A Bible Study and Contemporary Application of Genesis 11-19 by Anne Turner

The Rescue and Reviving Celebration

The voice of God is sounded in season and out of season: in a crisis when we have earnestly sought his counsel and at moments when we are proceeding with our lives as we see best. The revelation of his nearness at a time when we have not sought him may be more special than the times when we cry out to him. When he arrives “out of season,” we will learn something unique that we have neither the wisdom nor foresight to request.

For example, Moses did not understand why the flames from within the bush did not consume it. He was not expecting a revelation on that day. Jacob fell asleep at Luz and dreamed of a ladder stretching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending it, and the Lord spoke to him. When he awoke, startled at his dream, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it.” (Gen 28:16)

As we pick up the story of Lot in Genesis 14, Abram is about to receive one of these more special revelations in the person of Melchizedek, the king-priest of Salem¹, which locale became Jerusalem.* As both king and priest, he foreshadowed the Christ who fulfilled and fills both roles for all we who dwell in the Holy City. We would not expect an important revelation at this juncture in Scripture, would we? Yet here it is.

We should slow down and carefully consider the account in Genesis 14 so that we will gain the enlightenment it holds. This is Melchizedek’s first and only appearance in Scripture, and he brings a vital message for all believers.

Genesis 14:1-16, is below, right, however, this summary may help to make it clearer:

Abram is revived and encouraged by Melchizedek’s hospitality after returning from an exhausting campaign to rescue Lot from slavery, a Bible story not often told— perhaps because of the difficult names we are required to pronounce?

When Abram and Lot first separated, Lot pitched his tents near Sodom, but in Chapter 14, Lot is living in Sodom, and Abram is living in Hebron. We are not sure exactly how much time has elapsed, but it was perhaps five years or more. It has already been stated that “the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.”

As the story of Genesis 14 begins, the people of Sodom, Lot included, are about to be driven from their territory by an alliance of their enemies. Four kings have united under Chedorlaomer, whom we will call “Ched,” to go to war against the five kings who ruled the cities of the plain: Sodom, Gomorrah, Zoar, Admah and Zeboiim. Ched’s alliance had already successfully defeated six other peoples. The five kings had only recently broken his grip on their territories after being under his rule for 12 years.

These five kings with their men marched out as a united front and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim which is now under the Dead Sea. It was an area full of tar pits, and when they were routed by Ched’s alliance, some of their men fell into them and the others fled to the hills. Lot, however, rather than fleeing, was captured, along with many others.

One who had escaped came and told this to Abram, who reacted swiftly to the messenger’s report. He gathered the 318 men among his servants who were fit to fight and pursued Ched’s men as far as Dan,** with help from Mamre, Eshcol and Aner, who were Amorites. He and his servants attacked by night, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus, and recovered all the goods and “brother Lot” (verse 16), his possessions, the women and other people. A map would show that Abram’s troops went more than 150 miles on their mission to rescue Lot. The round trip was twice that!

We knew that Abram was a spiritual man, but now we see he was also a warrior who fought alongside his troops. No wonder he had the support of his servants! They respected him for risking his own life for a brother who had been captured and driven from his home, even though that home was in a place he abhorred, as we will see. His loyalty was unconditional; so was theirs.

Yet even with this support, Abram was no doubt exhausted, and he was about to experience a Satanic assault. He would come face to face with the king of Sodom who would tempt him to take credit for the victory and to accept payment for it. Fittingly, God sent Melchizedek to commemorate the victory as belonging to the Lord, and to refresh Abram’s weary body, mind and spirit, so that he could stand against this tyrant.

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.

As Melchizedek saw that God had won the battle for Abram, Abram saw that Melchizedek represented God, and he tithed to him as a fitting expression that God indeed was to be thanked and blessed for the victory.

In Melchizedek’s priestly order, the remembrance of God’s goodness was celebrated not by burnt or grain offerings but with the sharing of bread and wine, and that has never changed. This was not the first communion meal since Christ had not yet come and shed his blood wherein the bread and wine are given their significance. Yet, in that Melchizedek prefigured Jesus, the meal, too, was a type of the sacrament which we celebrate in remembrance of Jesus and his sacrificial death.

This special reviving communion is a flag within Scripture— a reminder to us that God is on our side when we labor to rescue our loved ones who are in bondage, enslaved to the world, the flesh and Satan. He will refresh us when we willingly commit ourselves —even risking our lives— in a mission to gain their release. He alone can save them, but we have roles to play in the drama of their deliverance from bondage, and sometimes, our roles are life-threatening.

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.

Abram despised the King of Sodom under whose control his nephew had fallen, and refused to be in any debt to him. He certainly had not rescued Lot as a favor to him, but only for the love of his special nephew who had faithfully accompanied him to the new land.

After this encounter with Bera, perhaps Abram better understood why Lot had remained in Sodom rather than leaving once he had experienced life among the depraved. Gaining freedom from an overbearing bully is not so easy. The important thing is never to come under his auspices in the first place and never to owe him anything, for this type would never let you forget your debt.

Lot had made a terrible mistake by straying into a community polluted with sinful people and practices, but God had not rejected him. He gave Abram the victory against Chedorlaomer not just to honor the man with whom he was establishing his covenant, but to show his love for Lot.

Lot was delivered from slavery, but then returned to Sodom where Bera was an overbearing ruler, and immorality reigned. Why? This may picture the reality that often when God saves people, the circumstances of their lives are not altered at all. They have simply been freed to function as overcomers in the unchanged confines of their home or place of work.

In Lot’s particular case, though, it could reveal that a man may receive many deliverances from evil before it dawns on him that he is not living under a lucky star, but under the watchful eye of a loving Lord who never slumbers. Some of us are slow learners. To put it as Christ would have, Lot was “slow of heart.” (Luke 24:25)

Why did Lot take up residence in Sodom? Perhaps he had not been able to fend for himself in the plains and needed the protection of a fortified city. Or, had he gotten to the age where he was tired of the responsibility of watching over herds of animals with only a tent for a ranch house? Maybe he was invited by the people there and did not fully realize the depth of their depravity until he had made his home among them.

We do not know why Lot moved to Sodom. The king of Sodom may have been a charismatic leader, difficult to say “no” to. He was a controlling type as shown in his remarks to Abram: “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” He did not want the goods, just the people. To him, power was not wealth but control over men.

Abram was troubled that Lot was returning to Sodom, and he showed his disapproval in his comment to Bera, “I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal.” Despite the encouraging supper with Melchizedek, he may have been grieving and wondering, “Is this distance between us measured only in the space between our homes? Or is there also a chasm between our hearts? Lot, where are you now?”