Genesis chapter 14 is often entitled: “The War of the Kings.”
As we rejoin the story of Abram today, you will remember that Abram and Lot returned from Egypt and Lot chose the fertile, well-watered areas of Sodom and Gomorrah; He was making decisions based upon what he saw. He was walking by sight.
In contrast, Abram was walking by faith, trusting God to lead his life and provide according to His will and purposes for his life. He was walking by faith.
Lot and Abram provide a vivid, 3-D picture of how we can chose to live our lives. We can chose to live by faith or by sight. We can trust our own decisions; or trust God’s direction. Every one of us have a choice to make.
While this historical event went down in the annals of Biblical history, it is also one of those chapters in scripture where God’s fingerprints are deeply embedded in the story. It is obvious that His hand is at work here and He is also providing a type of allegory for everyone’s life and the battles we all face that test our faith.
Simply stated, there are life lessons in this historical document that speak volumes to us about dealing with our own daily battles with sin, life’s challenges, and struggles to trust God.
The allegory is found in the response we find in those who were caught up in the middle of the battle. What we find is that “they ran.” Ever felt that way?
Today, when it comes to your daily battles; running is the Biblical response. Yet, it might be different than you think.
Transitional Sentence: Let me direct your “run” today. When battles come your way God wants us to remember:
I. There’s Always A Problem That Gets Us Running
vs. 1-4- “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 kings came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).4 For twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.”
Explanation:
Let me quickly summarize what is happening in Genesis 14. In Genesis 14 we find 9 kings at war; two sets of alliances:
a) The Weak Alliance- 5 kings were from the area Lot lived in. (Sodom and Gomorrah were
2 of the 5)
b) The Strong Alliance- 4 kings who dominated and bullied everyone else. This was an ancient
alliance made up of the Kings of the East who were descendants of Nimrod.
The strong alliance appears to be similar to what England was to the America before the Revolutionary war. They were the “mother country” and the weak alliance was like the colonies who were forced to pay taxes to their mother.
Yet, history often records (even in our situation) people long for freedom so we read in verse 4: “Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer (I call him Mr. Cheddar cheese for short it’s easier to pronounce) for twelve years, but the thirteenth year they rebelled.”
It was no surprise that the strong alliance defeated the weak, and because Lot moved down to Sodom, he ended up caught in the scuffle and made Lot and his family slaves.
Let me pause and say this: “And you just thought you have problems right?”
Have you ever dissected the anatomy of your problems? What do we know about problems?
a) Some problems are because of the fallen world- Jesus said in John 16:33- “In this world you
will have trouble.” The Greek word for trouble is “Thilpsis” is actually a picture of pressing
down, compressing and constricting – to stack upon or strangle.” It’s about things that wear
out and wring us out.”
Can I tell you something? There’s not a person alive on this planet that that isn’t acquainted with trouble.
Do you remember what Job said? He said: “For man is born for trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”
b) Some problems are because of my foolishness- Lot’s problems began with who he chose to hang out with. In Genesis 13, Lot slipped into Sodom because it looked like a great place to live. He chose Sodom based on what he saw, not how God was leading.
Isn’t this where most of our problems originate?
1) Eve fell into her temptation because the fruit looked “good to the eyes”.
2) Genesis 13 leaves us as Lot “pitched his tent even as far as Sodom”.
But now in Genesis 14, he’s living IN Sodom. And when Sodom gets attacked, Lot gets swept up with everyone else in Sodom. If you are hanging out with the people of the don’t be surprised if you get caught up and get into their trouble when they get into trouble. He ends up as a POW.
Let me shorten what I am saying here with explaining it this way: “For some of us, the devil works overtime giving us trouble, for the rest, he we’re doing a good enough job all by ourselves.”
Illustration: I’m in trouble “deer”
Has anyone here ever been driving down the road and hit a deer?
I was reading this week an article that ranked the states according to the most likely places where you’re likely to hit a deer. The most likely state in the union? West Virginia. According to recent data, your odd of hitting a deer in West Virginia is 1 out of 169. During the “rut season” the odds lower to 1 in 44.
One county in Iowa actually responded to their problem by creating and installing this sign where there’s a ton of deer traffic.
Do you know “least likely place” for you to hit a deer is? Hawaii. The chances there are 1 in 8765!
