this a place of rightness and peace? NO!!
And it gets worse; in chapter 19 we learn that Lot offers his daughters to be gang-raped by the people of Sodom. Lot’s selfishness doesn’t bring rightness or peace to his family!
Additionally we learn that the city of Sodom is so enslaved to its sin and selfishness that God has to destroy it. Lot’s family has to leave the city in a hurry before God destroys it. No peace not rightness here!
What happens next? When he gets out of the city he hides in a cave. His girls want a child to take care of them when they are old, but they can’t have one because Lot’s selfish choice has cut them off from the rest of the world.
What do his girls do? They get their Dad drunk so they can sleep with him and have a child by him. They selfishly use their Dad for their own benefit. Doesn’t sound like rightness and peace to me. Instead, it sounds like selfishness or sin is the heart of what is wrong with the world! It sounds like selfishness does not bring peace!
Now consider Abram. Abram lovingly rescues Lot from the consequences his selfishness and brings rightness and peace to Lot’s world. Lot doesn’t have to be a slave anymore. Abram rights the wrong done to Lot. This is righteousness. Righteousness rights wrongs. Righteousness loves people so much that it seeks to right the wrongs that have been inflicted on others. But we have to be Strong in our faith to do this! We have to truly love God and others more than ourselves for this to happen.
Abram loves God above anything else. Abram Loves others more than himself and as a result he brings righteousness and peace to his world. These are the characteristics of Abram’s great faith. If we love God and others more than ourselves, we will become people that bring the blessing of God’s righteousness and peace to the world. We will point this world to Jesus Christ—the King of Righteousness and the King of peace. We will begin to usher in the Kingdom of God and God’s city of peace that we read about in Revelation 21 as we wait for the fullness of this city’s coming with King Jesus the Prince of Peace and Righteousness.
