The Story of God: War and Peace
June 18, 2016
I came to understand pretty early on that there’s really nothing good about war other than it is sometimes necessary to stop the tyranny and evil in our world. And others times it is necessary to simply rescue the innocent who are often victims of war. It is this second reason that’s the basis for what we’re going to look at from God’s Word today. For as we return to the story of Abram’s journey of faith, we find Abram ready to risk everything God promised to go and rescue his nephew who’s become a prisoner of war.
1. The Circumstances of War At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea Valley). For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. Genesis 14:1-4
Throwing off an oppressive ruler is the first circumstance of war. In those days people aligned themselves with powerful city kings for the purpose of protection. In order to gain the protection of a city king, the subjects paid a tribute to this king. Kedorlaomer was a powerful King who not only demanded tribute his subjects, but from the other Kings in the region. For 12 years Kedorlaomer profited from their fear. But now these Kings had had enough. They refused to pay their protection taxes. They rebelled. So Kedorlaomer went to war with them.
And one of the kings he went to war with was Bera, the King of Sodom, the place where Lot now lived. Let’s now pick up the text in verse 8: Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. Here is the second circumstance of war that was about to draw Abram into the fray: Lot becomes a prisoner of war. He and all his possessions are carried off, since he was living in Sodom.
Now, allow me to make a couple of notes here. The first has to do with the king of Sodom. He has been soundly defeated. Most of his army is incompetent. They fell into tar pits as they fled. The rest were cowards: they fled into the hills. Not only that, but his entire city was left undefended so it was sacked and plundered by the attacking Kings. You could say that the King of Sodom was a lousy military leader.
The second note has to do with Lot. He had made this wicked city his home. In Psalm 1, The Psalmist writes: Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the company of mockers. That’s what the foolish do. They make friends with wicked people. Lot now walked in step with the wicked. Perhaps he was drawn to their wicked way of life. Perhaps he wanted to enjoy the prosperity of this city. Perhaps he had compromised his values to do so. All that to say is Lot probably deserved his fate. That is, until Abram gets word of what’s happened. Look now at verses 13-14, where we see Abram coming to the rescue:
2. Coming to the Rescue A man 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 Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 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. Genesis 14:13-14
Up to this point Abram and his allies had avoided the warring tribes around him. Abram had grown wealthy, his tribe had increased. Whereas the other kings in the region had become powerful through conquest, Abram had become powerful through God’s blessing.
Not only that, but once Abram heard that Lot had been taken, he mustered his trained men. 318 men who had been thoroughly equipped for battle. That’s the idea behind this term “trained.” They had previously been equipped to fight and defend their household. These were not novice soldiers, but men who were prepared to do battle. They are ready to fight, and Abram leads them in pursuit of Lot’s captures. So now we come to the battle. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. Genesis 14:15
Most battles were fought at daybreak. But Abram divides his men, and attacks from all sides, creating chaos and fear amongst his enemies, and he routes them and those he doesn’t kill start running. Abram pursues them as far as Hobah, a distance of fifty miles. He finishes the job. And then we read: He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. Genesis 14:16
Abram is the first Warrior Hero of the Bible. But it wasn’t easy. Here is a picture of Abram’s faith: Abram risked his life and fortune and put God’s promises on the line to rescue Lot. This is a great example of self-sacrificing love. Perhaps even a picture of what Christ has done for us. Lot was powerless to save himself. He needed someone who was willing to risk it all to rescue him. Abram did that for Lot. Jesus did that for us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
Remember Lot? A man who lacked wisdom, a man of questionable morals, a man who lived in Sodom? Not only was he powerless to save himself. But one could question if he was even worthy to save. But Abram risked everything to save him anyway. He not only rescued Lot and his people, but he brought them all the back to Sodom. The War is now over. Now was the time for peace and dividing the spoils of war. So we pick up the story in the Valley of Shaveh where Abram and the other Kings are found:
3. Celebrating the Peace 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). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Genesis 14:17-20
Two kings come out to meet with Abram. First is the King of Salem, Melchizedek Melchizedek means “King of Righteousness.” He is the King of Salem, or Jerusalem. He comes bringing bread and wine. He brings a meal signifying peace.
Melchizedek is also identified as priest of God Most High. So besides bringing the peace meal, Melchizedek celebrates Abram as God’s warrior and blesses him:“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Melchizedek gives credit to God for Abram’s victory. And Abram responds by giving Melchizedek a tithe of the spoils of war. In this way, Abram also declares that it is his God who won the victory.
Enter now the King of Sodom, and note the contrast. Remember, it was the King of Sodom who’s incompetent and cowardly army was soundly defeated by Kedorlaomer. Now that the battle is over, the King of Sodom comes with a demand, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” He shows no gratitude to Abram for saving his people. Instead, this wicked king assumes he’s in the position to give Abram the spoils of war. He is not. For by custom, it would have been Abram’s right to keep them anyway.
So how does Abram respond? But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap 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, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.” Genesis 14:21-24
And with that, Abram leaves no question who he serves, who he honors, and who had blessed him in victory. It was El Elyon, the God Most High and not this wicked ruler of Sodom.
So what might God have us learn from Abram the Hero? At least three things:
1) Abram Acted By Faith. Whereas, previously Abram had failed to WAIT on God to provide for him and protect him in Egypt, now Abram now risked life and blessing to rescue Lot. He acted by faith believing God would provide and protect him in battle. Like Abram there will be times where we too must act in faith. The Bible is clear on this saying, “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
Abram acted by faith and fought to save his nephew. What acts of faith might God be calling us to do together?
2) Abram Acted Out of Love. Abram was willing to sacrifice his life to rescue a relative of questionable character who had made questionable life choices. Here Abram gives us a picture of the kind of love God has for us. As Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Abram didn’t have to rescue Lot. He may not have even approved of him choosing to live in Sodom. But that didn’t stop him from risking all to save him.. This is how God’s love works: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18 It is faith motivated by love that marks us as God’s people.
3) Abram Acted With Humility. Abram gave all credit for His victory to God, signified by his giving a tithe of the spoils to Melchizedek. He didn’t take anything for himself. He never said, “What’s in it for me?” No, he would rather take nothing so as to protect God’s good name.
This last action reminds me most of Jesus of whom it was written: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8
Faith takes Action to Love Others with the Humility of Jesus Christ. That’s what Abram did for Lot. That’s what Jesus did for us.
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