WAR TRAINING

Genesis 14:1-24, Key Verse: 14:19, 20 

Part I: The battle of the kings (1-16)

1. Read verses 1-12. A. Skim through 14:1-12 and describe the power structure of those days. B. Who won the war (10, 11)? C. In the meantime, what happened to Lot (12)?

2. Read verses 13-16. A. When Abram heard about Lot, what did he do? B. What was his tactic? C. With what result? 

Part II: Abram meets two kings (17-24)

1. Read verses 17-20. A. Who came to meet him (17, 18)? B. How do you characterize these two people? C. What did Melchizedek teach Abram about God? D. How did Abram respond to his word?
2. Read verses 21-24. A. What did the king of Sodom say to Abram? B. But how did Abram respond to him? C. What did he learn about God from this war training?

WAR TRAINING

Genesis 14:1-24, Key Verse: 19, 20  

“And he blessed Abram, saying, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.’ Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

After experiencing God’s protection through ‘famine training,’ Abram was determined to stay in the Promised Land no matter what. He was planted in the land of Canaan, while Lot left the Promised Land following his own desires. It was costly and painful for Abram to stay in the land where God called him. But through this ‘material training,’ he put down deep roots, and grew spiritually in God. But Lot, because he did not have any root in God’s calling, drifted away from God for the pleasures of the world. Today’s passage shows us Abram’s continual spiritual growth through “War Training.” May God bless us to be strong through spiritual “war training” so that we may take deeper root in God’s calling and grow up as courageous shepherds to save many young people! 

Part I: The Battle Of The Kings (1-16)

Genesis chapter 14 describes the power structure of the Middle East in Abram’s time. Here we meet Kedorlaomer, king of Elam. Elam was an ancient Babylonian kingdom in Mesopotamia, close to the Persian Gulf, in modern day Iran. At that time, all kingdoms in the Palestine area had been subjected to the king of Elam for 12 years. But in the 13th year, 5 kings of Palestine rebelled against him. So in the 14th year, the king of Elam started his military campaign with 3 other kings who were allied with him. They traveled all the way from Mesopotamia to Haran, which is modern day Syria. Then, they first, defeated all the Trans-Jordan countries situated on the east side of the Jordan River.

When we check out the map, El Paran is located far south, stretching from the Southwest of the Dead Sea. After conquering the entire Trans-Jordan region, as far as the desert of Paran, they turned around and started their conquest of the countries on the West side of the Jordan, beginning with the Amalekites and the Amorites. Then, the five kings of this area marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim, that is, the Dead Sea. 

The five kings began to fight against the king of Elam and his allies - 5 against 4. Who won? The 4 king’s victory was so complete that the passage says that they seized even all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, which included all their food and many people as captives. It was a total victory. Most of this is background information. Background information is important. But what's most important is that Lot, Abraham's nephew, became one of those taken captive. You know how miserable P.O.W.s are. Did you hear about Senator John McCain’s P.O.W. story in Vietnam?

Let’s think more about what happened to Lot. Look at verse 12. “They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.” When the armies of the king of Elam had ransacked Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot had lost everything.  As he stumbled along, under the sun’s scorching heat, with the whip of his new master cutting into his skin, Lot was in the grip of darkest despair.  He would never forget the fateful day he had packed up his tents and moved into the city of Sodom.  

It seemed so right at the time. It was a good business decision, and the city was so beautiful. But even then, deep inside, Lot had known that something was horribly wrong. Now it was too late.  He was chewing the wages of his fateful decision. With nothing but a life of bondage and slavery ahead of him, all hope seemed to be gone.  Yet, as he collapsed to the ground at the end of the day, Lot found the strength to whisper one last prayer: "Oh God, please rescue me; I know I have learned my lesson." Did you see the Movie, “Ben-Hur”? Do you remember Charlton Heston, Northwestern University graduate, who was asking God’s mercy when he was deadly thirsty while walking under the scorching sun as a P.O.W. by the Roman soldiers?

God heard Lot’s emergency prayer and was about to intervene though his servant, Abram. Look at verse 13. “One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.” When Abram heard about Lot, what did he do? Look at verse 14. “When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.” The news of Lot's capture stimulated Abram to action directly. 

Abram was an unlikely person to help Lot. He was a peaceful herdsman. He owned no land. He stayed out of politics and out of war. He had no reason to rescue Lot because Lot had run away from Abram and from the life of faith. But Abram had a great shepherd heart for Lot. His shepherd heart is like God's heart of love for rebellious and sinful people. God keeps on loving. And so Abram also kept on loving. Have you ever loved someone who rebelled against you?

Even though Lot had some major issues, Abram still loved him and decided to risk his life in order to save him. At that time Abram had trained enough of his servants to make a strong defensive force. But he had not engaged in an offensive war before this time. However, he organized his forces, made an alliance with some of his neighbors and set out in pursuit of Lot's captors. Even though he had no M1-Abrams tanks or Stealth fighter airplanes, he caught up with them in Dan, the northern-most city of Canaan. 

What was Abram’s military tactic? Look at verses 15. “During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.” Abram was outnumbered but he attacked at night from several sides, using a skillful ambush attack. It made his forces seem many more times larger than they actually were. In the darkness, the enemy soldiers were totally surprised, and t ran away scared. Escaping, they took Lot with them. Abram pursued them and again caught them at Hobah.

Finally, what was the result of this war? Look at verse 16. “He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.” Abram came back from the battle of the kings as a conquering general and emerging hero. He had gone to war simply to rescue his nephew Lot. But in the course of doing this, he had defeated the most powerful king in the whole region like Napoleon or Alexander the Great who defeated many kings and nations. 

