Or, Battle Done Is Only Half Begun
Scripture: Genesis 14:17-24
Date: May 1, 2016
Speaker: Sean Higgins
Abram routed four Mesopotamian overlords who themselves had routed a five king coalition by stepping on their neck of the woods. With only 318 trained men from his house and three more allies, Abram showed himself to be a real force in Canaan.
But when we tell the story of Abram to our children, we do not tell them about Abram as a man of force. He does not headline any so-called Hall of Force chapter in the New Testament. God did not justify Abram according to his good warfare. Abram’s victory positioned him to rule the land of Canaan by might or by threat. But he returned from battle and returned all the possessions and refused to take anything more. He would not grab at what God promised to give. That’s why we tell our kids about Abram, the man of faith.
As we saw in verses 1-16, five city-kings in the Jordan Valley decided that 12 years were enough of coughing up tribute taxes to four eastern tyrants. They stopped payments and about a year later the overlords got their armies together and left a trail of destruction as they routed the entire Dead Sea region on their way to teach the five a lesson. The five kings retreated as quickly as they had gone out to battle, some diving into tar pits and others hightailing it into the hills. The four oppressors had their way. No one could stop them and they took whatever they wanted from whomever they wanted.
For some reason, on their way of out Sodom, they took more than possessions and provisions, they also “took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother” (verse 12). They must have taken other persons, too (see verse 21), but now Moses reveals why the war story is so important: it’s personal.
An escapee ran to Abram in Mamre and, without hesitation, Abram mustered up troops, chased down the kidnapping armies more than 150 miles to the north, and defeated them in one night. Nothing was lost; all the stolen goods and captured people were rescued.
Doesn’t it seem like something is still missing from the story? For all the details, the repeated names of people and places, the thorough rout, to give us only a quick in-and-out rescue account seems unsatisfactory. That’s because the international conflict, Lot’s predicament, and Abram’s victory were not the point.
The battle done is only half begun. Now Abram has another temptation. Will he take the land by force or receive it by faith from God’s hands in time?
The conquering hero makes his way back home. As Abram travels south he is welcomed by two kings.
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). (Genesis 14:17)
The last time we saw the king of Sodom he was the chicken running to keep his head on (verse 10). He escaped to live another day—though this could be a replacement king—and after hearing about Abram’s rout and that Abram was returning, the king of Sodom went out to meet him , the one who accomplished what he (and his four co-belligerents) could not.
They met in the King’s Valley , a location likely north of the Dead Sea around Jericho and Salem as Abram headed home to Mamre.
We meet a brand new character in the story.
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) (Genesis 14:18)
Melchizedek comes out of nowhere; no background information is provided about him at all, yet both the king of Sodom and Abram appear to recognize his prominence. The king of Sodom, mentioned first in the welcome, defers to Melchizedek, and Abram will give Melchizedek an offering.
The name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness” (confirmed in Hebrews 7:2) and he wore two hats: he was a king and a priest. He was king of Salem which seems to be a shortened version of Jerusalem (Psalm 76:2 uses the shortened version, Salem, in reference to Zion.) We’re not told how Melchizedek avoided paying tribute or attack. Perhaps he was good at minding his own business, but then why does he get involved now?
Melchizedek was also priest of God Most High . A priest was one who ministered on behalf of a God, performing religious services, offering sacrifices and leading worship. Melchizedek is the first priest mentioned in the Bible. He wasn’t a Jewish priest because the Jewish priesthood was through Aaron and Levi, both of whom were descendants of Abram. There are arguments that God Most High (El Elyon) is a Canaanite deity/idol, but that doesn’t fit the narrative, especially since Abram clarifies Yahweh as El Elyon in verse 22.
Where did Melchizedek come from? Who were his parents? How did he become a priest? We do not know.
What we do know is that he not only went out to meet Abram, he also brought out bread and wine . There are three reasons that I think this is saying more than that Melchizedek brought snacks to hungry troops. First, bread and wine is very specific rather than a generic term such as “provisions.” Second, the enemy took all the “provisions” or food (verse 11) in their rout and, if Abram was capable of defeating them, then he was certainly capable of remembering that his trained men needed food. And in fact, according to verse 24, the young men had already eaten. Third, the parenthetical addition, He was priest , follows the fact that he brought bread and wine rather than following the fact that he was king. The parenthesis, then, may explain why he brought bread and wine. The point is: this was a toast, a praise party, a royal banquet. The tone of worshipful celebration is corroborated by the blessing.
And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,Possessor of heaven and earth;and blessed be God Most High,who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”(Genesis 14:19-20)
“Blessing is a solemn act of prayer with which one who is endowed with some outstanding public honour commends to God private individuals who are under his care” (Calvin).
