Jan. 14, 2012 - Genesis 14

4 kings:

-Amraphel king of Shinar

-Arioch king of Ellasar

-Kedorlaomer king of Elam

-Tidal king of Goiim

5 kings:

-Bera king of Sodom

-Birsha king of Gomorrah

-Shinab king of Admah

-Shemeber king of Zeboiim

-unnamed king of Bela

For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him…

Wait, what? They rebelled in the 13^th year, and then nothing happened? The story skips to a year later, when Kedorlaomer and his allies are just conquering a bunch of other stuff, apparently oblivious to this rebellion that’s been in progress for a year. Now I don’t know what they’ve been doing in this time, but I guess there’s been a lot of strategizing and planning about how and when to stand up and fight. They choose to pick their fight now, in the 14^th year, after the 4 kings have been doing all this other fighting.

[5 kings] marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim against [4 kings] –four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled…

So, they picked the time, they picked the place, and they set up battle lines and were ready. However, there wasn’t even a good enough fight to get mentioned at all. There is literally zero resistance recorded. Now I’m sure they did actually fight, but in the end, they just wind up running. At least, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled. There’s no mention of what the other 3 kings were doing. Maybe they all died. Maybe they ran even earlier. Whatever the case, all that planning doesn’t do any good, and the 4 kings take everything from Sodom and Gomorrah, and just go along their way.

They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.

He was what? Living in Sodom? When did that happen? Apparently at some point he got pulled into the sin that he was living near, and gets captured here as a result.

One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew.

While Lot has conformed to the sin of the land, Abram stands out as different. So much that he even gets referred to not just as Abram, but ‘Abram the Hebrew.’ He’s not hiding or compromising his beliefs, and it’s making an impact. People know who he is, and what he stands for.

Anyways, Abram takes 318 guys, chases the 4 kings down, beats them up, and takes all the stuff back. So while the 5 kings failed to even put up a fight worth mentioning, Abram just walks in with no preparation at all, and only a small group of guys from his household, and wipes the 4 kings out.

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High…Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

First tithe?

And then when the king of Sodom offers him all the goods he recovered as a reward, Abram very straightly says: no. “…you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ” Abram doesn’t want to be associated with Sodom in any way, and doesn’t want any question about where his wealth comes from. He’s not going to let his nephew get captured, and he rescues him, but that’s where it ends. He doesn’t approve of the city, its reputation, or what’s going on there.

Lot is conforming to the world.

Abram is standing out as different.