Genesis 14:13-24
Ge 14:13
And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the
Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and
brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
After Lot was taken, someone had escaped who knew Abram
the Hebrew. Archaeologists have
found the name of Abram referred to as the “Habiru.”
The term “Hebrew” means “the other side or cross over.”
Abram was called that because he went from Mesopotamia westward to Canaan
and was on the other side of the Jordan River.
This is why true Christians are called “spiritual Hebrews” because we go
from the world, the kingdom of Satan, to the other side which is the Kingdom of
God. This person who informed Abram
was probably concerned that the 4 kings would also invade the area Abram was
living in which was in the plain of Mamre.
Mamre was the owner of the great terebinth trees and he was in covenant
with Abram along with his brothers Eshcol and Aner.
Ge 14:14
And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive,
he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and
eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
As soon as Abram heard that Lot was taken, he immediately
armed 318 of his trained servants. They were probably trained in the affairs of
daily life but possibly also in the art of warfare and were only armed when the
situation warranted it. The Dan
they pursued the 4 kings to was up north which was south of Damascus.
It was also known as Laish in the book of Judges.
Ge 14:15
And he divided himself against them, he and his servants,
by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the
left hand of Damascus.
Abram was a wise commander as he divided his forces and
attempted to attack at night in a pincer movement.
The attack was successful and the 4 kings had fled.
Abram had pursued them as far as Hobah which was about 80 miles (129 km)
north of Damascus. It was situated
in a vale and was built by Uz, the grandson of Shem.
Ge 14:16
And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again
his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
Abram was able to bring back all the stolen goods which
was pilfered from Sodom and Gomorrah.
The 4 kings were either throwing the goods out as they kept running so
they would have better speed or they might have left the goods in one place and
Abram then collected all the spoils in one place.
Here Lot is called his brother which is a normal term used for close
family relatives in the Middle East.
Lot was the nephew of Abram being the son of Haran, Abram’s brother.
Abram also secured the goods which were taken from Lot.
Ge 14:17
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.
The valley of Shaveh was a plain in Judah near to
Jerusalem. It was here that the
king of Sodom had gone out to meet Abram returning from the slaughter of the
four kings. Now Abram did not
physically kill the kings but had chased them another 50 miles (80 km) beyond
Damascus. It was a term used to
describe the fact that Abram had defeated the four kings.
The word “dale” means “valley.”
Ge 14:18
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and
wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Then Melchizedek who was the king of Salem, which means
the king of peace.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) Christ
is also known as the Prince of Peace.
Salem was an old name for Jerusalem. He
brought forth bread and wine for Abram.
Notice that both of these have spiritual significance.
23 For I have received of the Lord that which
also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he
was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake
it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do
in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:23-24)
The bread represented the body of Christ in the last
Supper and in Communion.
25 After the same manner also he took
the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood:
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's
death till he come. (1 Corinthians 11:25-26)
Then the wine in the cup represented the blood of Christ
which was for the New Covenant of grace.
The covenant was made through Abram and then extended to all the Elect of
God.
Now of the things which we have spoken this is the
sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of
the Majesty in the heavens; (Hebrews 8:1)
The fact that he was also a priest of God before the
Aaronic priesthood was even formed.
Christ is the High Priest for all true believers.
1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest
of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings,
and blessed him; 2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all;
first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of
Salem, which is, King of peace; 3 Without father, without mother,
without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made
like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. 4 Now
consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham
gave the tenth of the spoils. (Hebrews 7:1-4)
God is the only one who can pronounce a true blessing
upon his children of which Abram was one.
Abram had given Melchizedek a tithe of all the spoils that he regained
from the 4 kings. In verse 3, this
is the description of a person who is eternal.
No mother or father, having no earthly lineage and is like the Son of God
who is a perpetual priest for the believers making intercession for them.
The person who met Abram was the Lord Jesus Christ.
This was known as a Christophany which is a pre-Bethlehem appearance of
Christ. It is also interesting to
note that the King of Salem was not named among the 9 kings and then all of a
sudden he shows up out of nowhere and addresses Abram only.
This Melchizedek was king of Salem but the New Salem.
Him that overcometh will I make a
pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write
upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God,
which is new Jerusalem,
which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and
I will write upon him my new
name.( Revelation 3:12)
Ge 14:19
And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of
the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Melchizedek blessed him and called Abram to be of the
Most High God. Up to this point,
there is no record of Abram visiting Jerusalem so how would an earthly king know
that Abram was of the Most High God?
Therefore, the person making that declaration was the Lord Jesus Christ
himself who declared that the most High God is the possessor of both Heaven and
earth as he is the Creator of both.
Ge 14:20
And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered
thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Abram was now being told that it was the Most High God
who is also known as El-Elyon, one of the names whereby God describes his
characteristics, that it was him who delivered his enemies into his hands and as
a result, Abram gave tithes of everything he had which showed that he recognized
God’s provision and blessing.
Ge 14:21
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the
persons, and take the goods to thyself.
The king of Sodom was very happy to retrieve all the
people that was taken from the city because they would have been sold as slaves.
He wanted to retrieve his people and was willing to let Abram keep all
the goods for himself as spoils of war.
Ge 14:22
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,
By Abram lifting up his hand unto the LORD he was making
an oath by the LORD God himself and then he tells the king of Sodom what he is
taking an oath for.
Ge 14:23
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:
Abram had taken an oath that he would not so much as take
even a thread from a shoe or sandal.
He would not accept any of the spoils because then the king of Sodom
could boast that he was the one who made Abram wealthy.
Abram would not have any indebtedness to the king of Sodom.
Abram knew that it is the LORD who gives him his wealth and no earthly
king can ever take credit for it.
Abram had grown spiritually from the time he was in Egypt when he accepted all
kinds of gifts from Pharaoh. Now he
is acknowledging the fact that it was the LORD who gave him the victory.
Ge 14:24
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 saw to it that his servants had received some compensation for their military service on his behalf. He also took care of those he was in league with and gave them their fair portion. Abram gave some of the spoils to others but did not keep any of the spoils for himself. The reason for that would be made plain in the declaration by God in Genesis 15:1.