I’m a simple guy, but I could not help but think- “Well there’s another good reason to retire someday in Hawaii! Amen?”
Application:
The fact is: Trouble is unavoidable, but is much more likely to make it’s appearance where trouble dwells!
In your life, you will never be exempt from trouble, but spiritually speaking, Lot moved right in to the place where trouble dwelled.
The Bible says” “Be on your guard and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8
Lot let his guard down because he was attracted to fertile valley’s and greener grass, but dropped his guard spiritually and ended up in the spiritual lion’s den didn’t he? Sodom and Gomorrah was a trouble magnet, yet, Lot dropped his guard and ended up as a slave.
Not all the glimmers is gold is it? Trouble in inevitable; but don’t invite it over. Right?
Transitional Sentence: Let me direct your “run” today. When battles come your way God wants us to remember:
II. There’s Always A Place to Run To
vs. 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. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained me, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 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. He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women and the people.”
Explanation:
As the war ensued, we immediately see people running.
In verse 10 we read that “...the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled...”
In verse 10 we read “... those who survived fled to the hill country.”
In verse 13 we read that a fugitive fled and ran to bring the battle news to Abram.
There was a lot of running going on was there not?
Some were running for their lives to the hills, while one was running to tell Abram about the lives of his relatives.
I would like for us to focus specifically on the fugitive from verse 13. Notice where he ran to? He ran to Abram and guess where Abram was? He had repositioned himself geographically to the place where he built his first altar.
In verse 13 we get a detailed description saying that Abram was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite.
In the previous chapter we read about that location in verse 18 as it says: “Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.”
In running to Abram, little did the man know that he was running to altar of the Lord.
Let me ask you a question, “In your life, have come to the point that where you are; an altar is?” Is your house a house of prayer? Is your life the life of an intercessor? For Abram, at this point in his journey, the altar and the man were inseparable.
Listen: When the battle gets heavy, I want you to know there’s two things God has provided for you:
a) He’s provided an altar for you to run to.
b) He’s also provided intercessors for you to run to.
Illustration: Prayer book honesty
I was reading a true story this week about a guy who had become accustomed to praying prayers from a prayer book.
Yet, while hiking in his local woods somehow he got turned around and ended up lost in the woods. As the sun went down and the cold night set in he said that he decided that he had better pray; yet he didn’t know how to pray without his prayer book.
He said that it was at this moment he finally just talked to God, but this is what he said: “Dear God I have done a stupid thing and I do not have my prayer book and my memory is so poor I cannot recite the prayers from memory, so Lord, I hope it’s o.k. I am going to just recite the letters of the alphabet and ask you to put them together in the right way.”
Application:
Sometimes that’s exactly how we feel when we are running, right? We often don’t know how to pray, where to pray, or what to pray.
Can I honestly tell you something? There have been times when I have not known how to pray for certain things and all I could do is simply just say the name of Jesus and leave my burdens there. Listen: God knows how to finish the sentences for you.
God promises us this: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Romans 8:26
Likewise, let me tell you one of the worst things you can do in life’s battles is to stay isolated.
The Bible tells us that Satan is like a lion, stalking about searching for someone to devour. If you study Lions you will learn that lions look for the stragglers; the ones that are isolated from the herd. The isolated are an easy target for the lion.
Do you know what we need in battle? We need an army. We need comrads. We need to invite others to pray with and for us; this is one of the blessings and benefits of being involved physically in church. In church we have small groups, making effort and investment in building deep friendships with other believers in the church. (That’s one of our core values)
The Bible tells us that God responds to our rejection of isolation and dependence on one another and their prayers saying:
James 5:14-15 - Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
That’s a pretty strong verse isn’t it? It reminds us that we are not meant to do life alone; nor ever pray alone, there’s a place for others by your side.
The fugitive knew where to run; do you? He ran to the family altar and there he found 318 warriors who had been prepared for battle.
Listen: God has prepared a family altar for you right here in this place, and there are literally hundreds of people here as well who will battle with you if you will come running. Remember what Jesus said: “ My house shall be called a house of prayer...” Matthew 21:13
Transitional Sentence: Let me direct your “run” today. When battles come your way God wants us to remember:
III. There’s Always a Priest to Run To
vs. 18- “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Explanation:
In verse 14-16 we read that Abram took his 318 men and pursued the Kings of the “Strong Alliance” and according to verse 15 “defeated them.”
