A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED (GENESIS 14)
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A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED (GENESIS 14)
Intelligence has recently uncovered a new wave of church terrorism that has rapidly affected the Body of Christ. Intelligence has uncovered the names of the leaders behind this wave: Bin Gossiping, Bin Critical, Bin Absent, and Bin Sour. This fear is, that these leaders have well developed cell organizations in many churches across the nation. Intelligence also fears that there is ever more brothers in this wicked family just waiting for orders to invade.
Since our first report, we have been notified by a number of Church’s Board that they have identified four additional suspected terrorists working in different churches. Three of the four have been apprehended. Bin Sleepin, Bin Loafin, and Bin Drinkin have been taken into custody. The Associate Pastor advised us that it is very difficult to find anyone fitting the description of the fourth cell member, Bin Workin, in most churches. However, he is confident that anyone who looks like he’s Bin Workin will be very easy to spot.
Lot is described in the Bible as one who was tormented “over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard”(2 Pet 2:7), but he never left the wealthy, but worldly and wicked city of Sodom and Gomorrah. After Abram and Lot had separated their ways, their lives were again intertwined – this time because Lot’s life was in danger. Previously Lot chose all the valley of the Jordan for its watered spots and scenic views (Gen 13:10), but all came to naught when rival kings captured Sodom and Gomorrah and took all the people including women, their goods and all their food supply (Gen 14:11). Abraham the uncle risked his life, and his household with him, to save Lot the nephew.
How are you a blessing to people around you – friends and relatives? Why do we have to take action when peoples’ lives are in disaster, in disarray, or in disrepair?
Sense Possible Danger
1 At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, 2 these 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). 3 All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 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 6 and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. 7 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. 8 Then 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 9 against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 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.
Dear Lord,
Lest I continue my complacent way, help me to remember that somewhere, somehow out there A man died for me today. As long as there be war, I then must Ask and answer Am I worth dying for?~~Eleanor Roosevelt
This chapter features war breaking out on a big scale in the Bible, four kings against five, the four superior kings (v 1) against the five subjected kings (v 2). One can only imagine the intensity, the intimidation and the impact of war with nine kings involved. “War” (v 2) and “rebel” (v 4) made its debut in the Bible. The battle took place in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley, or Salt Sea in KJV), which was dangerously covered with tar or bitumen pits (RSV). For twelve years the five kings had been subject to Kedorlaomer, the old kingdom of Persia, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. The war was over in a year, fourteenth year (v 15). The timeline is important because it meant Lot and his family had all the time in the world – as much as two years - to leave but they lingered. They had time to pack but they paused, and months to depart but they delayed. The roots of their coming troubled future were laid bare here. Lot’s family did not belong to the six tribes mentioned in verses 5-8. Lot had more than enough warnings to leave but he refused for some unknown reason because he could only see the geographical benefits but not the political burdens.
The four kings had grown from strength to strength in power from conquering tribes to sweeping regions. The six smaller tribes (vv 5-8) conquered were not associated with any regions, but the whole territory or country (KJV) of the Amalekites and the Amorites (v 7) were subdued next. The Amorites (v 7) were a big nation, but they were powerless to stop the four kings that crossed mountain, wilderness (v 6) and regions (v 7). The rebel kings fought, fell and fled (v 10).
Can you imagine the optimistic, overconfident and oblivious Lot enjoying the valley, the water spots and the gardens (Gen 13:10). He saw no risk, no rush and no reasons to run. Another thing in Lot’s mind was that the battle was miles away, in the Valley of Siddim. Elam (v 1) was as far as to the east of Canaan in the Near East, so war was not envisioned or expected. The battle in the valley extended to the mountains, where the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled to, and ended close to home when they took Lot who was residing in Sodom at that time.
It’s the classic “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” moment. It was not much of a fight. The five kings fled in vain and their men hid in the mountains. They “fled” (v 10) like no other before because the verb makes its first occurrence in the Bible. Sodom and the vicinity was a “fleeing” place. The verb “defeat/smote” (vv 5, 7, 15, 17) makes its most appearance in the book. The slaughter was brutal, beastly and barbaric. Still, Lot had time to flee when the four kings began to “defeat/smite” the tribes (v 5) before turning to the territories (v 7), but he was unmoved, unimpressed and unafraid. The cozy and comfortable surroundings caused him to dull his senses and drop his guard.
Save People’s Lives
11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. 13 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. 14 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. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
Two friends, who had lost contact for many years, were catching up with each other. One asked, “So, you've got your own company, huh? How lucky!” The other replied, “Just a small one, nothing to be proud of.”
Disbelieving, the first queried, “Small? How many people work in your company?”
The other sadly answered, “About half of them.”
Upon hearing of Lot’s capture, Abram, without prompting, pausing or panicking, went to Lot’s rescue. The word “goods” (vv 11, 12, 16 twice, 21) appears more times in this chapter than any chapter in the Bible, inviting catastrophe and captivity on top of conquest and crisis. Goods can be translated as riches (Gen 36:7). No king warred for the sake of war. They were always attracted to land, labor and loot.
