PM Jan 6th Gen 14

January 6th

Genesis 14

Abram rescues Lot

1: And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2: That these 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, which is Zoar. 3: All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. 4: Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5: And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6: And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7: And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon-tamar. 8: And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; 9: With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. 10: And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11: And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12: And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13: And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eschol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. 14: And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. 15: And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16: And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Melchizedek meets Abram

17: And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. 18: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19: And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. 21: And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22: And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23: That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: 24: Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Genesis 15

The Covenant with Abram

1: After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2: And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3: And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4: And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5: And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6: And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7: And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. 8: And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9: And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10: And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. 11: And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12: And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13: And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14: And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15: And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16: But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17: And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18: In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20: And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21: And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.


In todays Bible reading we have the rescue of Lot by Abram the intervention of Melchizedek and the Covenant that the Lord made with Abram. The first incident, of the rescue of Lot is something that should have taught Abram and Lot that there was something seriously wrong with Lot living at Sodom. What happened is that a war broke out between four kings on one side and four kings on the other side. Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer and Tidal fought against Bera, Birsha, Shinab and Shemeber. It is difficult to determine exactly how all these battles went. There were alliances and oppressions, battles and counter battles. Later the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela engaged in battle in the vale of Siddim; with Chedorlaomer, Tidal, Amraphel, Arioch. It was four kings against five. The battle went bad for kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their cohesion broke down and many died there and their forces fled to the mountains. Sodom and Gomorrah were sacked and they took captives including Abram's nephew. When Abram heard the bad news of Lots capture he raised his own trained men of war and went out to battle. It was a force of 318. They routed the army and chased them far into the north and then he attacked at night from two directions and chased them again as far as Damascus. Abram recovered all the goods but more important be rescued Lot and all the women. All of this hassel was due to Lot living in Sodom and this was due to the excessive herds and that was due to the excursion into Egypt. How much trouble comes into a mans life from one act of doubt in God provision. On Abram’s return, the king of Sodom went to meet him to give him gifts of thanks, but then a remarkable event occurs. Suddenly Melchizedek (Priest/king of Salem) appears with bread and wine. He blesses Abram and blesses Abram’s God. Abram gave to Melchisedec a tenth of everything he had. Then when the King of Sodom appears he says give me the people and keep the booty, but Abram says no take everything. I do not want even a shoe lace from you. I never want it to be said that the king of Sodom had made Abram rich. (This is what happened in Egypt! Abram is learning) Then after this the Lord appeared to Abram again in a vision (this is a waking dream). The Lord says to Abram do not be afraid. I will protect you and l will be all the reward you will ever need. Abram replied, what could you give me? The only thing l want is a child! He says, is my heir Eliezer of Damascus? (Abram’s trusted servant) Then the Lord said, he will not be your heir, your heir will be your own child. Then the Lord said, took at the stars l will make you children as many as the stars of heaven. Abram believed what God had said, and God credited to Abram righteous for his faith. Then the Lord gave Abram instructions as to how to make an offering of a 3yr old heifer and a 3yr old nanny, and a dove and a young pigeon. They were all killed and divided into two - apart from the birds. When the carrion came to eat the flesh Abram drove them away. In the evening a very deep sleep fell on Abram and he had a dream and a great horror of darkness came on him. Then the Lord brought to Abram a prophecy of his descendants. They would be strangers in a foreign the land and they would be slaves and afflicted for 400 hundred years. Then the Lord would judge that nation (Egypt) and they would come out with great riches. The Lord told Abram that he would die at a good old age but after the forth generation they would return to Canaan (Because the sin of the Amorities was not at its height yet) When it was dark, a burning flame passed between the pieces of the sacrifice (A sign of its acceptance) On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram saying that the whole of the promised land would belong to Abraham. From the Nile to the Euphrates. This promise has never been fulfilled yet.

Steve