Abraham rescues Lot from the eastern coalition, Gen. 14:1-16
At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, 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). All these 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 Horites 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 Zeboyim 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 Arioch 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 recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. (NIV)
In the narratives concerning the patriarchs, Moses interweaves scenes in which the patriarch meets personally with God or relates to family members, with those in which he relates to outsiders. Here for the first time in the story of Abram we see him involved in an international incident. A confederation of military contingents from countries to the north and east of Palestine invade the eastern parts of Canaan and defeat and carry away captives from Sodom and Gomorrah.
This invasion might not have concerned Abram personally, if it were not for the fact that among those carried off captive were Lot and his family. Here family loyalty comes into play. Although Abram would not have felt it his duty to rectify all wrongs related to nations attacking other nations, he did feel an obligation to his nephew.
What is striking is that we have not thought of Abram up to now as a man of war. We have seen him as a pastoralist, a man of sheep herding and livestock raising. Yes, he was more than a simple shepherd: he is now wealthy, and he deals with pharaohs and kings of local Canaanite city-states as a peer. But we have not conceived of him as a military strategist. Yet when the need arises, God makes him a successful warrior. He pursues the foreign coalition as they withdraw to the north, and cleverly attacks them when they least suspect it.
Another new feature of Abram that we see here is his cooperation with other clan leaders in Canaan, namely three men from the vicinity of Hebron by the names of Mamre, Eshcol and Aner. They are described as "allies" of Abram, showing that he did not despise the local pagans, but maintained a friendly relationship with them, while not sharing their concepts of God. We will see more of this in the next section, in the account of Abram's dealings with Melchizedek, the king of Jerusalem (called here Salem), and with an unnamed king of Sodom.
Abraham & Melchizedek, 14:17-24
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 Yahweh, 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.” (NIV)
This event inspired many later texts in both the Old Testament and the New. The man Melchizedek, by virtue of what is said about him here, became a symbolic figure, first applied to the kings of Israel and Judah descended from David (Psalm 110), and then to Jesus as the ultimate "king after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 7). We need not go into all of that here, since it has to do with how subsequent inspired authors of Scripture employed this text to teach vital truths about God's kingdom mediated first through the Davidic kings and finally through Jesus the Messiah. Here we should not go beyond what this text itself tells us about Melchizedek. He was the king of Jerusalem in the days of Abram, he blessed Abram as he returned from his victory, and he received from Abram a tenth of the plunder the patriarch had captured. We are not told why Abram chose to give him this tenth, but it is at least possible that Melchizedek had aided Abram's alliance in some way, perhaps with supplies or weaponry. Somehow, Abram felt indebted to this king and showed his gratitude by generously giving him a tenth of the plunder.
In the course of their interchange, Melchizedek blesses Abram by "God Most High, the Creator of Heaven and Earth." The phrase "God Most High" can also be understood as a god's name and his title, "El, the most high, creator of heaven and earth." This would make him the Canaanite god El, worshiped by Melchizedek. Otherwise, one would have to assume that the name El was simply an archaic variant of the Hebrew word ʾelōhîm meaning "God," and that Melchizedek somehow was an isolated monotheist in the midst of surrounding polytheist cities. Considering Abram's friendly and polite relations with the pharaoh of Egypt, who was certainly a polytheist, the second option is not necessary. Abram in his reply to the king of Sodom, applies this ostensible name and title to his own God, Yahweh, when he says, "I have sworn an oath to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you." His attitude toward the king of Sodom is markedly different from his attitude to the king of Jerusalem. Some would say it was because Melchizedek shared Abram's faith in one God, Yahweh. That is certainly possible. But there are other possible reasons. Melchizedek had blessed him and possibly equipped his men with supplies before the battle, whereas the king of Sodom had only offered him a reward afterwards, a reward that Abram did not need. And Abram may have already understood what we learned in the previous chapter, that the men of Sodom were wicked, who sinned against God greatly, and he wanted nothing to do with them.
What might these events teach us about our relationships with those who did not share our faith? Abram never conceded either to the pharaoh (in chapter 12) or to Melchizedek and the king of Sodom in this chapter that he agreed with their religious views. But he acknowledged the friendly and honest behavior that he found among these pagans. He did not treat them with disrespect. His witness was his life, and the testimony of his building altars only for Yahweh, the only God, and the true "Creator of heaven and earth"! This is what I would call an uncompromising, but gracious witness to those in need of that witness. Abram was certainly not shy about confessing his faith in Yahweh! And it contrasts with what we shall see about his nephew later on in Genesis 19.
May our witness to Jesus, our Lord and Savior, be just as firm, clear and gracious as Abram's was to Yahweh!
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