Verse 14’s “called out” is rather weak compared to KJV’s “armed.” Abram did not pick any Tom, Dick or Harry. The 318 men of Abraham were trained, competent, experienced, reliable and disciplined, as the root word suggested. This chapter is the first “pursuit” in the Bible. The phrase “from Dan to Beersheba” (1 Sam 3:20, 2 Sam 3:10, 17:11, 24:2, 24:15, 1 Kings 4:25) meant from north to south, so Abram and his men who were located in the middle of the land covered quite a lot of distance to reach north.
Even though Lot technically was the nephew of Abram and the son of Abram’s brother (v 12), but Abram considered him as “his brother” (vv 14, 16). The noun “brother” is repeated five times in the chapter (vv 12, 13 twice, 14, 16). There was nothing Abram would not sacrifice for his nephew Lot- the pick of men, the chase at night and the risk of lives, even his own life. Today it would be hard to even pay ransom. What made these men want to risk their lives for Lot? Remember the rival shepherds of Abram and Lot had a falling out in the previous chapter (Gen 13:7). There was little to like between the two groups. In chapter 13 the verb “separate” occurs the most in one chapter of the Bible (Gen 13:9, 11, 14). There were no shortage of anger, animosity, and antipathy between the men of Abram and Lot. Why would Abram’s men go? The verb “pursued” also made its debut in the Bible. Not only was the fight challenging, the flight was consuming. They had to forgo sleep in the night (v 15). First, they were men were born in Abram’s household. Second and most important, the master himself went with them. They were not sent like slaves, soldiers and statues. Their lives were as precious and priceless as Abram’s. The Amorites must have helped out since they were allies with Abram and their Amorite brothers (vv 7, 13) suffered the same fate.
Seek Proper Blessings
17 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). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 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, 23 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.’ 24 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.”
The Junior Sunday School Teacher asked her eight eager 10 year-olds if they would give a $1,000,000 to the missionaries. “Yes!” they all screamed!
“Would you give $1,000?” Again, they shouted “YES!”
“How about $100?” “Oh, yes we would!” they all agreed!
“Would you just give a dollar to the missionaries?” she asked.
The boys exclaimed, “Yes!” just as before, except for Johnny.
“Johnnie,” the teacher said as she noticed the boy clutching his pocket, “Why didn’t you say ‘yes’ this time?”
“Well,” the boy stammered, “I have a dollar!”
After the fight Abram interestingly gave all the goods to the king of Sodom. The only imperatives in the passage are from the king of Sodom who pressured Abram in verse 21 – “give” and “keep/take.” The verb “give” not for coincidence appears in the previous verse (v 20) when Abram “gave” a tithe of the spoils to Melchizedek (Heb 7:4). Abram had no pressure giving anything away because he was a giver par excellence with a rich history of giving, from giving Lot the pick of the land in the previous chapter to giving to Melchizedek in the immediate context. Abram was a giver who gave a tithe to Melchizedek. He was a giver because his God “gave” (Gen 12:7, 13:15, 13:17) him much, from land to seed, from seed to blessing.
Second, Abram was more interested in the blessings of God than the benefits from men. The verb “bless” occurs three times (vv 19 twice, 20). While the patriarch gave much more than he took in life, he was the greater beneficiary in more ways than one because his blessing was from God. Monetary and material goods come and go but blessings are irreversible (Num 23:20). No one is poor (Deut 15:4) or have lack (Deut 2:7) when he is blessed by the Lord. A blessed person, in return, is a giving and generous person (Deut 15:10), and not a grudging or griping person. There was nothing much he desired after saving his nephew and receiving a blessing from Melchizedek (vv 19 twice, 20) from the Lord (v 22), the Most High God (vv 18, 19, 20, 22), the possessor of heaven and earth (v 19, 22). There is only a reason (ki) in the text: that his relative had been taken captive (v 14).
Third, Abram refused the gift of goods from the king of Sodom because he was careful who gets the credit. Verse 13’s “I made Abram rich” should be “I, I made Abram rich” because the personal pronoun “I” is repeated in Hebrew. While adopting this principle, Abram was not against receiving help from his confederates or objecting to the confederates from taking the goods (v 25).
Conclusion: Are you neighbor, friend and brother to people in need? How do we treat “all men” – men and women, young and old, believing or unbelieving:
- Do you “provide things honest in the sight of all men”? (Rom 12:17)
- Do you “live peaceably with all men”? (Rom 12:18, Heb 12:14))
- Do you “do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith”? (Gal 6:10, 1 Thess 5:15)
- Is “your moderation known unto all men”? (Phil 4:5)
- Are you “patient toward all men”? (1 Thess 5:14)
- Do you “honor all men” (1 Peter 2:17)