Twice more we see El Elyon, God Most High . Melchizedek prays God’s favor upon Abram and praises God as the deliverer of Abram. God is also identified as Possessor of heaven and earth . He is the King, the authority over all. He is exalted as the One who sustains the universe and saves His people from enemies.
There are two significant responses that Abram makes to Melchizedek. First, he receives the blessing. That stands out because according to God’s promise, blessing would be meditated by Abram to others, not by others to Abram. Usually, the superior gives blessing to the inferior; for example, fathers to sons, not the other way around. Somehow Abram recognized Melchizedek as his superior.
Secondly,
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
The ESV clarifies that Abram gave Melchizedek the tenth of everything, but as the NAS translates, he gave him a tenth .
Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth ; the first time tithe is references in the Bible. Why? Later in the Old Testament there were laws that combatants were to share their spoil with non-combatants, with those who stayed home (see Numbers 31:27). But Melchizedek wasn’t connected to this conflict in any way that we know about. Besides, Abram gave a tenth rather than half. This is something different. It is Abram’s worship to El Elyon through the priest. Giving the first-fruits is a way of honoring the LORD.
It is totally odd behavior from God’s chosen man toward this basically unknown priest-king. Melchizedek must be someone special. But he leaves the scene almost as quickly as he entered.
This guy came out first but didn’t say anything. He might have been better off keeping it that way. Melchizedek’s first words were “Blessed be” and this king’s first words were “Give me.”
And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.” (Genesis 14:21-24)
The king of Sodom doesn’t make an unreasonable request, but it is a bit presumptuous and it dishonors Abram and God.
It’s presumptuous because Abram has the upper hand; the king of Sodom is empty-handed. Abram routed the four eastern kings, the king of Sodom ran from them. Abram possessed everything that had been taken in the entire region, including the king of Sodom’s previous stuff. The king’s offer to Abram was like saying, “You can have all the stuff you already have.” The king of Sodom should have been thankful for his life. He expresses no gratitude and barely, if any, humility. He doesn’t say “Please,” instead, he “tries to assert his nonexistent authority” (Waltke) and starts with taking rather than giving.
The king of Sodom was in no position to make demands; the victor had the right to decide how to divide the spoil. Abram went out of his way to acknowledge that the king of Sodom had nothing to do with Abram’s prosperity, even though it would have been an irrational claim. I would not take a thread or a sandal strap , in other words, he wouldn’t take even the smallest, least valuable things. The phrase was similar to other Near Eastern legal terms.
The Aramaic term (“be it a bad of straw or piece of string”) is used in the division of marriage property after a divorce, while the Akkadian expression (“be it a blade of straw or splinter of wood”) is found in a discussion of the liquidation of partnership holdings. (Hamilton)
Abram refused to win political clout or material prosperity from an unrighteous man.
This makes the men of Sodom more inexcusable. Their lives had been delivered by the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. Yet by Genesis 18 and 19 they were so wicked that God destroyed them.
Why is this war story, including Abram’s interaction with Melchizedek, recorded in Genesis?
First, this story honors God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. Abram is the conquering hero, he is welcomed home as the victor, but his defeat of enemies was due to God who delivered them into his hand. Abram and Melchizedek acknowledge the Lord’s work.
Second, this story is told is because it foreshadows another Priest-King who will deliver His people. David acknowledged it in Psalm 110 and the author of Hebrews repeatedly connects Melchizedek to Jesus. It is not that Melchizedek sets the pattern and Jesus follows it. Rather, the record about Melchizedek is so arranged that it brings out certain truths that apply far more fully to Jesus than they do to Melchizedek.
Third, this story makes Abram’s unbelief in the following chapters less explicable and God’s faithfulness even more gracious. God demonstrates that He can be trusted over and over; He will fulfill His promises and defeat the enemies of His people. Yet His people toggle back and forth between belief and fear, between trusting God and taking things into their own hands. Even heroes fear and fail, yet God never fails.
And a fourth reason this story is told is because, at least for now, Abram will trust God to provide rather than take for himself.
The histories of all times sufficiently declare, that even they who have had just causes of war have, nevertheless, been incited to it by the thirst of private gain. And as men are acute in devising pretexts, they are never at a loss to find plausible reasons for war, even though covetousness may be their only real stimulant. Therefore, unless Abram had resolutely refused the spoils of war, the rumour would immediately have spread, that, under the pretence of rescuing his nephew, he had been intent upon grasping the prey. (Calvin)
God will get His glory by providing for us according to His promises and not by our working or warring ourselves into position.