PM Jan 6th Gen 14

January 6^th 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.

In todays Bible reading we have the rescue of Lot by Abram and the intervention of Melchizedek. 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 hassle 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)

• Describe the Military expedition of Abram.
• Who was Melchizedek and what happened when he met Abram?
• What happened when Abram met the king of Sodom?