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Lot decides he wants more and
more riches in this Baptist Bible study from
Genesis. The Old Testament is full of lessons we
can use in todays world if we only apply them.
Sometimes the grass is not all that much greener on
the other side as Lot discovers. Abram has to
rescue him from becoming a servant of Sodom, or
even a worse fate.
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Genesis 14:1-24
Abram
Rescues Lot - War of the Kings
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- 14:1
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,
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- 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).
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- 3 All these came as
allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the
Salt Sea).
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- 4 Twelve years they
had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year
they rebelled.
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- 5 In the fourteenth
year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with
him, came and defeated the Rephaim in
Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the
Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
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- 6 and the Horites in
their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is
by the wilderness.
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- 7 Then they turned
back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh),
and conquered all the country of the Amalekites,
and also the Amorites, who lived in
Hazazon-tamar.
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- 8 And the king of
Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of
Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of
Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed
for battle against them in the valley of Siddim,
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- 9 against Chedorlaomer
king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and
Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of
Ellasar-- four kings against five.
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- 10 Now the valley of
Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of
Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them
But those who survived fled to the hill country.
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- 11 Then they took all
the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their
food supply, and departed.
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- 12 They also took Lot,
Abram's nephew, and his possessions and
departed, for he was living in Sodom.
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- 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.
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- 14 When Abram heard
that his relative had been taken captive, he led
out his trained men, born in his house, three
hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far
as Dan.
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- 15 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.
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- 16 He brought back all
the goods, and also brought back his relative
Lot with his possessions, and also the women,
and the people.
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- God's Promise to
Abram
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- 17 Then after his
return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the
kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went
out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that
is, the King's Valley).
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- 18 And Melchizedek
king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he
was a priest of God Most High.
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- 19 He blessed him and
said,
- "Blessed be Abram of
God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and
earth;
20 And blessed be God
Most High,
Who has delivered your
enemies into your hand."
He gave him a tenth of
all.
- 21 The king of Sodom
said to Abram, "Give the people to me and take
the goods for yourself."
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- 22 Abram said to the
king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the LORD God
Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
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- 23 that I will not
take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that
is yours, for fear you would say, 'I have made
Abram rich.'
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- 24 "I will take
nothing except what the young men have eaten,
and the share of the men who went with me, Aner,
Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share."
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This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way that we think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
The War of the
Kings
Wow!! That's a lot of kings!
But remember, in the days of Lot and Abram, most
cities had their own king not like in later times
when a king ruled an entire country or even a
continent.
Many times wars between these
city states were merely financial as the defeated
town had to pay "taxes" to the victor.
Lot and his family happened
to be caught in the crossfire of one of these
common wars.
When Abram learned of the
capture of Lot, he gathered together his meager 318
men and attacked Kedorlaomer ultimately rescuing
Lot along with all his possessions.
Most people today know the
name of Sodom and Gomorrah and associate them with
evil. These two cities would later be destroyed by
God for the sheer debauchery of the
residents.
Lot, wanting riches and
power, fell into the trap of moving into the area
to improve his situation but found himself living
near two cities of sin.
As for us, we can follow that
same trap searching for riches but discover we are
having to compromise our values to get what we
think we need.
All we really need in life is
an ongoing relationship with God. He will provide
for us if we just ask.
I'm not saying that to be
rich is to be evil. Not at all. But, we have to be
careful not to fall into the same trap as Lot when
pursuing our goals. Keep it in perspective with God
at the helm and we'll be just fine.
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Verses about the war of the kings and the
rescue of Lot by Abram are from New American
Standard Bible
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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