Genesis
14:1-24
Abram
Rescues Lot - War of the
Kings
-
- 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,
-
- 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 came as allies to
the valley of Siddim (that is,
the Salt Sea).
-
- 4
Twelve years they had served
Chedorlaomer, but the
thirteenth year they rebelled.
-
- 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,
-
- 6
and the Horites in their Mount
Seir, as far as El-paran,
which is by the wilderness.
-
- 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.
-
- 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,
-
- 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.
-
- 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.
-
- 11
Then they took all the goods
of Sodom and Gomorrah and all
their food supply, and
departed.
-
- 12
They also took Lot, Abram's
nephew, and his possessions
and departed, for he was
living in Sodom.
-
- 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.
-
- 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.
-
- 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.
-
- 16
He brought back all the goods,
and also brought back his
relative Lot with his
possessions, and also the
women, and the people.
-
- God's
Promise to
Abram
-
- 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).
-
- 18
And Melchizedek king of Salem
brought out bread and wine;
now he was a priest of God
Most High.
-
- 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."
-
- 22
Abram said to the king of
Sodom, "I have sworn to the
LORD God Most High, possessor
of heaven and earth,
-
- 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.'
-
- 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."
-
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.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
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Bob
Verses are from New
American Standard Bible
Comments are welcome.
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me with any questions
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