He could have regarded his victory as God's sign to him to possess the whole land. He could have said, "Perhaps God is giving me the land he promised me. Maybe this is the time for me to claim it and change my life-style and live like a king." It was critical moment. It was a spiritual crisis because Abram was confused by his worldly success not knowing God’s will. How did God help Abram at this crucial moment? Did God send some text message to him through his cell phone? Or did God send some email through his personal computer?

Part II: Abram Meets Two Kings (17-24)

When Abram returned to his hometown with all people and goods he had recovered from the 4 kings, many people came to welcome and escort him. Read verse 17. “After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).” Maybe, they prepared a parade for him through the cities. People probably, shouted, “Hail Abram! Hail Abram! Our Savior!” Among them were two prominent people. Who were they? One was Bera king of Sodom, and the other, Melchizedek, king of Salem. 

Look at verse 18. “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High.” This verse gives us a brief introduction to Melchizedek. There are some striking similarities between Melchizadek and Jesus. First, Melchizadek was king of Salem. The word, “Salem”, means “peace.” When I was in Israel last January, people greeted each saying, “Salem.” Most Jewish commentators affirm that Salem was the old name for Jeru-salem, which means, “teaching of peace.” Melchizadek was king of peace then, and Jesus is called, “Prince of Peace.” Melchizadek was king of Jerusalem, and Jesus is the king of the New Jerusalem forever. 

Second, he was priest of God Most High. About six hundred years after Melchizadek, Aaron and his descendants would be designated as a holy priesthood. But even before Aaron was born, there was the priesthood, starting from Melchizedek, king of Salem. Melchizedek was a historic person who ruled in Salem as king, and he carried the image of Jesus as priest, the shadow of Jesus’ eternal priesthood. 

Then, what did Melchizedek say to Abram? Look at verses 19 and 20. “And he blessed Abram, saying, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.’ Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” Melchizedek described God as God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, meaning God is the Supreme Ruler, the Possessor, and Owner of heaven and earth. He also taught Abram that his victory over four kings was not done by his own skillful military tactics, but through God’s help. 

It is true that Abram won a smashing victory over the most dangerous and formidable enemies of all the people in that area. It is a fact that he was rising as the hero of his time. He was at a cross roads. His victory could affect his future life greatly. But Melchizadek made it clear that God had delivered the four kings into Abram’s hands. He taught Abram not to take glory for himself, but render glory to God. In this way, he was performing one of his roles as a priest. Abram accepted his teaching, and gave him one tenth of everything, admitting that the victory and all the wealth also came from God. 

But at this crossroads, there was a great temptation for Abram. Look at verse 21. Bera king of Sodom came to him, and said, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” He was saying, “You deserve that kind of reward, because you worked hard and did a good job.” His point was that Abram deserved such reward because he risked a lot, worked hard, and did a good job. The money was already in his hands, and everybody around him agreed that he deserved such a reward. It sounded reasonable. 

What was Abram’s response? Look at verses 22-24. “But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share." He stood firm on the side of God, refusing King Bera’s suggestion. 

Abram was a good Bible student. After studying the word of God with his shepherd, Melchizedek, he used the exact same expression he had learned from his teacher. He said to the king of Sodom, “God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.” Bera king of Sodom was shocked with such an unexpected response. Almost all people would have taken up his suggestion. All the people around them were amazed. In this way, Abram revealed God’s name to the people of the world and rendered glory to God. Do you know Tim Tebow, a quarterback at Florida University? Whenever he has interview after a big game, he always gives glory to God, not bragging about his skill or tactics. He was very much influenced by his Father who was a missionary. I believe that he is a real humble man of God. 

Until now Abram was young in spirit. So far, he thought that God should do something for him. But now, he learned that he should do something for God such as giving one tenth of his newly acquired wealth to God’s servant. He was sacrificing a lot of money for God. Abram chose to render glory to God even at the cost of the modern day equivalent of millions. But in order to render glory to God, Abram refused to take even a red cent. What a great example he set for all future generations!

Let’s put this into the proper perspective. Abram was like one young man having grown up in a poor family. He turned down a fantastic job offer – with a $300,000 yearly salary and one month paid vacation, with stock options as a sign up bonus. The job or salary wasn’t a bad job, but it would have taken him away from his ministry. He did this in order to serve God’s mission and stay where God called him. In this way, he was growing up spiritually. 

Now it’s time for us to grow up in spirit and in faith. So far, we have been asking God to do this and that for us so that we can live a happy, fruitful and meaningful life in this world. God is happy to provide these things as we follow Jesus. But now, we should learn to do something for God. We must learn to choose to please God even if it costs us a lot. Let’s not remain on the “children’s level” any longer, like Michael Ulrich who make a decision to put his childishness aside and seek to be a mature man of God. Let us grow to be spiritually mature sons and daughters who are concerned about the Father’s business and His happiness. Let’s learn to render glory to God even at some cost. 

*Conclusion: Sometimes we think of Abram as a weak, vague old man, a man who had to live by faith because he had few human abilities or options in life. But through today’s passage we saw another side of Abram. He was a very able man who could have been a world leader had he chosen that life for himself. He was a wise and brave general who earned the respect of kings. But more importantly, he was God's man, and he had a great shepherd heart. He was very humble in the time of success, rendering glory to God and giving his tithe to God. 

May God bless us to overcome all kinds of worldly temptations and grow up as loving, mature shepherds through spiritual war training like Abram! May God bless us to love many rebellious and stubborn sheep like Lot with the love of God like Abram and invite them to our Mid-West Regional Summer Bible Conference!