In verse 16 we read: “And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women and the people.”
Following this victory, Abram got an interesting a special visitation from a man named Melchizedek. Melchizedek is an interesting and mysterious person in the Bible because he is a priest. Priests in the Bible were set apart to be God’s royal image.
After the battle is won, Melchizedek comes out to bless Abram and bless the God who has blessed Abram as he says: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Vs. 19-20
Many look at Melchizedek and believe this was a type of Christ, or an appearance of Jesus Himself in the Old Testament. This is why many believe this:
a) His name- Melchizedek means: “my righteous king, or king of righteousness.” Like Jesus, He
is the “King of righteousness.”
b) His Office- He was a priest of the most High God. The word “priest” (cohn) signifies a person
who is both prince and priest. It denotes a special access and intimacy with God’s divine
presence and opportunity to make sacrifices to God. Like Jesus, He is selected by God, and
offers a sacrifice for us to God.
c) His residence- He is King of Salem. Salem means “to make whole, compete, and perfect. The
name “Jerusalem” has this word in it, reminding us that this is not only the place where Jesus
died, but will reign as King forever and ever in the New Jerusalem.
d) His reception of the tithe- In verse 20 we find that the Bible speaks of Abram saying: “He
gave him a tenth of all.”
This priest makes a declaration that in the middle of this battle, God showed up. Yet, communicates God’s name: El Elyon. As a matter of fact, God is called by that name 3 times in this passage: In verses 18 & 20 by Melchizedek, and once by Abram himself.
That name is translated into English as simply : “The Most High God.”- That is: El Elyon.
God has a lot of names He’s ascribed to Himself and “El Elyon” is one of them. This name is actually the merging of two of God’s names:
1. El- (One of God’s core names)- El=The strong one
2. Elyon- (Core name+ Circumstance name)-The most High
God introduces Himself using this name to people who are in a pit, a mess, and can’t get themselves out. He is a God that can rule and rescue you from whatever circumstances of life you are in.
Illustration: Movie- “The Rescue”
I don’t know if you’ve watched the National Geographic movie, “The Rescue” that tells the true story of 12 soccer players from Thailand that went exploring in 2018 after one of their team members birthday parties and it became to rain and the flood waters trapped them and practically “buried alive” in the cave.
Rescue divers said that described the cave as a “pit” that was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, and “holes that you could barely rip yourself out of.”
I watched the film and it was so riveting and terrifying that I had a hard time falling to sleep after watching it.
Yet, thank God, all 12 boys were rescued and are alive today.
Application:
These boys found themselves in a situation that they could not get themselves out of. They were in the pit.
When Melchizedek and Abram describe literally a God who is above everything; even our pits. Have you ever said: “My life is the pits?” If so, we have a God for those pits. You know what that’s like: Things get so deep and dark you don’t see a way out of it.
These boys were in a hopeless situation. Sometimes, we need God to step down from “the Most High” and step into our circumstances and overrule the hopelessness of our situation.
Here’s the greatest news, our Priest Jesus knew Abrams needs and circumstances and He knows ours as well and He had the final say and Melchizedek said: “The Most High God gave the final word and today, He still has the last word!”
Notice as we close, Abram gives God the credit for the victory in two ways:
a) He gave a tithe- He honored God was His source in the battle. God gave him what he
needed fight the battle in the first place.
b) He gave a blessing- He honored God as His success in the battle- He didn’t take the credit
for the victory, He gave God the credit, and to add to his credit, He returned his rightful
blessings in the battle. The strong alliance had pillaged Sodom and Gomorrah; but Abram
gave back what the enemy had taken.
Do you know why? He makes it clear in verse 23 as he closes saying: “...I will not take a tread of a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear that you would say, I have made Abram rich.”
Listen: Abram knew who his “blesser” was; He was the Most High God, the El Elyon, the battle belonged to the Lord, and the Lord had won, so “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
Conclusion:
Do you have any battles going on right now? Any pits you’re in? Are you in a place where your hope is waning? If so, run! Run, to this altar, and run to our High Priest, he’s El Elyon, the Most High God; the possessor of heaven and earth.
Does He possess you? If not, why not? He’s a powerful warrior, He bore a cross, despised the shame, and He conquered the grave! He won the battle, so I know He can handle yours.
